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F E E D - P O I N T

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

May 1999 Vol.9 no.5

Letter From Our President

Dear Fellow Hams,
     Is summer really here? It is hard to tell when 80+F. alternates with snow flurries or cold temperatures. It looks like summer with the leaves out all the way a good week ahead of normal. Most of the wildflowers are way ahead of time, too. The fabled Rhodora is blooming in the St. John Bog and the rare Bird's Eye Primrose is blooming on the St. John shores. In spite of the temperature extremes, it has been a wonderful May for working outdoors, because of the dryness.
     Well, the Mosley vertical is still in the box, and the black flies are biting. I was taken aback by the sight of another Mosley Box (encased in plastic bags by the UPS man), lying on the ground in the rain near our UPS box yesterday. I had not even realized the RV-8C WARC (add-on unit to cover 75/80 meters) had not arrived yet! No excuses now. Coax must be ordered and the antenna put in place.
   The ARRL celebrated its 85th anniversary on May 18, 1999. The ARRL was founded in 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence Tuska. Maxim attempted to send an inquiry from Hartford, CT to Springfield, MA about the hard-to-get deForest audion receiving tube. Conditions prevented his contact with Springfield, so he arranged for a station between the two cities to relay his message. By late summer more than 200 "relay stations" had been appointed across the US, and the first 16 page edition of QST appeared in December

of 1915. Maxim's call was 1AW. The W1AW call is used by the ARRL for its code practice sessions and various bulletins.
The ARRL's executive VP thinks the W1AW/85 on-the-air plans would have pleased the founders with the organization, promotion, and protection of the League that Maxim and Tuska took the trouble to create.
Also, just as they did in the exciting early days, the ARRL is looking forward by emphasizing new methods of radio communications, such as PSK31.
International Amateur Radio Union Sec'y David Sumner, K1ZZ, extended "greetings and congratulations" to the ITU on behalf of the world's nearly 3 million radio amateurs on World Telecommunications Day May 17. Sumner pointed out that hams have "contributed significantly to the technical advances that make electronic commerce( this year's theme) possible." 73/ N1UYA Gale

Address comments, questions, or suggestions to:
Gale Flagg R.F.D.#3 Box 250
Fort Kent ME 04743
Phone: 207-834-6670
E-mail: mailto:sgflagg@ainop.com

Next Meeting:
MON 7 JUN @ 1830 EDT
Grindle Conference Room – UMFK
Field Day Plans

Schedule of Coming Events

Date	Event	Place	Contact	Sponsor	Time	Freq
SUN	Net	Madawaska	VE1PIN		1800	146.30
SUN	Net	Fort Kent	N1QMC	SJVARA	2000	146.64
MON	Net	Presque Isle	WA1YNZ	AARA	2000	146.73

Page 2 Feed-Point,May 1999

Minutes of May JVARA Meeting

Called to Order: 18:39 by N1UYA

In Attendance: N1UYA, N1CHF, KW1C, N1PMS, N1JHD, N1QMC, N8VJM.

Secretary's Minutes: Minutes read by N8VJM. Motion to accept by KW1C, second by N1QMC, passed.

Treasurer's Report (N1CHF): previous balance reported as $353.92 at last meeting; +$.71 (interest);+$60.00 (dues); +$24.00 (donations); -$1.98 (battery terminals); $ 436.65(approximate current balance). Secretary's note: N1CHF was unable to return to his house prior to the start of the meeting due to technical difficulties and , thus, could not retrieve the books. Therefore, this report is to be considered informal and unofficial.

Old Business:
The school project will be tabled until later this year per N1UYA.

Field day: KW1C made the list of responsibilities available to all who attended and briefly discussed additional responsibilities. KC1SE will talk to DOC about the use of their sign and N8VJM will speak to UMFK about the sign in front of the campus. He further stated that the next meeting is extremely important and everyone should attend.

New Business:
     A new time for summer nets was discussed. N1CHF suggested surprise nets in addition to the usual net on Sunday night. N8VJM made a motion to hold the nets at 2100 EDT commencing the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. KW1C moved to amend the motion to 2000 EDT unless poor attendance warranted trying a later start in the future, N1QMC seconded, N8VJM accepted the amendment, and the amended motion passed.
     Those attending were given a traffic message form, a practice message was read and then the check number was explained.
     N1UYA mentioned that members of the Long Island (NY) Mobile Amateur Radio Society will be in the audience of the David Letterman Show tonight. They are hoping to draw positive attention to amateur radio.
     N8VJM opened a brief discussion was held concerning problems encountered in the use of the 146.640 repeater.

