Submitted by Julie Wills, KF6RLR

February’s Ham of the Month is the SHARC newsletter editor and fellow amateur radio operator Cory Allen, KN6ZU. First licensed in 1992 as KD6HGQ, Cory quickly upgraded his radio license and acquired his advanced status within his first year as a ham. Cory seems to be able to accommodate people when they are in need of assistance. A large factor is his genuine concern for his fellow comrade, whether he or she is an amateur operator. Another factor is that Cory monitors a broad spectrum of scanner channels enabling him to be informed of many ongoing situations and quite capable to assist in disaster relief. KN6ZU puts tremendous energy into our informative monthly newsletter. I would like to take this opportunity to say "THANK YOU" Cory for your great efforts and your great job as our SHARC Newsletter editor and dependable radio operator. Thanks again and Happy, happy birthday young man! Sincerely, Julie, KF6RLR

With the advent of Cellular Phones, the possibility that you will be routed ( taking valuable time) to an operator that handles calls that are not pinpointed by the enhanced 911 system are likely. These enhanced systems can tell what phone number is used and the location of that phone. In the case of ham repeaters, this is the location of the repeater in use. This will likely not be the location of the emergency. (Unless that is the location of the emergency) That brings me back to the point of knowing some of the phone numbers of agencies that will deal with what is fire, medical, or law enforcement issues. Oh, surely, 911 will route your call to the appropriate agency, but that may take a moment or two. So know your local fire, ambulance, and law enforcement agencies’ number as well as how to use the autophone patch to call 911. Once you have composed what you are about to say and know exactly where and what the emergency involves, then it’s time to call. To give an example: "I’m a ham radio operator calling to report a man down and unconscious at the corner of 5th and E Street in Eureka, CA."

If you are in a very rural area the only information may be in more obscure terms such as Section-Township and Range. ( Used By the California Department of Forestry) They can change those figures into a latitude-longitude form for a medi-vac helicopter evacuation. It may be only something like: 4.4 miles from the Honeydew Store going towards Highway 101 on Mattole Road. Do the best you can to give them an accurate location of your emergency. This is the most vital part of your response.

Now that you have established who and where you are, it is time to explain your emergency. This does not include things such as a flat tire, littering and animals struck by vehicles. Except situations that could cause loss of life or property. A car with a flat that is blocking the slow lane of a freeway is considered an emergency and should be dealt with, but a car pulled over to the shoulder of the road and not blocking traffic should be handled by you with another call; to the local tow service. One should have a list of important phone numbers. Some of the situations that are considered emergency calls and may require emergency response are downed electric power lines, auto accidents, fires that are not controlled, criminal assaults, tornadoes, flooding, any accident requiring immediate medical attention, airplane crashes, road hazards that could cause an accident, and in my opinion any vehicle that is consistently swerving and not staying in the lane as marked. ( This person may not be drunk, but could be diabetic, or just too sleepy to drive properly) Always ask if they are done talking to you before you stop using the phone patch. They may need more information or have instructions. I like to ask if they want me to call back within a certain time if I fail to see rescue equipment at scene as determined by their ETA. (Estimated Time of Arrival)

With more cellular phones being used the chances that a report has been made by others is much greater than a few years ago, but don’t count on it. It may not be as accurate as that of a well trained ham radio operator. The response agencies seem to respect the word of a ham radio operator more than your average cellular caller. Being redundant does not take that long and you could be at another incident that is not the about which they have been receiving calls. Do not use the phonetic alphabet unless necessary as it slows down the reporting. A lot of police agencies use the Non-International phonetics. Example: Adam, Boy, Charles, David, for A,B,C and D, instead of Alpha, Bravo, Charley, Delta, as most of the world uses. It tends to confuse those who are unfamiliar with the International Version, but are familiar with the "Police version". I learned both just in case. This is a stressful use of the phone patch so be prepared.

73 Cory KN6ZU

WHO STARTED 73?

