july 2010 csra txt newsletter

THURSDAY JULY 15, 2010�.�

THE CHICAGO SUBURBAN RADIO ASSOCIATION�Illinois’ Oldest Amateur Radio Club - N9BAT�CSRA BOARD AND COMMITTEE�

TXT | JULY 2010 | TWO�

CLUB PRESIDENT 2009-2010�

708.562.2827 | [email protected]�

VICE PRESIDENT 2010-2011�


SECRETARY�


TREASURER�


SARGEANT-AT-ARMS/WELCOME & RAFFLES�


MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN�


TXT EDITOR/PUBLICITY�


EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CHAIRMAN�


COFFEE & MEETING REFRESHMENTS CHAIRMAN�


N9BAT CLUB CALLSIGN TRUSTEE:�

CLUB WEBSITE:�http://�

CLUB EMAIL ADDRESS:�

24/7 CSRA HAM HOTLINE:�

July 2010�

TXT copyright ©2010�

Thanks to everyone�who attended the�club’s Field Day�activities this year.�Due to the short�month, TXT will�cover our annual�outing next month.�

“Mr. Nelson...I’m afraid you will have�to leave the air during this procedure.”�

http://www.csraham.com

mailto:[email protected]

at Grace Lutheran Church�in the Fellowship Room on the lower level.�

Doors open at 6:30pm Meeting begins at 7:30pm�

Grace Lutheran Church is located at�1101 Manchester Avenue�

in Westchester, Illinois.�One block north of Roosevelt Road,�

just west of 25th Avenue.�

Directions and maps on our website at�http://www.CSRAham.com�

FRONT PAGE�

TXT | JULY 2010 | THREE�

NEXT MEETING�Chicago Suburban Radio Association�General Meeting Minutes de W9TTY�Thursday, June 17, 2010�

President Ed Schumacher, WA9GQK, called the CSRA�monthly meeting to order, at 7:35 PM.�

New Business�

After the approval of the June, 2010 minutes as found in�the July TXT, Treasurer Ray Good, AA9F, reported $2700.00�cash-on-hand. Secretary, Tom W9TTY, noted that Field Day�2010 invitations to local officials were mailed. A special�invitation emphasizing the emergency preparedness�features of ham radio was mailed to Village of Brookfield.�

Net Reports: Ron, W9RWU, called for volunteers to take one�Monday a month as net control for the two-meter net.�John, KA9MJE, reported average checkins on the 15-�meter net. Sergeant-At-Arms, W9RWU, announced the�evening’s attendance of 16.�

New Business�

Locations for the July social scheduled for July 1 were�discussed. Jeff, KB9IGG, suggested Irish Times.�

President Ed Schumacher called for volunteers to bring�equipment to demonstrate amateur radio to the Boy Scout�Troop meeting at Morris, Illinois. The two-hour commitment�is on July 2 and 16 from 3-5 pm�

Hamfest announcements. RadioFest 2010 at the Willow-�brook Holiday Inn in Willowbrook, Illinois August 5-7. They�will be using the special event call W3O.�KARS tickets were available for the KARSFEST in Peotone, Il�on July 18.�

Frank, K9KTU, is working on a ham radio proclamation from�the City Council of Chicago. A thank you will be sent to�Joe Sinopoli for the article, “These Waves Are in the Field,”�in�Suburban Life�, June 9, 2010.�

Field Day. Volunteers were asked to bring food and drink,�condiments, plates and silver, and other FD essentials The�sign up sheet for phone and CW stations was available�along with laptops to practice Field Day logging.�

Meeting Adjourned at 8:15 PM�

Do not forget about our club nets every week! Be�sure to check in to get the latest info on the club�as well as a chance to chat with other members�

and hams too!�

CSRA Info Net�Mondays at 8:00pm�

146.76 Repeater�

CSRA CATS Net�Wednesdays at 7:00pm�

21.331 USB +/-�

CSRA CW Net�Sundays at 8:00pm�

CLUB NETS�

With more than 400 million active users, Facebook http://�www.facebook.com/ is the most popular social network�site on the Internet. And since radio amateurs are gener-�ally a social bunch, many hams are active on Facebook.�Thanks to Herman May, KE5HYW, the ARRL has its own�Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/�?ref=logo#%21/pages/ARRL-the-National-Association-for-�Amateur-Radio/20069212407?ref=ts. Check out the page�to see a lot of features you won't find anywhere else, such�as pictures from ARRL events and interactive status up-�dates. We invite hams to "like" the ARRL Facebook page�and leave productive comments. Joining Facebook is�free, and you just might be surprised at who you'll find on�the site.�

ARRL ALSO ON FACEBOOK�

http://www.csraham.com

Wall Street analysts have now predicted�what the amateur radio community has�seen for more than a decade, the demise�of "Radio Shack".� 24/7 Wall St. has included "Radio Shack"�in it's list of companies that are certain to�be non-existent by the end of 2011.� The just released list includes: Readers�Digest, Kia Motors, Dollar Thrifty, Zale,�Blockbuster,T-Mobile, RadioShack, Merrill�Lynch and Moody's.�

Here is what they have to say about the�end of Radio Shack:�

RadioShack is one of the oldest retailers in�the U.S. It was founded in 1921 and in the�early 1960s was purchased by Tandy�Corp. The Tandy name was used for some�of Radio Shack's retail stores. RadioShack�is currently a takeover target. There have�been rumors that the company may be�taken private via a leveraged buyout or�purchased by Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News),�probably for its locations. Best Buy would�certainly not keep the RadioShack brand�because it is considered downscale and�does not have the reputation for quality�products and service that Best Buy enjoys.�RadioShack has already begun to�rebrand itself as "The Shack," an indica-�tion that it knows the older brand is a�burden."�(-QRZ)�

Editors Note: Scott W9CHI was a Radio�Shack employee through his college�years at the Ogden Avenue Berwyn�location (store #01-6297). CSRA and�amateur radio was actively promoted�from this store. It’s sad to see the�company be reduced to just as cellular�phone and mp3 retailer, as it has in�recent years.�

TXT | JULY 2010 | FOUR�

QRM�

Pictures, meeting notes, information and social�networking. Become a fan of CSRA on Facebook�by logging on from our website.�

CSRA IS NOW ON FACEBOOK!�

KC9OMR�Matt has been active with ham radio�and scouting! Welcome to CSRA!�

FIELD DAY LOGGING�

Frank Crescenzi K9KTU logs contacts at the 20 meter phone station on Field�Day. More pictures on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/�N9BAT�

Vince NT9N will be operating on 10 meter side-�band during the lunchtime hour from 28.4 MHz�USB. He is looking for any and all contacts, so if�you are around, try to dial in and contact Vince!�

COULD RADIO SHACK�BE ON IT’S WAY OUT?�

TXT | JULY 2010 | FIVE�

The Comet GP9 dual band, three-�section, fiberglass vertical base an-�tenna is for 2 meters (5/8 wave x3)�and 440 MHz (5/8wave x8).�

Gain: 8.5/11.9 dB�Power: 200 watts�VSWR: 1.5:1 or less�Connector: UHF (SO-239)�Height: 17.75 feet�Weight: 6 Lbs.�

Sells for over $200 new, will�sell for $120.�

Scott W9CHI�708/287-1336 or [email protected]�

CLASSIFIED�

Tired of having the ugliest installation in the neighbor-�hood? Tired of that walked-on feeling when you don’t get�through the DX Pile-up? Unable to rag-chew through the�Tuner-Uppers? Take Heart! Throw away those ugly and�weak dipoles and verticals.�

Alset Engineering Sunspot Special Price....$250.00�

Hy Gain 103CA 10 Meter monoband 3 element Yagi.�Stainless Steel Hardware, Manual & Spare hardware. Hy�Gain BN-86 Balun with stainless steel hardware and�manual. Alliance T-45 Rotor with 5 conductor cable�

With this antenna you can command the 10 Meter band�during the upcoming sunspot peak and beautify your�property.�

Free consultation and installation advice from a�competent Registered Professional Engineer included.�

Other Items For Sale:�

Aztec Balun & Manual............................................$35.00�Heathkit Phone Patch with Manual........................$75.00�Grandmaster Memory Keyer with Manual.............$100.00�Tube Socket - Johnson #275 (for 3-500Z)..............$25.00�Power Supply 12VDC @ 5.0 amps........................$50.00�Classic HP-205AG Audio Generator & Manual.....$100.00�

Contact: Alset Engineering at PO Box 512, Western Springs,�IL 60558 or call Al Whetter - W9WJ at 708/246-2692.�

AUTEK RESEARCH WM-1 computing SWR meter�w/ manual.�

$100 OBO Contact Ed, WA9GQK at roster�

A reminder that the stock of repair parts from the�estate of Frank Bacci, W9IJN, is available to�

members in need of specific items. This stock�includes various tube sockets, connectors, resistors�

in now hard to find sizes of carbon composition,�capacitors of all types, many other small�

components too numerous to list individually.�Almost all are unused and very clean vintage�

manufacture. Perfect for repair or restoration of�gear from the fifties through sixties. No modern�Asian junk manufacture. Please limit requests to�

items actually needed for a repair as some�quantities are limited and we would like to help the�most members possible, i.e. please do not request�

items merely for personal inventory. So before�going to eBay or the replica catalog suppliers,�

check with me for availability. This is a free member�service. - Ed, WA9GQK.�

DX HOTSPOTS�In DX, word that F5IRO is headed to Djibouti and will be�active as J28RO beginning July 6th and is expected to�stay for 2 years. Activity will be on the HF bands using CW,�SSB and the Digital modes mainly on the weekends and�during the afternoons and evenings starting between�1200 to 1300 UTC. His QSL Manager is F8DFP.�

The KL7RRC 2010 Alaska tour will take to the air from�Kodiak Island from July 19th to the 21st . This will b e�followed by an operation from uninhabited Chirikof Island�beginning July 22nd and running through August 1st or�2nd with a final swing back to Kodiak Island on August 3rd�and 4th. QSL via UA9OBA or N7RO.�

JF1OKX, will be active as 9J2KK from Lusaka, Zambia�beginning through the end of September 2011. Opera-�tion will be on 80 through 6 meters concentrating on the�Digital modes such as PSK, WSJT and RTTY, but there may�be time for some SSB and CW as well. QSL via JK1NSR.�

YL2PN operating portable ES0 will be on from Ruhnu�Island, Estonia, during the RSGB Islands on the Air Contest�on July 24th and 25th. He will be a Single-Operator/Low-�Power/All-Band/Mixed entry. If you work him QSL via his�home callsign.�

Lastly, JI1LET, will be on the air stroke JD1 from Chichijima�Island between July 24th through the 30th. His activity will�be on 40 through 6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL to�JI1LET direct or via the JARL Bureau.� (-AR Newsline)�

BACK PAGE�

TXT | JULY 2010 | SIX�

FD�2010�

july 2010 csra txt newsletter

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