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 Well, as most of you already read, I will show you how to have a chance catching one of those elusive Foxes…
So, today I went to the local hardware store and got some plastic pipe, T’s, 4 way thingies and a pair of hose clamps, the tape measure itself, comes from a garbage bin at work, so its a little bit too thin, but works fine anyway. Apart from that, you also need a few feet RG-58, some electrical tape and 5 inces of 16 gage copper wire.
I was really going to let you come down to the meeting, to get the rest of the dimensions, but decided to give them to you here ;-)
Schedule 40 plastic pipe, think its 3 feet, about $ 1,67, 1 Tee end, that fits the pipe, 2 cross pieces, also same size, a few cents each…. ;-) You will also need 2 hose clamps, that fits the cross things.
 Cut the plastic pipe into 3 pieces, 11 3/8 , 6 7/8 and one more 11 3/8. Put the T on the one end of the 11 3/8 pipe, then put the one cross piece on the other end, next stick the 6 7/8 pipe into the already assembled parts, then the last cross piece onto the 6 7/8 and last but not least, the 3rd piece of pipe, its going to come out something like this: ———————————->
Now to the tape measure itself, cut one piece 41 3/8 inch, two pieces 17 3/4 inch and one piece 35 1/8 inch, you can use ordinary pair of scissors, but be careful, the ends gets really sharp! (put some tape over ends)
Attach the 35 1/8 to the T, make sure its centered, (use electrical tape) next file of about 1/8 inch of the paint on the one end of both 17 3/4 pieces, attach the two 17 3/4 onto the middle cross piece with the hose clamps and finally the longest, to the next cross piece, using the tape again.
When all is put toghether, see picture 3, you will need to solder the 5 inch copper wire, which you have to shape like a U, presolder the ends first, solder it onto the feedpoint, (dont overheat, plastic will melt) then solder your RG-58 to the same point, coax running towards the handle…..
I hooked mine up to my Bird, and it shows very low SWR, so good luck, and if you are interested or have questions, come down to the meeting, and we will help ;-)
Lars FYW
 The April Quad-County ARC meeting featured a very interesting program on APRS presented by Carmine Prestia K3CWP and Woody Brem K3YV. Twenty-one amateurs were in attendance—some from as far away as Clarion and Emporium—and all four counties were represented. President Doug W3DWR called the meeting to order and during the brief business meeting the upcoming Spring Banquet plans were finalized, Field Day discussion was opened and committee reports were heard.
The business meeting was adjourned and the program was presented. Carmine K3CWP and Woody K3YV discussed their use of APRS to track Santa as he visits the neighborhoods in State College every year. They explained how parents can see when Santa’s firetruck will be approaching their neighborhood and take their kids out to see him every Christmas Eve, and the positive public response this has generated.
Carmine demonstrated how this worked by showing their path to the meeting using the online map at aprs.fi. Woody explained the construction of the “dot-box” which is the self-contained APRS rig he constructed inside a toolbox. AS Woody passed his dot-box around the room for the members to look at, Carmine discussed how the boxes were mounted on the firetrucks.
The program was very well received, as indicated by the number of questions from the hams in attendance. There was ample opportunity to discuss APRS technology with the guests and our members who have been using APRS. There were a number of APRS stations on display. Scott W3EOD brought his Kenwood TM-D7 Hand-held APRS transceiver and wrist-mounted GPS that he uses on the trail, W3BC brought his Kenwood TM-D710A and his “Frankenstein” rig, which he constructed from old equipment in his junkox for very little cash outlay. WA3UFN’s Yaesu FTM-350R flexed its APRS muscles, and the equipment used to support the N3QC-2 APRS Fill-in digipeater at the EOC was on display as well.
According to many comments received this was the best Quad-County meeting in quite a while, and we are trying to have more meetings like this one in the future. We hope to see you at the next one!
Photo Gallery
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| With great sadness we record the passing of Bernie Masonis WA3UKE in Florida on Friday, April 15th. K3QEQ reports Bernie was visiting near Pensacola and was transported to a hospital by Life Flight. Arrangements are being handled by the Baronick Funeral Home in Du Bois. More details will be presented as they become available.
Bernie was one of the original members of the Quad-County ARC, and was instrumental in putting our repeaters on the air. He and Pete Carr WW3O (ex W3BQO) did much of the climbing and assembly of the towers and antennas for the Clear Run repeater in DuBois, and built the 147.39 tower on the Rockton Mountain from the ground up in 1976 and 1977.
