Check Out Our Calendar ofComing Events on Page 7.

FIELD DAYJUNE 28 & 29, 2008

Volume 17, No. 5Web Site: www.w4gso.org

May, 2008Editor: Tom Forrest, N4GVK E-mail: info@w4gso.org

The Greensboro Amateur Radio Association

Feed LineFeed LineProviding Amateur Radio news for the Triad

NEXT MEETINGMay 26

The next meeting of theGreensboro Amateur RadioAssoc. will be May 26, at theGolden Corral Steak House, 4404Landview Dr, Greensboro, NC27407, off Wendover Ave., nearSam’s Club.The program will be softwaredefined radios, Flexradio and ademonstration the power SDRsoftware.

NC Hams WinContest ForNamingCreatureSee page 8

Story and Photosby Will Ravenel, AI4VE

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ChinaEarthquakeVictims AidedBy AmateurOperatorsMore on Page 7

Introduct ion and Background

There’s relatively little home-brewactivity in Ham Radio today compared tothe days before surface mount componentsand DSP chips. Antennas, however, arestill something the average Ham can buildthat will provide performance as good asmany commercial products at a muchlower cost. Unless you’re into seriouscontesting there’s plenty that can beaccomplished with basic wire and simplealuminum tube antennas. If you want tofeel more like a “real” ham and less likea high tech consumer, build your ownantennas. You’ll have fun and learn a lotin the process.

Since my HF rig (Ten-Tec Argo V) topsout at 20 watts I’m interested in high

A Relatively Low Cost, Low Loss, Home Built Center-Fed Vertical For 20m - 10m(And some thoughts on why we might want a vertical antenna anyway)

efficiency antennas, and since I don’t havemuch real-estate I want my antennas tooperate on multiple bands. So far the bestsolution I’ve found for these requirementsis to build center fed antennas and usebalanced feed-lines into an antenna tuner.These antennas look like the basic dipole,but are different since they might not beresonant on even one band and certainlynot on all they are used on. Thesemulitband antennas are more properlycalled “doublets” and some call them“center-fed Zepps”. The balanced feedline makes it possible to operate theseantennas on frequencies for which theantenna length represents _ wavelengthsand longer. This works because balancedfeedlines, unlike coax, can handle fairlyhigh impedances with very low loss aslong as those impedances don’t exceedthe tuner’s ability to convert them to a 50ohm non-reactive load from the radio’sperspective.

Prior to this project I’ve been operatingwith a doublet cut at 88 feet, a designrecommended by L. B. Cebik, W4RNL( c h e c k o u t h i s w e b s i t e ,http://www.cebik.com/radio.html, for atreasure trove of information aboutantennas). This antenna permits operationon 80m through 20m with a dipole-likebeam pattern that maintains the same lobeorientation over those bands. This meansthat if you have a variety of suitable treesor other supports you can string the antennaso that the two opposing directions of gainyou’re interested in will remain at aconstant bearing as you tune the impedance

match from 80 through 20 meters.

The problem is that unless you can getthese horizontal antennas up in the airclose to a wavelength in height, the verticalangle of maximum gain (take-off angle)is pretty high. OK for working towardyour WAS certificate, but not too goodfor DXCC. On 20 meters that means anoptimum height of about 60 feet.

Vertical antennas have lower overallgain than dipoles, but have three bigadvantages:

1. They produce very low take-offangles - This is important for DXperformance. Low take-off angles resultin long bounces (refraction) off theionosphere meaning longer distances withless signal loss. A properly designedvertical can even result in higher gain atthese low angles than you can get with ahorizontal dipole that’s not high enough.

2. They radiate equally well in alldirections - No need to rotate the antennaor build multiple horizontal dipoles andantenna switching systems to perform onall azimuths.

3. They have a significant null overhead- This attenuates a lot of the high angle,short range, multi-hop QRM that clobberslow level DX signals. Vertical antennasare quieter (unless you have verticallypolarized noise sources in the immediatevicinity).

