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FARS Meeting Programs - 2018 [2017] [2018] [2019]Friday January 19, 2018 - FARS Winter BanquetThe Originals of Silicon Valley
Mike Adams
Mike Adams has been a radio personality and a film maker.
Currently he is professor emeritus of radio, television, and film at San Jose State University, where he has been a department chair and the Associate Dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts.
Adams has taught at the Shanghai Theatre Academy School of Television and Film. As a researcher and writer of broadcast and early technology history, he created two award-winning documentaries for PBS, the Emmy-nominated “Radio Collector,” and “Broadcasting’s Forgotten Father.” Mike is the Board Chair of the California Historical Radio Society, CHRS. For his service to historical radio research and publication he received the AWA (Antique Wireless Association) Houck Award, the SCARS (Southern California Historical Radio Society) President’s Award, the TCA (Tube Collectors of America) Stokes Award, the RCA (Radio Club of America) Ralph Batcher Award, and he was named a CHRS History Fellow. He has had published numerous articles and six books, including Lee de Forest, King of Radio, Television and Film, 2012, Springer Science, The Radio Boys and Girls: Radio, Telegraph, Telephone and Wireless Adventures for Juvenile Readers, 1890-1945, McFarland Press, 2015, and Columbus Radio, Arcadia, 2016. Friday February 23, 2018 - Membership Meeting[W6KWF] ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Not Shown: Building Your First Repeater Kenneth Finnegan, W6KWF Countless radio amateurs use repeaters on a daily basis, but what goes into one behind the scenes to get one on the air and keep it running? This is an overview of what’s involved in building amateur repeaters, and why you would (or wouldn't) want to build your own. Topics will include identifying the goals for a repeater, finding a radio site, and an overview of all the equipment needed to build a repeater.
Kenneth Finnegan, W6KWF was first licensed in 2008 while attending UC Davis studying mechanical engineering. After graduating with his BS, he transferred to Cal Poly SLO to get an MS in electrical engineering and became involved with the Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club - so involved that his master's thesis ended up being related to amateur radio: "Examining Ambiguities in the Automatic Packet Reporting System."
He now works as a Solar Applications and Test Engineer at a small solar cell supplier called Solar Junction where he tests record-breaking GaInNAsSb solar cells (cf. U.S. patent nos. 9,018,522 and 9,252,315 et al.) for a living. Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() RG-8X 50 ohm coax w/ PL-259 connectors - 50ft ![]() DBJ-2 Roll-up Dual Band J-Pole Antenna by Edison Fong, WB6IQN Friday March 23, 2018 - Membership Meeting[AF6TF] ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Not Shown:
Not Present: So You Want to do SOTA? Tim Fairbairn, AF6TF Tim Fairbairn, AF6TF is an avid hiker and HF operator who enjoys operating HF radio from remote wilderness locations, especially mountain peaks. Tim explains his adventures with Summits on the Air (SOTA). He talks about wonderfully lightweight gear and equipment but the real draw turns out to be the spectacular destinations.
Tim Fairbairn, AF6TF, has been involved in electronics since the 1970's.
He worked at Intel during college and now works in the audio/video industry, managing wireless microphone frequencies for multiple customers.
When his youngest child was about to enter college, Tim took up Amateur Radio and got his Technician license and call sign KJ6RNN.
He upgraded to general the next year.
His wife got interested and got her Technician license and call sign KK6FOW.
Somehow, the bug bit harder causing Tim to cram, pass Extra, and became AF6TF.
He was looking for ways to operate while outdoors when Bay-Net offered a simple hike to a local peak in a park.
Tim packed up his Icom IC-7000, 40Ah battery, and some long wires – basically taking his home station outside.
From that experience, Tim learned quickly the importance of using lightweight gear.
He has since become an experienced SOTA operator with many tales of adventures.
Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() Olympia iWork 51-Piece Tool Set ![]() RG-8X 50 ohm coax w/ PL-259 connectors - 25ft ![]() UCO Lumora LED flashlight and Collapsible Lantern with Dimmer ![]() Lux-Pro LP1100BL LED Flashlight ![]() UCO Clarus LED Flashlight and Collapsible Lantern Friday April 20, 2018 - Membership Meeting[WB6IQN] ![]()
Raffle (L-R): DMR – Digital Mobile Radio Ed Fong, WB6IQN This meeting is one week earlier than usual. It has been scheduled for the 3rd Friday instead of the usual 4th Friday of the month. Be sure to put the correct date on the calendar. Digital mobile radio (DMR) is a mode that is getting really popular. The radios cost about $100-$150 depending on the quality you want. All of them also have conventional FM. DMR is a full digital format that is interfaced via the Internet where one can talk 24/7 all over the world. The dream of working DX while sitting on your couch is here. Since DMR is an open system originally set up by Motorola there are over 15 manufacturers of DMR radios, both hand-held and mobiles. Learn how to get register as a DMR user, where to purchase a radio, how to program the radio and talk to the world without depending on propagation conditions. Ed Fong, WB6IQN, teaches RF Wireless Communications and I/O Design Fundamentals for UC Santa Cruz in Silicon Valley. He taught RF Wireless at UC Berkeley from 1998 to 2011. Ed is the owner of Ed’s Antennas https://edsantennas.weebly.com. More than 12,000 of his DBJ-1, DBJ-2, and TBJ-1 antennas have been sold to hams, commercial users, and agencies. These popular antennas have been featured in QST (March 2017, February 2003 and March 2007), CQ (Summer 2012), ARRL Antenna Compendium Vol 8, and ARRL VHF/UHF Antenna Classics. Ed’s past presentations to FARS were on single-sideband modulation (January 2023), ground-independent vertical antennas (August 2019), and DMR radio (April 2018). Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() APC Back-UPS BN650M1 650 VA, 360 W, 12-Ah battery ![]() Lux-Pro LP1100BL LED Flashlight ![]() UCO Clarus LED Flashlight and Collapsible Lantern Friday May 25, 2018 - Membership Meeting[AI6MS] ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Raffle (inset): Duplexers for Repeaters and How to Tune Them Marcel Stieber, AI6MS Marcel Stieber, AI6MS, will go through the basics of duplexers used in repeater systems. He explores the basics of duplexer types, modes of operation, and the simple tuning of a band-reject type duplexer. Come and learn about the "magic" inside these filters that make the world go round!
Marcel Stieber, AI6MS, was licensed on Cinco de Mayo in 2008 and upgraded to Extra in the summer of 2010.
He is an ARRL Life Member and a volunteer examiner who has helped license over 673 hams since 2009.
Marcel enjoys operating portable stations, APRS, ARDF, and unusual mobile operating (jetski or bicycle)!
He was appointed to the ARRL Committee on Youth by ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, in 2013. He served as the trustee and technical lead for the Cupertino ARES UHF repeater, W6TDM, which was rebuilt from W6KWF in 2014. He is the Technical Deployment Manager for the Cupertino ARES ARKnet Project which is building up a high-speed wireless intranet for the emergency responders in Cupertino. He operated portable as 9G5MS in Ghana, West Africa, during January-May 2013, where he worked with Medicine on the Move at Kpong Airfield and brought amateur radio to the classroom for the students at AvTech Academy in Kpong, Ghana. Marcel operated during the ARRL School Club Roundup as the first school to participate from Africa. When he’s not busy volunteering, Marcel works at Amazon Lab126 in Sunnyvale, CA. He remains active with his alma mater Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He serves on Cal Poly’s Electrical Engineering Industry Advisory Board, was president and is an Industrial Advisor to the Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club (www.W6BHZ.org). Marcel is active in community events, including providing communications for bike rides and triathlons, help at local repeater work days, assist several testing sessions each year, and a tower hand and RF technical advisor for event management companies and local repeater groups. The raffle 1st place winner chose the CS-580, so the QB25 and Ematic shall be recycled to future raffle(s). Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() UCO Clarus LED Flashlight and Collapsible Lantern Friday June 15, 2018 - Membership Meeting[K6EI] ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Not Shown: Using Field Day to Beta Test Your Next CQP Expedition Jim Petersen, K6EI The title says it all!
Jim Peterson, K6EI, has been a licensed radio amateur for over 40 years and enjoys CW, contesting, and operating portable.
He considers Field Day the high point of the year. FARS members will remember Jim's popular talks at past FARS meetings on “Rethinking Field day Outside the Box” March 2012, "Operating QRP" June 2006, "Commercial Antenna Shoot Out" February 2004, and "Zen and the Art of Top Band Operating" April 2003. The first place raffle winner chose the QB25 so the CS-580 and the Ematic shall be recycled to future raffles. Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() UCO Clarus LED Flashlight and Collapsible Lantern ![]() RG-8X 50 ohm coax w/ PL-259 connectors - 50ft Friday July 27, 2018 - Membership MeetingPARACHUTE MOBILE: Past-Present-Future Rob Fenn, KC6TYD So why do they jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Come and join us for an exciting and informative presentation where Rob will take you through nine years of Parachute Mobile. Using skydiving as a platform, discover the many unique projects that the members of Parachute Mobile have incorporated into each mission.
