The FARS Relay

Volume 31, Number 11 - NOVEMBER 2001

November Meeting

November 30 - 7:30 - THIS IS THE FIFTH FRIDAY

Our meeting will be held at the Loyola School gym room (directions below) starting at 7:30 PM.

Calendar

2001

FARS - Club Calendar of Events - 2001 & 2002

November

December

2002

January

Livermore Swap Meet - 1st Sunday of each month at Las Positas College in Livermore, 7:00 AM to noon, all year. Talk in 147.045 from the west, 145.35 from the east. Contact Noel Anklam, KC6QZK, (510) 447-3857 eves.

FARS NET on 145.23 repeater Thursday nights at 8 PM.

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

The year is fast coming to an end and as you read this I hope each of you had a good Thanks giving. We do have much to be thankful for.

At our next meeting we will be voting for new officers and some new board members While this always seems like busy work it is a yearly function that is important to keep this club operating. I hope you will come and participate.

I have been president for five years and this is my last one. This last one has been a good one for the club because we held two classes and brought in many new people to Ham radio. I hope that each of you will continue to give your support to the new president and officers. One of the things that I encourage you to do this next year is get involved with Field Day and really make it great.

The Christmas season is upon us and I wish each of you a Joyous Christmas.

Please remember the banquet in January and get your reservations in to Shel.

de Jack WA6YJR

Secretary's Report

The FARS board held its monthly meeting on the evening of November 6, 2001. Members present were Jack, WA6YJR, Shel, N6RD, Larry, W6OD, David, KD6WRG, Omri, AA6TA, Steve, K6OIK, Herb, KF6BKL, Mikel, KN6QI, and Martin, KD6WJW.

David, KD6WRG, has agreed to be a nominee for a position on the board, as he will be retiring as editor of the Relay. The club will nominate Rich, W6APZ, for an ARRL award for his efforts in coordinating two very successful classes this year.

Martin, KD6WJW

CLUB INFORMATION

President: Jack Eddy, WA6YJR
Vice Pres. Steve Stearns, K6OIK
Treasurer: Shel Édelman, N6RD
Secretary: Martin Liberman, KD6WJW
Training Officer: Rich, W6APZ
Radio Officer: Omri Serlin, AA6TA
Newsletter: David Wilkes KD6WRG (See address below)

Board members: Howard Califf, KE6PWH, Dick Baldwinson N6ATD, Herb Davidson KF6BKL, Larry Moore KM6IU, Charles Arney KF6CUU, David Cooper KE6PFF, Mikel Lechner KN6QI

K6YA Station Trustee: Stan Kuhl, K6MA
FARS Web Page: www.fars.k6ya.org
FARS announcement mailing list is moderated, so you cannot reply directly to the list.

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The FARS Relay is the official monthly newsletter of the Foothills Amateur Radio Society Meetings are held at 7 PM on the fourth Wednesday of each month except January (Winter Banquet); and 3rd Wednesday in June, Nov. & Dec. Annual membership $20; family $25. Visitors are always welcome! Directions on the back page. Talk-in: N6NFI (145.23-, 100Hz) or W6ASH repeater (145.27 or 224.36). Contributions to the newsletter from members, family, and guests are earnestly solicited! Contributions subject to editing and/or compression. ASCII files via packet, Internet or diskettes preferred; but all readable forms welcome. Here is how to reach the editor:

Internet: dwilkes@svpal.org, davewilkes@aol.com
VHF voice: KD6WRG on N6NFI, 145.23- (100Hz PL) FARS net Thursdays 8PM; Various other times.
Mail: 1093 Kelly Drive San Jose CA 95129-3222
Voice: 408-996-1613 (Until 9 PM); Fax: 408-725-1036, and at FARS meetings.

Winter Banquet Details

Every reservation must show the full names and call signs (if any) of the reserver and guests, and their club affiliation.

All reservations and payments must be received by me on or before Wednesday, January 9, 2002.

Reservations and payments received or otherwise made after January 9, 2002 can not be accepted, and refunds can not be made after that date. This is a matter of restaurant policy, which states that we must give the restaurant the total count no later than a full week before the event, and that we are responsible for paying for all meals ordered at that time, whether or not the person shows up.

The restaurant can not readily handle more than about two meals for people who do not reserve ahead but show up at the banquet anyway; and if the restaurant is able to serve them, they may not be able to select the meal they want.

All reservations and payments are to be made directly through Shel, N6RD. Payment by bank check must accompany each reservation and must cover all meals reserved. All checks are to be made payable to FARS; I will decline to accept reservations paid with checks made out to any payee but FARS.

Reservations and payments must be mailed to:

Sheldon Édelman N6RD
2195 Columbia St.
Palo Alto, CA 94306

I can answer questions by phone: 650 493 7212 or email: n6rd@earthlink.net. I am rarely home on any night of the seven-day week; if the caller calls in the evening, they can leave a message.

