F E E D - P O I N T
| May, 2008 | Vol. 18 No.5 |
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Maybe today's rain will take away the last of the snow patches. On May 19 Ty
the cat and I went up to the tower. It started to sprinkle as we got to the top,
so we headed back down. Half-way down it was pouring rain. We both got soaked and
I found out Ty has a very loud yowling meow! Ty had lost her transmitter collar on
the way up. I did not see it on the way down. I put on rain gear, put the receiver
and antenna in a plastic bag and went hunting. I just used the loudness of the signal
to zero in on the collar. Just like a foxhunt.
| At our May meeting I gave KB1OWW a pair of slinkys and directions for a slinky antenna that I picked up at the AARA Spring Social's chinese auction. On the May 19th net KB1OOW reported he had put a slinky together and had been using to make good contacts! He says it will have to be used inside because it will rust outside. Sometimes the simplest antenna performs as well or out-performs an expensive antenna. Gale Flagg 108 Franklin School Rd Fort Kent, Maine 04743 Phone: 207-834-6670 E-mail: galeflagg@sjv.net Next Meeting: Next Meeting, Tues. June 10, UMFK, 6:00 PM Nadeau Hall Conf Room |
| Schedule of Coming Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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, May, 2008 |
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Talking to Fran Pecard at UMFK, I learned that the janitor was off on the night of our May meeting and there had been no classes. That's why we were locked out from our meeting room. A woman let us into Cyr Hall and we had the meeting in Bengal's Lair. Start Time: 18:03 Members and guests present: N1FG, W1TCP, WB1FTK, KA1SJV, KB1OWW, N7GLR, KA7VNR, and N1EVO. Secretary's Minutes A motion to waive the reading of the minutes was made by N7GLR, seconded by W1TCP, and passed. Treasurer's Report: N1FRX: April Balance $2624.49 Checking account $114.08 + $20 dues and donation = $134.08 Savings Account: $2624.49 + $87.00 dues + $2.52 interest = $2714.01 Total of both=$2848.09. Old Business: 1. Rocky Mt.: Rocky Mountain repeater voltage 13.99 12:15 May 13. We need a list of materials needed for the repair of the cabin by the Forest Fire Lookout Association. We need it by June. N1EVO said he would go up, check the batteries, and make a list. 2. 146.640 Repeater: 13.92 at 12:16 May 13. Time to disconnect the the battery charger. 3.Other:??? |
New Business: 1. Field Day N1FG spoke with VE1PIN when attending the IRG annual meeting. His club has since reserved the Botanical Gardens in St. Jacques, NB. He would like one of our members to put up the HF antenna. We will share the cost of the Garden's rental fee. It was suggested that we should get a letter from the club in Edmundston inviting us to come operate and to bring equipment. Those taking equipment into Canada should have a copy of the letter to avoid trouble at customs. 2. Program for June Meeting: Finalize Field Day Plans 3.Other: Slinky antenna plans shown. WB1FTK showed us a colorful printout of his and KA1SJV's radios and computers over many years. There was a discussion about their various radios and computers. N7GLR motioned to adjourn the meeting. W1TCP seconded the motion, accepted by all. Meeting was adjourned at 18:31. Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 10, 6:00 PM, UMFK Nadeau Hall Alumni Conf Room, Submitted by N1FG |
| LogBook Of The World | |
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| Mini-Manuals Nifty! Mini-Manuals are laminated step by step directions for many radios. They are about 4.5 X 8 inches. (Those for HT's smaller.) The latest mini-manual is for the Kenwood TN-V71A. I have several of these and they are really helpful. www.niftyaccessories.com | LoTW is a database of QSO logs uploaded by amateurs to the LoTW website www.www.arrl.org/lotw/ By uploading your log, confirmation can be confirmed at the speed of light. |
| Page 3 | Feed-Point, May, 2008 |
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The Can-Am board has said they would like to continue using trackers for personnel. AA1XD e-mailed me awhile ago wanting to know the answer about continued use. He also said that our club should think about investing in trackers. This is something we need to discuss. AA1XD says that they would put together and program the trackers for us. Following is his e-mail about what we would have to do: "One of my questions is, do you still want to persue using APRS for the race? If you do then mountain top nodes are a must. One on Debulie would, or should, cover the entire area. But we need to know from you first how strong your interest is before we start the legwork of tracking people down on our end. How much is your group willing to invest to make this work. Randy has a radio for the node and Marty has an antenna. We have plenty of coax. For the node, (if we can get permission to put one there), you will need to buy the tnc and possibly a battery and worst case would be a solar panel. |
You also have to be thinking about buying your own trackers. Or at least the equipment to put them together. Mike's trackers may not always be available and it would be best if you had your own anyway. If you get the parts, we can put them together and program them for you. Tracker parts:Old HT's Most of the ones we used this year were HTX 202's Tinytracks www.byonics.com GPS units. They have to have NMEA output. These can be found on the Byonics website as well. And theirs are all wired for the tiny tracks. I see that byonics has the tinytrac's and gps's for around 100 bucks for the combo. Magmount antennas. Just some inexpensive ones." |
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, WB1FTK, 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 May, 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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