The March meeting will be a QSL card sort. Burt W1ZS the W1 QSL Bureau Manager who lives in Vermont will bring cards down for us to sort.

There will be hotdogs available at the meeting.

During the April meeting we will hold elections and the program will be on SSTV by Paul N1QDX.

The May program will be a presentation on VHF Contesting by Les KA1DZ.V

If you have a show-and-tell type of thing or a story you can share bring them along to any meeting.

Last month Terry Stader KA8SCP MEMA Area 1 RACES Radio Officer spoke to us about how Area 1 is organized to handle emergency communications. Area 1 encompasses all of the counties of northeast Massachusetts. A special challenge is the proximity of the Seabrook generation station. The Seabrook owners were required to fund an upgrade of the EOC which is located on the grounds of the Tewksbury State Hospital. One problem is that they get less than a third of the cities and towns to check in to the monthly RACES nets.

The first event of Spring is coming up on April 30^th. The Groton Road Race is the largest local event in terms of ham participants that we support. We depend on a good turnout from as many members as possible to make this event a success. The contact for this event is Erik KA1RV 978-448-5536 or piip@merl.com.

In April we have our first road cleanup for the new millennium. It will be Sunday April 16^th. I would have preferred to stick to the Sunday after our meeting but that is Easter and the next Sunday is the Groton Road Race. The first cleanup for the year usually takes a bit longer, but with a good turn out it should still be only about one hour. Hope to see you there. Stan

According to the SKYWARN Newsletter the National Weather Service will be holding a training session in Shirley. Whether you are interested in becoming a SKYWARN observer or are just interested in the weather these are excellent presentations with pictures, videos, and explanations of various weather phenomenon. The training will be held Wednesday April 26^th from 7 to 10 PM at the Lura A White Elementary School. The school is located at 34 Lancaster Road in Shirley.

If you are planning on upgrading but expect it to be after the new rules are in effect in April you should read the section in the ARRL news about the question pools. It contains a URI to see what the new question pools are.

The next VE Session in Nashua is March 25^th.

Listing public events at which Amateur Radio communications is providing a public service and for which additional volunteers from the Amateur Community are needed and welcome. Please contact the person listed to identify how you may serve and what equipment you may need to bring.

Every event listed is looking for additional volunteers

**** Special Note: The Boston Athletic Association requests that volunteers register as soon as possible. Contact one of the three individuals listed below.

Date Location Event

Contact Tel/Email

Apr 9 Boston MA Multiple Sclerosis Walk

Bob WA1IDA 508-650-9440 wa1ida@arrl.net or

Apr 17 Hopkinton MA Boston Marathon start

Apr 17 Boston+ MA Boston Marathon course

Apr 17 Boston MA Boston Marathon finish

Paul W1SEX 978-632-9432

Apr 30 Groton MA Groton Road Race

World Wide Web users: the most recent copy of this list is maintained as http://purl.org/hamradio/publicservice/nediv.

The incoming bureau no longer accepts stamps and envelopes for your cards, only money.

Bob W1XP is our outgoing QSL bureau manager for ARRL members. The club picks up the tab for shipping and the fees for the outgoing League Bureau.

26 March Framingham MA FARA @HS $14/T@7:30 $3@9 Bev N1LOO 508 626 2012

16 April Flea at MIT Nick 617 253 3776

29 April Nashua NH NE Antique RC $5@8 $1@9 @ Res Ctr Church 617 923 2665

12,13 May Rochester NH Hoss Traders @FG x13 rt16 Joe K1RQG 207 469 3492

21 May Flea at MIT Nick 617 253 3776

4 June Newington CT NARL

18 June Flea at MIT Nick 617 253 3776

de KD1LE

So you have lots of small parts and you would like to put them in storage cabinets. The problem is you don’t have any wall space. Or you want to move these parts around depending on what you are working on at the time. The solution I decided on was a roll around Lazy Susan tower. You can even push it into a corner when you don’t need it. With this arrangement three levels high you can get about 600 drawers in a two-foot square bit of floor space.

