Amateur Radio and HAM Shows

10/3 - Arctic ARC Hamfest,Food Bank/Red Cross,Fairbanks, AK
10/3 - Dade Radio Club Hamtoberfest,Mahi Shrine Temple,Miami, FL
10/3 - LaGrange ARC Hamfest,Oakside Baptist Church Gym,LaGrange, GA
10/4 - Southeast Iowa Hamfest,Muscatine Cty Fairgrounds,West Liberty, IA
10/9-10 - Paris Texas Radio Group,Red River Valley Fairgrounds,Paris, TX
10/10 - SwaptoberFest 2009,Cache County Fairgrounds,Logan, UT
10/17 - OPRC/RST Fall Hamfest,Kino Sports Complex,Tucson, AZ
10/17 - Fresno ARC 66th Annual Hamfest,Salvation Army Event Ctr,Fresno, CA
10/17 - Al Brock Memorial Hamfest,National Guard Armory,Rome, GA
10/23-24 - Texoma Hamarama,Ardmore Convention Ctr,Ardmore, OK
10/24 - Chattanooga ARC Swapfest,Burks UMC,Chattanooga, TN
10/25 - Carroll County ARC,Mason-Dixon Hamfest,Westminster, MD
10/31 - Kentucky Mountains ARC Hamfest,National Guard Armory,Hazard, KY

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Penny
N6HWB
Doug
N3DAB

"It is sufficiently obvious, that persons and property are the two great subjects on which Governments are to act; and that the rights of persons, and the rights of property, are the objects, for the protection of which Government was instituted. These rights cannot well be separated."

--James Madison, Speech at the Virginia Convention, December 2, 1829
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"If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute." --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791
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See our Blog at: Penny's Potpourri

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Penny and Doug
cupenny@tds.net
Penny's Antiques & Wedgwood Pantry

"In days of old, when ops were bold and sideband not invented, the
words were passed by pounding brass, and all were quite contented."

"No trees were killed in the transmission of this message, but a number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced".

"Resistance is futile, but impedance is much more complex!"

Pictured Here: N3DAB Doug's Repeater Room

Ricki Barker Staff Writer
The Albany Herald

ALBANY - For his 80th birthday on Saturday, retired nephrologist Eugene Clark plans to ride his bike on a 100-mile trip from Quincy, Fla. to Albany, GA with family and friends.

On Sunday, he plans to bike back to Quincy. "This is my birthday party," laughed Clark. "I'm just hoping I will be able to complete it."

According to fellow cyclist and friend Ritaann Becker from Havana, Fla., Clark should have no trouble with this course. "He has done it before and he is in great shape," she said. "He goes to the gym and he did a bike ride across Georgia to prepare for this." Becker said that she met Clark on the same trip that they will be taking Saturday for his birthday. "I met Gene in April 2005 across the lunch table in Whigham, Georgia," she said. "It was on an organized ride from Quincy to Albany." Becker said that she was impressed by Clark, describing his determination to complete the ride as inspirational. "On the way into Quincy there was a big hill that we had to climb," she recalled. "He was one of the last ones to finish, but he made it. His toe strap had broken on one of his shoes, but he made it." Becker, who works as a massage therapist and part-time in a bike shop in Tallahassee, said that after Clark's first ride from Quincy to Albany he came in and bought a bike from the shop where she worked. She said that throughout the years she and Clark have developed a genuine friendship and have remained in contact via e-mail and telephone calls. She said that she was excited about the trip, which she will be making with Clark Saturday, because she hadn't seen the retired physician in over two years. "He is so inspirational and I am so honored to do this," said Becker. "I get to finally meet his wife, Catherine, and his family in person who will be riding sag with us throughout the trip." Clark said that "sag" means that his wife, along with his daughter, Sally, will be riding in a car from point to point, providing refreshments to the riders. "It comes from 'sagging,' " explained Clark. "If somebody sags, you can pick them up." Becker said that the 10-hour ride will certainly be interesting and fun. "It's at Gene's pace," she said. "Sunday is going to be tough because of the heat and the hills, but the key is to keep going."

Clark said that he got the idea for his birthday ride a few years back. "It's going to be fun," he said. According to Clark, his son Bob will be joining him on the road on Clark's old bike. "I bought me a new one so he will be riding the one I got in Tallahassee," he said. Clark's partner and fellow nephrologist Dr. Hasan Rizvi will also be riding with him. Clark said that he is looking forward to his birthday ride and says that he feels he is in better shape at 80 than he was when he was practicing medicine. "I am way stronger than I was when I quit my practice," said Clark. "I realized that between 70 and 80 you can gain muscle mass and strength." He said that although he rides regularly and feels he can successfully complete the ride, the heat and the hills might pose a problem. "That one in Quincy is a pretty good hill," said Clark. "I'll do what I can. We (cyclists) don't call it quitting, we call it cross-training when we have to get down and walk. I will finish it though."