Bernie served as editor of the Parasitic Emission in 1977, and was a very active Quad-County member for a number of years. His leadership and good nature helped the club grow into the active and friendly organization it became. Bernie’s career in electronics spanned many decades. For several years he managed the parts sales department at Barron’s and Edwards Electronics, (which later became Clearfield Electronics’ Du Bois store). He then worked for many years in the cable communications industry as Chief Technician of the Du Bois Region, and was highly respected by his peers and fellow amateurs.
In retirement, he and his wife Judy enjoyed motorcycle touring and many other activities. He fell ill about a year ago and was struggling with recovery since. He will be missed by all who knew him.
We offer our most profound condolences to his family. |
In light of the next club meeting with the presentation on APRS, I tought this would be a great article to check out on the ARRL website. Just click the ARRL news feed tab on the right side of the home screen and look for the article titled “Surfin’: APRS’ing the Tsunami”.
We all remember the “Good Ole Days” with fondness. I remember—and I’m sure you do too—the fun and good times we all shared participating in Quad-County ARC activities: Building a repeater, the good food and great times at Field Day, especially at Ed Golla’s picnic grove, the chance to visit our many friends at each meeting… The list is almost endless and the happy memories warm my heart every time I think about them. How about you?
You may be visiting this website after reading the card we sent you. Some of us are still very active hams, while some of us are taking a smaller part in ham radio activities. If I had to point out one thing which made ham radio more fun for me and for many other hams I know, I’d have to say that the most fun we had was when we gathered together as a club and did interesting and exciting things. The Halloween patrols, traveling as a group to hamfests, teaching classes, giving exams, “BUX burgers,” K3BFO’s “special” weather reports… We may not have known it then, but those are the things we remember best about those days.
The Quad-County Amateur Radio Club turns 36 on April 17th. Sadly, many of us have gone to the “antenna farm” in the years since. The reins have been passed several times, and fewer and fewer of our members have been coming back. This is sad, because a healthy, active ham radio club makes our favorite hobby so much more fun. I think we can recapture some of that youthful enthusiasm, give the club a shot in the arm and reap the benefits—all we have to do is start showing up and doing things together.
As I prepared those postcards and put the stamps on them, I couldn’t help but experience deja-vu, and remember how I did the same thing almost a lifetime ago. The results back then were nothing short of amazing! All of us joined together and raised up a very successful club. For its part, the club provided us with enjoyable activities for many years.
I believe  the same can happen today. All it will take is the same as it took all those years ago: You.
We have a nice place to meet at the Clearfield County Emerency Operations Center just behind the old County Home, and we have an interesting meeting planned for Friday April 15th at 7:30 pm. If you have trouble driving that far at night, let me know and I’ll try to line up someone to give you a ride. Every Sunday evening, the Quad-County FM Net meets at 7:00 like it always has, now on the 147.315 repeater. Our Spring Banquet is coming up on May 14th at the Fort Worth Restaurant in Du Bois. We are sponsoring a VE testing session on Friday, April 8th at the Du Bois Diner at 6:00 pm. I’m still publishing The Parasitic Emission, now as a full-color, PDF electronic magazine. Click here to download the latest issue, or click here to see many of our back issues.
Won’t you please join with us again for these and all the other activities we are planning? Having you take part will make a much better club, which in turn will make your Amateur Radio experience more fun than it is when you try to do it all alone. So how about it? Will you give us a little of your time to check us out and see what we can do for you? We will be happy to welcome you home, and your participation will add to everyone’s enjoyment of our favorite hobby!
73!
Joe Shupienis W3BC (ex WA3IHK)
Founder, Quad-County Amateur Radio Club
As befits an organization I have obtained the domain name “qcarc.org” for our website. The old “dot-com” name will continue to exist and will address the same content, at least for now. During the next several days, there may be some delays as the DNS servers recognize the change. For the best performance, please change your bookmarks to www.qcarc.org.
Hi everybody!
As I was sitting here, looking at our exellent home page, I got one of those ideas that maybe I could try to write something of my own, if nothing else, it might encourage all of you readers to do the same, afterall, we can’t wait for Joe to come up with all the articles.
That said, I would like to tell you all, that my tower is back up, my 10m quad is repaired, and the 6m beam is finaly back in the top.
Furthermore, I have a new rotor, it’s now a HAM IV rotating the antennas, so now I can finaly see at what direction I’m beaming (thanks Don, for the rotor cable)
For those of you, who are waiting for the weather to warm up, I will try to get my plans for FOX hunt realized, more about that later…….
If you are interested in fox hunt, please Email me, so we get to know how many are willing to hunt….
This was a lot about nothing, LOL, but never the less, a beginning.
Lars FYW
 The Quad-County Amateur Radio Club is pleased to host a multi-club Spring Banquet on Saturday, May 14 from 5:30 to 9:00 pm at the Fort Worth Restaurant, downtown DuBois. All radio amateurs and guests in the Quad-County area are invited, regardless of club affiliation.
