F E E D - P O I N T
The Official Newsletter of the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association
| June, 2008 | Vol. 18 No.6 |
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As I write it is raining again! Here it is June 26th and I still have not finished planting the garden. Soil does not have time to dry out between rain showers or storms. The cat had to have a new transmitter collar (It seems they only last about 2 years.) and it is on a new frequency, which I am told is an amateur radio frequency. I also had to get a new receiver. It is quite different than the first one. Attached to the back of the receiver, is a metal plate with four "arms". When needed you fold the arms out and they make a rectangle. A short coax leads from the antenna to the receiver. On the back there is also a pistol grip for carrying the receiver. Very easy to carry through thick woods. The antenna is much sturdier than the old one that was attached via a BNC connector.
| I keep hearing from EchoLink contacts around the world that the bands are basically dead most of the time. Apparently they open up sporadically. If you have lots of time and can listen you may catch one of the open times. I wonder what Field Day will be like. Gale Flagg 108 Franklin School Rd Fort Kent, Maine 04743 Phone: 207-834-6670 E-mail: galeflagg@sjv.net Next Meeting: Next Meeting, Tues. July 8, UMFK, 6:00 PM Nadeau Hall Conf Room |
| Schedule of Coming Events | ||||||
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| Date | Event | Place | Contact | Sponsor | Time | Freq |
| SUN | Net | NB | VE1PIN | IRG | 2000 | 145.130 |
| MON | Net | Fort Kent | N1FG | SJVARA | 1900 | 146.64 |
| MON | Net | Presque Isle | WA1YNZ | AARA | 2000 | 146.73 |
| Page 2 | Feed-Point, June, 2008 |
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Start Time: 18:00 Members and guests present: N1FG, K1FTK, W1TCP, KA1SJV, KB1OWW, N7GLR, KA7VNR, N1JHD, N1QMC, and N1EVO. Treasurer's Report: N1FRX: April Balance $2848.09 Checking account $134.08 Savings Account: $2714.01.49 + $24.00 dues + $2.65 interest = $2740.66 Total of both=$2874.74. Motion to accept by W1TCP. Seconded by N7GLR. All accepted. Old Business: 1. Rocky Mt.: Rocky Mountain repeater voltage 13.71 at 15:27 June 10. N1EVO could not get to Rocky Mt for repair list because of washouts. Arnold Martin says 4-wheeler can be be used for repair of cabin. Cabin needs new floor, framing, especially where cabin sits on steel frame. Repair of the cabin will be done by the Forest Fire Lookout Association. Carl will take photos when he gets up there & check the batteries, and make a list. 2. 146.640 Repeater: 14.10 at 15:28 June 10. Time to disconnect the the battery charger. Variable volume heard the last two nets. Others think it is N1FG's radio and not the repeater. KB1OWW will check out the radio. |
New Business: 1. Field Day VE1PIN wants to know how many will attend for the operating schedule. VE1PIN wants one of us to help put up the G5RV antenna. Anyone have a mast? June 28-29, at the Botanical Garden in St. Jacques. 2. Trackers for Can-Am and any other uses for public service events: Discussion was held regarding the purchase of trackers and an APRS node on Deboullie Mt. A decision was made to inform Can-Am that our club cannot afford to purchase the trackers. 3.Other: Program for July Meeting: Field Day and PSK31 PROGRAM: Dx contacts were shared. No one noticed the wide open bands reported in Europe. Contacts were made by KB1OWW in Russia, Norway, New Zealand, France, and Cuba. K1FTK discussed PSK31 and will help anyone who wants to set it up. N7GLR motioned to adjourn the meeting. W1TCP seconded the motion, accepted by all. Meeting was adjourned at 18:55. Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 8, 6:00 PM, UMFK Nadeau Hall Alumni Conf Room, Submitted by N1QMC |
| Happy Birthday | |
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| N7RR on the Pacific Crest Trail N7RR is hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexican border to British Colombia. He will finish in Sept. or Oct. Will make radio contacts. More information at www.n7rr.com | |
| Page 3 | Feed-Point, June, 2008 |
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Receiving PSK31 Quickly PSK31 is a relatively new data mode first conceived by SP9VRC and later developed by G3PLX. Rather than using FSK, this mode uses PSK or Phase Shift Keying. The resulting transmitted "text" speed is approximately 50 wpm. This mode has a Baud Rate of 31.25 which gives a very narrow bandwidth of 31 Hz (Yes, Hz, not kHz). Most typical stations transmit at a modulated 40 watts or less. It's similar to RTTY in that it is keyboard to keyboard communication. This mode uses the computer's sound card for transmitting and receiving the SSB signals instead of using a TNC.
A sample screenshot from the "DigiPan" program | Receiving PSK signals couldn't be easier . . . Download and install one of the various programs (see below), connect a cable from your transceivers audio out (speaker or aux audio out) to your computer's sound card Line IN. Run the program and tune your transceiver to (20m in this case) 14.070. The lower pane (see image in left column), known as the waterfall, is blue with vertical yellow lines (the signals), shows activity from 14.070 to 14.072 MHz. You do not tune your transceiver, instead, you move your mouse cursor over a signal. The decoded signal will show up in one of the upper panels, in this case there are three stations in QSO. There are many decoding programs available and they can be found at the WM2U site: www.qsl.net/wm2u/psk31.html . The most widely used is DigiPan 2.0, a free program from www.digipan.net/ . Myself and N7GLR have both worked Stateside and European stations using ~40 watts. I do have a PSK31 DVD by K7AGE for more information that can be loaned out. I will bring it to the July meeting. If there is any further interest, I'll try to cover the basic requirements of full Tx and Rx. I say basic due to various radio interconnects, audio level settings and the use of additional equipment such as RigBlaster Plus and SignaLink USB. '73 Don K1FTK |
Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" X 16". Includes mounting hardware. Best Offer. N1FRX. Force 12 EF-510, 5 ele 10m Beam w/balun New in the box, never installed Retails at $470/$480 ... asking $350 Call Don, K1FTK, at 543-6033 | More UPS Pilots Complaints and Mechanics Solutions - Taken from "gripe sheets" pilots file and review after repair is made |
F E E D - P O I N T June, 2008
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.
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FEED-POINT
108 FRANKLIN SCHOOL RD
FORT KENT ME 04743