Mar 19
The W6TRW Repeater participates in the Outdoor Adventure USA weekly net via the IRLP Reflector 9251 each Thursday evening at 7:30 PM immediately following the N6HSI Space Net on our 145.320 and 447.000 Repeaters.
The Outdoor Adventure USA weekly net discusses various topics related to amateur radio and the outdoors.
All amateurs are welcome to participate. Please stop by, give a listen, and join the net.
Website: http://www.oausa.net/
Feb 24
March 13, 2018 Tuesday
Roundtable Pizza, 4330 Redondo Beach Blvd, Torrance
Guest Speaker: Duane Park, N6DSP
The largest police foot pursuit in the world, the Baker to Vegas run is where police organizations form relay teams to run the 120 mile course, in 20 stages from Baker, CA to Las Vegas, NV.
Duane Park, N6DSP, will brief volunteers supporting this event on March 17th & 18th, 2018
Event Information: http://bakervegas.net/
Feb 09
A team from NBC News’ digital news unit Left Field was in Hawaii to visit with some radio amateurs to produce a report when the false nuclear missile alert happened on January 13.
Left Field’s report points out how much we rely on cell phones and 21st-century technology…and what we would do if these suddenly were no longer available. Amateur Radio operators “are standing at the ready and may save us all,” NBC Left Field said in its report. The report, with Left Field’s Jacob Soboroff, runs 7:22.
“Ham radio is one of the ways you’d be able to hear what’s happening,” when conventional telecommunications systems fail, Soboroff told his viewers.
NBC News says its Left Field unit “is a new internationally minded video troupe that makes short, creative documentaries and features specially designed for social media and set-top boxes.”
Click the photo below to watch the video.
Sources: ARRL, NBC News Left Field Youtube Disaster Preparedness Playlist
Jan 31
On the 03:25 UTC pass on January 26, 2018, AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, announced that AO-92 had been commissioned and formally turned the satellite over to AMSAT Operations. AMSAT Vice President – Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, then declared that AO-92 was now open for amateur use.
Read the full story: https://www.amsat.org/ao-92-commissioned-open-for-amateur-use/
Jan 18
February 13, 2018 Tuesday
Roundtable Pizza, 4330 Redondo Beach Blvd, Torrance
Guest Speaker: Joanne Michael, KM6BWB
It began with ham radio…. In 2016, Mrs. Michael decided she wanted to launch a high altitude weather balloon with her students. A science mentor of hers told her she had to obtain a ham radio operator license. She joined a group of mostly g randpa ham radio operators in Torrance and got her own license; the group, who dubbed themselves the ‘balloonatics’, then helped with the class project, to launch their own balloon.
Source: https://www.easyreadernews.com/meadows-elementarys-joanne-michael-brings-wonders-science-students/
In April, she received clearance from the F.A.A. to have her (32 kindergarten-5th grade) students launch a helium filled High-Altitude weather Balloon (HAB) from the Goodyear Blimp Airfield in Carson, reaching 98,405 feet (18.6 miles), using APRS to track the payload of GoPro cameras a one 360 Degree Pix Pro camera. This past March, she led another HAB, this one going 110,288 feet (20.9 miles) at its peak height.
Meet KM6BWB
She is a K-5 science teacher at Meadows Elementary in Manhattan Beach. Joanne is a Space Camp for Educators and Advanced Space Camp for Educators graduate, and is currently an International Ambassador for Space Camp.
On September 8, 2017, she coordinated and led an ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) contact with ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA.
The 2017-18 Teacher of the Year for Meadows Elementary, Joanne’s future aspirations are to get her district more attuned in Ham radio (with at least one operator at each site), and to introduce Fox Hunts to her students.
One More Note: The high altitude launches were funded by MBEF’s “Teachers Driving Innovation” grants, which supplements state funding for programs that inspire learning, enrich teaching, and promote innovation and academic excellence in the public schools of Manhattan Beach. W6TRW club member, Elizabeth Kunkee, KS4IS, is a MEBF volunteer.
Jan 13
CubeSats carrying amateur radio payloads were among the 31 satellites successfully launched on January 12 at 0359 UT on the ISRO PSLV-C40 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
Two of the CubeSats, Fox-1D and PicSat, carry amateur radio FM transponders, but neither is yet available for general amateur use. The PicSat FM transponder is unusual in that instead of a CTCSS tone it requires a 1750 Hz tone burst to activate. The 1750 Hz tone burst used to be popular on IARU Region 1 FM repeaters in the 1980s and 90s before the widespread use of CTCSS.
CNUSail-1, built by students at the Chungnam National University in Korea, carries a deployable sail. The students have requested the help of radio amateurs in receiving the 437.100 MHz 9600 bps BPSK beacon, further information is available at https://sites.google.com/view/cnuusg
JE9PEL lists these frequencies for the satellites carrying amateur radio payloads:
Fox-1D (AO-92) 145.880 down 435.350/1267.350 up FM CTCSS 67.0Hz/200bps DUV
PicSat 435.525 1200bps BPSK
CNUSail-1 437.100 9600bps BPSK
Canyval-X 1/2 437.200 9600bps MSK
KAUSAT-5 437.465/2413.000 9600bps FSK,115k2 MSK
STEP-1 437.485 9600bps FSK
Shankar A65CR/VU2SWG reported coping the Fox-1D satellite voice beacon on the morning pass at 30 deg elevation in Dubai using a TH-F7 with standard rubber duck. YL voice with satellite identifier. Very short burst with fluctuating carrier.
