| P. O. Box 98 |
|
June 2008
|
ARRL Volunteer Examinations
Positive Identification Required
| Ernie Chiles, WØRMS | President | chiles@showme.net |
| John Frye, WJØU | 1st VP | jgfrye@showme.net |
| Phil Nash, ACØIB | 2nd VP | ldnash@hotmail.com |
| Stephanie Fallin | Secretary | |
| Irma Frye, NØJPJ | Treasurer | jgfrye@showme.net |
| Joe Lorberg, WAØZNI | Trustee | lorbergco@sbcglobal.net |
I have made a new addition to the webpage. I am trying to keep events and contests updated 3 or 4 months in advance. http://www.semoarc.org/events.html
| 8 Jun 2008 | + | Egyptianfest Egyptian Radio Club http://www.w9aiu.org Talk-In: 146.79 (PL 127.3)
|
Granite City, IL SW Illinois College 4950 Maryville Road Div: Central Sect: Illinois |
| 20 Jul 2008 | + | ZeroBeaters ARC http://www.wa0fya.org Talk-In: 147.240
|
Washington, MO Hillerman Park Grand Avenue Div: Midwest Sect: Missouri |
Contests
| June 2008 | |
| Wake-Up! QRP Sprint | 0400Z-0600Z, Jun 7 |
| ARRL June VHF QSO Party | 1800Z, Jun 14 to 0300Z, Jun 16 |
| Run for the Bacon QRP Contest | 0100Z-0300Z, Jun 16 |
| Marconi Memorial HF Contest | 1400Z, Jun 28 to 1400Z, Jun 29 |
| ARRL Field Day | 1800Z, Jun 28 to 2100Z, Jun 29 |
| July 2008 | |
| MI QRP July 4th CW Sprint | 2300Z, Jul 4 to 0300Z, Jul 5 |
| FISTS Summer Sprint | 0000Z-0400Z, Jul 12 |
| IARU HF World Championship | 1200Z, Jul 12 to 1200Z, Jul 13 |
| CQ Worldwide VHF Contest | 1800Z, Jul 19 to 2100Z, Jul 20 |
| North American QSO Party, RTTY | 1800Z, Jul 19 to 0600Z, Jul 20 |
| Run for the Bacon QRP Contest | 0100Z-0300Z, Jul 21 |
Birthdays
| Ken Nesslein, KEØYY Ernie Chiles, WØRMS Susan Nesslein, KEØYY xyl |
June 9 June 11 June 23 |
Anniversaries
| Larry, KØRKW, and Sandra Fluegge | June 23, 1962 |
In "2-Land" the Hamfest season is nearly upon us. I'm just getting back into hamming after being away for several years. I look forward to hitting some Hamfest but wonder, if I go, will I be by myself? I know a lot of folks are living in fear of fuel prices, some with good reason no doubt. But I'll be going and here's why:
First off, I love the atmosphere of a Hamfest at daybreak. My hat shields my eyes as I have to look into the sun to look at the tables, I like the sound of hushed morning tones, the fragrance of coffee in a paper cup from the guy with the cup standing next to you. I also like to be around folks who are enjoying good company and laughing all good spirit.
Second off is I liken a Hamfest to flea markets, auctions, yard and garage sales in that you never know what you are going to come home with. The anticipation builds as I walk across the parking lot and doesn't end till I've seen the last table. A cup of coffee and I'm off for my second trip around to see what I might have missed the first time.
The third reason(s) are one, that I own a calculator, and two that I believe in the importance of "perspective."
Just for the sake of numbers I'll use my own numbers. You will have to check your perspective by using your own numbers. My truck gets 17.2 miles per gallon of fuel. The average Hamfest for me is about 100 mile round trip. Given red lights and stop signs I will need 6 gallons of fuel to attend a Hamfest. At $2.00 per gallon it WOULD have cost me $12.00 to attend one Hamfest a few years ago. This year it will cost me $28.00 or (28-12=16) $16.00 more than it did before. That means, I have to save an additional 0.0438 cents per day for the next year. Deposit on a can of pop is 5 cents. If I were destitute, I would need to scrounge one pop can a day to enjoy my hobby.
Somehow, many have gotten the notion that fuel was free and now it cost $4.50 a gallon. Don't let the news media cause you to give up on life because they scour the countryside looking for one destitute person to make their point. If you enjoy your ham radio hobby then by all means go to the Hamfest and enjoy yourself. The difference you will pay more over previous years won't be all that much when you consider how often you attend Hamfest. This isn't something one does everyday like going to work.
Parting shot: Let me state that this is an article about Hamfest attendance and not the World Economy, Price of eggs in China, Global Warming, the War or who may or may not be President. This article deals heavily on the topic of perspective.
