Vol 61, No. 02 February 2014 Contents - February 2014 • Directory 2 • Club Repeaters 3 • Prez Sez 4 • An Engineer’s Valentine 5 • SBARC February 21 Meeting. . 6 • Science Night at Brandon School 7 • Science Thursday Night at El Camino School 8 • ATVSIG Committee Report 9 • Club Station News 10 • ARRL VHF Contest 11 • Who Was Catherine Rochlitzer? 12 • Big Wally Reaches Out 15 • On Finding Answers & Elmers 16 • 2014 VE Sessions 17 • Membership Application 18 • Calendar of Events 19 • Help Wanted 20 • Back Cover K6TZ SBARC Ham Shack
Transcript
Vol 61, No. 02 February 2014
Contents - February 2014• Directory 2• Club Repeaters 3• Prez Sez 4• An Engineer’s Valentine 5 • SBARC February 21 Meeting. . 6• Science Night at Brandon School 7• Science Thursday Night at El Camino School 8• ATVSIG Committee Report 9• Club Station News 10
• ARRL VHF Contest 11• Who Was Catherine Rochlitzer? 12 • Big Wally Reaches Out 15• On Finding Answers & Elmers 16• 2014 VE Sessions 17 • Membership Application 18• Calendar of Events 19• Help Wanted 20• Back Cover
K6TZ SBARC Ham Shack
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Notes SBARC Club Station, located behind the Red Cross, 2707 State Street—open Saturdays, 0900 to noon,
and Tuesdays, 1930 to 2230. The station telephone number is 805-563-0391. Club meetings the 3rd Friday of the month, January through May and September through November
at 1930. Location and topic are announced in Key-Klix, on K6TZ net announcements, and the club website (sbarc.org).
Nets on K6TZ 146.79(-)(131.8): Mon—ARES 1930; Tue—ATV Net 2030*+; Wed—Newsline 1900*, Club Net 1930*, Swap Net 2000*; Thur—Tech/Elmer Net 2000-2100*; Weekdays—Cuckoo Net 0700-0800*, Cuckoo WeatherNet 0800*
SSB Net 144.21 USB Wed 2030 NTS Traffic Net 147.00(+)(131.8) Sun 2100
* sometimes linked to 224.08(-)(131.8)
SANTA BARBARA AMATEUR RADIO CLUBAn Educational, Charitable, Non-Profit Corporation Founded in 1920 - ARRL Special Service Club 1737
K6TZ 1 LaVigia Hill 146.19/146.79 Pat Lennon, WA6QBT 687-5575W6YJO 2 Santa Ynez Peak 144.58/145.18 Bill Talanian, W1UUQ 964-7432K6TZ Goleta (Portable) 144.64/145.24 Bruce Gordon, N6OLT 967-3174K6TZ 3 Santa Cruz Island 222.32/223.92 “Jug” Jogoleff, WA6MBZ 560-0605K6TZ 4 La Cumbre Peak 222.48/224.08 “Jug” Jogoleff, WA6MBZ 560-0605K6TZ 2 Santa Ynez Peak 222.52/224.12 “Jug” Jogoleff, WA6MBZ 560-0605K6TZ 5 UCSB 222.56/224.16 “Jug” Jogoleff, WA6MBZ 560-0605K6TZ 1 LaVigia Hill 441.40/446.40 Bill Talanian, W1UUQ 964-7432
Call Location Frequencies/Software TNC/Specs
APRS Network - National
K6TZ10 LaVigia Hill 144.390 javAPRSSrvr KPC-9612, 1200 baud, APRS I-GateK6TZ Diablo Peak 144.390 WXTrak TinyTrak, 1200 baud, WX xmit onlyK6TZ11 La Cumbre Peak West 144.390 WXTrak TinyTrak, 1200 baud, WX xmit only
APRS Network - Santa Barbara Special Events
K6TZ-12 LaVigia Hill 145.630 javAPRSSrvr KPC-9612, 1200 baud, APRS I-GateK6TZ-15 La Cumbre Peak West 145.630 Kantronics, firmware 9.1 KPC-3+, 1200 baud, APRS Digipeaer
9600 Baud Backbone
K6TZ-13 La Vigia Hill 438.950 (out-of-service) MFJ+mod, 9600 baudK6TZ-11 Santa Ynez peak 438.950 (out-of-service) Tapper tiny-2, 9600 baud
Local Access Network
K6TZ-14 La Vigia Hill 145.050 Winlink2000, LinuxRMS KPC-9612, 1200 baudK6TZ-4 SBPBBS La Cumbre Peak East 145.050 Kantronics, firmware 9.1 KPC3+, 1200 baudK6TZ-3 SBDIGI La Cumbre Peak East 145.050 Kantronics, firmware 9.1 KPC3+, 1200 baud
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My how time flies when you’re having fun! The January board meeting included a roundtable discussion of SBARC’s needs as seen by the Board. More members and more involved members topped the list. In addition were fundraising events and community outreach.