The first task is to pick out the cabinets you want. You can use most any type of storage cabinet units but I recommend units with metal frames. They are available at your local hardware store or places like Home Depot. The project will be simpler if you use all the same model. But you should stick with one model per tier. The important thing about the "model" is the overall dimensions. The drawer layout isn’t significant to the construction. One thing I don’t like is that typical storage units have a mixture of drawer sizes in a single unit. I would prefer to have all the same size drawers in a unit but how that works for you depends on how many of one type of thing you need to store. After considerable searching I gave in and settled for the mixed drawer type since they were readily available. So you need four, eight or twelve of these. The next thing you need is a set of good casters or dolly wheels. I was surprised at how much heavier that little parts cabinet was when there were twelve of them and they were full of parts. So don’t skimp on the wheels. You will need some plywood. I used two layers of one-half inch plywood glued and screwed together for the base and single thickness’ for the other layers. The last significant item is a threaded rod longer than the height of the storage unit you want to make. Threaded rod commonly comes in three and four-foot lengths and most stores that sell them carry connecting bolts. You will need a few nuts and washers for the threaded rod but I’ll let you figure out what you need based on the unit you are building. The rest of the parts are miscellaneous screws and things.

The assembly goes like this. Place four like storage units on the floor. Position two units with the back of the second unit against the side of the first. Adjust them so the side of the second unit is even with the front of the first. Add the third and fourth units in the same manner. When the four units are in place you will have a square opening looking down from the top. With my cabinets that was an eight inch square. Mathematically the dimension of the square should be the cabinet length minus its depth. You will need to cut two pieces of plywood this size for each level you plan to make and I will call these the "small" panels. If you have different cabinets for each level you will have to make different small panels for each tier.

The other piece of information you need from the four arranged units is the outside dimension. This is the minimum size of the base and the separators that will go between each level. The minimum is a square equal to the length plus the depth of the cabinets. Here you have to decide how much the panel should extend beyond the cabinet. I left about one half-inch all the way around. So the panels are one inch larger in both dimensions than the four units. These I’ll call the large panels. I thought about putting a wood strip around the edge or routing the panels slightly to hold the units in place. In the end I did neither and have had no problems. If you are using only one-half inch plywood you will need to make two panels for the base and one additional panel for each tier you plan to have.

Stack the large panels and drill a clearance sized hole for the threaded rod through the centers of all the panels. Do the same for the small panels.

Mount the casters on the base panel. Attach one of the small panels to the topside of the base panel with the center hole aligned and the edges parallel to the edges of large panel. Two appropriate sheetrock screws are sufficient. You should now be able to place four of the cabinets on the base in the original arrangement with their bottom back edge against the small panel.

Prepare the intermediate large panels by mounting a small panel on each side and the top large panel with one small panel on its lower side. Align the center holes and edges as before.

Place a nut and then a washer on the threaded rod and advance it several inches. Place the rod down through the base panel and secure it with a washer and nut from below. You can now place the next large panel onto the rod and into place on top of the cabinets with the small panel fitting into the opening between the tops of the cabinets. Complete each additional tier by placing the cabinets and then the large panel. I secured each section with a washer and nut. Do not over tighten these nuts as you can easily crush the cabinets. They don’t need to be much more than finger tight. The only difference when mounting the top panel is it has one small panel on it and that goes face down.

There are many ways to build the unit but using four cabinets per tier leaves the least interior wasted space. If you mix cabinets the tiers with a smaller footprint should be higher up. They also could use smaller large panels. But the panels should completely cover the level below. Different cabinets will also require a different size small panel. Stan KD1LE

To keep the repeaters running takes considerable effort. While there are the obvious activities when one of the repeaters goes off the air, there are also regular maintenance items that must be taken care of periodically. Things like tuning, battery maintenance, and building and grounds maintenance. These things happen on a regular basis to try to keep the unscheduled down time from happening and to keep us from becoming unwelcome guests at the site. Here are two of the people we owe for all their work. Yes you can only see Bob W1XP. But that’s because Ralph KD1SM always claims to have to run the camera. Maybe we should train Bob to run a camera? Stan KD1LE is the frequent grounds keeper.

Bob W1XP and the 440 repeater.

de KD1LE

Here is a homebrew construction project inspired by an article in QST several years ago. With the potential Y2K problem looming last winter I decided to build a "battery charger" that wouldn’t tie up my four kW alternator just to run a 100 watt battery charger to keep the repeaters running. After reviewing the QST article and several web sites that had their own variations we settled on a design and started collecting parts. It was now Bob W1XP and myself working on the project. There is nothing complicated about building one of these. There are two things that will make getting it going a bit easier. Select a self-regulating alternator to eliminate the external regulator and a bit of wiring. Make sure the frame and wood or metal plate that the alternator and motor mount on are rigid. We had some problems with the belt jumping off the pulleys until we realized that under load the alternator was tipping sufficiently to cause the belt to jump off.

