FEBRUARY 2013

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Upcoming Meeting Speakers Feb  15  Steve  AC6P  and  John  AE6TL  will  provide  a  presentation  on  "The  North  American  Power  Grid".  I  hope  we  will  learn  just  how  smart  it  really  is    March  15    David  KG6IRW  will  talk  about  his  amazing  experiences  with  the  JT65  data  communications  protocol,  he  expects  to  give  a  live  demo    —Ron  W6WO  

NEXT CLUB MEETING FEBRUARY 15 - 7:30PM

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W8JK –One of the Truly Great Radio Amateurs Our  hobby  is  enriched  and  enlivened  by  some  very  special  individuals  so  let  us  spend  some  thought  on  the  life  and  work  of  one;  John  Daniel  Kraus,  W8JK    Big  Ear  radio  astronomer,  (1910-­‐2004)    

John  was  born  in  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  graduated  from  Ann  Arbor  High  School  in  1926.  He  received  a  Bachelor  of  Science  in  1930,  a  Master  of  Science  in  1931  and  at  age  24,  a  Ph.D  was  received  in  1933  at  the  age  of  23.  At  Michigan,  he  was  involved  in  atomic  particle  accelerator  research.  An  avid  radio  amateur,  his  call  sign  was  W8JK  and  developed  such  innovative  antennas  as  the  "W8JK  flat  top  beam"  “helical  antenna”  and  the  "corner  reflector."  He  became  fascinated  by  the  recent  discoveries  of  radio  noise  from  space  and  the  potential  to  use  radio  waves  rather  than  visible  light  to  "see"  the  universe.    

During  WWII  John  was  a  civilian  scientist  with  the  U.S.  Navy  responsible  for  "degaussing,"  or  neutralizing,  the  electromagnetic  fields  of  steel  ships  to  make  them  safe  from  magnetic  mines.  He  also  worked  on  radar  countermeasures  at  Harvard  University's  Radio  Research  Laboratory.  He  later  designed  and  directed  construction  of  the  "Big  Ear"  radio  telescope  which  discovered  some  of  the  most  distant  known  objects  at  the  edge  of  the  universe  and  conducted  sky  surveys  mapping  the  radio  stars.  He  was  closely  identified  with  activity  related  to  the  Search  for  Extraterrestrial  Intelligence,  or  SETI.  The  now-­‐famous  "WOW"  signal,  of  possible  extraterrestrial  origin,  was  detected  by  "Big  Ear"  in  1977.    

Professor  Kraus  spent  his  entire  career  at  Ohio  State,  where  he  was  the  McDougal  professor  of  electrical  engineering  and  radio  astronomy.  He  received  the  Centennial  Medal,  the  Edison  Medal  and  the  Heinrich  Hertz  Medal  from  IEEE.  The  Antenna  and  Propagation  Society  of  IEEE  twice  awarded  him  its  Distinguished  Achievement  Award,  the  last  in  2003  "for  a  career  of  outstanding  innovation  and  invention  in  the  field  of  antennas,  and  for  the  many  students  he  has  taught  and  inspired  to  excel  in  electromagnetics."    

Mentally  active  and  vital  to  the  very  end,  he  was  a  last  living  link  to  many  of  the  astonishing  scientific  discoveries  of  the  20th  century.  He  was  of  a  bygone  era  of  empirical  and  observational  research  and  hands-­‐on  invention.  

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A  committed  environmentalist,  in  1976,  with  his  wife  Alice,  he  donated  the  80-­‐acre  Kraus  Wilderness  Preserve  to  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  with  scholarship  endowment  to  enhance  learning  opportunities  for  Ohio  Wesleyan  students.  Environmental  scholarships  also  were  established  for  Ohio  State  University  students.    