As yet this editor has no idea exactly how the expression, "73" got started. Most know it means "Best Wishes." The most romantic story that has been rumored is one that involves the early days of telegraph. As the early western settlers began to string wire to reach out to the west they needed to use the Morse Code to convey messages. When these pioneers of communication ended their messages they would send a salutation of "73" to refer to "I will you my Winchester 73." (a popular rifle of that era) This was a way of expressing a fellowship between each telegraph operator. There seems to be a few other "stories" how the term got started and this editor would love to hear them all. So what have you to say about this? Give me your "Input" on this or any ham story. Please! By the way it is a point of contention for some when someone uses "73’s".(Plural) They consider not the wish, but seem picky about its meaning "Best Wishes-ishs". Hey get a life! Hi! Hi! So for now....

Best Wishes or 73, From Cory,

CLUB INFORMATION

PRESIDENT: Todd Barton, KF6KBX VICE PRESIDENT: Margaret Brown, KF6FBP TREASURER: Jack Foster, KM6TE SECRETARY: Jerry Wilson, KF6IBP EC FOR THIS AREA: Jack Foster KM6TE MONDAY NIGHT EMERGENCY NET AT 7 PM on the 146.790 repeater. All amateurs are invited to run the net and check in. We also welcome scenarios. The Club is thinking of giving a year free membership, maybe a nice 2 meter J-pole or some nice prize to the winner of the Net raffle as an incentive to run the net. “So don’t be shy and give it a try.” H.F. NET on Monday night after Emergency Net on 28.400MHz Humboldt Emergency Monday Night H.F. Net: 3.960Mhz (aprox) @ 8:05 PST Listen for KM6TE. Subscription rate: $10 per year Membership: $25 per year Ask about our family rate. We have an Open Phone patch All donations are cheerfully retained! The calling area for the phone patch is as if one is calling from Garberville, Ca. 95542 DUES AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS CAN BE MAILED TO: S.H.A.R.C. PO BOX 701 REDWAY, CA 95560

THE REGULAR CLUB MEETING IS THE FOURTH TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AND IS HELD AT TELEPAL IN GARBERVILLE AT 7 PM. (Next to Sentry Market) Sharc Web Page: http://www.sharc-ca.org

EDITOR’S ADDRESS: Cory Allen KN6ZU PO BOX 273 REDCREST, CA. 95569 PACKET BBS: KN6ZU@K7WWA.#NCA.CA.USA.NOAM PACKET MAIL: KN6ZU-1 On 145.050

THE I.S.S

No it’s not the I.R.S. so you can stop having a Malox moment! It’s the acronym for the International Space Station! And guess what? We have a bevy of ham radio systems going up in space to be implemented on the station. Also this station, on completion, will be so big as to be seen by the naked eye. Can you imagine what it will look like through a powerful telescope? With that said, this overview from the K7WWA BBS in Willits will give you some idea of the complexity of sending ham radios to outer space!

From : K5ARH

To : SAT @AMSAT

Type/status : BF

Date/time : 11-Jan 06:39

Bid : ANS-010.02

Message # : 151018

Subject : ISS HAM GEAR INCHES CLOSER TO SPACE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 010.02 FROM AMSAT HQ, SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 10, 1999

TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS

The ARRL is reporting the first set of Amateur Radio gear to be used on the International Space Station has moved a bit closer to its rocket ride into space. The Phase-1 ham gear is on a tight proveout and delivery schedule and is due at Kennedy Space Center in Florida by January 20th.

U.S. astronaut William Shepherd will command the first ISS crew. Shepherd is now studying for his ham ticket. Accompanying him will be Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. All three have previous space flight experience. The crew has been training for their launch on a Soyuz vehicle and a planned five-month mission on ISS.

The interim ISS ham gear package will consist of Ericsson 2-meter and 70-cm hand-held transceivers set up for FM voice and packet operation, plus power supplies, cables, and accessories. Ericsson donated the

commercial transceivers for the project, while the Italian ARISS team is providing the external antennas.

