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 Want to become a ham? Here’s some good news!
The Quad-County Amateur Radio Club will conduct free, entry-level licensing classes for those wishing to obtain Amateur Radio licenses, beginning September 13, 2012 at 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the American Red Cross PA Heartland Chapter offices at 209 N. Brady Street, DuBois. Classes will continue on the following Thursday evenings: Sep. 10, Sep. 27, Oct. 4, Oct. 18, and a test session on Oct. 25. Please note there will not be a class on October 11!
Classes are suitable for all ages. We suggest parents accompany children under 14. A study manual is recommended (under $20) and students should make every effort to attend each class.
For more information, contact Joe Shupienis W3BC at 371-3235.
 We have scheduled a VE Test Session for Thursday, October 25 at 6:00 pm. Walk-ins are welcome and all classes of exam will be given.
This is an ARRL VEC session, and there will be a $15.00 fee to take as many different exams as you can, including instant upgrades.
Place: American Red Cross PA Heartland Chapter, 209 N. Brady Street, 2nd Floor (above Planet Bike.) Use the rear entrance from the parking lot and take the elevator.
For more information, please contact Joe W3BC at 814-371-3235.
 We’re at it again! Before the August 17 meeting, we invaded the large parking lot we use as an antenna test range once again. This time, we brought UHF antennas, and found that despite their smaller size, they were all very efficient. Don KB3LES brought his double diamond array, which may be small, but packed a big punch! Lars KB3WBT ran his Quagi through its paces, and Joe W3BC made reference measurements of his Rover Yagi.
The antennas all performed so well it was too close to call. Don’s antenna had high gain, and it was in almost all directions, Lars’ quagi had deeper side nulls, but was still “lobey” off the back. Joe’s Rover antenna had plenty of forward gain, but when as little as 15 degrees off the target, the signals went away and stayed away.
Don’s antenna had the smallest turning radius, and its wide beamwidth and high gain is perfect for net and repeater operations. It would be particularly well-suited to talking to mobiles, since its wide-pattern coverage would blanket an area better than any other antenna we tested. Plus it was the most unique looking of the bunch! Lars’ quagi was very lightweight being made of PVC pipe, and was easily portable. It would make a great antenna for working distant repeaters. Joe’s Rover antenna was showing the effects of bouncing down hundreds of miles of back roads on countless contest roving missions. A couple of the elements were loose, and could be heard and seen on the receiver as they flopped around in the breeze. It certainly meets its design requirement of hearing only what it’s pointed at, and rejecting strong contest QRM from off the sides and back. Mechanically though, it needs some maintenance before it falls apart, and perhaps a sturdier redesign to keep the elements where they belong.
 The exercise could be called a “quest for truth” and there were many truths revealed, even by the simplistic testing methodology we used. Given more time, and more attention to little details, some very accurate results could be obtained, but in our assembly-line session, we learned a lot, and got a good idea of the performance of each antenna under test. We will add these techniques to our inventory, and we’ll certainly be doing more antenna testing in the future.
After we ran out of UHF antennas, we switched the remote transmitter to VHF, and tested Lars’ latest creation—a 5 element two meter antenna that uses metal arrow shafts for elements. It is a clean-looking antenna, and initial test results showed it to have good gain and a very smooth pattern. After twirling it around the compass and recording received signal strengths, we gave it a real test—we dialed up a distant beacon and pointed the antenna its way.
Sure enough we heard a carrier, and then the CW id of WA1ZMS on 144.285 MHz, located on a 4200 foot mountaintop in Virginia, some 253 miles to the south!
 The net result was that all the antennas were winners! Every one of them had plenty of gain to pick up the weakest signals, while the off-axis signal sensitivity or rejection differed, making each antenna suitable for a different purpose. That diversity is what makes Amateur Radio so much fun, and gives us choices to meet our operating needs.
Not to mention that everyone there had a lot of fun!
 WWe hit the road once again on Saturday, August 11; this time to set up a public demo booth at the Super 322 Drive-In Car Show between Woodland and Bigler. Lars KB3WBT, Ed KB3VWX, Don KB3LES and Joe W3BC strung a G5RV from the 50-foot peak of the screen to a similarly high tree. Lars and Don set up the radios and some portable antennas, and we hit the airwaves.
 Sam KA3USM sat in at the operating position, and Herb W3TM and guest made the rounds and pointed us to the best car displays.
Lars worked DX station after DX station and tuned higher and higher bands as the day progressed and the MUF increased. He agreed that sunspots are a good thing. The weather was very pleasant with scattered clouds and nary a drop of rain. We handed out information packets to those who stopped by, and got the chance to browse through the car show at our own pace.
Theater owner Bill Frankhouser was very appreciative of our efforts, and hopes to have us back again next year.
Photo Gallery
The Baker Trail Ultra Challenge is a 50+ mile foot race. We have offered our services to the race organizers. We will be responsible for helping to provide communications at the 11 Aid Stations along the route. Here is a map of the locations:
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 Congratulations to Herb Murray, W3TM for taking First Place Rover-Limited in the WPA section in the ARRL June VHF contest. With the help of W3BC, the team made VHF contacts in 54 grids all over the US, from 5 different locations. A lot of hard work and cooperation paid off nicely for the intrepid adventurers as they turned the beams and eked out the weakest signals to successfully make contacts hundreds of miles away on VHF and UHF.
“Band conditions weren’t the greatest,” acknowledges Herb, but the team made the most of it with 109 QSOs, 54 grids worked + 5 grids activated, for a total of 7,257 points. “Since W3SO was having technical difficulties, I said, “Let’s go roving!'” continued Herb.
Working stations hundreds of miles away is a challenge at VHF and UHF frequencies, which are usually used for local communications within a “line of sight” distance. DuringVHF contests and other VHF activities, hams routinely stretch the distance to several hundred miles, far beyond line of sight. Making these long-distance contacts requires sensitive receivers, high-gain antennas, and lots of operating skill. Hams are up to that kind of challenge!
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