The Board also approved a mailing to all area hams with information about the Club inviting them to join.
A couple of weeks ago I was introduced to SBARC member and retired corporate attorney Walt Harasty, KU2Q. He also emphasized the need for increased membership and more involved membership for SBARC’s long-term survival.
The question before us is how to accomplish this. Both SBARC to the ham community and Amateur Radio to the public have a public relations problem. SBARC is viewed as political and cliquish. Amateur Radio is viewed as something your grandfather did, no longer of value in the digital age.
By the time you read this, we should have some help from SCORE in terms of launching a public relations campaign. I’ve delayed the mailing to area hams until after we have had some expert advice on PR.
Regarding the Bylaws, the idea of a Board of Directors focused on setting policy separate from an operations group that implements that policy is a recurring theme that is very much worth exploring, and we’re doing so. Without a strong and active membership, rewording the bylaws doesn’t solve the basic problem the Club faces in terms of long-term survival.
We need to solve both problems. The Board and Bylaws fight has gone on too long and is polarizing. We need to resolve it. And we need to embrace new ideas and the youth interested in today’s technology.
When I first joined SBARC I helped to bring up its first repeater. I was about 25 years old. I was a new member, I was welcomed into the Club, and I became involved. And there were politics. SBARC was afraid of these youngsters and their FM repeaters. They didn’t want SBARC to turn into a repeater club. But SBARC management recognized that it was a part of Amateur Radio, and it brought increased and involved membership to the organization. The repeater was okayed with much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth by the old guard. Many of the old-timers on the Board have been around since those days. SBARC today just doesn’t have the same attitude. We need to change that. Had SBARC rejected the repeater idea thirty-plus years ago, it probably wouldn’t be around today.
Jay Hennigan, WB6RDV, President
PREZ SEZ – February 2014
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I was alone and all was darkBeneath me and above
My life was full of volts and ampsBut not the spark of love
But now that you are here with meMy heart is overjoyed
You turn the whole square of my heartInto a sinusoid
You load things from my memoryOnto my system’s bus
My life was once assembly codeBut now it’s C++
I love the way you solder thingsMy circuits you can fix
The voltage across your diodeIs much more than point-six
With your amps and resistorsYou have built my integratorI cannot survive without you
You are my function generator
You have charged my life, increased my gainAnd made my math discrete
And now I’ll end my poem hereControl, Alt and Delete
Lifted from the IEEE website at UNT (University of North Texas)
An Engineer’s Valentine
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SBARC February 21, 2014 Meeting
Darryl Widman, Exec. Vice President, Programs
PERSONAL USE OF AMATEUR RADIO ON SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS
In 1957 and 1958, ham radio was the only means of personally staying in touch with family or personnel at the seven Antarctic research stations built by Navy Seebees and operated by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for the International Geophysical Year. Phone patches and “hamgrams” worked. Only licensed hams could operate the station at the Geographic South Pole. Charles Greene had struggled to learn the code and pass the tests for a General Class license in 1956. The three Navy radio operators and two civilians had licenses.
During the 1960s Charles Greene worked at many drifting ice stations in the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. A business-licensed AM radio served for communications to the base camp at Barrow, but ham radio was the link home to Santa Barbara.
Years later, Dr. Charles Greene sailed on a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker to Baffin Bay during February/March. The ship had a complete ham station but no licensed operator in the crew. When he showed them his ham license, his status on the cruise was elevated from sand crab to hero!
