>
>Fred Laun wrote:
>"...big flocks of blackbirds form up and head south over my QTH."
>and
>"I am not aware of any birds having been killed or injured in collisions
>with my three towers..."
>
Somebody once told me that if birds are still flying through your yard,
you don't have enough antennas up.
Maybe the bird problem is only a symptom of a larger, more serious
situation? :)
Sean
--
Sean Kutzko Amateur Radio: KF9PL
Urbana, IL DXCC:304 worked/299 cfmd
"It's those rock and roll hours, early graves without flowers...
Please, darlin'... put my mind at rest."
>From Rick Niswander <AONISWAN@ECUVM.CIS.ECU.EDU> Fri Sep 1 12:42:57 1995
From: Rick Niswander <AONISWAN@ECUVM.CIS.ECU.EDU> (Rick Niswander)
Subject: Sprint
The September Sprints are getting close. CW is a week from now (the
weekend of the 9th) and Phone is a week later (weekend of the 16th). Make
plans now.
Start getting your teams together. If you want to send me your team
info for Phone you can use e-mail, telephone, even US mail. Just make
sure you get me the info prior to the start of the contest. Leaving a
message on the answering machine is also ok.
CU in the Sprints. Listen hard.
Rick, K7GM aoniswan@ecuvm.cis.ecu.edu
>From Will Sill <will@epix.net> Fri Sep 1 12:55:23 1995
From: Will Sill <will@epix.net> (Will Sill)
Subject: K0SF TOWER CUP: Need Data on Bird Strike
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950901075000.708G-100000@mango.epix.net>
Hey contesters - probably 99% of us think it is idiotic to worry about
birds flying into towers - but the guy with the problem of dealing with
an idiotic zoning board needs HELP - not just funny retorts. Why not
flood him with your factual information: your tower of x feet elevation
up y years in what kinda environment with <usually ZERO> known instances
of birds striking tower. If the man has enough of these and they are
honest reports, he can make the zoning bozos look ridiculous - even to
themselves!
will@epix.net - KD3XR - W F Sill, Tunkhannock, PA
>From Swanson, Glenn, KB1GW" <gswanson@arrl.org Fri Sep 1 14:32:00 1995
From: Swanson, Glenn, KB1GW" <gswanson@arrl.org (Swanson, Glenn, KB1GW)
Subject: 8-pin quick-disconnect plugs...
Message-ID: <30470C08@arrl.org>
Greetings,
Wayne - W9II (wstrahl@nwsca.nw.att.com) wrote:
>Currently I use the 8 pin male/female polarized connectors from The
Wireman.
>I think they're actually trailer connectors. I don't remember the current
price, but >they're in the Wireman catalog...
Being interested in this system, I called this morning and asked for a
catalog, the catalogs are $3 a copy. And the 8-pin "trailer plugs" are $5
ea. plus shipping.
Wireman (800) 727-9473.
261 Pittman Road
Landrum, SC 29356
73, Glenn, KB1GW
>From Don Anderson <bigdon@eskimo.com> Fri Sep 1 15:11:40 1995
From: Don Anderson <bigdon@eskimo.com> (Don Anderson)
Subject: K0SF TOWER CUP: Need Data on Bird Strike
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950901070858.17143B-100000@eskimo.com>
On Fri, 1 Sep 1995, Will Sill wrote:
>
> Hey contesters - probably 99% of us think it is idiotic to worry about
> birds flying into towers - but the guy with the problem of dealing with
> an idiotic zoning board needs HELP - not just funny retorts. Why not
> flood him with your factual information: your tower of x feet elevation
> up y years in what kinda environment with <usually ZERO> known instances
> of birds striking tower. If the man has enough of these and they are
> honest reports, he can make the zoning bozos look ridiculous - even to
> themselves!
>
> will@epix.net - KD3XR - W F Sill, Tunkhannock, PA
>
If you want to have some real fun, those idiotic zoning bozos you
describe congregate on alt.planning.urban .
******************
Big Don
No LOOTed Freedoms !!
>From James White <0006492564@mcimail.com> Fri Sep 1 00:43:00 1995
From: James White <0006492564@mcimail.com> (James White)
Subject: Internet Spots - Are they okay?
Message-ID: <33950831234333/0006492564PK5EM@MCIMAIL.COM>
Of course using Internet derived spotting information is NOT alright...
The use of telphones is NOT alright...