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Vertical antenna construction from page 1

Basic HF vertical antennas come in twoflavors (not considering shortened, loadedantennas): Quarter wave verticals withradials (elevated or ground plane) andvertical half wave dipoles. The radials forthe quarter wave variety should also be aquarter wavelength in length. If elevated,you can get by with three to four radialsbut if ground mounted the more radialsthe better up to around 120. You can getpretty good performance with 16 to 32.As I stated earlier, I don’t have much real-

Figure 1. Horizontal doublet with same dimensions as my vertical antenna - radiation patterns at35 ft. Azimuth (left): Note the loss of gain at bearings off of broadside. Vertical (right): Note thehigh take off angles and vertical lobes

Figure 2. My vertical antenna radiation patterns. Azimuth (left): Note the uniform radiation at allbearings. Vertical (right): Note the low Take-Off angles and lack of vertical lobes.

estate, so radials are a problem. That’s whyI decided to build a vertical dipole.

Construction

OK, enough theory, let me explain howI built my antenna. I went to the CharlotteHamfest looking for suitable materials.There was a guy there selling four footlengths of military surplus heavy walledstackable aluminum tubes. You may haveseen these at Hamfests, or on eBay, or in

the army. I think they’re designed to beused as tent poles for large field tents andcamoflage netting. You could buy apackage of eight with a base (too flimsyto be useful), two guy rope rings, andeight stakes. You lose 3.5 inches per tubein the joint so eight poles will give you atotal length of about 30.3 feet. Add a ninthpole and get to about 34 feet. Pretty closeto a quarter wavelength on 40 meters or

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Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

May, 2008

a half wavelength on 20 meters. I boughta set of eight poles, one additionalaluminum tube, and two fiberglass tubesfor $70. My plan was to use the eight feetof fiberglass as a base to raise the highvoltage bottom of the dipole out of reachof kids and most curious adults.

In order to build the center fed antenna

using an odd number of poles, I had tocut one pole in half. This gave me 4.5poles, or 14.54 feet, for each half of the

antenna. I needed a non-metallic connectorat this center point in order to isolate the

two dipole elements where the feedlineattaches. Fortunately, fiberglassconnectors for these tubes exist and Ifound one on eBay for ten bucks.Seemed like a lot for this little piece,but it was just what was needed. Theconnector has a raised center ring thatwill support one of the two guy ringsthat came with the tube set. I assembledthe two half poles, insulator piece, and

guy ring, then drilled holes through thepoles and connector near the center ringso that an aluminum pop-rivet could beused to attach pigtails for the feedline.I used a five foot length of pressuretreated 4x4 post to give the base of theantenna a firm support. The post wasburied 30 inches into the ground andtwo galvanized conduit clamps wereused to hold the base (a little overkill,but they do the job).

The rest of the antenna was assembledafter the mating sections were sanded,cleaned with a circuit board solvent,and covered in a conductive, anti-corrosion goop made for aluminumcontacts (Gardner Bender’s Ox-GuardTM found at Lowes). The fit waspretty good, especially with the goop,so I didn’t use any fasteners (might havebeen a mistake - time will tell). Afterattaching the 450 Ohm ladder-line andthree fifty foot lengths of 6/32” dacronline to the guy ring, my son helped mewalk the antenna up against the basepost. The thing seemed pretty rigid upto this point. It’s amazing how muchbend was in the total length before itwas vertical. I extended the guys at 120

deg from each other with one opposite thefeedline to the rear and attached them tosubstantial trees (the chosen antenna locationwas a compromise between relativeclearance above, positioning between threesuitable trees, and relative proximity to thehouse). Here’s a bad picture of the finalproduct. The object in the pole toward thetop of the picture is the guy ring and feedpoint of the antenna. Viewed from the housethe antenna blends in with the trees and isnearly invisible.