Born in Aruba (P4-land), Charles Green was privileged to learn about ham radio during his years as a Boy Scout. He also learned about the Antarctic and determined that someday he’d like to go there. (Contrast with life in the trop-ics.) He had the chance when the International Geophysical Year came along just when he graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was given a job at the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory, National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, where he spent the summer of 1957 in training with the other scientists and engineers who were going to conduct the ionospheric physics studies in the Antarctic for the IGY. He went to the “ice” in October 1957 and returned in January 1959.
As a student at the Institute, he had worked at a Navy lab on underwater acoustics instrumentation and testing. He was able to return to that lab and worked there until 1963 when he moved to Santa Barbara to work at General Motors Defense Research Laboratories. His work there was on Navy contract work studying under ice acoustics in the Arctic. Work in that field persisted for 20 years under various sponsors but then switched to studies of sounds from offshore oil exploration and development in the Arctic. The concern was to learn to what degree such industrial operations might be adversely affecting arctic whales, particularly the bowhead whales hunted by Alaska Eskimos. That work evolved over the years until he retired in 2013.
Come listen to Charlie Greene as he tells of his Arctic and Antarctic experi-ences. You won’t want to miss this program.
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SCIENCE NIGHT AT THE BRANDON SCHOOL
Darryl Widman, KF6DI
As many of you know, the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club has an Outreach Team that visits the local schools in the greater Santa Barbara area and gives the students at these schools a taste of Amateur Radio in order to pique their interest in the science of radio communications – the magic of getting a message from here to there without using telephones, cell phones or any wires between the parties.
And so it was on Thursday evening, January 30. The Brandon School in Goleta held their annual Science Night on the campus. I had attended Science Nights at this school in the past and was ready for the excitement that was already built up in the youngsters at this school. There are a lot of schools in our area but there seems to be a special push on science at this school. Perhaps because of the proximity of the university nearby or the numbers of engineers or scientists who live near this school, the children of these folks seem interested in anything having to do with science.
So, when I approached a group of young friends sitting together and asked if any of them were in grades 4 through 6 and all the hands went up, I knew this was going to be fun. Then, carrying my Transmitter Hunting “Sniffer” in one hand and an Icom handy talkie in the other which was fixed in the transmit posi-tion, I asked who would be interested in trying to find a hidden transmitter. All of the voices I heard said, “I do. I do.” Then came a brief introduction to radio direction finding and how the antenna attached to the Sniffer had very definite directional characteristics and they might take advantage of that.
The youngsters were asked who wanted to hide the transmitter and who wanted to search for it. The excitement was building. My favorite question to the hider is if they have attended this school for a long time and if they know of any secret hiding places or nooks and crannies that no one else would know of. They al-ways have someplace in mind. So, I say to the hider to go and hide the transmit-ter very well and it doesn’t matter where in the school it is hidden. Then I tell the hider that when he or she returns to us to tell us that the transmitter has been hidden we should also be told that “we will never find it!”
Then, the hider goes off to do the deed and we all face toward a wall or look down at the ground and close our eyes and don’t peek. Usually, it’s just a matter of brief moments before the hider returns. I know that the transmitter hasn’t been
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hidden on the far side of the school grounds or inside one of the school rooms in a bookcase behind the books. I need to work with them on how to really be sneaky!
Now comes the fun part of everyone going along with the one holding the Sniffer and making suggestions as to where the transmitter is probably hidden - not thinking that the Sniffer doesn’t lie and will guide them right to where the transmitter is hidden. In short order, and with the aid of my flashlight when it is dark out, the transmitter is found and the excited youngsters’ voices can be heard saying that they want to hide it next. It is really great to see the interested parents tagging along and sometimes wanting to hold the Sniffer along with their little one, like the dad of a particular 2nd grade girl who was repeating everything to her that I had told her to do. So much fun, especially when father and daughter found the hidden transmitter.
Ask me if I get a kick out of going to Science Nights. If you think that you might like to help out at these fun events and would like to become a member of our Outreach Team, please contact me at [email protected] or call me at 969-2326. By the way, most of the schools are aware that we might have just gotten off work and haven’t eaten dinner yet so they set up a room where we won’t go away hungry. Yummy! The Brandon School has some of the best food as well as some of the best teachers and the best school layout that I have seen. There are maybe a dozen or so more of these events coming up so don’t hesitate to get into this. If you missed my saying it somewhere, it is so much fun!
