F E E D - P O I N T
| August, 2006 | Vol. 16 No.8 |
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From Summer to Autumn, the changes are in the air, with frosts reported in
August. Orange is creeping into maple leaves. Some birds are starting to flock.
Farmers have started harvesting oats, and potato tops are being killed.
The Tour De La Valley on August 20th went quite smoothly. We did not have as many operators as we hoped to have due to last minute drop outs for a variety of reasons. We improvised. N1EVO stayed in Fort Kent as Net Control. He had secured permission for us to use the IRG Riceville repeater for some of the area from Madawaska to Van Buren.(N1EVO drove the whole route on August 17th, talking to N1FG on 146.640 and 145.130 when .64 could not be used). N1FG drove in front of the 100 mile bikers, using four-way flashers when traffic approached. Two of the riders pulled ahead of everyone else by Madawaska. As far as I could see, they never stopped for the whole race. They finished in about 4 1/2 hours. Incredible effort. Fortunately it was a cool morning. N1PMS followed the 25, 50, and 62 mile races, and then shifted to the end of the 100 mile racers. |
Race organizers were happy to know where the riders were. They appreciated our help. Rachael Charette has asked for two hams on Sept. 28th to cover the running of a half Marathon. I helped with communications for the Aroostook Adventure Race on August 26th. Once again my roll-up J-pole antenna came to the rescue at a checkpoint in the woods down in a hollow. This is a fun event to cover. It is a triathalon. The shallowness of the Aroostook River slowed up the canoe part and made it a long day for everyone. Gale Flagg 108 Franklin School Rd Fort Kent, Maine 04743 Phone: 207-834-6670 E-mail: galeflagg@sjv.net
Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 12, 6:30 PM Nadeau Hall, UMFK, Alumni Conference Room |
| Schedule of Coming Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Place | Contact | Sponsor | Time | Freq |
| SUN | Net | NB | VE1PIN | IRG | 2000 | 145.130 |
| MON | Net | Fort Kent | N1FG | SJVARA | 1900 | 146.64 |
| MON | Net | Presque Isle | WA1YNZ | AARA | 2000 | 146.73 |
| Page 2 | Feed-Point, August, 2006 |
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Start Time: 13:15 At the Cross Lake Picnic Members and guests present: N1FG; N1EVO; N1PMS; N7GLR; KA7VNR; KA1SJV; WB1FTK, Stan Flagg, Dave Anderson, Zeus (Dave's dog). Secretary’s Minutes: WB1FTK moved to accept minutes as posted. Seconded by N7GLR. All present voted in favor. Treasurer's Report: N1FRX
Old Business: 1. Rocky Mt.: This repeater is silent now. N1JHD and family checked the repeater on July 30. Voltage had been going down steadily. N1CHF said it might be a blown fuse. No blown fuse found. A broken window that allowed rain to fall on the repeater cabinet was replaced. The charge controller appeared not to be working. A new one will be ordered soon. The repeater will shut itself off when the charge gets too low. When the new charge controller is installed we hope it will come back to life. N1FG told the group that Steve said to get the same one. N1EVO will go with N1JHD to help install the new charge controller. 2. 146.64 Report: 12.82 volts at 14:58 hrs August 11. N1FG replaced the Damp Rid and said the cup had never had so much water in it! 3. Tour De La Valley: Tour De La Valley: Sunday August 20. Please don't forget we need help for this. They are counting on us to keep track of the bikers. N1EVO had a map and paper describing the bikers route. N1FG asked N7GLR and KA7VNR to radio in the number of bikers as they pass through the stop at Grand Isle and St. Agathe. |
The group discussed the bikers route more. N1EVO will do a drive of the
route to check on radio coverage and N1FG will listen. N1EVO will check into
the Monday night Net with more details, and will also check to see if there
will be signs set up along the route and the approximate time frame for
arrivals at various stops along the route. 4. Other: None. New Business: 1. $100 Donation given to the club by Mr.& Mrs. Herman Adams N1FG said they live in Colorado and summer in Maine. They met at the Botanical Society Meeting and wanted to show their support. N1FG brought a Thank You card which all members present signed. 2. Testing August 4: We had N1FG, KW1C, and N7GLR to administer the tests. Mark Bossie came up from Millinocket and earned his Technician license. One other candidate was not successful. We have encouraged him to come back soon. The other people apparently did not feel ready to test. We were expecting at least four. 3.Other: N1FG mentioned the upcoming Aroostook Adventure Race Triathlon and asked for a partner. N1EVO volunteered and N1FG said she will let him know more details shortly. Program: Picnic Next Meeting: September 12, 2006, Nadeau Hall, UMFK, 6:00 PM Adjourned: 13:45 KA7VNR motioned for adjournment and N1FG seconded. Submitted by KA1SJV |
| Happy Birthday | |
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| 40/20 meter Antenna: Compact design for portable or emergency communications. 22 X 16 X 32 (HWD). Weighs 6 pounds. Mount on metal mast 20' from ground. See www.isotronantennas.com for more information. | Phil Dumond 9-27 |
| Page 3 | Feed-Point, August, 2006 |
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My [N7GLR] HF operations have picked up over the last few months. With an on-again off-again start due to antenna problems, I finally dumped my trusty old Butternut HF6V and bought a new Hustler 4BTV vertical antenna. I ground mounted it behind our house with several radials spread out in our backyard, and are held in place with garden staples. Once initial testing and tweaking of the new antenna were completed, I was on the air with my modest 100 watts or less. This summer my operations have been mainly on CW. I have replaced my old straight key for my keyboard and computer and a free downloadable program called CW Decoder. My radio and computer are connected via my Rig Blaster Plus interface. Can CW be any easier these days? |
Most of my HF operations are during the week. Weekends are too chaotic due to many contesters on the bands. Recent contacts have included; Czech Republic OK1GF, France F5NKA, Germany DJ2EV, Italy I1ODP, England G1AJI, Sweden SM6CAW, plus a German special event station, DR2006N, for the World Cup in Germany, plus many more DX QSOs. Stateside, I have covered most of New England, and many contacts in New York, which is probably due to propagation conditions on 40 meters. New York seems to be at the right distance for nighttime skip. I have many other states this summer but are too numerous to list. The most unique CW QSO recently was on August 21 when K2GTC answered my CQ.
He was operating from a high rise apartment in mid-town Manhattan. His antenna
was a vertical longwire which he lowered from his apartment’s window and was
held in place with a weight at the end to minimize swaying in the wind.
Don’t let his set-up fool you; he was a 599+ here. 73, Charley, N7GLR
|
Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" X 16". Includes mounting hardware. Best Offer. N1FRX. Yaesu VX-5R Excellent condition. Mic, charger, two batteries, DC cord, manual. Best Offer. N1FG | Foreign Commercials collected by Richard Lederer |
F E E D - P O I N T August, 2006 |
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| 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: Sandra Daigle, N1QMC |
| Secretary: Diane Elrich, KA1SJV |
| Treasurer: Charles Zafonte, N1FRX |
| Public Information: Charles Ames, N7GLR |
| Technical Advisor: Carl Pelletier, N1EVO |
| 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. |