Rob Fenn, KC6TYD is active in PAARA.
When Parachute Mobile began, Rob was recruited as the Safety Officer. When the Team Coordinator position opened up Rob grabbed it and has handling all the coordinating, scheduling, and promoting. He is currently working as a paramedic with AMR in Santa Clara County. The first place raffle winner chose the QB25 so the CS-580 and the Ematic shall be recycled to future raffles. Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() UCO Lumora LED flashlight and Collapsible Lantern with Dimmer Friday August 24, 2018 - Membership Meeting[K6OIK] ![]()
Raffle (L-R): Dipole Resonance and the Mysterious Antenna Factor K Steve Stearns, K6OIK Dipoles and monopoles are examples of linear cylindrical antennas and are the foundation of amateur radio antennas at frequencies below 1 GHz. The theory of such antennas was developed in the first half of the 20th century. In this talk, Steve, K6OIK talks about dipole resonance, stored field energy, and why the resonant length of a half-wave dipole isn’t a half wavelength. The strange story of the ARRL’s mystery graphs of the shortening factor K will be told.
HF phone: Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net, 3,975 kHz LSB at 1900 Pacific time daily.
E-Mail: k6oik AT arrl.net Articles: /docs/k6oik Steve Stearns, K6OIK, started in ham radio while in high school at the height of the Heathkit era. He holds an FCC Amateur Extra and a commercial General Radio Operator license with Radar endorsement. He previously held Novice, Technician, and 1st Class Radiotelephone licenses. He studied electrical engineering at California State University Fullerton, the University of Southern California, and Stanford, specializing in electromagnetic theory, communication, engineering and signal processing. Steve worked at Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory in San Jose, California. He retired as a Northrop Grumman Technical Fellow. Steve is serving as vice-president of the Foothills Amateur Radio Society, and served previously as assistant director of ARRL Pacific Division. He has over 100 professional publications and presentations and ten patents. Steve has received numerous awards for professional and community volunteer activities. Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() Canon Pixma TS6020 Printer Color Printer/Scanner/Copier ![]() UCO Clarus LED Flashlight and Collapsible Lantern Friday September 28, 2018 - Membership Meeting![]()
Home Brew (L-R): ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Not Shown: FARS Annual Home Brew Contest 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 The first place raffle winner chose the QB25 so the HDTV and the Tablet shall appear in a future raffle. Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() ATYME 32 inch HDTV w/ builtin DVD player, connections: HDMI, USB, and A/V ![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() Velleman Solder Station full temperature contorl 300-385 degrees ![]() UCO Lumora LED flashlight and Collapsible Lantern with Dimmer ![]() RG-8X 50 ohm coax w/ PL-259 connectors - 50ft ![]() Voyager utility bag 12-inch nylon bag for tools or as a go kit ![]() COB lantern (Chip On Board) twice as bright as conventional LED lights Friday October 26, 2018 - Membership Meeting[K6OIK] ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Not Shown: How to Make Antenna Models Steve Stearns, K6OIK Steve, K6OIK, shows antenna modeling capabilities in real time. He demonstrates putting antennas on real terrain, cars, and planets with dielectric trees. He makes and runs the car model from scratch, duplicating the FEKO model featured in QST, October 2016, of a 2-meter whip on the roof of a car. Field animations shows where “hot spots” exist inside the car.
HF phone: Golden Bear Amateur Radio Net, 3,975 kHz LSB at 1900 Pacific time daily.
