Amateur Radio
“only fail -safe system”
of communication
K4ZDH
HIGH DESERT AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, NM5HD
Editor, Jerry Aceto K6LIE CLUB MEETING MAY 16 AT 10:00 AM
May 2015
Email: [email protected]
President’s Corner - Jerry Aceto K6LIE
Greetings!
I am very happy to report that I have completed the application process for our
club becoming a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Hopefully, all will go without
a hitch and I will receive notice that we are an official federal non-profit. This
will complete a very long and agonizing process. I expect to be notified within
a couple of weeks and will certainly let all of our members know when I receive
the final documents.
Also, our club state non-profit status is in order and we are in good standing
with the state through May of next year. We finally are a state and federal nonprofit!
As you probably know, Vice President Terry Zipes, W4RCN and myself will be
attending the Dayton Hamvention and will miss this month’s meeting. Secretary Jim Kajder, AF5FH, will be running the meeting in our absence. I hope you
all can attend the meeting. A major topic to be discussed at this meeting will
be a discussion of our club By-Laws. Bill Firth heads the committee on this
topic and will present his committee’s final report on this issue. After the discussion, a vote will be taken by those present to either accept or reject the new
By-Laws. This is an important meeting, so please attend if you can. I have already given my vote to Bill, as I am sure Terry has also.
73,
Jerry K6LIE
HDARC on the Web:
http://www.nm5hd.com
MAY PROGRAM
Rosalie McCreary, KL0HU, our Chair Person for the Public Service
Committee, has secured a short presentation from Elinor Reiners,
Program Director/CEO of the Veterans Integration Center, a group
dedicated to the needs of veterans, with focus on those who are
homeless or experiencing a housing crisis. This groups emphasis is
on integrating back these veterans into the community. They also
provide employment training. We are continuing our efforts to find
a good charitable organization to support and this is one group
Rosalie is considering.
After Ms. Reiners presentation, Bill Firth will conduct a discussions
on the rework of our By-Laws. His committee has come up with a
final draft and will present it. After his presentation, the membership present at the meeting will vote on the new By-laws.
HDARC NEWS
Next VE Session
The next High Desert Amateur Radio
Club VE session will be held on
Saturday, May 16 at 12:30 pm, at the
West Albuquerque Police station.
Please bring the following:
♦ Photo ID (drivers license)
♦ Original Amateur Radio License
♦ Copy of Amateur Radio License
♦ Original CSCE's
♦ Copy of CSCE
♦ Test fee is $15.00 .
♦ Proof of Tech Plus if before 3/21/87
and doing paper upgrade to
General.
♦ SS Number will be needed if you
don’t have an FRN number.
* NOTE-NO WALK INS. PLEASE SCHEDULE.
In This Issue:
May HDARC Birthday
Greetings!
Happy Birthday
We want to extend warm HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to our club
members celebrating their birthday in the month of May:
Adrian Miura
W5ASM
Dave Johnson
N0LVA
Claudine Rood
KF5JXG
Eric Shockey
KF5DTR
Nathan Gordon
KF9LI
Tracy Chapman
Jim Kajder
Page
Presidents Corner
1
Next VE session
2
Officers & Board Members
2
May Program
2
May Birthday Greetings
2
From the Editors Desk
3
VE Testing Report for April
3
Club Repeaters & IRLP Systems
3
Welcome New Members
3
Dayton Hamvention
4
Social Committee Report
5
Ramblings from an old DXer
6&7
Rookie Round-Up
7&8
HDARC Library
9
Club Badges
9
220 Appeal
9
Club Address
10
ARRL Info
10
Explora Report
11
Club Shirts
11
Club Member Services
12
Tom Doering Computer
12
Luke’s Ham Shack
12
AF5FH
Beverly Vigil
HDARC NEWS IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY, JERRY ACETO, K6LIE, EDITOR 771-1323. NON COPYRIGHT MATERIAL CONTAINED
HEREIN MAY BE REPRINTED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION WITH CREDIT GIVEN TO THIS PUBLICATION * PRESIDENT –
JERRY ACETO, K6LIE, 771-1323 * VICE PRESIDENT – TERRY ZIPES, W4RCN, 771-7012* SECRETARY – JIM KAJDER, AF5FH, 2989353 * TREASURER – JOHN SCOTT, KF5ROL, 839-7035 * CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD – FRED LETE, KC5IPK, 892-0380 * BOARD
MEMBERS – TOM BOLDWAY, KE7PBB, 404-8215* DAVE JOHNSON, N0LVA, 296-2034 * BILL FIRTH, KE5TOB, 899-0950 RICK
ROOD, KF5JAJ, 269-2416* LICENSE EXAMS – RICK ROOD, KF5JAJ, 269-2416 * FRED LETE, KC5IPK, 892-0380 * NM5HD REPEATER
TRUSTEE – ADRIAN MIURA, W5ASM, 899-6916 * WEB MASTER - BILL FIRTH, KE5TOB, 899-0950.
