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OCTOBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 23.Oct.2008
The next ARCUV club meeting will be October 23th at 19.30h (7:30 p.m.). The location is TBA so watch this page and monitor the repeater for talk-in that night.
Topic is yet to be decided; feel free to make suggestions to the ARCUV Leadership. And as always, watch this space for more info.
Remember, since the location isn't set yet, watch this page for updates and monitor the repeater before the meeting for talk-in.
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ARCUV Monthly Club Meetings
Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month (in contrast to the last Thursday) ... except when they're not, like in November, when that would conflict with Turkey day, and in December, when that's just too close to too many other holiday celebrations.
Next Meeting: Thurs., 23.Oct.2008, 7:30 p.m., location still TBA; watch this space and monitor the repeater for talk-in
until we have a
meeting location.
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JUNE CLUB MEETING — Field Day!
We joined the UDXA group for their Field Day activities up on Skyline Drive, down by Fairview. The food was good, the company better, and the operating the best! The views from up on Skyline weren't that bad either. Those that came had a great time; these guys really know how to run a Field Day outing.
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MAY CLUB MEETING
The Club got to help with the annual UVU (UVSC) Car Show out at Thanksgiving Point. It was a lot of fun, and may beautiful cars were seen. A hearty "Thank You!" from Bob, KD7HBW, and UVU for your support and help on this event!
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APRIL CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 24.Apr.2008
We had a short discussion on IRLP (linking Ham radio repeaters across the Internet), and a troubleshooting session with an ailing VHF radio.
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MARCH CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 27.Mar.2008
Secretary otherwise engaged; anyone have something to say about March's club meeting?
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FEBRUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 28.Feb.2008
Testing various HT antennas and field strength; note how much difference a tiger-tail makes with various antennas.
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JANUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 24.Jan.2008
Fun with multi-meters; build-it night.
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DECEMBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 13.Dec.2007
Christmas party and elections.
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OCTOBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 25.Oct.2007
We had Darryl Hazelgren, K7UT, as a guest speaker from UDXA, the Utah DX Association. He gave an excellent presentation on DXpeditions.
We also had a raffle and gave away some neat prizes.
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SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING – Fri., 28.Sept.2007
We had our End of Summer Picnic
(Can anyone send me a report?)
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FIELD DAY (June meeting) – Sat., 23.Jun.2007
Field Day 2007
We had our summer picnic/Field Day outing up at the Traverse Mountain Stake Center (just up the hill from Cabelas). All those who came seem to have enjoyed the day. Operating conditions were fair, and we got contacts across the country. (We even managed to get a New Jersey contact on 20m, IIRC.)
If you couldn't make it this year, plan on coming next year! It was a lot of fun. Even those who had never worked a contest before enjoyed trying their hand at breaking in on a pile-up.
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MAY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 31.May.2007
Secretary A.W.O.L.
I had to miss the meeting; anyone want to send me some notes so I can put them here? Please?
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APRIL CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 26.Apr.2007
7QP Contest (05.May.2007)
We discussed joining in the 7QP Contest on 05.Map.2007. Info can also be found at http://www.7qp.org/
New Home
We have a new meeting location for next month: the Lions Club building at 601 E Center St in Pleasant Grove. Directions on the Meetings page.
Other Topics
We also discussed license upgrade interest, CW schedules for those who want to work on their CW skills.
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MARCH CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 22.Mar.2007
March Club Meeting: Build-it Night & Club Elections
Build-it Night to build the roll-up J-pole antenna featured in the March QST.
Club elections were held. Results: Ross, KJ7YU, President; Bob, K7RFR, Vice President; Keith, KC7JBZ, Vice President; Trent, N7GMT, Secretary/Webmaster.
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FEBRUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 22.Feb.2007
QRP Night
Our meeting on QRP went well and we had a good time. Bob Rusick, K7RFR, who heads up the Mercury Western Net on Saturday mornings, came to our club meeting.
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JANUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 25.Jan.2007
Field Trip to Shack of Lynn Johnson, K7KC
We traveled up to Sandy to visit Lynn Johnson, see his "museum" of radios, drool over his antenna farm, listen to stories of days gone by, learn why you don't replace a 5A fuse with a 20A fuse — even temporarily — and generally have a good time.
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DECEMBER CLUB MEETING
Canceled for a BYU Football game
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NOVEMBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 16.Nov.2006
Field Trip to Woody's Shack
The club took a trip to visit Woody'd shack, W7KOP; reports of activities would be appreciated as the web-master was otherwise engaged and was unable to attend.
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OCTOBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 26-Oct.2006
VHF PSK31 Demonstration
Ross, KJ7YU, setup a schedule with his son, who lives in Centerville, to demonstrate PSK31 at on 2-meters. This is a very noise tolerant digital mode, typically found on HF frequencies. David, AD7IJ, brough his emergency setup, quick-deploy antenna to use as part of the demonstration, as well. Everything went well, and much was learned.
