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Orange County Radio Amateurs (OCRA) Newsletter

July 2007 From the Editor After all the preparation, planning, and discussion, Field Day 2007 is now behind us. You will find that a significant part of this month’s newsletter is dedicated to Field Day. There are comments from OCRA members and pictures from the event. Be sure to attend the OCRA July meeting to get a full debrief from Field Day activities and to share your input. Kudos to all who made OCRA Field Day 2007 a success! Please follow the monthly mantra by getting comfortable and taking time to read through your club's newsletter. And, remember -- Get radio active! Best regards, Laurie - N1YXU lbmeier@bellsouth.net __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary of the May 14th Meeting - The June meeting was focused on (yes, you guessed it) Field Day! There was quite a lot of

discussion regarding final preparations for the event. - Dan (KR4UB) also provided an update on the repeater. The power amp was scheduled to arrive

within about two weeks of the meeting. - The OCRA cup was passed from Dan to Ken for his excellent net control work. - Skip (N6LUZ) gave an update on the recent emergency drill with served agencies in the immediate

area. Many thanks to all amateur radio operators who participated in the drill. The amateur radio operators were very well received and congratulated for their efforts by the drill organizers. Thanks to Skip for his continued efforts in helping raise awareness of our emergency communications capabilities.

- Woody (K3VSA) solicited input from the group to determine how many people are interested in taking a tour of the WCHL facility. Several members are interested in the tour. Stay tuned for more details.

- Robert (N4ZAK) won the paper contest which was focused on (yes, you guessed it again!) Field Day! Congratulations to Robert!

The July OCRA meeting will be held on Monday, July 9, at the Sunrise Church beginning at 7:30 pm. Come join in the discussion and, who knows, you might even go home with a prize from the paper contest. The weekly Orange County ARES net meets on Saturdays at 9:30 am local on the W4UNC repeater [442.150MHz with a PL tone of 131.8Hz]. All licensed amateur radio operators are invited and encouraged to check in.

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__________________________________________________________________________________ President's QRM by Dave Snyder, W4SAR This year's Field Day was my most enjoyable one ever. This is due to the excellent cooperative effort of all the participants. Everyone cheerfully pitched in for both the set-up and tear-down of the field stations and camp structures. No one person had an overwhelming work load. We even started on time, well maybe a couple of minutes late for requisite oratory from our invited elected representative, Congressman David Price. The weather was very cooperative. We only had a little rain late Friday night after everyone had turned in. It was hot, but not oppressively humid as in some past occasions. The propagation proved challenging at the higher frequencies. Lower bands did better than usual for daytime performance in the summer. For instance, on my Digital station, I found no activity whatsoever on 15 meters, which usually was the second best band after 20 meters. However, PSK31 was booming on 40 meters for the full 24 hours. Previously only a few night time contacts were made. I was especially delighted to find that the daytime ground-wave propagation for 80 M SSB on Saturday was reaching all the way to Ohio and New Jersey. That really helped bring up the QSO count. More than one visitor commented on how friendly and enthusiastic the operators were, and they were made to feel welcome. Everyone present receives congratulations for making FD a success. I'd like to single out a few (without intending to slight anyone else) for their extra efforts: Woody, K3VSA- Outstanding job as our Public Information Officer. We did get some press coverage, and Congressman David Price toured our site and cut the ribbon to start our operations. Dee and MK Ramm- They ran the finest Field Day canteen operation. Everyone was kept well fed and well hydrated. Band captains were allowed to concentrate on running stations, and I'm sure this was a big help in running up points. Meg, KI4LLL- Probably the hardest station to run is the GOTA station. The captain has to act as a coach and can't play! Meg very patiently coached our young operators and a few new operators, and has kept detailed logs so we can run up those bonus points. Ken, KR4FM- Ken gets special mention for showing grace under extreme pressure. Maddeningly, the 20M PSK31 station was tripping its PTT but putting out zero wattage! Despite the troubleshooting efforts of several experienced hams, the problem was not resolved until Sunday morning. Ken did not ever lose his temper and even came over to work some contacts on the multi-band digi station on Saturday. As I said everyone deserves applause for their hard work. Preliminary point totals as of press time will be printed below. I ask that the band captains please submit their logs to me no later than the next OCRA meeting. I can accept text files via e-mail at <snyde006@mc.duke.edu>, faxes to my attention at 668-2587, or hand delivered hard copy at the meeting. I no longer can handle floppy discs, but CD-ROMS are good. As of the time of submission of this article (June 28), here is the preliminary raw score: [Editor’s note: No further updates were received as of the time of newsletter publication.] 80M Phone: 174 = 870 points