The retired nephrologist said that he is also excited about the birthday cake his daughter made for him. "Caramel cake, it is my favorite," said Clark. "I feel kind of guilty that I have been the center of attention this week and I am so grateful that I have such great friends and family." He said that the key to growing old gracefully is to exercise and to try and be happy. "I am a happy person," Clark said. "I have my problems but I still try to be happy."

The cyclist said that he will continue riding bikes as long as he is able, but has no wheeling plans yet for future birthdays. "I hope I can still ride," he said.

Becker said that Clark remains an inspiration to her and that he has touched many lives. "Gene's the man," she said. "He shows me what you can do at that age."

Clark said that he is grateful for his friends and his family and the ability to spend his birthday with them. "I'm grateful and God has blessed me in so many ways," he said. "I'm in this stage right now and I can't wait for what is in the future."

In addition to riding with the Pecan City Pedalers, Clark also serves as the section manager for Georgia Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARRS), which he says is his "real passion."

He is credited with opening the first dialysis center in Southwest Georgia in 1976 and in February the Clark Home Training Center on the 1200 block of North Jefferson Street was dedicated and named in his honor.
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Penny and Doug
cupenny@tds.net
Penny's Antiques & Wedgwood Pantry



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1947 William Shockley invents the transistor. First popular use will be the transistor radio. Electronics become smaller.

The first transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories on December 16, 1947 by William Shockley (seated at Brattain's laboratory bench), John Bardeen (left) and Walter Brattain (right). This was perhaps the most important electronics event of the 20th century, as it later made possible the integrated circuit and microprocessor that are the basis of modern electronics. Prior to the transistor the only alternative to its current regulation and switching functions (TRANSfer resISTOR) was the vacuum tube, which could only be miniaturized to a certain extent, and wasted a lot of energy in the form of heat. Although video was possible with vacuum tube equipment, as was the case with the Ampex VRX-1000, without the transistor video products would never have gotten very small.

The picture on the left above shows the first point contact transistor built by Walter Brattain. It consisted of a plastic triangle lightly suspended above a germanium crystal which itself was sitting on a metal plate attached to a voltage source. A strip of gold was wrapped around the point of the triangle with a tiny gap cut into the gold at the precise point it came in contact with the germanium crystal. The germanium acted as a semiconductor so that a small electric current entering on one side of the gold strip came out the other side as a proportionately amplified current.

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Penny N6HWB
Doug N3DAB
cupenny@tds.net
Penny's Antiques & Wedgwood Pantry



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Field Day is an annual amateur radio exercise, widely sponsored by IARU regions and member organizations, encouraging emergency communications preparedness among amateur radio operators. In the United States, it is typically the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country, with over 30,000 operators participating each year.

Since the first ARRL Field Day in 1933, radio amateurs throughout North America have practiced the rapid deployment of radio communications equipment in environments ranging from operations under tents in remote areas to operations inside Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs). Operations using emergency and alternative power sources are highly encouraged, since electricity and other public infrastructures are often among the first to fail during a natural disaster or severe weather.

To determine the effectiveness of the exercise and of each participant's operations, there is an integrated contesting component, and many clubs also engage in concurrent leisure activities (camping out, cookouts, etc.). Operations typically last a continuous twenty-four hours, requiring scheduled relief operators to keep stations on the air. Additional contest points are awarded for experimenting with unusual modes, making contacts via satellite, and involving youth in the activity.

Penny N6HWB
Doug N3DAB
cupenny@tds.net
Penny's Antiques & Wedgwood Pantry

Pleasant Grove 11-year-old acquires top ham-radio license
By James Davis

Deseret News

Published: March 15, 2009

PLEASANT GROVE - Most people know him as Adam Lee, but the 11-year-old Pleasant Grove boy has another identity: KE7UZK. The Barratt Elementary School sixth-grader isn't a spy or secret agent. Adam is a ham radio operator, and KE7UZK is his call sign.

At BYU's Howard W. Hunter Law Library on Feb. 18, Adam passed the Federal Communications Commission's extra-class, amateur radio-licensing exam, making him one of the youngest ham radio operators on the airwaves. Extra is the highest of three U.S. amateur radio-licensing classes, and it gives Adam the privilege of operating any type of ham radio on any amateur band.

Adam said he caught the ham radio bug last year while working on the Boy Scout radio merit badge. "I wanted to learn more about ham radio," he said. "So I got my technician (license) in July, and then I just kept going and got my general and extra."

Technician is the lowest license class for ham radio operators, and general is the middle class. Adam said the exam for the technician class focused more on logic, and the general- and extra-class exams become more technical.

