[handiham-world] Courage Kenny Handiham World Weekly E-Letter for the week of Wednesday, 12 February 2014
- From: Pat Tice <Pat.Tice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "handiham-world@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <handiham-world@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 16:25:27 +0000
[Logo for Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, part of Allina Health]
Courage Kenny Handiham World Weekly E-Letter for the week of Wednesday, 12
February 2014
This is a free weekly news & information update from Courage Kenny Handiham
System<http://handiham.org>. Our contact information is at the end, or simply
email handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> for changes
in subscriptions or to comment. You can listen to this news online.
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________________________________
Welcome to Handiham World.
[145.45 MHz in the display of an IC-706M2G transceiver]
In praise of reliability
Today I want to give a shout out to a very special class of people: those in
the amateur radio community who provide services for the rest of us to use and
who do so consistently and reliably year after year after year. These are the
people who operate repeater systems that the rest of us use. Think about it;
how many times have you used your mobile radio or handheld radio without much
of a thought as to the technology that supports it: the repeater system? That's
the reason for the photo of the ICOM IC 706 Mark 2G showing the 145.45 MHz
frequency on the display. Don Rice, N0BVE, operates the wide-area N0BVE
repeater system on that frequency here in the Twin Cities that is one of our
best resources for consistent, reliable VHF communications year in and year
out. Don volunteers with us and supports the VoIP connectivity that makes the
daily Handiham net possible. More to the point, Don keeps his equipment in good
working order so that it does remain in service and is ready to use when any of
us pushes that push to talk button on the microphone. That's why I think we
need to give Don and repeater owners like him a big thank you. You guys are
keeping us connected!
Of course there are plenty of other people maintaining amateur radio
infrastructure. These days, we are talking about the Internet connectivity we
enjoy through Echolink, IRLP, WIRES, and other VoIP systems. Often times the
effort and resources that go into maintaining such services may go unnoticed
and unheralded, simply because their seamless integration into the
interconnected repeater systems lies somewhat beneath the surface. Nonetheless,
behind all of this stuff there are dedicated amateur radio operators working
tirelessly to advance the science and art of Amateur Radio. Be assured that we
appreciate and thank all of you!
Make the best use of your repeater system
One of the things that we can do to promote best practices in amateur radio is
to lead by showing good example. There are few areas of operating that are more
public than using our local repeater systems. Anyone who might be listening on
frequency will hear us when we key up the repeater, so think about how
important it is to operate correctly. These days, with repeater systems
interconnected through systems like Echolink and IRLP, that line from
Shakespeare, "all the world's a stage", certainly does ring true. When you say
something on a local repeater system, you might actually be heard worldwide,
thanks to VoIP over the Internet. Doesn't it make sense to be the best operator
one can be when you have what is potentially a really big audience?
I think so. One of the best ways to ensure that when we step onto that world
stage of interconnected repeater systems that we put in a good performance is
to build good operating habits. If you are a fan of Shakespeare, you know that
the phrase "All the world's a stage" comes from the play As You like It, in
which the character Jaques is comparing the entire world to a big stage and
life itself to a play. He talks about the seven ages in a man's life from
infant to old age. I'll bet we could find seven good operating habits to
promote so that we are ready when we step out on that world stage of
interconnected repeater systems.
The Seven Good Operating Habits
* Always listen before talking.
* Identify your station using your callsign.
* Allow enough time for stations that might be connected through the
Internet to come back to your call.
* When in conversation on a repeater system, keep transmissions well within
the allowed timer limit so that you don't time out the repeater.
* Pause before keying the transmitter to allow interconnected systems to
handshake with each other.
* If there is a net control station, listen for and follow the instructions
you are given.
* Give up the repeater system immediately if there is an emergency call.
Of course there are always going to be other good operating practices that we
can recommend, but these seven are really pretty basic. If any of them are
ignored on an interconnected VoIP repeater system, chaos can result. The thing
about good operating practice is that it does take practice. When you do things
correctly over and over again you build neural pathways in your brain, commonly
referred to as "good habits". When something is a good habit, you can more or
less operate on autopilot and still do things correctly. Alas, if you have
allowed yourself to develop bad habits associated with sloppy operating
technique, it is going to be just as easy to get on the air and mess up a net
or make a fool of yourself on the repeater system before you even realize what
you have done!
