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Welcome to the Riverside County Amateur Radio
Association Newsletter. Our club has been serving
the Riverside area for 59 years and we have over 75
members. Monthly meetings are held on the second
Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM in the La Sierra
University Church Conference Center directly
behind the church located at the corner of Pierce
and Sierra Vista, Riverside, CA. See our webpage
for directions and more information: www.w6tj.org
R.C.A.R.A. HAM
RADIO CLUB
HALLOWEEN
October 31
ARRL Affiliated Club #1720
Riverside Repeater: 146.880 MHz, -600 KHz offset, PL 146.2 Hz
[email protected]
The next Club Meeting will be on Thursday,
October 9, 2014, at 7:00 p.m.
For meeting location and club information, visit our web page
at WWW,W6TJ.ORG
R.C.A.R.A. 2014 Club Officers





President: Ron Braley KE6RYX - (951) 369-5149
Vice President: Vacant
Treasurer: Robert Connerley KJ6OOZ
Secretary: Duane Allen N6JPO - [email protected]
Membership Chair: Ed Morgan KF6BNQ - [email protected]
 Newsletter Editor: Marlene KK6CTX - [email protected]
 Communications Director: Vacant
APPOINTED OFFICERS:
 Club Historian: Vacant
 Club Photographer and Sunshine Chairman:
Steve Evans AF6HR - [email protected]
 Website Administrator: Stephen McDaniel KJ6MXE –
[email protected]
 W6TJ Trustee: Don Williams KD6UVT - [email protected]
QST
QST
YOU ARE SUMMONED~
...
Welcome, weary souls
October 9, 2014
7:00 p.m.
Haunting Ham Happenings
Gina Perez, CERT leader. Topic will be
Emergency Communications
with Jeff Loveland,
RFD Communications Tech
Bored Meeting
September 11, 2014
Ham Haunters In House:
Ron Braley KE6RYX President
Robert Connerley KJ6OOZ Treasurer
Duane Allen N6JPO Secretary
Ed Morgan KF6BNQ Membership
Marlene KK6CTX MONITOR Editor
Guests:
Bob Trujillo, KG6NIB
Tom Koepke, KK6CXF
Mike Anderson, W6OSO
Hams In
Only:
Minutes - September 11, 2014 Board Meeting
1. President Ron Braley called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. Secretary Duane Allen read the August Board minutes as published in the
MONITOR. No corrections were make.
3. Treasurer Robert Connerley reported general funds of $2,475.53 and memorial
funds of $3,038.80. The bank signature card has been updated with the current
officers.
4. Membership Chair Ed Morgan reported membership strength is 76 members.
5. Ed Morgan reported preliminary dates of October 18 and 25 for the Technician
class training. Flyers and announcements are in process. Duane Allen
recommends requesting a donation of $5 from each student to cover cost of
class expenses.
6. MONITOR newsletter editor Marlene requests more ham related articles.
7. New Business
a. Field Day 2015 Committee Leaders Bob Trujillo and Marlene have
started planning for a special Field Day in recognition of the RCARA
2015 60th Anniversary.
b. The Membership Chair will deposit received membership funds
directly into the bank account with an email notification to the RCARA
Treasurer.
c. RCARA will donate $100 to La Sierra Church in consideration for the
yearly use of the Education and Youth Center as a meeting place.
d. Duane Allen is leading a work team to assist Jim Smith N7PPF in
removing and replacing his antenna. He has a 25’ replacement
vertical which will need guides.
e. Van’s (SK) tower needs to be removed within two weeks. Potential
purchaser of the tower should contact Carole Sue (951) 689-2386.
8. President Ron Braley adjourned the meeting at 6:40 pm.
Information to Share:
Riverside County Amateur Radio Association
Amateur Radio Licensing Class
A Two-Saturday Technician Exam Preparation Course
 Date & Time: Saturdays Oct. 18 & 25, 2014, 8 am-3:30 pm
 Location: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Facility
3680 Jackson St., Riverside, 92505
 Reservations are requested by October 13, 2014
 Email [email protected] or phone/text (951) 888-0209
The Technician class amateur radio license is the entry level license of the amateur radio service. This
exam preparation course focuses on providing the student with enough basic knowledge of amateur
radio to pass the Technician class exam. An exam session for class participants is scheduled in the
afternoon of the second Saturday. The exam fee is $5.
There is no fee for the exam preparation course. Riverside County Amateur Radio Association (RCARA)
provides the in-class study guide The 35 Groups of the Technician Class Amateur Radio License Exam
Study Guide for the 2014-2018 Question Pool. The course is open to all.
