Hourly Northern California NVIS Observations

This chart shows colors that represent the recommended HF frequencies for contacting stations for a particular hour. Both stations should use the SAME frequency denoted by the color at the location of the target station. The chart is in Universal Time (UTC). More information at http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/HF_Systems/6/6

Pot grow lights interfere with Ham Radio
Submitted by Rene Smythe, WB6PSY, posted March 4, 2017

I have experienced this interference for the past few years. I found the interference by swinging my 10m Yagi monobander around until the noise became over S9. I then went outside to see where the beam was physically pointed and discovered a garage where indoor pot is being grown. The lights are on a time cycle so the interference comes and goes. 40º degrees in either direction takes the noise out.

Now that marijuana is being legalized in more states, more hams are going to experience this noise.

WB6PSY

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c1b607bfbbab459ba9e21d4c282996e4/growing-problem-pot-lights-give-ham-radio-operators-buzz

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Radio Frequency Interference
posted February 3, 2018

ARRL and the FCC have a cooperative agreement in radio frequency interference matters. You may submit interference reports together with your supporting documentation to ARRL EMC Engineer Mike Gruber W1MG who then files the report with the FCC Gettysburg office.

You may also contact our Section Technical Coordinator Bob Wortman, WB6VYH, or our Section Official Observer Coordinator Bob Hess, W1RH, for assistance. More information is posted under the "From the Section Manager" notes in the November 2016 Section News - Carol KP4MD

Our Official Observer Coordinator Bob Hess, W1RH, shares this helpful web page by NK7Z for identifying sources of Radio Frequency Interference http://www.nk7z.net/rfi-snapshots

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Club and Member News - Under Construction

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Update from River City ARCS
Posted April 25, 2020

President’s Message

Given our current 'Shelter in Place' order for California which at the time of writing we assume will still be in place for our club meeting on April 7th at 7:30pm, we're planning on holding our next club meeting as an online meeting using Zoom. The Board had our regular monthly Board meeting this month also using Zoom and we decided instead of cancelling our monthly club meeting, this should be a good option to allow us to at least continue with out club meetings the best we can given the current situation.

Phil Sittner KD6RM will be presenting the topic for our meeting, which is: "The End Fed Sloper Antenna". To connect to the session you have 2 options, you can either click the following link (or paste into your browser) to download and run the Zoom app which will allow you to hear the audio and see the slides as Phil presents on your computer: https://zoom.us/j/982285849 You'll also be able to type questions to Phil via a chat window, or we can unmute participants at the end of the session for Phil to take Q&A over voice.

Alternatively, you can dial in to the session using a phone number - full connection details will be shared on our www.n6na.org website.

If prompted, the meeting ID for our April meeting is: 982-285-849

All members will receive the password required to connect to the meeting via the club newsletter

As this is a new approach for our club meetings, please be patient with us as we work out any issues. We look forward to you all joining us in the virtual meeting!

Kevin, KK6DCT

Daily 7:30 pm Informal "Health and Welfare" & Roundtable Net 145.25 MHz

As we are asked to “shelter in place,” many Amateurs may be isolated in their home. Occasionally some may have no outside contact checking on needs. Therefore, the River City ARCS' informal "Health and Welfare Net" is held every evening at 7:30 pm on our N6NA repeater on 145.25 MHz.

Instead of calling for “check-ins,” the net control operator calls for those who have indicated they need a contact.

If the person doesn’t respond, at the end of the net they are called to see if all is well.  After the contact period of the net, we have an informal roundtable giving everyone an opportunity to chat.

Amateurs desiring to be contacted need to e-mail contact@n6na.org with their name, call, complete phone number and address.  Persons desiring to be a net control operator or backup, also e-mail contact@n6na.org

Our on-the-air nets are conducted every Wednesday evening at 8:00 pm on the 145.25 MHz N6NA FM repeater, followed by an 8:30 pm 10 meter net on 28.420 MHz USB and a slow scan television net at 9 pm on the 441.300 MHz N6NA FM repeater.  All club members and visitors are welcome to check in to our nets.  See more information at www.n6na.org/nets

Club member Ioan Negru, AI6UO, invites all interested to check into his Slow Speed (5 wpm) CW Net on 28.055 MHz. Net times are Tues. & Thurs. at 10:00 AM and Wed. at 7:00 PM Pacific Time.