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20M Phone: 67 = 335 points 6M Phone: 12 = 60 points 40M CW: 210 = 2100 points 20M CW: 101 = 1010 points Multi-band Digital: 85 = 850 points 20M Digital: 15 = 150 points Additional bonus points: Public location: 100 Media announcement: 100 Information booth: 100 Elected public official 100 Served agency official: 100 Emergency power on all primary stations: 800 5+ contacts on VHF: 100 5+ solar-powered only contacts (40CW): 100 4 operators under 18yo: 100 FD bulletin (copied on PSK31): 100 Total points so far: 6875 I'm awaiting QSO counts for the 40/15 phone station, 10 M phone, and the GOTA station, which depending on the operator breakdown will also pull in a few more bonus points. Again my thanks to all of you, I'm already looking forward to next year! __________________________________________________________________________________ Monthly Technical Article – Everybody Has an Ammeter, Already by Steve Jackson, KZ1X I picked up almost all of my 31 years' best experience about ham radio from other hams, hams who had what I would consider to be “successful” stations. These were not always the stations with the fanciest looking furniture, or the top-scoring contest stations, or the latest radios, or the most bands or power, or the biggest towers and beams. Some did have those attributes! And I was lucky to grow up in an area that was pretty densely populated with capable hams, who were willing to show some kid "the ropes”. When I looked at these successful stations and wanted someday to emulate from them, as a better word than '"successful" ... what I was looking for was "clever”. I sought things that stood out to me, which showed some kind of advanced thought, and which gave that station a special difference, somehow. Over the years, I have taken these ideas from others and tried to incorporate them into my own operation. This article attempts to share just one bit of this accumulated experience by describing the single “shack accessory” I think is most important. Since the advent of the all-solid-state radio, that accessory is an ammeter.

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Your shack probably already has the most popular form of an ammeter. Most everyone does! It is called a “fuse”. A fuse is a special kind of ammeter. Of course, it operates just once. If you have a 5 ampere fuse, and it blows, what you can be certain of is that the circuit connected to it drew more than 5 ampere at least for a brief while. What is even better about this kind of ammeter is that it can help prevent something worse from happening. It sacrifices itself, a kind of gamble, where the low-cost fuse is traded for the protection value it gives to something more costly. Even though your first reaction to a fuse blowing is annoyance, the next two reactions are much more valuable. They usually are: -- relief (gee, I'm glad I had that fuse in line!) -- wonder (gee, what happened that made the fuse blow?) Of course, these reactions could happen in reverse order, but, you get the idea. The difference between a ham's fuse blowing versus a lay person's, is that the lay person simply puts a new fuse in. The ham seeks to know WHY it blew before replacing the fuse ... partly because we are cheap. Who wants to waste a fuse? And, wouldn't it be great to be able to see the near-fuse-blowing events, instead of just the end result? How big should a fuse BE, anyway? (Before you ask: I am not going to talk about circuit breakers. DC circuit breakers, for the sorts of applications where they would directly replace radio fuses, are not common.) You may ALSO already have the SECOND-most popular form of an ammeter, in the guise of a multimeter. One of the modes of operation of most multimeters is an ammeter. Usually, you have to move the test leads to a specific configuration to use the current measurement mode of a multimeter. The shack accessory I am describing is an ammeter that would be left “in-line” all the time and which would show you what “normal” was (or several states of “normal”) so that you can easily see when something wasn't “normal”. I don't want to wait for a fuse to blow before I learn that something's out of whack, and you probably don't either. Solid-state radios, which usually run from a shack 13.8V DC supply, are “Creatures of Current” as I like to describe them. If the voltage applied stays the same (such as from a common regulated power supply), then the amount of current the devices draw is really a terrific indicator of what's going on with the “health” of that device. Each state of a transceiver's operation (receive with no signal, receive with signal, transmit, no modulation, transmit with modulation, et cetera) has a different current signature associated with it. The amount of current the set draws is typically the same every time the radio is in that state. So: Why not just use an inexpensive digital multimeter as the basis for a shack main ammeter? Unfortunately, the ammeter function of many multimeters is not always geared for use as more than a short-term way of measuring static amounts of current flow. Most ham-shack digital multimeters don't have the range, resolution, or display attributes needed to give the sort of information you want in those near-fuse-blowing experiences. So using one for that purpose isn't the best way to get a good, permanent ammeter for the shack. Actually, the best way to get a shack ammeter is to use a voltmeter. By measuring the small voltage

