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Volume 45, Issue 9 Mike & Key Amateur Radio Club – Seattle September 2017

Summer is Winding Down - What's Next? From David Smith KB7PSN President

How did you happen to view the Solar Eclipse? Did you get special glasses to watch, or did you view on TV or live, or over the Internet. In a short while, it was all over! During the peak of the eclipse, the following crescent, shadowy images were captured on a parking lot – it was a fun experience to witness! At the August Club Meeting, held at Gene Coulon Memorial Park on Lake Washington, we had a quorum of members vote to approve modified “Articles of Incorporation” and attempt to update club filing status, potentially saving money on future expenditures. Summer is winding down, and the kids are ready to go back to school. Soon, the days will start getting shorter and it will get cooler outside. What can we do now? Well, on Labor Day weekend, there was the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, WA, Bumbershoot at Seattle Center. And, the Washington State Fair is in full swing for 3 weeks down

in Puyallup, WA – if you go here, make sure you check in to W7DK table at Hobby Hall and say hello to fellow ham operators. The 3

rd weekend of the month will be dedicated

to the Washington Salmon Run (radio contest). Soon, the Club will be reserving the Wagon Wheel campground at Ft Flagler State Park on Marrowstone Island, WA, for next year’s ARRL Field Day activities. In October, the second weekend will be the Issaquah Salmon Days – with a parade on Saturday morning and a Street Fair all weekend in downtown Issaquah. Finally, the Club will start planning for the Christmas/Holiday party and next March’s Flea Market down at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. These coming events are always looking for volunteers to help make them a success – the more, the merrier! Hope to see you at an upcoming Club event!

Celebrate our September Members By Jim Kiniry KE7JIM, Treasurer

As of September 2017, these folks have been Mike &

Key members for the number of years stated.

Congratulations to all of you, and thank you for your

participation and service. Each of you makes us who we

are. Happy Anniversary this month!

John McGee * KI7OT 25 Years Scott Robinson AG7T 17 Years Charles Sundberg K7PHZ 17 Years Rachelle Gill KF7QCN 16 Years John Saunders KD7UI 13 Years John Keene KA7ONE 10 Years Shelley Stark KF7TBA 6 Years Teresa Ortiz AD7CT 4 Years Kerry McMurthy W7KLM 2 Years John Guin N5IBU 1 Year Ron Standley WR7ON 1 Year * Life Member, having been with the club 25 years or more

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Postal Address: Web Site: Send dues to: P.O. Box 4234 www.mikeandkey.org Mike & Key ARC Renton, WA 98057-4234 P.O. Box 4234 Renton, WA 98057-4234

K7LED Repeaters: Email: Send newsletter submissions to:

146.82 output / 146.22 input info @ mikeandkey.org Michael Dinkelman, Relay Editor

(PL 103.5)Tiger Mountain n7wa @ arrl.net 253-631-3756

224.120 output / 222.520 input Reflector: (PL 103.5)Tiger Mountain http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/mkarc

Club Contacts

President David Smith KB7PSN kb7psn @ yahoo.com 425-235-5095 Vice President David Yarbrough WA7DY wa7dy@arrl.net 425-445-2792 Secretary Phillip Pia K7PIA k7pia@yahoo.com 253-307-4781 Treasurer Jim Kiniry KE7JIM ke7jim@outlook.com 206-979-5717 Activity Manager Jim Monson K7JGM jgmonson@earthlink.net 206-245-8485 Radio Officer Hal Goodell N7NW n7nw.hal @ comcast.net 253-549-4178

Trustees No. 1 – Steve Cook KD7IQL kd7iql@gmail.com 253-245-6435 No. 2 – Steve Marth WB7AAV marthnet@msn.com 206-915-2205 No. 3 – CoB Tim Kane K7ANE k7ane@arrl.net 206-251-7467 No. 4 – Tom Helm WT7S thomas.c.helm1051@gmail.com 206-307-6025 No. 5 – Robin Carter WA7BRI rjc@centurytel.net 253-858-2008

