What did you think of Pacificon
I would like to hear other opinions of Pacificon.? ?Here are my thoughts in no particular order of importance.?
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1.? Crowd was down.? If we want to keep having a big convention in the bay area, we must support it by attending and getting others to attend.?
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2.? Talk selection was poor.? We need better speakers with a wider variety of subjects.? ?I'm sure there are 4 or 5 members of this group who could give a great talk on building,? operating portable, contesting, chasing dx, qrp.? We need to step up!
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3.? Qrp sessions went well, but definitely need to improve.? ?We have? plans to do that.
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4.? Vendors.? They definitely need more vendors.? No Icom, no Kenwood???? It was good to see Elecraft,? Yaesu and Flex.? Where was Hexbeam, Buddipole, and Stepper IR?
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5.? It was great to see friends although I missed Joy and didn't get to meet Connie.? I did see Barry, Dave C., Paul, Bob, Rex, Pete, and Hiroki from this list..? So there were 10 that I know of from this list who attended, good job.
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Ok, your turn?
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Thanks to all for the excellent comments and suggestions.?
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Had a chat with the neighbor last night--his solar panels are not yet connected to the grid. He is waiting (and waiting) for an approval that involves Tesla (the installer) and PG&E. He is not a techie, so not sure whether the panels are charging the batteries or otherwise active at the moment. In any case, I've had severe noise (especially on 20M) that predated his installation, so the task ahead is to do some noise hunting.?
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I agree Connie's neighborhood diplomatic protocol rocks (wish I could bake--maybe popcorn would do?). The DXE flag / bow tie noise antenna looks like a good tool, maybe a bit pricey for what it is, but good quality, and it would cost more in terms of my time to homebrew one (instructions and an article from March 2021 QST are available at the link below). Could I simply connect it to my TinySA? It should work pedestrian mobile with the uSDX+, which I could simply cycle thru the bands while strolling the 'hood. I trust I would impress my neighbors!
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I've tried experiments cutting the main house breaker (station operating on battery); also checked a couple times when PG&E shut down the 'hood (maybe 100 houses) for repairs. The brief summary is that there was significant improvement--a good 2 S units--but still pretty high noise, around S5 (vs. S7). So it seems that the noise is (or at least was) contributed by a variety of sources--in my house, from the 'hood, and from elsewhere.
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So a separate receive antenna is sounding good. Our POTA bud Greg, KJ6ER, has endorsed the W6LVP loop, so I'm ready to order (Greg said he used it for a year with good results, but switched to a receive wire loop around his fence, which he favors). Could probably pair the W6LVP loop with the ancient TV antenna rotator that came with my house.?
Best, --David KM6RI
----------------------
https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-noiseloop?srsltid=AfmBOopr6S-fXa9AbuBnBw6ntIyXiZGZ--PYj-d0SsB1SYSlDtgziiCw#overview
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At this point the best days of the comet are basically over. It was quite a treat though! If you still want to check it out, I recommend grabbing a free astronomy permit through the mid-peninsula open space for Montebello or Russian Ridge parking lots so that the sky will be a bit darker as light pollution matters a lot more now that it's high in the sky and dim. Make sure wherever you go that there are no city centers to your West as light pollution is very directional. I got some great views including one from downtown Tokyo of all places back when it was the brightest and another Saturday night from a darkish site (would not recommend the site I went to) Here's to hoping we see another awesome one in the coming years. These past 2 years have been pretty solid from a comet perspective!
Have you guys seen the comet?
I went out just after dark with binoculars on Sunday.?? West SW.? About 40 degrees elevation.? There was a faint white stripe about a degree long. ?
I understand that in following nights, the comet will get further from the sun.
The Good news: it will be in a darker part of the sky.
The Bad news: the comet will get fainter.
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Have you guys seen the comet?
I went out just after dark with binoculars on Sunday.?? West SW.? About 40 degrees elevation.? There was a faint white stripe about a degree long. ?