At first it can be a very deliberate process to operate correctly. The reason
for this is that you have not developed habits yet and you have to actually
think about what you are doing and whether it is good operating practice or
not. The whole idea behind practicing for anything is that we want to build
those neural pathways in our brains and train our muscles - which are connected
to our brains after all - to respond correctly when we are getting on the air.
It is pretty much the same when building any skill. You start out more slowly
at first and with practice get better and better and better. Eventually you
come to a point where getting on the air and operating correctly, following
best practices in virtually every case, is effortless. You really don't have to
waste too much time thinking about how to identify your station or leave pauses
between transmissions because you have developed good operating skills through
practice.
Have you ever wondered how poor operators got that way? One of the grandmas in
our family had a saying about child rearing. She observed that you never had to
teach a child to be naughty because that seemed to come naturally! None of us
is immune from at least a little bit of selfishness and that can lead to some
rather childish behaviors that sometimes mess things up on a repeater system.
For example, a childish behavior is to shout out and not want to take turns.
All of us have heard this kind of behavior on the air, and we know that it
certainly doesn't do anything to improve communication on a repeater system.
Just as we learn as children to behave in ways that promote polite conversation
and respectful listening, we learn early on in our radio careers that we need
to apply the same politeness and respect when getting on the air. If a person
does not have good communication skills that include politeness and respect
before they get an amateur radio license, it is pretty likely that they will
not suddenly develop such skills when getting on the repeater. For them, it
will be a learning process. We can lead by giving good example. If you happen
to be in the exalted position of being a net control station and having to
manage the flow of the net while juggling operators with different skill
levels, it may fall to you to patiently explain what is expected. To pull this
off effectively you need to have plenty of tact and patience, and since every
situation is different you will need to be able to think on your feet. It can
be very satisfying to move a newcomer with some poor operating habits into the
realm of good, confident, efficient communications by helping them to develop
good habits. Keep things simple and straightforward and respectful. Be patient.
Always lead by giving good example and developing good operating skills habits
yourself.
Repeater owners everywhere appreciate good operating practices on their
systems! And let me leave you with this final thought on the subject: In an
emergency, things can happen quickly and you can get stressed out trying to
figure out what to do. Good operating habits, drilled into your subconscious
so deeply that they come to you without a thought, will carry you through
emergency communications. That is why emergency responders practice so often.
They want to be able to save lives without having to stop and think about what
to do when time is short and lives hang in the balance. As potential emergency
communicators ourselves we should also be ready, with good communications
habits already wired right into our very beings!
Patrick Tice, WA0TDA
Courage Kenny Handiham Coordinator
________________________________
Bulletins
Valentine's Day suggestion hits the mark
* Here in the USA, February 14 is "St. Valentine's Day", a day when
people trade "Valentines", usually greeting cards or flowers, with someone they
like, or REALLY like. Anyway, I thought I'd mention a helpful email message
that Amazon sent me, headlined "Valentine's Day Gifts". It was really
surprising to open the message and see that it was all about Baofeng handheld
radios and accessories. Aw, gee, Amazon... I didn't know you cared!
Ice station W0JH active this weekend, Feb. 15-17 2014
[Ice fishing house with antennas on frozen, snow-cover lake]
Image: Ice station operated by SARA a number of years ago on a frozen Minnesota
lake. Two vehicles are visible, as are two antenna supports, through the haze
and blowing snow. Talk about embracing winter!
* W0JH is the callsign of our affiliated club SARA, the Stillwater (MN)
Amateur Radio Association. This coming weekend a group of hardy club members
will be taking to the airwaves from the surface of a frozen lake here in
Minnesota, operating HF from a specially-designed ice fishing tent. The object
will be to make lots of contacts on multiple HF bands, and to have lots of fun
while doing so. There are no special rules, so extended QSOs and not
discouraged in favor of quick exchanges, although we do request that the usual
QSO information be exchanged.. The Courage Kenny Handiham Program is supplying
some of the station equipment and we hope that our Handiham members everywhere
will listen for W0JH and make a contact or two or three with the "Ice Station"
on several HF bands. As in past years, W0JH will ONLY plan to fulfill QSL
requests via e-mail.
Operation over the 3-day period will run from ~10:00 am until ~4:00 pm CST.
