COFFEE MUG NET NEWSLETTER DEC 2021

Welcome to the first edition of the Coffee Mug Net newsletter....I am experimenting with this new form of communication for the Net...The purpose is to disseminate news of the Net and to conduct certain business that may or may not be done over the air as quickly and as efficiently as by email...So here goes...If you like what you see, please let me know...If you don't let me know about that also...I am open to any and all comments...

END OF YEAR BUSINESS FOR THE CMN:

The following is some news and 'general business' for the Net....

WEBSITE UPDATES AND CHANGES: Thanks to Neil, K2AMF for all his really hard work in developing and constantly improving our website....If you haven't had a chance to visit it, I highly recommend it...You will be impressed!  

2022 ROLL CALL AND ROSTER:  I have been serving as scribe and a sort of Net Manager since being 'voluntold' for the job in late 2003 after I suggested that I could make some improvements that would save time and energy in the process of maintaining and distributing the roll call docs...That was something like a  new member not knowing enough to realize what he was getting himself into?  Well, sort of...At that time, the roster / roll call was being typed out on a typewriter, xeroxed, and snail mailed to the membership annually....I took over scribe duties just in time to issue the 2004 version of the roll call and immediately migrated the roster / roll call over to an EXCEL workbook format...Over the years it has evolved / improved further into what you see today, but is still supported by EXCEL...And it still proves to be a very efficient way to manage the membership tools to run the Net...

I started out printing the EXCEL file and snail mailing them to all the members with a Christmas Card...It was a nice touch and much appreciated...It was also sort of a necessity as only about half the membership at the time had active email accounts...Over the years, that has changed remarkably and I eventually migrated the distribution over to an email format with the files being attached in EXCEL and pdf formats...This proved to be of greater efficiency time wise and less costly as we all know that postal rates have risen significantly in the past 20 years...

Now, for 2022, it is time to take another major step forward in Net management efficiency....As many of you probably know, the 2022 Coffee Mug Net Roll Call and Roster is now available for download.

Our Webmaster, Neil, K2AMF, has included directions on how to download the file for use with EXCEL, Adobe Reader (pdf), and others...If you need help, send him and email or talk to him during the next CMN session...Thanks Neil...

So, with that said, and in parting with what I have done in previous years,  this email does NOT include the roll call and roster files as attachments...You now have to go to the website for that...If you can't find the files or are unable to download and print them..Please send either myself or Neil, K2AMF, an email and we will accommodate you...

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS:  The new 2022 Roll Call and Roster includes changes that show we are moving the following 'guest' hams up to regular membership: 

W7CZA, N7OSR, K7ORL, K9RJT, and K6KWI

Welcome to the Coffee Mug Net, Gentlemen!  I thank you for your patience in waiting to be elevated from 'guests' to regular members, but we were in the process of developing the annual roll call docs and it did not make sense to reorder everything until January...Again, welcome to our group and thank you for your interest and participation...

Finally, I am pleased to report that band conditions at Net time these past few weeks have been quite good...For the past several years, we have seen conditions deteriorate on 40 because of the lack of sunspots...Thank goodness for the SDR so we can hear everyone!!  As the Solar Cycle 24 wound down,  Cycle 25 is winding up and as such, conditions are improving...It's not quite there yet to insure we have great conditions every week, but for the couple of months or so, I have not had to use the SDR during the Net and that hasn't happened for quite a while..The graph in the propagation section of this website shows CMN propagation conditions at Net time (0-5, 5 being good) for 2021....For the past 8 weeks we have been at or above 4...This is a qualitative measure that I have been using for quite a while and seems to be good enough to look at trends...So, hopefully these conditions will persist for the foreseeable future so we can all enjoy each others' company on Saturday mornings...

CLOSURE                              

For now, this newsletter will continue in an as yet undetermined frequency due mainly to my not knowing what we really need to communicate and how often to do so...When I get that worked out, I'll communicate it to everyone...In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed what we have done here...

In closing, I want to wish everyone a pleasant and safe holiday season....

73's de Charles, KW6G (formerly - WB6IYM)

FCC Backs Off $50 FEE

QST de W1AW

ARRL Bulletin 41  ARLB041

From ARRL Headquarters

Newington CT  December 31, 2020

To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB041

ARLB041 FCC Reduces Proposed Amateur Radio Application Fee to $35

The FCC has agreed with ARRL and other commenters that its proposed

$50 fee for certain amateur radio applications was "too high to account for the minimal staff involvement in these applications."

In a Report and Order (R&O), released on December 29, the FCC scaled back to $35 the fee for a new license application, a special temporary authority (STA) request, a rule waiver request, a license renewal application, and a vanity call sign application. All fees are per application. There will be no fee for administrative updates, such as a change of mailing or email address.

The R&O can be found online in PDF format at, https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-184A1.pdf 

FYI .. I am posting this as I am a Net Control Operator for this VHF net (North West Traffic Net - Spokane Area) so I am quite proud of how this event was handled.   The story was also published on the ARRL newsletter so perhaps some of you saw this but didn't know this is the area Joe (N6TCO) and I call home.

- Neil K2AMF

16 September 2020 - Spokane, Washington

Late on the afternoon of September 16, the police department in Post Falls, Idaho, received a 911 call that two juveniles — ages 9 and 11 — were missing from a Post Falls residence for about an hour. According to the report, the pair had left home intending to play in the neighborhood with some Family Radio Service (FRS) radios. Several patrol cars were dispatched to the area to conduct a visual search, and detective Neil Uhrig, K7NJU, responded as officer in charge due to his training and experience with missing persons investigations. The initial search focused on a 2-mile radius from the missing kids’ residence.