I understand that in following nights, the comet will get further from the sun.
The Good news: it will be in a darker part of the sky.
The Bad news: the comet will get fainter.
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I took Crow Canyon to Castro Valley. Waze was telling me that it was a little faster to just take 680 but minimizing time is not my only criterion. It was a very nice drive.
Ironically, though when I got on 680 it slowed down and I thought I had done something wrong and was being caught up in construction traffic¡ until ?I caught up to the mangled car stopped right in the middle of the highway. ? ?it was clear sailing from there on to Palo Alto.
On Sun, Oct 20, 2024 at 12:57, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via groups.io < cls@...> wrote:
Wow!
A couple options:
Drive west from hotel on Bollenger Cyn, it curves north, turn left on Crow Canyon, nice drive to Castro Valley.
Drive east from hotel, turn right on Alcosta, it goes south but turns west to hit 680... Past the construction.
880S is jammed as usual around Union City.
On October 20, 2024 10:44:48 AM PDT, Paul AA6PZ <aa6pz@...> wrote:
Good to see many of you in San Ramon.
If you are at Pacificon, check WAZE or G Maps or ??? to find alternate routes before you start.
Good luck,
--
Connie KN2EFI
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This is a situation where WAZE or Google Maps or Tesla that have real time info can make a more informed route.? And consider the whole route, like traffic on 880.
I left last night.? Waze directed me to San Ramon Valley Blvd.? It's parallel to 680 on the west side. At 35 MPH speed limit, I was going faster than the freeway.? Road changed names a couple times, but eventually I was on 680 well past 580.
On Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 12:57:15 PM PDT, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via groups.io <cls@...> wrote:
Wow!
A couple options:
Drive west from hotel on Bollenger Cyn, it curves north, turn left on Crow Canyon, nice drive to Castro Valley.
Drive east from hotel, turn right on Alcosta, it goes south but turns west to hit 680... Past the construction.
880S is jammed as usual around Union City.
On October 20, 2024 10:44:48 AM PDT, Paul AA6PZ <aa6pz@...> wrote:
Good to see many of you in San Ramon.
If you are at Pacificon, check WAZE or G Maps or ??? to find alternate routes before you start.
Good luck,
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Wow!
A couple options:
Drive west from hotel on Bollenger Cyn, it curves north, turn left on Crow Canyon, nice drive to Castro Valley.
Drive east from hotel, turn right on Alcosta, it goes south but turns west to hit 680... Past the construction.
880S is jammed as usual around Union City.
On October 20, 2024 10:44:48 AM PDT, Paul AA6PZ <aa6pz@...> wrote:
Good to see many of you in San Ramon.
If you are at Pacificon, check WAZE or G Maps or ??? to find alternate routes before you start.
Good luck,
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thanks for the warning! I am going to go through Castro Valley because I would rather take a little more time on the drive then deal with construction on 680. ?
On Sun, Oct 20, 2024 at 10:44, Paul AA6PZ < aa6pz@...> wrote:
Good to see many of you in San Ramon.
If you are at Pacificon, check WAZE or G Maps or ??? to find alternate routes before you start.
Good luck,
--
Connie KN2EFI
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Good to see many of you in San Ramon.
If you are at Pacificon, check WAZE or G Maps or ??? to find alternate routes before you start.
Good luck,
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Wow ¡ª good work!! Great technology sleuthing AND taking care of the people.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Oct 18, 2024, at 10:18?AM, Connie W6EFI via groups.io <stillinger@...> wrote:
i'm nodding my head vigorously to everything that Cliff has written, including his experience with the false positive.
I was having a terrible noise problem at my QTH that was blowing out several bands. Turning off my main did not help at all, nor did putting chokes on absolutely everything.