With a regular Briggs and Stratton three and one half horsepower vertical shaft lawnmower engine and a common alternator this model will produce about thirty-five amps of charging current. Depending on the alternator and motor combination you use more or less current will be available. The only hard to find item is a pulley with the correct shaft and keying for a lawnmower engine. There are several places we found where you could order one. But it was not an item you can get at local mower repair places like Shepherds.

Have you ever though about participating in Amateur Radio traffic Nets and not known where to find one. There are many in this area and they use many bands and modes. The more common activities are on two meter FM where the East Mass Rhode Island Net (EMRI) meets on the 145.23 Boston repeater at 8:00 PM. At 9:00 PM the Central Mass 2 Meter Net (CM2MN) meets on the 146.970 Worcester repeater. At 10:30 PM the Heavy Hitters Traffic Net (HHTN) meets on the 146.640 Waltham repeater. There is also a Cape and Islands Traffic Net (CITN) and Ocean State Traffic Net (OSTN). If you are looking for CW nets the East Mass Rhode Island CW Net (EMRI) meets at 7:00 and 10:00 PM on 3.658 MHz. For HF phone there is the East Mass Rhode Island Phone Net (EMRIPN) at 5:30 PM on 3.918 MHz.

GEORGIA AMATEURS RESPOND TO TORNADO DISASTER

Amateur Radio operators responded in force after tornadoes struck rural extreme southwestern Georgia this week, killing at least 18 and injuring around 100 others. The storms wiped out nearly 200 houses. Georgia Section Emergency Coordinator Tom Rogers, KR4OL, reports that hams from nearby communities including Moultrie and Albany turned out to help.

Twisters generating winds in excess of 150 MPH leveled a housing development in the town of Camilla, in Mitchell County late Sunday and early Monday. The town was one of the worst-hit areas. The storm also tore roofs from houses and flattened mobile homes. The storm caught many by surprise since warnings were not issued until after residents had retired for the night.

Georgia Gov Roy Barnes declared a state of emergency in Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell and Tift counties. Georgia Emergency Management Agency reports emergency shelters have been set up in Camilla and Moultrie. The Salvation Army and the Red Cross also were involved in the recovery effort.

"Shelters are open, and the Georgia Baptist Hams are setting up feeding locations and assisting with the cleanup," Rogers said. An HF emergency net was established on 75 meters to coordinate activities, but the need for emergency communication was minimal since the telecommunications infrastructure was still intact.

Damage was put at $25 million. Thousands were left without power in Georgia and elsewhere as a result of the severe weather. The storm that wreaked havoc on Georgia was part of a system that also struck Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama before moving into Georgia, Northeastern Florida and the Carolinas.

FCC AFFIRMS $20,000 FINE; UNLICENSED OPERATION CONTINUES

The FCC has affirmed a $20,000 fine levied on a Florida man last summer for unlicensed operation, willful and malicious interference with Amateur Radio communications, and failure to let the FCC inspect his radio equipment. The FCC’s January 28 Forfeiture Order gives William Flippo of Jupiter 30 days to pay up or the matter will be referred to the US Attorney.

Following an FCC Warning Notice, Flippo initially was notified of the fine last July in an FCC Notice of Apparent Liability. Hams in Florida say Flippo has thumbed his nose at the FCC and has continued to flout the law by interfering with local HF and repeater nets. FCC personnel from the FCC’s Tampa District Office have followed up on complaints from amateurs that Flippo—also known by his CB handle of "Rabbit Ears"—has regularly interfered with hams on 10 meters, 2 meters and elsewhere. The Order acknowledges that the Commission has received information on "at least five occasions" since the fine was levied last July indicating that Flippo continues to violate federal law.

Flippo’s only response to last year’s Notice of Apparent Liability was to send the FCC a copy of a one-page bankruptcy filing. The FCC was not impressed, however. "In a case where an NAL has been issued and the recipient continues to engage in the same conduct, we are not inclined to adjust the forfeiture amount, even where the recipient has filed for bankruptcy protection," the Commission said.

One Jupiter-area ham who has cooperated with the FCC investigation says Flippo has been causing problems for the amateur community in his area since late 1997. He and fellow members of the Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group want to see the FCC take a stronger stand in the case.

"I want to see the guy in jail—plain and simple—and his equipment confiscated," said the amateur, who did not want to be identified by name fearing retaliation. "The problem is, we’re all playing by the rules here, and this guy goes out and buys a radio and he gets on there and does whatever he wants and brags about it."

