MountainTop Hardware

Transcription

1 Vol 60, No. 03 December 2013 MountainTop Hardware Pt. Mugu Laguna Peak radar site Directory 2 Club Repeaters 3 SBARC Is Shackmaster Dave s Column 5 SBARC November 15 Meeting 6 SBARC Oct. Operations Report 8 SBI Veterans Marathon 9 SBARC 2013 License Classes Report - VE Sessions 10 Unsung Hero of the Month 11 Contents - December 2013 Amateur Radio and Single Point Telecommunications 12 Science Saturday at Hope School 13 Cyber Links to Explore 13 Dennis Schwentner is Out of Sight 14 Beginners Tips..Talking Pointers 17 ITU Phoenetic Alphabet 18 SBHackerspace 19 Membership Application 21 Calendar of Events 22

2 2 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 SANTA BARBARA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB An Educational, Charitable, Non-Profit Corporation Founded in ARRL Special Service Club 1737 sbarc.org Board of Directors Al Soenke, WA6VNN President ajsoenke@aol.com Rod Fritz, WB9KMO Director at Large rod@sbatv.org Bruce Gordon, N6OLT VP Emergency Services bgordon@rain.org Dave Jacobs, K9KBX Director at Large k9kbx@hotmail.com Dorothy Oksner, KJ6UGL Secretary oksner66@gmail.com Jean Perry, AG6JP Director at Large -- John Reeside IV, AG6LJ Director at Large jbrpet@cox.net Tom Saunders, N6YX Treasurer tsaund@cox.net Andy Seybold, W6AMS VP External Affairs aseybold@andrewseybold.com Bill Talanian, W1UUQ Director at Large w1uuq@cox.net Mike Wapner, K6QD VP Education & Training k6qd@cox.net Rick Whitaker, KG6VLB VP Operations rickwhtr@cox.net Darryl Widman, KF6DI Executive VP auditron@juno.com Committee Chairs and Other Positions ATV Rod Fritz, WB9KMO rod@sbatv.org Outreach Darryl Widman, KF6DI auditron@juno.com Club Station Shackmaster Dave Milton, K6HWN --- Finance Tom Saunders, N6YX tsaund@cox.net Membership Harry Rouse, K6PDQ k6pdq@verizon.net Hamfest Tom Saunders, N6YX tsaund@cox.net Red Cross Mike Wapner, K6QD k6qd@cox.net Repeater Trustee Bill Talanian, W1UUQ w1uuq@cox.net Rover Manager Jordan Sideris, KJ6YVJ j@madtorq.com Key-Klix Editor: Dorothy Oksner, KJ6UGL oksner66@gmail.com Membership Data Base Kevin Schmidt, KD6NCA kps@ucsb.edu VE Team Leader Tom Saunders, N6YX tsaund@cox.net VE Team Contact Darryl Widman, KF6DI auditron@juno.com Webmaster Michael Reynolds, NO6O no6o@arrl.net Notes SBARC Club Station, located behind the Red Cross, 2707 State Street open Saturdays, 0900 to noon, and Tuesdays, 1930 to The station telephone number is Club meetings the 3rd Friday of the month, September through November and January through May at Location and topic are announced in Key-Klixx, on K6TZ net announcements, and the club website (sbarc.org). Nets on K6TZ (-)(131.8): Mon ARES 1930; Tue ATV Net 2030*+; Wed Newsline 1900*, Club Net 1930*, Swap Net 2000*; Thur Tech/Elmer Net *; Weekdays Cuckoo Net *, Cuckoo WeatherNet 0800* SSB Net USB Wed 2030 NTS Traffic Net (+)(131.8) Sun 2100 * sometimes linked to (-)(131.8)