Committees

VE Testing Scott Robinson AG7T ag7t @ arrl.net 425-788-0452 Membership Steve Marth WB7AAV mikeandkeymembers@gmail.com Logo Jim Aigner N7MU jimaigner @ comcast.net 253-630-2752 Club Library ‘Toku’ Okumura AD7JA ad7ja@msn.com 206-772-2450 Webmaster Jim Etzwiler KD7BAT kd7bat@arrl.net 425-788-7887 Public Service Robert Grinnell KD7WNV kd7wnv@arrl.net 425-398-1466

Mike & Key Online –The following Club resources are available:

On the Web – The Club's site at www.mikeandkey.orgincludes extensive information about Club activities and events, such as: VE testing, membership, past editions of the Relay and more.

Reflector – The Club's public message board offers an easy and free way to converse with Club members.To sign up, visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/mkarc .

E-Relay – Help the Club save on printing and postage, send Email to the Relay Editor: n7wa @ arrl.net.

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Congratulations

Dan, KG7DAB is now a General Class and looking to get

on HF. Good Luck Dan!

(I suggest CW... ed.)

VE Guru Award submitted by Kenn AC6DK

At the August 19th M&K V.E. Testing Session in Renton. Scott Robinson was presented with a plaque from his fellow VE's, to honor his continuous and outstanding service as VE Team Liaison. The Presentation Committee, shown in the picture, was composed of, left to right, Jim (KD7BAT), Sam (N7RHE), Inscription on the plaque reads: V.E. Guru Award, Presented to Scott Robinson, AG7T, By His V.E. Colleagues, In Appreciation For His Sustained Outstanding Leadership As The Mike And Key V.E. Team Liaison, 2004 – 2017.

Fleamarket 2018 submitted by Michael N7WA

Next month, October, we start the journey to our 37th annual Fleamarket. The event date The event date is March 10, 2018. I know, that seems a long way off but there is a lot to do before it gets here and it'll be sooner than you think. Currently, we have applied and received ARRL sanctioning, the flyer has been designed, the database created, and quotes for printing are in the works. The kickoff organizational meeting is planned for the second Tuesday of next month, October 10th; to be held at 7:15PM at the Dinkelman household

22222 148th Ave SE Kent, WA 98042

253 631 3756 If you were a Chairperson last year and haven't replied to the email that went out, please let us know if you are returning as a Chairperson (n7wa@arrl.net) If you are interested in being a Chairperson or helping out a Chairperson, let us know that too. The worker volunteer signups will be coming out late next month. Don't forget that flyer stuffing and labeling will be at the November Club meeting.

Activity Manager Report submitted by Jim K7JGM

This month’s program will be of a technical nature; baluns presented by Nelson W7KVI. Nelson is an RF engineer and will forget more about RF in one day than I will probably ever know! This month’s collection of goodies to raffle is the same good stuff! The much desired Elecraft KX3, in kit form this year, will be our year end grand prize. Kit form will save about $100 and help to possibly sweeten the deal with a portable antenna. To sweeten the deal we need to sell more tickets. To sell more tickets we need to provide more “tech tid-bits” on the prize table. I appeal to you, the membership, to go through your collection of goodies lying around your shack and bring them to the meeting. I have a few I will be donating; a couple of MFJ units, a code reader and a sound card. I know it is difficult to part with some of our “treasures” but it is for a great cause, like clearing out stuff in your shack to make room for more stuff! Thank you in advance!

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Salmon Run - something different

submitted by Michael N7WA

For a number of years, I have been going out to do Salmon Run as a mobile. It's a blast and I enjoy the late Summer/early Fall scenery of Eastern Washington. One of the aspects of the Salmon Run is that there is a bonus station (W7DX). It's worth 500 points for each mode you work it on. The bonus station has travelled among various locations in Washington. This year, it lands, partially, at N7WA. When I first asked about being the bonus station, my first thoughts were for a multi-single or a multi-multi at my place. However, as I thought longer about it, my #1 goal was to have W7DX on all modes all the time and I don't think I could have supported that equipment-wise (or operator-wise). So I have contracted out the effort to different stations and we'll be running in the Unlimited class. (More like "Anything-Goes as long as it's legal" class.) Up in Clallum county, I asked Chuck N7BV to manage the RTTY/Digital contacts. Over in Mason county, I asked Guy N7ZG to be the SSB station. Both these guys are experienced contesters with potent stations. Here, in King county, I will do the CW portion... what else? I have asked Dick W7UDH who helped out on CW Beach, if he could come over and help me. I have all my usual antennas and I put up a couple of NV,IS antennas for local contacts. I am going to miss my trip through eastern Washington. However, there is something said for sleeping in one's own bed. Hope we work you. It won't be for a lack of trying.

