2017-02-07

yl.beam #43 feb 2017

Contents:
  • Silent Keys: VE5TAW;  K3ATY;  W1GSC,
  • Ja-No-Well-Fine
  • TDOTA (Thinking Day on the Air)  2017 
  • Helen Archbald, VA1YL (Early days, Guides, nets, Dxpeditions)
  • UPCOMING EVENTS 
  • YLs activate Museum Ship
  • 9th Annual South American Lighthouses on the air Weekend
  • Australian : Sydney Ferry; Central Coast ARC Annual Hamfest
  • QRZ & Calendar

Silent Key: VE5TAW  Joan Ann Paulson passed away Tuesday, January 24, 2017. Joan was a long time member of CLARA (Canadian Ladies ARC)

Silent Key: K3ATY  Kathy A Krajewski of Newark, DE It is with a heavy heart that I email you with the passing of my friend, K3ATY. Kathy recently suffered an aneurysm after a routine surgery. The complications were too much for her to overcome. Please keep her husband and daughter in your prayers as they are devastated by this loss.  Her lovely voice from Delaware will be missed.  
Sincerely, Carrie W9FML OMISS President
 
QRZ extract:  an active member of 3905 Century Club nets and was currently the third area director. Kathy used to be a very active NCS for the club, having "called" more than 200 nets on 40 meters.  she could be found most evenings on 7.267.5  often as primary relay station.
 
She was a member of OMISS, (Old Man International Sideband Society) now approaching 10,000  members,  www.omiss.net
 
She changed her callsign, was kb3ntj, because it was  much easier for the dx stations to understand and the European stations love to call her Katy, thus k3aty.

Silent Key: Mary Cousins, ex-W1GSC, died on January 28, 2017. She was 108.
Retired librarian Mary Sibyl Wallace Cousins, a resident of a care facility in the coastal fishing village of  Deer Isle, Maine, (USA) celebrated her 108th birthday on September 20, 2016
 
In 1933 she became the first woman in Maine to obtain an Amateur Radio license; issued to Mary Wallace (her maiden name), age 24  -- by the old Federal Radio Commission, the FCC came into being the following year. Cousins' old call sign has been reissued at least once.
 
In the 1930s ham radio “was something that the girls did not do, and the boys were all doing it at the time, and I said, ‘I can do it too.’ And I did.” She operated Morse, to relay weather information.
 
Photo of Mary Cousins  celebrating her 108th birthday shared by Young Ladies' Radio League, Inc.  (YLRL) September 27, 2016 ; [shared on HamYl facebook]
Sources: Posted: 29 Sep 2016 01:28 PM PDT  

Ja-No-Well-Fine
As 8 March is only a month away be sure to share any up-coming events concerning  International Womens Day, either by email or on our Facebook page...
 
Helen Archbald, VA1YL  tells us about Girl Guides and Dxpeditions; hope you find her frankness about how she  learnt 'on-the-air', helpful. Sometimes we forget to pass on information, assuming others already know! She provides a link for TDOTA which starts in NZ before moving west across the globe; and indirectly onto the lighthouse event on the same weekend.   

TDOTA (Thinking Day on the Air)  
2017 will be the 3rd full weekend in February 18 & 19 
 
On this day each year members of WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) remember the founders of the movement and take part in various activities to think about their sisters throughout the world and celebrate their Founders. On the nearest weekend to World Thinking Day,  some are involved with Thinking Day on the Air (TDOTA) using amateur radio.
  
Mona Burgin, a founder member of GirlGuiding New Zealand and every year on 22 February, Rangers from Mona Burgin's Unit in Auckland, New Zealand set off before dawn,  climb to the top of Maungawhau / Mount Eden. There they set up their little campfire and a flag-staff, and as the sun rises over the sea they raise the Guide World Flag, sing the World Song, and they speak of some of the people and the countries they are Thinking about - and so they start "The Big Think" which then travels all the way round the world.  Wiki
 

Helen Archbald, VA1YL  Helen's original incentive to become licensed was to be able to talk to husband Fred VE1FA when he was away on DXpeditions, but it didn't quite work that way.  Since 1994 Helen has participated in many Dxpeditions,  but she has one condition for going on a DXpedition - she goes as a radio amateur, not as a household slave!  And she loves a 20 meter pile up!
How I Got Started in Ham Radio and where I went.
 