3 3 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 Pt. Mugu Laguna Peak radar site SBARC Repeaters Call Location Frequencies/PL Manager Phone K6TZ 1 LaVigia Hill / Pat Lennon, WA6QBT W6YJO 2 Santa Ynez Peak / Bill Talanian, W1UUQ K6TZ Goleta (Portable) / Bruce Gordon, N6OLT K6TZ 3 Santa Cruz Island / Jug Jogoleff, WA6MBZ K6TZ 4 La Cumbre Peak / Jug Jogoleff, WA6MBZ K6TZ 2 Santa Ynez Peak / Jug Jogoleff, WA6MBZ K6TZ 5 UCSB / Jug Jogoleff, WA6MBZ K6TZ 1 LaVigia Hill / Bill Talanian, W1UUQ Call Location Frequencies/Software TNC/Specs APRS Network - National K6TZ10 LaVigia Hill javaprssrvr KPC-9612, 1200 baud, APRS I-Gate K6TZ Diablo Peak WXTrak TinyTrak, 1200 baud, WX xmit only K6TZ11 La Cumbre Peak West WXTrak TinyTrak, 1200 baud, WX xmit only APRS Network - Santa Barbara Special Events K6TZ-12 LaVigia Hill javaprssrvr KPC-9612, 1200 baud, APRS I-Gate K6TZ-15 La Cumbre Peak West Kantronics, firmware 9.1 KPC-3+, 1200 baud, APRS Digipeaer 9600 Baud Backbone K6TZ-13 La Vigia Hill (out-of-service) MFJ+mod, 9600 baud K6TZ-11 Santa Ynez peak (out-of-service) Tapper tiny-2, 9600 baud Local Access Network K6TZ-14 La Vigia Hill Winlink2000, LinuxRMS KPC-9612, 1200 baud K6TZ-4 SBPBBS La Cumbre Peak East Kantronics, firmware 9.1 KPC3+, 1200 baud K6TZ-3 SBDIGI La Cumbre Peak East Kantronics, firmware 9.1 KPC3+, 1200 baud

4 4 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 SANTA BARBARA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB SBARC IS... A non-profit PUBLIC BENEFIT corporation SBARC S PURPOSE IS (We are organized and operated to)... PROMOTE EDUCATION for persons interested in telecommunications DISSEMINATE INFORMATION about scientific discoveries and progress in the field TRAIN COMMUNICATORS for public service and emergency communications ENCOURAGE AND SPONSOR EXPERIMENTS in electronics PROMOTE THE HIGHEST STANDARDS of practice and ethics in the conduct of communications SBARC MEASURES SUCCESS AS... Progressive increase in INVOLVED MEMBERSHIP PUBLIC RECOGNITION and support MEMBERS ADVANCEMENT in the technology Acquisition of and UTILIZATION OF ASSETS SBARC ASSURES SUCCESS BY (having an organization with)... A focus on its GOALS A system of LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Prudent FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT A vision toward and and dedication to PUBLIC SERVICE An organized and comprehensive EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM Publication of activities and services to the COMMUNITY Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to use the above guidelines to make SBARC better... Rod Fritz, WB9KMO, wb9kmo@sbarc.org Key-Klix is published monthly by the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 3907, Santa Barbara, CA The contents do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of SBARC, its Board, or its members. Material contained in Key-Klix may be reprinted provided credit is given to Key-Klix and the author, except material published by permission of a copyright holder. This publication may not be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the SBARC Board of Directors.

5 5 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 Club Station News by Shackmaster, Dave K6HWN Even if you don t come to the club station, we are still eager to communicate with you by radio. Presently getting going are special modes, like PSK-31 (punches through noise), SLO-SCAN (sends pictures), and RTTY (sorta like a chat room). All this we are now doing on 2m so technicians or those without HF set-up can join in. (These modes also work on HF.) All you need is a 2m rig and a computer with some sound card stuff. Thanks to Rod, WB9KMO, who got all this stuff going, and patiently and fully explains it all on his ATV/ special modes net, Tuesdays 8:30 pm on and Also thanks to Brian, K6BPM, for donating a new laptop and Jug, WA6MBZ, who set it all up and got it working. Right now, we are doing 45 baud RTTY on ( ), on Tuesday nights about 9 or 9:30. Also thanks to Eric, KJ6HMD, who has shown great interest in this stuff and should be on the air soon on Tuesday nights helping me start an RTTY net with MBZ and KMO also and hopefully many of you too. At the club station, we support our precious new hams who show keen interest in ham things. The station is in the Santa Barbara Red Cross chapter headquarters, at 2707 State, at Alamar Street. Go down Alamar to the parking lot, and we are the door to the left before the stairs. Open every Saturday morning 9-12, and every Tuesday night, from 7:30 on. Listen for us or call us on our intercom repeater (but we monitor all channels, or call us at the new, direct, club station phone number, ). 73, come visit!! --Dave

