Copyright © 1996 by EMARC

MAY MEETING

-- Andy, AC6GN

We heard him at Pacificon. His talk is interesting even for those who have no interest in amateur radio but are interested in travel or far away places. A DXpedition requires a lot of planning, interaction with government entities and a willingness to deal with the strange and unexpected. Bring the kids and significant others.

-- David, KD6WRG

CLUB STATION OPERATIONS

de Omri, AA6TA

-- DW

FIELD DAY

• Organize/operate the novice station.
• Set up crew - June 21 & 22.
• Take down crew - June 23.
• Organize the BBQ - June 22.
• Operators, loggers, etc. for CW, SSB, Satellite, Packet for 40M thru 70cm. June 22 & 23.
• Other activities not enumerated here.

Paul Zander, AA6PZ paulz@vid.hp.com

Mikel Lechner, KN6QI mikel@netcom.com

LAST MINUTE ITEMS

The recent newsletters are on the club Web page.

50 Megahertz and Up site: de Rich, W6APZ

www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/n_ca_vw1.html

If that doesn't work, there is a directory if you type everything up to "rasmit". In desperation, you can send email to Jeff Pawlan at jpawlan@pawlan.com

Have questions about amateur radio? Open House at the club station is a good place to ask them. It also helps to come early to the club meetings. There is always someone there who will be willing to help.

EMARC announcement mailing list is moderated, so you cannot reply directly to the list. To subscribe, send the word "subscribe" to: emarc-request@ham.yak.net; For help, send the word "help" to majordomo@ham.yak.net; For human assistance, email to: human@ham.yak.net.

The EMARC Relay is the official monthly newsletter of the Electronics Museum Amateur Radio Club. Club meetings are held at 7 PM on the fourth Friday of each month except January (Winter Banquet); and 3rd Friday in June, Nov. & Dec. Annual membership $20; family $25. Visitors are always welcome! Directions on the back page. Talk-in: W6APZ (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 are the various ways to reach the editor:

Packet: KD6WRG@N0ARY.#NOCAL.CA
Internet: dwilkes@svpal.org
CompuServe: 71242,3255
AOL: davewilkes
VHF voice: KD6WRG on W6APZ, 145.23- (100Hz PL) 10AM net weekdays
EMARC net Thursdays 8 PM; Various other times.
Mail: 1093 Kelly Drive San Jose CA 95129-3222
Voice: 408-996-1613 (Until 9 PM)
Fax: 408-725-1036
Eyeball: at EMARC meetings.

SECRETARY'S REPORT

EMARC board meeting May 8, 1996

Andy: World Radio Team Championships has requested the use of our station over a weekend. Questions were raised about security, equipment arrangement, access, the antenna problems on 40 and 80 meters. Our responsibility for site security extends to the school property.

The possibility of a member discount with one of the local suppliers raised the question of proving EMARC membership. It was decided to produce membership cards for paid-up members.

The EMARC Board has lost the Secretary (See below) and is short one or two directors.

Other topics: Speakers, board meeting date change for June, Field Day (See elsewhere in this issue) flea market logistics, banquet location.

de Robert, KE6TFU

-- DW

AMATEUR SATELLITE

No formal program - just get to know each other and (if you wish) have lunch together

PS There is a Project OSCAR / AMSAT net every Wednesday evening at 19:30 local time on the W6APZ repeater, 145.230-, 100 Hz PL. All hams welcome - you do not need to be active on the satellites to participate.

de Omri, AA6TA

TELEPHONE NUMBERS INTERNET ADDRESSES WEB SITES

For those interested in QRP, the following was sent to me by Ori, AC6AN.