May 2015
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VE TEST REPORT FOR APRIL
From The Editor’s Desk…...
Jerry,
K6LIE
HDARC NEWS
For the month of April we had 6 people test with the following
results:
5 people passed Element 2, Technician
2 people passed Element 3, General
This month marks the 60th consecutive Overall
year forresults:
the Dayton Hamvention. 4Several
members will be
earned Technician
attending2 the
event
and we are all
earned
General
looking forward to a great time.
Congratulations to all who passed and thank you to the VE team.
Hi everyone,
It is with great sadness that I report to you the very
sudden passing of member Lisa Gordon,
KC8UNM last month.
Lisa was on our social committee. She also took
an active roll in our Field Day activities, along with
here husband, Nathan, KF9LI and their two kids. I
will never forget Lisa working Field Day two years
ago in the park early in the morning and the sprinkler system came on. She was not a happy
camper but took it in stride, made sure the gear
was okay and went on operating. We talked about
that night for some time!
Rick Rood
KF5JAJ
FTL-OIFH
HDARC VE Liaison
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
We would like to extend a GREAT BIG HDARC
WELCOME to our newest member:
Ken Sorensen, KG5HDK
We hope you will have fun learning and experiencing all that our great hobby of Amateur Radio has to offer!
Lisa passed away in her sleep of an apparent
heart attack. She was 40.
Our condolences go out to Nathan and the family.
CLUB REPEATERS
Jerry K6LIE
145.370 Mhz PL 162.2 Hz
224.480 Mhz PL 100.0 Hz
442.750 Mhz PL 162.2 Hz
IRLP Node 7706
IRLP Node 3285
IRLP Node 7855
In addition to IRLP, EchoLink is now available on
145.370 Node 980760 & 442.750 Node 214956.
Our club repeater systems, including our IRLP &
ECHOLINK systems are open to our members as well
as the entire Amateur Radio community.
May 2015
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HDARC on the Web:
http://www.nm5hd.com
HDARC NEWS
DAYTON HAMVENTION, HERE WE COME !
Oh boy, Dayton Hamvention is upon us, May 15, 16 and 17 and several of us are looking forward
to the trip again. Club members Terry Zipes, W4RCN, Dave Johnson, N0LVA, Bill Kent, N5UJC
and myself, K6LIE, will be heading to Dayton. We are, as usual, looking to a great time. Just about
3 days of pure Ham Radio, what could be better? If you are a ham or interested in radio and electronics, there is no better place to be. Whatever you may be looking for in the way of amateur radio
gear or accessories, you will find it at Dayton. If it is not there, you probably don’t need it! There
are about 3,000 vendors outside and virtually all the commercial companies inside. You surely will
find what you are looking for at this, the largest Amateur Radio convention in the world. Last year
saw approxamently 24,000 visitors.
It also affords a good chance of meeting many of the folks in the hobby that you read about. Bill
Heil, Gordon West, Martin F. Jue, founder of MFJ, the many ARRL officers that you read in QST.
You have an opportunity to meet these folks who are famous in Ham Radio and put a face to the
name. I have personally met these folks and many more in my 7 years of attending this event.
If it is programs you are interested in, there are all manner of programs and forums to attend on
virtually every subject in the hobby. Amateur Radio testing is also done. So, if need be, you can
take your Amateur Radio test, get your license and enjoy the greatest Amateur Radio convention
in the world!