Paul McIntyre at the 2014 ARRL Pacific Division Leadership Summit

Paul McIntyre Celebration of Life - Postponed
Paul McIntyre, KC5JAX, president of the River City ARCS, became a Silent Key at the age of 57 on February 28, 2020. He was one of four victims of a knife attack by a client at the Wellness and Recovery Center in Carmichael where Paul was interning in his training to become a social worker.

The Celebration of Life for Paul McIntyre is postponed due to the COVID Shelter in Place Order.  The future date is to be determined.

Paul was a long time mentor and volunteer, passionate to help others learn and enjoy amateur radio. He served years as a club officer, on the Board of Directors and as our net coordinator. He and his wife Barbara and son Hunter regularly participated in our picnics, Field Days and other club activities.

Newsletters

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Member Updates and Feedback

Please send your feedback to kp4md@arrl.org to be included in this section.

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QSL CARDS—PAST AND PRESENT
by Al Canton, K6AAI, posted July 8, 2019

Part of the fun of amateur radio is collecting cards, called QSL cards, from other amateurs that you’ve talked to on the radio. Some people like to collect stamps from various parts of the world but hams collect QSLs.

History

The term QSL comes from the radio “Q” code meaning “I confirm reception.”

During the early days of radio broadcasting, the ability for a radio set to receive distant signals was a source of pride for many consumers and hobbyists. Listeners would mail “reception reports” to radio broadcasting stations in hopes of getting a written letter to officially verify they had heard a distant station. As the volume of reception reports increased, stations took to sending post cards containing a brief form that acknowledged reception. Collecting these cards became popular with radio listeners in the 1920s and 1930s, and reception reports were often used by early broadcasters to gauge the effectiveness of their transmissions.

The concept of sending a post card to verify reception of a station (and later two-way contact between them) may have been independently invented several times. The earliest reference seems to be a card sent in 1916 from 8VX in Buffalo, New York to 3TQ in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (in those days ITU prefixes were not used). The standardized card with callsign, frequency, date, etc. may have been developed in 1919 by C.D. Hoffman, 8UX, in Akron, Ohio. In Europe, W.E.F. “Bill” Corsham, 2UV, first used a QSL when operating from Harlesden, England in 1922.

Today

Today ham radio operators send QSL cards for a variety of reasons. It is interesting to collect them. Having made contact with a particular ham radio station it is often nice to have a card from them to remember the contact. It may be a particularly interesting contact, or one with a rare country where few ham radio operators are active. It may even be with a famous personality as there are a number of famous people around the globe who hold amateur radio licenses. In addition to this, the cards can displayed in the radio shack. Being colorful and interesting they can brighten up any ham radio shack.

Collecting QSL cards can be an interesting addition to the hobby of amateur radio. Cards from distant corners of the earth can be attractive and interesting. Not only do they brighten up the shack, but they can act as an encouragement to hear or contact some more interesting stations as well as being used to apply for operating awards.

- RadioQSL.com: Custom QSL cards at an affordable price.

Contact: RadioQSL.com, Al Canton, K6AAI, info@radioqsl.com, 916-962-9296

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Section Member Duane Wyatt, WAØMJD, on Childrens Hospital's "Kaleidoscope Variety Show"
Posted February 3, 2019

The University of California Benioff Childrens Hospital's Kaleidoscope Variety Show recently featured Sacramento Valley Section member Duane Wyatt, WAØMJD, showing his ham radio operation.

In this "Video Postcard" Duane explains and demonstrates his ham radio station in this program for children.

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Section Member Phil Sittner, KD6RM, on QSO Today Podcast

Phil Sittner, KD6RM, has a ham radio story that goes back over 50 years, from childhood. Still living in Northern California, Phil builds his own radios and test equipment, operates CW on 80 and 40 meters, using his fence mounted 80 meter end-fed Zepp and a pair of phased 40 meter verticals in an HOA neighborhood where antennas are forbidden. We harness Phil’s extensive technical expertise and hear his ham radio story in this QSO Today.