6 6 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 SBARC November 15, 2013 Meeting Report Darryl Widman, Exec. Vice President, Programs The Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club held its Annual Club Meeting on Friday, November 15, What a meeting it was! Around 65 Hams were in attendance. We had a very interesting program in addition to our annual Election of Officers and Directors for the year Three nominations came from the floor for positions on our Board of Directors, but the slate from the nominating committee was elected. Forty-eight qualified voting members cast ballots. L-R: Al, Jordan, Theo, Darryl, Rod, Bruce, Adam, Tom, Jay, Rick, Dorothy The following are the new Board of Directors for the year 2014: President Jay Hennigan WB6RDV Executive Vice President Darryl Widman, KF6DI Vice President of Operations Rick Whitaker, KG6VLB Vice President of Emergency Operations Bruce Gordon, N6OLT Vice President of Education/Training Al Soenke, WA6VNN Vice President of External Affairs Andy Seybold, W6AMS Secretary Dorothy Oksner, KJ6UGL Treasurer Tom Saunders, N6YX Director at Large Rod Fritz, WB9KMO Director at Large Levi Maaia, K6LCM Director at Large Theo Howe, KK6YYZ Director at Large Adam Houser, KK6AXY Director at Large Jordan Sideris, KJ6YVJ We thank the 2013 Board for all they have done for us and wish them well. Now in 2014 we welcome some new faces on our board. Perhaps you would like to help direct SBARC into the future by joining a committee. Please step forward when asked.

7 7 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 The anticipated vote on the amended by-laws was postponed by the Board of Directors at the November 13, 2013 board meeting. It was determined and agreed that more work had to be done on the by-laws with more membership input, explanation and time being the critical and deciding reasons. The program, Radio-Orienteering a Different Form of Contesting, was presented by SBARC member (and new President) Jay Hennigan, WB6RDV (and you re not!). How do ham radio and the cold war turn a couch potato into a trail runner? What makes geeks want to run through the forest? What sport is huge in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe but virtually unheard of in the US? We found out from one of the best. Also, our 3rd Annual Home-Brew Night was held at our November club meeting. Many brought past projects (completed or not). This year we had some very interesting entries. Entries? Yes, it turned out to be a competition of the most interesting projects that were designed by a member or built from others designs or not yet built but envisioned. This was an opportunity to show how clever, ingenious and resourceful you were when you were a kid when you couldn t afford a ready-made part or a radio. Perhaps you enjoy building QRP radio kits. Perhaps you design them for others to build! What have you designed and built lately? And don t forget that next month s gathering will be our Christmas Party at Rusty s Pizza on Storke Road in Goleta on December 15 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Traditionally, you bring a wrapped gift and take one home. It could be a gag gift, some radio parts junque, a white elephant or a recycled Christmas gift from last year. Renewals for 2014 are due in December 2013 Your membership can be renewed on-line at OR Your dues can be paid on-line at New Membership application to complete is on page 21

8 8 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 SBARC - OCTOBER OPERATIONS REPORT Rick Whitaker KG6VLB - Vice President Operations On October 19th, we supported the Santa Barbara Century Bike Ride. This was a multiple pronged event in that there were three different courses within one event. The longest ride was the 100-mile event. This started at Leadbetter Beach and went down to Carpinteria and back on Highway 192. On the way back the riders got the opportunity to be timed as they rode from the base of Gibraltar Road all the way up to the top of the mountain to Romeo Saddle. A timing chip that attaches to their ankle was supplied and the time started from when they crossed a fixed point at the base of Gibraltar Road, and stopped once they reached the top. From what many said this was a grueling climb. Once they reached the top and got a sticker put on their bib, they rode across Gibraltar and down to old San Marcos Road and then out to Winchester Canyon. After they reached Winchester Canyon and got another sticker on their bib, they were then on their way back to Leadbetter Beach. This was the long 100-mile-ride with a very challenging 4000 ft. climb to the top of the mountains. The second course within this event was Metric 100 (approximately 66 miles). This followed the same path as the 100-mile-course but left off the climb to the top of the mountain. I found at the finish line that many riders who signed up for the 100-miler came back with their timing chips, opting to not take on the Mountain. Those who completed either of these courses received a set of wine glasses. Many in this category opted to trade in their wine glasses for an event t-shirt. The ride directors quickly ran out of t-shirts. The third course was called the Foothill Course and went from Leadbetter Beach to Summerland to Goleta and back, covering about 34 miles. This was the easiest and seemed to be the most popular. This ride started an hour later than the other two so a safe distance could be made between the serious riders and the foothill riders. Since this was a fun ride and not a race, the start times were staggered and riders for the Century or Metric 100 could leave at any time after The Foothill course started after The Event Director ran this event the first year without the aid of our club supporting him. The second year he contacted us and found that the help we supplied was invaluable. We could keep him in touch with all his aid stations and SAG wagons, without any dead zones and drop-outs since many of his course locations have no cell phone coverage. He was sold on Ham radio. We have been supporting him ever since and he always contacts me months in advance to make certain we will be available. He is truly a believer in ham radios as we were able to direct the 4 SAG wagons all with a ham operator inside to any spot where help was needed. Over the years this has been as simple as resup-