The unofficial schedule for up-coming Science Nights is as follows. There are bound to be many more added:
Thurs. Feb. 27 El Camino School 5:30 -- 7:30 PMThurs. Mar. 6 Hollister School 6:00 -- 8:00 PMThurs. Apr. 10 Vieja Valley School 6:00 -- 8:00 PMThurs. Apr. 17 Hope School 6:00 -- 7:30 PM Dinner 5:00 -- 6:00 PM
It is always advisable to arrive perhaps 45 minutes earlier for the meals.
Science Thursday Night at El Camino School
For those interested in helping at this Science Night on Thursday, February 27 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, contact Darryl Widman KF6DI, <[email protected]> or call Darryl at 969-2326. This is a good way for new members to get involved in a community service and to encourage interest in ham radio in young people.
ATVSIG will be formalizing committee membership over the next month. We’re looking for committed hams to actively and effectively promote the use of specialized modes to the benefit of SBARC and the community. Committed volunteers are being sought; no experience is necessary. We enjoy training you so you can be active and train others. Email Rod at [email protected]. I anticipate we’ll have regular meetings to conduct ATVSIG Committee business, possibly monthly. The planned 12/17 live ATV Christmas Light show had to be cancelled due to illness. The 12/24 and 12/31 ATVSIG nets were poorly attended probably due to proximity to the holidays. Other than that, ATVSIG has been active as usual with RTTY, PSK31 and ATV. The new laptop at the Club Station is now working well with PSK31 as well as with other specialized modes.
The 5.9 GHz ATV link from Oxnard to SB has been suffering from fades. A 10-watt 5.9 GHz amp is being built for the link, which will provide P5 pictures with plenty of headroom.
Major objectives of the ATVSIG Committee for 2014 are...* Improving the quality and use of ATV at the Club Station and using it as a key element in at least one SBARC event* Encouraging hams to learn about and use specialized modes, documenting who is able and willing to use these skills in future events* Installing Wi-Fi in the Rover and using it for at least one Public Service event* Installing ATV in the Rover and using it for at least one Public Service event* Installing a radio/computer interface, like SignaLink USB, in the Rover and using it for at least one Public Service event* Helping to integrate specialized modes into ARES activities, as ARES deems appropriate* Assessing other projects based on committee and SBARC member input and requesting funding for the projects
There are quite a few visitors to the shack; here’s what happens when they come. First, they are greeted with great friendliness, and then they are shown the “outer room,” with its well-equipped workbench full of test equipment, tool crib, swap/sale table, library, magazine rack, and offered free coffee if it’s on a Saturday morning or hot cocoa on a Tuesday night.
Then, the door to the radio room is flung open with great drama—to afford the visitors a sudden glimpse of the twenty-eight work-ing radios. The Shackmaster then asks for their first impression. Typical responses are, “Wow!” “Mind-boggling!” “Incredible” or occasionally, “Intimidating!”
Then they get the tour of the radio room. First, the center console with the eight VHF and UHF radios, called the “hot seat,” which is a local communication node used for events and for Red Cross emergencies. Next, the left console, with the HF-teaching radio (Kenwood 930S), all the antenna tuners, a small duplicate hot seat, and six public-safety scanners (for “total situational awareness”). Next, the Shackmaster shows them the right-hand console, with the computer-linked HF radio (a Yaesu MP-1000) and the K6TZ-TV control units. The end table has the Hewlett-Packard PC and also the Mac, which is available for online access. Finally, behind the console, in the off-limits area, lies the tangled web woven of wiring that connects all this stuff together.
Finally, the Shackmaster explains Ham radio, finds out what the visitor wants or needs, and explains how we at the club station can help. All kinds of people come and visit, from those that just want to chat, all the way to those that just want to ask questions and listen. (The improving Shackmaster who has been filling the post lately does both listening and talking equally well.)
The station is in the headquarters of the American Red Cross — Santa Barbara County Chapter, at 2707 State, at Alamar Street. Go down Alamar to the parking lot, and we are the door to the left before the stairs. Open every Saturday morn-ing 9-12, and every Tuesday night, from 7:30-on. Listen for us or call us on our intercom repeater 146.79 (but we monitor all channels, or call us at the new, direct, club station phone number, 563-0391).