My  familiarity  with  his  work  comes  from  studying  his  seminal  book  entitled  “Antennas”  published  in  1950.  His  power  and  clarity  as  a  teacher  becomes  evident  on  page  2  in  his  description  of  a  dipole  as  simultaneously  behaving  as  an  antenna,  transmission  line  and  resonator.  Some  of  his  antennas  are  always  included  in  ARRL  antenna  handbooks.  

—Ron  W6WO  

Bob Perlman <bob@cambriandesign.com> Jan 15 to me, kg6af Ron - I'm a member of the Silicon Valley VE Group. We've just held our first exam session of 2013, and plan to hold almost two dozen more. We'd like like to make sure that area hams know about our exam sessions; if you could include the following in the Santa Cruz County ARC newsletter, it would be a big help: "The Silicon Valley VE Group holds amateur radio exam sessions twice monthly in Saratoga. For more information, visit http://www.svve.org, or contact Morris Jones, AD6ZH, at (408) 507- 4698 or mojoteri@comcast.net." Thanks, and 73,

Radio Fest 2013 March 23 0800-1700

Moose Lodge Del Rey Oaks Featuring VE Sessions

2 FEBRUARY 2013

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How Do You Choose an Antenna Analyzer? By  Dan  Romanchik,  KB6NU  A  reader  recently  e-­‐mailed  me:  "In  the  past  you  told  me  you  started  with  the  Autek  RF-­‐1,  and  later  moved  to  the  Palstar  ZM-­‐30.  I  am  finally  getting  around  to  thinking  about  purchasing  an  antenna  analyzer,  but  I  am  stumped  by  the  choices.  In  order  of  increasing  purchase  price  this  is  what  I’ve  turned  up:    *  Autek  RF-­‐1  -­‐  $139.95      *  Autek  RF-­‐5  -­‐  $229.95      *  Rig  Expert  AA-­‐54  –  $340.00      *  Palstar  ZM-­‐30  $399.99      *  W4RT  Electronics  MiniVNA  $399.99      *  Rig  Expert  AA-­‐230PRO  $690.00      *  Timewave  Technology  TZ-­‐900S  $899.99  "How  does  one  decide?  Where  does  one  go  to  find  out  the  differences?  Other  than  asking  a  fellow  ham,  how  does  one  find  out  which  one  is  the  best  antenna  analyzer  without  paying  an  arm  and  a  leg  (unless  the  feature(s)  so  purchased  are  deemed  worth  the  cost)?  "Thanks!  73"  When  I  replied,  I  noted  that  he  had  actually  missed  several  other  good  choices:      *  Autek  VA1  –  $199.      *  MFJ  259B  -­‐  $240.      *  YouKits  FG-­‐01  –  $250.      *  Comet  CAA500  –  $450.  The  Autek  VA1  is  actually  the  antenna  analyzer  that  I  first  purchased.  The  MFJ  259B  is  arguably  the  most  popular  antenna  analyzer  on  the  market.  MFJ  has  several  other  models  with  different  feature  sets.  The  YouKits  FG-­‐01  is  a  very  cute,  little  analyzer  with  a  small  graphical  display.  It  is  made  in  China  and  sold  in  the  U.S.  by  TenTec.  So,  how  do  you  choose  just  one  from  this  list?  Well,  I  think  the  first  thing  that  you  have  to  ask  yourself  is  how  you’re  going  to  use  the  analyzer.  If  all  you’re  going  to  do  is  to  check  the  SWR  of  your  HF  dipoles,  then  buy  the  Autek  RF-­‐1.  It’s  the  least  expensive  unit,  is  reasonably  accurate,  and  is  small  and  

