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QCECG weekly training net - 1/12/2020 @ 8 PM (2000)
QCECG weekly training net - 1/12/2020 @ 8 PM (2000) Please join us tonight for the QCECG weekly training net. Your Net Control Operator for this net will be John, KI7PPW. Ocotillo Repeater (AKA San Tan Valley Repeater): 8 pm at 449.325 Mhz PL 100.0 Hz. - Visitors welcome! If you do not have a radio or scanner, you can listen in to the Ocotillo Repeater (449.325 MHz) 24/7 via this streaming audio link: Regards, Joe, N2QOJ QCECG |
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Origin of "Elmer"
Origin of "Elmer" At our QCECG meeting last evening, Court, KG7VF, mentioned an interesting article from ARRL about the origin of the term "Elmer". Here's an accepted definition of "Elmer": “Someone who provides personal guidance and assistance to would-be hams and also to hams that are seeking personal assistance in specific areas of the amateur radio hobby.” I will reprint the article here because a link at the ARRL website is incorrect. Be sure to check out the other "Ham Speak" origins when you get a chance. =========================================================== “Elmer” Inspiration, Elmer “Bud” Frohardt Jr, W9DY, SK 03/24/2016 The ham radio mentor who inspired the term “Elmer” — Elmer P. “Bud” Frohardt Jr, W9DY (ex-W9GFF), of Madison, Wisconsin — died on March 22. He was 93. A friend and co-worker of the late Rod Newkirk, W9BRD (later VA3ZBB), who edited QST’s “How’s DX?” column, Frohardt was the “Elmer” that Newkirk had in mind when he used the name in his March 1971 column, referring to someone who helped to mentor new Amateur Radio licensees and calling them “the unsung fathers of Amateur Radio.” “Too frequently one hears a sad story in this little nutshell: ‘Oh, I almost got a ticket, too, but Elmer, W9XYZ, moved away and I kind of lost interest,’” Newkirk had written. “We need those Elmers. All the Elmers, including the ham who took the most time and trouble to give you a push toward your license, are the birds who keep this great game young and fresh.” On AC6V’s “” web page, John Becker, K9MM, is quoted as saying, “Bud was very well known locally for his involvement with the RAMS (Radio Amateur Megacycle Society) radio club, and he was always helping newcomers to the hobby.” An ARRL Life Member, Frohardt, who preferred to be called “Bud,” had worked as a communications technician for the Illinois State Police, retiring in 1986. Licensed in the 1930s, he was a veteran DXer, eventually working all 381 countries at that time from his former home in Chicago. When he moved into an antenna-restricted neighborhood in the 1990s, he enthusiastically began chasing DX from his car, racking up 326 entities while operating from the back seat. He also was active in the annual Illinois QSO Party, which he managed at one point. “Am most proud of all the wonderful young people I have been able to interest over the years in science, radio, DX, CW, and electronics,” Frohardt wrote on his QRZ.com page. “Many of them have become excellent operators, engineers, scientists, doctors or business people.” |
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Tonight's QCECG Meeting
Hi Local Hams and Members, Tonight's?meeting?will have two major themes: - Resources for New Hams and - Questions and Answers Session I urge you "seasoned" hams to come and share your knowledge. See you there, Joe, N2QOJ "QCECG?meetings?are on the second Thursday of every month at 7 PM.? Queen Creek Town Hall, 22350 South Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, AZ 85142Use this link for directions: ???" Talk-In on 449.475, PL 136.5 HZ, (-) |
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Please join us tonight for the QCECG weekly training net.