URLs for QRP-L forum and Norcal page:

• www.Lehigh.EDU/lists/Archives/qrp-l/
• www.fix.net/norcal.html

Email to listserv@Lehigh.EDU in the BODY of the mail message, NOT in the Subject:

SUBSCRIBE QRP-L Rich Stiebel W6APZ

de Rich, W6APZ

EMARC Calendar of Events

The Station Open House program for 1996 is expanding! Omri, AA6TA, will host open houses on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 PM local time on an "as available" basis. The emphasis in the Tuesday open houses will be satellite operations and HF digital modes (RTTY, AMTOR, etc.). Please check with Omri (he is available virtually anytime on the W6APZ repeater, 145.230-, 100PL before coming. This is in addition to the Wednesday open houses, typically hosted by Bob, KD6VIO. The station open houses are for EMARC members and their invited guests only. Please do not discuss on the air the exact location of the station.

EMARC Monthly Meeting: Fourth Friday of the month (except 3rd Friday in June, Nov. & Dec.) at 7 PM; Business Meeting, 7:30 PM; Program starts 8 PM. At the Covington School in Los Altos; directions on last page. See specific date listings above . EMARC events are also listed on packet (to EMARC@allscv); on the N0ARY event bulletin board (type EVENT or List Clubs); and on the automatic enunciator on the W6APZ repeater (145.23-). Note: The 4th Friday is not necessarily the last Friday.

EMARC NET is held every Thursday at 8 PM on the W6APZ repeater, 145.230-; the 100 Hz PL is off for the net.

10 AM net. Weekdays at 10 AM on W6APZ, 145.23- (100Hz PL). A very informal rag chew net with mostly EMARC members.

Foothill Flea Market: 2nd Saturday (starts pre-dawn), March thru September. Bring 4 quarters for the parking meters. At Foothill College, just west of I-280 at the El Monte/Moody Rd. exit in Los Altos. Talk-in: 145.27-

Livermore Flea Market: 1st Sunday (starts 7 AM) year round, rain or shine. At Las Positas College, Airway Blvd. exit off I-580 just west of Livermore. Talk-in 147.120+ or 145.35-(100Hz PL). Parking is free.

The NorCal QRP Club meets following the Livermore flea market at 11 AM at the California Burger in Pleasanton, about. 2 miles from the flea market.

T-hunts: See the February, 1995 RELAY under Carrier Detect (page 6). Difficulty Levels: 1 - very easy; 2 - simple; 3 - average; 4 - hard; 5 - very hard; 6 - "never find it". For latest info and directions, call Rich KN6FW, 510-462-1467, or via packet at KN6FW@WA6YHJ. #NOCAL

Amsat net. Wednesdays at 19:30 on the WA6PWW repeater, 147.015+, as well as the W6APZ repeater, 145.230-, 100 PL. Net control: Bill, AA6PA.

10-10 Net. The local net for 10 meters enthusiasts meets every Monday at 8 PM on 28.475 MHz; net control: Neal, WA6OCP.

Tue 5/21 WB6WSL Open House Omri, AA6TA holds an open house at the WB6WSL club station from 7 PM to 9 PM, if there is interest. Contact Omri on the 145.23 repeater between 6 PM and 7 PM to confirm.

Wed 5/23 WB6WSL Open House (QRP) Bob, KD6VIO is holding an open house at the WB6WSL club station from 7 PM to 9 PM. Call to confirm.

June 22-23 Field Day Remember that Field Day is the fourth weekend of June, not the last weekend. Don't show up a week late.

August 10 + Foothill Flea Market. Sunrise 'til Noon. Sponsor: EMARC.

October 19-20 + Boy Scouts Jamboree On The Air (JOTA). Contact AA6PZ, Paul for more information.

FCC Cracks Down On 2-Meter Jammer - KB5UJD Yields Ham Ticket for Life:-

VANITY CALLS

See Fact Sheet PR5000 Number 206-V AMATEUR STATION VANITY CALL SIGN SYSTEM. For explanations of Groups A, B, C and D and the geographic Regions, see Fact Sheet PR-5000 #206, AMATEUR STATION SEQUENTIAL CALL SIGN SYSTEM.

