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FARS Meeting Programs - 2015 [2014] [2015] [2016]Friday January 23, 2015 - FARS/PAARA Winter BanquetPlan, Organize, and Enjoy a DXpedition Rich Seifert, KE1B Recently returned from an DXpedition to Anguilla. Rich (KE1B) and Anna (W6NN) have raised Holiday DXpeditioning to an art form. Over the past 4 years, they have traveled to numerous destinations in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and coastal Africa in search of fine food, great beaches, and massive pileups. Rich will explain the logistics involved in arranging their excursions, along with a detailed look into his “DXpedition-in-a-Box” portable radio system. Combining lots of photographs from their travels, stories of their adventures in searching for exotic cuisine and fun, and insight into working the pileups from “the other side,” this talk will show you a fun way to enjoy our hobby, and possibly encourage you to venture out on your own DXpedition. Bio:Rich Seifert (pronounced SEE-furt)(KE1B) has been a ham since 1968, when he was first licensed as WN2DLJ in New York City. He obtained his Extra Class license in 1970. After moving to Massachusetts and changing his call to KE1B, he went QRT in 1982, focusing on his professional career. Although he didn't make a QSO for 25 years, he remembered to keep his license current. He rekindled his interest in the hobby in 2007, and has been very active ever since. Rich is primarily a DX'er and contester, but has been known to chew the rag and operate QRP from time to time. Friday February 27, 2015 - Membership MeetingCW Skimmer and the Reverse Beacon Network: What It Can Do for You Even If You Never Operate CW Bob Wilson, N6TV Bob Wilson (aka “TV Bob”) explains CW Skimmer and the Reverse Beacon Network. These two elements work together to provide real time monitoring and reporting of HF propagation path openings. The resulting database represents real time “nowcasting” as opposed to “climatological” propagation predictions like VOACAP gives. Hence the data is useful to operators as opposed to communication planners. Bio:Bob Wilson, N6TV, is an active CW contester and Win-Test logging software supporter. Licensed for over 40 years, Bob competed at the World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) in San Francisco (1996), Slovenia (2000), and Moscow (2010). He earned numerous Top Ten finishes in the CW NA Sprints from his home station in Silicon Valley, a small suburban lot with a single tower loaded with monobanders. He finished first in the September 2014 CW NA Sprint. Bob was an early adopter of the Perseus SDR and CW Skimmer, and has recently been analyzing signal reports using data from the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN). He joined K2KW's original "Team Vertical" group (6Y4A, 4M7X), and has been a member of the multi-op teams at HC8N, K3LR, and W7RN. Bob finished first in the 2013 ARRL CW Sweepstakes Contest, operating at W7RN. Friday March 27, 2015 - Membership MeetingGround is A Myth! Kristen McIntyre, K6WX Ground is something you stand on, but in an electrical sense, the meaning is much less clear. When it comes to Hams and ground, things get really confused. We drive rods into the earth, but why? Let's take a look at whether any of this makes sense, and what theory tells us about “ground”, and if it exists in any sensible way at all. We'll talk about DC grounds, RF grounds, and even about gravity. Bio:Kristen McIntyre, K6WX, has been interested in radio since she was five years old. As a youth, she built many radio kits including her favorite: a one-tube radio kit. Friday April 24, 2015 - Membership MeetingAmateur Radio at the American Red Cross of Silicon Valley George Williams, N6NKT Did you ever wonder where our local chapter of the American Red Cross is located, what the chapter does, what geographic area it serves, or what emergency communications capabilities it has? George Williams, N6NKT, will tell us about the in's and out's of our local Red Cross - including describing the facility's evolving emergency communications operations center. Bio:Friday May 22, 2015 - Membership MeetingThe K1N DXpedition to Navassa Island John Miller, K6MM John Miller, K6MM, presents an overview of the DXpedition to Navassa Island, one of the most inaccessible and inhospitable territories of the United States, which presented exceptional logistical challenges. This DXpedition was awarded “DXpedition of the Year” at the Dayton Hamvention DX Dinner last week.