Husband Fred VE2SEI got his ticket in 1988 and son Andrew VE2WHO in 1990. In the summer of 1990, a gang of young hams planned a Dxpedition at our dining room table. In the winter of 1991, I learned about something called Guides on the Air . I persuaded Fred to put on a  station for a few of the Guides I worked with. It was fun, but my hands itched to take control of the radio.
 
In 1991, the West Island ARC  planned another DXpedition at our dining room table; destination St Paul Island (CY9). I worried about half my family being on a desert island, so Fred set up the Collins S-line receiver so I could listen for them.  I learned very quickly: 28,495 21,295 14,195 & have never forgotten!
 
I listened whenever I could. One day I heard Jan VE2OL calling CQ from CY9CWI & no one was answering! I phoned Jean, VE2OC, & asked him if he could call them; he did, & phone patched me through.  But the infection had set in, I decided I wanted to be able to talk to them the next time they went.
 
After the dxpedition I started trying to match the QRZ cards the dxpedition had received. I did not even know that 20 meters and 14 mHz were the same thing! I didn’t know what rst meant! None of the guys knew about the search feature on CT, if it existed, or if they did, no one told me!
 
 1992 was the beginning of the no-code licence and the local repeaters were bustling. I kept a Kenwood 02AT in the kitchen and got to know lots of the VHFers. I went to my first hamfest & found out that they didn’t necessarily look like they sounded!
 
When GOTA (Guides On The Air) came along just a few weeks after I got my ticket, I had girls in & got on the air. I knew nothing at all about where to look for GOTA stations. I lucked out & worked VE3BAO who talked to all of the girls. He also told me about CLARA (Canadian Ladies Amateur Radio Assoc.).
 
Summer of 1992 the West Island ARC  went to Charlton Island in James Bay. Again, our IC 735 was part of the DXpedition gear. I wanted to be able to talk to the guys so Fred set up the S-line Receiver & Transmitter & gave me a lesson on how to tune up. I was part of the Montreal team keeping in touch with VE8CWI. I got to relay  greetings to Hank's, (VE2HN) wife on their 49th anniversary; and to assure her he was fine but he wished he had taken his parka. Conditions were horrible – they had a solar storm – and I struggled with the tuning on the S-line.
 
The next year, our daughter Margaret, just 12 years old, took the ham course and got the call VE2ZOO. For GOTA, she took an HT to Guide camp & they were able to talk to the Guides I had at our home station.
 
Summer of 1993, the guys went back to St Paul Island. Margaret & I went out in the boat with them, then camped around Cape Breton, armed with Fred’s 5 Watt Argonaut & a dipole we strung in the trees at the camp sites. We contacted them several times.  But somehow, the infection got worse.
 
When the guys started talking about a 1994 DXpedition to St Paul, I decided I’d like to go But on one condition: I wanted to go as a ham operator, not chief cook & bottle washer. This was a challenge, with my whole family along! Then I got a new infection. I loved working pile-ups. I felt like a movie star with crowds of people trying to get a contact. Since then, there have been 14 Dxpeditions planned at our dining room table and they haven’t been able to get away without me.  In 1995, when we went to Pictou Island, I continued to insist that I go as an operator, not as cook. We have continued Dxpeditions although more of the planning is done by email these days, but the dining room table still gets some use.
 
CLARA sponsors  GOTA (Guides on the Air) annually on the 3rd Weekend in February. I have continued to welcome Guides to the station each February. In 2013 we had 65 girls & women come through in shifts.
 
