F E E D - P O I N T
| September, 2009 | Vol. 19 No.9 |
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Recent high winds and cool temperatures have prepared us for Autumn. Will the HF bands improve during the coming season? It would be nice to have the bands open normally, so those of us who don't have much time for HF could find an opening whenever we get to the radio! Hal Underhill in Frenchville says the St. John River is at its lowest level in three years. We have been out of water since September 15th. We don't know yet if it is a low water level, because we found we needed a new pump head. Then we had to replace a cracked valve. Now we think we might have a leaking pipe,too. Our harvest get-together will be at noon on Sunday the 18th of October at Lake View Restaurant in St. Agatha. Family and friends are invited to join us. Please let me know by Oct.10. how many of you are coming. | K1XI, KB1OWW and N1HBY went up to the 146.640 repeater on August 22. I went up a few minutes later. When the door to the building was opened, an acid smell assaulted them. The two batteries were boiling and nearly dry. They were very hot to the touch. What a good thing K1XI came up that weekend! A little more time and the batteries might have exploded, and we could have had a bad fire. More on Page 3. Gale Flagg 108 Franklin School Rd Fort Kent, Maine 04743 Phone: 207-834-6670 E-mail: galeflagg@sjv.net Next Meeting: Sunday, October 18th, during our 12 noon Harvest Get-Together at Lakeview. |
| 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, September, 2009 |
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Start Time: 18:04 Members present: N1FG, W1TCP, N1EVO, KA1SJV, K1FTK, N7GLR, and KA7VNR Treasurer's Report: N1FRX:
Old Business: 1. Rocky Mt.: Still off the air. We await the repeater from K1XI. 2. 146.640 Repeater: K1XI installed a new repeater on August 22. The batteries were boiling hot and dangerous. Eventually we removed them with straps and great care. Two retired batteries from the Flaggs were put in place. K1XI reported that the receive was not working well. He believes the duplexers will have to be replaced. He will be coming up again. |
New Business: 1.NWS OPEN HOUSE REPORT N1FG, W1TCP, N7GLR, and KA7VNR attended the open house at the Weather Service Office in Caribou. There were many interesting things to see. Emergency vehicles from Caribou CERT were there. Forestry was there wih Smokey the Bear. The Border Patrol gave a canine demonstration. WX testing instruments were on display. A special weather balloon was launched. An informative tour was given regarding the weather instruments for measuring and reporting. 2. Harvest Get-Together: Lakeview was chosen for the location. N1FG will make reservations for Sunday Oct. 18 or 25. (This was done: The date is Sunday, October 18th, 12 noon. Lakeview Restaurant.) 3. Other: N1EVO says the Block House in Fort Kent was built in 1839. He and a friend want to set up a special event to celebrate its 170th birthday. He will let us know when it will be. N1FG reported her experience with the Caribou Cert providing communications for the Caribou Parade on Sept 5th. There was a training session on August 26th, which involved a program and test for flaggers. The trip home that evening involved a very close moose encounter. Next Meeting: Will be held at the 12 noon Harvest Get-Together on Sunday Oct.18 at Lakeview Restaurant. A motion to adjourn was made by N7GLR at 6:40 Submitted by Gale Flagg, N1FG |
| Happy Birthday | |
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| Tower Work Safety: The September 2009 QST has a very good article on keeping safe when working on a tower. Anyone planning to do tower work should read the article. The article covers the climber and the ground crew. | |
| Page 3 | Feed-Point, September, 2009 |
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Water was put into the batteries in July when AA1XD and K1XI were up here. In one month
the batteries should not have gotten into the state they were in on August 22.
Either the controller is not working or the switch on the trickle charger got stuck and
was giving the batteries full charge constantly. The fuse between the batteries was not blown out.
K1XI thinks it may have been a lightning
strike. It could not have been a direct one, or there would have been much more damage.
The static diffuser just below the antenna is still in place. |
I have been checking the batteries about once a week since they were installed. The charger has been disconnected from the batteries. The new repeater is not programmed to give us the voltage. N1CHF has not responded to requests for the schematics for the radios and controllers. K1XI is trying to figure out the controller wiring. |
Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" X 16". Includes mounting hardware. $200. 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 |
F E E D - P O I N T September, 2009
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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