So how does it work? With an MFJ 939tuner I can operate on all bands between30m and 10m with tuned SWR less than1.5:1. I’ve not had a lot of operating timeon the antenna so far. Last weekend I hearda European Russian station on 20m callingCQ. This was a CW station and his signaldidn’t even register above the S5 noise flooron the meter. I sent a call and he came backwith QRZ? After three more tries he actuallycopied my call and we exchanged signalreports before he sank completely into thenoise. At 5157 miles this is my secondlongest range QSO to date. Not bad for 20watts and no sunspots. Mid-week there werea few sunspots and conditions improved. Iwas making 30m contacts to Wyoming andthe west coast in the early evening. TheWyoming station was running 10 watts onan Elecraft K2 and I was running 20 on my

Vertical antenna construction from page 2

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GARA Meeting MinutesRegular Meeting Minutes

April 28, 2008The regular monthly meeting of the

Greensboro Amateur Radio Associationwas held on Monday April 28, 2008 at theGolden Corral Restaurant near WendoverAvenue and I-40.

The meeting was called to order at7:15PM by President Chris Thompson,K4HC. Roy Smith, N4BYU, suggestedthat we have the presentation first becauseour featured speaker was Guilford County

Sheriff B.J. Barnes and the possibility thathe may need to leave to tend other matters. This was agreed to and we had a greatpresentation with Sheriff Barnes discussingthe need for a new jail and the type ofcrimes we have in Guilford County. Hethen held a lengthy question and answersession.

The regular part of the meeting startedat 8:25 PM with Chris asking everyone tointroduce himself or herself. Chris thenexplained that we did not have a board

meeting in April due to not securing alocation soon enough. He then asked forapproval of the minutes as published inthe newsletter. Roy Smith, N4BYU, madea motion to accept, Bob Morris, W0EG,seconded, and the motion passed. Chrisasked the club officers if there was anynew business. John Standberg, AJ4BT,suggested an “Open House” type eventto show the different types of ham radiosto club members as well as the generalpublic.

Bob, W0EG, commented on thesuccessful triathlon that was held atBelews Lake.

Ernie Wall, NC4EW, said, “Bills paid,checkbook balanced and money in thebank.”

Ernie also stated that we have anequipment insurance premium to pay inMay. Al Allred, K4ZKQ, said that the

finances are in line with the forecast.

Alan Bradley, KD4IUN, spoke aboutthe soccer tournament that is coming upon Memorial Day weekend and he stillneeds more operators to volunteer. Youcan reach Allen at kd4iun@arrl.net.

Roy said that the equipment inventoryis finished, the equipment value is beingassessed and that the insurance willprobably increase. Roy also spoke moreabout the open house that John spoke aboutand asked the club to sponsor it. Roy gavethanks to everyone who worked at thetriathlon. Roy then said that two membershave asked him if we could build a memberdata base with member information andequipment lists. Chris said that we have amembers only section on the website thatwould be a great place for a data base likethis, Gerald Donnelly N4PAX, who wasone of the people asking about a data base,said that he would be happy to type it upif he had the information.

Gerald will look into what it would taketo build the database and confer with TomForrest about putting it on the website.Chris said that Rick Mainheart WB3EXRand himself are hosting a Technical net onSunday nights starting around 7:30-8:00PM.

Al spoke about the highland gamescoming up on May 3.

Chris mentioned that there is a newgathering spot “Hams at Hams” at theHams lakeside on cone Blvd Fridayafternoon with talk-in on the repeater.Chris then spoke about the informalluncheon with Riley HollingsworthK4ZDH at Cracker Barrel. Roy made amotion to adjourn, Gerald seconded

GARA Board Meeting MinutesMay 12, 2008

The GARA board of directors met atthe home of Ernie Wall, NC4EW, on May12/2008 at 7:15PM. Members present wereChris Thompson, K4HC; John Strandberg,AJ4BT; Roy Smith, N4BYU; Ernie Wall,NC4EW; Bob Morris, W0EG; DaveTouvell, KN4ZO and Greg Spencer,KG4UQV. Al Allred did not come due tonot wanting to drive that far at night. Chris,

For SaleKenwood TH-K2 Handi-Talkie in likenew condition and with 2 antennas, theoriginal one and a Diamond RH519, thatI will sell for $90... it has all the accessoriesthat it came with, the original box and theU s e r ' s G u i d e . E - M a i l i sjecchile@yahoo.com Phone number: 854-5088 (Anytime except between 11pm and8:00 am)

-------------------------------About 6-7 years of QST. Maybe more.All in excellent condition. Trying to makeroom for other things. Just dont use themand they are taking up space. No charge

for them but would like to donate themto a young individual excited about hamradio. No picking or choosing. Take entirelot. Bring their own boxes andtransportation. John Shea, N4DSP, 336-684-9253, cell; 336-565-0271, home.