The facilities are provided to RCARA without charge. We respect the church facility’s policy of no smoking
and no coffee, no tea, and no caffeinated beverages. Water is permitted. Rest rooms and drinking
fountains are available. For the lunch break, you may bring your own lunch or use one of several nearby
fast food restaurants.
RCARA has been serving the public of the Inland Empire of Southern California for 59 years. RCARA
maintains the open 2 meter repeater, W6TJ (146.880 MHz, –600 kHz, 145.2 Hz). The website is
http://www.w6tj.org/. RCARA membership is open to all.
Do you need to protect the privacy of your home address? When you take an Amateur Radio license
exam, you will need to provide an FCC Registration Number (FRN). The FCC registration website
https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do requires that you provide a contact address to obtain
your FRN. The provided contact addresses becomes an FCC public record and can be viewed on-line. To
protect the privacy of your home address, you may want to have a contact address, such as a post office
box, that is different from your home address. If you are taking only the preparation course and not the
license exam, you do not need an FRN.
Spread the Word ...
A call for nominations for 2015 Board of Director’s officers was made
Good to the last bite!
President’s QSO
From the den of
Ron Braley
KE6RYX
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
We need a slate of candidates for the RCARA 2015 officers to serve on the Board of
Directors. Voting will take place at the November 13, 2014, meeting.
If you are a regular club member and would like to be included as a candidate for
office or have suggestions of members willing to serve, please contact President
Ron Braley KE6RYX at (951) 369-5149 or email Marlene KK6CTX at
[email protected] Names can also be presented from the floor prior to voting at
the October and November meetings.
Elected Board of Director positions:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Newsletter Editor
Membership Director
Communications Director
Appointed Officials:
Association Photographer
Sunshine Committee Chair
Club Historian
Trustee of the Association's Amateur Radio License (Repeater Trustee)
Webmaster
Past President – Chris Maness KQ6UP
Suggestions are encouraged and welcomed. Your support and participation is vital.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
Everyone deserves a community where they can learn, communicate, share
and connect ... Come join ours: www.W6TJ.org
Scheduled topics for Club Meetings
through December, 2014:
October:
Gina Perez, CERT coordinator – Emergency
Communications with Jeff Loveland, RFD Communications Tech
November:
Election of 2015 Club Officers
Upcoming Events
JPL Open House
Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12, 2014
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, invites
the public to its annual Open House.
The event, themed “Welcome to Our Universe,” will take visitors on a “ride” through
the wonders of space. Highlights include a life-size model of Mars Science
Laboratory, demonstration from numerous space missions; JPL’s machine shop
Where robotic spacecraft parts are built; and the Microdevices Lab, where engineers
and scientists use tiny technology to revolutionize space exploration.
The Earth Science Center will show 3-D videos of our home planet and JPL’s Earth
science missions. Upon entering, visitors will pass an Earth globe with data from
NASA’s Earth-orbiting satellites projected onto the sphere.
JPL is located at 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California, 91109. Admission to
Open House is free. Parking is also free, but is limited. To get to JPL, take the
Berkshire Avenue/Oak Grove Drive exit from the 210 Freeway in La Canada/Flintridge.
All visitors should wear comfortable shoes – no buses will be provided from JPL
parking lots. JPL will provide vans for mobility-challenged guests.
Vehicles and items carried by persons entering NASA/JPL property are subject to
inspection by Officers at the entry checkpoints. The following items are prohibited
at NASA/JPL: All weapons, explosives, incendiary devices, dangerous instruments,
alcohol, illegal drugs, pets, all types of skates including skateboards, Segways and
bicycles. Large bags, backpacks or ice chests are not permitted into the event,
except small purses and diaper bags.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/open-house.php
Ron KE6RYX introduces Duane N6JPO as he
begins his presentation on the Queen Mary Radio Communications
Great presentation and lots of interesting historical facts. Thank you
Duane for the information and sharing your personal experiences.
... Listening and
enjoying Duane’s Program Presentation
Always time for socializing ...
Happy Hams
to our new member
~ Larry’s Self-introduction ~
Greetings RCARA and Thank you for allowing me to join your fine organization.
My interest in radio and communications started when I was a kid in junior high school. My
best friend at the time lived next door to me and our bedrooms in our houses faced each other.
When we were about 14 or so we noticed an ad in a flyer for one of those $10.00 kits that
Radio Shack used to sell for a wired intercom kit that we thought would be fun to make. So
we mowed a few lawns in the neighborhood for money, bought and built the kit and
played “Battleship” the board game over it after school let out. Later my friend moved to a
different house in the same city, so that got us into CB radio.