FCC personnel from the Tampa office have visited the Jupiter area at least twice last year as a result of amateur complaints alleging malicious interference from Flippo, primarily on VHF but also on some HF amateur bands.

K1LNC NAMED AS INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN AWARD WINNER

The ARRL has named Edwin Petzolt, K1LNC, of Hobe Sound, Florida, as the winner of its 1999 International Humanitarian Award. A presentation was made earlier this month at the Miami Tropical Hamboree by ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, and ARRL Southeastern Division Director Frank Butler, W4RH.

On June 29, 1998, Petzolt responded to an on-the-air emergency call on 20 meters and found himself on the other end of a life-threatening situation in Central America where heavily armed gunmen had kidnapped four missionaries in northern Guatemala and held them for ransom. Desperate to save his family, missionary Elam Stolfus, TG7XQS, turned to ham radio—his only connection to the outside world. On the other end he found Ed Petzolt, K1LNC.

Upon learning of the family’s plight, Petzolt, phone-patched Stolfus to the US Embassy in Guatemala City to arrange for military and police assistance. He then remained at the radio for much of the next seven hours to provide communications and relay information that would contribute to the successful rescue of the hostages and the capture of the terrorists.

The ARRL International Humanitarian Award recognizes extraordinary service through Amateur Radio skills for the benefit of others in times of crisis or disaster. The award recipient is selected by a committee appointed by the League’s President. Petzolt’s award was confirmed by the ARRL Board of Directors during its meeting last month in Memphis.

An ARRL Life Member, Petzolt credited Bud Palmer, KC4LCD, Tim Reeves, WB4WUK, and "everyone else who helped keep the frequency clear," with making the rescue mission possible.

A footnote: Petzolt this week became involved in another Amateur Radio rescue mission: "I patched a doctor from Honduras to a doctor in Pennsylvania this morning regarding a nine-month-old little girl with a life-threatening, congenital heart condition," he reported February 17. Petzolt said the US doctor agreed to perform the surgery in Pennsylvania for free. He then patched the ham—Ronaldo Roll, HR3RON, a Catholic priest—into the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa to arrange to expedite the necessary paperwork for the infant and her mother to get a medical visa. Petzolt said Roll has agreed to pay their airfare to and from the US. "I think I found my calling in life," Petzolt remarked.

FORMS 610 PHASED OUT

With a single exception, the venerable FCC Form 610 now is history. The FCC phased out the documents February 16. Amateur Radio applicants now must use the Universal Licensing System forms (Forms 605, 606) for all purposes. There is one exception: FCC Form 610B Club Station application continues to be valid until the FCC finalizes its privatized club station call sign administrator program.

ARRL SAYS "THANK YOU" TO EXEMPLARY SPECIAL SERVICE CLUBS

ARRL-VEC TO CHARGE FOR CODE TESTS

Starting with the inception of the new FCC Amateur Radio licensing rules on April 15, 2000, the ARRL-VEC will charge a test fee of $6.65 to take the Element 1 (5 WPM Morse code) test. Until April 15, the 5 WPM Morse code test (Element 1A) and/or the Novice written test (Element 2) are free at ARRL-VEC test sessions.

JAPAN GETS ADDITIONAL 160-METER SPECTRUM

Word via Rio, JA1JRK, is that starting April 1, amateurs in Japan will have access to 1810-1825 kHz. Amateurs there previously have been restricted to 1907.5-1912.5 kHz.—Yosi, JA3AAW

US FOXHUNTERS LOOK FORWARD TO CHINA DF EVENT

FCC GIVES MORSE ELEMENT CREDIT TO EXPIRED NOVICES

Anyone who ever held a Novice ticket—expired or otherwise—will be able to claim credit for Element 1, the 5 WPM Morse code examination, under revised Amateur Radio licensing rules going into effect April 15. The change was included in the version of the FCC’s restructuring rules, published February 10 in The Federal Register.

The change affects Section 97.505(a)(5) of the rules that spells out element credit. That sentence now says: "An expired or unexpired FCC-granted Novice Class operator license grant: Element 1."

The rules already give Element 1 credit for those holding an expired or unexpired FCC-issued Technician Class operator license document granted before February 14, 1991, as well as to applicants possessing an FCC-issued commercial radiotelegraph operator license or permit that’s valid or expired less than 5 years.

There’s no indication, however, that the FCC intends to extend Element 1 credit to applicants who once held any other FCC-issued licenses now expired, including Tech Plus, General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra.