9 9 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 plying cups to as challenging as having to call the paramedics for injured riders. Mostly it was for tire fixes and bike repairs. The event begins and finishes at Leadbetter Beach where there is a beer garden set up to sample the local ale. The interesting thing about this event is that 85% of the profits go to charity. The charities vary from Sports Outreach, a company helping impoverished people in South Africa, Mexico, and in the inner cities of the US; Casa Esperanza, helping the homeless in Santa Barbara; and the Santa Barbara Community Development Center, helping children and families of Isla Vista. Carpinteria High School Rest Station Carpinteria Mobile Bike Repair Santa Barbara International Veterans Marathon November 9, 2013 This year the race directors teamed up with the Veterans group to combine the Veterans Day Celebration with this event. There were 12 to 16 vintage military aircraft doing a fly over at the start of each leg of the race. Race directors estimated there were over 5000 entrants with over 300 Veterans participating. The Kenyan again won. He ran by so fast he ran out of my photo below before I could snap it. Ginger Rubsam and veteran Ham Tony Tonkin N6AJA worked on the relay portion of the race committee.

10 10 SBARC KEY- KLIX December Report - VE Sessions 2013 was a busy year for the Volunteer Examiner (VE) Team. The SBARC VEs give FCC Amateur License Exams in Southern Santa Barbara County. In 2013, there were 9 VE Sessions with a total of 73 license tests. This resulted in 26 Technician licenses, 12 General Class licenses, and 3 Extra Class Licenses. Most of the exams were given at Santa Barbara County Health Care Services, Administration Building, 300 North San Antonio Road. Exams are usually on a Saturday morning, starting at 8:30 AM. The newest VEs on this team are Eleanor Larson KE6BL, David Larson AC9AC, Jim Allen KF6HHX, and Paul Ryack W1PR. Other VEs are Michael Jogoleff WA6MBZ (Jug), Michael Wapner K6QD, Michael Ziebell AE6MZ, and Tom Saunders N6YX. The VE contact person is Darryl Widman KF6DI. The January 12 Session was run by Jug, Jim, Michael Z, and Tom. A special January 26 Session was run by Eleanor, David, Michael W, Jug, and Tom. The March 9 Session was hosted by Michael W, Paul, Tom, and Darryl. The May 11 Session included Eleanor, David, Jim, Michael W, Darryl, and Tom. This was the busiest session of the year that resulted in 7 new Technicians and 2 new Extra Class hams. The summer July 13 Session was run by Paul, Michael W, Jim, Jug, Darryl, and Tom. The Southwest Convention VE Session September 7 was run by Jim, Paul, and Tom. The September 14 Session was run by Jim, David, Michael W, and Tom. Another special Session of October 26 was run by Michael W, Jug, and Tom. The last Session of the year was November 9 and contained Jim, Michael Z, Michael W, Darryl, and Tom. Scheduled VE Sessions for 2014 are: January 11 July 12 March 8 September 13 May 10 November 8 Please keep our VE Team busy in Contact Darryl at to reserve your place in one of these sessions. If you are already an Extra Class ham, please consider joining the VE Team. Becoming a VE is easy, just contact Tom Saunders at Tom Saunders N6YX

11 11 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 UNSUNG HERO OF THE MONTH As a frequent participant in SBARC s ongoing support of major community events such as triathlons, marathons, bike races and other athletic activities, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to Rick Whitaker, KG6VLB, who has served for the last four years as our Vice President - Operations. Rick takes on the daunting task of recruiting qualified Ham operators from within the ranks of SBARC and others in the general community. He coordinates with the organizations who run these events, publishes and distributes Operations Sheets listing all our operators and their assigned locations, and then manages the communications process on-site with the event directors, starting as early as 5:00 a.m. and sometimes ending as late as dusk. We get involved in participant safety, successful coordination of logistics operations and instant reporting of unforeseen problems. I encourage my fellow SBARC members to heed Rick s call and sign up for the next event, starting early in All one needs is a reliable VHF hand-held radio, fully charged, with backup battery. Also, I recommend use of a speaker microphone and pen-and-paper. When an event is held in hill country, signals will be greatly enhanced by using an after-market antenna, rather than the stock rubber duck known also as a flexible dummy load. In my almost twenty years as a licensed Amateur Radio operator and member of SBARC, I ve participated in scores of these events and have truly enjoyed every one of them. It s great to get outdoors and to see up close the hundreds of young (and not so young) athletes competing for first place. They are an inspiration to all of us. Harry S. Rouse K6PDQ