During my last year in junior high, a teacher, (who was a Ham) overheard me talking about CB
and told me about the world of 2 meter which was SO much better than CB. He took me under
his wing and helped me learn the theory and the code requirement for my Novice license which I
got in 1976.
Back then, the FCC put an “N” in the middle of your call sign to let people know you were a
Novice, so I was WN6PMY. As I got a little better with my CW I took the General and the
Advanced tests and the FCC changed my call to WA6PMY.
I was active in a local club in Orange County during High School in both VHF/UHF and in the
HF bands where I had a blast. I moved to Riverside, where work, marriage, family etc. left me
little time for the hobby and I never re-engaged.
Recently, I visited the club’s Field day event and remembered how much fun the hobby was.
I found the RCARA website and applied for membership.
I dug through my closet and found my old Yaesu FT-202R and figured I needed something a
little more modern, so I picked up a FT-60 to carry around and then a little later found a good
used TM-V71 which I have in the house fed to a short Tram mag mount sitting on a pie tin
for a ground plane while I figure out the best way to put a j-pole on the roof.
I am really looking forward to talking with everyone as I improve my signal and try to reacquire
some operating skills. Thank you all for welcoming me to the club, I know I can really learn a
lot from this group.
Larry Junker WA6PMY
Who is up for the task? Could it be you? We need your talents and
skills! It’s fun and rewarding.
Amateur Radio Ham Radio Maidenhead Grid Square Locator Map
http://www.levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php
http://www.qrz.com
www.hamradio.com/
http://www.eham.net
http://www.arrl.org/qst
http://www.manualman.com
http://73s.com/
REPEATER LIST
http://rptrlist.w6jpl.ampr.org/
ALL ABOUT BATTERIES
http://www.batteriesamerica.com/
ECHO LINK INFO http://www.echolink.org/
http://nicdlady.com/
IRLP LINK INFO
http://www.irlp.net/
Clint Bradford – interesting informational web site
http:/www.k6lcs.com
NOAA/Space Weather Prediction Center:
www.swpc.noaa.gov
Space Weather Alerts: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/alerts/warnings_timeline.html
The Moreno Valley Radio Association will be hosting an interesting speaker at its
meeting on Thursday, October 2, 2014, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM. The meeting will be held
at Parking Lot # 9 in the Lake Perris State Park Meeting Room. No need to pay at the
gate, just tell the Ranger that you are going to the MVARA Ham Radio meeting.
Items to be covered in the presentation include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Safety
Electrical basics
Battery basics
Failover switches
Power distribution systems
Recommendations
Review
Safety
Electrical basics
Battery basics
Failover switches
Power distribution systems
Recommendations
Review
FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, spoke at the Connecticut Convention
Center in Hartford, Connecticut during the ARRL Centennial Banquet Friday,
July 18, 2014. Watch this video as he extols the use of ham radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLOJXvkBbkg
ARRL Web site - 09/03/2014:
New Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Fee Set at $21.40
The FCC has adjusted very slightly downward - to $21.40 – its proposed Amateur
Service vanity call sign regulatory fee for Fiscal Year 2014. In a June Notice of
Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), the Commission said it was planning to hike the
current $16.10 vanity fee to $21.60 for the 10-year license term. The FCC released a
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (R&O) in the
proceeding on August 29, in which it recalculated the fee to $21.40 for the 10-year
license term. The $5.30 increase still represents the largest vanity fee hike in many
years.
The new $21.40 fee does not go into effect until 30 days after the R&O is published
in The Federal Register.
In the R&O, the FCC said it considered eliminating the regulatory fee for Amateur
Radio vanity call sign applications but decided not to do so "at this time," because it
lacks "adequate support to determine whether the cost of recovery and burden on
small entities outweighs the collected revenue; or whether eliminating the fee would
adversely affect the licensing process." The Commission said it would reevaluate this
issue in the future to determine if it should eliminate other fee categories.
The FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau sets the vanity call sign regulatory
fee using projections of new applications and renewals, taking into consideration
existing Commission licensee databases, such as the Universal Licensing System
(ULS) database.
The FCC reported there were 11,500 "payment units" in FY 2014. The Commission
said the vanity program generated an estimated $230,230 in FY 2013 revenue and it
estimated that it would collect nearly $246,100 in FY 2014.
The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable when applying for a new vanity call sign
or when renewing a vanity call sign, although some older vanity call signs are not
subject to the regulatory fee.
