March Meeting

I built my first crystal radio in 1958 at age 9, from a kit I had requested as a Christmas gift. It even had a one transistor audio amp. Like most Hams I have phased through several interests ranging from HF mobile operation, Satellites, VHF antenna experimenting, Homebrewing and QRP. My interest in Xtal sets was reawakened when I discovered "The Crystal Set Society", several very nice web sites, and an on-line discussion group called "The Crystal Set Radio Club", and got to know the people on them. I was then able to share my enthusiasm and exchange information with other "serious" crystal and Antique Radio enthusiasts.

I was first licensed as WN3ALA in 1964. Later, while in Navy ETA school I passed the Advanced class exam at the Chicago FCC office, and was licensed as WA3NOQ in 1969. During the Mid 80's when I realized that the 2x1 Extra calls were going fast, (no vanity call program in sight) I realized that if I wanted one (and a "6" call) that I better act. I tested with the Foothill VE's was licensed as WR6K. I lay claim to directly Elmering at least 12 new hams over the years, and using the Xtal Radio venue to introduce young people to Radio, our wonderful hobby and vocation.

My presentation will cover the very early history of radio, complete with pictures of key contributors to the Xtal radio art, as well as Vintage Xtal Radios. It will also cover basic and advanced circuits, high performance design principles, and operating techniques. I will bring several Xtal radios that I have built to display.

I work as an electrical engineer for a small security equipment company designing various types of field sensor equipment products.

His talk is quite thorough and he will not be able to cover everything in one evening. I have heard him speak and I encourage you to invite interested friends. You and they won't be disappointed.

Transitions

Steve Stearns KF6OIK has been named to the Board.

February Meeting

Contests

Calendar

Foothill Flea Market - 2nd Saturday of each month from March to October at Foothill College, Los Altos Hills. FARS NET on 145.23 repeater Thursday nights at 8 PM.

Jim, WE6V is running W1AW code practice sessions on the 145.23 repeater every Tuesday evening 8:00 to 8:30.

Board members: Dirk Thiele KE6ZUY, Dick Baldwinson N6ATD, Hans Neumann KE6TGA, Herb Davidson KF6BKL, Arv Hamer WA6UUT, Larry Moore KM6IU, Charles Arney KF6CUU, Steve Stearns KF6OIK.

K6YA Station Trustee: Stan Kuhl, K6MA

FARS Web Page: www.fars.k6ya.org

FARS announcement mailing list is moderated, so you cannot reply directly to the list.

fars-announce@svpal.org

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The FARS Relay is the official monthly newsletter of the Foothills Amateur Radio Society Meetings are held at 7 PM on the fourth Friday of each month except January (Winter Banquet); and 3rd Friday in June, Nov. & Dec. Annual membership $20; family $25. Visitors are always welcome! Directions on the back page. Talk-in: N6NFI (145.23-, 100Hz) or W6ASH repeater (145.27 or 224.36). Contributions to the newsletter from members, family, and guests are earnestly solicited! Contributions subject to editing and/or compression. ASCII files via packet, Internet or diskettes preferred; but all readable forms welcome. Here is how to reach the editor:
Internet: dwilkes@svpal.org, davewilkes@aol.com

VHF voice: KD6WRG on N6NFI, 145.23- (100Hz PL) FARS net Thursdays 8 PM; Various other times. Mail: 1093 Kelly Drive San Jose CA 95129-3222 Voice: 408-996-1613 (Until 9 PM); Fax: 408-725-1036, and at FARS meetings.
 
 

March Board Meeting

Amateur Radio Spectrum Bill Introduced in Senate

ACTION ITEM: Write your Senators and ask them to support this bill. Then write your Congressperson and ask them to get the House bill out of committee.
 

Changes: 2.4 GHz.

Technician Class, May 6,7, 2000

Web Wanderings by Howard Califf, KE6PWH

A little bit about myself. I'm a two-finger typist. Currently a No-Code Technician but I have passed my General Written Exam so I'm working on the Code(a means to an end, Hi Hi). Anyway on with the show.