Please join us tonight for the QCECG weekly training net. Ocotillo Repeater (AKA San Tan Valley Repeater): 8 pm at 449.325 Mhz PL 100.0 Hz. Visitors welcome! If you do not have a radio or scanner, you can listen in to the Ocotillo Repeater (449.325 MHz) 24/7 via this streaming audio link: The feed also streams some other local frequencies when the repeater is not active. |
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ARRL Reshapes Podcast Offerings for 2020
ARRL Reshapes Podcast Offerings for 2020 In conjunction with the launch of its new??magazine, which is aimed at those just beginning their journey in amateur radio, ARRL is reconfiguring its podcast lineup. Heading up the new schedule will be a free companion podcast to the bimonthly?On the Air?magazine. The monthly?On the Air?podcast will take a deeper look into select features and projects from the magazine. Each month, host and?On the Air?Editorial Director Becky Schoenfeld,? In addition to the podcast, ARRL Product Development Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, will curate a free?On the Air?blog featuring content from the communicators and makers who are the driving force of amateur radio today. The blog will highlight opportunities and activities available to new licensees. The?On the Air?blog is intended as an entry point into the world of amateur radio for those seeking original voices and perspectives. Readers will be?invited?to take part in the conversation by sharing their stories and experiences. ARRL's current??podcast will cease production in January, as the full complement of?On the Air?content is rolled out. The??ofSo Now What??episodes is available for listening or downloading. In addition,??podcast, which has served more-experienced amateurs since 2016, will conclude its 4-year run with its Hosted by?QST?Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY,?Eclectic Tech?will highlight technical topics involving amateur and non-amateur technology, offer brief interviews with individuals involved in projects of interest to amateurs, and include practical information of immediate benefit to today's hams. The Doctor is In?co-host Joel Hallas, W1ZR, is selecting some of his favorite podcast episodes for re-broadcast in the interim between the end of production for?The Doctor is In?and the debut of?Eclectic Tech. The complete?The Doctor is In??is available on the ARRL website. Hallas will continue to answer questions about amateur radio in?QST's "The Doctor is In" column. The??podcast will continue to provide a weekly summary of news and activities within the amateur radio community. |
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Please join us tonight for the QCECG weekly training net.
Please join us tonight for the QCECG weekly training net. Ocotillo Repeater (AKA San Tan Valley Repeater): 8 pm at 449.325 Mhz PL 100.0 Hz. Visitors welcome! If you do not have a radio or scanner, you can listen in to the Ocotillo Repeater (449.325 MHz) 24/7 via this streaming audio link: The feed also streams some other local frequencies when the repeater is not active. |
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Simple, not Simpler
By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein (). Here's one way to apply this principle in amateur radio, specifically to code practice oscillators. A week ago, my friend, Paul emailed me: “I am planning on teaching a two-hour introduction to Morse code to 14 girls ages 8 to 9 [Paul's granddaughter is a Girl Scout.]. I plan on having the girls build a code practice device. I need your help in selecting a low cost buzzer and battery holder. Please take a look around and see would you can find. I would like to limit the power to one or two AA batteries.” I replied that I'd be happy to help him with the demonstration, and offered the following advice: “A while back, I built the QRPGuys’ K7QO Code Practice Oscillator (). It uses a CR2032 coin battery. “Unfortunately, they don’t sell it anymore, but the assembly manual is still online (). The assembly manual doesn’t call out specific parts, but here are some Amazon SKUs:
“Batteries are available at the dollar store for about 30 cents each. So, you could do the whole thing for less than $5 for sure, even with a printed circuit board, which I would suggest that we do. Heck, if you ask nicely, the QRPGuys might even give us the artwork, or even better, have some boards still in stock. Even if they have neither, you should be able to get the boards in plenty of time.” Later that day, Paul replied: Thanks, Dan, for the information and making yourself available to help. I am just going to use a buzzer, key, and battery. The buzzer has a frequency of 400 Hz. And this morning, he sent me this photo, noting, “FYI. Also sounds great.” I think that this is as good an example of "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" as there can be. I've volunteered to help Paul with his class. That will be fun, too. ============================= Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, is the author of the KB6NU amateur radio blog (KB6NU.Com), the “No Nonsense” amateur radio license study guides (KB6NU.Com/study-guides/), and often appears on the ICQPodcast (). When he's not trying to keep things as simple as possible, but not simpler, he likes to build stuff and operate CW on the HF bands. ? |