-------------------------------Kenwood TH-F6a tri-bander (220mhz,440mhz, and 2m)- Has had hardly anyuse - works great - not a scratch on it. Sellfor $280. Original box, all paperwork,supplied accessories and charge cord.Already programmed with lots of the localrepeaters and surrounding areas, etc.Contact: email at Rudy Langley,kg4hct@aol.com, or call 253-2421 andleave me a message.

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GuilfordCounty SheriffB.J. Barnestalks withGARAmembers atthe Aprilmeeting.

(Photo by TomForrest)

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“The Feed Line” is ©2008 by the Greensboro AmateurRadio Association and published monthly. Our addressis P.O. Box 7054, Greensboro, NC 27417. The purposeof the newsletter is to provide the club and prospective members information about the club and amateurradio in general. Material and information shouldreach the editor by the first Friday of the month forthe next edition of the newsletter. Opinions expressedin “The Feed Line” do not necessarialy represent theviews of the officers, directors, editor or members ofthe Greensboro Amateur Radio Association. Materialmay be reproduced, provided proper credit is givento GARA.

President Chris Thompson, K4HCVice-President John Strandberg, AJ4BT

Treasurer Ernie Wall, NC4EWSecretary Greg Spencer, KG4UQV

Financial Al Allred, K4ZKQEngineering Chairman Bob Morris W0EG

Operations Roy Smith, N4BYUMember at Large Clark Doggett, KG4HOM

Member at Large Dave Touvell, KN4ZOAppointed Positions:

News letter editor and Webmaster:Tom Forrest, N4GVK

The Greensboro AmateurRadio Association

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

May, 2008 Page 5

Argo V. He was clear as a bell and gaveme a 599. I guess the antenna works!.

[Update: I spent a few hours on 20mand 15m during the CQ WW WPXContest this last weekend and added 13new entities to my log from Europe/Africaand a few in South America/the Carribean.I tried the ARRL DX contest the first ofMarch and couldn’t get through to anyEuropean ops (didn’t hear any either). Didalright in the Carribean and SouthAmerica, though.]

K4HC, said that we will make plans topick up Al for upcoming meetings ifnecessary. Old business, Roy N4BYUpassed around the inventory list and wediscussed some things that were incorrect.The main item of interest was the VHFduplexer, which was listed as a PhelpsDodge. The Phelps Dodge was replacedlast year with a new Telewave duplexer,Chris said we need to list both duplexerson inventory. There are some items, whichare still being valued. The inventory listwill be updated and forwarded to theinsurance company to update their recordsand a copy placed in the club files.

New business: Bob, W0EG, said thatour UHF 442.875 repeater is not compliantwith control regulation, Chris said that asfar as he knew the automatic control issufficient. Bob said that he had seen atelephone sharing device that would allowus to use the existing phone line to controlboth repeaters, Chris said that that wouldbe a good idea and we discussed the issue.Roy, N4BYU made a motion to purchasethe device and Dave, KN4ZO seconded,all were in favor and the motion carried.Bob said that he would personallycontribute $20.00 to the purchase. Roy,N4BYU gave out a repeater control codelist and we discussed the operation of thevarious controls.

Bob, W8JFQ, is interested in putting an

Eccolink node on one of our repeaters;Roy suggested the 442.875 repeater as itis used less than the145.150 repeater. Royalso spoke about the possibility of addinga letter to the repeater control codes toprevent anyone from accidentally gettinginto the control area of the repeater. Thisis something we will look into if therepeater is used for Eccolink. Roy saidthat GARA owns two 440 MHz Radiosthat were used for linking at one time. Wehave no need for them at this time andRoy said that we need to use them orpossible sell them.