As a side activity, we had folks bring various keys, bugs, and paddles for show-and-tell.
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SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 28-Sep.2006
Inverters — their use in Ham radio
We learned about inverters and their applications for Ham Radio. We looked at their outputs with an oscilloscope, and noted the difference between cheap inverters with their pulsed AC output (not true modified sine-wave output as typically advertised).
"Antenna Tuners" — a discussion
Ross, KJ7YU, led the discussion about Antenna Tuners and resonant vs. non-resonant antennas.
Other Stuff
TJ Ogilvie demonstrated a LED circuit using an NE555 ("monostable multivibrator") and compared current draw vs. that of a simple resistor-based LED circuit.
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AUGUST CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 31-Aug.2006
End of Summer Picnic
A grand time was had by all who came. Our thanks to Don, KE7AYL, for hosting. (Turn-out was poorer than hoped, but we're sure that had nothing to do with Don, and had everything to do with busy schedules! The webmaster was certainly bummed he couldn't make it.)
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JUNE CLUB MEETING – Field Day Picnic! Thurs., 24-Jun-2006
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MAY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 25-May-2006
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APRIL CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 27-Apr-2006
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MARCH CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 23-Mar-2006
TEST EQUIPMENT USED IN HAM RADIO
We had another audience participation night; everyone brought test equipment they use as a Ham radio operator. There were SWR meters, Watt meters, Whattmeters™, antenna analyzers (and Dave's is nice), LED lights, dummy loads, various VOMs (Volt/Ohm meters), DMMs (Digital Multi-meters), and an oscilloscope.
REPEATER OUTAGE - NET PROCEDURES
We also discussed the problems the '.22 repeater is having; no audio is making it from the receiver to the transmitter.
On Net nights, if there is a repeater problem, try the following procedure:
- NCS (Net Control Station) will switch to simplex on the repeater's output frequency. (Simply turn off Dup [Duplex] on the radio.);
- Announce (on the repeater's output frequency) that the Net will QSY (change frequency);
- Select the new frequency (typically the Club simplex frequency) and announce;
- QSY to the alternate frequency, and resume the Net.
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FEBRUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 23-Feb-2006
EchoLink and IRLP
Doug McKay, KD7LRJ, gave us an explanation of EchoLink and how it works. He told about his EchoLink station, gave us copies of a macro-sheet for his system, and had us play with his station. Doug loves playing with this stuff and encouraged us to use his station to make contacts. Doug and Ross, KJ7YU, briefly touched on IRLP, as the systems are very similar, but neither has any direct experience.
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JANUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 26-Jan-2006
SHOW AND TELL
We had a Show and Tell night. Ross showed off his new IC-7000, and David, KB7QLU, brought his Palstar tuner to show. [Anyone wanna add anything here? -Ed]
ARCUV NET
We also organized the ARCUV Net to start on the first Wednesday of February. (See the Home Page for Net schedule details.)
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DECEMBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 15-Dec-2005 – Christmas Party!
For December we had a Build-It night. There were three projects:
- Tiger-tails for your HT (provides a better counterpoise)
- Piano-wire whip for your HT (much better antenna than that ol' duck)
- Anderson Powerpole™ connectors for your power cords
Fun was had by all, as the report goes. If you couldn't make it, we hope you can make it next time.
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NOVEMBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs. 17-Nov-2005
[Waiting for a meeting report; please stand by.]
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OCTOBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 27-Oct-2005
Charge your batteries and bring your radios (HT, mobile, even portable HF): Ross is going to bring his power meeter to see how much juice your radios suck down. With this information you will have a better idea of how long your radio's batteries will last, and will help you prepare for emergency operation. We'll see whose radio draws the most power, and whose draws the least!
We'll also be doing a little planning for next years meetings, so bring your topic ideas.
Ross also has another dual-band J-pole variant to show off; if you have something for Show-and-Tell please feel free to bring it to our meetings; we like seeing new toys!
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SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING – Thurs., 29-Sep-2005
CLUB PRESIDENCY ELECTIONS
About every year or so we change our Club Presidency; Trent, N7GMT, was getting entirely too busy with teaching to continue as president, and Randy, KD7VQV, will be moving out of state (a bit extreme, just to get out of a job – hihi). So the first order of business was to elect ourselves a new Club Presidency:
Ross Hunter, KJ7YU – President
Dean Cordner, KD7OSI – Vice President
Keith Johnson, KC7JBZ – Vice President
David Radmall, KB7QLU – Secretary/Treasurer
We thank the previous presidency (N7GMT, KD7VQV, KD7OSI, KC7JBZ) for their efforts, and welcome the new presidency ... some of which didn't learn the first time and are back again. :-)
BUILD-IT NIGHT: ½-inch copper J's
For the evening's activity, we made a batch of copper J-Poles based on Rod's (KR7D) modified design for ½" dia. nominal copper water pipe. We got a great 50Ω-match on all our clones, so we think this is a great set of dimensions.