May 2015
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HDARC on the Web:
http://www.nm5hd.com
HDARC NEWS
May Social Committee
Greetings everyone!
Welcome MAY and the nice warm weather. The Bosque is greening up beautifully and gardens are
blooming! My favorite time of year!
We had a great group of 12 folks at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast in April. It was crowded and we were
glad we scheduled at 8:30am or we would not have gotten in. Good info for another breakfast there.
This month we are going to DINNER. Save the date for a fun and easy evening out.
We have reservations for Saturday, May 23 at 5pm
In the covered patio area.
IL VICINO’S
Alameda and Corrales/Coors Roads (in the Sprouts Shopping Center),
Plenty of free parking.
Bring a sweater or shawl it may be cool later in the evening
They have a lovely wine list and a great, inexpensive menu.
We especially want to invite our new members and their families for a fun evening to socialize. How
about some of you other members who haven’t participated in a social in a while? Come on out and have
a lovely evening!
We are still looking for a couple more folks to join our committee. No experience necessary and we don’t
have meetings! Let President Jerry know that you are interested. He will get us your info. Thank you!
If you are traveling this month we wish you safe travels. If you are staying in the area we still wish you
safe traveling. It can be crazy out there some days!
Your social committee,
Rosalie McCreary
Karen Elkin
Kathey Meland
May 2015
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HDARC on the Web:
http://www.nm5hd.com
HDARC NEWS
More Ramblings from an old DXer
George Key W5YZ
I was first licensed as KN4ACG back in 1954. As a Novice class operator, I had to get my skills up
to snuff (pass the General Class exam) in one year or PFFT...you are no longer a Ham. They tried
to make it hard as far as operating experience was concerned. Novices were "rockbound", having
no VFO on the transmitter. You could tune the receiver around the band but not the transmitter.
Of course, hard is a matter of perspective. Marconi would have loved to have a super heterodyne
receiver (contraction of supersonic heterodyne). But then, there wouldn't have been anyone to listen to. He may have had one before he died in 1937.
National NC 300 Receiver.
Advertised as the “Dream
Receiver” in the 1950’s.
Sold for $370 in 1955.
I had a handful of crystals I could plug into my 40 watt homebrew transmitter so that made it bearable. Operating rockbound meant you had to tune the whole novice portion of the band to find
someone who was responding to your CQ. If you were responding to a CQ you had to send your
call letters many times to give the other station a chance to tune the band to find you. After you
found each other, a QSO could actually take place. Operating frequencies were from 3.7 to 3.75
mc, CW; 7.15 to 7.2mc, CW; 21.1 to 21.145 mc, CW. That's "mc" (megacycles) not
"Mhz" (megahertz). Hertzian frequencies were not introduced until 1960. Took some of us a long
time to adapt.
My first contact was with a guy in Paducah, Kentucky by the name of Ben. Years later, when I was
stationed at Pease AFB in New Hampshire, I ran across a guy named Ben who lived down the
street from me who happened to mention that he was a ham also. We finally decided that he was
the same Ben that I had my first QSO with on September 1st, 1954. Both of us flew the same aircraft and owned Cairn Terriers. WOW what a coincidence. After all, how many people own
Cairns.
Continued on page 7
May 2015
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HDARC NEWS
More Ramblings from an old DXer
George Key W5YZ
Continued from page 6
The postal service was more lenient then than now. If you don't have the address exactly right you
get it back. Zip codes are required! Back in the '50s I used to get QSL cards addressed to "George,
KN4ACG, Clarksville, Tennessee" or even "KN4ACG, Clarksville, Tennessee". Try that today and
see what happens.
That's about all the ramblings I can put out (and you can probably stand). But you haven't heard the
last of me since I'm in charge of Field Day this year.
73 (Best Regards) George, W5YZ
The Rookie Round-Up
by Ed Poccia, KC2LM & Alec Poccia, KF5WYS
The Rookie Round-Up is a series of ARRL sponsored events held each year to provide amateurs
licensed less than 3 years to get competitive operating experience under actual contest conditions.