One of my favorite sites is called "How Far Is It" The url is "www.indo.com/distance" I started using this one because it shows not only the Distance to a target but it also shows the Bearing for pointing a beam when working DX. Now you may say why is a No Code Technician working DX. I am a DX'r on both 2M and 6M SSB. From My home in Silicon Valley (Santa Clara, Ca) I have worked 4 countries on 6M, 17 States and over 60 grids. My farthest was N & S Carolina about 2300 Miles and on 2M I have worked Amarillo, TX about 1100 miles. "How Far Is It" figured it out for me.

For those of you who are thinking about up grading your license as I have just done you may want to go to one of the "on line" sites where you can take Practice Tests. I used them extensively and attribute my passing to all the practice tests I took. Also my study book was out of date so the tests helped fill in the gaps. The first Practice Site I will talk about is our old favorite "QRZ" www.qrz.com This is the one I used mainly because it corrected each question as I answered it with the correct response and it kept a running tally of my correct answers to questions asked. Just go to the web site as if to look up a Call-Sign and click on the button called exams. Then select which test you want out of either the current or the new set of pool questions that takes effect on April 15th. It is simple and easy to do multiple tests for practice. It also times how long it takes you to complete the exam. Good info for scheduling.

The second site is the WVARA Club site. I am a member of this club along with several other clubs. The URL is "www.wvara.org/wvexam" This site was mentioned on Ham Radio Newsline and went from 3,000 hits every 2-3 months to 24,000 in 1 day. Almost smoked the Phone Lines as the server was temporarily located in a member's home. This test service works a bit differently than the QRZ Site. It only has the current test pool of questions (it will be updated). It also has you take the whole test before it corrects your work. More like the real deal.

I think both sites have their uses. I liked QRZ for study purposes but got a more realistic test situation when I used the WVARA site. Both sites will create a new test for you very quickly so you can take multiple practice tests and get a variety of questions out of the Test Pool of Questions.

There are several other sites out there that offer test services but these were the ones I used and am familiar with. There are thousands of Ham radio sites out there, go find some and tell your Ham friends about them.

More to follow, next month. Good luck with your Web Wanderings.

I think he is after my job. (Hee, hee, hee) DW]
 
 

Baker to Las Vegas 2000

ARRL PACIFIC DIVISION UPDATE

(408) 353-3911 (Phone and FAX)

Packet: W6CF@N0ARY.#NCA.CA.USA.NOAM
Internet: w6cf@arrl.org

WWW Pacific Division Home Page - pacific.arrl.org

Update on SB 1714, Proposed California State
Antenna/Tower Legislation

As mentioned in a recent special edition of this Update, legislation has been introduced in the California State Senate with the objective of providing relief to many California hams who live in communities with highly restrictive antenna ordinances. The full text of the proposed law, SB 1714, is reproduced at the end of this issue of the Update.

The bill was introduced through the auspices of Mike Mitchell, W6RW, by State Senator Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga, in Southern California. It will only be enacted if there is vigorous support by the amateur community. Vigorous support means letters and telephone calls to your State Senator and Assembly Member asking them to support the bill and explaining why you feel that way.

The various Assembly members in California are unlikely to know much about Amateur Radio. They need to learn two things: how many of us (who vote) there are and what we do for the community.

You may follow the progress of this bill by going to www.leginfo.ca.gov and following the links to "subscribe" to the bill by number. You will then receive email notice whenever any action takes place. Letters to committees as well as to your own representatives are in order.

SB 1714 has been assigned to the Local Government Committee of the California Senate for hearings. The chair of the Local Government Committee is Senator Richard K. Rainey, of Contra Costa County. Senator Rainey is the former County Sheriff, and was responsible for establishing the Sheriff's Amateur Radio Reserve.

Please make an effort to write to Senator Rainey as chair, noting any local ordinances in your City or County which stop you from getting a permit for an antenna or make it more expensive, how that antenna would be valuable for emergency services, and the fact that antenna regulations, high permit fees and the like hurt all of the amateur service as a disincentive to activity. Where it exists it should help to make a point of cooperation with other services, such as REACT, and to note specific participation in emergency service situations. MARS participants should point out the emergency support role of that service and the fact that it relies extensively on HF frequencies assigned by the military for that purpose. Senator Rainey will understand without being told what RACES is.

