MARC Newsletter - Rains Amateur Radio Association

On Your MARC
The Newsletter of the McKinney Amateur Radio Club Inc.
W5MRC
Volume 40 #06
Visit our Web page @ http://www.mckinneyarc.org
Next Meeting: June 9th 2015
We will be finalizing our Field
Day effort at the June meeting,
the more participation we have
the greater the fun and learning
experience for everyone.
MEETING PLACE
MARC holds its regular business meetings
on the second Tuesday of each
month at 7pm. Meetings are located at:
Spring Creek Barbeque
1993 North Central Expressway
McKinney, TX
Exit US­75 at US­380(University
Drive), travel west making a a right into
the Target complex.
Once in the complex, Spring Creek can
be found to your right directly across
from the Target Building
MARC Mentoring Program
Are you looking for someone to answer
Amateur Radio related questions or assist
you with getting to that next license class?
Contact
the MARC Mentor Program
Coordinator to be matched up with a
volunteer Mentor who will work with you.
Send an Email to mentor@mckinneyarc.org
for more information, to start getting
answers, or if YOU would like to become a
Mentor!
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
June 2015
President’s Message
May was a busy month for MARC and June looks like it will follow suite.
Ham Radio in the Park May 2nd was well attended and provided a lot of
good experience for our members. The Smiles Charity Event May 24th was
also well attended, both by MARC members in a communications support
role and by the general public. And we didn’t get wet this year! Everyone
there agreed they are going to return next year to support this fantastic
event. We were one event short of previous years – the Richardson Wild
Ride, a bike ride and fun walk/run that we have supported with
communications for a number of years. It was canceled by its organizers.
June brings Ham­Com and Field Day – both big events! Ham­Com (June
12­13) has moved this year to the Irving Convention Center. We will not be
providing staff and the CSU for talk­in as the local clubs will now handle
this detail. Also, there will be no parking collections by clubs this year
(although we will have to pay for parking). We will have out traditional flea
market tables for club members to move their surplus gear via consignment.
The Field Day event is the largest ham event of the year encompassing all of
North America. We have a lot of new members who have not yet
experienced a field day. If this is you, you really need to come be a part of
this event on June 27­28. See articles in this newsletter for additional details
as to time, place, and opportunities. Be sure you’re a member of our Yahoo
group as I will be sending out a daily Field Day Message via that medium
starting about June 10th or so.
And on that topic, if you’re not signed up to receive the Yahoo missives,
please see my entry in last month’s newsletter for more information on
signing up.
We will take a break from our first Saturday class on June 6 as McKinney
voting is continuing on that weekend – we’ve been preempted on the
classroom again. Since there are already two major activities in June, it
seems reasonable to take a Saturday off.
So – relax and get ready for an exciting June. See you Tuesday, June 9th for
an important monthly meeting. We’ll be voting on an update to our
Constitution and Bylaws and planning for Field Day.
Bob, K5CX
Page 1
Club Shirts: Members wanting to purchase club shirts,
jackets, etc should contact B&B Embroidery 817­471­4488
or visit www.hamthreads.com
The next MARC Board meeting will be held
June 20th @ 08:00am
at
Creekwood United Methodist Church
261 Country Club Road Allen, Texas
Visitors are welcome!
IN THIS ISSUE
2015 MARC OFFICERS and Supporting Roles
President: Bob DeVance, K5CRX
president@mckinneyarc.org
Vice President: Andy Barnes, W5KZJ
programs@mckinneyarc.org
Secretary: Kathy Barnes, KF5ZKX
secretary@mckinneyarc.org
Treasurer: Bill Vining, N5YZ
treasurer@mckinneyarc.org
Newsletter Editor: Phillip Littlefield, KB5YIA
newsletter@mckinneyarc.org
Director­at­Large: David Piekarski, K5EEN
dirlarge@mckinneyarc.org
Repeater Trustee: Mike Baker, W8CM
trustee@mckinneyarc.org
Communications Director: Mike Baker, W8CM
commdirector@mckinneyarc.org
ARRL Awards Manager: Mike Baker, W8CM
Club FCC License Trustee: Brian Belcher, WA5M
Librarian: Ron Carlson, WW2CBI
librarian@mckinneyarc.org
Mentor Coordinator: Claude Canterbury, KE6EJG
mentor@mckinneyarc.org
Net Manager: Andy Barnes, W5KZJ
netmanager@mckinneyarc.org
Public Information Officer: Lynda Tuma, KF5JUO
info@mckinneyarc.org
QSL Manager: Claude Canterbury, KE6EJG
Repeater Control Operators:
Brian Belcher, WA5M
Dave Piekarski, K5EEN
Phillip Littlefield, KB5YIA
Ron Carlson, WW2CBI
VE Team Leader: Stephen Reinen, N8BP
info@mckinneyVE.org
Webmaster: Michael Griegio, N5GNU
webmaster@mckinneyarc.org
Web Administrator: Gary Redden, K5GRY
k5gry@att.net
Youth Coordinator: Dan McKinley, W5FRT
youth@mckinneyarc.org
The Regulars
President's Message
General Meeting Minutes
Board Meeting Minutes
VE License Testing Locations
Local Repeaters and Digipeaters
MARC Net Schedule
1
3
4
12
12
12
The Features
Field Day Update
QSL Cards and the Stories Behind Them
Flea Market Reminder
HamCom Primer
Smiles Charity Concert 2015 ­ Another Success
Ham Radio in the Park
June Raspberry Pi User Group
Send messages, pictures, and video from a Pi
80m / 40m NVIS antenna
5
6
7
7
7
8
8
9
10
Distribution and Submission Information
MARC is an IRS 501c(3) nonprofit organization; On Your
MARC the official MARC newsletter, is published monthly
by the McKinney Amateur Radio Club, Inc.. The full
electronic version is Emailed to subscribing members and to
selected
non­member
individuals,organizations
and
participants in the Newsletter Exchange Program. A digest
version is sent as first class mail to members who request
postal delivery. The Full version is archived on the MARC
website and is available to all. Those who wish to continue
receiving the digest version may access the full version once
it has been archived.