Requests must be sent to:
IceStationW0JH2014@xxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:WhiteRock2012@xxxxxxxxxxxx> and include
standard QSL info: Callsign, Date, Time (UTC), Band/Frequency, Mode and Report
(RST).
Info is posted on SARA web site:
www.radioham.org<http://www.radioham.org>.
2014 Radio Camp Operating Skills (Saturday, August 16 through Saturday August
23, 2014)
* Our study guide for 2014 Handiham Radio Camp Operating Skills will be
the ARRL Public Service Handbook First
Edition<http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Public-Service-Handbook>. It is
available from your favorite ham radio dealer or directly from ARRL. Blind
Handiham members should contact us for the DAISY version. We will be happy to
place it on your NLS DAISY cartridge for you.
* Update: NLS DAISY cartridges have arrived at Handiham HQ. Cost is
$15.50 for cartridge and mailer, MN residents add sales tax.
Dip in the pool dives into the Extra Class:
* Today we are going to dip our toes into the Extra pool.
E9B14 asks us: "What type of information can be obtained by submitting the
details of a proposed new antenna to a modeling program?"
Possible answers are:
A. SWR vs. frequency charts
B. Polar plots of the far-field elevation and azimuth patterns
C. Antenna gain
D. All of these choices are correct
The right answer is D, because you can get all of that information from
modeling software. Incidentally, since the March QST - the annual antenna
issue - is now out on the ARRL website, you are bound to read antenna articles
that refer to modeling software. Using software based on the "Numerical
Electromagnetics Code", or NEC for short, is common now in antenna design. The
software performs a complex analysis of the design you want to test by taking
segments of equal current within the antenna design and comparing them. Okay,
that's a gross oversimplification, but suffice it to say that modeling software
can prevent a lot of sweat and tears as you run back and forth, trying to
perfect your antenna design with a wire cutter instead of a computer! Why do
all that "cut and try" when you can just model the antenna and work out most of
the bugs before you even roll up your sleeves to put the real thing together?
Secure web connections are now available for your member section web surfing.
* This means that you can type in "https" instead of "http" if you want
to view the pages over a secure connection.
* Example: https://handiham.org
________________________________
Practical Radio
[pliers and wire]
The amplifier vs. the antenna: Why you should choose the antenna first.
It's a question we get at the Handiham office again and again: "What kind of
amplifier should I get for my station?"
Sometimes the station turns out to be a VHF-FM mobile rig with plenty of RF
punch already built in - usually at least 50 watts. Other times the questioner
owns a perfectly good 100 watt HF transceiver.
My answer is almost always the same: Don't bother with an amplifier. Instead,
put up a better antenna. It's just plain physics. The antenna will get more
of your signal where it needs to go, which is better for the RF environment
because you are operating with relatively modest power levels that are unlikely
to trigger the need for RF exposure mitigation or cause RF interference to
other devices in the vicinity. A directional antenna can also cut down
interference to other amateur stations when you transmit. The directional
antenna does a better job of receiving, too. Not only will the station you are
in contact with sound louder, but interference off the back and sides of your
directional antenna will be diminished.
Amplifiers can have their place, but you really don't need one unless you are
working under extremely difficult conditions. An example would be if you are a
net control station for a 75 meter daytime net. Extra power can cut through
the noise and absorption on that band under those conditions.
What are some disadvantages of amplifiers?
* One is that they are expensive, and considering how they can only
improve your transmitted signal and not your received signal the way an antenna
can, you would be better off spending the money on a better antenna system.
* Another is that they are thirsty for current - lots of it - and may
require special consideration in how you supply them with it. Large HF linear
amplifiers may only operate well if you run an additional 220 volt circuit to
the ham shack. VHF-FM amplifiers are going to require some hefty power
supplies, because FM is 100% duty cycle and will draw lot of current at full
capacity.
* The switching can be an issue. Amplifiers are not "plug & play"
devices. You need to make sure that your amplifier switches in tandem with
your transceiver as you go from receive to transmit and back again. Levels must
be considered, too. You may have to make up special cabling or interface
circuitry to match the two devices safely.
* The entire antenna system must be capable of supporting high power.
That means everything in the antenna circuit, including any metering, antenna
tuners, the feedline, antenna switches, lightning arrestors, the balun, and the
antenna itself.