2 Meter spotting nets (RIP) or Packet are OK...
Once a contest starts it is Amateur Radio that is being "tested"....not the
connections one has via the Internet or with a long distance company.
Contests are Amateur Radio events...how do we use our hamming ability during
those "48" hours to make more points in our Assisted, Multi-single or
multi-multi than the next guys - NOT BY POSTINGS TO THE INTERNET AND NOT BY
SURFING THE WEB!
If someone cannot make the distinction between hamming and hacking then he
has not spent enough time hamming.
How can there be any question on this point?
Jim zx k1zx@mcimail.com
>From sfraasch@ATK.COM (Steve Fraasch) Fri Sep 1 18:50:07 1995
From: sfraasch@ATK.COM (Steve Fraasch) (Steve Fraasch)
Subject: K0SF CUP: GOOD NEWS !
Message-ID: <1995Sep01.105000.1180.64542@msm.atk.com>
To All:
I agree use of the contest reflector should be reserved for contesting,
but this topic seemed to be of great interest to many, and relevant to
contestors:
First off, as of 9:45 CDT, 31 Aug, the Corcoran, MN city council
voted NO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET REQUIRED !!!
Summary:
At the last minute, I managed to persuade a prominent birder, Mr. Robert
Janssen,
editor of 32 years of the MN Ornithologist Union's journal, "The Loon," and
writer of
numerous ornithology books, to appear and testify.
He was able to the opponents other expert's testimony quite
effectively. He claimed the
swans lived in my wetlands (I have no confirmed spottings),
and were especially vulnerable
to power lines, towers, and other structures.
The atmosphere was not as contentious as the previous 7 hearings; the
speakers
were limited to 3-5 minutes, with discussion limited to
only the impacts alleged in the environmental quality board petition.
Of possible use to the fraternity (and now you'll understand his value):
Mr. Janssen conducted a 1 year study on short tower bird strikes on
behalf of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), who is applying to a metro suburb
for 3 ea 395' am towers.
Mr. Janssen's study group found no strikes whatsoever, after studying 4
other tower sites (3 ea 260 AM, 127' and 195' AM, 295' Cellular,
and NSP powerlines in nearby wetlands).
Conclusion: Towers of these heights cause insignificant kills, if at all.
Now, I have the study, but for its use, one must obtain permission from
Svoboda Franklin J & Associates, and MPR (ask me and I'll get you the POCs).
Mr. Janssen is a first class gentleman, so I don't want to over-extend him.
However, I think this material would be rendered to an amateur or his
attorney upon request, as it was to me.
I read some of your e-mail testimonials last night to the council, but had
all
of them available for record. They're all in my continuity file, and I will
condense them into a text file to make available on request.
My mayor (who voted against the EAW) said that the ham's testimony
was relevant and crucial, since no other ham tower-bird strike data
were available.
Also, heros of the evenings are:
Jay Bellows, K0QBE, ARRL volunteer counsel
What else can I say about Jay ? He's simply the best.
Dave Wester, K0IEA, for his appearance and testimony
and Bob Garwood, N0BG, for his extremely relevant testimony of a 130'
tower he owned near a wildlife area, and endorsement letter from a DNR
official citing no affect of the tower on the trumpeteer swans and other
rare
birds in the area. He had appeared without asking; only by reading about
it in our local paper. I had forgotten all about that, but he showed on his
own initiative.
Again, any and all of my experience and doucumentation are available upon
request.
Pardon the pun: Us "birds of a feather" need to stick together on tower
actions.
Legal action may pursued in court, but we're ready.
Very 73 and again thanks for the wonderful testimony,
Steve Fraasch, K0SF
>From wrt@eskimo.com (Bill Turner W7LZP) Fri Sep 1 10:51:10 1995
From: wrt@eskimo.com (Bill Turner W7LZP) (Bill Turner W7LZP)
Subject: Windows file editor
Message-ID: <199509011651.JAA01910@mail.eskimo.com>
As contesters, those of us using computerized logging have a need to edit
our electronic paperwork after the contest is over. For some time I've been
using the edit.com program that comes with MS-DOS, or notepad.exe that comes
with Windows 3.1. While both of those are ok, I've recently found a far
better program and I'd like to share it with you. It's a Windows program
called Programmer's File Editor (PFE). Don't let the "Programmer's" part
fool you -- it was designed to edit programs like BASIC and others, but it
is very useful for editing or just reading all those .TXT files we
accumulate off the Internet.