Non­copyrighted articles contained herein may be reproduced
by other organizations, provided they are accredited to On
Your MARC. The original source should be contacted for use
permission when noted “Taken From” or if a Copyright is
Meeting Presentations: If you or someone you present.
know would like to present a topic at one of our Readers wishing to submit an item for publication should
meetings, or if you have questions about a past send it to: newsletter@mckinneyarc.org or Editor, On Your
presentation, please contact our presentation MARC P.O. Box 267 McKinney, TX 75069 Submissions may
be sent at any time. The Editor reserves the right to determine
coordinator at programs@mckinneyarc.org
suitability for inclusion in the newsletter.
Join Us!: The club is open to all, especially those who want to be or are involved in Amateur Radio. Please contact
the club secretary at secretary@mckinneyarc.org or by post at the above address for more information or access an
application on our web­site http://mckinneyarc.org/ and you can also find us on Facebook.
CREDITS & KUDOS
“The fine print about where we stole it from” The editor expresses appreciation to such sources as the ARRL Letter, QST, and CQ and their associated websites.
Unless so noted, the information is in the public domain and not unique to any source
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 2
Minutes of the
General
Meeting
Bob, K5CRX called the meeting to
order and the membership was led
by Kathy, KF5ZKX in saying the
Pledge of Allegiance. Introductions
went around the room. In attendance
were 47 members and 1 visitor.
Member updates: New callsign for
Larry Sholl: KG5HMF and upgrade
for
Jim
Kerr
to
Extra.
Reports:
Secretary:
Kathy, KF5ZKX,
reported that there were minutes
from the March general meeting
published in the monthly newsletter.
Robert, AF5RA made a motion to
accept the minutes seconded by
Larry, KG5HMF. The motion was
approved.
Treasurer: Bill N5YZ reported the
December ledger, starting balance of
$10,578.37, total revenue of
$3,786.16, total expenses of
$2,824.46, leaving an ending
balance of $11,540.07. A motion
was made by Bill, N5YZ to accept
the report, seconded by Jim,
KG5FVM. The
motion
was
approved.
VE Team: Marvin, K5MRA,
reported that 12 people tested
resulting in 7 techs, 4 general and 1
extra.
Newsletter Editor Report: We
always need articles for the
newsletter! Send any to Phillip,
KB5YIA,
at
newsletter@mckinneyarc.org.
Librarian’s
Report:
Ron,
WW2CBI, reported that new items
are coming in all the time. A new
resource of Sam’s Photofact has on
line access via the Austin Public
Library.
The club now has
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
membership in the Austin Public
Library and requests for access
should be addressed by email to Ron
at librarian@mckinneyarc.org & to
borrow any materials from the
library.
Info Net Manager: Andy, W5KZJ,
thanked everyone for checking in.
Ladies Net Manager:
Kathy
KF5ZKX invited all ladies to check
in on Monday’s, license operator or
as 3rd party traffic, and thanked all
the ladies for their participation.
Web Administrator: no report
Previous Events
Em Com: April 27, at McKinney
Fire Station #7. Lots of handouts
and discussion regarding emergency
communications procedures
Ham Radio in the Park – May 2, at
Bonnie Wenk Park. There were 2
fox hunts, CW operations and
QSO’s, 4 radios on air, checking
SWR and antennas
Upcoming Events
Raspberry Pi: will be postponed in
May.
Smiles Charity: May 24, 4:30 pm –
10:00 pm in Adriatica. Sign up
online
at
McKinneyARC.org.
Communications volunteers will be
needed from 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm.
There will be 3 parking lots instead
of 2 and there will be a motorcycle
ride.
More info online at
www.smilescharity.org. They need
volunteers in addition to the radio
amateurs.
Old Business:
Melissa Repeater Relocation:
Mike, W8CM said that we now own
a slightly used fiberglass shelter and
we are currently waiting on the
concrete slab.
New Hope/APRS Repeater: Mike,
W8CM said that the new owners are
ok with MARC staying on site
CSU repair: Mike, W8CM said
that the CSU now has a permanent
installation of radio equipment that
matches the equipment in the Go
Kits. The power supply died and the
batteries gave out. New power
supply being built with donated
parts. The CSU is parked in a
garage in Nevada at the home of
Dave, K5EEN
New Business:
Field Day Budget: Dave, AK5SP
made a motion for expenses for
2015 Field Day in the amount of
$500. Frank, W5QOT moved to
amend the amount to $750 and the
amended motion was seconded by
Jeff, W5JLT. The amended amount
is to add a port­a­potty. The motion
was approved.
Constitution & By­laws:
Bob,
K5CRX had printouts of the
proposed updates to the club’s
constitution and by­laws.
The
proposal was published in the
newsletter in preparation of a vote to
accept the changes by the
membership. A motion was made to
proceed with the changes as
published in the newsletter by Ron,
WW2CBI, seconded by Andy,
W5KZJ and was approved.
New Member applications: Tracy
Dehart, KE7VDI; Mark Holmes,
WD5JXC; Steve Liang, AF5WG;
Gary Svitek, unlicensed; and Bryan
Zumbar, KG5HDE were approved
for membership
HamCom in Irving: All will be
indoors in a nice facility. The club
has consignment tables for 10% fee
of sales.
