THE FIRST CLASS C.W.
OPERATORS CLUB
NEWS SHEET 612
(http://members.aol.com/focuk)
Editor: G4BUE
October 2000
A man should keep his friendship in constant repair - Samuel Johnson (1755)
(3525, 7025, 10120-10125, 14025, 18080-18085, 21025, 24905-24910 and 28025kHz)
BANDS OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER ARE 80 & 17 METRES
If you received a blue paper with your October News Sheet, it means your subscription for 2001 is due by 31 December. Have you paid yet?
Can I remind everyone that I am just the column-editor. Opinions in this column are not mine. Several people have said they agree with my comments last month about anarchy on the bands, but those were the views of G3WGV! Debate in recent months about activity has led on to the fundamental issue of FOCs reason for being. Some consider regular activity and consistently active (Rule 5) to encompass only QSOs which are more personal than just swapping 5NN 73 - therefore contest and DXpedition contacts are, at best, of secondary value. Others understand the words regular and consistent (Rule 8) (referring to CW activity) to mean often enough. Could it be that the pain of so many recent objections comes from a lack of clarity on this issue? If so, then the debate is not just valuable but absolutely essential so as to clarify for us all the type of operator who is welcome to join FOC and the type of activity that is expected of current members. This month Pete Windle, G8VG, summarises one side of this debate. Over to Pete. I have come to the conclusion that it is time to take a stand against the stations that are allowed to join the Club and are hardly, if ever, heard again outside contests or DXpeditions. Ours is a Club that requires regular activity in its real sense not occasional bursts of action to suit the special interests of particular stations. It is clear from some of the comments that have been reproduced in the News Sheet that a minority of members would like to have the rules amended to exclude the rule that requires consistent activity on a number of HF and LF bands (Rule 5). If this happens, the Club will end up being taken over by those whose sole or main interests are contests. I would not wish
2001 SUBSCRIPTIONS
TOPICAL ISSUES by G3SXW
to remain a member of such a club. FOC is the worlds premier CW club with a very high reputation built up in the past, over many years, by the hard work of those who are no longer with us. I am not prepared just to sit back and see the Club and its standing being hijacked. It was not set up solely for contesters, if they want that kind of club then let them start one. I have no objection to contesters, I used to be one myself (and held many exotic DX calls in a period of 30 years abroad) but I was also active apart from contests. Contesters are almost invariably good operators, are a valuable asset to the Club and are more than welcome in FOC as long as they can be found on the bands outside contests. I note from News Sheet 610 that there is a move afoot to change the current sponsoring system. I smell a rat and if the activity rule is changed to allow for less active stations to join the Club, this would be a very retrograde step and would undoubtedly attract more objections to those being sponsored. As always, please let me have your views for publication in later News Sheets, to <g3sxw @compuserve.com> or by mail. They say you tend to take day to day things for granted until they are taken away from you, and this proved very true in the UK during the recent petrol shortage. It also proved very true for me when my Internet server (Infinnet) suddenly stopped enabling me to send and receive e-mail. After several days of not being able to get any response from them, I decided to change to the Radio Society of Great Britains (RSGB) server and sent my new address of <g4bue @thersgb.net> to everyone I could think of. All was well for a few days and then the same thing happened with the RSGB!