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drop across a wire in series with the load, you can directly measure the current flowing. Ohm's Law is great! The wire section where the measured voltage drop occurs is called a shunt. Packaging a suitable voltmeter display and the simple circuitry needed is the lion's share of the effort of putting in a dedicated shack ammeter. At this point, one can investigate doing a project like this on his/her own, as everyone's needs for size, range, etc., will be somewhat different. To follow up with the idea, here are some useful web sites for your perusal: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_8/4.html http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/Ammeter.html http://www.rc-electronics-usa.com/current-shunt.html http://www.gibsonteched.com/ck149.html For a future club project, I am considering designing a kit for a shack ammeter that has a pair of Anderson PowerPole connectors on it ... one pair for power “in” and one for “out” ... and inside the box would be a shunt good enough for up to 30A or so. On the front would be a fast-reading, peak-holding bar graph type voltmeter, calibrated in Amperes. If you are interested in such a club project, the minimum practical quantity for a kit is probably 100 units. OCRA could sell the kits, as some other clubs do, in order to get the quantity high enough so that the unit price goes down to a reasonable level. I am thinking $40 is a good price, but I have NO idea if that's possible to do at 100 units. Just a thought. Let me know if this sounds interesting to you. Field Day Comments and Observations By Mark Lunday, WD4ELG

My first with OCRA, and my first since 1981 when I was a youngster. What a blast! I was most impressed by the courtesy and comraderie with teamwork. I have not observed this in other clubs.

Some observations: The Elecraft rigs are simply superb - low power drain, great receive on CW. Steve Jackson's K1

was a joy for me to operate. Never underestimate the value of a nice, mosquito-proof tent (thank you, Ken!) We have some GREAT folks in our club - patient, caring, helpful to others. I am just learning

everyone's names, but EVERYONE went out of their way to make me feel welcome We have some very smart folks in our club, who put together interesting antennas or solved

logistical problems during the event 5 watts into a folded dipole at 32 feet DOES WORK for field day Antenna proximity can interfere with other stations on the same band (sorry Jim and the guys on 40

SSB who still did a super job of 100+ QSO's even with our CW coming in over their audio!) Nobody got hurt, and there were very few bug bites No equipment was damaged (or animals harmed in the making of this movie)

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Dee cooks some great grill food! Despite the fatigue, the site disassembly was a full-team effort; noone bugged out It seemed like everyone from the club was at the site at one time or another, helping to operate or

solve problems or lend moral support Steve's pneumatic tennis launcher and Adriano's hunting bow are invaluable! (Steve, I need you to

come over to my QTH some weekend! I will gladly pay for the air and your time to help raise an 80 meter dipole for me!)

Paper logs and dupe sheets may be archaic, but they work (esp since this is how I learned to contest!)

"Caribener" Chris was critical to the antenna raising with the bucket truck Even at the bottom of the solar cycle, there is activity on 10 meters (nice job, Robert, working

KP4...1400 miles that's LONG single hop sporadic E) Meg is a born leader and terrific with the kids for the GOTA station; this should be a recurring

station A positive attitude can overcome setbacks and still lead to positive results (Ken succeeded on 20

meter PSK after many hours trying to get his PSK station to work; I never heard him utter a cross word or express frustration during the entire event. Dave on 20 CW, when given lemons - rig not working, tribander not working - made lemonade with an alternate antenna and backup rig and made lots of QSO's)

How terrific to have an elected official cut the ribbon for our event = REP Price. THAT would be a great pic for ARRL in the results section

Russ and Adriano are great story tellers!

Thoughts for next year: Would it be better to not use G5RV antennas, since they are prolific radiators? Maybe resonant

dipoles? (Sorry if this is my ignorance on this one, I am thinking that resonant single-band antennas might help with the interference problem)

I noticed some excellent use of supporting trees; can we do more of that next year and keep the antennas better separated?

I am taking a few days off before and after the event next year. I am not the youngster from 1981, and I need to better prepare for the event and its recovery.

Our media coverage was minimal; what can we do to make it better? Somehow I missed out on the piece where we coordinated with Orange County disaster response. I

saw the vehicles; other than the EMS folks in our club, did someone else from Orange County show up?

The park site is great. Can we use that one next year? If so, maybe in the part of the field closer to the Sunrise Church do we get more interest?

Did anyone have a chance to copy the W1AW bulletin? Easy 100 points, I forgot to do it but I will get it next year.

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Pictures from OCRA Field Day 2007

Friday Set-up

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Official Start to Field Day – Congressman, David Price

Field Day Operations

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Food, Fun, and Friends

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___________________________________________________________________________________________________ OCRA Officers Dave Snyder, W4SAR - President Woody Woodward, K3VSA - Vice President Dan Eddleman, KR4UB - Treasurer Laurie Meier, N1YXU - Secretary