Break ­
50/50 Drawing – $50.00 was split
between the club and Robert,
AF5RA.
Presentation:
Dave, AK5SP presented data on
Field Day 2015.
Saturday
Set up 7:00 am–8:00 am
Lunch 1:00 pm
Cont on pg 4
Page 3
Cont from pg3
VE Testing 4:30 pm–6:00 pm
Dinner 6:30 pm
On the air 1:00 pm
Fox Hunt 3:00 pm–5:00 pm
First Aid Training 2:00 pm–4:00 pm
Sunday Breakfast 9:00 am
Break down 1:01 pm
Operating and logging sign up
online in 2 hour slots.
No
registration
needed.
http://doodle.com/zssdhzpscu4iue2r
There will be a link on MARC web
site.
Discussion:
Claude, KE6EJG asked about a
banner or sign regarding Field Day
Minutes of the
Board
Meeting
Attendance:
Members: Dave Piekarski, K5EEN,
Mike Baker, W8CM, Bill Vining,
N5YZ and Kathy Barnes, KF5ZKX
and Bob DeVance, K5CRX
Visitors: Kenneth Spock, KF5TXL,
Dave Marking, AK5SP and Patty
Marking, KG5AEL
Bob, K5CRX brought the meeting to
order
Secretary:
A motion to accept the minutes of
March board meeting by Dave,
K5EEN, seconded by Bob, K5CRX
and approved.
Treasurer:
Starting Balance:
$11,540.07
Total Revenue:
$ 169.00
Total Expenses:
$
2.05
Ending Balance:
$11,707.02
General Account.
$ 6,765.30
Youth Account:
$ 2,738.47
Self­Ins Res Account: $ 2,203.25
Total:
$11,707.02
A motion to accept the treasurer’s
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Tracy N5UNX offered barrels to put
banners on
Bill, N5YZ, said that Fairview
offered to set up electronic sign with
our info last year but they didn’t
follow through.
Ray Dunlap,
Fairview’s city manager wants us
back.
Dave, K5EEN, reminded us of a
complication from last year in that
the parking lot wasn’t clear in the
area allotted to us
Jeff, W5JLT, asked would the city
have a port­a­potty we could use
free of charge?
Rusty, AE5AE, suggested using
electronic aerial sign/mall marquee
Clark, AE3WD, suggested that the
skywarn training at the TV station
could be a bridge between weather
and public service announcements
on the air.
Dave, AK5SP, asked about the
logging computers. Bob, K5CRX
said that Mike, N5GNU offered to
help with the computers this year.
report by Kathy, KF5ZKX seconded
by Bill, N5YZ and approved.
Old Business
Melissa repeater update – Mike,
W8CM said the City of Melissa is
not moving quickly. The site for the
shelter has been located and
identified to the club. An external
connection for a generator will be
added to the shelter per Dave,
K5EEN
CSU Repair – Mike, W8CM said
that the power supply has been
replaced by Dave, K5EEN and that
Larry Hankey, AB5KR donated the
supplies. Bill, N5YZ to send a letter
acknowledging the donation. There
is a leveling jack that needs to be
replaced and the awning needs to be
repaired by professionals.
Field Day – Patty, KG5AEL said
that everything is on track. FM radio
station
97.5
is
broadcasting
promotional advertisements for free.
Scouts merit badge signed up 10
boys from Anna and 12 from Blue
Ridge. Dave, AK5SP set up Doodle
links for both donations and
operation/logging.
A trailer is
needed for transporting the towers
and antennas.
Smiles Charity – Bob, K5CRX
reported that Clark, AE5WD and
Dave, K5EEN have made plans to
have the CSU delivered on Saturday.
Constitution and By­law revision –
Bob, K5CRX the presentation of
revisions to the membership was
met without a hitch
Special Olympics – Bob, K5CRX
communication went well.
Robert Bell – Bob, K5CRX
reported that Robert Bell, KF5YXA
was invited to this board meeting
and he said “No thanks”.
Tony Campbell, W5ADC – is
requesting permission to use the
MRC UHF repeater on June 13,
2015 (HamCom weekend). Mike,
W8CM indicated that as repeater
trustee he did not receive the
request. A question arose regarding
is there an email account for the
trustees, Brian, WA5M and Mike,
W8CM. The web administrator will
be advised of the request.
New Business
New Hope Tower – Mike, W8CM
reported that Disney is selling the
tower and they asked us to move our
equipment out and the new owners
are ok with the equipment staying in
place. Jack Selmeyer is assisting
with the negotiations. Mike said he
Adjourn – A motion to adjourn was
made by Bob, K5CRX, seconded by
Kathy, KF5ZKX and approved.
This concluded the membership
meeting.
Kathy, KF5ZKX
MARC Secretary
Cont on pg5
Page 4
Cont from pg4
could put the digi­peater on his
tower in Van Alstyne but would not
be a good idea.
Signage for Field Day – Claude,
KE6EJG offered to find a sign to put
out at Field Day. He’s offering to do
the leg work and ask for the banner
to be donated.
Newsletter – Bob, K5CRX spoke in
the absence of Andy, W5KZJ. The
circulation of the newsletter to
amateurs that have not renewed their
club membership doesn’t cost
anything, why drop them from?
Mike, W8CM suggested that we
continue to send electronic versions
for 3 months then discontinue those
that have not renewed.
Dave,
K5EEN asked why we don’t offer an
“unsubscribe” feature to the
newsletter or website.