One officer received information from witnesses that the pair was probably using FRS Channel 1 (462.5625 MHz). An officer returned to police headquarters to retrieve some FRS radios for distribution to the patrol officers, in the event they might be able to hear the youngsters talking.

Uhrig, meanwhile, pulled out his VHF/UHF handheld with the thought of setting up FRS Channel 1 as an auxiliary frequency, but without the manual at hand, he wasn’t able to execute the channel setup. But Uhrig did hear the Northwest Traffic Net (NWTN) that had begun at 6:30 PM on the local 2-meter repeater.

Checking into the net at about 6:45 PM, Uhrig explained the missing persons situation to net control station Shannon Riley, KJ7MUA, and asked if net participants in the Post Falls area with FRS capability could listen for the youngsters talking.

A number of stations promptly checked in to say they had FRS radios and were monitoring FRS Channel 1. It was assumed that only stations located near the missing youngsters would hear them, given the limited range of FRS radios.

Not long after 7 PM, Jim Hager, KJ7OTD, reported hearing children talking on FRS Channel 1. Uhrig went to Hager’s home to confirm his observation, and the patrol units were redirected to the new search vicinity. A short time later, the missing pair was found safe and returned home.

Uhrig said the most remarkable thing about the incident was that the missing youngsters were some distance from the original search area, and in the opposite direction from where it was expected they might have been headed.

Net Manager Gabbee Perry, KE7ADN, said, “I’m so proud of what a superior job NWTN NCS Shannon and all the operators did last Wednesday. It was a very unusual situation, but everyone had excellent focus and used their resourcefulness to help quickly find the missing kids.” — Thanks to ARRL Assistant Idaho Section Manager Ed Stuckey, AI7H

05 Sept 2020 - Thanks to some great work by the ARISS Team, a new Voice Repeater system is operating on the International Space Station! Here is the access information:

• Mode: FM Voice

• Uplink Frequency: 145.990 MHz, PL 67.0 Hz

• Downlink Frequency: 437.800 MHz

The ARISS team is pleased to announce that the setup and installation of the first element of our next-generation radio system was completed and amateur radio operations with it are now underway. This first element, dubbed the InterOperable Radio System (IORS), was installed in the International Space Station Columbus module. The IORS replaces the Ericsson radio system and packet module that were originally certified for spaceflight on July 26, 2000.

The initial operation of the new radio system is in FM cross-band repeater mode using an uplink frequency of 145.99 MHz with an access tone of 67 Hz and a downlink frequency of 437.800 MHz. System activation was first observed at 01:02 UTC on September 2. Special operations will continue to be announced.

The IORS was launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 6, 2020, on board the SpaceX CRS-20 resupply mission. It consists of a special, space-modified JVC Kenwood D710GA transceiver, an ARISS developed multi-voltage power supply, and interconnecting cables. The design, development, fabrication, testing, and launch of the first IORS was an incredible five-year engineering achievement accomplished by the ARISS hardware volunteer team. It will enable new, exciting capabilities for ham radio operators, students, and the general public. Capabilities include a higher power radio, voice repeater, digital packet radio (APRS) capabilities, and a Kenwood VC-H1 slow-scan television (SSTV) system.

The voice repeater is sensitive enough and uses a power level that will enable folks with an HT and a whip antenna to make contacts using the ISS when its close to the horizon. It should also be easy to make contacts using mobile rigs that can support cross-band operation as well. Program your radios! 

Click to view the full ARISS Press Release. 

01 SEP 2020 - Amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio license application if the FCC adopts rules it proposed last week. Included in the FCC's fee proposal are applications for new licenses, renewal and upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees. 

The same $50 fee would apply to all Amateur Service applications, including those for vanity call signs. "Although there is currently no fee for vanity call signs in the Amateur Radio Service, we find that such applications impose similar costs in aggregate on Commission resources as new applications and therefore propose a $50 fee," the FCC said. 

The FCC also proposes to assess a $50 fee for individuals who want a printed copy of their license. "The Commission has proposed to eliminate these services -- but to the extent the Commission does not do so, we propose a fee of $50 to cover the costs of these services," the FCC said. 

ARRL is reviewing the matter and intends to file comments in opposition  

 15 JAN 2014 -- Last Spring a good friend of mine gave me his son's old ham rig - a Drake T4XC / R4C combo.  It was in need of some cleaning and TLC, but the rig still worked after being stored in a Moraga garage for about 25 years.

I shipped it off to Ron Baker, WB4HFN in Tennessee who cleaned it top to bottom, realigned the rig and replaced some parts.  I got the rig back working like new. 

I installed the rig at my summer place near Grass Valley along with my Drake T4X / R4A (circa 1965) and other radios where I can feed it into my Hy Tower vertical and do low band work.   The results are pretty good.  The R4C is a very hot receiver and I have worked all continents from this QTH with it already - barefoot to boot.  Below is a photo of the entire set up for those of you who may be interested.

Boat anchors are fun!  73's de KW6G 

Carl, W6RXL (SK) made the mugs for which the Net is named. W6PVD reports he ordered his shortly after joining our group. Looked just like the one shown in the photo on the right.

A warning went with it - DO NOT MICROWAVE. 

Apparently some members did with the result of the gold lettering disappearing! - W6PVD