EDITORIAL by G4BUE
Unlike Infinnet, the RSGB have a technical support line that I was able to call. They explained the problem and promised all would be well in a few days. That was on 25 September and to-day (4 October) I was able to send e-mail but not receive any! On other days I have been able to receive some e-mail and sometimes send messages, and on a couple of days - do both! I know many messages have not reached me but they have not always bounced with the sender. I decided to postpone publication of this News Sheet in the hope that the missing messages will reach me, but that does not appear to have happened. If you have sent me information or news via e-mail that does not appear in this News Sheet, then I will not have received it. Sorry about that. I am reluctant to change servers again, and will stick with the RSGB in the hope that things improve. The November News Sheet will also be late, but for a different reason! June and I will not return from our honeymoon until 3 November, the new deadline date. You should receive FOCUS 44 and (if your 2001 subscription is due) a blue reminder form with this News Sheet. Overseas members should also receive a cream credit card form. I am very disappointed with the quality of some of the photographs in FOCUS. The ones in question have all been sent to me digitally via the Internet or on disk. It appears that although a photograph has been scanned at sufficient resolution to enable it to be satisfactory displayed on a Web page and/or computer screen, this resolution is not sufficient for it to be made into a half-tone for litho printing. For the time being, and until I can find a way of getting round this problem, please send me hard copies of photographs for FOCUS. All members except GW3KGV and G3HZL (President) attended a 3 hours meeting on 3 September at G3PDLs QTH. The proposal to change Rule 2 to allow eight Committee members instead of seven was agreed and G3SXW was nominated to fill the new vacancy. G3SXW then joined the meeting. Concern was expressed over the low number (24) of ticket sales for Lords and ways of increasing sales were discussed. Other arrangements for Lords were agreed. Options for the 2001 Annual Dinner were considered but appeared to be too expensive. A final decision will be made after the 2000 Lords Dinner. There are 482 active members and 11 Associate members (8 temporary and 3 permanent). Replies to Rule 8 letters were considered and appropriate action taken. Arrangements for the review of the sponsoring system were discussed and G3SXW will take the lead and prepare a paper for the next meeting. The changes to the Web site have almost been completed and the new URL will be issued shortly. It was agreed
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION by G3MXJ
Starred List
2. KY7M: DL7AKC, G3SXW, G3ZEM, KC7V, NP3G, DK8IT. 2. WCGR: G2FFO, JA1NUT, K4EFZ, K5DQ, N4OO (+W4PM, K1JD). 1. SM6CLU: W8XM, K4BAI, KF2AT, 5B4AGC, NP3G, SV1AOW, G4ZVJ. 1. V31JP (K8JP): N9RD, VK6VZ, OK1KT, W4ZYT , DK8IT, ZL1MH, SV1AOW, K8MFO, G3LIK, DK8IT 1. VK4EMM: VK2BJ, VK6VZ, VK6WT, G3CWW, N3BB. 1. K1VR: K2VUI, K5NA, DL7AKC, WL7E, G3SWH.
An objection to G4BWP is under consideration by the Committee An invitation will be sent to VA3UZ.
New Members
There was a mistake in the New Members listing in the September News Sheet (611). The membership number for G3LCS should have been shown as 1736 and for F5NZY as 1737. 1738 KT4P (Carey) R. Brown, 4821 Rosecroft Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23464; XYL- Jeanne; tel : 757 495 1558; e-mail - <kt4p@arrl.net>. 1739 W3MC (Mike) M.G. Cizek, PO Box 239, Severn, MD 21144-0239; XYL - Susan (K3SMC); tel : 410 551 2205; e-mail - <w3mc@toad.net>.
Additional Nominations
6. DF5JT: K4EWG, DL4CF, K1JD, W8XM, SM5COP N9RD, , DK8IT. 6. EI5DS: G4CEO, G4OEC, EI5IY. 4. K4WJ: K4EFZ, K2UFT. 4. W4PRO: W4ZYT, W4IF. 4. VK4XY: VK6WT, G3CWW. 2. DK4AN: DJ5ZN, DL4CF, DL7AKC, KL7HF, W1HMD. 2. N6TR: VK6VZ, K4OJ, 4X4NJ. 2. G3ZGC: G3RVM, GORH. 2. OK1RP: OK1RR, W4PM, GEBW, W4ZYT.
COMMITTEE REPORT by G4BUE
Amendments
G3AAE (41): Silent Key. W4LZ (1719): new address - 562 Christianburg Road, Shelbyville, KY 40065. K5BGB (1338): new address - 1122 Enclave Square East, Houston, TX 77077-7616. to extend the use of the Members page. GW3KDB had completed the paper work for the transfer of the Club Bank account and Maud closed her accounts on 31 August. G3WGV is liaising with GW3KGV to enable him to receive entries for the Windle Award via the Internet and an idea from W1RM about the formation of a sub-committee of the main Committee was considered. A proposal from G3IZD to change the Clubs HF frequencies to those recommended for the Marathon was discussed. G3KTZ had received considerable feedback from members that the Millennium Award should continue in 2001 but the Committee decided not to repeat it in 2001 but to leave options open for 2002. The next meeting will be on 11 November at G3LIKs QTH.