The
newsletter editor and the web
administrator will be asked to
investigate this request.
Kathy,
KF5ZKX said that it would be a lot
of work for the newsletter editor to
maintain 2 lists, members and non­
members and to make changes of
one to the other, depending on how
the lists are maintained, manually or
otherwise. Mike, W8CM mentioned
that the newsletter is the official
communication from the club as
defined by the Constitution and By­
Laws.
Other New Business – Dave,
AK5SP asked about MARC setting
up a special event station for
Veterans’ Day to benefit the USO on
the Saturday before, November 7,
2015. Dave suggested that we set
up at the McKinney Veterans’
Memorial in Craig Ranch. We
could use canopies or the CSU.
Dave, K5EEN was in favor of the
idea and suggested that MARC
could offer certificates with a link to
QRZ to make the donations to the
USO. Bob, K5CRX gave Dave,
AK5SP the go ahead to apply for the
callsign and proceed with planning
of the event.
Adjourn: a motion to adjourn was
made by Bill N5YZ, seconded by
Bob, K5CRX and approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Barnes, KF5ZKX
Secretary,
McKinney
Radio Club
Amateur
Hello everyone, This is your field day update.
June is fast approaching and we still have stuff to do. In case you did not know we have moved our event to a new
location. Melissa site fell through, but the City of Fairview has welcomed us back with open arms. We will be at
the same location as last year, behind Fair View City Hall at Stacy Rd and Highway 5.
AK5SP has spent a lot of time on the doodle pages not only to sign up logging and contacting, but for everything
else that is needed. Dave has added to these doodle pages, what you have already signed up for from those paper
sign up sheets. So if you don't remember what you said you would do or bring, or if you want to sign up to bring or
help out, go to http://doodle.com/zssdhzpscu4iue2r to sign up or check to see when your are logging/contacting,
use this link. http://doodle.com/xex6zxv4ay2inavg
Tracy N5UNX , Mike N5GNU, Bob K5CRX have offered to help with setting up the computers.
We will have both the CSU and Claude's KE6EJG RV there too. But we do want to do more operating outside this
year so we can be seen by the public.
The committee is busy trying to get the final things arranged. Paul White K5PTW is going to be the instructor for
the Scouts again this year. Thank you Judy for arranging this. It is looking like we might have a full house. Andy
W5KZJ has been getting calls from local scout troops as to how many can come. Dan W5FRT is also working with
some scout troops, So we set a limit of 30 scouts. Bob K5CRX has offered the use of the club microphone and
speaker for him to use. We will reserve a full area just for them so not to interfere with his teachings. Paul has also
said that each of the scouts will need to make at least 1 contact on the radio so he can sign off on their badges, so we
will need to help the kids out as they come to the stations. Scouts will be on site from 1:00­3:00.
We will have a fox hunt or two, hopefully the scouts can join in on all this too. Hands on class or tables set up with
such stuff, our Elmer's will be on site for those who will be taking their test and want some help with that. First Aid
class will be available too. Thank you Peter AF5TR for arranging this. All hams should know the basic skill of first
aid so come and join us. This class will overlap with the scout a bit, but they should be getting on the radios around
this time. First aid starts 2:00 ­ 4:00 VE testing will be on site again this year and will go from 4:30­6:00.
Cont on pg6
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 5
Cont from pg5
Dinner will be at 6:30 The Marking's will bring their grill down and grill us some hot dogs. All are
welcome to attend. Bring extra food to put with the hot dogs come hungry and maybe some extra drinks too.
Someone asked about Antenna's at the meeting, we will use what ever we did last year to make thing eaiser for
everyone.
Mike W8CM and Dave K5EEN have taken on the role of safety officers for our event. So if you see anything that
is not safe, please let them know.
I have made contact with the local radio station 97.5 and they are willing to do some promo for us for field day. So
tune in to 97.5 they are here in McKinney. Thanks you Robert AF5RA for that pointer. Also I have contacted Larry
Mowry with channel 11 about coming out to do his weather broad cast with us, or just to meet us, as of today I have
not heard back from him.
Over the next few weeks we will beging to buy the supplies for dinner and breakfast. If any one has offered
supplies for set up or to use druing our filed day, you may bring them to the next meeting if you wish or if you are
planing on helping set up you can bring them then.
I am still working on a few more items that were asked for at the May meeting. So for now 73 everyone and hope
to see you all at Field Day if not before.
QSL Cards and the Stories Behind Them
Part 1 of 9 by Scott Laughlin/n7net
I'm sharing a few of my QSL Cards. Each is a cherished milestone, reflecting something I've never forgotten. Some
were dumb luck, others I had to work for.
At the present time I've selected nine. There may be more—memory is illusive
My first transmitter was a Heathkit DX­20. I bought it assembled, well used, and already scratched. There was no
matching receiver, nor was there a VFO. Without a doubt, I could have fabricated VFO. I had the schematic, and
Radio Shack still sold things of interest in those days. But I was too busy trying to achieve 13 WPM to get bogged
down with fabrication and troubleshooting why it drifted, and whatnot. Instead, I mailed an inquiry to JAN Crystals
in Florida, in search of a forty­meter crystal that would oscillate in the novice section. They responded with three
options: 1) add an additional sum of cash totaling more than the initial costs of the crystal and shipping combined
and they would put a rush on it; 2) mail them a smaller sum and they would probably have it ready in two weeks; or
3) mail them no additional fees and they would get around to it in a timely manner.
Well, I was trying to keep a low profile around the house. This was a hobby, for crying out loud, how much I spent
was being closely monitored. So I selected option 3 and waited. After some five weeks it finally arrived and it
worked.