Next meeting will be MON 7 JUN @ 1830 EDT in Grindle Conference Room at UMFK.

Adjourned @ 1931 EDT by N1UYA with no objection from the floor.

Program: Salvaging Water Logged Gear by N1UYA

Submitted by N8VJM, secretary.

In Case You're Interested

In the June 1924 QST the editorial discussed "Mutual Aid" which urged amateurs to buy new equipment and apparatus to improve their stations during the summer doldrums!

Happy Birthday

Please wish the following a Happy Birthday:

Russell Beaulieu 06-19

Page 3 Feed-Point, May 1999

The Rocky Report

This is to inform you of what's happening and what's going to happen
with the Rocky Mountain Repeater. First, here's the latest on how the batteries have been doing over the last month:

Voltage (Volts, DC)

Avg. Max. Min. Day
13.81 14.17 13.71

Temprature (Deg. F)

Avg. Max. Min. Day
51.1 64 &nbs p; 37

If you would like to donate some time to the Rocky Mountain project any time this summer, please let me know when you will be available.
73, Steve, N1CHF

Hollingsworth at Dayton

The FCC's Riley Hollingsworth received standing ovations for remarks he made at the Dayton Hamfest. He urged the crowd to "read over the basis and purpose of Amateur Radio and the rules in Part 97" and to always operate as if children and overseas stations might be listening. Amateur Radio is "an American institution", but " not about the First Amendment", "slandering someone you don't like", "ridiculing someone who's operating 10 kHz away", "jamming or obscenity". Nor is it intended to be a

talk show , an "electromagnetic forum for hate groups", or "an audio version of the Jerry Springier Show."
    Hollingsworth called the on-the-air activities of some hams "childish and stupid". He pointed out that Ham Radio does not always present its best face to the world. He added that hams need to understand that the demand for HF spectrum is increasing in the rest of the world. He says we take our allocations for granted. "Some third world countries would love to have 75 meters as a national telephone system. What happens on some of our frequencies is "an international embarrassment." Some are afraid to leave the radio on in the house or car, and one amateur extra youth is not allowed by his parents to be on 75 meters.   Hollingsworth says that law-abiding hams should not retaliate but shun those who are offensive on the air or break the law.
     His challenge to every ham is to recruit one newcomer into the hobby to help another amateur upgrade. He would also like to more young girls recruited into Amateur Radio.
      In response to an audience question, Hollingsworth reported that FCC officials had attempted to visit the station of Glenn Baxter, K1MAN, Belgrade Lakes, Maine. Though Baxter's station was on the air, no one came to the door, and the building appeared to be locked. Baxter is head of the American Amateur Radio Assoc., and his on-the-air air talk and news are the subject of controversy in the amateur community.
(This is a condensation of a story in the ARRL newsletter Vol.18, n.22.) N1UYA

For Sale

Heavy duty 40' galvanized steel tower, 16" x 16" x 16". Includes mounting hardware. Best Offer.

Pair of stacked 7-element beams for 10 meters. Best Offer.

Heil BM-10 microphone boom set $35.

MFJ 451X keyer $35

Contact Charles Zafonte N1FRX 834-6273

Internet Addresses

The ARRL newsletter will be posted each Friday ASAP after publication at:
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/ .

At the FCC's Amateur Radio Page, http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/amateur,
you can learn about the Universal Licensing System which will go into effect later this year. The system will replace the well known 610 forms, and applications, modifications, and renewals will be able to be done via the internet.

Page 4 Feed-Point,March,1999

FEED-POINT
Published by the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association and distributed free to members and friends of Amateur Radio.
Officers
President: Gale Flagg N1UYA
Vice President: Miles L. Clouston N8VJM
Secretary: Miles L. Clouston N8VJM
Treasurer: Steve Boomhower N1CHF
Public Information: Cheryl Boomhower, N1CGV
Technical Advisor: Steve Boomhower, N1CHF
Editor/Publisher/Printer
Gale Flagg - N1UYA / Stan Flagg 834-6670
Associate Editor/Web Edition
Miles L. Clouston - N8VJM 834-6866
Membership Information (Annual Dues):
Regular Membership $ 12
Associate Membership $ 6
Articles:
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.

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RFD 3 Box 250
Fort Kent, ME 04743