* Amplifiers can turn trivial problems into major headaches. For
example, there may be a bit of RF in the vicinity of your feedline, but
ordinarily it goes unnoticed because of its low power level. Add an amplifier
and suddenly that RF is getting into ground fault interrupters, the neighbor's
stereo system, and the smoke alarms. Any distortion on your signal will be
worse if you amplify it. You may get complaints from other hams whose QSOs you
have interfered with, even though you might barely hear them in your receiver.
Using an HF amplifier can also cause a voltage drop in your house circuits that
can cause the lights to dip when you modulate the rig.
Given the many potential problems with amplifiers, I seldom recommend them.
Most of the newbies who ask about them have no idea of the extra requirements,
and they have not even thought about how they will need expensive power
supplies or big antenna tuners! Please consider putting your resources - time
and money - into a better antenna system before you ever consider an amplifier.
Now, with the March QST annual antenna issue available, it is the right time
to start planning a better antenna system.
This is practical radio, so use what works for you.
________________________________
Handiham Nets are on the air daily.
[headset]
Listen for Doug, N6NFF, tonight and try to answer the trivia question during
the first half hour. Check in later just to get in the log and say hello. The
trivia question answer is revealed shortly after the first half hour.
We are scheduled to be on the air daily at 11:00 USA Central Time, plus
Wednesday & Thursday evenings at 19:00 USA Central Time. A big THANK YOU to
all of our net control stations!
We maintain our nets at 11:00 hours daily relative to Minnesota time. Since
the nets remain true to Minnesota time, the difference between Minnesota time
and GMT is -6 hours. The net is on the air at 17:00 hours GMT.
The two evening sessions are at 01:00 GMT Thursday and Friday. Here in
Minnesota that translates to 7:00 PM Wednesday and Thursday.
The official and most current net news may be found at:
http://www.handiham.org/nets
________________________________
This week @ HQ
[Cartoon robot with pencil]
Digests & Lectures
Jim Perry, KJ3P, Bob Zeida, N1BLF, and Ken Padgitt, W9MJY do the volunteer
recording. Thanks, guys!
Secure, blind-friendly Handiham website login:
https://handiham.org/user#main-content
New this week: CQ Magazine & CQ Plus February 2014 digests in DAISY format.
Log in and check out the new CQ!
QCWA Digest for February 2014 is available in MP3.
In Operating Skills: Joe Bogwist, N3AIN, opens his Radio in the Dark series
with tutorials on how to use the new Kenwood TS-590S 160 - 6 m transceiver!
This week's upcoming Extra Class audio lecture will be on the subject of HF
propagation. In the meantime, in our 58th Extra Class audio lecture we
continue our series on antennas by learning how to match feedlines to antennas,
figuring out feedline loss, and more. (24 MB - 1 hour and 24 minutes)
Our limited digest version of QST for January 2014 in DAISY is available in the
members section.
Worldradio Online for January 2014 has been recorded by Bob Zeida, N1BLF.
Thanks, Bob!
This is the FINAL edition of Worldradio as a standalone publication, due to
the consolidation of several CQ publications.
Remote Base News
[W0EQO station in the server room at Courage North.]
[Kenwood TS-480HX transceiver with LDG autotuner]
Both Handiham Remote Base internet stations W0ZSW and W0EQO are on line for
your use 24/7.
* If you use Skype for audio, please connect and disconnect the Skype call
to the remote base manually. The automatic calling and hang up is no longer
supported in Skype.
* 200 watt operation is restored on 160, 80, and 40 meters for Extra and
Advanced Class users on W0ZSW.
* Outages: Outages are reported on
http://handiham.org/remotebase/station-status/.
Operating tip: Find out how to tell if the remote base station is already in
use if you are using JAWS:
* Listen to the tutorial:
http://www.handiham.org/audio/remotebase/W4MQ_status_JAWS.mp3
* Read the tutorial in accessible HTML:
http://handiham.org/remotebase/2013/03/05/check-station-status-with-jaws-13-or-14/
Digital Cartridges now Stocked at Handiham HQ:
Nancy now has the NLS 4GB digital cartridges and mailers available at our cost.
She says:
We now have a supply of digital Talking Book cartridges and mailers available
for purchase for our Handiham members. The total cost for a set is $15.50. We
will download any digital study materials from the Members Only section of our
website onto your cartridge at no additional cost. Minnesota residents please
add $1.13 MN Sales Tax.