My receiver was a Lafayette something or other. It looked like a Helicrafter, but that was where the parallels
stopped. The forty­meter amateur band was crowded into a micro­section measuring about .375 of one inch. Zero­
beating with a transmitter was not going to be easy. However, I had some ancient HF experience dealing with the
basic, antiquated communications equipment found on board the C­54s—1942 through 1945 models, like those
used in the Berlin Air Lift. (It was no wonder these old aircraft required a radio operator. The co­pilot certainly
didn't have time to monkey around with that stuff). So it wasn't as impossible for me as it could have been.
So I was on the air with one frequency, 7.1xx MHz. I read a lot of novels while waiting for someone to drive by, as
it were. I'm not sure what month I earned my technician ticket and my present call, N7NET, but on 28 December
1989 I connected with Frank, W4AF, in Belmont, California. We exchanged signal reports and personal
information. Much to my surprise he was also operating a DX­20 with the exact same crystal. I asked him for a
card, but he told me he was too old to order QSL cards. However, much to my pleasure he made one with a
ballpoint and mailed it to me. See QSL card on page 7
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 6
Ham­Com Flea Market Reminder
Remember that once again we will have a table in the flea market
area to help club members sell unwanted items for only 10% of
the selling price. Also club members are welcome to help staff the
table for a while in order to give the table staff a break.
HamCom Primer
I know we have several new members and some long time
members who may never have been to HamCom. With that in
mind here's my short guide to getting the most out of your Ham­
Com experience. A few days before HamCom go out to
http://www.hamcom.org/ and download the Brochure. Look it
over. It will give you the times and locations for presentations, vendor locations, parking, anything you would want
to know.
Make note of presentation times that you want to attend and schedule your time around those.
Make a list of things you may be looking for and check them off as you find them.
Plan on getting there early.
There may be a vendor you want to talk to. Some vendors will have a line of folks wanting to talk to them. Be
patient, you will get your turn and remember the vendors want to talk to you as much as you want to talk to them.
Now let's talk used, flea market equipment. For example, you may have been to some of Bob's electronics classes
and decided you want some test equipment. You find what your looking for but don't know if it's a "Deal or a Dud".
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Smell the unit (yes, I said smell) to see if it has a burnt electronics smell but keep in
mind it could have been repaired. Look for dent's, scratches, are all the parts there or will you still need a probe for
example. Remember, you have a large support group behind you. If your just not sure, find one of the club members
and ask them to look at the unit with you, I know we will be happy to help. Keep in mind however that the end
decision is yours and let the buyer beware. (that being said I have always had good luck and everything I have
purchased has been as advertised).
Don't forget to have a good time, meet people and make friends.
Phillip Littlefield, KB5YIA
Smiles Charity Concert 2015 ­ Another Success
The Smiles Charity Concert is fast becoming a tradition in McKinney. (Nine years running!) And, for a second year,
the annual Memorial Day weekend event was attended by many MARC Communication Support volunteers.
Whether it was operating an active simplex net from 2pm ­ 11pm, monitoring shuttles and off­site parking lots (3
this year), directing traffic flow at all Adriatica entrances, or assisting concert patrons and ensuring a safe event for
all, MARC volunteers performed with the utmost professionalism and dedication.
Hats off to all those that stepped up: Andy Barnes (W5KZJ), Noah Chalker (KE5VQL), Bob DeVance (K5CRX),
Robert DiGioia (AF5RA), Clark Hansen (AE5WD), Mark Holmes (WD5JXC), Bradley Jensen (KF5ZAW), James
Kemp (KG5FVM), Jim Kuch (KD5JK), Patty Marking (KG5AEL), Dave Marking (AK5SP), Dan McKinley
(W5FRT), Danielle McKinley (KE5LGY), Kenneth Spock (KF5TXL), Bill Vining (N5YZ), Robert Wakeman
Cont on pg8
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 7
Cont from pg7
(K5WRE), John Wing (AE5ZK), and Peter Witheford (AF5TR). It is
your dedication to public service that makes all­volunteer events
like this possible!
A special Thank You goes out to Dave Piekarski (K5EEN) for
transporting the MARC CSU and generator to and from the event,
and always making certain that the CSU is in a "good to go" state.
Thanks Dave!
Be sure to check out the Smiles Charity website
(www.SmilesCharity.com). Proceeds from this all­volunteer event
go to build a house in Collin County for a local wounded veteran
and their family. There are many inspiring photos, videos, and
articles from this year's event, as well as from year's past. Perhaps
this will inspire you to step up and volunteer for next year's Smiles
Charity Concert. After all, much FUN was had by all! (A side note:
Check out the photo of Dan's (W5FRT) guitar signed by headline act
Rodney Atkins. Pretty cool, Dan!).
To all those that helped this year: Well done! And, THANK YOU!
Ham Radio in the Park another Success
On Saturday, May 2nd some 20 MARC members descended on Bonnie Wenk Park
on Virginia Parkway in McKinney to operate both CW and voice, participate in a
dual foxhunt, and partake of some freshly grilled hot dogs. After setting up a
canopy that would be temporary home to three radios, setting up portable antennas,
and providing power the operation was on! Thanks to Scott, N7NET, for being our
hero CW operator with a 20 minute CW QSO with a ham in Ohio. Shortly after
launching the radios, the foxhunt began. This one was a bit unusual as there were
two foxes running simultaneously and on opposite sides of the park. A number of
our members took advantage of the time for training in foxhunting with teams going
out in groups to track the elusive foxes. As everyone began to get hungry, it was
discovered that there were no matches or lighters to start the fire for cooking the hot
dogs. After Brian, WA5M, had headed for a local store to find a lighter, Andy,
W5KZJ, arrived back from foxhunting sporting a butane fire starter! So – all was
not lost! The hot dogs were done on time and everyone who wanted to do so ate
their fill.