REQUEST BY FORMER HOLDER (PRIMARY STATION) - For your primary station, you may request a call sign that was previously assigned to your primary, secondary, repeater, auxiliary link, control, or space station. When so requesting for your primary station, you may request your former call sign even though it has been unassigned for less than two years. The two year requirement does not apply to an otherwise eligible primary station if the call sign was previously assigned to a station of the requester. - You do not have to hold a class of operator license required for the Group (A, B, C, or D) for the call sign requested. A call sign request by former holder may be from any Group in the sequential system. Your mailing address does not have to be in the Region designated in the sequential system for the call sign requested. A call sign requested by a former holder may be in any Region.

REQUEST BY CLOSE RELATIVE OF FORMER HOLDER NOW DECEASED (PRIMARY STATION) - For your primary station, you may request a call sign that was previously assigned to the primary, secondary, repeater, auxiliary link, control, or space station of your now-deceased spouse, child, grandchild, stepchild, parent, grandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or in-law. When so requesting for your primary station: - You may request the former call sign of a close relative now deceased even though it has been unassigned for less than two years. Upon the death of the holder, a call sign is assignable immediately to an otherwise eligible primary station of a close relative.

- You must be an Amateur Extra Class operator to request a Group A call sign.

- You must be an Amateur Extra or Advanced Class operator to request a Group B call sign.

- You must be an Amateur Extra, Advanced, General, Technician Plus, or Technician Class operator to request a Group C call sign.

- You must be an Amateur Extra, Advanced, General, Technician Plus, Technician or Novice class operator to request a Group D call sign.

Your mailing address does not have to be in the Region designated in the sequential system for the call sign requested. A call sign requested by a close relative of former holder now deceased may be in any Region.

REQUEST BY FORMER HOLDER (CLUB STATION) - For the club station for which you are the license trustee, you may request a call sign that was previously assigned to that station. When so requesting for a club station:

- You may request your club station's former call sign even though it has been unassigned for less than two years. The two year requirement does not apply to an otherwise eligible club station if the call sign was previously assigned to the club station for which the requester is the license trustee.

- You do not have to hold a class of operator license required for the Group (A, B, C, or D) for the call sign requested. A call sign request by former holder may be from any Group in the sequential system.

- Your mailing address does not have to be in the Region designated in the sequential system for the call sign requested. A call sign requested by a former holder may be in any Region. A $30.00 fee is required with your FCC Form 610-V application. Payment of fees may be made by check (payable to "FCC"), bank draft, money order or credit card. If paying by credit card, you must also complete and submit FCC Form 159 with your FCC Form 610-V to the Pittsburgh, PA address given in the 610-V. (Do not send cash.) If you do not qualify under the above eligibility standards, your application will be dismissed. A future public notice will announce Gate 1A which will have expanded eligibility standards. For further information, contact the FCC Consumer Assistance Branch at 1-800-322-1117. From FCC News Release. Note: ARRL has established a one-stop vanity call sign page at: www.arrl.org/fcc/vanity.html. Further information will be in the July 1996 QST as the June 1996 QST had already been printed when this story broke. This information is also available on the Pacific Division WWW Home Page and the ARRL Letter for May 3 and 10, 1996.

Bill Introduced to Protect OO and VE Volunteers:-

5725 - 5875 MHz Band is Threatened:-

New Ham Legal Mailing List Initiated on the Internet:-

Pacific Division Home Page Update:-

NEWSLINE

RFI PREVENTION The American Radio Relay League has again criticized the FCC for failing to act to end TVI and RFI. The League says that the FCC continues to focus on the symptom rather than the cause of home electronic equipment interference, even though it has authority to mandate change. The League is again urging the FCC to require manufacturers to put notices on products indicating they are subject to harmful interference. It also wants to see information provided on interference resolution and names of contact representatives for resolving RFI problems. The ARRL says that it is not optimistic that the FCC's pilot project of a privatized interference resolution program would work. This, since it puts the burden of resolving the interference problem on the consumer and not the manufacturer. The League recommends establishing a cadre of volunteers who would use their skills to resolve interference problems involving other radio services. This says the ARRL only provided that the volunteers are guaranteed some protection from lawsuits.