Listen to Phil's podcast interview on https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/kd6rm

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Keep Our Digital Transmissions Legal on 60 Meters
Posted January 29, 2017

Our decreasing solar activity and residential antenna restrictions have attracted increasing numbers of radio amateurs to operate CW and weak signal digital modes on our lower HF frequencies including 60 meters. The five frequency channels that US amateur radio operators share on a secondary basis with US federal government users on 60 meters (5 MHz) pose unique requirements for CW and digital operators. As explained on http://www.arrl.org/60m-channel-allocation, US radio amateur emissions on our 60m channels must be precisely centered in the center frequency of each assigned channel, that is, 5332.0, 5348.0, 5358.5, 5373.0 or 5405.0 kHz. Thus, for example, a CW signal on channel 3 (USB Dial frequency 5357.0 kHz) must be precisely on 5358.5 kHz. The same ARRL page explains that all digital emissions must also be centered in the channel center.

This may appear unreasonable to radio amateurs because a 2.8 kHz channel can accommodate many digital and CW transmissions simultaneously, and requiring multiple stations to operate on the same exact frequency would result in mutual interference. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)* explains this requirement in https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7021871884.pdf which states: "Allowing multiple emissions within the necessary bandwidth of the widest authorized modes (2.8 kHz) increases the possibility of harmful interference from secondary amateur stations to primary federal stations, and would make it more difficult for a federal station to identify an interfering amateur station. In addition, NTIA is concerned about the aggregate equivalent isotropically radiated power from multiple amateur stations transmitting within a single 2.8 kHz channel. Accordingly, NTIA requests that 47 C.F.R. Section 97.303(h) continue to require that amateur stations transmit only on the five center frequencies allocated to the amateur service."  (See http://www.arrl.org/what-the-fcc-rules-say-97-303-h)

Observed Violations of US 60 Meter Frequency Regulations
	JT65 This screenshot photo shows JT65 signals received on 60 meter Channel 3 (5357 kHz USB dial frequency) from 0300-0309 UTC on January 29, 2017. In the photo, the 5357 kHz dial frequency is at 0 Hz on the left side of the waterfall and the 5358.5 kHz channel center is at the 1500 Hz mark. Decodes of several US radio amateurs are seen transmitting JT65 emissions simultaneously on various frequencies throughout the channel 3 frequency range 5357-5360 kHz. This is the familiar appearance of a JT65 waterfall display on all other amateur radio bands; however, it violates the NTIA requirement that each US radio amateur transmission be centered on the 1500 Hz mark (the 5358.5 kHz channel center frequency). ARRL Official Observer Richard Saunders, K6RBS, has posted the proper WSJT-X program settings for legal 60m JT mode operation here.
	WSPR The link http://wsprnet.org/olddb?band=60&sort=callsign&reverse=on&unique=on lists WSPR mode emissions on the 60 meter band. One can scroll down that list and see how many A, K, N and W call signs have been transmitting WSPR mode on 5288 kHz outside the authorized 60 meter center channel frequencies.   US WSPR transmissions continue to be observed on the WSPR software default 60 meter frequency of 5288 kHz, a completely unauthorized frequency for US radio amateurs.

Each licensee has the final responsibility for the lawful operation of his or her station.  Unfortunately, the increasing automation in our radios has apparently accustomed some to falsely assume that the radio will correct for operator carelessness and ignorance of regulations.  Our cooperation with NTIA requirements is essential for our continued access to the 60m channels and for possible future access to the new ITU worldwide 60 meter allocation at 5351.5 to 5366.5 kHz. (See http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-asks-fcc-to-allocate-new-5-mhz-band-retain-channels-and-current-power-limit and http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-invites-comments-on-arrl-petition-to-allocate-new-5-mhz-band). Please be aware of these requirements if you intend to or currently operate CW or digital modes on our shared 60m allocations. The Amateur Auxiliary is documenting this matter and hopes to raise its awareness in the wider amateur radio community.

-Carol Milazzo, KP4MD

*The NTIA is the federal authority that coordinates radio spectrum use for the US military and federal government while the FCC serves in this capacity for US civilian radio spectrum users.