12 12 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 AMATEUR RADIO AND SINGLE POINT TELECOMMUNICATIONS By Bill Talanian, W1UUQ We used to call communications on hill-tops repeater sites but that is no longer the case. The repeater is now just another system amongst a group of diverse communications modes and services. Planning a new T-Comm site takes a great deal of design and engineering. The dream of one man finally came true, with the help of friends, when all eight antenna systems were installed in just one day. Normally this is unheard of, but don t stand in the way when Paul Strauss, WD6EBY, becomes singularly focused. Paul was so impressed with how the SBARC systems are organized he is using this as his model to emulate. Combining amateur radio, unlicensed microwave, packet radio, GMRS, and traditional repeaters allows a wide diversity of public service systems available to government and non-government organizations, the general public, and the amateur community. On a clear day one can see the white radomes located atop the Pt. Mugu Laguna Peak radar site. This unique site offers a distinct advantage to those along the Ventura to Santa Barbara coastline with a super Line-Of-Site communications path. It is one thing to have a LOS path with microwave and another when dealing with coastal over water ducting, path losses and fade margin. As we experiment with the 43-mile over water shot to our coastal comm sites it is going to be a great experiment to see what works. After some brief testing periods, the open comm systems will be made public to the amateur radio community. Assisting with the installation: WA6COT, W6KGB, WA6FGK, and W1UUQ

13 13 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 Science Saturday at Hope School February 1, 2014 A recent letter from Jennie Simon of the Hope School Science Saturday Committee: Thank you so much for being a participant in the Hope School Science Saturday this spring! A wonderful time was had by all and so many families have contacted me to say what a great time they had that morning! I know the pancake breakfast was sorely missed, and so we will be sure to reinstate it next year. Speaking of next year, please put us on your calendar for Saturday, February 1st, That is the Saturday prior to the Superbowl for those of you who are football fans! Please let me know if you have any feedback to help us make the event even better next year. Have a wonderful summer and I will contact you again in the Fall about Science Saturday 2014! Jennie Simon on behalf of the Hope School Science Saturday Committee For those interested in helping at this Science Saturday morning February 1, contact Darryl Widman KF6DI, <auditron@juno.com> or call Darryl at This is a good way for new members to get involved in a community service and to encourage interest in Ham radio in young people, and pancakes may be your reward! Cyber Links to Explore Santa Barbara Hackerspace Blog: Ham Radio on YouTube: Just search Ham Radio on youtube if the link doesn t work. More Ham Radio on YouTube: Projects to build: Raspberry Pi contest: Arduino projects to build:

14 14 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 Dennis Schwendtner is Out of Sight in More Ways than One By Lorelei Snyder Dennis Schwendtner is a big man. Tall, well filled out for a man of 67, with an infectious smile that fills every inch of his Channing Way home. He s a man who likes to do things: jet skiing on Grand Cayman Island, water skiing on the Colorado River, playing computer games against a robot and friends, and taking pictures. He looks forward to Zip Lining on Maui come December, even sky diving. What makes all this activity unusual is that Dennis has been blind since birth. My Dennis is an amazing person, says his wife JoAnn, The only thing he doesn t do is see. He is so adventurous. It s me who holds him back. (She s not keen on Zip Lining.) He is an avid reader, and goes through sixty to seventy books a year, mostly downloaded from the Internet. His favorite genres are adventure, mystery and sci-fi. Two of his favorite authors are Clive Cussler and Dale Brown. He loves music and soft tones can be heard throughout the house. His collection of 350,000 tunes runs the gamut of light classical to light rock n roll. Dennis is a registered piano technician. He is a member of the Santa Barbara Piano Technicians Guild. His tuning customers include the Granada, the Arlington, the Biltmore, Fess Parker s DoubleTree Resort, the County Bowl, and the Bacara. Customers also include piano teachers, schools, churches and the guy who just wants his piano to sound good. Other high profile clients, like Diana Krall, are listed on his website. He sells pre-owned pianos on consignment as well. Besides two grand pianos spooning in his modest living room, there are two uprights along the lefthand wall and another four pianos in his garage showroom. These rebuilt pianos can be real bargains, and the price range is dramatic. The 1925 completely restored Mason & Hamlin grand piano to his right would command a price tag of $80,000 to $90,000 if new. His price for the rebuilt instrument: $30,000. At the other end of the scale is a15-year-old Young Chang upright for $2,000. The price includes moving the piano and the initial tuning. Customers find him on the internet at pianosb.com, as well as on Craig s List and of course, word-ofmouth. The Created In Santa Barbara video on his web site shows him in action. Dennis was born in Lynwood, near Los Angeles. Although he began school