When VE3BAO introduced me to CLARA ), I found out something about ham radio I didn’t know existed – Nets! My first CLARA net is in my log on Feb 23 1992.  There are 3 CLARA nets – on 80m, 40 m, & 20 m.  During 1993 the Net controller couldn’t run the net and I ended up with that job. In 2001, I was nominated as Vice President of CLARA and I did 3 terms as President. 
See great pics & article by Helen VA1YL about dxpedition to:
Bon Portage (Outer) Island  Nova Scotia, Canada (IOTA NA-126),  N.  Lat. 43°10' W.Long. 65°45'  
2 miles off the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia,  reached by a small boat and has no permanent residents. The southern end of Bon Portage has an old lighthouse and two habitable lightkeepers’ houses.
 
All the food and water must be transported to the island as well as the radio equipment, antennas, towers, generator and gas. It really does add up to a ton or more.
 

UPCOMING EVENTS 
YL Event
Members of the Ladies of the Net Radio Club KM6CIR will activate the amateur radio station NB6GC aboard the USS Hornet Museum Ship,  Pier 3, Alameda, California  on Saturday, February 18 starting at 11:00 am Pacific Time (1900 UTC). Carol Milazzo  KP4MD.
 
The USS Hornet a Naval aircraft carrier, originally named USS Kearsarge, was renamed in honour of the USS Hornet (CV-8), which was lost in October 1942, becoming the eighth ship to bear the name.  Hornet recovered the astronauts from the first moon landing mission, Apollo 11, on 24 July 1969. Decommissioned in 1970,  in 1998 she opened to the public as the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California.

17-19 Feb.2017 - 9th Annual South American Lighthouses on the air Weekend
Organised through GRUPO DX BAHIA BLANCA, under the official auspices of ARLHS
 
email:  
facebook  Carlos  Almirón   LU7DSY – has lots of pictures of Lighthouses, with up-to-date lists of those who are participating. 

Australian Events
SYDNEY AMATEUR RADIO FERRY CONTEST  March 12th, 2017  10:00am – 4:00pm local time  VK2BV - Waverley ARS hosts the second Ferry Contest.
 
This is a VHF / UHF contest which encourages participants to make contacts from Sydney Ferries or any of the 36 wharves around Sydney Harbour. Operation is open to any mode, either simplex or through repeater, using hand-held transceivers.

Central Coast Amateur Radio Club Inc. NSW. (Aus.) 26 Feb 2017 
On the last Sunday of February each year, CCARC hosts a Field Day at Wyong Race Course.
 
The largest gathering of radio amateurs in the southern hemisphere. – Amateur radio’s BIG DAY OUT”
 
Located just north of Sydney the club is also celebrating its 60th the anniversary in 2017,

QRZ CONTACTS:   
SARLNUUS met Anette Jacobs ZR6D    
zs6ye.yl@gmail.com Facebook ‘HAM Yl’  (YLs only)
 
Find yl.beam newsletters:
WEST RAND ARC       wrarc-anode.blogspot.com  
also Italian Radio Amateurs Union: 
QTC U.R.I. –  La rivista della Unione Radioamatori Italiani
 
Calendar - February 2017
11- 12 Feb  National Field Day (South African Radio League)
13 Feb  Mon 2017 World Radio Day United Nations observance
17-19  Feb. 9th annual Sourh American Lighthouses on the air Weekend
18  Feb  Ladies Radio Club KM6CIR activate  Hornet Museum Ship,  CA, USA
18  Feb   AMSAT SA - SDR workshop NARC 
18  Feb  Youth Contest (South African Radio League)
18-19  Feb  ARRL International DX CW Contest 
18 -19 Feb CLARA GOTA  3rd full weekend in February (Canadian Guides)
22  Feb  Guides – Thinking Day: 2017 theme is “Grow.”
25  Feb  West Rand ARC Flea-market 
26  Feb  SARL Digital Contest (South African Radio League)
26  Feb    Central Coast ARC NSW. (Aus.) Field Day 
March 2017
4   March  Cape Town ARC Annual Flea Market
4 - 5 March ARRL International DX Phone Contest 
March  SARL Hamnet 40 Metre Contest 
5 March  2017 Sunday,  DARC’s YL Activity on International Women’s Day
March International Woman’s Day [Wed]
 
 

2017-02-05

A Beacon on 40 metres? It is so 'last century' !