Roy also said that the club has a repeaterlinking module that we once used on UHFand that is no longer used. Chris said thathe did not see a need for that. Roy saidthat he knows someone who wants to buythem. We would need to establish a fairprice for them. The discussion was tabledat this time. At this time the officers werepolled to see if anyone had anything elseto discuss.

Ernie Wall, NC4EW, said that the bankaccount is doing well and the bills arepaid.

Roy Smith N4BYU wanted to knowwhat the cost was to run the club for ayear in relation to what the clubs incomeis. Without the public service grant wewould not be able to stay in the black. Weare looking at some other fund raisingoptions for the future.

Roy said that he still has not gotten thephone answering program running torecord the Amateur Radio Newsline forour Sunday night information net. He isresearching another brand to see if it willwork for our needs.

John Standberg, AJ4BT, talked aboutthe open house that we are planning. Weare looking at some advertising such aspost cards and/or a newspaper ad. Thedate has not been set but we are lookingat sometime after field day. Chris said thathe is planning to do another technicianlicense training class after the open house.Roy made a motion to have JohnStrandberg check with the city about theLewis Recreation Center as a venue, Chrisseconded. Motion passed.

Bob Morris, W0EG, suggestedapproaching some vendors to advertise inthe Feed line.

Roy spoke about the Feed Line mailingto certain members at no charge on a caseby case basis. Roy also made a motion toincrease the Feed line mailing surchargeto $12.00 starting in January of 2009;Ernie seconded. This will be brought upagain at the October meeting. Chris madea motion to adjourn at 8:45 PM; Royseconded.

GARA Board Meeting Minutesfrom page 4

Vertical antenna construction from page 3

If you have an article you would like tosubmit to the Feed Line, please send itto Tom Forrest, n4gvk@bellsouth.net

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

Page 6 May, 2008

Will Ravenel, AI4VE

Git urnewzhear

Ham HappeningsbriefsNEWS

Meet Our Members

This information from Don Harris,W4BUZ on Rusty Hughes, WA4SAD.

“I talked with Rusty on Monday(5/12)and he advised that his doctor hasdiagnosed his condition as being LouGehrig's Disease, otherwise known asALS.”

“ He has the two wheelchairs he nowneeds, one to move around in his homeand one that can be carried in a vehicle.He doesn't have the vehicle problemresolved yet,” Don said.

Please keep Rusty in those prayers.Rusty is in good sprits. You can call himat 292-0227 and chat with him, or sendhim E-mail at rdh60@bellsouth.net andchat with him that way.

Residents of Wilmington, NC are to belab rats before nationwide transition todigital TV.

The Federal Communicat ionsCommission plans to make the greaterWilmington area a digital-TV test marketto work out any bugs before the entirenation goesall digital on Feb. 17.

All four commercial broadcasters in theWilmington region ˜ with a population ofabout 400,000 ˜ have agreed to turn offtheir analog signals and broadcast indigital only starting Sept. 8, 2008. Theswitch will be preceded by an intensivelocal consumer education campaign,including TV and radio ads.

"This will help us understand what weneed to do to prepare the rest of thecountry", FCC Chairman Kevin Martinsaid.

The GARA member for May is WillRavenel, AI4VE.

Will was born in Charleston, SC andmoved to Myrtle Beach, SC when he was10. He graduated from Myrtle Beach Highin 1971 and went to Duke University fora year and a half before transferring to theCollege of Charleston for a degree inMarine Biology. Not being much work inthat field, he then went on to Florida StateUniversity and got a Master’s degree inOceanography. With his Master’s degreeit landed him a job at Western Electric inGreensboro in 1980. He is presentlyworking for General Dynamics on anumber of government and commercialcontracts where he gets to apply someremnants of his oceanographic training.He describes his job as mostly makingviewgraphs.

Will became interested in Ham radio inthe summer of 1979, while in graduateschool. He was working a summer job ona research platform about 12 miles offshorefrom Panama City.

Will commented, “We would spend aweek working on the platform and then aweek on shore. One of the guys workingwith us was a Texas A&M graduate studentwho was a very active Ham. Heencouraged a couple of us to study codeand the theory then tested us. By the time

the research project was ended by a lateJuly hurricane, I was a Novice class Ham- KA4LAJ. I thought the license wouldcome in handy when I got my boat andsailed around the world. Still waiting forthat.”