The program is highly configurable to suit your tastes. It has just about
every feature one could ever want such as saving cursor position, opening
window size and many, many others, and the best part of all is it's FREE!!
It's not even shareware -- it's freeware. Why the author gives away a
program that could easily be sold, I have no idea, but hey -- there it is,
so why not take advantage of it??
The program is available by ftp from any of the SimTel archive sites such as
ftp.coast.net, oak.oakland.edu and others. You'll find it in the
SimTel/win3/editor/ directory as pfe0601.zip. Just unzip it and you're off.
There is no manual as such, but the online help screens are all you need.
In fact, the amount of help is astonishing. Again, this IS a Windows
program. The author doesn't mention DOS, so I doubt that a DOS version is
available.
One quick suggestion to make it even more useful: remove the notepad.exe
file from your Windows directory and move pfe.exe there and rename it
notepad.exe. That way, any other program that automatically opens notepad
will open PFE instead and the program won't ever know the difference. To
avoid confusing your computer, make that the only copy of PFE on your
system. At first, I had PFE duplicated in it's own directory and the two
.INI files occasionally got confused. This way it works like a charm.
The usual disclaimer: I have no connection with the author other than as a
more than satisfied user. If you like the program, let him know. If you
come up with any nifty little tips or ideas, let both of us know. I hope
you like it as much as I do!!
73, Bill W7LZP
wrt@eskimo.com
>From Larry Tyree <tree@cmicro.com> Fri Sep 1 18:21:57 1995
From: Larry Tyree <tree@cmicro.com> (Larry Tyree)
Subject: Something funny
Message-ID: <199509011721.KAA13764@cascade.cmicro.com>
Okay. THIS IS A JOKE!! DO NOT TAKE THIS MESSAGE SERIOUSLY.
I found this laying around and figured most of you would enjoy it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Log checkers guide to cq-contest.
Welcome to the CQ-CONTEST reflector. Since you are a log checker or contest
sponsor, I felt a special message was in order to explain the proper
etiquette here.
One of the first things to be aware of, is that everyone has an opinion, and
as has been pointed out many times, even little pistols can be heard on the
internet. The hassle factor of communicating with you has been lowered
below the noise level, and you will hear 100 times the complaints that you
used to hear (maybe more).
Since it has been proven by the IRS that it is impossible to set up rules
that make everyone happy, there will ALWAYS be negative comments about
your event each time it is held.
Also, since it is impossible to make communication easy enough to get
positive comments, you will rarely get these, although you will get
slightly more of these than you used to. The bummer is that it won't
seem like it because of the 20 db increase in complaints.
People will expect you to respond to their every idea. Examples include:
CATEGORY 1 : Wouldn't it be nice if the writeup would:
- list low power stations.
- list people who used two radios.
- talked more about my score.
- detailed what the competition was using.
- was longer.
- etc. (you get the idea).
CATEGORY 2 : Wouldn't the contest be better if it:
- had more multipliers
- had less multipliers
- was shorter
- was longer
- was held at another time
- had more off time
- had less off time
CATEGORY 3 : Rule clarifications
- what if my cousin came over to operate and used my call, can he work me?
- what if someone at a multi-multi goes to another station and uses a
different call, can he work the multi-multi?
- If my brother in law lives in a rare section, and my wife if talking to
him on the phone and she mentions that I am in the Sprint, then he remembers
that I missed his state last time and then turns on the radio and works
me, is that okay as long as I never knew about it.
- If I am using a packet network and one of the links is made on the same
band that I am operating on, do I have to factor that transmission into
the calculation of my on time for that band per the ten minute rule.
CATEGORY 4 : Complaints about other participants
- ***** was running over 1500 watts.
- K5** couldn't of really worked that station without loosing too much rate.
- KR0* obviously was making skeds because he couldn't of possibly worked
4 more mults than I did.
- K3Z* came and took my frequency away without asking if it was in use.
There are many more categories as you can imagine. The other interesting
fact is that you used to think you had a lot of complaints from non
contesting hams because of the QRM the contest generated. However, you
will now find out that these non contesters are in the minority and the
bulk of the complaints will be from the contesters themselves. This
sorta suggests that you can eliminate ALL of the complaints by just
getting rid of the contests, but that is beyond the scope of this document.