For now, Adam is the man around the Lee house when it comes to radios. His dad, Sam Lee, only recently passed the technician exam. "A lot of adults try to pass the extra," the elder Lee said. "And it's not an easy test to pass, so (other operators are) impressed that he's already passed the test."

For Christmas, Adam wanted an amateur-extra study manual full of technical information and practice test questions. Prior to taking the test, operators must understand radio-wave propagation, electrical principles, circuit components, signals and emissions, antennas and transmission lines.

From January until his test last month, Adam read the study book three times from cover to cover, evidenced by his book's worn corners, highlighted pages and bookmarks. Sometimes his father would help by quizzing the boy. "Without even giving him the choices, he would know the answer," Sam Lee said. "He just knew this inside and out. It was amazing."

With new privileges afforded him thanks to his amateur-extra license, Adam has hopes to upgrade his radio this summer. Right now, he has a small hand-held device with a maximum range of about 400 miles. He said the most distant operator he's contacted was up in North Salt Lake. "I'm saving for a bigger radio so I can go all the way around the world," Adam said, adding that he particularly wants to talk to radio operators in Europe.

Also on his wish list is a new call sign. Amateur-extra operators usually have a shorter call sign than the six-digit identifier he currently uses. "Right now my call is KE7UZK, but when I passed my extra, I told them to change it," Adam said. "So I'm still waiting for the new call and my new license to come in the mail."

The oldest of five kids, Adam excels at school - especially in math. The young ham radio operator participates in Alpine School District's accelerated learning lab with classmates who learn at a faster pace than others. School, Scouting and other activities prevent Adam from spending as much time radioing as he'd like - "probably once a week or maybe a little bit more," he said.
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Congratulations to Adam!

Penny N6HWB
Doug N3DAB
cupenny@tds.net
Penny's Antiques & Wedgwood Pantry

AMATEUR RADIO D-STAR NEWS
Excerpt from the September issue of "Georgia Section On My Mind":

*** GREAT NEWS--- A few weeks ago, JOHN DAVIS, WB4QDX, our DEC for GA
Public Broadcasting, learned that "GigaParts was accepting proposals
for a complete D-STAR repeater system that they were giving away." As
you may know, John has been working with GA Public Broadcasting to
facilitate the installation of ham equipment at each of the GPB towers
around the state, and one of the goals is to establish a GA ARES D-Star
network by installing D-Star repeaters at each of those sites. So John
and ED WOODRICK, WA4YIH, didn't waste any time. They put together an
excellent proposal, submitted it and hoped for the best. And they GOT
the best! At the Huntsville hamfest, GigaParts announced the winner.
Because of their fine proposal, GigaParts awarded them (and US!) a
complete D-Star repeater system! It will be installed at the WVAN tower
in Pembroke, which as noted in the proposal, "will allow D-STAR voice
and data connectivity to Georgia Emergency Management Agency officials
in Atlanta, South Carolina Emergency Management Division officials in
Columbia and the FEMA Region IV office in Atlanta."

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, to John and Ed for taking the
initiative in putting together this proposal, which will result in
making a very important part of our digital network a reality. Some
people are happy to simply dream dreams, while others take steps to
actually make those dreams come true.

In other D-Star news, ROBIN CUTSHAW, AA4RC, recently installed a
Gateway at the D-Star repeater WX4GPB, which is located on top of Stone
Mountain. That system is now fully operational on 2M, 440, and 1.2 GHz.

73s,
Penny, N6HWB
Doug, N3DAB
cupenny@tds.net

Hamming it up: Cub Scout's radio interest leads to company, success

STARKVILLE - Martin Jue can trace the entire course of his life back to one day.

He was an 8-year-old Cub Scout, living in the Mississippi Delta town of Hollandale, and took part in a group activity where he learned how to build a radio. Little did Jue know this one activity would change his life.

Jue was enamored with the way the device functioned and went on to become a ham radio operator in high school, talking with other "hams" around the world and perfecting his knowledge of Morse code. He went off to college and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering, from Mississippi State University and Georgia Tech, respectively, and eventually began his own ham radio manufacturing operation.

See entire article here: Hamming It Up

Penny
N6HWB
cupenny@tds.net

Penny's Antiques & Wedgwood Pantry
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Sunday, December 07, 2008

GMRS (GENERAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICE) REPEATER SITE

Here is a great site for GMRS information in the Atlanta, Ga metro area.
RTZ Audio

Our compliments to KG4LNE / WPSD889 for all of the useful information found here.

And on this page of the site, you will see our very own GMRS repeater site, along with several Amateur radio repeaters.

RTZ Audio

Penny, N6HWB/WPRX486
Doug, N3DAB/WPRX486
cupenny@tds.net