THE QUAD-COUNTY Amateur Radio Club, Inc. proudly presents our 2012 Annual Report, detailing the activities of the past 12 months in this, our 38th year. You may view or download it here:
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Should QCARC continue giving VE Exams before club meetings in even months?
Total Voters: 3  Loading ... |
Saturday morning found club members Don Jewell KB3LES of Falls Creek and Peach Caltagarone AB3OG of Reynoldsville setting up 2-meter stations at the Red Cross shelters in Brookville and Big Run, with Greg Donahue KB3WKD and Joe Shupienis W3BC setting up in the Red Cross Headquarters in downtown DuBois. All stations set up and were able to maintain and relay communications with the Jefferson County EMA and the Red Cross HQ for the duration of the exercise. The Western Pennsylvania Section scenario was severe weather disrupting power, transportation and communications in the section. The Red Cross disaster drill was coordinated with the WPA master plan, and included simulated tornado damage and hundreds of evacuees in the areas of Brookville and Troutville. As the mission progressed, routine and priority messages were exchanged, including requests for counts of evacuees at each shelter, requests from the shelters for supplies, EMA bulletins, and calls for additional volunteers. Red Cross officials at each shelter were able to communicate with HQ via our Amateur Radio links. Tactical callsigns and plain-language communication techniques were used throughout the drill, and greatly facilitated accurate and effective communications. Several “problems” were simulated, both by EMA and Red Cross officials, and our amateurs were able to quickly and satisfactorily respond to each with appropriate actions. A couple “real” difficulties occurred which added an air of realism to the exercise. This was a great opportunity to put Amateur Radio Public Service on display for the public and the served agencies. We promptly got every message through, overcame difficulties and exceeded all expectations. Red Cross officials remarked on the high degree of realism they witnessed in our communications, and praised the operating skills and knowledge of the Amateur Radio Volunteers. They further indicated their desire to equip the headquarters and shelters with antennas and radios, and hope to plan a Red Cross disaster drill in the spring, with live “victims” and official vehicles actually travelling to shelters in all four counties.  Reynoldsville Reunion: Ed Golla Jr K3AHS and Mayor Peach Caltagarone AB3OG enjoy the opportunity to catch up on old times at the picnic  VHF, UHF and HF antennas were set up and working  Hotdogs with "BUX Sauce" -- a Quad-County tradition! It’s been said that the two things hams enjoy most in life are eating and radios. It’s probably a tie for first place. Well when we combine the two at a picnic, it’s a sure-fire good time for every ham there.  Brad N3HAO demonstrates that nothing is more fun than a picnic... except a picnic WITH RADIOS! Social Networking Ham radio is the original “social network”–the kids today on “MyFace” have nothing on us! We’ve b een doing it for years, both on the air and off. The picnic was no exception. Everywhere you looked you saw friends, old and new, talking with each other and enjoying a good time. And that’s why all of us were there. Gallery
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!
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!
Not to mention that everyone there had a lot of fun!
“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!
Jeff Rowles KA3FHV held down the fort on the HF rig, and the HF antenna system built by Joe W3BC was given a thorough workout. The results were good, and Jeff reported that he was able to work every station he heard. The entire operation was set up in under an hour and it was great to see so many hands make light work of all the heavy lifting. In a Quad-County first, at no time did anyone discover they had left something important at home!
Jefferson County ARES EC Kevin Snyder KA3YCB, along with assistant EC and Punxsutawney Area Amateur Radio Club President Steve Waltman KB3FPN were both on hand to help out and take part in the activities. Kevin also serves as the Quad-County ARC Public Service Officer, and brought portable tables and chairs for the event. Red Cross Liaison Greg Donahue KB3WKD made sure we had everything we needed, and connected us to the electrical power system for the duration. He also set up PA announcements directing fairgoers to our location. Before the rainstorm hit, we discussed how much fun it was, and our desire to do more events like these. We look forward to the next events: Field Day, Race Day, Car Show, and Baker Trail Marathon. Participants:
We finally stopped talking about it and just did it! Before the April meeting, several members tried their hand at finding W3BC’s hidden UV-3R somewhere on the Penn State DuBois campus. Lars KB3WBT brought his DF tape-measure antenna, and Don KB3LES brought one of his home-built log-periodic antennas with his UV-3R for a receiver.  Ed and Don close in on the fox, as passing drivers gape in wonder... Stomping around the campus with antennas, the hidden transmitter turned out to be harder to find than expected. Lars reported the signal level picked up INSIDE the Swift building, and Don couldn’t get a good direction as he got closer to the fox. The “winner” of the first heat was… Ed KB3VWX, who found it without using either a radio or antenna! We’ll have to call him “Eagle Eyes” from now on! Don took some time to introduce Bev W3BEV to the art of foxhunting before heading out to find the fox. The first to find the fox using proper radio and antenna technique was Don KB3LES. After finding it, he got to silence it, and hide it in a second location. That second location was even harder than the first, utilizing a brick wall, a large flower pot, a metal trash can and a pile of leaves to hide out from the DF antennas. Lars was zeroing in on it when time ran out. Ed “Eagle Eyes” KB3VWX retrieved the radio and we all went inside for the meeting. Reports were all positive, and some areas for improvement were discussed, notably signal attenuation when close to the fox. Others remarked that passing drivers gave us some astonished looks as we marched around campus with “space antennas!” Everyone thought it was a lot of fun, and we look forward to perfecting our setups to do it again next month.
This time I have been playing with a piece of pvc pipe and some aluminum wire, the result became a cheap and simple antenna for 70cm. The pvc pipe is about 57″ end to end and is 5/8 diameter (you can use bigger, if thats in your junkbox) and then a couple of short pieces about 1/2″ used for the reflector and also the driven element. I also got a T pipe, as a “mastclamp” since the antenna only weighs a few ounzes ;) Here are the element lengths: Reflector loop 28″ Driven loop 26 5/8″ Directors 11 3/4″ to 11 7/16″ in 1/16 steps…. Element spacing: R-DE 7″ DE-D1 5 1/4″ D1-D2 11″ D2-D3 5,85″ D3-D4 8,73″ D4-D5 8,73″ D5-D6 8,73″ I will bring it to the meeting, so if you have any questions, I’ll be more than happy to answer them. Lars KB3WBT
I am looking into sourcing for extra battery packs. The best pricing I can get is $16 each with approximately two week shipping time. This situation should quickly improve, as this is a brand-new model that was just released this month. So far in our area, 10 have been purchased. They sound great on the air, and no complaints have been registered! This radio is every bit as good and in many ways superior to its nearest competitor, the Wouxung dual-band HT and only costs half the price! RIGHT-CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINKS AND SELECT “SAVE LINK AS” FROM THE MENU!!!Here’s the manual:
We will do this again on Sunday, April 8th. Please consider joining us. We will be using the K3EDD repeater on 444.625. The purpose of the net is to familiarize area amateurs with the characteristics and capabilities of the 70 Cm band. So circle your calendar and prepare to join in! You might be surprised to see how well UHF works with today’s equipment!
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Hello all readers, this is the Swede again.