The best approach is to take a tip from K1KI. Get yourself one of those
compuserve addresses like 000674534.23423@compuserve.com so nobody can
tell who you are. Then, NEVER let on that you are listening to the
reflector. If you post just one message, people will assume that you
are listening to everything and if they mention in a PS that they think
you should change the starting time of the contest by an hour, they will
expect you to respond.
Also, don't forget to subscribe to the
contest-sponsor-gab-line@yoyodyne.com reflector. This is a private
reflector for contest log checkers where we poke fun at the logs we check.
73 Tree N6TR
tree@cmicro.com
>From Swanson, Glenn, KB1GW" <gswanson@arrl.org Fri Sep 1 19:03:00 1995
From: Swanson, Glenn, KB1GW" <gswanson@arrl.org (Swanson, Glenn, KB1GW)
Subject: K0SF CUP: GOOD NEWS !
Message-ID: <30474B0F@arrl.org>
Good news on your hearing Steve!
Feel free to use this testimony in any way you see fit.
My personal leisure pastime is Amateur Radio (mainly contesting), and I
happen to live next to a small lake in Central Connecticut. (In fact, my
rear property line is legally defined as the lake itself.) My home is in a
fairly dense residential area, and my lot is 100 feet wide by 460 feet deep,
(plus a few hundred feet of lake beyond.) The lake is in full view from the
Amateur Radio antenna sites in my back yard.
My 45-foot-tall Amateur Radio tower is located 100 feet in back of my
home, and the tower base is 20 feet in elevation above a wetlands area that
transitions into the lake, the actual shore of which is some 50 to 100 feet
away. (The lake has a mildly jagged shoreline.) A small tribander is at the
top of the (non-guyed, self-supporting) tower. My 80-meter (1/4-wave) wire
vertical is nearly in the swamp-land, and some of it's wire radials
terminate in pools of water. A horizontal low-band wire antenna is strung
from nearby trees. Several ropes help support both the vertical and
horizontal antennas.
The wetlands directly below my tower site are full of red-wing black
birds, and many other common species of bird. On occasion, a heron will be
sighted along the shores of, or among the lily pads in, the lake. Flights
of duck are common visitors to the lake, and flocks of geese circle the lake
near sunset, both settling down on the lake as daylight fades. The geese,
and duck spend the night in the wetlands, hidden among the flora and fauna.
Hawks often visit the lake, circling above, no doubt looking for a meal.
For the past two winters, an owl has taken up residence somewhere on the
lake shore--and hooting eerily echo's across the lake on a still winters
night.
In the 2.5 years I have lived with this idyllic setting, I have seen no
evidence on bird-killls due to my tower, or the antenna mounted on the
tower. I've never seen a dead bird underneath my horizontal wire antenna,
which graces the branches of several trees. My vertical antenna hangs in the
clear, from a high overhead pine branch, and again, I've never found any
dead birds near it. I've never found a dead bird on any portion of my
property for that matter.
It is my sincere belief that my next-door neighbors house cats kill more
small animals than any other possible "hazard" in my immediate neighborhood.
I have found dead mice on my property, and I've seen the cat stalking a
chipmunk that lives under my front walkway. Ham radio antennas don't seem
to be a life-threatening hazard for the wildlife in "my neck of the woods."
Sincere best regards,
Glenn Swanson, KB1GW
27 Lakeview Blvd.
Avon, CT 06001
----------
>From: Steve Fraasch
>To: CQ-Contest
>Subject: K0SF CUP: GOOD NEWS !
>
>To All:
>
>I agree use of the contest reflector should be reserved for contesting,
>but this topic seemed to be of great interest to many, and relevant to
>contestors:
>First off, as of 9:45 CDT, 31 Aug, the Corcoran, MN city council
>voted NO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET REQUIRED !!!
>Summary:
<snip>
>Pardon the pun: Us "birds of a feather" need to stick together on tower
>actions.
>Legal action may pursued in court, but we're ready.
>Very 73 and again thanks for the wonderful testimony,
>Steve Fraasch, K0SF
>
>From Matthew S. Trott" <0007288678@mcimail.com Fri Sep 1 05:23:00 1995
From: Matthew S. Trott" <0007288678@mcimail.com (Matthew S. Trott)
Subject: Dead Boids
Message-ID: <54950901042345/0007288678PJ4EM@MCIMAIL.COM>
Mo (On golf course): "Let's go shoot some birdies."
Curly (looking skyward): "I don't see any boids."
Mo conks Curly on head
Curly: "Oh, look at the grouse, look at the grouse!"