See you all at the Hamfest, I'll be the guy with gold lightening bolts on my hat with a HUGE NV2A proudly displayed like I'm the first one to ever get a ham license! HI HI. Hell, I might find some blinking lights for my hat at the Hamfest, why not? You can find everything else there!
73
Todays amateur radio operators are a lucky bunch for a variety of reasons. For example, today's transceivers are far superior to those of yesteryear. Selectivity and sensitivity have improved, while the cost of ownership has decreased in comparison. And, although basic antenna design hasn't changed all that much, new innovations like the SteppIR, have brought them into the 21st century. Even our shack tools have improved.
When I first became an amateur, there were two devices one almost couldn't do without. One was a VTVM (vacuum tube voltmeter), and the other one was an SWR bridge. I don't remember what I paid for the Heathkit VTVM I purchased in 1970, but at the time I thought the price was outrageous. Fact is, I still have it, and it still works! My first SWR bridge, along with about 5 others, has come and gone. Nowadays, there is a new, easily affordable device that's becoming as ubiquitous as an SWR bridge, and that device is an antenna analyzer.
Allow me to digress. An SWR bridge gives you the ratio of forward to reflected voltage, and provides a mechanical way of displaying it. What they can't display is the complex impedance of the device under test; an antenna for example. An antenna analyzer can do just that (and a lot more), if you know how to use it. Let's illustrate it this way.
Say your SWR bridge readout tells you your antenna SWR is 1.25:1; a very acceptable figure. Assuming the antenna is at its true resonant point, the actual resistive portion of the impedance could be either 40 ohms, or 62.5 ohms. While the actual value isn't all that important, it can become important when you're trying to set up the antenna in the first place.
As an example, one of the easiest methodologies to match a remotely-tuned mobile antenna is with a simple, shunt, base coil like the one shown in the photo. Properly adjusted, the coil, and a small amount of capacitance borrowed from the antenna (the antenna is adjust slightly high in frequency), form an LC matching network. This network transforms the nominal 25 ohms impedance of the antenna to the requisite 50 ohms needed by our transceivers. There are many other examples to be sure, but this one best illustrates the issue at hand; properly reading the resonant point with an antenna analyzer.
An antenna analyzer can do a lot more than just measure the complex impedance of a mobile antenna. You can use one to test ferrite beads, adjust antenna traps, measure coax loss, and a whole lot more. But for this basic exercise, we're going to limit ourselves to just one, very important point. And that is, how can you tell when your antenna (or network) is resonant?
For some unknown reason, all too often the consensus of opinion is, that resonance is always at the same point as the lowest SWR. Nothing could be further from the truth! An antenna's resonant point is when the reactive component is neither inductive or capacitive (X=Ø). The resistive component is really immaterial at this point; it is what it is.
Just for the record, I don't have any pecuniary interests in any amateur radio related company. While there are several, inexpensive antenna analyzers on the market, the one I own is an MFJ-259B. Therefore, it's easy for me to take the necessary photos to illustrate the point I'm trying to make here. That is not to say, that other manufacturers units can't do these measurements. They can, albeit the methodology might be different.
Referring to the photo, note that the reactive component (X=Ø), and the resistive component (R=23). This is an actual readout of my mobile antenna, without any matching device(s). Note the SWR is 2.1:1.
Referring to the bottom photo, note that the reactive component (X=4), and the resistive component (R=46). (The reason X has a small value is due to stray capacitance from my body as I was taking the photo). In both cases the antenna is at it's resonant point, yet the SWR reading is different. This is the actual readout of my mobile antenna after the shunt, base coil was installed.
It is a little hard to illustrate by using photos, but in the first example, if you were to increase the frequency on the 259B slightly upwards, you would notice that the apparent SWR will decrease, but the reactive component will increase (X=+j). This is basically what happens when you're using an SWR bridge. In other words, you don't know the actual resonant point unless you use an analyzer.
As I alluded to previously, the actual resonant point isn't all that important, unless you're trying to adjust a shunt, base coil, or perhaps an antenna trap, or any of a myriad of other antenna measurements. The point that needs to be driven home here is, the only time an SWR readout is reasonably accurate, is when the antenna in question is resonant, and that's when X=Ø!
If you want to know how to properly perform all of the things an antenna analyzer can do, and how to determine whether the reactive readout (X) is inductive (+j), or capacitive (-j), download the User's Manual for the MFJ-259B here.
LinkSys Routers and Ham
Radio Interference!
Another plague for the
Ham Bands?
Information And
A Cure for RFI/EMI from LinkSys Routers and Their Products
to Ham Radio?
MAYBE!
Multitudes of Ham Radio
operators are reporting in various forums, interference in varying
degrees from none, or minor, to MAJOR disruption to Ham Radio Bands
from LinkSys products of all types!