So the newbies are now asking... what's this Salmon Run thing? It's a contest where Hams across the country and parts of the world try to work Washington State Hams. They get credit for each county and a major effort is made to work all 39 counties. (Mind you, some of our county's have a Ham population of less than a hundred and are rarely on the air.) Alas, this is a HF thing but if you are a Tech, maybe you could find a partner with a General license or above. The rules for this event can be found at: Salmon Run Rules This event runs the same weekend as the Club meeting but runs most of the day Saturday and a good part of Sunday. Plenty of time to play. Oh, if you win, you get more than a certificate. There will be Smoked Salmon coming in the mail. p.s. feel free to drop by N7WA and check us out.

Correction With egg on my face, the picture of the ARRL President on Page 9 of the August Relay should say Rick K5UR, not Mark. This is one way I find out who actually reads the Relay- ed Mike & Key ARC General Meeting Saturday, August 19th, 2017 at 10:00 am Gene Coulon Park, Renton, WA Opening: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am by the President, Dave Smith KB7PSN. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Members and guests were introduced. Announcements: The Mike & Key ARC is affiliated with the ARRL, which members are encouraged to join. Everyone - including visitors - should sign the rosters. Visitors are reminded not to vote on membership matters. Officer Reports: President - Dave Smith KB7PSN: Nothing to report. Secretary - Phillip Pia K7PIA: Nothing to report. Treasurer - Jim Kiniry KE7JIM: If you have dues to pay, see me. The books look great. Activity Manager - Jim Monson K7JGM: Good stuff for the Raffle today. Vice President – David Yarbrough WA7DY: A quorum is present. - Minutes: Peter Glaskowksy K4PNG moved to accept the minutes as published in the Relay; Jim Kiniry KE7JIM seconded the motion. The motion passed. Chairman of the Board - Tim Kane K7ANE: Nothing to report. Radio Officer - Hal Goodell N7NW: Nothing to report. Editor Reports: Relay Editor – Mike Dinkelman N7WA: Send in your articles and pictures. Webmaster - Jim Etzwiler KD7BAT: Nothing to report. Committee Reports: Membership – Rita Danielson KD7CNU: Nothing to report. Facilities and Publicity - Steve Cook KD7IQL (liaison): Not present. Education and Training - Robin Carter WA7BRI (liaison): This has been a great year so far. We have had 11 classes in 7 locations, and have passed 139 new hams for a total of 116 Technicians, 42 Generals, and 10 Extras. The July Muckleshoot class had 4 perfect scores and 90% missed 4