First I thought it was coming from the next-door neighbors large screen TV power supply, but it didn't correlate. Then I had myself convinced it was other neighbors' LED lights, but after giving her biscuits for her dog and asking her politely to simply try unplugging them briefly that didn't help either! Then I thought it was the transformer across the street even though the pattern was too regular¡
Long story short, I got a DXengineering Noiseloop flag antenna for hunting HF RFI (cardioid pattern with deep sharp null), hooked it to my IC 705, walked around the neighborhood and it pointed at a next door neighbor's back bedroom!
I brought them cookies and treats for their cat, had the dad listen first on an on an unthreatening looking little a.m. radio, then brought over my RFI hunting rig and showed him the pattern on the waterfall.
After a little head scratching he asked if if it could be the LEDs in his daughter's bedroom! I said yes, and he ran into unplug them, and the noise went away! He was very pleased with himself and of course I was happy too.
I bought his daughter a new and better set of lights. we all smile and wave at each other now and the dad also gave me some stuff from his garden, which was delicious.
Good luck and 73,
Connie W6EFI
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Fw: Recent release from Andrew Barron
This may be of interest. 73, Eric NF6S
ex WD6DBM
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----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "Amazon.com" <store-news@...> To: "gliderboy1955@..." <gliderboy1955@...> Cc: Sent: Fri, Oct 18, 2024 at 9:10 PM Subject: Recent release from Andrew Barron  ? | We thought you'd like to know about this recently released book by an author you follow. |
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| | | Paperback: $16.60 | | Other formats: | | | | by | | The Hermes Lite 2 (HL2) is a QRP (low power) transceiver for the HF amateur radio bands. It can also be used as an HF receiver with coverage from 100 kHz to 38. 4 MHz. The radio is not a kit, but some assembly is required.
This book will help you to get the most out of this great little radio. It includes construction, setup, I/O boards, and the various software options... | | |
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Connie, delightful!? It's a great day when we can make someone happy!
That said, I hope you caused some trouble with your wire out the window, either nearby or far away.
On October 18, 2024 10:18:51 AM PDT, "Connie W6EFI via groups.io" <stillinger@...> wrote:
i'm nodding my head vigorously to everything that Cliff has written, including his experience with the false positive.
I was having a terrible noise problem at my QTH that was blowing out several bands. ? Turning off my main did not help at all, nor did putting chokes on absolutely everything. ?
First I thought it was coming from the next-door neighbors large screen TV power supply, but it didn't correlate. Then I had myself convinced it was other neighbors' LED lights, but after giving her biscuits for her dog and asking her politely to simply try unplugging them briefly that didn't help either! Then I thought it was the transformer across the street even though the pattern was too regular¡
Long story short, I got a DXengineering Noiseloop flag antenna for hunting HF RFI (cardioid pattern with deep sharp null), hooked it to my IC 705, walked around the neighborhood and it pointed at a next door neighbor's back bedroom! ?
I brought them cookies and treats for their cat, had the dad listen first on an on an ?unthreatening looking little a.m. radio, then brought over my RFI hunting rig and showed him the pattern on the waterfall. ?
After a little head scratching he ?asked if if it could be the LEDs in his daughter's bedroom! ? I said yes, and he ran into unplug them, and the noise went away! ? He was very pleased with himself and of course I was happy too.?
I bought his daughter a new and better set of lights. ? we all smile and wave at each other now and the dad also gave me some stuff from his garden, which was delicious.
Good luck and 73,
Connie W6EFI
On Fri, Oct 18, 2024 at 06:07, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via groups.io <cls@...> wrote: hi David, ouch, that stinks!? that kind of broadband noise most likely is the inverter(s) on the solar panel system.? but it could also be power line / insulator noise.
or, it could be in your house.? have you tried, turn off the house main breaker, and then sleuth around?? run an HF receiver on battery.?? LED lights?? Wall wart gone bad?
is the noise recently worse?? you indicated the noise isn't much reduced at night.? if you have a small loop or other directional antenna, can you isolate the noise to the direction of the neighbor?
