The repeater will be used by Chatham AUXCOMM on Tuesday April 30, 2019.fro 0800 to 1300
Amateurs may use the repeater during this time period.
Please do not interfere with any traffic that may be passed relating to the exercise.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
Introductions:
Treasurer Report:
Dan (KR4UB)
We have 68 paid membership current and 33 requiring renewal. You can renew membership easily and securely on the website under the heading of “Members.”
Chatham county continues moving forward with establishing new radio towers. Currently they are writing specifications to publicly bid the work. They plan to establish additional towers beyond current need for anticipated growth, with the understanding it is more cost-effective to erect the additional towers now than re-bid the work at a future date.
WordPress is the most common blog and website platform in use around the globe. OCRA uses WordPress as our primary club communication channel. WordPress has many additional features and functionality that we can leverage for multiple uses. One such use is capturing interest and availability for Field Day.
With just under four months to go, Field Day 2019 is quickly approaching. However, we can more easily start planning now. Dan has created an on-line sign-up form to capture availability to volunteer for food, station, and field site preparation, staffing, and dismantling.
You can easily complete the sign up form on your computer or even phone! The steps for expressing your interest and availability follow:
1. On the site, navigate to the “Member” tab and click “Receive Access Link”.
2. Enter your call sign, answer the math question, and click “Submit”. An email will be sent to your registered public email address.
3. You will receive a confirmation screen notifying you the link has been sent to your email.
4. Login to your registered email address and click the link. If you bookmark this link, it can be used to update your profile…be sure to bookmark!
5. Complete the Field Day sign-up sheet. Be sure to click the “Save” button located at the end of the form. If there are any data corrections, they will be highlighted in red. Band captains will reach out to you regarding the specifics. We look forward to seeing you during Field Day!
Program: Connectors
As many Hams know, it is important when making decisions about getting the right coax for your Ham Station to understand that there are trade-offs that have to be considered between transmitter power, antenna gain, coax loss, and your total Ham Station system performance. Your bank account may also enter into the equation like most Hams.
Cables and connectors are no exception to the above as they make up the lifeline of your entire station, allowing all of the components to work together. Steve (KZ1X) shared that oxygen is the enemy of every connector, as oxidation due to poor connections will limit the performance and life of the connector. Dan (KR4UB) and Steve (KZ1X) further explain the importance of having the right connectors, wires, and crimpers to produce a gas tight crimp. As Dan shared, in his experience most poor transmissions are the result of bad connectors. However, with quality material and practice you can build connectors that provide decades worth of radio fun and enjoyment.
Dan (KR4UB) explaining contact spring tension Steve (KZ1X) explaining Power pole connectors
Vendors who sell quality connectors and supplies include the following:
· DXengineering – https://www.dxengineering.com/
· Digi-key – https://www.digikey.com
· Mouser – https://www.mouser.com
If you attended this meeting, we would welcome your feedback. If there are other topics of interest, please let know.
73
Introductions:
Treasurer Report: Dan (KR4UB)
Club balance was reported.
Dan created a new attendance sheet. He also went through old club records to capture the date members joined. There are many current members who helped establish the club in the early 1990s, when the club was called the Orange County Wireless Pioneers. Steve Jackson (KZ1X) was the spark plug for establishing the club. The first meeting was in the community room of OWASA. Anyone with club records, please let Dan know. Dan will scan and add the content to the site, which will help preserve club records.
Dan has a repeater still occupying space in his basement. The current repeater market in Durham and Alamance is rather saturated. However, as Chatham County is growing, so is the need for communication towers. Nick (KA1HPM) mentioned that the county is planning to install several new towers for 2020. There may be opportunities to relocate the repeater to a tower in Chatham County for amateur radio and CERT usage.
Field Day results:
While radio propagation was sketchy, we were able to accumulate 2000 more points this year over last. Every station, minus 80 meters, was able to increase their score, with digital exceeding last year by over 1000 points. This year’s numbers will change slightly as Dave (W4SAR) thoroughly combs the combined log to eliminate duplicate contacts, fix broken exchanges, and eliminate broken exchanges that cannot be made good:
For more detailed information on Field Day, we encourage you to read the July 2018 DFMA newsletter. https://www.dfma.org/TheLink/2018/Link1807web.pdf
Show and Tell
Steve (KZ1X) was cleaning out an old radio box and brought in a Micron SWR field strength meter, which may have been purchased as the old Radio Shack in University Mall. The Micron measures the amount of signal transmitted by your antenna system, and a signal pattern can be plotted by taking readings around your antenna. The meter covers 3 to 30 MHz and can handle up to 1KW.
He also brought alligator clips with magnifier glass used for splicing wire and adding connectors.
Dave (KW4XL) brought in several 3D printed products, including a raspberry pi hotspot case and working crescent wrench.
The next membership meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 10. Hope to see you there!
Chatham Co CERT Amateur Radio is going to do a small exercise on the 442.150mHz PL 131.8Hz repeater on Monday, February 26 at 19:00 local. This will be a practice for a later exercise to see who, from across the county’s ham operators, can contact the repeater.
Terry, KK4JGT will be net control.