15 15 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 in an elementary school for the blind, from fifth grade on he went to public school. He graduated from Sierra High School in Whittier when the family was living in Norwalk. The high school had a lot of resources such as Braille and readers to help him along. He still uses Braille somewhat, but enter the computer and he fell in love. He has a voice activated cell phone, an iphone that talks to him, and a computer that repeats every word he types. His family, which includes a sister who lives near Denver, did a lot of camping and outdoor recreation when he was growing up. My mother was 17 and my father 18 when I was born, so we kind of grew up together. He was never a Boy Scout, but he did belong to the Foundation for the Junior Blind during those years. We took trips, had dances, I went to Camp Bloomfield in Malibu (under the direction of Norman and Naudia Kaplan) for four or five years. After high school graduation, on advice from a high school counselor, he left home for Vancouver, Washington, to attend the Emil Fries School of Technology for the Blind, where he learned his trade. This was a two-year program and he and his class of 12 men graduated in His first job was in Fairfield Connecticut, where he worked for a Baldwin dealer for a year before they moved to Florida, then he returned to California. Within two weeks he heard of a job opening in Santa Barbara at Bennett Music Company. After five years with the company he struck out on his own. One day, soon after he arrived in Santa Barbara, he made a phone call that changed his life. He dialed the wrong number. But the young lady at the other end was JoAnn Dally and they had quite a conversation. She sent a friend to meet him before she agreed to that first date, lunch at A & W Root Beer. They were married in December They bought their Mesa home in 1973, through a real estate agent he met while tuning her piano. JoAnn graduated from Bishop Garcia Diego High School in She is a Medical Assistant and has worked for Dr. Todd Kanen, a local General Surgeon, since She only works in the afternoons. She drives Dennis to his appointments in the mornings. Dennis is looking forward to owning one of the new driverless cars that are in the pipeline so he can get around by himself. She plans to retire in a year or two, but Dennis says, Never! When she takes the step, they plan to travel throughout the United States and Canada. While in high school, Dennis took a radio shop course and the teacher offered students an amateur radio study. In 1963 he received his first amateur radio license (Wn6ESU) and now holds an Extra Class, WB6OBB. Dennis was hooked and has communicated with people in over 250 countries. At one time the couple had a 60 foot radio tower in the yard. The antennas on the tower stretched almost the length of the property as he reached out to the world. When he needed to climb the tower, he did it at night so as not to alarm the neighbors. The tower is gone now. At one point Dennis and JoAnn thought about selling the house, and so the tower had to go. It is now with the Ventura County Sheriff s Department. Although the tower is gone, he has a repeater that transmits to another tower that broadens his reach and continues to keep in touch.

16 16 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 He is a member of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club and has served several years on its board. He is part of the Reg Dawe (W6HUT) Memorial Cuckoo Net that every morning at 8 a.m. checks in on members through the radio to see that they are okay. He also loves his talking GPS. I use it every day. He recently took it with him to Vienna for the Amateur Radio Direction Finding championships. Here 30 to 35 countries compete in locating transmitters through directional antennas within a two-hour period. Next year he s looking forward to a trip to Kazakhstan, Russia for a similar competition for the blind. Dennis has some good advice for keeping your piano in top notch condition. Have your piano tuned regularly, he says. Twice a year minimum, a couple of weeks after the seasons change, after the piano has had a chance to adjust to the new environment. Keep your piano away from heating registers, radiators, fireplaces and air conditioning vents. Subjecting it to extreme fluctuations of temperature and humidity levels can do major damage. Keeping a piano away from an outside wall was probably necessary in poorly insulated older Victorian homes but should not be a problem these days. Avoid direct sunlight on your piano it can damage and fade the finish, or even create horrible tuning problems. The two are members of the First Baptist Church and as JoAnn says, It is God who keeps us on the right path. We both love people and are blessed with many friends. Did Dennis tell you he loves roller coasters? Previously published in the Mesa newspaper and reprinted with permission. Place your business card here in four issues of Key-Klix for $33. Send your scanned business card to the Editor at ox@silcom.com and mail your check payable to SBARC, P.O. Box 3907, Santa Barbara, CA Your business will be advertised and you will be supporting our SBARC.