A UNIVERSAL LICENSE The ARRL says that the FCC can save money by instituting a universal ham radio license. In reply comments on an FCC budgetary issue, the ARRL suggests the FCC reduce its administrative burden by adopting an Petition for Rule Making, RM-8677, which asks the agency to implement the Inter- American Convention on an International Amateur Radio Permit. This the League says could eliminate the burden of processing reciprocal license applications of hams visiting from elsewhere in the hemisphere. The ARRL also suggests that the United States take advantage of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations' CEPT Recommendation arrangements and issue a universal license that would be recognized by other participating administrations and valid for visits.

BEACON UPDATES KE2EDI says that he has been running a 10 Meter beacon on 28.286 MHZ since 1979. In looking through the beacon listings in the ARRL "Repeater Directory", he notes that the listings are at least ten years old. He says that some beacons listed have not been on the air for that long, or longer. As a result, he is asking that anyone hearing Ten meter beacons please jot down the call, frequency, ID cycle and any other info that they know about the beacon, and send it to him on packet to BEACON @ ALLBBS. Hopefully, this will allow those interested to get a "real-time" beacon list of what is really out there on the Ten meter band.

FCC DROPS RFI PROGRAM The FCC is admitting that trying to get the public to pay to resolve TVI and other kinds of interference, just won't fly. It has quietly end its pilot program in Florida. The Federal Communications Commission has ended its pilot program here in Tampa, Florida, that referred consumer electronics interference cases to a local repair shop for resolution. Jim Dailey, the FCC engineer in charge in Kansas City headed up the FCC's privatization RFI task force. He says that data collected by the FCC showed the program had no takers. This, says Dailey, was because the complainants do not want to spend their money to eliminate the interference problems. Fear may have been another factor in the failure of the program, says Roy Lewis, W4WLY. Lewis operates Vulcan Electronics in Tampa was the only shop certified by the FCC to deal with interference problems. He reports that all of the 2,000 or so complaints of RFI to televisions, stereos, telephones and even air conditioners, stemmed from unlicensed, high-power operations that the customers already had identified. He said the customers not only didn't want to pay to have the problems resolved, but that some were afraid of retaliation if a repairman went out to investigate the problem. The big question now is what other possible interference resolution services the financially strapped FCC will suggest next. So far their only action is to make available a pamphlet on the cause of RFI that contains a cut out complaint card. No the card does not get sent to the FCC. It gets mailed to the company that made the device suffering the interference problem. If that brings no response, the FCC says to file a complaint with the Electronics Industry Association, a lobby group that represents the consumer electronics industry.

DISH OPPOSITION Opposition is growing to an FCC mandate that says anyone can put up a tiny direct broadcast satellite dish and its the property owners that are making the noise. The Building Owners and Managers Association International has put the FCC on notice of its opposition to being forced to let anyone put up Direct Broadcast Television satellite dishes. At issue is the FCC's plan to allow the mounting of satellite antennas on a building owner's property regardless of the building owners' opposition. BOMA is joined in its 40 page filing by the National Apartment Association, National Realty Council, Institute of Real Estate Management, International Council of Shopping Centers and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. BOMA says that any attempt by the Commission to compel building owners to allow the placement of antennas in or on their buildings or surrounding property by third party telecommunications providers, tenants, or residents violate the owners' rights under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In addition to its constitutional claim, BOMA cites aesthetic, safety, security and structural integrity issues. BOMA's April 15th comments closely follow those it filed last month which opposed mandating access for telecommunications providers onto private property. Most observers see this issue headed into the federal courts.