Thanks to Art Sutorus AA6CA for the “heads up”
Amateur Radio Outreach Program
Tom Welchel WA6TLL, has made several contacts with kids involved in the
program which follows. K5USA, the Fort Sill (Oklahoma) Radio Club, has written
about their involving kids in amateur radio at a park on Saturdays.
Imagine being 10 years old (again) and seeing a grown man get excited because he
just talked with someone in Japan, or someone aboard the Queen Mary, W6RO or
the USS Cod, W8COD.
That excitement is exactly what Lawton OK based K5USA creates during their
Amateur Radio Outreach program. Taking the "Get On The Air" (GOTA) station idea
straight from the ARRL, W1AW, Field Day playbook. The local park is Kid's Zone
and it's filled with kids and parents. These park visitors are of course non-amateurs,
making them perfect audience members.
Kid's Zone and adjacent pavilion provide a fantastic facility to introduce amateur
radio, complete with power and overhead protection. The openness of the location
allows for casual observations, and opportunities for the forever magical question,
"What-cha-doing?" With that one question, the stage is set for GOTA opportunities!
When the group is active in the park, they try to have a web cam up and running.
Click this live feed linkwww.hamsoncams.com to observe the activities.
Is this a possible activity for RCARA?
Perhaps Tom WA6TLL can enlighten us further regarding his involvement in this
activity and adventure.
Article courtesy of Clair K6LG
How do you make a ham stew?
Don’t acknowledge his break.
VIDEO OF HERMAN MUNSTER ON HAM RADIO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-8RItOZE30
Don’t forget to volunteer to serve on the
Board of Directors
Potential New Club Members?
K6VAMP
N6FNG
A6WTC
AL6IEN
A6MUM
N6HM
AG6HST
T6BON
A6RGG
Bob KG6NIB recruiting a
potential new ham
DDuane N6JPO being
interviewed by UCR students
for GTV publication
Thanks to CERT, we
were fortified with
pizza and other
refreshments.
Every Sunday at 8:30 AM
R.A.C.E.S. PUBLIC SERVICE
NET, 3.945 MHz
Don Williams KD6UVT
[email protected]
Every Monday at 7:15 PM
R.A.C.E.S./ARES PUBLIC
SERVICE NET,
146.880 MHz, Minus, 146.2 PL
Don Williams KD6UVT
[email protected]
Last Monday of the month at
7:15 PM
R.A.C.E.S./ARES
PUBLIC SERVICE NET,
146.880 MHz, NO PL – SIMPLEX
Don Williams KD6UVT
[email protected]
QCWA NET 145.580 –
Bob W6RTW
[email protected]
Every Tuesday at 7:00 PM
1st
Saturday of the month
1:30 PM
By appointment only
Last Saturday of the month
7:00 AM
SIMPLEX
VE Testing, Corona
W6TRW Swap
Redondo Beach, CA
Fred W6TKV r E-mail :
[email protected]
W6TRW
[email protected]
3rd Saturday of the month
Chino Hills High School
7:00 AM
CHS Boosters
chhselectroniscsswapmeet@gmail.
com
R.A.C.E.S. MEETING
Monday, October 6, 2014
6:00 PM
Don Williams KD6UVT
[email protected]
R.C.A.R.A. BOARD
MEETING
Thursday, October 9, 2014
6:00 PM
Ron Braley
(951) 369-5149
R.C.A.R.A. CLUB MEETING
Thursday, October 9, 2014
7:00 PM
Ron Braley
(951) 369-5149
W6TJ.ORG
JPL Open House
Sat. Oct. 11 and
Sun. Oct. 12, 2014
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/o
pen-house.php
TECH PREP CLASS
SAT. OCT. 18 & 25
8:00 AM – 3:30 PM
[email protected]
(951) 888-0209
R.C.A.R.A. HOLIDAY PARTY
Friday, December 12, 2014
6:00 PM
No Host Holiday Dinner
KOUNTRY FOLKS
RESTAURANT
W6TJ.ORG
 Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween
 Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween
 The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips
 CQ sounds like “seek you” – get the inference?
 “May Day” originated from the French word m'aidez - meaning "help me”
 RG means "radio guide" and was the original military specification for coax cable
Escaped from the Tower, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2014
Description:
8 feet tall, green pasty skin, multiple scars
If found, feed him 12,000 volts of electricity every
3 hours. Needs to be kept cold!
Keep him away from fire, small children and
people who scream loudly and run away!
Contact Dr. Frankenstein, Transylvania AA1DR
REWARD: $1,000,000 in Gold Bullion