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questions or less. There is a Technician and a General class on September 9/16, 2017 in Ballard; a Technician class on September 23/30, 2017 in Beacon Hill; a Technician class on October 14 and 21, 2017 in Bellevue; a Technician and a General class on November 4/11, 2017 in Ballard; and a Technician class on December 2/11, 2017 in Issaquah. Public Service - Tom Helm WT7S (liaison): Nothing to report. Technical and Special Interest - Steve Marth WB7AAV (liaison): The APRS/Digital Summer Gathering is September 8th-10th at Valley Camp near North Bend. VE Exams - Scott Robinson AG7T: Four examinees were at the last session, with three earning their Technician licenses, and one amateur upgrading to General. The next VE Session will be taking place shortly, over at the Salvation Army. Old Business: - Michael KG7MX: There was a motion raised by Michael Hansen KG7MX for amendment of the Mike and Key Articles of Incorporation, authorization for the President to file the amended Articles with the Washington Secretary of State, and authorization of the President to file IRS Form 1023-EZ for 501(c)(3) recognition. The motion was seconded by Jim Kiniry KE7JIM, and was approved unanimously by the present Membership. [The motion was exactly stated as follows: “I move that the Club amend its Articles of Incorporation to consist only of the version published in the July 2017 Relay, and to authorize the President to file the amended Articles with the Washington Secretary of State, to be effective on filing, and to authorize the President to file on IRS Form 1023-EZ seeking recognition of the Club as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code by the IRS, and to do all things which he deems helpful to obtain recognition of the Club as tax-exempt under that section by the IRS, including changing the wording of the amendments to the Articles referred to above.”] New Business: Nothing was heard. Alligator Award: Jim K7JGM hands off the award to Steve WB7AAV. Good of the Order: Nothing was heard. Let’s have a great picnic! Closing: The next Mike & Key General Membership meeting is on the third Saturday of the month - September 16th at 10:00 am at the Salvation Army Building in Renton. The meeting was adjourned at 10:13 am. Guests: 2 Members: 43 ARRL Members: 31 Attested: Phillip E. Pia, K7PIA - Secretary.

Mike and Key ARC Board Meeting Tuesday, September 5th, 2017 at 7:15 pm Salvation Army Building, Renton, WA Officers Present: President Dave Smith KB7PSN, Secretary Phillip Pia K7PIA, Treasurer Jim Kiniry KE7JIM, Activities Manager Jim Monson

K7JGM, Radio Officer Hal Goodell N7NW (Absent: Vice President David Yarbrough WA7DY) Trustees Present: No. 1 Steve Cook KD7IQL, No. 2 Steve Marth WB7AAV, No. 3 Tim Kane K7ANE, No. 5 Robin Carter WA7BRI (Absent: No. 4 Tom Helm WT7S) Editors b: (Absent: Webmaster Jim Etzwiler KD7BAT, Relay Editor Michael Dinkelman N7WA) Visitors: Daniel Stevens KL7WM, Michelle Cross WB7AYU, James Wraalstad WQ7H Opening: The Chairman of the Board Tim Kane K7ANE called the meeting to order at 7:15 pm, with a quorum being present. Steve Cook KD7IQL moved to approve the minutes as published, with Robin Carter WA7BRI seconding; the motion passed. Officer Reports: Chairman of the Board - Tim Kane K7ANE: Nothing to report. President - Dave Smith KB7PSN : Tom Helm WT7S will not be present tonight. The amended Articles of Incorporation was filed and was recognized by the Washington Secretary of State, and the 1023-EZ application was filed with the IRS for 501(c)3 recognition. Vice President - David Yarbrough WA7DY: Not present. Secretary - Phillip Pia K7PIA: It was reported that he will not be at the next General Meeting due to the Salmon Run contest that weekend. James Wraalstad WQ7H will fill in as Secretary for that meeting. Treasurer - Jim Kiniry KE7JIM: The books are in order. Activities Manager - Jim Monson K7JGM: W7KVI will be presenting a program on baluns this month. Radio Officer - Hal Goodell N7NW: Work is ongoing on the 220 machine. The 2m repeater is working great. Editor Reports: Relay Editor - Mike Dinkelman N7WA: Not present. Webmaster - Jim Etzwiler KD7BAT: Not present. Committee Reports: Education & Training - Robin Carter WA7BRI: Deferred to Daniel Stevens KL7WM. - Daniel Stevens KL7WM: This year’s licensing and upgrade classes have been very successful. Upcoming courses include a Technician and a General class on September 9/16, 2017 in Ballard; a Technician class on September 23/30, 2017 in Beacon Hill; a Technician class on October 14 and 21, 2017 in Bellevue; a Technician and a General class on November 4/11, 2017 in Ballard; and a Technician class on December 2/11, 2017 in Issaquah.