DX In DX, 6 meters is the hot band these days and not just here in the good old USA. Neil Carr, G0JHC reports the first E skip opening of the season from Northern England to Italy came on April 21st. The Italian stations were S9+ according to G0JHC. And Bill Sattler, N0XX says that On April 22nd there was a half an hour of double hop from Oregon to Florida. The only station worked was N0KBH but Bill also heard was K4SC and about a dozen others. The problem was getting through the single-hop stations they were working, plus the fact that they were mainly all on top of one another on 50.125 MHz

LUCID OPERATING FROM MIR NASA Astronaut Shannon Lucid is not a ham, but she does have special permission from the Russians to operate from their MIR orbital complex during her extended visit. Lucid was studying for her ham radio ticket prior to the launch of the recent STS-76 shuttle flight that brought her to MIR. The rigors of her flight training made it impossible for her to be tested before the mission began. So, as a gesture of international good will, the Russians have approved her use of the MIR 2 meter radio and the R0MIR call sign with licensed Russian Cosmonaut hams in legal control. Lucid will be on board the MIR for the next several months and will be found on 144.55 MHZ FM voice whenever she has the time to get on the air.

RS-12 Speaking of satellites. The RS-12 ham radio satellite is offering strong signals thanks to its newly activated 2 meter downlink on Mode KT. The uplink passband is 21.21 to 21.25 MHZ on 15 meters. The 2 meter downlink passband is 145.91 to 145.95 MHZ. Activity there is growing every day.

SAREX NASA Astronaut Shannon Lucid is making youngsters around the world very happy by talking to them from the Russian MIR space station by ham radio. Three young Indiana amateurs are among the first to talk to Lucid who is operating as R0MIR. The youngsters are identified as 11 year old Jessica Buszkiewicz, KB9KVQ, 13 year old Jimmy Buszkiewicz, KG9DL, and 15 year old Keith Price Jr., KB9MQA. Also on hand were their parents Jim Buszkiewicz, KF9EB, and Keith Price SR, N9TJH. All are members of the Studebaker Hill Amateur Radio Club In New Carlisle, Indiana. The QSO took place on Saturday, March 30th during Mire's 7:36 AM eastern pass.

ANTIQUE WWW The Antique Wireless Association is now on the Internet. According to James Frederick, K2GBR, the AWA home page features a picture of the building housing both the Antique Wireless Association's, Radio Communication Museum and the Bloomfield, New York, Historical Society. Bruce Kelley, W2ICE, is the museum's curator. The museum is devoted to research, preservation and documentation of the history of wireless communication. A wide range of historical communication equipment is on display, much of it still in working order. Contact them directly for the Universal Resource Locator address.

HAM RADIO BANNED FROM OLYMPIC VENUES BY BROADCASTERS If you're going to the Atlanta Olympics as a spectator, leave your handheld in your hotel room. Despite reports to the contrary from other amateur news sources, the official in charge of radio usage at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games says spectators may NOT bring handheld ham rigs or scanners to Olympic "venues," the formal name for sites where events will be held. Mike Smalls, Chairman of the Olympic Broadcast Frequency Coordination Committee, told CQ VHF that exceptions MAY be made for hams providing communications support for the games, but only if the appropriate officials request them. Even then, each radio will be subject to inspection, testing and approval. "I can't afford non-coordinated transmitters," Smalls told us. "Who knows if a transmission is going to blow away a live wireless microphone or an NBC news feed?" In summary, according to Smalls, "No scanners, no HTs, except for game support." On the other hand, cellular phones WILL be allowed, in accordance with an FCC request.

E-Mail: Send mail to listserv@netcom.com with the following commands in the body of the message (the subject is ignored) To subscribe: subscribe newsline-list To unsubscribe: unsubscribe newsline-list For more information: help For list problems or information on other ham radio related lists from Netcom, e-mail the list keeper, Michael Ardai at owner-newsline-list@netcom.com

NEWSLINE ON THE WWW Home Page Sponsor: Lew Williams Location: North Carolina State University Files: Newsline Scripts, Download Statistics URL: www.acs.ncsu.edu/HamRadio/News.html Please e-mail all address changes or report distribution problems to: owner.newsline.list@netcom.com

FIELD DAY

Field Day is a lot of fun, but it doesn't just happen. A lot of time and effort goes into preparation for Field Day and there is a lot to do after Field Day. As in most endeavors, there is always paperwork. One way to demonstrate this is to print the basic checklist for Field Day. Dick, N6ATD prepared a checklist. This is an outline of that list.