Following pack up and cleanup, everyone went their respective ways – somewhat
tired, but full and glad they had participated in the event.
Bob, K5CRX
June Raspberry Pi User Group Meeting
After taking a one month break for Hamvention, we're back strong in June and "if the creek don't rise", we'll have the
rescheduled presentation on designing and laying out a daughter board for the Raspberry Pi, presented by Kip Moravec.
The next Raspberry Pi User Group meeting will be the 3rd Saturday of June, on June 20 in the usual room, ECSS 2.410, at the
usual time from 10a to 3p. As that date draws near, please visit http://brandenburgtech.com for more information, including
maps.
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 8
Sending messages, pictures, and video from a Raspberry Pi.
This article will show you how to send messages, pictures, and video with the raspberry pi to your cell phone. To use the
information in the article you will need something like a gmail account that can redirect your email message to your phone.
First thing we will need to do is load some additional modules into the raspberry pi. Again apt­get is your friend for doing this.
Load the following modules.
Utilities for sending electronic mail sudo apt­get install mailutils ssmtp
Utilities to handle shell archives.
sudo apt­get install sharutils
The mpack program encodes a named file in one or more MIME messages. The resulting messages are mailed to one or more
recipients. sudo apt­get install mpack
A Multimedia package for performing many manipulations on multimedia files like AVI, MPG, ...
sudo apt­get install ­y gpac
You may also need to load uuencode too, depends on your pi distribution. Used to convert binary code to ASCII characters for
easy electronic transmission. sudo apt­get install uuencode
By installing the ssmtp module, you have the ability to send email. First you need to setup the ssmtp configuration file.
You will need to setup at least five lines; mailhub, hostname, Authuser, Authpass, UseSTARTTLS.
sudo vi /etc/ssmtp/ssmtp.conf
Add your mailhub information. Here is my mailhub line.
mailhub=smtp.gmail.com:587
Add your system hostname. Here is my hostname line.
hostname=bplus
The Authuser, AuthPass, and UseSTARTTLS you may have to add to the file. Here are my lines, the data for user and password
are not accurate.
AuthUser=user@gmail.com
AuthPass=password.2
UseSTARTTLS=YES
At this point save the file.
One thing to remember when sending MMS messages, they have a size limit of 600,000 bytes. Pictures and videos have to be
smaller than the size limit. Text messages can be larger as they can be broken up into several messages.
Now to have some fun.
Connect your camera to your raspberry pi.
We are now going to take a still picture and send it to a cell phone.
raspistill ­o image4.jpg ­w 300 ­h 300
mpack ­s Image4 image4.jpg 9726582222@mms.att.net
Now lets take a video, convert it to mp4, and send it to a cell phone. The video will be 9 seconds in length and have 200X250
pixel size.
raspivid ­o video.h264 ­t 9000 ­w 200 ­h 250
MP4Box ­fps 30 ­add video.h264 video.mp4
mpack ­s video video.mp4 9726582222@mms.att.net
On the video you can adjust the time and pixel size, just remember the 600k size limit.
This article was setup for sending MMS messages to a cell phone. If you wish to send the picture or video to a email account
for regular computer, it works fine but you still have the 600k size limit.
73 de Clif ­ KE5VXZ
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 9
80m / 40m NVIS antenna to fit in a typical Plano backyard
by Robert Wakeman ­ K5WRE
The driving force behind this little project was the desire to have an 80 / 40 meter NVIS (Near Vertical Incident Skywave) antenna to use on
the NTX ARES HF Net each month and for HF Winlink. One of the major drivers at least in my property situation is that it had to fit in my
back yard which already has my HF Vertical, VHF J pole and two trees leaving very little space. So off I headed to the Internet to start my
search for a home brew design. There are a lot of NVIS designs out there for 80 / 40 meters but they all need space which I don’t have. After
lots of looking and reading I came across a one page article by BUDDIPOLE (The BUDDIPOLE Quick­Fix for NVIS
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/buddipole/nvis2008.pdf ) on how to turn a standard BUDDIPOLE into an 80 / 40 meter NVIS antenna. So using
the information from the BUDDIPOLE article as a starting point here is my version of a BUDDIPOLE 80 / 40 meter NVIS that will fit in a
small typical city lot back yard.
Needed parts:
Standard BUDDIPOLE ­ mast, tripod, antenna arm (2), VersaTee, and Coil set
Qty 2 – 3/8 x 24 stainless steel bolts 1/2” long
Qty 4 – 3/8” ring terminals for 18 gauge wire
50ft RED – 18 gauge insulated wire
50.5ft BLACK ­ – 18 gauge insulated wire
Qty 4 – Dog bone insulators or similar (can be made out of a cutting board)
Qty 2 – 2ft non­conducting stakes / posts (1 x 2 works well)
Qty 24ft of antenna guy rope (550 parachute cord works just fine)
Qty 2 – small stakes for the guy rope
As required color contrasting heat shrink to mark the wires for easy adjustment
The ultimate goal is to create an off­center­feed dipole that when erected 9 to 10 feet off the ground in an Inverted V configuration will yield a
NVIS antenna for 80 / 40 meters depending on the wire set used. Figure 1 is a depiction of the final antenna configuration.
The first step was to create the insulators for the wire ends and attach the guy ropes.