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ARRL's "The Doctor is In" Podcast - "December Mailbag"
??ARRL's "The?Doctor?is?In" Podcast - "December Mailbag"??? ** All good things come to an end. This episode is the last in the podcast series. Steve Ford will be hosting a new podcast series sometime in early 2020. Details have yet to be announced. ** Some of you may be familiar with the ARRL's QST column, "The?Doctor?is?In". The?Doctor?is?none other than ARRL's Joel Hallas, W1ZR, who has been answering questions about Amateur Radio?in?QST's "The?Doctor?is?In" column since 2006. Hosted by QST Editor?In?Chief Steve Ford, WB8IMY, "The?Doctor?is?In"?podcast?is?a twice-monthly audio podcast that answers YOUR questions about Amateur Radio's technical challenges. This week's topic?is?"December Mailbag". Download (or stream) the mp3 from these links: STREAM:? DOWNLOAD:? The length?in?time of these podcast usually ranges from 15 to 25 minutes. Please let me know if you have any difficulty accessing this content. I do welcome feedback. I would like to know if this podcast feature?is?of any value to our members. Regards, Joe - N2QOJ |
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Please join us tonight for the QCECG weekly training net
Please join us tonight for the QCECG weekly training net. Ocotillo Repeater (AKA San Tan Valley Repeater): 8 pm at 449.325 Mhz PL 100.0 Hz. Visitors welcome! If you do not have a radio or scanner, you can listen in to the Ocotillo Repeater (449.325 MHz) 24/7 via this streaming audio link: The feed also streams some other local frequencies when the repeater is not active. |
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Follow-Up From Tonight's QCECG Meeting
Thanks to all who attended our monthly meeting. Thanks to Dennis - KF7RYX, Janet - KF7SLQ, and Derek - K7NZ for brining in their projects to share with us. 73, Joe, N2QOJ Here are some follow-up links to some of the topics discussed: 1. WebSDR - This site has many links to all things SDR: 2. CW - Lots of links:? Easy, cheap, QRP kits and assembled transceivers: This is the one I had discussed: 3. Email over radio - Visit and read through the "Book of Knowledge": Be sure to watch K4REF's videos. 4. K7AJF - Tony, Antenna Fabricator Extraordinaire (and other items): 480-665-0804 ?"Leave Message" 5.? Dennis, KF7RYX, 1991 Fleetwood Southwind Renovation Videos: 6. Home Depot Antennas: Diamond X510 Clone:? Specs for this antenna: Mast diameter accepted: 1-3/16 in. x 2-7/16 in. 8.3dbd gain VHF 144MHz -148MHz 11.7dbd gain UHF430 MHz - 450 MHz Omnidirectional and 17 ft. T Heavy-duty fiberglass construction All dual-band base antennas: 7. PowerGate - Necessary for Go-Box Power Management: West Mountain Radio's Products:? 8.?Digital Meters or more correctly Digital Power Analyzers From Powerwerx:? From Ebay:? There are many to choose from: 9. Measuring relative field strength. The January 2020 issue of QST has an interesting article in a similar vein. It discusses comparing mobile/portable antennas by using S-Meter readings. The real interesting thing (to me) about the article is that it is written by Ulrich Rohde, N1UL, whom I have QSO'ed with on several occasions when I worked just 3 or 4 miles from his Microwave company in NJ. That was around 1989-1991. His bio in the article is not complete. He now resides in Florida. Here is the article:? 10. Local Electronics Ham Suppliers: WiredCo - ?- Scottsdale, but is at Ham Fests and other Venues Tritek Electronics - ?- Mesa Circuits Specialists - ?- Tempe 11. Ham Radio Deluxe - A Computer Interface for your HF Transceiver Version 5.x - Legacy, unsupported but works well and FREE: It is VERY hard to find the last free version of HRD (5.28). The owners of HRD 6.X have seen to that. However, If you are interested in this very powerful program, please send an email to me directly. I can help you locate the last version on the Internet. Version 6.x -? 12. Recent article concerning the DIY HF Power Amplifier: |
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Re: December QCECG Meeting yes/no?
Come to the QCECG meeting tonight! It's show and tell night. This should be interesting! Queen Creek Town Hall, 22350 South Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Use this link for directions:? Regards, Joe, N2QOJ On Sun, Dec 8, 2019 at 9:40 PM Joe Sammartino <jsammartino@...> wrote:
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I need my program back!
We hams like to limp along with favorite apps - what we used to call programs - even on our newer OS machines. Do you need older versions of your favorites? Maybe your old favorite went commercial and you want the original freeware version. I wrote this article a while back and I think some of you may benefit from it. Regards, Joe, N2QOJ |
Joe Sammartino
W1BXY, will offer additional resources, techniques, and hints to help less-experienced radio amateurs to get the most from the magazine's content.
December 19 episode.?Eclectic Tech, a new biweekly podcast designed to appeal to experienced amateurs, will launch in February.