• Before Field Day Week:
  • Send letter to property owner to request the site.
    
  • Arrange for tower, trailer, antenna, van, and barbecue from Red Cross.
    
  • Order Field Day package from ARRL.
    
  • Prepare log books and duplicate sheets
    
  • Arrange for additional operating shelters.
    
  • Arrange for radio equipment: 6 M, satellite, solar, UHF/VHF. etc.
    
  • Enlist food committee and chairman. Prepare menu.
  • Prepare site plan for equipment.
    
  • Prepare and send press release to Media at least 2 weeks ahead.
    
  • Determine what is required for antennas, coax, ropes, etc.
    
  • Select station captains for various modes of operation and set schedules.
    
  • Order portable toilet. Specify site and delivery time.
    
  • Arrange for food, water, etc. for Friday
    
  • Arrange for off-site staging area and transport for Red Cross equipment.
    
  • Schedule crews to load and transport equipment.
    
• Tuesday:
  • Inventory all Red Cross equipment and transport antenna trailer to staging area.
    
• Wednesday:
  • Check all equipment: Radios, towers, antennas, cables, generator.
    
• Thursday:
  Pick up and load van and trailer.
  Verify crews are scheduled and ready for transporting and setting up equipment on Friday.
  
• Friday:
  • Move equipment to site and set up.
    
  • Organize crews to assemble antennas, erect towers, and connect and checkout equipment.
    
  • Buy food for Saturday night barbecue.
    
  • Watch for delivery of portable toilet and make sure it is installed in the proper place (A whole page could be written on this topic alone).
    
  • Set up public information display.
    
  • Verify operating plan: Who, what, where, when, why, how.
    
  • Verify entire site is ready to go on Saturday morning.
    
• Saturday:
  • In the morning, begin operation.
    
  • In the afternoon, set up food, etc. for 5 PM barbecue.
    
  • Cook and serve food.
    
  • Clean up eating area.
    
• Sunday:
  
  • Operate until Noon.
    
  • Disconnect and dismantle equipment, antennas, towers, etc., load trucks, and transport to staging areas.
    
  • Arrange unloading crews for staging areas.
    
• Monday and beyond:
  • Transport equipment back to providers.
    
  • Organize operating logs and tabulate results.
    
  • Submit reports to ARRL.
    

TO PL OR NOT TO PL, THAT IS THE QUESTION!

In case of a simulated emergency test (SET) or "minor" local emergency, it is relatively easy for a control operator to disable the PL on the repeater to enable users of older equipment to access the repeater. In a real emergency, or especially in an area-wide emergency, the PL may be necessary to minimize interference from the Sacramento repeater. In addition, the control operators may or may not be available (alive) to turn off the PL.

Are we really fooling ourselves when we count stations without PL as being available for emergency communications? With the automatic control operator (ACO) operational on the repeater, it is no problem to accommodate the various nets that have asked to have the PL off for their members' check ins. But in an emergency, these stations might not be able to access the repeater.

Might the answer be for each club to encourage (read that "help") their members with older rigs retrofit them with an inexpensive subaudible-tone board (< $30) and a dip switch which would enable them to access any repeater that has PL? This could be done as a group activity for each club at a regular meeting or at a special meeting set up for that purpose. Club members who have schematics for the older radios could make copies and provide the schematics to a technical group that would assist less technical club members in modifying their rigs. Schematics could be shared among clubs in the Bay Area to minimize the cost. Ensuring that all radios had PL would provide more fun for the individual ham by opening up more repeaters for their use, and it would be a real aid to emergency communications.