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lightweight,  making  it  easy  to  use  outside  where  your  antennas  are  located.  If  you  want  to  do  some  more  serious  frequency  analysis,  then  you  should  be  looking  at  the  W4RT  miniVNA  or,  if  you  have  more  cash,  the  Timewave  TZ-­‐900s.  These  instruments  can  help  you  do  a  lot  more  in-­‐depth  analysis  of  your  antenna  system.  The  software  for  the  miniVNA,  for  example,  will  easily  plot  the  SWR  of  a  multi-­‐band  vertical  antenna  from  3  –  33  MHz.  Some  antenna  analyzers  do  more  than  just  SWR.  For  example,  what  sold  me  first  on  the  Autek  VA1  and  then  on  the  Palstar  was  that  they  also  measured  reactance.  So,  you  can  use  the  antenna  analyzer  as  an  LC  meter  as  well.  Palstar  also  says  that  you  can  use  the  ZM-­‐3  as  a  low-­‐level  signal  source.  While  I  have  used  my  Palstar  to  measure  inductance  and  capacitance,  I  have  yet  to  use  it  as  a  signal  source.  Next,  you  need  to  consider  what  bands  you’ll  be  using  it  on.  Many  antenna  analyzers  only  cover  the  HF  bands.  That’s  a  bummer  if  you  like  operating  6m,  or  like  to  experiment  with  VHF/UHF  antennas.  A  friend  of  mine  bought  the  Palstar  antenna  analyzer  after  talking  to  the  company  at  Dayton.  At  the  time,  they  said  that  they  were  planning  to  come  out  with  a  model  that  covered  6m,  as  well  as  the  HF  bands.  Unfortunately,  they  never  did  come  out  with  a  6m  version,  and  he  was  sorely  disappointed.  He  ended  up  buying  a  miniVNA  instead.  The  miniVNA  can  be  used  up  to  170  MHz  right  out  of  the  box,  and  up  to  1.5  GHz  with  an  optional  extender.  Asking  your  fellow  hams  about  the  antenna  analyzers  they  have  is  actually  a  good  way  to  figure  out  what’s  best  for  you.  If  you  ask  nicely,  they  might  even  let  you  borrow  their  analyzers  or  come  over  and  show  you  how  it  works  on  your  antennas.  Reading  the  reviews  on  eHam  is  also  a  good  way  to  gather  information  before  making  a  purchase  like  this.  You  certainly  have  to  take  the  reviews  there  with  a  grain  of  salt,  but  if  several  reviewers  mention  a  particularly  good  or  particularly  bad  feature  of  a  product,  then  it’s  certainly  something  worth  taking  a  hard  look  at.  

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If  you’re  new  to  the  hobby,  starting  out  small  and  working  your  way  up  might  be  a  good  strategy.  You  could  buy  one  of  the  less  expensive  models  and  get  used  to  how  they  work,    then  sell  it  and  make  the  leap  to  a  more  sophisticated  unit.  The  way  things  are  going,  you  should  be  able  to  sell  your  first  antenna  analyzer  for  at  least  80%  of  what  you  paid  for  it.  The  March  2012  QST  contains  an  in-­‐depth  review  of  four  analyzers  (available  online  to  ARRL  members),  including  the  Comet  CAA-­‐500,  MFJ-­‐266,  RigExpert  AA-­‐54,  and  the  Youkits  FG-­‐01.  Each  analyzer  reviewed  had  various  plusses  and  minuses.  Even  if  the  unit  you  are  considering  was  not  reviewed,  the  article  provides  a  guide  to  the  kinds  of  questions  you  should  be  asking  as  you  go  through  the  selection  process.  guides,  and  just  has  fun  with  amateur  radio.  You  can  reach  him  by  e-­‐mail  at  cwgeek@kb6nu.com,  @kb6nu  on  Twitter,  or  on  40m  CW  many  evenings.  

Tethercell Bluetooth Remote Control Looking  for  a  new  way  to  remotely  control  things?  Tethercell  may  be  the  answer  to  your  needs.  

Tethercell  is  a  plastic  case  the  size  of  an  AA  battery,  embedded  with  Bluetooth  4.0  transponder,  which  is  powered  by  an  AAA  battery  that  fits  inside.  The  Bluetooth-­‐enabled  battery  is  then  synced  with  an  app  on  your  smart  phone  that  allows  you  to  turn  the  device  on  and  off,  set  a  timer  and  even  monitor  the  amount  of  power  remaining.  