AMSAT AND THE I.S.S

At this point, the equipment and accessories have been checked out in an end-to-end integration. Additionally, the transceivers have undergone EMI testing to ensure that they will not cause problems for other ISS onboard equipment. The radios will now be programmed and labeled in accordance with NASA procedures and protocols for space flight. AMSAT members who work for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center have been doing the EMI testing.

Preparing to carry Amateur Radio gear for use aboard the ISS involves careful attention to detail all along the way. Crew safety is the primary consideration. "Because of the high cost of space travel, it's critical that hardware be thoroughly tested and documented," said AMSAT's Will Marchant, KC6ROL. "Flight crews frustrated by hardware are also less likely to want to participate in Amateur Radio operations."

Getting Amateur Radio a permanent berth in space aboard ISS has involved efforts in several countries.

The primary players include the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy,

Canada, and Japan. "The ARISS team is truly an international, democratic, organization and is cooperating to provide human space flight Amateur Radio operations to the entire ham community

well into the next decade," said Marchant.

Amateur Radio has been manifested aboard the ISS as necessary crew equipment. The cost of providing just the interim Phase-1 amateur station for use aboard ISS is expected to exceed $60,000 US. The total cost of putting Amateur Radio aboard the ISS is expected to approach $700,000 US, with funds coming from AMSAT, the ARRL and NASA.

Still unclear at this point are the actual frequencies and the call signs the crew will use aboard the ISS. The ultimate ISS ham radio complement -Phase-3-- will include equipment to operate from HF

through the microwave bands, with SSB, CW, FM, packet, ATV, compressed ATV, and SSTV capabilities. The German ARISS team will

supplement that station with a digitalker and full duplex repeater.

Once aboard the ISS, Amateur Radio will serve as an educational tool through worldwide school contacts and as an outreach to the general public.

[ANS thanks the ARRL and AMSAT's Will Marchant, KC6ROL, for this information]

End of message #151018 to SAT from K5ARH.

Thank you Nolen Griffith Jr., K5ARH for taking the time to post this on the only ham digital radio system to reach around the world. Thanks to George, K7WWA for keeping the Willits BBS alive!

A SATELLITE TRACKING ANTENNA

DUES ARE DUE!

The dues are collected each new year and are prorated for new members that sign up late. Look in the Club Information for the address and amounts. By April the new mailing list will be implemented. Please support your local Ham Club. 73 Cory, KN6ZU

NEW REPEATER!

That’s right folks. The new repeater is located on top of Pratt Mountain! It’s to be linked to a number of others on the Highway 101 corridor from Oregon to the Bay Area! Joe, KA6ROM, put it up there. It is part of an effort by the California Department of Forestry in conjunction with the Volunteers in Prevention Program. (V.I.P.) I am pleased to report that the machine has good coverage. Give it a try and get back to Joe or me. Thanks Joe! The frequency is 147.150 with a plus .600Mhz offset and a CTCSS of 103.5 like most in this area.

SOME INPUT!

Les, KE6KKJ, is kind enough to give us a little test of intelligence. Don’t cheat! Because if you do, the test won’t be any fun. I promise there are no tricks to this test. Read this sentence.

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-SULTS OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

Now count aloud the F’s in that sentence. Count them ONLY ONCE: do not go back and count them again. See below...Answer below:

FUN PLAY ON WORDS

A three-year old put her shoes on by herself. Her mother noticed the right shoe was on the left foot. She said, "Honey your shoes are on the wrong feet." The little girl looked up at her with a raised brow and said, "Don’t kid me Mom. I KNOW they’re my feet."

On the first day of school, the Kindergarten teacher said, "If anyone has to go to the bathroom, hold up two fingers." A little voice from the back of the room asked, "How will that help?"

A mother and her son returned from the grocery store and began putting away the groceries. The boy opened the box of animal crackers and spread them all over the table. "What are you doing?" his mother asked. "The box says you can’t eat them if the seal is broken," the boy explained, "I’m looking for the seal.

