[Mldxcc] WPARC August Meeting & Hamfest!

[Rick Samoian]

FYI………..

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From: Michael Buck<mailto:mrbuck at pacbell.net>
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2016 3:37 AM
Subject: WPARC August Meeting & Hamfest!


Greetings from the Western Placer Amateur Radio Club:


The WPARC Hamfest on Saturday September 17th! That is only 4 weeks away. We are expecting a large turnout of vendors this year, including Hi-Tec Liquidators, the people from Costa Mesa who occupy 5 – 6 spots every year. Last year they had a bad trip north. There was a truck fire on the Grapevine and they were stuck in traffic for several hours. Naturally, that made them miss the first 3 hours of the Hamfest which hurt their sales. I think it takes them 3 hours just to set up! What is even worse, we were sold out of coffee and donuts by the time they arrived in Lincoln. We are setting aside some coffee and donuts this year to make sure they have some. They have tables full of stuff with a huge overflow on the ground. I have bought several items from them including a new 240 volt variac last year. You don't want to miss them. There will be many other vendors, too, to provide you with just what you need to finish a project.


We haven't increased the cost for vendors since the first Hamfest 10 years ago. It is still $10 per parking spot. I think that is helping to drive the growth of the event. As noted above, we will have coffee, donuts, and water available at the club booth. Club President, Bill KJ6YCO and past President Katy, KJ6YCP, will be manning the club booth, selling drawing tickets and refreshments. We expect to have hot dogs later in the morning.


The gates open at 7:00 AM but we need several volunteers to be there around 5:00 AM to set up and to control parking for buyers and sellers. Katy KJ6YCP has been coordinating the hamfest for several years and does a terrific job every year. If you would like to help out please email Katy at entertainangels at surewest.net<mailto:entertainangels at surewest.net>. This is a big event for the club and how we operate it reflects on the club so please volunteer. We all (and especially Katy) appreciate it. We have our city permit and our liability insurance in order so the event is set to go.

We will have VE sessions at an offsite location.  If you are interested in taking a test please email Dennis KI6HHA at ki6hha at aol.com<mailto:ki6hha at aol.com>.  Also, we will use the club repeater, K6PAC, for the talk in frequency.  It is 147.300 (+) 179.9.


We can now announce the Drawing Grand Prize and the 2 First Prizes. The Grand Prize is a Yaesu FTM-3800DR System Fusion Radio. It is a 65 watt mobile unit with great features:


Radio Features:
– 65W of Solid RF Power within a Compact Footprint
– Modulation Modes: C4FM Digital (V/D Mode, VFR Mode*, DFR Mode), FM Analog
– AMS (Automatic Mode Select) Function Automatically Recognizes the Signal as C4FM Digital or Conventional FM – Loud and Crystal Clear Front Panel Speaker with 3W of Audio Output
– Digital GM (Group Monitor) Function
– Bright Multi-Colored LED Mode/Status Indicator Vibrantly Shows the Transceivers’ Status
– Illuminated Microphone with Direct Frequency Entry
– 220 Memory Channels with Alpha-Numeric Tags (Maximum 8 Characters)
– DSQ (Digital Squelch Code) Signaling Feature
– CTCSS and DCS Encode/Decode with Split Tone and DCS Encode-Only Capability
– Expanded Receiver Coverage: 136-174 MHz
– High Stability ±2.5 ppm TCXO Included
– Weather Broadcast Reception (USA version only)
– Severe Weather Alert Feature (USA version only)

Supplied Accessories:
DTMF Microphone MH-48A6JA USB Cable
Mounting Bracket
DC Power Cord w/Fuse Operating Manual
Safety Guide
Warranty Card


This radio has great reviews and is the hot setup to use with the WPARC repeater for both digital and analog FM. We now have a C4FM net at 8:30 PM Monday nights and it is growing rapidly (W6ETJ, Erik, is net control). There are several people with a lot of System Fusion experience to help you out with any information you may need. The net starts in analog so you can ask questions before the net switches to digital in case you don't have a C4FM radio but are considering purchasing one (or winning one at the Hamfest!) The net is open to everyone, not just WPARC members. New update – several new people have checked into the net with a new System Fusion radio in the past couple of weeks. Last someone called in from Elk Grove with full quieting into the repeater with just 5 watts (!) and a quarter wave mag mount.


The two First Prizes are something many of us are familiar with now:


BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band HT Two Way Radio with the following features:


High / Low Power Settings (4W/1W) Programmable Amateur Radio

  *   Frequency Range: 65-108 MHz (Only commercial FM radio reception) VHF: 136-174 MHz(Rx/Tx). UHF: 400-520 MHz(Rx/Tx)

  *   Customize Channel Names, the Boot Display and More by Using the PC03 FTDI Programming Cable

  *   1500mAh Battery; Broadband (Wide) 25khz / Narrowband (Narrow) 12.5khz Selectable

  *   AUTO Keypad Lock, Dual Band, Dual Display and Dual Standby

These are very popular radios and are handy to keep in the car, backpack, or on your belt. We will also have several smaller prizes. Make sure to be there to win big!