The relevant lengths (as measured by N7GMT) to cut the pipe are 60 5/8", 19 3/8", and 1 3/8" with a 2 3/4" gap between to top of the cross piece and the center of the PL-259 center pin. (Center conductor was to the radiator on Rod's model.)
Many asked about the gain of a typical J-pole and since Trent, N7GMT, didn't have the answer handy, he did a little research and found out that the maximum theoretical gain for a non-collinear J-Pole is about 2.5 dBi in free-space, with realistic values being between 2.3 and 2.4 dBi; for real-world situations, where the J-Pole was about 10 feet up, the expected gain was about 5.1 dBi! Pretty darn good, in my book.
[Most of this information came from one of Cebik's (W4RNL) J-Pole pages, specifically <http://www.cebik.com/vhf/jp1.html> and following. Lots of good information there, including some modeling of collinear J-pole antennas. (A 2-element collinear-J shows about 7.4 dBi, by the way.)]
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AUGUST "CLUB MEETING" – Thurs 25-Aug-2005
Summer picnic; conversation was good, food was excellent. Why weren't you there?
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JUNE CLUB MEETING – Saturday, June 28th – Field Day!
It's June! And June means Field Day! And Field Day means the annual ARCUV Summer Picnic!
We will not have a regular meeting on the fourth Thursday, but will be holding our Field Day Summer Picnic Thingy-majigger on the fourth Saturday.
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MAY CLUB MEETING – Thurs 26-May-2005
One assumes something happened; I wasn't there. Anyone want to submit a report?
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APRIL CLUB MEETING – Thurs 28-Apr-2005
Trent, N7GMT, along with Rod, KR7D, and Keith, KB7M, led the discussion on Radio Direction Finding and Fox Hunts. Antennas were shown; techniques were discussed; pitfalls were explained. A good time was had by those in attendance (were you there?).
Thanks to those who participated and shared their experiences.
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MARCH CLUB MEETING – Thurs 24-Mar-2005
MORSE CODE TEST OVERVIEW – KR7D
Rod, KR7D, gave an overview of what is involved in the Element 1 (Morse Code 5 WPM) test. He used his laptop to play a couple of QSO snippets to see how well everyone could copy, and give folks an idea of how fast the code would be coming. He also distributed CDs with MorseCat, a freeware Morse code practice program, and gave instructions for basic use of the program. Lots of fun! One of our non-Ham visitors even got kind of excited about learning Morse code ... another Ham in the making? Maybe!
MORE ON THE FOLD-UP J-POLE – KD7FWY with K7NTX
Cliff, KD7FWY, and Johnny, K7NTX, brought in their J-poles to show some of the modifications they've made to the original: drilling through the end-caps and making the eye-bolts more mechanically secure; using a push-button bungee-lock on the bottom rather than an eye-bolt, so one can adjust the tension (fold-up vs. deployed). Cliff also had small-parts kits to help others get started.
Thanks to all who came, and who participated. You folks are what makes this hobby so worthwhile.
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FEBRUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs 24-Feb-2005
PSK31 DEMONSTRATION – KJ7YU
Ross, KJ7YU, explained and gave us a demonstration of PSK31. This is a digital mode used on HF for regular QSOs (i.e., for conversations, not for data transfer). Like CW, PSK31 is extremely good for weak-signal QSOs, and needs very little bandwidth. It does require the use of a computer in the shack, but anyone can enjoy PSK31, not just died-in-the-wool CW-masters.
FOLD-UP J-POLE ANTENNAS – KD7FWY
Cliff, KD7FWY, brought in his version of the fold-up J-pole, a copper J-pole that collapses down for easy transport (like in a backpack or in a jump-kit). For instructions see the March 2004 QST. (Copies available if you don't get QST.)
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JANUARY CLUB MEETING – Thurs 27-Jan-2005
SRI LANKA REPORT – KE7BZX
Adam Steed, KE7BZX, gave us a great report on his trip to Sri Lanka, describing trips to and from the capital (often an eight hour round trip) to purchase needed supplies and delivering them back to the aid stations, support from the Sri Lankan army and government, helping to reestablish communications, and the gratitude in peoples faces—especially the children—when Adam's group delivered the food, hygiene kits, school kits, etc.
Adam is a brand new Ham (as of October), and was so excited to start volunteering, that he went to Sri Lanka for two weeks to help with the Tsunami disaster relief effort. He took a whole bunch of donated Ham equipment, and helped setup emergency communications there, including setting up an EchoLink node.
Here's an article about it that I stumbled across.
As soon as Adam gets me some pictures, we'll post them here on the site.
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