North Franklin Amateur Radio Society

                                                                                                       

 

 

The March meeting of the NFARS (North Franklin ARS) will be an

    "On the air meeting" at 7pm DST, 3/11 (Tuesday) on the 147.090

     NG2C Rptr.    

     All welcome including non club members.

     73, Jeff k3kyr

 

 

 

 

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  News Letter March 2007

 

            The March meeting was held at the Wolfclan Restaurant Rt. 37 Akwesasne on the 13th.

 

            We want to welcome two new members: Judy Caringi KC2QYI  wife of KC2GHT Harry (Butch) of Parishville

                                                                       Marshall Pixley KA2TSD Malone

 

            14 Members were in attendance,with one quest, and one check-in on the 147.090 repeater.

 

            A discussion aimed at those folks recently upgraded and now able to operate HF, was to take place, however

            as none of those folks were present, it was decided to convey the following information via this medium.

 

                Perhaps some have never operated at all, or only 2 meter FM, and possibly Six meter's.

               

                Each of the HF (High Frequency) bands have unique characteristics.

                Lets look at these: Typically 160 and 80 meter bands are night time bands, with more QRN (static crashes or other man made noise) interference

                The 40, 30, and 20 meter bands are generally useful during daylight hours, in addition to night's, with noted exceptions:

                                The 40 meter band is plaqued with foreign broadcast stations, beginning an hour or so before sunset, however some activity does take

                                place between those stations, but with added QRM levels.

                                The 30 meter band is 50 khz wide and no phone operating allowed, just cw and digital signals allowed.                              

                                The 20 meter band tends to be better during daylight hours, and a few hours after sunset, however during the peak in solar cycle will remain

                                open 24 hours to all parts of the globe.

                                The 17 meter band acts a lot like 20, and seems to be very popular with mobile operaters.

                                15, 12 and 10 meter bands are basically open during daylight hours, with exception of very peak of solar cycle, and sporadic-e openings.

 

                Typically the lower bands, ie; 160 and 80 mtrs, are best for contacts out to a few hundred miles, but DX is also worked by dedicated operaters quite

                regularly. Forty meters is basically good out to a few hundred miles, but lots of DX near and after sunset and prior to sunrise especially on CW.

                30 meters is mostly cw, and propagation similar to 40 meters.

                Now the granddaddy of DX bands is 20 meters, as its is routinely open to many parts of the world daily.

                15, 12 and 10 meters are loaded with DX stations, most anytime these bands are open. Now as we are nearing the bottom of cycle 23, activity

                on these bands is spotty at best, but watch on weekends for contest activity. However in a few years the activity levels will increase, maximizing

                at the peak of cycle 24.

 

                Operating certain bands on a regular basis is like operating your own car, the more familiar you become with each bands characteristic's, the more

                comfortable you will become. After while we all seem to settle into our personal preferences, for whatever reason, and to individual taste. Mine

                happen to be 40 & 15 meter CW, and SSB, AM and CW on 6 meters.

 

                The activity levels are much greater on HF as you will soon find out, with stations fairly close togather, and as in any crowded enviorment, turf

                battles sometimes take place. These are often agrivated by inconsiderate operaters that don't ask if the frequency is in use prior to calling CQ.

                Be sure to listen carefully before even asking "is this frequency in use?", or if on CW sending "QRL?". On phone you may hear "yes it is" and on CW

                "QRL" without the question mark, or simple the letter "R" being sent letting you know it is.

                It would seem obvious that if we could hear both sides of all qso's that the need to ask would not be necessary, however often only one side of 

                the  transmission will be heard, especially on the higher bands where you may hear a European station but not the station in Virginia that he is working.

 

                As on VHF there are contests held on HF, and most weekends you may hear one or more at the same time. On HF however there are many many

                more, some local, and others international. Even the casual contester is typically welcome, as the contact you make with those seriously involved

                will boost their scores.                

                Every contest has its own set of rules and exchanges. Many of these are posted in QST each month. However here are some basics:

                Most look for a signal report in addition to: serial number, state, power level, or membership number of some organization like FISTS,  or

                10-10. Some may ask for ARRL section, and others may want ITU or CQ Zones.

                For ARRL Field Day, the exchange in Classification and ARRL section, in our case, 3A  NNY.

                My favorite contest is the ARRL DX CW contest held in Februrary, where North American stations work the rest of the world. In this case, the exchange

                I would give is a signal report and state, and the DX station wouild send my signal report and his power level.

 

                Before working CW, make yourself familiar with certain Q signals. Especially QRL, QRM, QRN, QRS, QRX, QRZ, QSO, QSL, QSY and QTH. 

