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The National Association for Amateur Radio American Radio Relay League is a 501(c)3 non profit organization. Sacramento Valley Section Serving Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo & Yuba Counties in Northern California Sacramento Valley Section is located in the ARRL Pacific Division. ARRL National Page: www.arrl.org/Groups/view/sacramento-valley Thanks to Greg Kruckewitt KG6SJT for maintaining our Section ARES web page and for assisting with our Facebook page and Twitter feed. Submit Section News updates to kp4md(at)arrl.org
Past Section News Archive
Amateur Radio License Classes and Volunteer Exam (VE) Information and Schedules
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October 2019 News
From the Section Manager
Here are the latest Sacramento Valley Section news and happenings.
No Section Wide Net is scheduled for October
UPCOMING SECTION EVENTS
October 5-6. California QSO Party. www.cqp.org
October 12 ARRL Exhibit & Special Event Station N6M at Rocklin Maker Faire
Where: Rocklin Maker Faire, Sierra College, 5100 Rocklin Rd, Rocklin, CA 95677. The ARRL Sacramento Valley Section will host a booth and Special Event Station N6M to share the wonders of Amateur Radio on Saturday Oct 12 between 9 AM and 4 PM. Ham radio’s roots are in improvising radios and antennas and "Do It Yourself" is what the Maker Faire is all about.
Last year more than 8,000 people attended Maker Faire at Sierra College to see and share their creativity. If you are interested in working our booth to help show the "Do It Yourself" spirit of amateur radio, please contact Orion Endres, AI6JB ai6jb@arrl.net.
For more information on the Rocklin Mini Maker Faire visit website rocklin.makerfaire.com.
ARRL Pacificon Convention October 18-20, 2019
Register online at pacificon.org by October 6 or at the door to attend the October 18-20, 2019 Annual ARRL Pacificon Division Convention at the San Ramon Marriott. For one low admission price Pacificon offers three full days of fun and educational activities for radio amateurs of all ages and interests. Exhibits, forums, workshops, license classes & exams, vendors, and more! PACIFICON is the annual ARRL Pacific Division convention, held each year in October. Pacificon is THE premier amateur radio conference in the western U.S.
October 18-20 Jamboree on the Air
If you do not plan to attend the Pacificon convention, consider reaching out to your local Brownies, Cubs, Boys or Girl Scout troop to offer an Amateur Radio demonstration and to support their participation in the Oct. 18-20 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) to communicate with other scouts around the world. Offer to help your local Brownies, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts earn the Scouting Radio Merit Badge and the ARRL Girl Scout Radio and Wireless Technology Patch.
You can still send October news to kp4md@arrl.org. This website is visited most during the first week of each month, but do check back as it is often updated with late breaking news.
Our Section website, Facebook and Twitter pages are a work in progress, and your suggestions and submissions are always welcome.
73, Dr. Carol Milazzo, KP4MD
American Radio Relay League Sacramento Valley Section Manager
kp4md(at)arrl.org
You can always send compliments, suggestions and submissions for inclusion in our Section News to kp4md(at)arrl.org
JOTA Amateur Radio Support for Oct. 19 Scout Fellowship Weekend in Elverta
Posted October 2, 2019
On Saturday October 19 the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts Pioneer Express District will hold their Scout Flag Retirement Event at Gibson Ranch in Elverta. From 300 to 500 Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts are expected to attend the event that lasts from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and features exhibits and booths related to scouting. Our ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Youth Coordinator Orion Endres, AI6JB, has organized an amateur radio station for the event where volunteers will help youngsters communicate with other scouts during this Worldwide Scouting Jamboree on the Air weekend.
If you wish to share the joy of amateur radio with these young people, please contact Orion Endres, AI6JB.
Carol Milazzo, KP4MD, ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Manager
CalFire and Amateur Radio Repeaters
Posted October 5, 2019
Have you heard reports claiming that "California declares Ham Radio no longer a benefit, severs ties across state" and "CalFire is causing removal of ham radio emergency communications infrastructure from entire State of California?" Our ARRL Pacific Division Director, Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, offers the following facts that explain the issue that has arisen with few amateur repeaters on CalFire premises that have not properly identified their association with local emergency support.
"The State of California has not made any determination we can find 'that Ham Radio [is] no longer a benefit.' What happened is that CAL FIRE has transferred responsibility for its communications sites to its property management department. That department has the task of evaluating each site, its condition, use and tenants. If a repeater not known to be associated with the emergency management function of a local jurisdiction is found in a CAL FIRE vault, the default action is to move it out or subject it to commercial rental rates."
"Our contact in the California Office of Emergency Services suggests that, if any affected repeater is in any way involved with local emergency or government support activity, they should ask that agency to engage with CAL FIRE concerning the repeater. If the agency makes the case, there is a good chance that the repeater will be unaffected."