Because of other anomalies in the new rules, the ARRL is recommending for now that holders of Novice or Tech Plus licenses retain their license documents or copies in the event they need to claim Element 1 credit when upgrading under the new rules. When renewed after April 15, 2000, Technician Plus licenses will come back stamped "Technician," and the FCC has said it does not plan to keep track of which Technicians have Morse code element credit and which do not.

The FCC also has indicated to the ARRL that post-April 15 Technicians who subsequently qualify for HF operation by passing Element 1 will retain element credit for upgrading purposes only for 365 days—the term of a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination—not permanently, although this will not affect their ongoing Novice/Technician HF privileges. Without a change in the rules, affected Technicians attempting to upgrade more than a year after passing Element 1 would have to retake the Morse code examination.

The ARRL plans to file a petition for partial reconsideration asking the FCC to continue to keep track of which Technicians have Morse code element credit and which do not. The League also will ask the FCC to make Element 1 credit permanent for post-April 15 Technicians who successfully pass the Morse exam.

The VEs were given 30 days to reply to the FCC. The ARRL-VEC is cooperating in the FCC investigation.

VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY HEAPS HIGH PRAISE ON HAMS

Virginia’s General Assembly has praised Amateur Radio efforts during the response to Hurricane Floyd last fall. A joint resolution unanimously passed the House and Senate January 27. A signing ceremony has been set for February 17, 11:30 AM, at the Capitol in Richmond.

The resolution praises the work of Virginia’s ARES/RACES members last September when Hurricane Floyd totally isolated the City of Franklin, and rising flood waters forced city officials to abandon their Emergency Operations Center, forcing the city to rely completely on Amateur Radio for communication with the outside. "With traditional lines of communication inoperable, the Amateur Radio operators, members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), provided the only reliable communication into and out of the flood-ravaged Franklin area," the resolution says.

The resolution notes that the Hurricane Floyd activation was "the widest geographical and longest-running ARES/RACES activation in Virginia’s history" and involved nearly 150 ARES/RACES volunteers who put in some 9500 hours of duty to help coordinate emergency operations in Franklin.

"Due to the tireless efforts of amateur radio volunteers, the tragic effects of Hurricane Floyd were mitigated, the lives of those in the flood zone safeguarded, and the suffering of Franklin’s residents alleviated," the resolution said in expressing the General Assembly’s "admiration and gratitude for the vital contributions of Virginia’s amateur radio operators."—Tony Amato, KR4UG

ASUSAT-1 STOPS TRANSMITTING

SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT BILL UPDATE

The Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act now has 138 cosponsors. The bill would require the FCC to replace with equivalent spectrum any current Amateur Radio spectrum it removes from access or limits access to. Several new cosponsors signed on to HR 783 over the New Year’s break.

FRANCE AUTHORIZES 136-KHZ AMATEUR BAND

The French Confederation of Radio Amateurs and Radio Listeners reports that the 135.7-137.8 kHz was authorized for use by French amateurs as of December 31, 1999, in a secondary basis and in conformance with conditions existing in other European countries, in accordance with CEPT Recommendation T/R 62-01. Maximum radiated power is 1 W.

Larsen Antenna Founder Jim Larsen, K7GE, SK: The founder of Larsen Antenna, Leland J. "Jim" Larsen, K7GE, of Vancouver, Washington, died February 3. He would have turned 82 years old later this month. An ARRL member, Larsen had been a ham for more than 67 years. He was a contester and DXer, enjoyed CW, and was a member of the First-Class CW Operators Club. Paul Nyland, K7PN, described Larsen as an "experimenter and mad scientist." Services were February 8. Condolences may be sent to Christina Larsen at PO Box 2248, Vancouver, WA 98668.—thanks to Paul Nyland, K7PN and Ron Stark, KU7Y

Income for the previous month was $60 in member dues. Expenses were $19.80 for newsletter postage.

Current balances: General fund $637.40

PO Box # 900

Pepperell Mass 01463-0900

http://purl.org/hamradio/club/nvarc/

Pres.: Erik Piip KA1RV

V Pres.: Open

Secretary: Ian Norrish NZ1B

Treasurer: Ralph Swick KD1SM

Editor: Stan Pozerski KD1LE

Photographer Ralph Swick KD1SM

PIO: Jon Kinney N1JGA

Board Members

Wolfgang Seidlich KA1VOU 1997

Earl Russell 1998

Bob Reif 1999

Meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month - 7:30 p.m. - Pepperell Community Ctr. Talk-in 146.490 simplex

442.90 + 100Hz Repeater

Copyright 2000 NVARC