DXpedition website: navassadx.com John Miller, K6MM, was first licensed as WV2BQJ in 1958 while living in Syracuse, NY. In 1976, his career took him to Silicon Valley, where he reconnected with amateur radio in the late 90s. Since then he has focused heavily on DXing, contesting, and recruiting new operators into the hobby. John is a DXCC Honor Roll member, holding 8-Band DXCC (he is working on completing 160M for a 9th band). His article “The No Excuses 160M Vertical” won the QST cover plaque award for the June 2009. Friday June 19, 2015 - Membership MeetingTo be Announced Friday July 24, 2015 - Membership MeetingDigital Modes in Amateur Radio Mikel Lechner, KN6QI Amateur radio interests include: operating PSK31, QRP CW on 40 meters, 2-meter / 440Mhz FM, packet, and packet satellites, and building homebrew equipment and kits. Friday August 28, 2015 - Membership MeetingThe Joy of Matching Steve Stearns, K6OIK Oh, the joy of being a match maker! We are going to match couples. Maybe even triples! Is that legal? But no singles. That's no fun. Steve, K6OIK will focus on multi-band matching - all nicely explained on a Smith chart with no math. Woo hoo! Steve's presentation is available online. Bio:HF phone: Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net, 3,975 kHz LSB at 1900 Pacific time daily. Friday September 25, 2015 - Membership Meeting![]()
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Not Present: Annual Amateur Radio Homebrew Contest [Meeting scheduled in Room 32 this month] This meeting is about you. Yes you, our members and guests. Our Annual Amateur Radio Homebrew Contest is a opportunity to show off a project that you have worked on in the past year. Each participant has a few minutes to show and explain his project to our audience and has a chance to win one of our four prizes: $40 First prize Friday October 23, 2015 - Membership Meeting[KI6BDR] ![]()
Raffle (L-R): Maximum Permissible Exposure Limit versus Near Field Radiation from a 2-Meter Mobile Antenna Keith Snyder, KI6BDR Every ham knows that a car is a Faraday cage that protects you from RF exposure, right? Wrong! Every ham knows that dipoles and monopoles have no end-fire radiation, so if you sit directly under the whip on your car's roof, you are in a null and therefore safe, right? Wrong! Ever since the FCC published OET Bulletin 65 and Supplement B in 1997, all Amateur Radio operators have been required to do station evaluations to assure that RF exposure does not exceed maximum permissible exposure limits. But short of doing direct measurements, how safe are you inside your car when you operate on 2 meters through a roof top monopole? Keith Snyder, KI6BDR, has done extensive computer calculations of electric field, magnetic field, and power density field inside the typical car. The answer may surprise as Keith shows how to avoid winning a Darwin Award for making cooked ham. Tonight's presentation will show the power of computers to safely harness your RF power. This membership meeting is our nomination meeting where we are nominating directors for the FARS board of directors. Members are encouraged to attend so they can make nominations for the board of directors. Bio:Keith Snyder, KI6BDR, is a master power user of the FEKO numerical electromagnetics code for antenna modeling and analysis. He started using FEKO 23 years ago as user no. 8 in the U.S. and no. 1 at Northrop Grumman. Friday November 20, 2015 - Membership Meeting[WB6IQN] ![]()
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Not Present: The TBJ-1: A Tri-Band Antenna for 2 meters, 220 MHz, and 70 cm without Radials Ed Fong, WB6IQN [Meeting scheduled in Room 32 this month] Ed Fong, WB6IQN, has done it again! Ed presented his dual-band DBJ-1 and DBJ-2 antennas to FARS ten years ago, in October 2005. These antennas became highly popular after their publication in QST (DBJ-1 in February 2003 and DBJ-2 in March 2007) and CQ (Summer 2012). Not content to stop, Ed, decided to attempt a tri-band version. The goal was to make a slender antenna that would fit inside a single PVC pipe with nothing protruding. Ed wrestled with numerous design concepts before finding a novel solution. The tri-band TBJ-1 operates on 2 meters, 1.25 meters, and 70 cm. Ed has also made custom variations for different three bands. This membership meeting is our election of directors meeting where we elect new directors and re-elect ongoing directors for the FARS board of directors. Members are encouraged to attend so they can participate in this important function. Bio:
Friday December 18, 2015 - Membership MeetingGeomagnetic Disturbances Richard J. Lordan, Richard Lordan will speak about EPRI's research in Geomagnetic Disturbances (GMDs). Radio Amateurs know that the sun affects ionospheric radio wave propagation. The sun also creates geomagnetic disturbances, a source of HF radio noise. But GMDs also create voltage surges in power transmission lines capable of knocking power utilities off the grid and causing power blackouts. EPRI is a leader in power industry research to understand, monitor, and mitigate the effects of GMDs on power systems. Richard Lordan will talk about the network of magnetic sensors that the power industry has deployed to monitor GMDs. His comments on the protection of power system towers, lines, and equipment will suggest steps you can take to protect your station equipment during geomagnetic storms. |