"Their advice is not to elevate this to State Legislators or the Governor's office. In Southern California, wherein sites managed by the U.S. Forest Service have required repeater owners to post bonds to cover the dismantling of their sites if they cease operation. Negotiation has resulted in considerable easing of the original requirements and a modification of terms to help mitigate the short-term financial impact on those repeater owners."
73, Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, Pacific Division Director
In Episode 414 of the Ham Radio Now podcast, David Goldenberg, WØDHG, and Jim Aspinwall, NO1PC, discuss and explain this and other considerations for amateur radio EmComm equipment that shares space with government radio facilities.
Also read the recent ARRL update on this story at http://www.arrl.org/news/report-causes-concern-and-confusion-in-california-s-amateur-radio-ranks
No ARRL SV Section-Wide Net Scheduled for October
ARRL Sacramento Valley Section Nets are conducted only on months when announced, on the third Thursday of that month following the 7 pm Pacific Time Yuba-Sutter ARES net on the WD6AXM 146.085 MHz FM repeater, followed by the HF Section Net on 3880 kHz LSB +/- 3 kHz. During spring and summer months the HF net may be conducted on 5330.5 kHz USB as propagation permits.
All Sacramento Valley Section radio amateurs are welcome to check into our Section Nets. The nets carry announcements of interest to our section and test our section-wide station communication capabilities.
and Listen to our HF net on a web receiver.
| W6DRZ receiver at Half Moon Bay | 3880 kHz | No 60m |
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| WO7I receiver in Northern Nevada | 3880 kHz | 5330.5 kHz |
| Northern Utah web receiver | 3880 kHz | 5330.5 kHz |
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
Update from Bob Wortman, WB6VYH, Section Technical Coordinator
Posted August 1, 2019
Pacificon is coming on Oct. 18 to the 20th. http://www.pacificon.org/
Don’t forget the Western Placer Amateur Radio Club Ham Fest, September 21, 2019, more info. at https://wparc.us
The Boomtown swap was good this year and the weather was not that bad.
I will be all over Northern California, Northern Nevada, Idaho (still thinking about moving to Idaho and looking for a place) and Oregon this summer. If you have cards to check for DXCC, VUCC or WAS and can’t get out or find someone in your area let me know, I may be in that area sometime this year. I will need advance notice so that I can advise the ARRL Awards Desk especially for the out of state ones.
Watch that sun out there and like always, keep the SWR flat.
73, Bob Wortman, WB6VYH, wb6vyh@arrl.net, wb6vyh@comcast.net
ARRL Pacific Division DXCC Awards Manager, Sacramento Valley Section Technical Coordinator, WAS Award Manager, VUCC Awards Manager
Placer County ARES participate in SRMC MCI Exercise
Posted July 7, 2019
On June 19th Placer County ARES participated in a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) exercise at Sutter Roseville Medical Center (SRMC). The exercise was a drone strike on a Black Hawk Helicopter landing on the SRMC helipad causing it to crash and start a fire. There were nine "victims" with varying degrees of injuries. Placer Count ARES were located at the Emergency Department, and at the scene. The relayed "victim" injury information from the scene to the emergency department, so the emergency department could be properly prepared to treat the injures. The exercise was a great success. I would like to thank KM6RIW, WH7QC, WH7DH, KC3PO, KM6RIX, K6ABJ, NI2U, N6UWQ, and KK6GLP for participating.
Carl First N6CKV Placer County ARES EC
The pictures are from Mike KK6GLP
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October 12, 2019 - Sacramento County ARES Training
Posted September 28, 2019
The next Sacramento County ARES training and meeting is scheduled for Saturday October 12, 2019 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at the Sacramento Sheriff's Central Division, 7000 65th Street, Sacramento, CA 95823.
Vince Cracchiolo KI6NHP is the Sacramento County EC.
For more information, visit the Sacramento County ARES web site at www.saccountyares.org
Update from Jim Piper, N6MED, Red Cross Liaison to Amateur Radio
Posted June 1, 2019
Changes are afoot in the American Red Cross Gold Country Region.
The ink will be dry on the changes this coming January 1. Nationally, the Red Cross is aligning its previously uncorrelated disaster response and blood services regions.
The Gold Country Region will be giving up San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties which will be absorbed by the Central Cal Region. We will be gaining the north coast Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties and Lake county to increase our regional response area by two counties to 26. Along with these counties comes additional disaster potentials, not the least of which are more wild land fire and tsunami risk.
Homogeneous training for voice and digital disaster comm skills between ARES districts becomes ever more important.
Thanks to ARES for all that you do and best regards, Jim / N6MED
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
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
Club and Member News - Under Construction
Member Updates and Feedback
Please send your feedback to kp4md@arrl.org to be included in this section.
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
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.
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
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 | |
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JT65This 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. |
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WSPRThe 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.
Free Amateur Radio Club Website Template
Posted January 20, 2019
Section Member Al Canton K6AAI is offering a generic amateur radio club WordPress website template for free. See the sample website posted at https://k6anc.com/wpradio/. If interested, please contact Al at ac@K6AAI.net