ANSWER: One of average intelligence, finds three of them. If you spotted four, you’re above average. If you got five, you can turn your nose at anybody. If you caught six you’re a genius! There is no catch. Many people forget the word of. The human brain tends to see them as V’s and not F’s. Pretty Weird, Huh? It fools almost everyone, although I bet you got all six due to your superior reading capabilities.

Thanks Les for the fun input! More next month!

THE Y2K AND THE G.P.S.

Some of the information given here is from our friends that produce MRT.(Mobile Radio Technology) This monthly magazine is packed with useful information on the cutting edge technology in the realm of commercial and other types of radio related information. They have given me more information about the G.P.S. than any other source. This particular article explains what I have been preaching about for a year. One might consider this information before going out and buying an AVL (automatic vehicle locating) or GPS system. Without going into a lot of detail, these systems are used to locate everything from a stolen truck or car, to reducing the response time for emergency equipment by knowing the exact location of any piece of equipment at any given time. I have heard the date August 21 and 22nd of 1999 used in the reference to the demise of this system, however have never had such a definitive answer to why as MRT explained. GPS time counts the weeks and will roll over to 0 every 1,024 weeks. At midnight of August 21, 1999, the GPS time system will roll over from week 1023 to week 0000. Unless upgraded many GPS receivers will think that it is Jan 6, 1980. which is the original birth date of the GPS time system. Older systems may crash as they try to interpret the two digit date code of "00". This may be no problem at all for some and a complete nightmare for others. I have said this many times. Long before the year 2000 the problems Y2K may cause, we could see a ripple or wave of problems involved with this monumental error that most have waited to fix. Living in a disaster prone area such as we, one might want to be supplied for life without any services long before the year 2000. I consider it part of being a good ham to be prepared for any contingency including this one. I personally have prepared as well as I can for any disaster and have considered all the unexpected scenarios that I can. Can you say the same for you and your family?

By the way Costco has 50 cheap lighters for $5.00. C. Crane has radios that one can wind up and will last for a half hour on a small internal generator. It has a solar panel to power it by sunlight as well. Your food needs should be styled for your families’ requirements. Don’t wait! Do it now! The government is gearing up by printing 33% more paper money just in case. And don’t forget to get all your medications in large amounts necessary for a month or two without normal access to your local pharmacy. Some people seem to be hiding their heads in the sand and denying that there is global problem headed our way. Remember unlike most disasters, this one will effect the entire world not just an earthquake here or a hurricane there. I my opinion it is not going to be fixed by the usual (throw enough money and it will be fixed) mindset that some seem to think will fix anything. By the same token I do not agree with the doom and gloom group that are stocking up for some total breakdown of society. Prudence dictates that one must prepare to be part of the solution and not part of the panic or apocalyptic mentality that some are prone to use for profit. Find out for yourself! Read! Question! Prepare! Why not be safe and insured for yourself and others that are important to you?

73 From Cory Allen KN6ZU

For learning how to become an amateur licensee, instructions will be offered at Saint Bernard High School. Classes will be in room 109 located at 222 Dollison, Eureka, CA. This will be a 10 week course with an eleventh week review for those who need it. Classes start February 22nd. Morse Code class will start at 6 p.m. and run until 7 p.m. The theory class will start at 7 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. Clem, WA6TVQ, said that a person that has good home study habits could miss a few classes and still stay on track, however it is always good to try to make every class. One may contact Clem for further information. 707-445-2236 . E-mail to clem@ humboldt1.com Packet is WA6TVQ-1 on 145.050Mhz

Southern Humboldt Amateur Radio Club

Minutes of January 26, 1999 Regular Meeting

President Todd Barton Called the Meeting to Order at 1905 Hours.