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Membership – Tom Helm WT7S: Not present. Technical – Steve Marth WB7AAV: The Technical Net continues on Wednesday evenings at 7:30pm on the Club 2m repeater. The APRS/Digital Gathering at Valley Camp is this weekend. Public Service - Tim Kane K7ANE: The Public Service season is starting to wind down, although there are still some opportunities out there. Be sure to check the book or website for further event and contact information. - Dave Smith KB7PSN: The Salmon Days parade in Issaquah still needs ham volunteers. See the booklet for more information. Facilities – Steve Cook KD7IQL: Nothing to report. Flea Market - Hal Goodell N7NW: The reservations are in for next year at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. Picnic - Hal Goodell N7NW: The picnic was a great success, and we even had a quorum for the meeting! Thanks to everybody that came out to Gene Coulon Park. Old Business: - Dave Smith KB7PSN: Dave Yarbrough WA7DY has been working on the ARRL Special Service Club essay-style application. The Board agreed that it still needs a bit more work. New Business: - Dave Smith KB7PSN: A motion was made in regards to the Club’s annual ARRL Donation of $500, in that it should be split with $250 going to the Wilse Morgan Scholarship Fund and $250 going to the Spectrum Defense Fund; the motion was seconded by Steve Marth WB7AAV, and was subsequently passed by the Board. - Dave Smith KB7PSN: Some membership applications have been pending for quite a while (several months to a year or longer); a question was raised as to whether we should purge the long-pending applications, as the website states that a potential applicant must show up at a General Meeting within 90 days of the application for final approval by the Membership. Upon discussion, the Board agreed that one must attend a General Meeting within 120 days of the Board’s approval of the application; if one fails to show up within the 120 days, the application will be purged, and the applicant must apply again. - Jim Monson K7JGM: On behalf of the Vice President - there was one application for membership from Byron Howell KI7HKG of Puyallup. The Board approved the application. Good of the Order: - Robin Carter WA7BRI: Our Secretary Phil K7PIA was representing Amateur Radio at the Radio Club of Tacoma booth at the Puyallup Fair this last weekend. Kudos to him for being a great ambassador of the Amateur Radio Service. Closing: The next Board Meeting will be on Tuesday, October 3rd at 7:15 pm at the Salvation Army Building in Renton. There being no further business, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 7:55 pm. Attested: Phillip E. Pia K7PIA - Secretary.

Eclipse Travels submitted by Michael N7WA

Several years ago, I made a decision that Diane and I would try to see the total eclipse of August 21, 2017. The path of totality was within easy driving distance and Diane's sister and brother-in-law lived in Mollala, Oregon which was in the path of totality. They probably thought we were crazy when we claimed their guest room several summers ago. Of course, even as we were making plans, so was a large portion of the West Coast. At least, we had lodging arranged. Of course, you remember all the headlines about traffic headed to Oregon. All during the week prior to going to Oregon, we were getting advice that we were already too late. Even the news gave you that impression. Our plan was to head down Sunday morning about 1AM, visit and hob-knob with relatives Sunday, get a great night's rest, and watch the Eclipse Monday morning without complication. The trip home? Well, I had no high hopes for that being pain-free. And that is the way it worked. We put the two grand-daughters to bed early Saturday night and woke them at midnight and slept-walked them to the car. Everything else was already packed and we were on the road. Of course, three miles down the road, we realized we were missing something and we were headed back home. The second try was a success. The trip south to Oregon was a breeze. Not even a hesitation between Tacoma and Nisqually. I think we made it in record time arriving in Mollala about 4:30AM. We topped off at the local gas station "just in case". Parking at the in-laws, we just slept in the driveway about an hour until the sky brightened then Diane knocked on the front door. My brother-in-law was already up. We all just headed up to bed to catch up on a few more hours sleep. I am not sure the grandkids noticed much. Then, it was just a day of family. The kids played, the adults talked, and we even flew the drone.