73, come visit!! —Dave
Club Station News by Shackmaster, Dave K6HWN
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TEAM OF TWO PARTICIPATE IN ARRL VHF CONTEST
By Cindy Cline
On the morning of January 18, 2014, SBARC board member, Theo Howe (KK6YYZ) and SBARC club member, Calli Marquez (KD6OVS) set up shop at the top of beautiful Elings Park of Santa Barbara. Along with the dog walkers and hang gliders, these two set up tables and antennas to participate in the
January ARRL VHF contest. With an unbelievable ocean view and summer-like weather, one cannot feel too sorry for this duo, but with the early Saturday start and the rough terrain to get up to the top and loads of equipment to haul, it is safe to say the one hour setup was not exactly a picnic either.
Once setup was completed, Calli and Theo began making contacts on 6-meter, 2- meter, 220 and 440 bands on both FM and sideband modes. Things started slowly for Theo who was operating on 6 meters, but there were donuts so all was well. Things opened up at about 1:00 p.m. and QSOs were made as far as New Mexico and Texas. Calli handled the 2-meter and higher, which was quite active all day.
A few visitors came by to offer support. Dennis and Joann tried to visit, but their Prius could not make the bumpy dirt road. Many passersby inquired as to what was going on, so who knows, maybe interest was sparked in some future ham. Theo states that one of the reasons for participating included bringing some recognition to the club from the general public, as well as sparking some enthusiasm in current members to become more involved in various club activities.
Both men claim to have had an enjoyable day and are looking forward to June’s VHF contest. They will possibly be operating from East Camino Cielo.
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Who was Catherine Bigelow Bradley Rochlitzer W7OBH?
Well, as you might imagine, she was a Ham radio operator who had lived in Santa Barbara and who had even qualified for her first license in the 1930s, having taken her tests right here in Santa Barbara. This was a time, you might remember, when few women were interested in things such as Ham Radio. Her last callsign of record was W7OBH, but it is very likely that she held a W6 call while she lived in California, say, from the 1930s to 1947.
I called the ARRL HQ and talked to a staff member, Bob, WB1GCM, about their archives of old call books. W7OBH first appears in the 1950 callbook in the Spring issue, and possibly that is because she did not renew her license until it was about to expire. Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, W6OBH was listed as being held by a man named Marvin Smith.
Tim, her son, could not remember the year she passed away but he did men-tion the passage in Walter Tompkins’ book, Goleta, the Goodland, and because that book was first printed in May of 1966, she must have lived up to that date because she was very upset with a passage in Tompkins’ book which I quote herewith:
“Spy scares came daily. The Valley still chuckles about of them. A German alien who lived on the high knoll at 533 North Patterson Avenue, above Univer-sity Drive, had a spat with his wife one night. She was an air raid block warden. To annoy her, he raised the window black out shade. She lowered it. He raised it. She lowered in AD INFINITUM. From the floor of the Valley and to all the ships at sea, the illusion was that of Morse Code signals being flashed from a spy’s aerie!”
Tim said that she was ready to bash him, Mr. Tompkins, on the head with whatever she could grab, but by that time she was living in Spokane, Washing-ton, and that she was far too old to have seriously attempted such a thing.
I found out from Jeremy Haas, a retired local attorney, that Mrs. Tompkins is still alive and that she is in the process of re-publishing and correcting a good number of Mr. Tompkins’ books and articles. Mr. Tompkins always said that he was a newspaper man and not a professional historian !!!
Tim said he could remember that she had two towers on the ranch property and that they could have been as high as 60 feet, a height sufficient for opera-tions on 80 meters and higher frequencies. He also said that she had some trouble, like many of us, with learning the Morse code, but that she made it and was able to operate on the HF bands using homebrew transmitters. Remember that the novice license did not come about until the early 1950s and hardliners of
the time considered it rather decadent or declasse because of the measly 5-word per minute code speed that those new rules provided.