--All seriousness aside sounds like said city council makes about as much sense
as the operator manning the RUN station during the multi-single operation who
had a "Don't call me I'll call you" attitude.
aa7bg@mcimail.com
>From Larry Tyree <tree@cmicro.com> Fri Sep 1 19:18:25 1995
From: Larry Tyree <tree@cmicro.com> (Larry Tyree)
Subject: NCJ Sprint
Message-ID: <199509011818.LAA14316@cascade.cmicro.com>
Just a reminder about the upcoming NCJ Sprints. The CW Sprint is on the
9th (10th UTC) and the SSB sprint is the Saturday afterwards. They are
at 00Z for four hours.
Teams may be registered via E-Mail. CW teams to tree@cmicro.com
and SSB teams to K7GM at aoniswan@ecuvm.cis.ecu.edu.
Complete rules are available upon request and return E-mail message.
Tree N6TR
tree@cmirco.com
>From jesposit@sctcorp.com (Joe Esposito) Fri Sep 1 19:24:00 1995
From: jesposit@sctcorp.com (Joe Esposito) (Joe Esposito)
Subject: Contest QRM
Message-ID: <m0soalQ-0003ZEC@sctladm.sctcorp.com>
How would you like this QRM during a contest? The following was a
newws item in a recent USA Today:
KENTUCKY
Henderson - Woodring Fryer, 70, was convicted of harrassing
neighbor Charles Kissinger, 80, by mounting a bullhorn on his
home and playing "Reveille", was convicted of harrasment.
Fryer said he only retaliated because Kissinger's ham radio
interfered with his appliances... (Charles' call is K4KSI).
73,
Joe, K2YJL/M
>From McCarty, DK 'Dav" <DKMC@chevron.com Fri Sep 1 19:36:11 1995
From: McCarty, DK 'Dav" <DKMC@chevron.com (McCarty, DK 'Dav)
Subject: K0SF CUP: GOOD NEWS !
Message-ID: <CPLAN065.DKMC.612536110095244FCPLAN065@ION.CHEVRON.COM>
From: McCarty, DK 'David' -DKMC
To: OPEN ADDRESSING SERVI-OPENADDR
Subject: RE: K0SF CUP: GOOD NEWS !
Priority:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve,
Hurrah! As a guy involved in the beleaguered chemical industry it's great
to hear of justice prevailing over the loonies. This is terrific!
My hat is off to you for your perseverance, and to N0BG who, unasked,
stepped forward and put more action into this than the rest of us. I hope
everyone on this reflector realizes what you were up against, and how easily
they could be facing the same kind of opposition.
Way to go!
Dave K5GN
dkmc@chevron.com
>From john.devoldere@eunet.be (John Devoldere) Fri Sep 1 21:30:52 1995
From: john.devoldere@eunet.be (John Devoldere) (John Devoldere)
Subject: CTSVR vert ical by UNIHAT
Message-ID: <199509012032.WAA17805@box.eunet.be>
Has anyone tried the CTSVR vertical antenna by UNIHAT (33 ft verical with 17
ft diameter capacity hat and folded wire - type feed arrangement for 160 and
80)?
I have modelled the antenna on both 160 and 80. Should anyone have first
hand experience, I will be glad to compare it with the results of my
modelling effort.
Thanks and 73
John, ON4UN
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
john.devoldere@box.eunet.be
Call us in all major 1995 contests: OT5T or ON4UN
John Devoldere (ON4UN-AA4OI)
POBOX 41
B-9000 Ghent (Belgium)
>From Larry Tyree <tree@cmicro.com> Fri Sep 1 22:27:02 1995
From: Larry Tyree <tree@cmicro.com> (Larry Tyree)
Subject: NCJ Sprint and low power
Message-ID: <199509012127.OAA15991@cascade.cmicro.com>
There has been a lot of interest in the low power category in the
NCJ Sprint. There are even some who think the whole contest should
be low power (like the NAQP).
I am happy to announce that a significant group of high power top ten
contenders have been convinced to operate low power in the next NCJ CW
Sprint. This includes stations like KR0Y, N6TR, KM9P, N2IC, K1KI, K5GN,
N6AA, N6TV, WN4KKN, N6ZZ, and K5ZD to name a few.
If you normally operate high power and are interested in trying low
power, this might be the time to do it!!
Tree N6TR
tree@cmicro.com
|