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I did get a bit worried about the skies. When we arrived, the Sunday morning sky was clear. All day, high clouds moved in until early evening when they finally started clearing out. I still wasn't sure what Monday would bring. Monday brought clear skies and happy thoughts. As we headed out to where we would watch the eclipse, the town parks were full of people who had obviously been car camping. I think the population of the town doubled that morning. However, we arrived at our viewing location, outside of town, with plenty of time and had a big family breakfast. Everybody had glasses (that had been a point of worry) and the moon started chewing away at the sun right on time. Not really considering photography until just a couple days before. I didn't have the filters for taking pictures while the sun was out. However, I was setup for totality thanks to some advice from Ric K7RIC. As the time to totality ticked closer, the temperature dropped noticeably and the light and shadows got eerie. I remember thinking, as just a small bit of the sun was left, "this is what Seattle is seeing". Then the lights went out and I couldn't see anything. Duh! take off the eclipse glasses Mike. There it was, totality. The corona was very evident and beautiful. Taking pictures became secondary and I fumbled a bit in the dark. The time went by so fast and then, the sun started to reappear. The back end of the eclipse was almost anticlimactic as daylight returned and temperatures rose. The noise of traffic out on the nearby country road went up noticeably. After the sun had returned to full normal, it was time to go (after a quick group photo in our solar glasses).

We headed back to the in-laws to pack up and check the traffic web-sites. Strangely, the web-sites didn't look too bad for traffic. We hurried to get to the main highway and immediately realized we were going nowhere. It took us 20 minutes just to get turned around. Obviously, the web-sites had been slow to update but by the time we got back to the in-laws, EVERYTHING was red. We spent the day visiting some more, the kids went swimming, and we treated our hosts to dinner out. About 7PM, the web-sites showed traffic moving. It was time to try again. This time, we made it out of town. We even made it up to Washington in reasonable time. However, I-5 north of Vancouver was a brick wall. We think we averaged about 20 MPH all the way to Centralia where it finally busted loose. I was amazed at the number of out of state plates I saw travelling home. I won't mention the one rest area I stopped at except to say Wow!. Again, the grandkids just slept through it all. We got them home around 1AM and we got home 30 minutes later. Yeah, I went to work at my usual time just a few hours later. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

*** Epilog: When I got back, I sent Ric K7RIC my pictures. I was surprised to get some back. When I had talked to Ric, he hadn't decided whether to go. He did finally head for the Salem area. He sent me some pictures back outside of totality. Now, I knew from our discussions at the picnic that Ric didn't have solar filters either. How did you do that Ric? Seems Ric sacrificed a pair of solar glasses and used a bit of gaffers tape. It worked out very well. Cool!

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Summer Picnic 2017

Apparently, I forgot about the Picnic photo's I took. (I was busy thinking about the Eclipse). Not being in my camera but on my phone, they didn't come to my attention until just now. That is now rectified. If you have a gmail account,

you can also add your own pictures or I can add them for you. These and more at https://photos.app.goo.gl/5SOTvqRqjMXrxivv1

Don't forget, you can zoom in on the e-Relay pictures

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Calendar SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2017 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

10 (September)

11

12

13 Mike & Key

Technical Net 7:30pm 146.82

14 15

16

10:00–M&K Club Mtg

12:30- M&K Ham Radio Exams Contact: Scott—ag7t@arrl.net [Salvation Army- Renton]

Salmon Run

17

18

19

20 Mike & Key

Technical Net

7:30pm 146.82

21 22

23

Autumn Leaf Festival Leavenworth

Contact: N7QLT

Washington State Convention

(Spokane Hamfest)

CQWW DX Contest, RTTY

24

CQWW DX Contest, RTTY

25 26 27 Mike & Key

Technical Net

7:30pm 146.82

28

29

30

1(October)

2

3 Board Meeting

7:15PM Salvation Army

4 Mike & Key

Technical Net 7:30pm 146.82

5

6

7 Salmon Days

Issaquah Contact: N7QLT

8

9

10 Fleamarket

Meeting 7:15PM

Dinkelman's

11 Mike & Key

Technical Net 7:30pm 146.82

12 13 Newsletter

Articles Due

14

15 16 17 18 Mike & Key

Technical Net

7:30pm 146.82

19 20 21 10:00–M&K Club Mtg

12:30- M&K Ham Radio Exams

Contact: Scott—ag7t@arrl.net [Salvation Army- Renton]