“I upgraded to General in 1984, becameN4QWO, and bought a Kenwood TS-120S. I had fun with that rig but familyresponsibilities soon led me to sell it andI became inactive for 20 years or so. Lastspring I heard that the code requirementhad been dropped and decided to try forExtra at the Charlotte Hamfest. I passedand bought a Ten-Tec Argonaut V thatwent on the air in November last year. Iforced myself to work CW and to mysurprise found I like it a lot. Since thenI’ve worked 47 states and 45 countries -all on 20 watts or less,” he added.

This makes him continuously licensedfor 30 years this summer. Will’s favoriteequipment includes: Ten-Tec Argo V -Great CW and digital mode rig. He likes40m/30m/20m and CW, PSK-31, andsome voice.

“CW or PSK-31 on 30m can be a realhaven when the big contests are running.Recently bought a FLEX SDR-1000 andam having fun learning the future of radio.I’m taking an ARRL antenna modelingclass on-line and like making my ownantennas,” he said.

His activities include fun chasing statesand slowly collecting DX entities. Hejoined the FISTS CW club after meetingseveral members on the air.

Will lost his wife of 15 years to a caraccident 11 years ago. His children, son,Aubrey, is 24 and is graduating fromUNCG this summer and his daughter,Emma, 22, will graduate from SavannahCollege of Art and Design this summer.

“I’d like to thank everyone for thewelcome I’ve received and to extend kudosto Chris and the board for making GARAsuch an exceptional club,” he concluded.

Editor’s note: A note of thanks to Willfor providing this month’s feature articlefor the Feed Line. Will provided the textand the photos.

Get Well

Wilmington Chosen toTo Test Digital TVSwitch

Feed Line http://www.w4gso.org

Page 7May, 2008

Via ARRLOn Monday, May 12 at 0628 UTC, amagnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Sichuan,China. The Chinese Radio SportsAssociation, the Chinese IARU Member-Society, has designated the followingfrequencies for emergency servicesinvolved in the rescue: 14.270, 7.050 and7.060 MHz. The ARRLencourages US amateurs to beaware of the emergencyoperations on those threefrequencies.

The CRSA Web site reportsthe following:

"On the afternoon of May 12,2008, Wenchuan Area ofChina's Sichuan province wasstruck by an earthquake.Communications in some ofthe surrounding areas arecurrent ly cut off , andcommunications in some otherareas are experiencing networkconges t ion because ofdrastically increased traffic.

"Chinese Radio SportsAssociation therefore calls onits members to take actions toensure their amateur radio stations tooperate properly, and to the extent possiblestand by on often used short-wavefrequencies. If any radio signal is heardfrom the disaster area, please do your bestto understand what is most needed bypeople in that area and report it to the localgovernment authority. If people in thesurrounding areas need to pass messagesto their loved ones over the radio, pleasehelp them to get in touch and get themessages across as soon as possible.

"Amateur radio stations in the disaster areaand surrounding areas if in workingconditions should be used unconditionallyto assist the local earthquake disaster relief

authorities, and subject to permission bythe said authorities, to providecommunications services to them. Foremergency communications purposes,amateur radio stations may also be usedto pass messages for local residents on at e m p o r a r y b a s i s u n t i l l o c a ltelecommunications services resume.

Amateur radio stations of all regionsshould give way to and stand by foremergency communications."

Hams on the Ground

At 1757 UTC on Monday, May 12, LiuHu, BG8AAS, of Chengdu, a town in theprovince of Sichuan, reported that a localUHF repeater survived the disaster. "Itkeeps functioning from the first minuteand more than 200 local radio hams arenow on that repeater. A group of hamsfrom Chengdu has headed for Wenchuan,the center of the quake, trying to set upemergency communication servicesthere," he said.

Michael Chen, BD5RV/4, said that YueShu, BA8AB, also from Chengdu,Sichuan, was reported to be active on the40 meter emergency frequency onMonday. "Up to now, there has been nofurther information available from thecenter zone of the quake. There are a fewradio amateurs there, but all of the

communications have been cutout, including Amateur Radio,"Chen said.