Are you on good terms with the neighbor?? are they on good terms with the company that installed the panels and inverters etc?? what do you think about chances it could be fixed, realistically?
if you have a spectrum analyzer, what does it show when you look at say 3MHz to 30MHz?? I'm wondering if you can see bands of modulated noise, like a switching power supply, or ethernet, or if it really is just white or pink noise.
could also be LED lighting, some units are RF quiet, but many are nasty across the bands.? Isolating this might require the neighbor to also pop the house breaker!
my experiences:
- the ARRL ought to be able to help with this.? it's a FAQ and they should have a handy guide.? there's the RFI Book.? in the old days one might get some personal help from their EMC RFI lab, but those folks have retired.? So, no help there!
- it is unclear to me when to invoke FCC part 15.? depends on the neighbor, solar installer, etc., but overall it never hurts to document everything as you go.
- the company that installed the solar system on my roof did not stand behind the product.? I immediately noted many installation defects and broadband noise on HF, S9+40.? ? they disappeared after the installation, didn't answer calls, etc.? no help there!!
- in Richmond, I got broadband noise across HF and the loop antenna pointed in the direction of the grow house across the street.? I contacted the renters, Uncle Viet came over and shut off all the breakers...? the noise didn't change!? the loop was picking up insulator noise from the power lines overhead!? oops!!? PG&E ought to be glad when we tell them they have a leak and are losing money.? Nope, no help there!!
- that W6LPV looks like a nice unit and I think you should get one!? do you want to mount it on a TV rotator???
- I have a PixelLoop, 30kHz to 30MHz, which is a Mobius loop, a loop of ribbon cable connected to itself, offset by 1 wire, to get the multiple turns.? it is H plane, not E plane, so low noise.? its real secret is a high IP3 (35+dB) broadband preamp which is crucial as the antenna has very low raw output.? but the resulting S/N is excellent.? I think the W6LPV might be similar.
good luck.? to really fix the local noise is a long process.? and by then there will be something else in the neighborhood.
Cliff
On 2024-10-18 01:51, David via groups.io wrote:
The RF noise level at my QTH has me going berzerko... at times I am seeing S9+15 dB on 20 and 15M, though it sometimes settles down to S6-7 during the wee hours. Nearly S9 at the moment (these readings on my Kenwood TS590SG). The neighbor's new solar/battery setup cannot be helping.?
?
My addiction to magloops has me thinking about W6LVP's receive loop. Does anyone have experience with it? See W6LVP.com and
.
?
Thanks, and best, --David KM6RI
__._,_
|
i'm nodding my head vigorously to everything that Cliff has written, including his experience with the false positive.
I was having a terrible noise problem at my QTH that was blowing out several bands. ? Turning off my main did not help at all, nor did putting chokes on absolutely everything. ?
First I thought it was coming from the next-door neighbors large screen TV power supply, but it didn't correlate. Then I had myself convinced it was other neighbors' LED lights, but after giving her biscuits for her dog and asking her politely to simply try unplugging them briefly that didn't help either! Then I thought it was the transformer across the street even though the pattern was too regular¡
Long story short, I got a DXengineering Noiseloop flag antenna for hunting HF RFI (cardioid pattern with deep sharp null), hooked it to my IC 705, walked around the neighborhood and it pointed at a next door neighbor's back bedroom! ?
I brought them cookies and treats for their cat, had the dad listen first on an on an ?unthreatening looking little a.m. radio, then brought over my RFI hunting rig and showed him the pattern on the waterfall. ?
After a little head scratching he ?asked if if it could be the LEDs in his daughter's bedroom! ? I said yes, and he ran into unplug them, and the noise went away! ? He was very pleased with himself and of course I was happy too.?
I bought his daughter a new and better set of lights. ? we all smile and wave at each other now and the dad also gave me some stuff from his garden, which was delicious.