From the recent conversation on the email reflector:-

From: Leon Uys [mailto:leonuys@gmail.com]
Sent: 04 February 2017 08:49
To: 'van Rensburg Nico'; Peter Hers; Geoff Levey; 'SARL Admin'
Subject: The "Beacon" pages on the SARL web page

Good morning everyone! I have no idea who to bounce this question to, so I’m going to do a “Popcorn” move – you know, the one where you toss it in the air and hope somebody catches it. Here goes:

The web page at http://www.sarl.org.za/public/BeaconProject/Beacon1.asp is dead and it doesn’t really give a good impression because beaconing in South Africa is beginning to gain traction and I don’t want to lose that momentum.

Can I thus offer in the short term to update the page or as a minimum give a static page that points elsewhere until we get our duckies in a row?

73s
Leon Uys ZR6LU
Senior Project Manager, PMP®, Prince2® Practitioner, IBM Certified PM
leon@leonuys.co.za

---

Leon,
That page is indeed dead. It was left over from a project run some years back in conjunction with the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, now called The South African National Space Agency Space Science facility, Hermanus. This was a major project to place standard 40 m beacons all over South Africa hosted by radio amateurs.   It was a great idea, but suffered from some personality and management problems and quietly faded away.

The page was left because of links from outside web sites over which we have no control. I have now removed the internal link.

If there is new activity and you would like to have a place on the website to post information then give me an idea of what form this would take and we can work from there.

Regards
Peter Hers
Webmaster: SARL
ZS1PHD / ZS9P

---

Thank you Peter. Understood.

Can you please put me in contact with the SANSA people so we can coordinate the fragmented information?

Maybe I’m not the right person because I have no idea how SARL works, but I’m happy to try and coordinate the beacon activity for the moment. How do you suggest we do that?

73s
Leon Uys ZR6LU

---

Hi Leon,
I found some old info on the beacon project at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2007/joint_beacon_project.htm.

See two attachments about the project.

As mentioned there, the technical design was done by John Williscroft ZS6EF.   His daughter Lee-Anne McKinnell ZS2LAW was the Director of the HMO. She is now ZS1LAW, and I’m not sure if she is still at SANSA.   Her info on the SARL database may be rather old, and she is no longer a member.

The design was a rather cheap device and suffered from some technical problems.   I monitored it seriously for a couple of months, but when I presented my results showing excessive time drift between the stations they got upset and stopped talking to us.

John did some other work for the SARL, but something happened, and John removed himself from the scene. Have no idea what that was about.

The main SANSA web site seems to be mostly dysfunctional, but the sub-web at https://spaceweather.sansa.org.za/ seems to be working OK.

I wonder if perhaps the best place for discussion on your new project is the SARL forum?   If you then want to provide more stable information on the SARL Web we can discuss this further. As you know the web site is rather old and facilities to update pages are rather limited.  I can easily give you a dedicated page, plus access to post information which you can do yourself.

73
Peter
---
Peter, you are a scholar and a gentleman! Thank you so much for collecting and forwarding the information.

I will have to digest all of the information before making a decision, if you don’t mind? Obviously “a page” sounds very attractive, but I don’t want to create yet another still-born project.

If I may ask a question, it would be to understand if we should be aligned with, or at a minimum be aware of, the HMO? Do they feature on our radar screen, and in what capacity?

Meanwhile I’ve started putting a few teasers in the forums, and I’ll continue to do so until we can make a better decision.

Thank you again Peter,

Leon Uys ZR6LU
---

Leon,
I have no idea if we still have a relationship with HMO – now part of SANSA.

Remember that they know more about propagation than all ZS hams put together, so it would make sense.

But I think the entire previous relationship depended on the specific people involved.

73
Peter

---
Ok, So the beacons will be 40 milliWatts and transmitting on a single frequency, within a prescribed time slot.

The presentation describes a WSPR beacon [approximately] - So how about it?
Raspberry Pi users who are radio amateurs can do this project in their sleep! The software is available already.
So the challenge is out there - Please respond to zs6wr.club@gmail.com