F  E  E  D  -  P  O  I  N  T

The Official Newsletter of the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association

April, 2009Vol. 19 No.4
Letter From Our President


Strong winds continue as the weather changes to Spring. On April 28th I planted about 225 onion plants sent from Texas. It was 73 F.. By evening it had dropped to 40 F. with a prediction of 25 F.. Fighting the wind, I manged to get a row cover over the onion bed. During the night half of it blew off. It will be interesting to see if the uncovered half of those Texas plants can survive the freezing.

Whenever the wind blows hard, I wonder about everyone's antennas.They have to be tough. It is a good thing the club tower is well guyed. N1CHF did a good job on that.


N7GLR has sent me information on three antennas for us to consider at the May meeting. We will have quite a few to help us make a decision.The one AA1XD recommended has no radials. At the rate we have lost radials on both antennas, it is interesting to know that some don't have radials.



Gale Flagg
108 Franklin School Rd
Fort Kent, Maine 04743
Phone: 207-834-6670
E-mail: galeflagg@sjv.net


Annual Meeting: Tuesday, May 12th 6:00 PM
UMFK, Nadeau Hall, Alum. Conf. Room, Antennas
Schedule of Coming Events
DateEventPlaceContactSponsorTimeFreq
SUNNetNBVE1PINIRG2000145.130
MONNetFort KentN1FGSJVARA1900146.64
MONNetPresque IsleWA1YNZAARA2000146.73
Page 2Feed-Point, April, 2009
Minutes of April 14th, 2009 SJVARA Meeting


Start Time: 18:00
Members present: N1FG, N1JHD,N1QMC, N7GLR, KA7VNR, N1EVO, KB1OWW, NIFRX, W1TCP
ELECTION: N1FRX motioned to keep the same slate of officers. KB1OWW seconded motion which was accepted by all.
Treasurer's Report: N1FRX:
Savings Account$3164.17
Dues Collected$132.00
Interest on Savings:$2.76
Checking Account$134.08
New Balance:$3433.01

Accepted as presented.
Old Business:
1. Rocky Mt.: Rocky Mountain still off the air. Discussion on moving repeater from Rocky Mountain to Saint Francis or to Saint John. The Saint Francis site would be more accessible than Rocky Mountain. There are several people who must be contacted for more information. Stan is checking elevation profiles on X Map to see what kind of coverage the the St. FRancis site would give.
2. 146.640 Repeater: 146.64 repeater is still on the charger. Coordination for repeater was renewed.

3. OTHER: ARRL affiliation - Need 50% of club members in ARRL for the club to be affiliated. Will need to determine how many members belong to ARRL.



New Business:

1.Discussion regarding new antenna. Charles N7GLR recommended a less expensive antenna. Club will need to keep some of the money for possible repeater repair needs. Gale asked for suggestions. Charles Zafonte recommended investigating on internet. It was decided that an antenna with at least 7 DB gain would be best. KB1OWW AND N1FRX will get information on the antenna.
Club members discussed the value of different types of antennas, microphones, radios both old and new.
Great pizza was enjoyed by all members and the meeting was adjourned at 6:50.

Next Meeting: May 14, UMFK, Nadeau Hall, Alumni Conference Room. 6:00 PM
Submitted by Sandra Daigle N1QMC
In Case You Are Interested
Meteor Shower
Monkey and Robot Researchers used the brain activity of a NC monkey to control the walking patterns of a robot in Japan. This is a breakthrough in understanding how the brain controls the movement of legs. This may help paralyzed people to walk again.
Eta Aquarid. Best viewing pre-dawn. May 4. Look in the SE
Page 3Feed-Point, April, 2009
Antennas

From N7GLR

"Here are some two-meter base antennas. After looking through the ones available, it appears the more gain you want the taller the antenna is going to be, and it will probably be a dual-band antenna. If the club puts up a new antenna on a tower you need to know that the taller antennas will whip around more in the wind compared to the shorter antenna. If the antenna is partially protected by trees then the wind may not be a problem. Also I don't know what the repeater power is, but the below ratings are for SSB, and FM [our repeater] will be lower, otherwise the antenna will be damaged. You may want to check with Don, K1FTK; I think he has a F22A mentioned below.

Diamond F22A, $99.99 + s/h, fiberglass radome enclosed, 10.5 ft. high, 200 watts, 6.7 db gain, multiple good reviews: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4129 ,

Diamond F23H, $147.99 + s/h, fiberglass radome enclosed, 15 ft. high, 350 watts, 7.8 db gain, multiple good reviews: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/7255

Comet GP9, $219.99 + s/h, fiberglass, 16' 9" high, 200 watts, 8.5 db gain, review: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/2455 one reviewer recommends not putting more than 100 watts FM through it. See reviews for more info.

The prices are from the AES catalog.
73s,
Charley, N7GLR
For Sale

Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" X 16". Includes mounting hardware. $200. N1FRX.
Force 12 EF-510, 5 ele 10m Beam w/balun New in the box, never installed Retails at $470/$480 ... asking $350 Call Don, K1FTK, at 543-6033
A Bit of Humor
Exam answers from 16 yr olds.
     *Q: How is dew formed? A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.        *Q: What causes the tides in the oceans? A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and Nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

F E E D - P O I N T            April, 2009

Published by the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association
and distributed free to members and friends of Amateur Radio.
President: Gale Flagg N1FG
Vice President: Gil Daigle, N1JHD
Secretary: Sandra Daigle, N1QMC
Treasurer: Charles Zafonte, N1FRX
Public Information: Charles Ames, N7GLR
Technical Advisor: Carl Pelletier, N1EVO and June Despres, KB1OWW
Editor/Publisher/Printer
Gale Flagg - N1FG / Stan Flagg 834-6670
Associate Editor/Web Edition
Charles Ames N7GLR
Membership Information (Annual Dues):
Regular Membership $ 12
Associate Membership $ 6
Articles may be submitted by anyone with a good idea, and may be re-printed
only in their entirety and with credit going to this newsletter.




FEED-POINT
108 FRANKLIN SCHOOL RD
FORT KENT ME 04743