In addition, we have two $50 and two $25 gift certificates and many other goodies to drool over. Thanks to the ARRL for donating the gift certificates. My pitch – please join the ARRL. The organization does the heavy work to keep our ham frequencies free. There is lots of competition for band width throughout the world for cell phones and other Internet of Things – for example, WiFi. The ARRL works with government officials in the US and throughout the world to protect the ham frequencies from being auctioned off to the highest bidder. An important part of that work is to coordinate frequencies with countries and agencies in almost every nation. The ARRL is a powerful player in the international fight for bandwidth and they have had many victories.



Important Note: Frank KB6KYK has been the club Drawing Master for many years and has done an exceptional job finding goodies for us. He now has some other concerns to deal with and will not be able to continue as Drawing Master. If you would like to help out the club and volunteer, please let any board member or Frank know.


Steve N6HTV has several radios for sale. Please see the list at the end of the newsletter. He will be listing them on ebay this weekend so if you are interested, call him right away or email him at: sotoole at sotoole.com<mailto:sotoole at sotoole.com>


I was really surprised a few weeks ago when I saw the new HT Kenwood is coming out with this fall. The model number is the TH-D74A. It has many features similar to the TH-F6a including being a tri-band radio. The big news is that it is a D-Star radio! There are too many features to go into in this newsletter but it looks like a blockbuster of a radio. It is FCC approved now so it will be selling soon. I am not sure what the US price will be but the price in Japanese Yen is equivalent to about $713 US. I don't think it will retail for anywhere near that price but it sure does have a lot of features. If you are interested in reading more about it, check this website: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/4074.html or do a search on the internet. There is quite a bit of information available.


The club website, http://wparc.us/index.html, has a new look and new information. Jey KQ6DK is now Clay's (K6AEP) backup and is updating the the site. Clay has been traveling a lot and has not had time to keep up the pages. Although Clay's traveling is over for now, Jey is helping out and bringing a new look to the site. Thanks to Clay and Jey for all their work on the website.


While on the subject of media, the club now has a Facebook page. Board Member Arturo KK6NFM created it for Field Day and you can find it at: https://www.facebook.com/WPARC/?fref=nf


Want more? We now have a Twitter account! Just search for @k6pac (the club repeater call sign with the “@” symbol). We are following the ARRL, the ARRL Sacramento Valley Section, Kenwood, and Yaseu for a few. If you think of someone we should follow, please email me. I know there are a few local clubs with Twitter accounts and I will add them.


Don't forget our regular weekly nets on the repeater. NEW! We now have a Monday evening C4FM net! Featuring Yaesu System Fusion radios, this digital net is at 8:30 PM on the club repeater and is hosted by C4FM guru Erik W6ETJ. As noted above, the net starts in analog so you can ask questions, etc. This net is growing fast so check in now and join the fun! We also have analog FM nets on Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM and Thursday at 7:30 PM. The morning net is always hosted by Katy KJ6YCP and then 2 nets on Thursday evenings start at 7:30 PM. Bill, KJ6YCO, is the net coordinator now and often hosts the 2 meter net. When he isn't on, the trusty Dennis, KI6HHA, is on, and handles the net with his usual style and skills. They all do a fine job and it is a pleasure to hear them lead the net. Many thanks to all of them for dedicating time to the club net to make it a success. If you would like to be a Net Control for one of our nets, please contact Bill at bugout at surewest.net<mailto:bugout at surewest.net>. Five minutes following the 2 meter net we have an HF net. LC, N7VQC, is on the spot to handle the HF net. LC is also an excellent Net Control and it is always a pleasure to hear him on the bands. This net changes bands every week so listen to the 2 meter net for any change in frequency. The usual schedule starts from the first Thursday of the month on 10 meters, then 15, then 40, and finally 75 meters at the end of the month. If there are 5 Thursdays in a month, the last one will be on 10 meters. Here is the schedule for the next 4 weeks (Remember to listen for the frequency on the 2 meter net as it may change):


August 18 – 40 (7.225 MHz)

August 25 – 75 Meters (3.855)

September 1 – 10 meters (28.410 MHz) A good chance for Techs to join in!

September 8 – 15 meters (21.355 MHz)


I have mentioned many times that I use Amazon Smile for my shopping on Amazon. Smile is a program Amazon has that donates .5% of all of your qualifying purchases to a non-profit of your choice (and that participates in the program). The ARRL is my choice and I saw today that I have made 125 purchases that qualify. I buy some medical supplies and bulk items on Amazon so I am confident that the ARRL has benefited from my purchases. If you buy anything from Amazon, please enroll in their Smile program and make the people at ARRL HQ smile!


Remember the August club meeting is Tuesday night at 7:00 at the Woodcreek Oaks Golf Club in Roseville. See you there!


73,


Michael Buck

K6BUK


Hi,

I have some nice radios and equipment for sale.



ICOM IC-746

HF all mode HF/2M

A very nice radio in good condition. Large display and extra cables and mic.



Alinco DXSR8

HF all mode large screen removable face.

A great starter radio with programing cable and additional cables.



Yaesu FTM-350 2M / 440

large display removable face with digital APRS and optional GPS.



Heathkit SB-200 Amplifier

Restored with completely new power board all new high voltage diodes and low ESR Caps.

Documentation and manuals included



Ten-Tec 2kw Tuner model 238 with manual.

Goes well with the Heathkit amp above.

Call Steve N6HTV

916 740-6842

sotoole at sotoole.com<mailto:sotoole at sotoole.com>
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