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JULY 2010 VALLEY VOICE

Valley Radio Club on the web: www.valleyradioclub.org

***** THIS MONTH'S MEETING: Friday, July 9, 2010 7:00 PM *****

One Of A Kind Radio

Roland Jillings, W7LU, is going to present the program with a talk about the radio he helped develop which is one of a kind. I believe it's a VHF transceiver and this should be a very interesting presentation. What Roland has told me is that this isn't your typical off the shelf rig.

We will also talk about the HR2160 Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009. More info too at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2160.

(You may view a live internet stream presentation of the meeting by visiting http://www.ustream.tv/channel/valley-radio-club-meetings-w7pxl And to view the users page http://www.ustream.tv/valleyradioclub.

I encourage everyone to attend and be an active part of this very special upcoming event. If you have other thoughts or suggestions, please bring them to the meeting Friday, July 9th, at 7:00 PM at the Red Cross, 862 Bethel Dr., Eugene. Hope to see everyone there!

73,

Riley W7RIL
President
w7ril@yahoo.com

***** VRC DX *****
Radio "Interference" With Common Door Chimes
6 Meter Opening
WTB: Two Straights
WTB: Rohn 25g Sections
Hamfest Calendar

***** VRC CLUB CORNER *****

***** VALLEY RADIO CLUB ACTIVITIES CALENDAR *****

***** FROM THE ARRL *****
ARRL Supports Employee Participation in Drills
WX4NHC and Amateur Radio Featured on NHC's New Hurricane Preparedness Web Site
Solar Update
W1AW 2010 Operating Schedule

*****    VRC DX   *****

(Please email your news, articles, buy&sell, etc for the newsletter to ke7gbo@arrl.net)

Radio "Interference" With Common Door Chimes

Greetings,

How many of you have left your radios on in your vehicle while going into a local Dari Mart? I do it all the time, and noticed that the sensor above the doors often chimed when no one was there -- driving the employees nuts.

After this happened at a couple different Dari Marts, I took note of the sensor (Rodann AV-100) and looked it up. This a very popular, cheap unit used in many Dari Marts, 7-11s, etc.. It uses passive infrared; i.e., detects the heat of a body passing under it. What's more, it's hard-wired, not wireless.

To eliminate the chance that passivated glass in my windshield might somehow be reflecting heat into the front of the stores and tricking the AV-100s, I parked across the lot facing away from them. The ghost chimes continued.

I called the manufacturer (they're in Bend), and he told me that although the AV-100 is wired, there's a little pyro-electric sensor in it that's sensitive to RF. It's not shielded well enough from nearby high-powered radios...

The low tech solution the maker gave me was to simply enclose the unit in a metal box, with a hole for the sensor eye to peek through. I passed this along to the couple Dari Marts I routinely visit, but I don't think the occasional annoyance is enough for them to make fixing it a priority.

Have a happy and safe 4th!

73,
Brian Holmes
W7BRI     w7bri@w7bri.com

6 Meter Opening

S5, S7, 9A, E77, OE, IK to mention just a few. Good signals at this time.

GL KO7N     ko7n@peak.org

QSO Egypt on 50.067 at 0432z

Jeremy w7eme

WTB: Two Straights

I also am looking for two straights, to set up a portable operation. VY 73, Lance     w7gj@q.com

Lance Collister, W7GJ (ex: WN3GPL, WA3GPL, WA1JXN, WA1JXN/C6A, ZF2OC/ZF8, E51SIX)
P.O. Box 73, Frenchtown, MT 59834 USA
QTH: DN27UB     TEL: (406) 626-5728
URL: http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj        2m DXCC #11/6m DXCC #815

WTB: Rohn 25g Sections

Looking for 2 straights.

TIA de Dick KO7N   ko7n@peak.org

Hamfest Calendar

17 July 2010
Coos County Radio Club Hamfest
and Swapmeet
Coos County Radio Club
North Bend Middle School
16th and E Streets
North Bend, OR 97459
www.coosradioclub.net

Elise Ciraolo N7CIR
63353 Juniper Drive Coos Bay, OR 97420
541-267-4243 e.ciraolo@verizon.net

Courtesy of OTVARC

***** VRC CLUB CORNER *****

ARRL MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS: The Club can receive money when you renew your ARRL membership. VRC gets $15 or each new ARRL membership for members of ARRL affiliated clubs and $2 for each ARRL membership renewal. For the details contact VRC Treasurer, Al K3DUW.

CLUB BADGES: You too can get a name badge with the VRC logo. And when ordering that, get one of the great Club patches as well. Check with Prez Riley at the next meeting and get the details on how to order yours - show and wear the club badge and the club patch.

CLUB HATS: Club hats with names and call signs are good to have and wear at the various public service events where club members provide radio support. To get the hats, go to "J & S Embroidery" and ask about "ham radio hats". They are custom made and available for about $13.00. J & S Embroidery is located at 1406 Carter Lane in Springfield. The phone number is: 741-1394.