It is hoped that Elmers with experience in this area will open up their shacks and help the rookies
discover the fun of HF contesting. The idea is for the rookie, to perform ALL aspects of contest operations; Calling CQs, identifying call signs, calling stations, logging, and using dupe sheets. The
event while competitive, with different points assigned for rookie & non-rookie contacts, & multipliers for each State, it even gives the contestant exposure completing summary sheets, to round out
the contest experience. The event has a more relaxed feel and functions for only six hours.
The contest is organized over three Sunday afternoons throughout the year, with each date focusing on one specific operating mode. The April contest was conducted using SSB, the one on August
16 will use RTTY and CW is the only operating mode used in December 20th contest. Check the
“Contest Calendar, Rookie Round-Up” on the ARRL web site; www.arrl.org for dates and web site
links for more information.
My 12 year old grandson, Alec, KF5WYS came over to my
shack to participate in April’s SSB contest. While Alec is a
Technician and only allowed to operate SSB on ten meters,
contest rules allow him to work under my license and operate
on 15 & 20 meters, using my call. Although conditions were
better on these bands, he wanted to be using his own call, so
he cruised 28.300-28.500 looking for contacts using the peek &
pounce operating style.
Continued on page 8
May 2015
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HDARC NEWS
The Rookie Round-Up
by Ed Poccia, KC2LM & Alec Poccia, KF5WYS
Continued from Page 7
After the contest, I interviewed Alec to get his impressions of the competitive side of Ham Radio.
What were some of the things that was most memorable about the contest?
“I worked many stations the first hour and then things slowed down, having contacted everyone I could
hear. Then I noticed some pile-ups and started chasing DX. I contacted Ascension Island in the Atlantic off Africa and Chiloe Island off the southern coast of Chile. I lost operating time making those contacts and need to stay focused on the contest if I want to get a better score.”
What did you like about the contest?
“I like the quick pace of contesting. It is exciting working so many stations and keeping track of the
States and of course, making DX contacts.”
Why should non-rookies participate in the contest?
“Non-rookies give us rookies a chance to make more contacts and help make it more exciting.”
Will you be operating contests in the future?
“Yes, definitely! I am looking forward to competing in digital contests because PSK is my favorite mode.
I even like JT65 because it is slow and I can play video games while operating.”
Perhaps more club members can get involved in the Rookie Round-Up series and help the younger
hams get exposed to another aspect of our exciting hobby or should I say, Sport.
May 2015
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HDARC on the Web:
http://www.nm5hd.com
HDARC NEWS
HDARC LIBRARY
All members are welcome to use this service. If you have any books related to Amateur Radio specifically or
communications in general, please consider making a book donation to our club library. You are welcome
to bring any books you wish to donate to our club meetings or any other club event.
Here is a list of books we have so far:
ARRL Handbook - 2011 Edition
ARRL Handbook - 2012 Edition (Hard Bound)
ARRL Handbook - 2013 Edition
ARRL Antenna Book - 22nd Edition (Hard Bound)
ARRL Operating Manual - 6th, 7th and 9th Edition
ARRL General Class License Manual
ARRL Extra Class License Manual (2)
ARRL Instructor's Manual for Technician License
ARRL - APRS - Tracks, Maps and Mobiles
ARRL - RFI Book 2nd edition
ARRL - Your Ham Antenna Companion
The Mobile DXer
THE 220 MHZ BAND NEEDS YOUR
HELP!
The little used 1 1/4 meter band is wide
open. It is the perfect place for rag
chewing, data work, linking, etc, yet no
one makes an effort to even acknowledge this band. I have been an advocate for 220 for 30 years, having a repeater on 220 for the past 30 years. We
really should make some effort to use
this band, otherwise, we risk losing it.
You can purchase some very nice
equipment for as little as $160, and I
don’t mean a handheld. The TYT TH9000 is a 50 watt base/mobile rig in this
price range. Jet Stream and Alinco also
make 220 base/mobiles. Questions? Let
me know. The club affiliate 224.48 repeater is up and waiting!
May 2015
The Modern Amateur's Mobile Handbook
Your Guide to HF Fun
ARRL Stealth Amateur Radio
ARRL Low Profile Amateur Radio
ARRL Hints & Kinks 15th Edition
Bureau of Naval Personnel- Basic Electricity
Get on the Air With HF Digital
Hints and Kinks For The Radio Amateur
Lew McCoy on Antennas
ARRL Handbook - 1999 Edition
The Complete DX’er
Understanding Amateur Radio
CLUB BADGES
We have club badges available. If you
would like to order one, go to our website, www.nm5hd.com and click
“Ongoing Activities”. Scroll down to
the bottom, where you will find a link to
The Signman, where you can order
your badge directly on line!