                Avoid excessive punctuation, but be sure to understand, the comma, question mark, and slash bar. Avoid the period.  If someone responds

                with the letter "r" to a question, they are answering yes. The letters "as" .-... run together, means standby, the same as QRX.

 

                When working phone, use common english, avoid cute phrases. To answere a question in the afirmative, just say yes, or thats correct, and

                above all avoid saying QSL. Do not use CB phrases, forget the 10 code, and let the other station know his actual signal report, not how many

                pounds he is giving you. If the other station is 10 db over s 9 on your s-meter, tell him or her they are ten over, not s-ten. S unit's only go to 9.

               

                We all have differences in our speach patterns and accents, so learn the correct phonetic alphabet. Avoid cute phrases, except for those rare

                occasions when the other station just doesn't understand. My alternate phonetics for my call are "Kentucky Three Kentucky Yokohama Radio"

                but I only use it when the correct Killowatt Three Killowatt Yankee Romeo doesn;t work.

 

                Watch the MIC gain, better to have it set too low than too high. Your manual will assist in this, but comments from other stations may be more

                important.

 

                If owning an amplifier, use it sparingly, and make sure your antenna system and watt meter can handle the added power. One thing to watch for is

                when the output power meter is reading higher than it should, thats a sign of high SWR or more importantly incorrect adjustment of the amp's

                pi network. In either case, severe damage to the amplifier may result. Be sure to recheck the adjustment of any output pi network prior to

                operating, as antenna conditions may have changed since last use. This can be due to moisture on antenna or feed line, or ice buildup, or even

                failure of the antenna itself.

 

                One of the greatest thrills of ham radio can be working DX. Some of the rarer DX stations, will work split, which means they transmit on one

                frequency, but will listen elsewhere. Typically they will announce up one or up five, meaning they will listen that far up from their transmit

                frequency. Never call them on their frequency, when they announce they are working split. Many times a "pile-up" will occure with dozens of

                stations all trying to work that rare one, and stations starting to spread out in order to be heard. Only attempt calling when the sought after DX

                station indicates its time. This could be by him saying QRZ, or perhaps some other more subtle sign which you will have to figure out.

                With any hope of working the DX, you need to figure out where he is listening, by checking who he just worked ane where that station is.

                Perhaps you should move up just a bit, or maybe down from last station. This is called patterning the DX station. Some are harder to work than

                others, but persistance usually will put them in the log.

                Trancievers with dual vfo's are ideal for working pile-ups, however the transmit and reciever incremental tuning controls can also be used.

 

                A few final thoughts: Most of my time working HF has been spent on CW, but also a fair amount of phone, and the vast majority of contacts have

                been made using 100 watts or less, feeding simple antennas, such as vertical's and dipoles, so don't dispair at not having a tribander at 75 feet,

                and an amplifier. Even with vintage gear from the fifties and sixties, that don't have sophisticated recievers, and transmitters with 50 watts

                output or less, into simple antennas, much enjoyment can be had at a fraction of the cost of a new transciver.

 

                There is a whole world out there with lots of fun to be had by all, so enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.    73, Jeff k3kyr@arrl.net

 

                PS Feel free to share with those new to HF, that this is not addressed to.

The next meeting of the NORTH FRANKLIN AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY will be held at the Wolfclan Rest. Rt.37

Akwasasne, Tuesday March 13 at 7PM.

 

There will be a discussion, aimed at those with NEW HF operating privileges for recent upgrades, as to:

    a) What to expect from each band

    b) Getting the feel of each band

 

HF ethics (as opposed to VHF)

 

Not To's

    a) cause qrm, crowd stations in qso, etc

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Should Do's

    a) ask if frequency in use as example

    b) listen, listen, listen before transmitting. On 10 and 15 meters you may hear DX station, but not stations within several hundred miles

 

Use of amplifiers

    a) understanding what to expect for output

    b) realizing when there is a problem

            1) If output wattege appears too high, what does it mean?

            2) Do you really need it?

 

Responding to CQ's or pile-ups:

    a) Domestic

    b) DX

    c) splits....ie; up 1  or  up 5 etc

            1) where to call

            2) when to call

            3) when NOT to call

 

Contesting whether casual or going for the gold:

    a) calling cq

    b) search n pounce

    c) exchanges

    d) timing , may be most important

    e) using correct phonetics and avoiding cute phonetics unless ???

    f) speaking destinctly

 

Watching mike gain

 

Avoid all CB terms  The ARRL recently put out a notice about this.

 

Know your equipment's controls

 

Hope to see lots of folks there.

For those that can't make it, check-in's taken on 147.090 + offset.

 

73, Jeff