I fashioned 4 insulators out of a cutting board that I had in the materials stash and
attached 6 feet of 550 paracord to each one. 4 are needed as we are building 2
antennas an 80m and a 40m unlike the BUDDIPOLE design which was a single long
wire for both bands.
Figure 1 ­ BUDDIPOLE NVIS
The second step is to cut the antenna wires to length and attach 3/8” ring terminals.
The BUDDIPOLE design was for a single wire for 80 and 40 meters wound on a
kite winder for adjustment. I decided to take a different approach and make one set
of wires for 80 meters and one set for 40 meters. This approach meant that I didn’t
have to hunt up kite winders and it is easier to adjust. You will want to use different
colored wire for the two sides of the dipole that you are building, since they are
different lengths, to aid in identification. You can use the same colors for the 40m
and the 80m since the lengths are quite different and easy to identify.
80m RED – 30ft 80m BLACK – 31ft
40m RED – 16ft 40m BLACK – 19.5ft
Now attach each wire to an insulator / guy rope assembly and secure by folding 2ft
of the end over and wrapping it around itself. This is done so that the antenna can
be adjusted close to the center frequency that you which to operate on. I used a
piece of Velcro next to the insulator and at the loose end to keep the wire from
unwrapping and to allow future adjustment. The wire / insulator / guy assemble
should now have the following dimensions from the ring terminal to the insulator.
80m RED – 28ft 80m BLACK – 29ft
40m RED – 14ft 40m BLACK – 17.5ft
The next step is to assemble either the 40m or 80m antenna and adjust the length for your desired operating frequency. So assemble the
tripod, mast, VersaTee, antenna arms, and coils as you normally would for a BUDDIPOLE dipole. Attach the 40m or 80m RED wire to the
RED coil and the 40m or 80m BLACK wire to the BLACK coil using the 3/8 x 24 bolts. DO NOT use a wrench to tighten these. They only
need to be finger tight. If you use stainless steel as I did, to prevent corrosion, you will damage the threads if you use a wrench and no anti­
seize compound. The 80m antenna coils should NOT be tapped. The 40m antenna coils should be tapped as indicated in the table at the end
of this article. Extend your mast to 9 to 10 feet. Decide on the height you are going to use and stick with it because if you change the height
you change the center frequency of the antenna. I used 10ft because it was easy to determine, 2 lower mast sections fully extended and the
3rd mast section extended the length of my 2ft stake equaled 10ft. Use the 2ft stakes to elevate the wire ends off the ground and secure with
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 10
the guy lines. The wires from the coils to the 2ft stakes should be tight enough so they do not sag.
I would suggest that you mark your coils with nail polish or paint at the appropriate tap points for 40m for ease of assembly during later
employments of the antenna.
Now comes the time consuming part so that your antenna is easier to setup and use later. As I mentioned
earlier my goal for this antenna is the NTX ARES HF Nets. The 80m net is on 3.860 MHz and the 40m net
is on 7.285 MHz. So I started with my 80m setup and adjusted the wire lengths until I established minimum
SWR at 3.860 MHz using my Youkits FG­01 graphic antenna analyzer. As you go through this process
change the RED and BLACK wire lengths in equal amounts, if you shorten the RED 6 inches shorten the
Black 6 inches. During this process I found that I needed to use my BUDDIPOLE adjustable BALAN at a
setting of 2:1 to reduce the SWR below about 3. Once you have located your desired operating frequency
wire length, mark each of the wires at that location with contrasting heat shrink. This will make it easy later to return to this frequency. So
since I didn’t just want to use the antenna at a single frequency I installed heat shrink at 6 inch intervals on the 80m wires and 1 inch intervals
on the 40m wires and spent the afternoon constructing the tables below for easy setup of future operations. Consistency in setting up your
BUDDIPOLE NVIS antenna is the key so that all the hard work you put into developing a table similar to the one below will pay off in the
future. If you are consistent with your setup the markings will at least get you into the infield of the ballpark for your desired operating
frequency and your antenna tuner should be able to handle the rest. Or if you have your antenna analyzer handy you can check the center
frequency and adjust your length if needed.
Once you have all your markings and
measurements complete store each set of
wires and guys in a labeled zip lock bag and
you are ready to deploy or just setup for
occasional use in the back yard.
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Page 11
REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN HELP OTHERS IN AN EMERGENCY.
TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COLLIN COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY SERVICE
PLEASE VISIT THEIR WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.COLLINARES.NET
MARC operates open repeaters on 146.740 and 443.200 MHz
Echolink is provided on 146.740 by connecting through K5CRX­R. Regular/frequent users of the repeater are encouraged to join the club and
be an active part of the local Ham community, as well as helping to support the repeaters continued operation.
The MARC Ladies net is held every
The MARC information net is held
Collin County ARES holds a training net on the third
Monday at 8:00PM CT, on 146.740 MHz
every Sunday at 8:00PM CT, on 146.740
Sunday of each month at 9:00 PM CT on 146.740
MHz
MHz.
DO YOU YAHOO?
MARC maintains a Yahoo Chat group for club communication for MARC members between the monthly meetings.
If you are not already a member of the MARC Yahoo group, Join by either sign up directly on the website if you
already have a Yahoo ID groups.yahoo.com/group/McKinneyARC/ Or if you do not have a Yahoo ID, please send an email to McKinneyARC
subscribe@yahoogroups.com, and the webmaster will get you signed up after validating MARC membership. The McKinney Amateur Radio
Club Yahoo Group is a benefit of member ship in the club.