17 17 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 Beginners Tips Talking Pointers Cynthia McAlexander, Newbie KK6BZU (Kilo Kilo Six Bravo Zulu Uniform) December 2013 When you turn on your transceiver, listen to the first crackle and feel like you are in French 104 when you didn t take French 101, you are experiencing audio dysfunction. You may have asked yourself, Why don t they speak English? or What s up with the verbal abbreviations? There s hope, if you passed the visual written test, you re almost there. In no time you will have your ham ears. The Club offers nets almost every day of the week. You ll get your ears by listening online to more experienced hams. You can even practice without pushing the talk button. In no time at all you ll be saying Roger that, to co-workers and friends! Just as in the French class, there are rules to follow that make communication mannerly and understandable. Of importance is using your call sign to identify yourself. Since you cannot be seen when you are on the air, you need to use a unique name, your call sign. Using non-unique names such as Bill or Jane could lead to great confusion. You need to give your call sign at the beginning, about every 10 minutes thereafter and at the end of every call. Call letters may sound similar over the radio because of radio reception, individual voice patterns or just because letters like M and N sound nearly the same. It s a good idea to learn the ITU Phonetic Alphabet and use it for call signs. It is printed below. Timing of conversation is also a must. Good points to remember are that only one person can talk at a time, do not talk over anyone else and wait for the tone after the current speaker to sound before you begin your turn. Included in waiting your turn is listening for the repeater to identify itself usually every ten minutes. If you are old enough, you may remember Victor Borge, a comedian that played the piano and verbally added punctuation to his comedy routine. Mr. Borge added sounds for periods, commas and other types of punctuation. Talking on the radio is something like that. When you are finished with your comments, say Over, to indicate that you are turning the space over to others and not just pausing to remember something. As there are no visual cues to help guide the traffic, it is necessary to add them to your message. If appropriate, you may add, Roger that, or just Roger, to indicate confirmation of what was said. Use Clear to indicate the end of your transmission.

18 18 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 You probably have experience in talking into a cell or other portable telephone. If on speaker, you can put the phone down and do something else with your hands. You also do not have to push a button to talk. Reception on a cell or portable may also be good and you do not have to maintain a certain position ITU PHONETIC ALPHABET Letter Word Pronunciation Letter Word Pronunciation A Alfa AL FAH N November NO VEM BER B Bravo BRAH VOH O OSCAR OSS CAH C Charlie CHAR LEE P Papa PAH PAH D Delta DELL TAH Q Quebec KEH BECK E Echo ECK OH R Romeo ROW ME OH F Foxtrot FOKS TROT S Sierra SEE AIR RAH G Golf GOLF T Tango TAN GO H Hotel HOH TELL U Uniform YOU NEE FORM I India IN DEE AH V Victor VIK TAH J Juliet JEW LEE ETT W Whiskey WISS KEY K Kilo KEY LOH X X-Ray ECKS RAY L Lima LEE MAH Y Yankee YANG KEY M Mike MIKE Z Zulu ZOO LOU Emphasized syllables are in Boldface.

19 19 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 or direction for your reception or signal to be effective. Talking on the radio requires keeping the radio or microphone in your hand and be able to push to talk without having the radio in your hand. You must keep the microphone about five inches from your mouth. If you are moving while listening or speaking, your signal may weaken or not be heard at all. In this case, you must maintain a position where your radio will be able to pick up signals and send so others may hear you. It takes a while to coordinate everything it is the ham s version of walking and chewing gum at the same time. With some practice, you will be confident and sound natural 88. Santa Barbara Hackerspace 158-D Aero Camino, Goleta, CA The other day I drove over to the SBHackerspace to see what all the hulabaloo was about. Boy, was I ever surprised to see what they are doing there. At first, it just looked like a place to go to hang out with other like-minded computer nerds and geeks and lie around on the old sofa and other well-worn furniture like that picked up from the streets of Isla Vista when students were leaving school last June. I met the manager, Jack Reyes, who walked me around proudly showing off the new shipment of equipment donated by an energy research lab in Canada that included some really nice office furniture, desk chairs, tables, and a bookcase in a teak-like finish. But more impresive were the large pieces of equipment such as a heavy-duty band saw. There were several very large container crates still unpacked stacked out in a fenced parking area.