***** VALLEY RADIO CLUB ACTIVITIES CALENDAR *****

6 Meter SIG: Informal net held at 7:30 p. m. local time Tuesdays on 50.125 USB, run by Larry and Marv. For more, contact Larry WJ7S [wj7s@yahoo.com] or Marv W7AE [marv.w7ae@gmail.com].

VE Sessions: second Wednesday each month at Red Cross bldg - contact Riley W7RIL for info and registration. His number is 345-2407, or w7ril@arrl.net.

Em Comm Testing: contact Riley W7RIL well in advance of the regular VE sessions and he will arrange for Em Comm testing on ARRL Em Comm certification categories.

Code Class: no current plans, but if interested, contact Ron WJ7R wj7r@comcast.net.

Technician License Classes: Matt W7ARD teaches Technician classes. Contact him for more info on when his next one starts. The Ham Radio License Manual is available from Matt or from Norvac Electronics. There is no cost for the class. Students should download supplemental info about the book at http://www.arrl.org/hrlm. Please contact Matt via email at w7ard@msn.com or phone at 689-0640 to sign up.

DX and Contest Sig: now meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month [except November and December to adjust for holidays] at Countryside Pizza & Grill, 645 River Road. The meetings will start at 6 p.m. to order any snacks or food, and then there is a program with a video, followed by discussions of current DX and contesting matters.

Em Comm Classes: For the next emergency communication classes, based upon Em Comm I or Em Comm II certification by ARRL please contact Mark N7MQ at n7mq@arrl.net.

Packet Information Group (P.I.G.): www.lanepig.org. Meetings are generally on the 3rd Saturdays of the month from 7:00 to 9:00pm at the Red Cross building located at 862 Bethel Drive, in Eugene. If you have any questions, please send them to KC7QAG@aol.com. See you all there! KC7QAG / Elmer McClellan

Valley Voice newsletter articles/announcements/etc.: Please email your info to Tom Cleveland KE7GBO at ke7gbo@arrl.net. The newsletter is usually sent out the weekend before the monthly meeting and all material received in time will be included.

***** MINUTES of the June VRC Meeting Not Available At Press Time *****

***** FROM THE ARRL ****

ARRL Supports Employee Participation in Drills

IIn March 2010, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) (WT Docket No 10-72) that proposed to amend the Part 97 rules -- specifically 97.113(a)(3) -- governing the Amateur Radio Service. The new rules would provide that, under certain limited conditions, Amateur Radio operators may transmit communications on behalf of their employers during government-sponsored emergency and disaster preparedness drills. While current rules provide for Amateur Radio use during emergencies, the rules prohibit communications where the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer, except for government-sponsored drills for which a waiver has been granted. The NPRM asked for comments from interested parties. As such, on May 24, the ARRL filed its initial comments and on June 7, filed its reply comments. The ARRL's filings reflect the position adopted by the Board of Directors at its January 2010 meeting. Read more <http://www.arrl.org/news/in-fcc-rule-making-proceeding-arrl-supports-employee-participation-in-drills>here.

WX4NHC and Amateur Radio Featured on NHC's New Hurricane Preparedness Web Site

In April, the National Hurricane Center (<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml>NHC) debuted a <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml>new Web site dedicated to hurricane preparedness. The site explains that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads among all major hurricane disasters, and that by knowing your vulnerability and what actions you should take, you can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster. <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/forecast/observations.shtml>One of the tools that the NHC mentions on its Web site is <http://www.wx4nhc.org/>WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station located at NHC Headquarters in Miami, Florida. In speaking about the WX4NHC volunteer ham radio operators, the NHC notes that "formal Amateur Radio activity at the National Hurricane Center was initiated in 1980 and has been an important source of real-time weather observations before, during and after hurricane landfalls. Dedicated ham radio volunteers work at NHC during storm events to help provide NHC meteorologists with very important data that is used in the hurricane warning process. Please visit <http://www.wx4nhc.org/>www.wx4nhc.org for a more detailed history of the WX4NHC ham radio service." WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, said he hopes that this updated NHC Web page "will help promote public awareness about Amateur Radio and more activity from the Amateur Radio community during this hurricane season."

Solar Update

Tad "<http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww290.html>Like a vast river, stretching in the Sun" Cook, K7RA, reports: The conditions were not great for ARRL Field Day last weekend, but some nice sporadic-E openings on 6 and 10 meters livened things up. Geomagnetic conditions were quite active over the past week, which increased absorption, with the higher latitudes more affected than mid-latitudes. The average daily sunspot numbers over the past three weeks were 26.9, 16.1 and 11.7, so quiet conditions continue with very little solar activity. Look for more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, July 2. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the <http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. This week's "Tad Cookism" brought to you by William Wordsworth's <http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww290.html>Growth of a Poet's Mind: Book Fourth, Summer Vacation.

W1AW 2010 Operating Schedule

The W1AW Operating Schedule may be found on the web at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html .

====================================================================================

73,

Tom Cleveland KE7GBO
Editor - Valley Voice KE7GBO@arrl.net
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