According  to  its  inventors  Trey  Madhyastha  and  Kellan  O'Connor,  this  first  version  of  Tethercell  as  a  test  bed  for  future  applications.    Its  also  an  opportunity  to  get  the  technology  in  the  hands  of  the  public.  

—Amateur  Radio  Newsline  

FEBRUARY 2013 3

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 I  was  early  for  our  club  meeting  on  January  18th  but  in  time  to  catch  the  last  portion  of  the  ARES  Meeting  led  by  Jerry  Inman,  KE6I.    An  excellent  computer  presentation  made  by  ARRL  Headquarters  was  in  progress.    I  sat  next  to  Jack  Scanlon,  KQ6CH,  and  we  agreed  that  the  material  was  what  ham  radio  is  all  about:  fun,  learning,  meeting  people  throughout  the  world  and  advancing  the  art  of  amateur  communications.    If  you  didn’t  get  to  see  the  program,  perhaps  Jerry  can  give  you  the  web  site  or  simply  contact  ARRL  and  they  will  be  happy  to  help.  While  I  have  not  been  active  in  ARES  for  a  while,  Jerry  has  continued  to  serve  our  club  in  this  very  important  role.    I  should  verify  with  him,  but  I  know  it  has  been  many  years.    Jerry  has  also  been  a  volunteer  at  Dominican  Hospital.    When  I  first  met  him  a  few  years  back,  he  was  assisting  patients  to  their  cars  via  their  wheelchairs,  a  vital  function  to  ensure  the  safety  of  freshly  released  patients.    I  was  happy  to  have  someone  guide  my  wheelchair  to  my  son’s  car  when  I  was  released.    No,  it  wasn’t  Jerry,  but  I  was  happy  to  get  an  assist.    After  lying  in  bed  for  eight  days,  I  was  a  bit  wobbly  and  not  at  my  all-­‐time  best.  It  was  good  to  see  Suellene,  K6CPA  and  husband  Steve  Peterson,  AC6P.    They  both  have  been  conducting  Extra  Class  level  training  classes  for  those  wishing  to  increase  their  knowledge  or  upgrade.  “They  all  passed  with  high  grades,  “  said  Suellene.    They  have  also  been  co-­‐teaching  Technician  license  classes  and  administering  end-­‐of-­‐course  VE  exams.    Steve  and  Suellene  are  a  busy  couple.  Kerry  Veenstra,  K3RRY,  was  our  featured  speaker  for  the  January  meeting.    His  in-­‐depth  presentation  about  Mesh  Networking  was  of  high  interest.    From  his  experience,  there  was  a  lot  to  learn.  I  often  receive  emails  from  Patrick  

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Henry,  WA6PKM,  living  in  Gold  Beach,  Oregon.    In  addition  to  material  describing  the  bombing  of  the  Oregon  coast  by  an  aircraft  from  a  Japanese  submarine  in  WWII,  he  sent  me  a  video  of  the  first  steam  driven  aircraft  engine  –  in  flight  in  1933.    The  engine  could  even  be  put  into  reverse.    I  guess  it  never  caught  on,  but  a  steam  driven  aircraft  engine  is  indeed  rare.    In  the  Sept  4th  2012  issue  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Sentinel  was  an  article  on  harnessing  Oregon’s  wave  energy  by  means  of  a  series  of  ocean-­‐planted  wave-­‐action  buoys.    An  on-­‐board  computer  adapts  to  each  incoming  wave,  adjusting  the  way  an  internal  shaft  rides  up  and  down  with  the  swell.    Sounds  like  a  great  way  to  generate  electrical  power  as  ocean  waves  rarely  cease.  