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HDARC on the Web:
http://www.nm5hd.com
HDARC NEWS
PLEASE HELP THE HDARC MAINTAIN OUR ARRL CLUB AFFILIATION
The HDARC is an ARRL Affiliated Club. To
maintain this status with the ARRL, we must
have a minimum of 50% of our membership in
the ARRL. If you are joining the ARRL for the
first time, please consider joining through our
club. For every new subscriber that joins through
When we think back, we sometimes
our club, we will receive a $15 commission from
wonder what made us change certain
the ARRL. For every member renewing their
things in our lives, why we did certain
ARRL membership, the club will receive a $2
things,Copy
what&made
go down a parcommission.
paste uswww.nm5hd.com/
ticular
path,
what
began
the “chain redocuments/HDARC_ARRL_Application.pdf &
action”. Well, for my “amateur radio
fill out the form, bring it to the club and we will
chain
reaction”,
I will have to say it was
take care
of the
rest. Thanks!
“your guys in the white tent” that
CLUB ADDRESS
High Desert Amateur Radio Club of NM
3705 B -1 Ellison Blvd.
Box 505
Albuquerque, NM 87114
May 2015
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HDARC on the Web:
http://www.nm5hd.com
HDARC NEWS
EXPLORA REPORT
The next Explora Adult Night will be on Friday, May
15, 6:30 PM to 10 PM. The evening’s theme will be
Eggs-traordinary Engineering. HDARC will have a station on the air from the museum, as usual, to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the public and also to inform
folks of our club. Adult Night is a fun evening devoted
to adults having one evening every two months to explore the Science Museum without the kids. Come on
down. Explore the wonders of Science and visit with
us!
GREAT BANNER!
Display courtesy of the NM Amateur Radio Alliance
DON’T FORGET YOUR CLUB SHIRT!
How can you show others that you are a member of the coolest, most active Amateur Radio
club in the Albuquerque area? By buying a club
shirt! These beautiful club shirts come in ladies
and men’s styles and sizes. We proudly wear
our shirts whenever we are doing an activity
that involves the public. It is a great way of promoting the club, not to mention that they look
great!
Contact Turbo Threads at 505 999-1234 or on line at www.turbothreads.com .
May 2015
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CLUB MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
Computers and Accessories
Tom Doering, KF5WFP, has a very
good supply of used computers,
monitors, servers and many other
computer accessories. If you are
looking for used computer equipment, give Tom a call at 505 4504532. His email address is [email protected]
MEMBER TRANSPORTATION –Need a ride
to club meetings or other club activities? Call
Jerry Aceto, K6LIE at 771-1323 or Larry Elkin,
NY5L, at 771-0391. We will arrange transportation for you from your home to club activities.
MENTORING SERVICES –If you are a new
ham, or are interested in becoming a ham, or just
have a question, we offer various services to help
you along. Check out our website at
www.nm5hd.com and click on the “Mentors,
Education, VE testing” link. Here, you will find
whom to contact for help with all your questions
on various subjects.
LICENSE CLASSES AND TESTING –If you
are interested in becoming an Amateur Radio operator, or want to upgrade your license, contact
Rick Rood, KF5JAJ, at 269-2416 or Fred Lete,
KC5IPK at 892-0380. We provide VE testing
every 3rd Saturday of the month at 10 AM or after the Saturday morning meetings in the winter
months.
CLUB LIBRARY - This new club service allows our members to check out books relating to
Amateur Radio and Communications. Anyone is
welcome to donate books to our club library. (See
page 9 for info)
Luke’s Ham Shack
5101 Gibson SE
Albuquerque, NM
505 225-0759
http://lukeshamshack.com/
Coax, connectors, parts, antennas.
Luke La Brake, NM5DL, has opened
a Ham Radio store here in Albuquerque! Please support him in his
efforts. He will be adding more
stock as time goes on.
May 2015
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