Thirteen members and one guest were present. The new Officers and Board members were introduced:

Todd Barton-KF6KBX-President Margaret Brown-KF6FBP-Vice President Jack Foster-KM6TE-Treasurer Jerry Wilson-KF6IBP- Secretary

Board Members:

Leland Smith W6CLG

Dan Gribi KD6AOJ Frank Haskins KE6LHX Clifford Banfill KE6VDE

TREASURER'S REPORT:

The treasurer reported about 25 members have paid their 1999 dues. Cost of repairs to the repeater that was damaged by the lightening strike in December has totaled $106. There was a question about having a Test Equipment Fund. Previous discussion had led to the conclusion that the Trailer Fund served this purpose. Further discussions will be put on the agenda for next month.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

No standing committees.

OLD BUSINESS

The report from Joe Cardoza on the participation of the Sheriff and CHP in our spring SET. Put over to Feb meeting. Leland Smith reported that FWRA is revising its by laws - we are to be a Chapter for purposes of insurance and have 2 seats on their board of directors.

Frank reported that a notch filter, supplied by Jack, has been put on the 146.79 repeater to try to eliminate interference from the 146.610 Repeater.

NEW BUSINESS

Items to be considered in the coming months include:

A S.E.T. in the spring and nature of the Emergency. Also discussions of a summer picnic, Field Day, and committees in the fall for Elections and the Christmas party.

OPEN FORUM

Some discussion about getting more wide spread volunteering to be Monday night Net Control and general policy on raffle tickets. Frank to write an article for the newsletter about getting our

shy members to get "talking".

Moved: Leland Smith & 2nd Frank Haskins. Passed unanimous. A drawing be held at the December meeting for Net Control participation - 3 tickets

per week for Net Controller and 2 tickets per week for a Monday Night scenario - Net Controller having

first right of refusal to call the scenario. Tickets to be issued by the EC since he reports results of Net operation to Humboldt County ARES and has the data. The prize to be selected by the Christmas prize committee. Any Amateur Radio Operator (SHARC Membership not a requirement) can volunteer and run the net.

No motion, but it seemed agreed that the general attendance and fund raising drawing be

clarified.

1. Regular meeting attendees are given a ticket for attending and a drawing be held at the end of the meeting for what ever simple prizes may be available.

2. These tickets be accumulated for the "Christmas Drawing".

3. Any number of additional "Christmas Drawing" tickets may be purchased for $1, but they are not to be part of the regular monthly meeting drawing.

Dues are due and payable - Jack and Margaret will start to issue certificates in groups of 25. Bylaws say after March - no dues, no newsletter.

KMUD Program on Disaster Planning Feb. 21. Jerry will attend.

Respectfully submitted J.R.Wilson KF6IBP, Secretary.

FRANKLY SPEAKING

*** CONNECTED to KN6ZU Packet (Maildrop)

FRANKLY SPEAKING

This is Frank again, KE6LHX. I would like to write about a subject that is important to all of us. The subject is the Monday night net. Everyone should know that the SHARC has a net at 7:00 PM local time on the 146.79 repeater.

Now for my comments. The net seems to have the same amateurs checking in every week. We do get a new check in now and then and we do miss some because they are busy at the time of the net. Net control is conducted by a amateur volunteer and it seems to rotate among those checking in. The number checking in has been as high as 25 and as low as 11. This with a club of more than 60 members! I would now like to offer a scenario for you to think about. We have been planing for a large earthquake in our Simulated Emergency Test's (SET). The response is to set up a command center and receive input from the local amateurs and forward as required for action. But the FIRST response will be that a local amateur will get on the local repeater or simplex and start a net to get as much information in as short a period of time as possible. That means ANY amateur.

Now suppose it turns out to be someone that has not been checking in or has not run the net. Do they know how to handle the net! I think not. Do they know how to take check in's. I think not! Have they been writing information down during the weekly net. NO! This now means that the 11 to 25 amateurs, (out of 60 plus), that have been on the local net are the only trained people..

The local net, (or nets if you include the H.F. net), is a training exercise! Without this training, we lose 2/3 of our emergency operators. So, let's hear you check in and maybe become net control some Monday evening. As Cory has said many times, "So don't be shy and give it a try." We will be listening for you on the Monday night net. 73 Frank de KE6LHX

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