I'm  a  member  of  the  Silicon  Valley  VE  Group.    We've  just  held  our  first  exam  session  of  2013,  and  plan  to  hold  almost  two  dozen  more.  We'd  like  like  to  make  sure  that  area  hams  know  about  our  exam  sessions;  if  you  could  include  the  following  in  the  Santa  Cruz  CountyARC  newsletter,  it  would  be  a  big  help:    "The  Silicon  Valley  VE  Group  holds  amateur  radio  exam  sessions  twice  monthly  inSaratoga.    For  more  information,  visit  http://www.svve.org,  or  contact    Morris  Jones,  AD6ZH,  at  (408)  507-­‐  4698  or  mojoteri@comcast.net."    —Bob,  KG6AF  

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CAKE    Crumbs    Feb  9th  2013    This  session  was  split  into  2  halves,  the  first  was  for  our  normal  “anything  goes”  multiplexed  discussions  the  second  was  the  start  of  a  conversation  on  our  regional  networking.    I  will  do  the  best  I  can  to  disseminate  accurately  most  of  what  transpired  but  please  allow  some  editorial  comments  which  you  will  find  in  italics!      First  half  Gary  K6PDL  asked  about  Morse  keys  and  whether  it  was  better  to  begin  with  a  paddle  or  not.  I  sense  there  was  general  agreement  he  would  end  up  with  a  paddle  and  keyer  and  best  to  start  off  that  way.  The  Bencher  paddle  seems  a  favourite  in  the  moderate  price  range.  Tom  KW6S  reported  that  he  worked  a  station  in  Fresno  on  70cm  SSB  That’s  incredible  given  the  distance  and  intermediate  mountains.  We  speculated  this  involved  atmospheric  ray  bending  and  diffraction.  Tom  also  mentioned  there  was  a  growing  interest  in  1.25m  and  23cm  SSB      Frank  K6BDK  mentioned  some  strange  drifting  spurious  signals  that  he  observed  and  was  unable  to  decode.  Need  to  hear  

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more  on  this  Frank.  Don  K6GHA  reported  his  activity  in  the  current  RTTY  contest,  we  were  glad  to  see  you  could  take  a  break  Don.  Don  showed  some  real-­‐time  propagation  software  from  K6TU  put  out  by  the  NCCC.    Oliver  KJ6LDD  mentioned  the  multi  $k  involved  in  having  items  of  test  gear  professionally  calibrated  and  certified.  Other  techy  topics  included  breath  analyzers  and  embedded  AC  power  strips.  Not  bad  for  1  hour  !    Second  half  The  aim  was  to  bring  forward  ideas  and  this  certainly  was  the  case,  it  illustrated  the  complex  nature  of  the  task  as  it  involves  internal  and  external  relationships  and  a  frame  of  mind  that  extends  from  data  protocols  to  service  possibilities.  We  did  not  strive  for  consensus  or  actionable  items,  nevertheless  certain  topics  came  up  prominently,  what  follows  are  some  of  those.    Understanding  the  needs  that  users  (ourselves  and  the  served  agencies)  know  of  and  explaining  what  new  capabilities  are  insight.  Possible  teleconferencing  as  an  ARES  capability  ?  Oliver  KJ6LDD  mentioned  that  there  are  several  unmet  needs  at  this  time.  Could  be  raised  at  the  next  Board  meeting  Informing  served  agencies  what  they  can  do  to  make  our  capabilities  more  valuable,  an  example  being  roof-­‐top  access  for  antennas    Rapidly  deployed  networks,  Michael  AG6MK  mentioned  this  subject  is  being  

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4 FEBRUARY 2013

Monthly Meeting The SCCARC meets at 7:30PM, on the THIRD FRIDAY of the each month (except December). Meetings are at Dominican Hospital, Education Center, 1555 Soquel Drive, Santa Cruz.