20 20 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 There was much more I didn t see due to time restraints, but I did get a couple of photos to share. Here is one of a 3-D printer and some sample objects it has printed. There is a class starting on how to build a 3-D printer. Each student has purchased a printer kit for the class. The class is filled at this point. They are still moving in and rearranging everything as it is unpacked. Observe the new desk chairs that have replaced the folding metal chairs, and the new work tables for putting together those intricate bread boards and Arduino boards and kits. Everyone is welcome to visit and work, and memberships at different levels are available. Their funding is mainly through memberships. Join the group at and website at Dorothy Oksner KJ6UGL

21 21 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION New Renewal Change Contact Information Name Call Sign Street Address Phone City/State/ZIP From time to time SBARC sends notices of club events and timely information. Do you wish to be on the list for these notices? Yes No Are you an ARRL member? Yes No FCC AMATEUR LICENSE CLASS Expires on: / / Novice Technician Technician+ General Advanced Extra None Key-Klix, the Club newsletter, is available on sbarc.org Please check items that apply for user preferences: Personal computer user Tablet pc user Smartphone user For up-to-date info: register to add the sbarc-list service to your . SBARC ACTIVITIES Please indicate an interest to participate by checking: Club management Board, committees Event Communications triathlons, etc. Education, training, Elmering Repeaters technical, operations, training ARES - Emergency Services Club events Field Day, HamFest, Meetings SBARC ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES Full Member - licensed amateur 18 years or $24/year = Junior Member -licensed amateur under 18 $12/year = Family Member same family, residing with Full = Associate Member unlicensed other than $12/year = * All dues are 1/2 price after July 1st for new members. SBARC VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS Repeater Operations Fund $ Repeater Capital Fund $ SBARC/ARES Emergency Van Fund $ ARES General Fund $ Club Station Operation Fund $ Club Station Rent Fund $ Rover Fund $ Club General Fund nonspecific items $ Total Enclosed $ I hereby apply for membership in SBARC and agree to abide by its rules and by-laws Applicant signature Date Make check payable to SBARC and mail to: Post Office Box 3907 Santa Barbara, California

22 22 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 Calendar of Events December Renewal of membership dues for 2014 SBARC Board Dinner- Sunday, December 11-5:30 p.m., Cody s T-Hunt Orienteering at Lake Carneros 1000 hrs.. December 14. Christmas Party - December 15 - Rusty s Pizza - Hollister and Storke, from 1300 to Deadline for Key-Klix Submissions - December 31 for the January issue, January 2014 SBARC Board meeting - January 8 - Red Cross VE Exam January 11-8:30 a.m.-santa Barbara County Public Health Auditorium SBARC Membership meeting January 17 - Goleta Union Schools Administrative Board Room February 2014 Science Saturday, February 1, Hope School Editor s Notes inquiries and articles should be sent to Dorothy, KJ6UGL at Key-Klix@sbarc.org Inserts in the Swap Net are free, or try Key-Klix. Business card ads at $33 for four issues. SBARC Listserver Subscribe to the listserver at: Follow the instructions under the section Subscribe to SBARC-list The administrator for the listserver is Paul, KF6TRT, beemancron@hotmail.com

23 23 SBARC KEY- KLIX December 2013 Help Wanted and Offered HELP OFFERED Do you need help with your Handy Talky (HT) radio? Jug, WA6MBZ, will conduct a class (or two on Tuesday evenings at the SBARC shack. His specialty is the Wouxun HT, but he also can help with Kenwood and Yaesu radios. Contact Jug at wa6mbz@ix.netcom.com. Help Wanted HELP WANTED Elmers to teach and work with and newly licensed hams. This position requires patience and persistence in working with both young and seasoned adult new hams. It could just be in answering basic questions about using a new radio or as extensive as in building or installing a magnetic loop antenna or different types of antennas. This may require a long-term commitment to a student. Rewards are high. Contact Dorothy at ox@silcom.com if you want to elmer or want an elmer. HELP WANTED SBARC Telecommunications support team is looking for a few good folks to help maintain Kantronics based TNC s for packet radio systems, multiple headless Linux servers, insure network security, and enable various associated digital infrastructure resources that serves and benefits the HAM community, local EMCOM organizations and interface with the general public. If interested contact Bill Talanian, w1uuq, <w1uuq@cox.net>. HAPPY HOLIDAYS

24 KEY-KLIX SANTA BARBARA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Post Office Box 3907, Santa Barbara, CA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED SBARC Christmas Party Come Join Us Sunday, December 15, 2013 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Rusty s Pizza Storke Road, Goleta Bring a wrapped gift to exchange