Madhu A65DE also copied Fox-1D from Fujairah, North of Dubai.
AMSAT North America has issued a statement formally designating Fox-1D as AO-92:
Fox-1D, a 1U CubeSat, is the third of AMSAT’s five Fox-1 CubeSats to reach orbit, being preceded by AO-85 (Fox-1A) and AO-91 (RadFxSat / Fox-1B). Fox-1D carries the Fox-1 U/v FM transponder, with an uplink of 435.350 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink of 145.880 MHz. In addition, Fox-1D carries several university experiments, including a MEMS gyro from Pennsylvania State University – Erie, a camera from Virginia Tech, and the University of Iowa’s HERCI (High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument) radiation mapping experiment. Fox-1D also carries the AMSAT L-Band Downshifter experiment which enables the FM transponder to be switched to utilize an uplink of 1267.350 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS).
Fox-1D was sent aloft as a secondary payload on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s PSLV-XL rocket as part of the PSLV-C40 mission. Fox-1D was one of thirty-one satellites successfully deployed on this launch.
Since Fox-1D has met all of the qualifications necessary to receive an OSCAR number, I, by the authority vested in me by the AMSAT President, do hereby confer on this satellite the designation AMSAT-OSCAR 92 or AO-92. I join amateur radio operators in the U.S. and around the world in wishing AO-92 a long and successful life in both its amateur and scientific missions.
I, along with the rest of the amateur community, congratulate all of the volunteers who worked so diligently to construct, test and prepare for launch the newest amateur radio satellite.
William A. (Bill) Tynan, W3XO
AMSAT-NA OSCAR Number Administrator
Further information on the Fox-1D launch, deployment and designation at
https://www.amsat.org/fox-1d-launched-designated-amsat-oscar-92/
Information on PicSat is available via
https://amsat-uk.org/2018/01/10/picsat/
Report on the five Korean satellites that were launched
http://koreabizwire.com/cube-satellites-built-by-university-students-launched-into-outer-space/107445
N2YO online real-time satellite tracking http://www.n2yo.com/
AMSAT-NA online orbital predictions http://www.amsat.org/track/
Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs) ‘Keps’ for new satellites launched in past 30 days
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt
Source: ARRL
Dec 22
Jan 9, 2018 Tuesday
Roundtable Pizza, 4330 Redondo Beach Blvd, Torrance
Guest Speaker: Allen Wolff, KC7O
Fresh from Hamcon’s Tech Talk 2017, Allen Wolff, KC7O is here to explain the Future.
3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. Available and affordable for the consumer, Alan offers some guidance for 3D printers, and what features to consider before diving in: Product, Programs, 3D Models, and Materials.
KC7O holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, RF Communications, from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. With over 45 years’ experience in aerospace manufacturing operations and quality management, he has worked on the Lunar Module including Apollo 11, military communications systems, commercial/military aircraft, spacecraft, computers, and RFID.
First licensed in 1964, Allen holds an Extra Class Amateur Radio License. He has been a 1B Field Day station from 2007-2014. In 2015, he was a 1E emergency power station from his home QTH.
Since 1984, Allen has been a member of the Pasadena Radio Club and has served as a past president. In 1999, he was awarded the ARRL’s Herb Brier Instructor of the Year award for 17 years of teaching Novice and Technician classes. Currently, KC7O supports local police by leading the Sierra Madre Emergency Communications Team.
Nov 12
Dec. 12, 2017, Tuesday
Roundtable Pizza, 4330 Redondo Beach Blvd, Torrance
Guest Speaker: Bill Shanney, W6QR
QRP — “Shall I decrease power?” “Decrease power.”
QRP has come to mean 5 W or less output for CW, or 10 W PEP output or less for SSB.
Most amateur organizations and contests embrace these as the official QRP limits. QRP exemplifies the spirit of the Rules — specifically 97.67(b), which states that “… amateur stations shall use the minimum amount of transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.”
Many of the same amateur activities are alive and well within the QRP community. These activities include constructing home-brew equipment, operating QRP stations, experimenting, DX chasing, and contesting.
“My first call was WV2RDG in NJ. I became WA2RDG when I got my general in 1961. I operate 99.5% CW on 160-6M.
After a long period of inactivity (career and family) I upgraded to extra class in 1988 and became very active. That is also the year that I joined the TRW ARC.
I have a BSEE from NJ Institute of Technology and worked for 45 years in RF and microwave design. I retired from NG/TRW in 2007 after 31 years with the company.”
The Monthly W6TRW General Meeting is a great place to meet other club members and to ask and answer questions about your radios, local repeaters, and all other radio-related topics.
Sep 18
NOTE: The Banquet takes the place of the monthly Club Meeting. There will be no regular Club Meeting at Round Table Pizza in November!
Presented by AI6DF Diana Feinberg
Diana Feinberg, AI6DF, is the president of the Palos Verdes Amateur Radio Club (K6PV), the ARRL Los Angeles Section Manager, & past-chairperson for the L.A. Council of Amateur Radio Clubs. She has served as chair for HAMCON and the ARRL Southwestern Division Conventions. Photographer, writer & editor, Diana is also active in DXing and amateur radio public service.
Sep 18
If you are interested in presenting one of your Do-It-Yourself projects, let us know!
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