There will be a multi-club awards ceremony, and valuable door prizes awarded after the dinner. The featured speaker of the evening is the ARRL Atlantic Division Director, Bill Edgar, N3LLR.
The Menu
Dinner Buffet, Including:
Stuffed Chicken Breast or Pot Roast of Beef
With Carrots, Celery and Onions in Gravy
Butter and Parsley Potatoes
Spring Vegetable Medley
Rigatoni with Alfredo Sauce
Soup or Salad
Fresh-Baked Bread or Dinner Roll with Butter
Choice of Beverage: coffee, hot tea, iced tea, lemonade, punch or Coca-Cola brand soft drink
(Legal beverages available at cash bar)
$13.95 + tax/gratuity at door
$17.30 per person
Reservations Required by May 7
Reservation email to: banquet@qcarc.org
Guest Speaker:
Mr. Bill Edgar N3LLR
Atlantic Division Director
American Radio Relay League
Awards Ceremony
Door Prize Drawings:
ARRL Publications (Courtesy N3LLR)
Handheld Transceiver (Sponsor: Parasitic Emission)
Drawing Tickets will be sold at door
15 people attended the March QCARC meeting. Nice turnout
 There is a place for you in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. A.R.E.S. (please don’t say “Aries”) is part of the ARRL Field Service organization, and organizes hams desiring to serve the public through emergency communications (“EmComm”).
You do not have to be a member of ARRL or any other organization. The only requirements are a valid amateur radio license, and the willingness to serve. If you meet these basic qualifications, you are welcome to become part of ARES. To get started, introduce yourself to your county Emergency Coordinator, and complete an application.
What does ARES do?
Just because there is an emergency somewhere, don’t expect to be called. We are not “first responders.” ARES units provide supplemental communications when a “communications emergency” exists, and a served agency requests ARES activation. Your county ARES Emergency Coordinator’s job is to develop and maintain working relationships with served agencies in your county, including Public Safety agencies (such as Fire, Police and Rescue departments), the County Emergency Management Agency, National Guard and Reserves units, Civil Air Patrol, MARS, RACES, SATERN, REACT, Hospitals and Schools, as well as support and relief agencies including The American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Travelers Aid, and Catholic Charities, to name a few.
In a large-scale disaster, all of these served agencies may have communications needs to be filled by ARES volunteers. Periodically, ARES leaders in counties, districts and sections will conduct classes, training nets and exercises to help ARES members learn and sharpen their emergency communication skills. Additionally, the ARRL and FEMA both offer online training courses to help ARES volunteers improve their EmComm capabilities, and prepare in advance for “that phone call in the middle of the night.”
Get Going!
If this sounds like something you would be interested in, take the first steps: Fill out your registration form online, and go to your next club meeting and introduce yourself to your County EC (or assistant) and offer your services. Take part in the training, nets and exercises, and prepare yourself to serve the public in the oldest and very best of Amateur Radio traditions!
Continue reading ARES – There’s Room for You!
Here are some ideas for Club Projects. You are encouraged to leave your comments and get some good discussion going!
- Licensing Classes
- Volunteer to handle Public Information – newspapers, radio and TV stations
- Technology committee – Everybody’s an expert at something. Share your expertise with the rest of us.
- Public Service – From assisting at disasters to assisting at County Fairs and Firemen’s Parades, we can serve the pubic.
- Parties and Picnics – Yeah, we like to eat… Social events are important too!
- Operating activities – Let’s put all four counties on the air for Field Day and the PA QSO Party
It is said that engineers never know when to stop “improving” things. I certainly share that malady!
I think the website is close to its final, working form, and is almost ready for production. It already has plenty of new and useful functionality. There is one new and very exciting feature I’ve added… If you’re a registered user, YOU CAN ENTER YOUR OWN ARTICLES!!! As everyone uses this feature more and more, the website becomes a place you will have to visit often. It’s safe to say the website is never the same twice!
I’ve added lots of eye-candy. I think I may have missed my calling as a Graphic Designer. Or maybe it’s brain damage from my reckless youth!
You’re probably wondering what the “QRM” box is all about. Well, each item submitted to the website can be “tagged” with several keywords describing what it’s about. The QRM is a 3-D beehive of those keywords. The bigger they are, the more articles are related to those keywords. Clicking on a green one loads all articles with that keyword. Slide your mouse on over to the QRM box and watch all those pretty colors, man… (oops, another flashback!)… You know you want to!
This is YOUR website. Please feel welcome to reply to any post, vote in the polls, browse the Classified Ads, read all the “stuff”, and write your own posts to share with others. If you have photos of your shack, upload them! Let’s all make this thing grow!
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