Following publication of the proposed change to Rule 2 in the August News Sheet, the Committee did not receive any comments or representations about it, and at their meeting on 3 September agreed to the proposal. The new wording of the beginning of the second sentence of Rule 2 is The Committee shall consist of a maximum of eight members..... Following publication of a request for nominations for Committee service in the July News Sheet, the Secretary did not receive any, and at their meeting on 3 September the Committee nominated and agreed for G3SXW to fill the new Committee vacancy. 9H1EL: Jeff recently returned from a seven month contract working in Korea where he was not able to be QRV He is in Malta for the rest . of the year and promises to be QRV regularly to catch up with missing Windle and Y2K points. Next February, Jeff will be joining the D68C DXpedition with 5B4AGC, G3SED, G3VMW, G3WGV and others. AA5DX: Ron says, Our new home in New Mexico should be completed by the beginning of October. We have moved in and have been extremely busy putting ourselves back together after the move. The hole has been dug for the new tower 6 x 6 x 8 feet, Suzanne jokes that it is a bear trap (we do have them here). I am trying to pour the base before the cold weather gets here, the recommended cure time from the tower company is four weeks. I should be QRV sometime in November I hope. DJOS: Cliff is making slow progress and hopes to be home in November. G3XNG sent him a MFJ practice key and oscillator to practice sending with his left hand - thanks G3XNG. DJ6SI: Baldur was QRV 17/24 September as J5X on all bands. EA8CN: Andy arrived back in EA8 in the middle of September after a 4100km drive through Europe and a flight from Sevilla. EI5HY: Stan and EI3CP will be staying with G4BUO 5/9 October and will be at Lords. F3AT: Congratulations to Ivan on qualifying for the UFT Millennium Award (see above). G2FDF: Bill arrived at San Francisco Airport on 1 September and stumbled getting off a moving sidewalk and fell onto one of his bags. He was quite seriously injured, suffering a ruptured spleen. Being British, he apparently didnt indicate the degree of his distress to anyone, and he managed to get across the airport and onto the shuttle to Fresno! Bill was met here by his daughter Gail, who took one look and rushed him to the hospital, where he had emergency surgery. Apparently he had lost enough blood that his condition was highly critical. However, the surgery seems to have been a success, and he was out of his bed walking this morning (5 September). He seems in quite good
COMMITTEE & RULE CHANGE by G4BUE
MEMBERSS NEWS by G4BUE
shape, considering the circumstances and will be leaving the hospital in a day or so, and then staying at his daughters home, as originally intended. - thanks K2VCO. Bill arrived back in the UK safely on 28 September and is in hospital at Oxford. Letters and get well cards may be sent to his sons address c/o B. Limehouse, 22 Begbroke Crescent, Begbroke, Oxford, OX5 1RW - thanks GW3SB. G3AAE: Members will be saddened to hear that John became a Silent Key (peacefully in his sleep) on 25 September - thanks G3GMY. G3KMQ: Referring to golf, Gerry says he would be interested in any developments, as mentioned in the August News Sheet by Ron, AA5DX - see page 41 of FOCUS 44 - G4BUE. G3MXJ: On a recent business trip through Charleston SC, Dennis was pleased to have lunch with Lin, N4LS. Although Lin is almost 91 years of age and his legs will not transport him quite so fast as he would like, he is obviously still full of enthusiasm for radio and his other interests, and is looking forward to next years Washington DC Dinner. Unfortunately, other commitments mean that he cannot get to Florida in December, otherwise he would have been there too! G3PQC: Doug writes, I was surprised at not receiving one reply to my suggestion (see August News Sheet) that in the next Marathon we use a straight key only! Do any FOC operators use a straight key any more? I do quite often as I do not want to lose the art of straight keying, which is where, of course, it all began!. G3SWH: Phil will be QRV 9/22 November as 4S7WHG, CW 40-10 metres with an IC-706 and R-7000 vertical. G4ZVJ: Andy was QRV 9/21 September as 9G1VJ and 5V7VJ. K1JD: John got a new FT1000MP on 9 September and it has been performing flawlessly. Just put in a few INRAD filters plus the IF gain mod and all is FB. INRAD is also working on a custom 400Hz CW filter for the Elecraft K2. The OMNI VI will be sold. Betsy and I will be in Munich, Salzburg and Venice over the Christmas holidays, and I plan to bring along a K2. K4BAI: John writes: I will be QRV again from