Joe Heumphreus, K6DXW, says he can remember, as a young boy of 16 years of age, that she had an eight foot vertical antenna on the back of her car which she used for 10 meter AM operations. Moreover, Joe says that that one time was the only time that he ever saw her, and that he cannot remember much about her appearance and so forth. The receiver was a Gonsett converter that had an output on 1 MHz., which means she used the car’s AM radio as an IF strip while running it right at 1 MHz. or so. Cars of that time did not have their components so well integrated, as they do now, and it would have been rather easy to get access to the car’s AM radio antenna port. That would have been from the late 1930s, except for the WWII years, to around 1947, the year the family moved away. Also, RG-58 co-ax cable and UHF connectors (good to 100 MHz. or MC) were available by that time.
By the way, in the past, many senior Ops have told me that SBARC ran local comm. and support nets on the 10 meter band using the AM mode, but by the time I got my first license 1969, local ten-meter, AM nets were a thing of the past. Everyone, it seems, had transitioned to crystal controlled rigs. In fact, by that time, the AM mode was also giving way to what they called the narrow-band FM mode. There were only a few PL tones in use, mostly because the decoders were not very selective.
After the New Press article came out, I began to wonder why they had moved away and I thought that perhaps Mr. Rochlitzer, Tim’s dad, had passed away at that point and that she did not want to run the ranch by herself as she was getting older. But Tim said that they were actually looking into buying property in the state of Montana with a view toward establishing a cattle ranch thereabouts. And then, because he passed away suddenly, she dropped the idea of the cattle ranch and took a job at Gonzaga University as the Dean of Women Students, a position she held for five years. Gonzaga University, by the way, is a Catholic school which is run by the Jesuit order. Tim said that he went to school there and received an engineering degree.
Kathi Backus, KF6WB, has a 1953 callbook and W7OBH’s address was on Pitos street but by the Summer of 1960, Everett Lee’s (W6QYS) callbook shows that she lived on South Hatch street, again in Spokane, Washington.
Catherine was, moreover, a ninth generation American and an army brat, as well, who married Mr. Rochlitzer who himself was an immigrant from Austria, as the New Press article mentioned.
Tim said that his mother’s family had the money, the resources, and the knowledge which they used to buy the property on Patterson Ave. and then to build the ranch house in the 1930s, a time when few people had money for such grandiose projects.
I also began to wonder about that real estate deal, but then I remembered that, back then, Santa Barbara County property values had not gone as wild as they are nowadays, and that they had simply purchased ranch land that was
14 SBARC KEY- KLIX February 2014
located out in the sticks, as it were, with nothing but walnut trees plastered all over the acreage.
I asked Tim what language they spoke at home and he said that early on they spoke German but later on they transitioned into speaking English almost exclusively.
I looked over some of the Radio Handbooks that W6QYS has, which come from the 1930s and early 1940s, and they showed a number of schematics for four tube, mono-band, CW transmitters. The books did not have much as to lay-out of the parts and knobs but with only four tubes, perhaps, the layout and the spacing thereof may not have constituted a serious issue. Machining the cases to look semi-professional might have been the hardest part of such projects.
I asked Tim other questions about his mother and her Ham Radio activities, but to many of them he had no answer or no recollection, and yet he did remem-ber that she had a collection of QSL cards, or post cards, as I called them, but he said that they were lost over time. He also said that toward the end of her life, she had to give up on Ham Radio operations because she simply could no longer do the minimum that would have been required so as to make reasonable, ham-like, contacts.
So, that is all that I can find out about Catherine, W7OBH.
Key-Klix is published monthly by the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 3907, Santa Barbara, CA 93130-3907. The contents do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of SBARC, its Board, or its members. Material contained in Key-Klix may be reprinted provided credit is given to Key-Klix and the author, except material published by permission of a copyright holder. This publication may not be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the SBARC Board of Directors.
Renewals for 2014 are due now. Your membership can be renewed on-line at
http://www.sbarc.org/clubinfo/index.html#forms
ORYour dues can be paid on-line at
http:/sbarc.org/donations.htmlMembership application for new members may be
completed on page 17. Dues are $24 single membership per year, $36 for a couple, $12 for a junior and associate memberships.
BIG WALLY REACHES OUT Cynthia McAlexander, KK6BZU February 2014
You may be an inspiration and an example to future hams. Someone may be listening to your broadcast or wondering what that big metal thing is that is growing out of your roof. My father, Walter Hola WA8COJ, was my inspiration. He had his shack set up in the basement of our two-story home.