We're all hoping for a good turnout and a smooth process. If you have questions, let me know.

- Shel N6RD

A SATURDAY MORNING OUTING

Several Saturday mornings ago, FARS hams gathered at K6OG (SK) George Raven's place to help N6NFI, Rolf, and his crew relocate George's tower to the N6NFI (5.23) Repeater site where it will replace the present antenna support.

Among the assisting members were Dick N6ATD, Omri AA6TA, Norm W6IQX, Charley KF6CUU, Martin KD6WJW, Jack KR6CD, Bob KD6VIO, Fred N6LZQ, and Arv WA6UUT. (Hope I didn't miss anyone!)

The tower was cranked down to its lowest height and the 40 meter dipole was removed by our able tower climber, Jack KR6CD. Several members disconnected the cables and rolled them up, and other members took the 2 meter Ringo Ranger antenna down from its chimney mount. The tower was carefully lowered part way using the built-in erector and the TH-5 Beam and the ICOM AH 7000 wide band cone antennas were removed and disassembled.

The tower was lowered to the ground and disconnected from the base. A dolly was tied under one end, and manpower lifted the other end to move it out to the street where it was loaded onto a pickup truck. It was taken to the repeater site where it was unloaded.

The antennas were taken to KF6CUU's place for storage until sold.

Many thanks to all the people who helped with the project. It was a learning experience, no one was hurt and several told me it was a fun morning.

Arv WA6UUT

Such a Deal!

I have accumulated several laboratory power supplies which should be great for experimenters. They have built-in meters for voltage and current. Typical supply is 0-20 V at .7 Amp. Some go to 40 V. Many are dual supplies which can be set to different voltages. A friend has a pair of Astron power supplies he would like to sell. These would be suitable for powering an xcvr. He also has a set of HamStick mobile antennas for most HF bands.

Contact AA6PZ (650) 941-7821 email: AA6PZ at arrl.net

Paul

One of Our Boys Made It

FARS vice president Steve Stearns, K6OIK, was appointed Assistant Director of the American Radio Relay League's Pacific Division. The appointment was announced by Pacific Division Director Jim Maxwell, W6CF, on November 2. In his new role, Steve will be advising the League on technical matters such as the interference potential of new wireless communication devices and systems.

Steve's Stuff

Engineering Unit Conversions

[Steve didn't say where he got the above. He left out one of my favorites: Two heterosexual lesbians = one paradox. I am going to use the “Weight an evangelist carries with God” at a few Solstice parties DW]

This is a very handy FCC site to bookmark: gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/genmen/index.hts

The Ham Radio USA site, www.hamradiousa.com is in the spirit of ham radio. I especially like the ham radio museum pages which parade a series of classic boat anchors with musical accompaniment.

Congratulations go to Vinh Nguyen, KG6GXR, of Boy Scout Troop 31, for completing all requirements for merit badges in Electricity, Electronics, and Radio. Vinh took the FARS May/June Technician class, got his Technician license, and went on to complete the merit badge triple crown. Vinh gives his personal thanks to Omri, AA6TA, for lending him a shortwave receiver needed to do Radio merit badge. Good job Vinh !

- Steve, K6OIK

Elections

FARS Board Candidates

Other candidates are most welcome, especially since some of the club officers have been doing this for a long time. Nobody's feelings will be hurt. I hope the following list is complete.

President Michael KN6QI
Vice Pres. Steve K6OIK
Secretary Martin KD6WJW
Treasurer Shel N6RD
Radio Officer Omri AA6TA
Training Officer Open
Newsletter Shel N6RD
Board Members
David KE6PFF
David KD6WRG

Communication Problem?

The Times of London reports the FBI is using psychics in an attempt to predict terrorist attacks. Our very own Stanford Research Institute used these same psychics as part of a failed (I wonder why?) remote viewing project for US intelligence. This does not give me a very secure feeling.

DW
turkey

How to get to meetings:

(Visitors always welcome)

FARS meets at the offices of the Los Altos Town Crier. The Town Crier is located at 138 Main Street in Los Altos, close to where Main and State Streets converge. Street parking should be available on both Main and State; in addition, there is off-street parking behind the building, accessible from State Street.

USE THE BACK ENTRANCE to the building, accessible from State Street and the off-street parking lot; the front entry via Main Street will be locked. We will be meeting in the conference room on the second floor.

TALK-IN via the 145.230- (100Hz PL) repeater.

To get a map and driving directions go to the FARS web site www.fars.k6ya.org and click on “meetings.” Click on the link in the meeting notice for a map and to obtain specific driving directions.

Map of Los Altos Town Crier

Copyright © 2001 by FARS