Barbados 22/28 November. This will probably be the last trip for me since the station is scheduled to be dismantled in May 2000. I will use 8P9HT outside the CQWW CW Contest, this year including six metres. During the contest, I will use 8P9Z. I am undecided whether to do single band (10 metres maybe) or all bands. QSL 8P9HT and 8P9Z via K4BAI. I will be glad to make skeds or to QSY to other bands that the gang may need, particularly since this will probably be my last time to give them a new band or WAFOC country. K5BGB: Celia and Ron moved to a new QTH in Houston at the end of September. He says, Knowing that no outside antennas are allowed at the town house, Ive been doing a lot of searching on the Internet for stealthy or indoor antennas. If you know of something tried and proven, Id be most interested in hearing from you. At this point in time, Im leaning toward a centrefed wire of some sort in the attic. Of most concern to me is RFI. Because of that, Ive been toying more and more with QRP and having a blast. Its amazing what can be done with five watts! Youve got to have a good receiver and good ears to go with it. My Omni V still does a great job. I bought myself a K2 earlier this year, but havent started building it yet. Ron retired last October and then took a new job in December. Short retirement! Because of workload at the office, duties with the United States Tennis Association and settling into the new QTH, I may be QRT for a couple of months. LA3FL: Per was due to complete his last tour of duty on the oil platform in the North Sea on 4 October and return home. On 17 November he will start a six month contract with the North Norwegian Weather Bureau on Bear Island and Hopen Island. Prior to this he will attend a course at Tromsoe. Per will stay on Bear Island (population 9) for three months and then transfer to Hopen Island (population 4) in January 2001, returning home in May 2001. He says there are weight limitations on my luggage, but I do plan to bring a small amateur radio rig along, in addition to warm clothing, etc. While at these Arctic weather stations, I hope to be active from time to time and will be signing JW3FL . N3BB: Jim writes, FOC members who want to check their WRTC 2000 logs can be assured that CW contacts with S563X were with N3BB as the operator. OH2KI: Jorma will be QRV in the CQ SSB Contest as ZB2X with Oliver, W6MV (multi-single). , OZ1LQH: The workers finally started repairing Renes apartment at the beginning of September and the radio room is next. PAVDV: Joeke will be QRV again 26 October/ 16 November as PJ2/PAVDV mainly around , the FOC frequencies. He says, Ragchew QSOs are fine, but when others are QRX Ill keep QSOs short or even very short. Apparently many amateurs still want or need Netherlands Antilles on CW. Planned activity on all HF bands but prob-
(callsign in brackets indicate G4FOC operator)
FOC CALENDAR
October - 80m & 17m (G3KTZ) VE1BN/W1 (612) 7 Annual Dinner at Lords 8/14 3B6RF by K5VT+ (608) 15/27 KH5 by OK1KT+ (609) 26/16 Nov PJ2/PAVDV (612) 28/29 ZB2X by OH2KI (612) 30/May 2001 JW/DJ3KR (610) November - 160m & 20m (G3MXJ) 1/7 S21YD by SM6CPY (612) 3 Deadline November N/Sheet 7/22 4S7WHG by G3SWH (612) 17 JW3FL by LA3FL (612) 19 Deadline FOCUS 45 22/28 8P9HT by K4BAI (612) 27 Deadline December N/Sheet CQ CW 8P9Z by K4BAI (612) ably no 160 metres, but if I get a chance.... SM6CPY: Carl will be QRV first week of November as S21YD, mainly 20 - 10 metres. VA3LK: Congratulations to Larry who, with VE3OT, were the first operators to make the first North American two-way 136kHz QSO at 1400z on 22 July. Details were reported on page 10 of the September RadCom which say They used extremely slow CW to cover a distance of 431km. VA3LK ran about 70 watts into an antenna 65 metres high and VE3OT ran 200 watts into a 16 metres high inverted-L. The stations are being gradually improved in the run up to Novembers trans-Atlantic tests. - thanks GORH. VE1BN: Maxine and Don will be visiting family in Massachusetts for most of October and will be QRV as VE1BN/W1. They hope to visit some members in New England during the trip. VK8AV: Alan had to change his travel plans and left the UK at the beginning of September, but will try to make Lords in 2001. VP2MT: Ursula will be returning to Florida on 10 October and attending the Florida Dinner. W1NV: Billie has been in hospital with glaucoma operations recently resulting in Carl not being so active. Referring to the Marathon, he writes, One thing that has griped me ever since the Marathon is the use of simulcast on two or three bands. I will mention no names, but he is a great DXer and contester, seldom see him around when there isnt a contest going. The use of multi-band simultaneous operation should not be allowed. (The Marathon rules on page 9 of the Call Book state only one transmitted signal can be made at any given time - G4BUE.) W3NZ: Fritz has been QRV with PSK31 and has worked 17 DXCC. He says, Weak signal copy is fantastic. CW is more to my liking. W9NN: Bob had another spell in hospital at the beginning of September but is now home and is doing well, it seems he developed a little pneumonia, and now that it is getting under control he is perking up - thanks W9VNE.