Good luck and 73,
Connie W6EFI
On Fri, Oct 18, 2024 at 06:07, Cliff Sojourner K6CLS via groups.io < cls@...> wrote: hi David, ouch, that stinks!? that kind of broadband noise most likely is the inverter(s) on the solar panel system.? but it could also be power line / insulator noise.
or, it could be in your house.? have you tried, turn off the house main breaker, and then sleuth around?? run an HF receiver on battery.?? LED lights?? Wall wart gone bad?
is the noise recently worse?? you indicated the noise isn't much reduced at night.? if you have a small loop or other directional antenna, can you isolate the noise to the direction of the neighbor?
Are you on good terms with the neighbor?? are they on good terms with the company that installed the panels and inverters etc?? what do you think about chances it could be fixed, realistically?
if you have a spectrum analyzer, what does it show when you look at say 3MHz to 30MHz?? I'm wondering if you can see bands of modulated noise, like a switching power supply, or ethernet, or if it really is just white or pink noise.
could also be LED lighting, some units are RF quiet, but many are nasty across the bands.? Isolating this might require the neighbor to also pop the house breaker!
my experiences:
- the ARRL ought to be able to help with this.? it's a FAQ and they should have a handy guide.? there's the RFI Book.? in the old days one might get some personal help from their EMC RFI lab, but those folks have retired.? So, no help there!
- it is unclear to me when to invoke FCC part 15.? depends on the neighbor, solar installer, etc., but overall it never hurts to document everything as you go.
- the company that installed the solar system on my roof did not stand behind the product.? I immediately noted many installation defects and broadband noise on HF, S9+40.? ? they disappeared after the installation, didn't answer calls, etc.? no help there!!
- in Richmond, I got broadband noise across HF and the loop antenna pointed in the direction of the grow house across the street.? I contacted the renters, Uncle Viet came over and shut off all the breakers...? the noise didn't change!? the loop was picking up insulator noise from the power lines overhead!? oops!!? PG&E ought to be glad when we tell them they have a leak and are losing money.? Nope, no help there!!
- that W6LPV looks like a nice unit and I think you should get one!? do you want to mount it on a TV rotator???
- I have a PixelLoop, 30kHz to 30MHz, which is a Mobius loop, a loop of ribbon cable connected to itself, offset by 1 wire, to get the multiple turns.? it is H plane, not E plane, so low noise.? its real secret is a high IP3 (35+dB) broadband preamp which is crucial as the antenna has very low raw output.? but the resulting S/N is excellent.? I think the W6LPV might be similar.
good luck.? to really fix the local noise is a long process.? and by then there will be something else in the neighborhood.
Cliff
On 2024-10-18 01:51, David via groups.io wrote:
The RF noise level at my QTH has me going berzerko... at times I am seeing S9+15 dB on 20 and 15M, though it sometimes settles down to S6-7 during the wee hours. Nearly S9 at the moment (these readings on my Kenwood TS590SG). The neighbor's new solar/battery setup cannot be helping.?
?
My addiction to magloops has me thinking about W6LVP's receive loop. Does anyone have experience with it? See W6LVP.com and
.
?
Thanks, and best, --David KM6RI
__._,_
--
Connie KN2EFI
|
hi David, ouch, that stinks!? that kind of broadband noise most
likely is the inverter(s) on the solar panel system.? but it could
also be power line / insulator noise.
or, it could be in your house.? have you tried, turn off the
house main breaker, and then sleuth around?? run an HF receiver on
battery.?? LED lights?? Wall wart gone bad?
is the noise recently worse?? you indicated the noise isn't much
reduced at night.? if you have a small loop or other directional
antenna, can you isolate the noise to the direction of the neighbor?
Are you on good terms with the neighbor?? are they on good terms
with the company that installed the panels and inverters etc??
what do you think about chances it could be fixed, realistically?
if you have a spectrum analyzer, what does it show when you look
at say 3MHz to 30MHz?? I'm wondering if you can see bands of
modulated noise, like a switching power supply, or ethernet, or if
it really is just white or pink noise.
could also be LED lighting, some units are RF quiet, but many are
nasty across the bands.? Isolating this might require the neighbor
to also pop the house breaker!
my experiences:
- the ARRL ought to be able to help with this.? it's a FAQ and
they should have a handy guide.? there's the RFI Book.? in the old
days one might get some personal help from their EMC RFI lab, but
those folks have retired.? So, no help there!