At 1858 UTC, Liu reported thatthe local UHF repeater inChengdu "keeps busy runningafter the quake. It helps to directsocial vehicles to transport thewounded from Dujiangyan,Beichuan and other regions.Another UHF repeater alsostarted working in Mianyan,supported by generators, but theyare going to face a shortage ofgas." Chen said that damage inChengdu remains in the lowestlevel, but the situation is "veryvery bad in the counties around.A few towns are said to bedestroyed completely. More than7000 died in the town ofBeichuan. Casualties in severalother towns are still unknown

and not counted in the published numbers.It is a long and sad day."

At 0831 UTC on Tuesday, May 13, Chensaid that a group of radio amateurs is nowtransmitting from Wenchuan, the centerof quake: "Its signal is reported to be veryweak. They tried to keep communicationwith BY8AA, the Sichuan RadioOrienteering Association in Chengdu,seeking for all resources needed. Duringa contact finished a few minutes ago, theywere asking for raincoats, water, tents andoutdoor living facilities." -- Informationprovided by Michael Ye, BD4AAQ, andMichael Chen, BD5RV/4

Calendar of Upcoming Events

Amateur Operators Aid In Chineese Earthquake Aftermath

This map shows the location of the epicenter of the May 12 earthquakethat rocked Sichuan, China. [Photo courtesy of USGS]

• May 25-31: Hurricane Preparedness Week• June 7: Atlanta Hamfest• June 14: Winston-Salem Classic Hamfest - www.w4nc.org• June 14: Knoxville Hamfest, Knoxville, TN- www.w4bbb.org• June 28-29: ARRL Field Day• July 12: Salisbury Firecracker Hamfest• July 26: Western Carolina Hamfest. Waynesville, NC - www.wcars.org/hamfest.html

• Augist 8: Tour de Furniture• Augist 30-31: Shelby Hamfest• Sept 6 & 7: Tour to Tanglewood 2008 Bike Ride• Sept. 20: Doggett Picnic, “Doggettville”• Sept. 20 & 21: Virginia Beach Hamfest• Oct. 12: Maysville, NC Hamfest

Greensboro Amateur Radio AssociationP.O. Box 7054Greensboro, NC 27417

The Official Publication of GARA

Web:www.w4gso.org

FIRST CLASS MAIL

June 28 - 29, 2008

With more than 400 votes tallied, the W1HQ snake finally has a name. SeanKutzko, KX9X, president of The Laird Campbell Memorial HQ Operators Club,announced that the snake not only has a name, but a call sign, as well.

"Members of the club met over lunch to discuss and vote on all the names thatwere sent in. The winning entry came from Charlie Liberto, W4MEC, ofHendersonville, North Carolina. He, along with former ARRL staffer R. Dean Straw,N6BV, submitted the name Hamaconda. Paul Trotter, AA4ZZ, of Charlotte, NorthCarolina, submitted H1SS as a name. We liked the idea of the snake having a callsign, so the club decided, out of all the great names and call signs sent in, thatCharlie's and Paul's submissions fit our mascot perfectly." Both Liberto and Trotterwill receive their choice of an ARRL Handbook, ARRL Antenna Book or ARRLOperating Manual.

Kutzko, the ARRL Contest Branch Manager, was elected as president of theHQ club at the meeting. ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen, W1KRB, wasselected as vice-president. ARRL Lab Manager and W1HQ Trustee Ed Hare,W1RFI, was selected as the club's technical officer, and ARRL MVPAssociate/Production Assistant Carol Michaud, KB1QAW, was selected as clubsecretary.

The W1HQ mascot, Hamaconda, H1SS, getsup close and friendly with ARRL MembershipManager Katie Breen, W1KRB, in the LairdCampbell Memorial HQ Operators Club at ARRLHQ in Newington. [S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA,Photo]

On the Last Page .... the funnies !

Ham HISSteria !NC Hams Win Contest To Name TheARRL HQ Mascot “Snake”and more ARRL news