K6SRZ

FARS/PAARA Winter Banquet
Alan Eshleman, K6SRZ

Alan Eshleman K6SRZ has been on quite a few interesting DXpeditions including T33C, T30CA, T32CK, and Kure Atoll in 05.

Alan Eshleman, MD MPH, is a board certified internist, medical writer, and editor. His clinical practice is in general internal medicine. He recently retired from the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group where he divided his time between seeing patients and serving as the Chief Medical Editor for Kaiser's Internet Services Group. Dr. Eshleman has a special interest in communicating scientific and medical issues to the general public. He has moderated on-line medical discussion groups, and for several years wrote the "Doctor E's Diary" for SFGate, the on-line service of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Raffle

At the Banquet we raffled over $1000 in valuable prizes:

FIRST PRIZE

Yaesu FT-857D HF, 160-6m, 2m, 70cm, with YSK-857 Separation Kit. Includes coverage of 60m (5 MHz) band. 100W on HF and 6m, 50W on 2m, 20W on 70cm.

SECOND PRIZE

Yaesu FT-1802M 2m, 50w Mobile Radio

THIRD PRIZE

West Mountain Radio Crimp Tool with bag of Anderson connectors

FOURTH PRIZE

Grundig FR200 Emergency radio. No batteries required. Just crank the handle for a minute, then listen for about an hour.

AND

many other prizes.

[N6KR]

HF Pedestrian Portable - Equipment and Operating
Wayne Burdick, N6KR, co-founder of Elecraft

Wayne's topic is HF pedestrian portable - equipment and operating. Wayne will discuss the ergonomic issues of operating a miniature, hand-held HF transceiver, focusing on Elecraft's popular KX1 transceiver. Outdoor operation presents various challenges for antennas, log-keeping, keyer paddles, and the operating position. Station size, weight and current drain are also important factors when traveling light. Wayne will show how the rig is being used in different situations, including many innovations created by KX1 owners.

WA6KBL

The Winrad software defined radio program
Jeff Pawlan, WA6KBL

Winrad was conceived to help weak signal communications such as EME and long distance VHF/UHF/microwave contesting. Now it is also used for HF as well. This talk will show the theory behind SDR and then demonstrate how Winrad can display and demodulate a band full of signals with a dynamic range of 100 dB or more. With the proper receiving hardware, it can make otherwise unhearable signals into armchair copy.

More information on the software at http://www.winrad.org/winrad.

KN6QI

Digital Keyboard Modes
Mikel Lechner, KN6QI

Want a new mode you can use on HF without expensive equipment? Try one of the keyboard digital modes which only require only a single sideband (SSB) radio, the PC you probably already have, a cable you can make yourself, and free software that you can download.

Mikel, talks about the most popular digital keyboard modes used to communicate on the HF bands. Modern PC hardware provides plenty of raw processing power to make these modes possible in software. Find out how easy it is to get started with these fun new ways of making contacts.

N2RAG

HT Radios
Rob Goodson, N2RAG

HT's are your key to a world of RF fun! Those versatile black boxes unlock that world of fun!

K6OIK

Useful tools from the ARRL Antenna book
Steve Stearns, K6OIK

Steve demonstrates and explains how to use some of the software included on the ARRL antenna book CD-ROM. Many of these program available for free and some are limited versions of commercial products, but they can still be very useful. Steve shows us how to make good use of them.

Bonus Program: NTS Radiograms
Pink Foster, KG6ILA

Pink explains how to fill out Radiogram forms ready for submission to the National Traffic System (NTS). Field Day is a great time to send off some Radiograms to friends and family.

K6OIK

How Power and SWR Meters Work
Steve Stearns, K6OIK

Standing wave ratio is the ratio of the maximum voltage at some point along a transmission line to the minimum voltage somewhere else along the line. A natural question is how does an SWR meter at an arbitrary location in the line determine SWR? It clearly cannot sense the maximum and minimum voltages because its location in the line does not permit that. Although SWR meters are usually described as bridge circuits, this description is inadequate to explain how they work. Power measurement is also mysterious given that power travels as waves in two directions on a line. Steve, K6OIK, explains how power and SWR meters really work.

As a bonus, Dick, N6ATD, and Phil, KA6MZE, demonstrates power/SWR meters by measuring the output power of members' 2-meter radios and the SWR of their rubber ducks. Members are encouraged to bring their 2-meter handheld radios and portable antennas for testing.

K6WX

HF Operating
Kristen McIntyre, K6WX

HF operating can be fun and rewarding. With recent changes in both international treaty and FCC rules, all hams now have HF privileges. If you've grown up in amateur radio operating only on VHF/UHF and on local repeaters, you'll find HF operating to be a different world with its own procedures, language, and style. This talk will take you on a tour of those differences and show you a few ways to get started on your journey toward enjoyment of the 'low bands'. Even if you're an old timer, come join us to encourage and elmer your friends.

Annual Homebrew Contest

We invite everyone to bring a project to show and and share with our audience. Each participant has 5 - 10 minutes to present a project and answer questions about it.

The following prizes will be rewarded (as decided by the audience):

• $40 - First place
• $30 - Second place
• $20 - Third place
• $10 - Fourth place

Projects must not have been presented at a previous Homebrew contest. Projects should be something you've constructed (kits are OK) and used. Projects must be HAM radio related.

[AE6EO]

Modulation and Deviation - or - Sidebands, Splatter, and Such Stuff
Dave Platt, AE6EO

Dave discusses common signal modulation schemes, including AM, single sideband, and FM. These modulations differ in their means of generation, detection, their use of the radio spectrum, their resistance to different forms of interference, and the ways in which mis-adjusted modulators can cause interference to other radio operators.

Bring your transceiver to have its frequency accuracy and deviation levels measured. We will also be testing output power and portable antenna performance.

W6HOC

New Amateur Gear for the Holidays
Howard Califf, W6HOC

Howard, from Ham Radio Outlet, shows some of the latest and most popular products in time for the holiday season.

K9YC

RFI and Ham Radio
Jim Brown, K9YC

This talk begins by describing the various mechanisms by which transmitted RF is coupled to other equipment (both consumer equipment and equipment in our own shacks), and how RF noise is coupled from consumer equipment to our receiving antennas. Once those mechanisms are understood, simple methods of defeating them are presented. The use of ferrite chokes to suppress RFI is discussed in detail.