His oversized desk, big wooden swivel chair, file cabinets and radio equip-ment dominated one end of the rec room. When I was a young girl, Big Wally, as his friends called him, was larger than life. Everything he did was on a big scale and never half way. So too was his radio life.
My Dad’s passion was to reach out to WWII Navy buddies across the Unit-ed States. He sent postcards to most contacts and filed away those he received. The furnace ducts made sure that every room of the house heard his Morse code song. He was a night owl and many nights I fell asleep to his dits and das. The noise was such a part of my life that I even heard the code when he was not transmitting!
Although he did not complete school past the 8th grade, he was determined to learn the math needed to pass the Novice and General licensing exams. My brother and I helped him with the math and he passed the Novice test fairly eas-ily. The General was another story. At that time the General test was not given regularly in the same cities. He packed up the whole family, mom and four kids, and drove from city to city retaking the General exam until he passed.
I don’t remember his using a microphone, just that incessant key. It seemed like he was using that key day and night. After I no longer lived with my par-ents, it took a while not to hear the code. I never thought I would become a Ham operator. I guess inspiration comes from unexpected places! I encourage you to let Ham life be an encouragement for others to become licensed.
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Darryl Widman, KF6DI
In Amateur Radio, online resources may provide a good alternative to much of what we used to find in books, but neither can replace the relationship with a good Elmer.
For those of us involved in operating our gear, repairing it when it breaks or changing the way it works in order to improve it, we believe that a formal education in the basics of electronics, radio, mathematics and other aspects of science is the ideal background in order to find answers to some of the hardest problems that we might run into.
As a school student I spent many hours browsing the shelves of libraries looking for answers, or more fundamentally, learning how to formulate questions. I was also lucky enough to work in a few of those fabled industry labs where I had ac-cess to experts in every discipline relevant to my current projects.
While I may wax nostalgic for the smell of old books (which I still own and hold dear, by the way) and hours spent listening to one of the old timers in my lab, I have to admit that I enjoy making that occasional phone call for an immedi-ate answer to many questions, even trivial ones. In school, relationships often develop naturally between students and their teachers and out of school between young ham operators and their more experienced friends in the hobby. As more and more learning happens online, I wonder whether future generations of hams will develop the kind of Elmer relationships that have been so beneficial to past generations of hams.
The need for friendly support persists beyond the early years in the life of a ham radio operator. We all know the value of discussing a challenging problem with a trusted friend. That’s where it is great to have an Elmer beside you, so to speak, when obviously your Elmer has “been there and done that” many times before.
Attending conventions, club meetings and the many other Amateur Radio activities both on and off the air have been traditional ways for hams to build relationships throughout their ham careers as well as continuing to acquire more knowledge. Attending up-grading classes and studying books such as those pub-lished by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) may help identify sources of expertise but they can’t replace the personal contact needed to convert an acquaintance into one’s Elmer.
ON FINDING ANSWERS AND ELMERS
17 SBARC KEY- KLIX February 2014
Place your business card here for one year of Key-Klix for $33. Send your scanned business card to the editor at [email protected] and mail your check payable to SBARC, P.O. Box 3907, Santa Barbara, CA 93130-3907. Your business will be advertised and you will be supporting our SBARC.
In our club, the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club, we are blessed to have more than our share of very knowledgeable people, many of whom are still engaged in the radio/electronics industry or recently retired from it, any one of whom would make an excellent Elmer for you. As many of my friends know, I like to use the phrase, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” So, pick up the phone and ask some-one you know to be knowledgeable a question about some aspect of Amateur Radio that has had you perplexed. In time, that person might become your very own Elmer!
Look forward to that day in your future when you just might become an Elmer to a newer ham yourself. Returning a favor, even though it is years later and to someone else, keeps the ball rolling and the hobby healthy.
2014 - VE SessionsPlease keep our VE Team busy in 2014. Contact Darryl at 969-2326 to reserve your place in one of these sessions. If you are already an Extra Class ham, please consider joining the VE Team. Becoming a VE is easy, just contact Tom Saunders at 967-7351.