E-Mail: k6oik AT arrl.net Articles: /docs/k6oik Steve Stearns, K6OIK, started in ham radio while in high school at the height of the Heathkit era. He holds an FCC Amateur Extra and a commercial General Radio Operator license with Radar endorsement. He previously held Novice, Technician, and 1st Class Radiotelephone licenses. He studied electrical engineering at California State University Fullerton, the University of Southern California, and Stanford, specializing in electromagnetic theory, communication, engineering and signal processing. Steve worked at Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory in San Jose, California. He retired as a Northrop Grumman Technical Fellow. Steve is serving as vice-president of the Foothills Amateur Radio Society, and served previously as assistant director of ARRL Pacific Division. He has over 100 professional publications and presentations and ten patents. Steve has received numerous awards for professional and community volunteer activities. The winner chose the HDTV, so the QB25 and Ematic will be offered at future raffle(s). Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() ATYME 32 inch HDTV w/ builtin DVD player, connections: HDMI, USB, and A/V ![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() Cen-tech 3-in-1 Power Pack jump start a car or portable 12 volt power source. 17AH battery ![]() Nagoya HT Antenna dual band VHF/UHF with reverse SMA ![]() Gear Head PC Speakers nice speakers with built in amp ![]() HT Chest Pack Professional Handie Talkie chest pack ![]() COB lantern (Chip On Board) twice as bright as conventional LED lights Friday November 16, 2018 - Membership Meeting[KM6CSO] [KK6JVB] ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Not Present: AES Mesh Radio for Fire Communications and Emergency Responder Radio Coverage Systems (ERRCS) Daniel Tate,
KM6CSO [Meeting scheduled in Room 32 this month] Daniel and Tony explain mesh network and how encrypted radio mesh networks are used in fire protection and first responder operations. A mesh network is a distributed communication network that does not require base stations. Instead, messages pass from neighbor to neighbor. Somehow messages manage to find a path between two connected users. The advantage of mesh networks is they can be deployed quickly and without the cost or time needed to build fixed base station or repeater infrastructure. This makes mesh networks attractive for emergency or disaster communications at VHF and UHF frequencies as an alternative to HF NVIS communications. The nodes of a mesh network can be set up to digipeat messages without operators in the middle, as messages are relayed from node to node automatically. Daniel and Tony talk about their Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) Mesh Radio systems for Fire Communications and Emergency Responder Radio Coverage Systems (ERRCS). They give a basic overview of the technology and describe practical operation.
Daniel Tate, KM6CSO, is a Senior Systems Designer at Intrepid Electronic Systems.
Daniel has over 20 years of experience in Fire Protection and 4 years of experience in AES Mesh/ radio.
Tony Locatelli, KK6JVB, is Director of the ERRCS/DAS Division of Intrepid Electronic Systems. Tony has over 25 years of experience in Fire Protection and 5 years of experience in ERRCS and DAS. Tony holds a FCC General Radio Operator License (GROL). Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() ATYME 32 inch HDTV, connections: HDMI, USB, and A/V ![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() Nagoya HT Antenna dual band VHF/UHF with reverse SMA ![]() COB lantern (Chip On Board) twice as bright as conventional LED lights Friday December 14, 2018 - Membership Meeting[AE6TY] ![]()
Raffle (L-R):
Not Present: SimSmith Smith Chart Software: The Simple to the Sublime Ward Harriman, AE6TY Ward is the author and creator of the SimSmith Smith Chart software package. Ward presents a live demonstration of SimSmith in action and how it is used. He starts at the ground level aimed at the novice and progresses to advanced capabilities for the experienced user. The presentation starts with basic Smith Chart layout and utilization: plotting impedances, constructing circuits, exploring circuit element effects, importing load files, and analyzing system performance. Early versions of SimSmith were limited to single-frequency ladder networks, but the tool has evolved to analyze arbitrary networks at multiple frequencies. Ward demonstrates the more powerful features of SimSmith, which include multi-variable circuit analysis, backward Smith Chart operation, the construction and analysis of multi-frequency matching circuits, bidirectional circuit analysis, the construction and analysis of non-ladder circuits, and advanced plotting capabilities. For those wishing more, SimSmith is the subject of dozens of instructional videos available on YouTube.
Ward Harriman is a retired computer hardware engineer and ham radio enthusiast.
Mr. Harriman spent 25 years building Internet switching equipment at a variety of startup companies.
In 2005, Ward changed gears returning to the study of RF circuits and Digital Signal Processing. He obtained his extra class license (AE6TY). He has designed, built, programmed, and operated his own CW/QRP/SDR radio ever sense. Mr. Harriman is the author of SimSmith, a highly interactive RF circuit analysis tool. Ward spends much of his amateur radio time on expanding SimSmith’s capabilities and refining the user experience. The winner chose the QB25, so the HTDV and Ematic will be offered at future raffle(s). Other: Refreshments We will be raffling off prizes at this meeting:
![]() ATYME 32 inch HDTV, connections: HDMI, USB, and A/V ![]() Ematic Tablet/PC, Windows 10, 32G Flash and Wifi ![]() Opek HT Antenna dual band VHF/UHF with reverse SMA ![]() Lux-Pro LP1100BL LED Flashlight |