de Rich, W6APZ

Base Station Antennas

de Bill Ogilvie, KQ6FY

Most Hams like to put up a dual band vertical antenna, even if they are only on 2 Meters at the time. A lot of 2 Meter antennas will work fine on 70, but with reduced gain. J-poles can be easily mounted to the side of a house with cable clamps, or hose clamps. As long as the upper part of the J-pole doesn't contact metal, and is 10' or more away from any other metal object, it will work fine. It isn't necessary to ground a J-pole, but a lightning arrestor and ground system is good insurance against that one-in-a-million lightning strike. Mag-mount antennas, and components can be cheaply obtained and easily mounted on a roof-top. If the roof is flat, a steel PC-XT case makes a handy base to place the mag-mount on. It may eventually blow over, in a strong wind, and there are some other undesirable aspects to this arrangement, but for a quick fix, this can't be beat.

It isn't to difficult to convert a mag-mount whip to a high-gain base station antenna. A 5/8 wave 2 Meter whip is about 48" long, and has a matching coil at the base. Some work real well on 70 cm as well. Using a car body-mount, attach the whip and loading coil to a 2" disk of heavy aluminum. The disk needs an over-sized hole in it, and has to be insulated from the center stud that screws into the matching coil. Attach 2 L-brackets, made out of 1" wide, .063 thick aluminum to the underside of the disk. These L-brackets are used to attach the antenna to the top of a metal tube, so they need to be attached so they will fit around the tube used, and held in place with hose clamps. Aluminum masts are great, because they are light, and are not as conspicuous. Steel masting is cheap, but it is more difficult to run the feedline inside the pipe. Once the L-brackets are mounted, attach 4 19" long ground radials to the top of the disk, and bend them so they will droop down at a 45 degree angle. There are a lot of things that will work for these radials, such as stainless whips, welding rods, and Aluminum tubing. It is a good idea to make them easily removable, and to have beads on the end of each one. The car body- mount has about 10' of RG-58 attached, which is fine for running down the pole to a barrel connector, or spark gap.

There are lots of ways of mounting a base station antenna on one's roof. The first step is to get per-mission from one's landlord. If the roof is peaked, some kind of mast clamp needs to be used. With a flat roof, the challenge is finding a way of mounting the mast securely without damaging the roof. A 2' X 4' sheet of weather-proofed 3/8" plywood, with 2 X 4 and 2 X 2 bracing works real well. It can be weighted down with cinder blocks, and the weight will be evenly distributed on the roof. Attach 4 steel L-brackets to the center of the base, so that the mast can be fastened to the base. 3 or 4 light guy wires, fastened midway up the mast, and anchored to cinder blocks allow easy adjustment of the mast. Once the guy wires are attached, the mast can be slipped into the L-bracket circle and hose clamps used to tighten them all. The mast should have a small "mouse-hole" filed into the bottom for the cable to exit, if it goes down the inside. When the hose clamps are tightened, and two cinder blocks are put on either end of the base, the mast will stay upright by itself. This makes it easy to adjust the position of the guy wires. Connect up the rest of your feedline, and run it down the side of the building, using duct tape around the coax so that the cable clamps will hold the cable up. Some kind of cable clamp has to be used, at the top; otherwise the weight of the cable may topple the antenna.

The key to success here is to have everything together and working before venturing up to the roof. This minimizes foot traffic on the roof.

AVAILABLE - FREE

Telrex Model 15M845, Eight element, 15 meter full-size Yagi antenna (45 ft boom), 465 KHz bandwidth.
Manuals and instructions included for the above.

2 meter Ringo Ranger type antenna.

The antennas are mounted on the Tri-Ex tower and the 15 meter antenna must be disassembled first to get at the 2 meter antenna. The owner will part with all this equipment free to a good home, but hams must do the disassembly. This would be an excellent club project.

The homeowner, who is not a ham, is making this generous offer, but does not want a lot of people going through the house/yard just to look at it. Contact Rich Stiebel, W6APZ to arrange to see the documentation and pictures of the installation.

de Rich, W6APZ

This is a major project. I have more information. The antennas are available without the tower.

-- DW