The purposes of the MARC email reflector are: 1) Facilitate the timely distribution of MARC information and news to club members. 2) Allow
for the sharing of amateur radio related topics among club members. 3) Provide a forum for the discussion of amateur related information
among club members. 4) Act as a marketplace for the buying and selling of amateur radio and computer equipment and services. Club
members should utilize good judgment with regard to topics or content that are posted on the MARC reflector. To that end it is recommended
that political and religious topics or content be avoided unless directly related to amateur radio. In addition, personal attacks in any form will
not be tolerated.
VE SESSIONS ARRL EXAMS $15
McKinney testing is held at the Heard Museum, 1 Nature Place, in McKinney, on the first Sunday of each month except holiday weekends.
Starting time is 2:30pm and ends no later than 4:45pm (they close at 5:00pm). For more information check our website at mckinneyve.org or
contact Stephen Reinen, N8BP at 214­937­9982 or by email at info@mckinneyVE.org.
Richardson testing is held on the third Thursday of each month at St. Barnabas Church, located at 1220 West Beltline Rd. Sessions start at 7
PM. WalkIns are ok. For more information, contact Bill Owens, AD5EW at 972­380­2859 or wtowens3@sbcglobal.net.
Sherman testing is held on the first Thursday of each EVEN­numbered month (Feb, Apr, Jun, etc) at the Grayson County College, Center for
Workplace Learning Seminar Room C, 6101 Grayson Drive, Denison TX 75020 at 7:00pm. For more information contact: Moe
Knight—NT7C nt7c@arrl.net or at 903­564­7115 Call first!
Garland testing is held on the fourth Thursday of each month and begins at 7:00pm. Location is : Freeman Heights Baptist Church, 1120
Garland Ave., Garland, TX 75040. Janet Crenshaw, WB9ZPH, at 972­302­9992 for details or wb9zph@gmail.com.
Plano testing is on the third Monday of each month at 6:00pm. Testing sessions are located at 3160 East Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, TX. If
you have questions send email to ae5sg@arrl.net.
Carrollton testing sessions are sponsored by the Metrocrest ARC. Testing is held at the Carrollton Public Library, 4420 Josey Lane, 75010.
Please contact Allan Batteiger at 972­672­0278
Other testing session can be located online at: www.dfwlist.org.
“MARC” conducts a sidewalk sale on the last Saturday of each month at the Collin College McKinney campus under the shade trees, near the
school building, in the southwest parking lot. The location is 1/4 mile west of Hwy 75 on Hwy 380. The sale begins about 9AM and lasts for
an hour or two. All are welcome to attend.
LOCAL REPEATERS See http:/mckinneyarc.org for more repeaters
Voice
Commerce (W5AMC) 444.525 PL 103.5
Carrollton (N5MJQ) 145.210 PL 110.9
Carrollton (N5MJQ) 442.650 PL none
Carrollton (K5MET) 444.075 PL 110.9
Collinsville (N5IUF) 147.220 PL 100.0
Dallas ARC (W5FC) 146.880 PL 110.9
Denton (W5NGU) 146.920 PL 110.9
Denton (W5NGU) 444.050 PL 110.9
Fannin Cty (K5FRC) 145.470 PL none
Fannin Cty (K5FRC) 145.130 PL none
Fannin Cty (K5FRC) 443.750 PL none
Garland (K5QHD) 146.660 PL 110.9
Garland (K5QHD) 442.700 PL 110.9
Grayson Cty (K5GCC) 147.000 PL 100.0
Grayson Cty (K5GCC) 147.280 PL 107.2
Grayson Cty (K5GCC) 444.750 PL 100.0
Greenville (K5GVL) 146.780 PL 114.8
Greenville (K5GVL) 147.160 PL 100.0
Hopkins CoARC (K5SST) 146.680 PL 151.4
Hopkins CoARC (K5SST) 444.825 PL 151.4
Melissa (W5MRC) 443.200 PL 100.0
NTXRA 145.350 PL 100.0
NTXRA IRLP 442.575 PL 127.3
McKinney Amateur Radio Club
Plano (WD5ERD) 147.180 PL 107.2
Plano (K5PRK) 444.250 PL 79.7
Richardson (K5RWK) 147.120 PL none
Rockwell (W5ROK) 441.875 PL 131.8
Rockwall (KK5PP) 441.525 PL 141.3
Rosston (WD5U) 145.490 PL 85.4
UTD (K5UTD) 145.43 PL 110.9
Van Alstyne (W5VAL) 443.800 PL 103.5
Digital Modes
APRS
National Freq 144.39 Simplex
National Alt Freq 144.34 Simplex
Winlink
SW Collin Co 145.03 K5BAD10
SW Collin Co 145.03 W5RAE10
NE Collin Co 145.05 N0RQ10
NE Collin Co 145.07 AE5IT10
NW Collin Co 145.07 KD5CTQ10
SE Collin Co 145.09 N5BYL10
SE Collin Co 145.09 KI5FU10
SE Collin Co 145.09 K5PRK10
SE Collin Co 145.09 K5EEN10
Yaesu Fusion
Plano (K5BSA) 442.800 PL 110.9
K5PRK (Plano)* DStar
Voice 441.575 (+5)
Voice 1295.00 (20)
Data 1255.00
*DStar access is available through the
WWW.K5PRK.Net website.
W5NGU (Denton) DStar
Voice 147.450 (1)
Voice 442.925 (+5)
Voice 1293.400 (20)
Data 1253.600
K5TIT (Dallas) DStar
Voice 147.360 (+0.6)
Voice 442.000 (+5)
Voice 1293.000 (20)
Data 1253.000
K5SST (Hopkins CO) Dstar
Voice 147.060 (+)
Voice 444.275 (+)
Simplex K5FRC Easy Pal
Sending Pictures 446.125 (S)
Page 12