[Pat holding up NLS digital cartridge and mailer]
Don't care to download Handiham materials via computer? The NLS digital
cartridge and mailer can bring you Handiham audio digests each month, plus we
have room to put the audio lecture series or equipment tutorials on them, too!
Want to log in? Let's go:
Secure, blind-friendly Handiham website login:
https://handiham.org/user#main-content
If you have trouble logging in, please let us know.
* All Daisy materials are in zip file format, so you simply download the
zip file you need and unzip it so the Daisy book folder can be accessed or
moved to your NLS or other Daisy player.
* Tip: When in the Daisy directory, it is easy to find the latest books by
sorting the files by date. Be sure the latest date is at the top. The link to
sort is called "Last Modified".
* You can also find what is on a web page by using CONTROL-F. This brings
up a search box and you can type a key word in, such as "September". You may
find more than one September, including 2012, but you will eventually come
across what we have posted for September 2013.
Digital mailers are important: If you do mail a digital cartridge to us, please
be sure that it is an approved free matter mailer. Otherwise it will quickly
cost us several dollars to package and mail out, which is more than the cost of
the mailer in the first place. We don't have a stock of cartridges or mailers
and not including a mailer will result in a long delay getting your request
back out to you.
DAISY audio digests are available for our blind members who do not have
computers, playable in your Library of Congress digital player. Handiham
members who use these players and who would prefer to receive a copy of the
monthly audio digests on the special Library of Congress digital cartridge
should send a blank cartridge to us in a cartridge mailer (no envelopes,
please), so that we can place the files on it and return it to you via free
matter postal mail. Your call sign should be on both the cartridge and the
mailer so that we can make sure we know who it's from. Blank cartridges and
mailers are available from APH, the American Printing House for the Blind,
Inc.<http://www.aph.org>
Digital Talking Book Cartridge, 4GB, Blank; Catalog Number: 1-02609-00, Price
$13.00
Digital Talking Book Cartridge Mailer Catalog Number: 1-02611-00, Price: $2.50
Order Toll-Free: (800) 223-1839.
The Library of Congress NLS has a list of vendors for the digital cartridges:
http://www.loc.gov/nls/cartridges/index.html
Get it all on line as an alternative: Visit the DAISY section on the Handiham
website after logging in.
________________________________
Stay in touch
[Cartoon robot with cordless phone]
Be sure to send Nancy your changes of address, phone number changes, or email
address changes so that we can continue to stay in touch with you. You may
either email Nancy at
hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> or call her at
763-520-0512. If you need to use the toll-free number, call 1-866-426-3442.
Handiham Program Coordinator Patrick Tice, WA0TDA, may be reached at
handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> or by phone at
763-520-0511.
Mornings Monday through Thursday are the best time to contact us.
The Courage Kenny Handiham Program depends on the support of people like you,
who want to share the fun and friendship of ham radio with others. Please help
us provide services to people with disabilities.
Call 1-866-426-3442 toll-free. -- Help us get new hams on the air.
Get the Handiham E-Letter by email every Wednesday, and stay up-to-date with
ham radio news.
You may listen in audio to the E-Letter at Handiham Weekly E-Letter in MP3
format<http://handiham.org/audio/handiham.mp3>
Email us to subscribe:
hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
That's it for this week. 73 from all of us at the Courage Kenny Handihams!
Pat, WA0TDA
Coordinator, Courage Kenny Handiham Program
Reach me by email at:
handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Nancy, Handiham Secretary:
hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Courage Kenny Handiham Program<http://handiham.org>
3915 Golden Valley Road
Golden Valley, MN 55422
763-520-0512
hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
ARRL is the premier organization supporting Amateur Radio worldwide. Please
contact Handihams for help joining the ARRL. We will be happy to help you fill
out the paperwork!
[ARRL diamond-shaped logo]
The weekly e-letter is a compilation of software tips, operating information,
and Handiham news. It is published on Wednesdays, and is available to everyone
free of charge. Please email
handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:handiham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> for changes of
address, unsubscribes, etc. Include your old email address and your new address.
Return to Handiham.org<http://handiham.org>
Courage Kenny Handiham Program<http://handiham.org>
3915 Golden Valley Road
Golden Valley, MN 55422
763-520-0512
hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:hamradio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Contents copyright 2014 - All material for the use of Handiham members only.
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