Hams worldwide are having
problems associated with LinkSys products.
The purpose of this page is NOT to downgrade or bash any manufacturer or product line....only to report what others have said and done about the known interference problems specific to the Ham Radio bands and the LinkSys products. There may be other brands causing interference also.
Just a little FYI on the noisy wireless router problems causing interference to Ham Bands. Apparently this is a known issue with many Linksys routers and other products from LinkSys whether they are wireless or not and has been ongoing for a long time.
We will attempt to give you information, some known models causing trouble, links, sources of discussion, tips, and hopefully at least one cure for Linksys product interference to the Ham Bands. There are other sources on the internet concerning these problems but we will give you some of the more popular ones. You can do a search and find lots more.
More about the problem.....
Some Hams are of the opinion that the whole bag of Linksys models is involved to one degree or another and that LinkSys knows about the problem but are not very helpful most of the time except in rare instances. Usually the support people just state that they are compliant with the FCC rules and regs and drop the subject!
One
interesting question is how did they ever get Type approval if they
are so compliant in causing interference to a Licensed
Service?
Question unanswered as of this
writing!
Maybe LinkSys has the correct answer!
Here are some statements taken from various sources of Ham radio operators concerning LinkSys products:
"It seems that all LinkSys products have been produced with absolutely no shielding or RF bypassing of any kind and with total disregard to interference, RFI/EMI, caused to any other device."
"Linksys products have got to
be the worst on the market."
"SOME MODELS CAN BE HACKED FOR INCREASED POWER"
"My 2 meter rig is now happy that LinkSys junk is gone."
"Frankly, I think these things are messier than a spark gap transmitter!"
"These routers have also been known to shut down adjacent networks, cordless phones, hf rigs, pagers, baby monitors... you name it."
"There's a ton of pages online
about how it creates havoc on Amateur
Frequencies."
"Pure hash caused by
trash"
"Absolute Junk.....put it where it belongs....in the
trash.! "
"Disconnect it from power......problems are gone!" Editors note...this one says it all!
"Try shielding the cables...may help some."
"I will never by another
LinkSys product again."
And on and on.
What models are involved?
According to our research on the web using various forums, input from emails, bulletin boards, etc, as sources, these are the LinkSys models mentioned most of the time that create RFI/EMI to Amateur Radio Bands or frequencies:
Models reported to be rfi producers....(including other LinkSys products).....this list is not all inclusive..there may be others:
BEFSR41
wireless-g router
"G" router + WAP
BEFSR11
WRT54G Update....Models in Europe may not be problems
( "CE" marked according to Roger MW0IDX K3IDX)...thanks
Roger!
10/100 hub from Linksys
(Model EFAH05W)
BEFSR1
BEFW11S4
D-524 Router
D-Link,
Model DI-624 ver. E1. 4 ports & 108 G wireless..... Hash
on 2 meters for 3 to 4 hundred feet away!
NOW ONE (CURE)......HOPEFULLY!
Taken from one of the forums and referring to a wireless LinkSys router courtesy of VE3VDC:
"When I called their support line they not only knew all about it, they knew exactly who to put me on with for advice.
Their support line is at 1-800-326-7114.
The problem is that the cat5
cables radiate the ethernet switching hash from inside the router."
(Editors Note...the keywords here are
{INSIDE THE ROUTER}....THE SOURCE!)
The third harmonics land on mid-VHF frequencies.
Basically they suggested:
1) Set all NIC cards to 10 mbps.
2) Coil up extra cable length on a "three finger" form and tape.
3) Disable unused ports.
4) Make certain all connectors are clean and in good condition.
5) Keep the router at least 6 inches from metal objects.
6) Disconnect unused cables.
This seems to have worked.
No more washing machine sound
every few Khz all across 2 meters... at least for now. Time will
tell if this is a permanent solution. (fingers crossed) Source of
these tips...VE3VDC
See his excellent article "RFI From Computer
Networks" here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some other
good sources, forums, comments, etc concerning the problem with
LinkSys products and Ham Radio:
Note,
The eham.net links below may require some rather long drawn out
reading and sorting time to wade thru all the QRM in the
articles.
http://www.eham.net/articles/8302
http://www.hamforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4952
http://www.eham.net/forums/RFI/361
But it doesn't end there... There's lots more on the internet!
SOME TIPS IN TRACKING DOWN SOURCES OF RFI IN THE SHACK.
These tips may help in locating severe noise sources to 2 meters and bands above that are suspected of coming from your radio or computer equipment. If the source strength is intense and fundamental frequency is low enough, this could be the source of all your ham band problems. Also see tips for HF below.
Tips for VHF and above:
Using a 2 meter handheld, adjust it to an unused frequency. Leave the "Rubber Duckie" antenna attached.