- it is unclear to me when to invoke FCC part 15.? depends on the
neighbor, solar installer, etc., but overall it never hurts to
document everything as you go.
- the company that installed the solar system on my roof did not
stand behind the product.? I immediately noted many installation
defects and broadband noise on HF, S9+40.? ? they disappeared
after the installation, didn't answer calls, etc.? no help there!!
- in Richmond, I got broadband noise across HF and the loop
antenna pointed in the direction of the grow house across the
street.? I contacted the renters, Uncle Viet came over and shut
off all the breakers...? the noise didn't change!? the loop was
picking up insulator noise from the power lines overhead!? oops!!?
PG&E ought to be glad when we tell them they have a leak and
are losing money.? Nope, no help there!!
- that W6LPV looks like a nice unit and I think you should get
one!? do you want to mount it on a TV rotator???
- I have a PixelLoop, 30kHz to 30MHz, which is a Mobius loop, a
loop of ribbon cable connected to itself, offset by 1 wire, to get
the multiple turns.? it is H plane, not E plane, so low noise.?
its real secret is a high IP3 (35+dB) broadband preamp which is
crucial as the antenna has very low raw output.? but the resulting
S/N is excellent.? I think the W6LPV might be similar.
good luck.? to really fix the local noise is a long process.? and
by then there will be something else in the neighborhood.
Cliff
On 2024-10-18 01:51, David via
groups.io wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
The RF noise level at my QTH has me going berzerko... at
times I am seeing S9+15 dB on 20 and 15M, though it sometimes
settles down to S6-7 during the wee hours. Nearly S9 at the
moment (these readings on my Kenwood TS590SG). The neighbor's
new solar/battery setup cannot be helping.?
?
My addiction to magloops has me thinking about W6LVP's
receive loop. Does anyone have experience with it? See W6LVP.com
and .
?
Thanks, and best, --David KM6RI
__._,_
|
The RF noise level at my QTH has me going berzerko... at times I am seeing S9+15 dB on 20 and 15M, though it sometimes settles down to S6-7 during the wee hours. Nearly S9 at the moment (these readings on my Kenwood TS590SG). The neighbor's new solar/battery setup cannot be helping.?
?
My addiction to magloops has me thinking about W6LVP's receive loop. Does anyone have experience with it? See W6LVP.com and https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=13215.
?
Thanks, and best, --David KM6RI
|
This brings back fond memories! 73, Eric NF6S
ex WD6DBM
?
On Thu, Oct 17, 2024 at 9:08 PM, Connie W6EFI via groups.io <stillinger@...> wrote: Hotel room shenanigans. ?nobody in the pool area seems to notice the wire I hucked out the window.
On Thu, Oct 17, 2024 at 20:20, Ron, N6YWU < ron.nicholson@...> wrote:
I'll be at Pacificon on Friday for the antenna seminar, but have to leave around 6 PM for another class I'm taking in Mt.View.
Ron N6YWU
--
Connie KN2EFI
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What frequency are you on?
Ron, N6YUW
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Hotel room shenanigans. ?nobody in the pool area seems to notice the wire I hucked out the window.
On Thu, Oct 17, 2024 at 20:20, Ron, N6YWU < ron.nicholson@...> wrote:
I'll be at Pacificon on Friday for the antenna seminar, but have to leave around 6 PM for another class I'm taking in Mt.View.
Ron N6YWU
--
Connie KN2EFI
|
I'll be at Pacificon on Friday for the antenna seminar, but have to leave around 6 PM for another class I'm taking in Mt.View.
Ron N6YWU
|
David
Cliff Sojourner K6CLS
Peter Mahowald