SCCARC Calendar of Events ARES Meeting (prior to club meeting) Friday Feb 18 SCCARC Meeting Friday Feb 18 Cake Meetings Sat Feb 9, 23C SCCARC Board Meeting Thurs Feb 28 Short Skip articles due Monday Mar 4 SCCARC Meeting Friday Mar 15

Net Control Schedule: 2/11 Becky KI6TKB 2/18 Phil KE6UWH 2/25 Keith W6WKK 3/4 Lou KJ6CAI 3/11 Chris KG6DOZ 3/18 Tom K6TG

Short Skip is published 12 times a year. Santa Cruz County Amateur Radio Club Inc.

P.O. Box 238, Santa Cruz, CA 95061 Editor: Ron Baldwin K6EXT.santacruz@gmail.com

Columnist: Art Lee WF6P Writer: Ron Skelton W6WO

SCCARC Board 2013 President: Robert Ritchey KJ6FFP Vice-President: Ron Skelton W6WO Secretary: David Copp WS2I 708-2206 Treasurer: Kathleen McQuilling KI6AIE 476-6303 Directors: Cap Pennell KE6AFE, 429-1290

Suellene Petersen K6CPA Oliver Pitterling KJ6LDD Becky Steinbruner KI6TKB

(Immediate Past Pres.) Bruce Hawkins AC6DN K6BJ Trustee: Allen Fugelseth WB6RDU 425-8846

Local Repeater Frequencies

Santa Cruz County Amateur Radio Club Post Office Box 238 Santa Cruz, CA 95061

NASA Transmits Mona Lisa Image to Orbiter at the Moon As  part  of  the  first  demonstration  of  laser  communication  with  a  satellite  orbiting  the  moon,  scientists  with  NASA's  Lunar  Reconnaissance  Orbiter  program  have  successfully  transmitted  an  image  of  the  Mona  Lisa  to  the  spacecraft  from  Earth  using  only  a  high  powered  laser.  

The  digitized  image  traveled  some  240,000  miles  form  from  the  Next  Generation  Satellite  Laser  Ranging  station  at  NASA's  Goddard  Space  Flight  Center  in  Greenbelt,  Maryland  to  the  Lunar  Orbiter  Laser  Altimeter  instrument  on  the  spacecraft.    By  transmitting  the  image  piggyback  on  laser  pulses  that  are  routinely  sent  to  track  the  devices  position,  the  team  achieved  simultaneous  laser  communication  and  satellite  location.    The  success  of  the  laser  transmission  was  verified  by  returning  the  image  to  Earth  using  the  spacecraft's  radio  telemetry  system.  

Typically,  satellites  that  go  beyond  Earth  orbit  use  radio  for  tracking  and  communication.  The  Lunar  Reconnaissance  Orbiter  is  the  only  satellite  in  orbit  around  a  celestial  body  other  than  Earth  to  be  tracked  by  laser  as  well.    One  of  many  stories  on  this  latest  accomplishment  can  be  read  on-­‐  line  at  tinyurl.com/mona-­‐lisa-­‐moon  (NASA,  others)      

The picture shows our CAKE group meeting at NextSpace for the first time.

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studied  by  the  UN  and  no  doubt  many  others.    Amateurs  are  well  suited  to  rapid  deployment  for  in  area  and  out  of  area  communications    We  discussed  several  ideas  on  how  to  better  understand  area  coverage  Daniel  KE6PQV  suggested  a  form  of  Fox  Hunt.  Direction  finding  at  2  GHz  sounds  fun    Reliability  was  emphasized.  We  could  become  independent  of  local  copper  or  fiber  plant,  and  cellular  services  and  also  provided  back-­‐up  for  over-­‐the-­‐hill  communications    We  should  thoroughly  understand  our  legal  constraints  I  felt  very  encouraged  by  the  discussion  but  I  might  have  a  tiger  by  its  tail  but  that’s  just  to  be  expected.  Stay  tuned    —RonW6WO  

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Cake continued