Letters to Senator Rainey should be addressed:
 

Honorable Richard K. Rainey, Chair
Local Government Committee
State Capitol, Room 410
Sacramento, CA 95914

Dear Senator Rainey:
 

If you wish to comment by email, Senator Rainey's address is enator.rainey@sen.ca.gov

Please spread the word as widely as possible.

Thanks, Harry Styron, K6HS, Pacific Division Volunteer Counsel Coordinator.
 

West Valley ARA Operates Web-Based Exam Site

www.wvara.org/wvexam

The software generates a random exam on a web form using the same published question pool employed by the various VECs.
 

ARRL Files on Restructuring Plan

The League filed a Petition for Partial Reconsideration in the WT Docket 98-143 proceeding on March 13.

The League suggested that it would be less of an administrative burden for the FCC to maintain the Technician database as it has been doing. The database now identifies Technician and Tech Plus licensees by encoding the records with a ''T'' or a ''P'' respectively. The ARRL also said the inability to identify those Technicians that have HF privileges and those who do not could hamper voluntary enforcement efforts. It further suggested it would be wrong to put the burden of proof of having passed the Morse examination on licensees.

The League cited the demands of fairness in asking the FCC to afford Morse element credit to all applicants who have ever passed an FCC-recognized 5 WPM code exam. The rules already grant Element 1 credit to those holding an expired or unexpired FCC- issued Novice license or an expired or unexpired Technician Class operator license document granted before February 14, 1991. It also grants Element 1 credit to applicants possessing an FCC-issued commercial radiotelegraph operator license or permit that's valid or expired less than 5 years.

The League has asked the FCC to ''conform the rules'' to give similar credit to those who once held General, Advanced or Amateur Extra class licenses.

Thanks, ARRL.
 

Speakers for future meetings.

Anybody have any suggestions for speakers?
 
 

An act to add Section 65850.3 to the Government Code, relating to zoning.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1714, as introduced, Brulte. Zoning ordinances: radio antennas.

Existing law authorizes the legislative body of any county or city to adopt zoning ordinances for various purposes.

This bill would provide that any ordinance enacted by the legislative body of any city or county regulating the placement, screening, or height of antennas shall reasonably accommodate amateur radio antennas and permit radio antenna height to less than 200 feet or 75 feet, depending on the population density of the city or county.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. Section 65850.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65850.3. (a) Any ordinance enacted by the legislative body of any city or county regulating the placement, screening, or height of antennas shall reasonably accommodate amateur radio antennas and shall impose the minimum regulation necessary to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the city or county.

(b) In a city or county having a population density of 120 persons or less per square mile according to the 1990 United States census, no ordinance shall do either of the following:

(1) Restrict amateur radio antenna height to less than 200 feet above ground level as permitted by the Federal Communications Commission.

(2) Restrict the number of support structures.

(c) In a city or county having a population density of more than 120 persons per square mile according to the 1990 United States census, no ordinance shall do either of the following:

(1) Restrict amateur radio antenna height to less than 75 feet above ground level.

(2) Restrict the number of support structures.

(d) Reasonable and customary engineering practices shall be followed in the erection of amateur radio antennas.

(e) This section shall not preclude a city or county, by ordinance, from regulating amateur radio antennas with regard to reasonable requirements relating to the use of screening, setback, and placement, and health and safety requirements.

How to get to meetings:

(Visitors always welcome)

FARS meets at the Covington School District building, 201 Covington Road, Los Altos. Take the El Monte exit (The same exit as for the Foothill Fleamarket) off of I-280 and go East on El Monte. Cross Foothill Expressway and turn right at the next light on to Covington (Note Saint William church on corner). Stay to your left as the road forks. Just past the fork, turn left into the school parking lot. Walk through the center hallway and turn right. The meeting room is the first door on the left. Talk in on 145.23 or 145.27, negative offset, 100 PL.