From time to time SBARC sends email notices of club events and timely information. Do you wish to be on the list for these notices? Yes No Are you an ARRL member? Yes No FCC AMATEUR LICENSE CLASS Expires on: ____/______/_____ Novice Technician Technician+ General Advanced Extra None Key-Klix, the Club newsletter, is available on sbarc.orgPlease check items that apply for user preferences:
Personal computer user Tablet pc user Smartphone user
For up-to-date info: register to add the sbarc-list service to your e-mail. SBARC ACTIVITIES – Please indicate an interest to participate by checking: Club management – Board, committees Event Communications – triathlons, etc. Education, training, Elmering Repeaters – technical, operations, training ARES - Emergency Services Club events – Field Day, HamFest, Meetings
SBARC ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUESFull Member - licensed amateur 18 years or older __ @ $24/year = ________ Junior Member -licensed amateur under 18 years __ @ $12/year = ________ Family Member – same family, residing with Full Member __ @$12/year = ________ Associate Member – unlicensed other than above __ @ $12/year = ________ * All dues are 1/2 price after July 1st for new members.
SBARC VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS Repeater Operations Fund $ _______Repeater Capital Fund $ _______SBARC/ARES Emergency Van Fund $ _______ARES General Fund $ _______Club Station Operation Fund $ _______Club Station Rent Fund $ _______Rover Fund $ _______Club General Fund – nonspecific items $ _______
Total Enclosed $ _______
I hereby apply for membership in SBARC and agree to abide by its rules and by-laws
Applicant signature _________________________________ Date ________________
Make check payable to SBARC and mail to:Post Office Box 3907 • Santa Barbara, California 93130-3907 • www.sbarc.org
19 SBARC KEY- KLIX February 2014
Calendar of Events February 2014 SBARC Board Meeting - February 12 - Red Cross, 7:00 PM SBARC Membership Meeting February 21 - 7:30 pm - Goleta Union Administration Board Room, 401 No. Fairview Ave., Goleta Science Thursday Night - February 27, El Camino School, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
March 2014 Science Night -Thursday, March 6, Hollister School, 6:00 to 8:00 PM VE Exam March 8, 8:30 AM - Santa Barbara County Public Health Auditorium Desert R.A.T.S. Palm Springs ARRL Hamfest March 15, Palm Springs, CA Desert R.A.T.S. Amateur Radio Club Website: http://palmspringshamfest.com
April 2014 SBARC Board Meeting - April 9 - Red Cross, 7:00 Science Night - Thursday, April 10, Vieja School, 6:00 to 8:00 PM Science Saturday, April 17, Hope School 6:00 to 7:30 PM, , Dinner 5:00 - 6:00 PM SBARC Membership Meeting April 25 - 7:30 pm - Goleta Union Administration Board Room, 401 No. Fairview Ave., Goleta
Editor’s NotesE-mail inquiries and articles should be sent to Dorothy, KJ6UGL at [email protected] for March Key-Klix articles is February 28, 2014.Inserts in the Swap Net are free, or try Key-Klix. Business card ads at $33 for one year.
SBARC Listserver
Subscribe to the listserver at: http://lists.netlojix.com/mailman/listinfo/sbarc-list.Follow the instructions under the section Subscribe to SBARC-listThe administrator for the listserver is Paul, KF6TRT, [email protected]
HT RADIO-HELP OFFERED—Do you need help with your Handy Talky (HT) radio? Jug, WA6MBZ, will conduct a class (or two on Tuesday evenings at the SBARC shack. His specialty is the Wouxun HT, but he also can help with Kenwood and Yaesu radios. Contact Jug at [email protected].
ELMERS WANTED—Elmers to teach and work with and newly licensed hams. This position requires patience and persistence in working with both young and seasoned new hams. It could just be in answering basic questions about using a new radio or as extensive as in building or installing a magnetic loop antenna or different types of antennas. This may require a long-term com-mitment to a student. Rewards are high. Contact Dorothy at [email protected] if you want to Elmer or need an Elmer.
HELP WANTED—SBARC Telecommunications support team is looking for a few good folks to help maintain Kantronics based TNCs for packet radio sys-tems, multiple headless Linux servers, insure network security, and enable vari-ous associated digital infrastructure resources that serves and benefits the HAM community, local EMCOM organizations and interface with the general public. If interested contact Bill Talanian, w1uuq, <[email protected]>.
