F  E  E  D  -  P  O  I  N  T

The Official Newsletter of the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association

FebruaryVol. 20 No.2
Letter From Our President


Where is winter? It has felt like late March and early April for three weeks now. Twice it has been raining in downtown Fort Kent and snowing up here on our hill. There is mud on dirt roads. Mud season in February? It certainly seems strange. People must be saving a lot on their heating bills.

As I write this, on February 26th, it is snowing hard. Maybe we'll get more than the trace to 2 3/4" inches of snow we have gotten so far this month.






N7GLR's Hughes net service has not been working. Therefore he has been unable to get to our club website to fix the problem with the posting of Feed-Point. Hopefully, it will be fixed soon.

Hughes Net is being set up at Rocky Brook today. Also, Hughes Net at Maibec needs work because it is currently not operative.



Gale Flagg
108 Franklin School Rd
Fort Kent, Maine 04743
Phone: 207-834-6670
E-mail: galeflagg@sjv.net


Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 16, 18:00, UMFK, Nadeau Hall, Alum. Conf. Room
Schedule of Coming Events
DateEventPlaceContactSponsorTimeFreq
SUNNetNBVE1PINIRG2000145.130
MONNetFort KentN1FGSJVARA1900146.64
MONNetPresque IsleWA1YNZAARA2000146.73
Page 2Feed-Point, February
Minutes of February 9th, 2010 SJVARA Meeting


Start Time: 18:25 (Program presented first)
Members present: N1FG, W1TCP, KB1OWW, N7GLR, KA7VNR, N1QMC, N1JHD, K1FTK, KA1SJV, N1EVO and Stan Flagg.

Treasurer's Report: N1FRX:
Old Balance:$3350.17
Savings Account$3296.09
Interest on Savings:$1.82
Deposits: Dues $12.00
Checking Account$54.08
New Balance:$3363.99

Motion to Approve: W1TCP, Seconded by: N1EVO, Passed
Old Business:
1. Rocky Mt.: Voltage 12.68 on Feb. 8.
2. 146.640 Repeater: Still has static at the end of transmissions. KB1OWW said it is caused by the squelch setting.


New Business:

1. Can-Am Races: Start March 6.Hams have been recruited for all positions.
2. Two Meter Antenna for Can-Am:N1EVO has been using the antenna. It will be mounted at Lonesome Pine for the races.

3. Other: N1FG showed the special Thank You made for AA1XD and K1XI for all the antenna and radio work they have done for the club.
N7GLR talked a bit about slow scan TV he has been using. He also donated a 2-meter radio to be used only on low power.
Next meeting moved to March 16th because of Can-Am.

Program: At 18:00: N7GLR presented a good slide program on his and Ruth's trip to Germany last year. Very good pictures and informative commentary. Stan brought an Epson projector and screen that he got for Can-Am. It woked well for N7GLR's slide program.
Adjourned at 18:35 Motion made by K1FTK, seconded by N7GLR

Next Meeting: Tuesday March 16th, UMFK, Nadeau Hall, Alumni Conference Room.
Submitted by N1QMC

In Case You Are Interested
Happy Birthday
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station The ARISS program noted that it coordinated a record number-121- of ISS-to-school QSOs in 2009.
Sandra Daigle 3-20
Page 3Feed-Point, February, 2010
ARRL BOOKS
In the January Feed-Point I mentioned three ARRl books I recently purchased. I thought I would tell you what's in them, in case you might be interested in borrowing them.

The first is the ARRL's Antenna Book, 21st edition. "The ultimate refernce for Amateur Radio antennas, transmission lines and propogation. It includes the fully searchable book on CD-ROM. The CD ROM contains the entire antenna book, plus YW--Yagi for Windows, TLW-- Transmission lines for Windows, HFTA--HF Terrian Assessment for Windows,Range-Bearing-- compute range/bearig or latitude/longitude, Arrayfeed1--designing phased-array feed systems, EZNEC-ARRL--antenna modeling for Windows. PLUS propogation forecast tables for more than 170 locations around the world for all portions of the solar cycle! "


The second book is SIMPLE and FUN ANTENNAS FOR HAMS. "Finally a no-nonsense, hands-on, practical book about antennas." The book "is designed not only for newcomers to the wonderful hobby of Amateur Radio, but also for anyone overwhelmed with the theory and technical details in most antenna 'textbooks'".

"There are more than 70 well-tested, fun, and entirely useful projects. These antennas work!"


The book "presents the antenna know-how you need to make things clear, with a minimum of mind-numbing detail or math. If you want detail and math galore, you're ready for the ARRL Antenna book."


There are 16 chapters in the book such as, Your First VHF Antenna, Your First HF Antenna, HF Verticals, Dual-band Antennas, More HF Antennas, Getting the Most Out of Your Antenna.


The Third Book is the ARRL's Low Power Communication. It includes Equipment and Station Acessories, Operating strategies for QRP, Emmergency Communication, Surplus Military Equipment--restoring and using this classic radio equipment, QRP Frequencies, and much more!

For Sale

14-element two meter beam mounted on a 10' tower section with rotor. Best offer over $100.00 N1FG at 834-6670
A Bit of Humor
"A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, 'I'm drawing God.' The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what God looks like.' Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.' "

F E E D - P O I N T            February, 2010

Published by the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association
and distributed free to members and friends of Amateur Radio.
President: Gale Flagg N1FG
Vice President: Gil Daigle, N1JHD
Secretary: Sandra Daigle, N1QMC
Treasurer: Charles Zafonte, N1FRX
Public Information: Charles Ames, N7GLR
Technical Advisor: Carl Pelletier, N1EVO and June Despres, KB1OWW
Editor/Publisher/Printer
Gale Flagg - N1FG / Stan Flagg 834-6670
Associate Editor/Web Edition
Charles Ames N7GLR
Membership Information (Annual Dues):
Regular Membership $ 12
Associate Membership $ 6
Articles may be submitted by anyone with a good idea, and may be re-printed
only in their entirety and with credit going to this newsletter.




FEED-POINT
108 FRANKLIN SCHOOL RD
FORT KENT ME 04743