Stand back several feet from the suspected device or if needed in another room or location if the white noise "floor" is too strong.
Adjust the squelch just to the point that the white noise stops.
Now move the handheld around or near each and every piece of equipment in your station that is near your router or associated cables.
If the squelch breaks an noise poors from the receiver when you are very close to the suspect device...then you may have found the source!
Now remove the antenna from the handheld remembering the device, cable, etc, that caused the squelch to break.
Carefully move the antenna
connector end of the handheld toward the device.......the noise
should increase and break the squelch even higher as you get
closer with the handheld if this is the source of the noise to 2
meters. (When you removed the antenna, you greatly decrease the
"sensitivity" of the handheld. This helps in pinpointing the exact
source.)
If your handheld has a signal level meter, (S Meter), this will aid in tracking down the source with more accuracy than listening to the noise coming from the speaker. The stronger the reading, the closer you are. With the antenna disconnected, you will have to be close to the suspected device.
Now leaving the handheld in the same position (don't move it), remove all cables from the suspect device except the power to the unit.
If the noise stops or gets much weaker...one of more cables are most likely radiating trash rf from INSIDE THE DEVICE! Don't forget the cables going to the computer. Check them too. Your computer and associated devices, cables, etc may also be adding to your problem or could be the culprit!
If you remove the power to the device.....all noise stops.....you have found your source!
BEST Solution.....If it is a LinkSys device.......remove it from service and get another well known brand in a metal case with shielded cables if possible with known good shielding all around! Simple as that.
Don't spend good money on extra shielded cables, ferrites, etc and just wasting your time....of course this is up to you.
Troubleshooting and locating RFI on the HF Bands.
Use a short length of coax connected to the antenna input of your HF rig with a very small "Sniffer" loop attached to the other end. In other words, build yourself a very small loop, about 1 or 2 inches in diameter, fed with 50 ohm coax leading to your HF rig antenna input......Don't key your transmitter while the loop is used for obvious reasons!!!!!!
You will use the Hf receiver to help locate the suspected noisy device just like in the 2 meter procedure above using the "Sniffer" loop on the end of the coax. Make it long enough to reach all devices in your station.
You may need to use attenuation and or RF gain to reduce your receiver sensitivity during this procedure. You want to have the least sensitivity the closer you get to the source of the noise to aid in pinpointing it.
Check all bands and frequencies or the band that you are having the noise on by watching the S meter and listening to the audio from the receiver.
Remember...the most simple thing to do in finding the culprit is to disconnect the power from each suspected device and if the noise stops.....you have located the source!
Good luck
More RFI Tips and Tricks....click here!.
Notes from the Editor;
You will notice in the response from LinkSys tech support to VE3VDC above, that they AKNOWLEDGED THAT THEY HAVE THE PROBLEM!
We would like to thank L D
Blake, VE3VDC for informing us of this problem concerning LinkSys
products and the Amateur Bands.
We usually do not report on
concerns such as this but due to the severe nature of the problems
with LinkSys and the Amateur Radio Bands, we hopefully can inform
more people about what they may be getting into if they use LinkSys
products in or near Amateur Radio Stations......
If YOU have any valuable input to
this article pertaining to other models of LinkSys products
interfering with Ham bands and/or known cures, please email us with
the exact models and description of the interference.
You may
notice the Google ads on the left side of the page with LinkSys
advertising.....we are not responsible for the Google ad content.
They are sorted by Google as related to the content on
this page. I doubt that any of you would be interested anyway in
buying LinkSys products if you read this complete article and do
your research! If you are still interested in
LinkSys...just click on any of the ads.
73 N4UJW Hamuniverse.com {n4ujw at hamuniverse.com}
Fewer than 15 percent of all American amateur radio operators are female, but special event enthusiasts should have no trouble finding YLs on the air this Saturday evening, May 24, thanks to a first-time "event-within-an-event" presented by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club.
Since early May, the club has been operating its annual special event station, W9IMS ( http://www.w9ims.com), in commemoration of the upcoming Indianapolis 500.
But for three straight hours on the night before the race — 2100 UTC Saturday to 0000 Sunday — the club will observe "Chick Factor Night," allowing only YLs to get behind the microphones at W9IMS. During that time, any OMs on the premises will be required to serve snacks and beverages to the busy ladies.
The chivalrous celebration seems appropriate, considering that the legendary 500-mile auto race will feature a record number of female drivers (three — Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno) for the second straight year. W9IMS, the official amateur radio station of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has operated an Indy 500 special event station annually since 2004, but the upcoming "all chicks, all the time" event is a first.
So what's a Chick Factor? As explained in the November 2007 QST article "Girl Meets Brickyard," which highlighted 11-year-old Extra Class YL Amanda Feriante, Chick Factor refers to the ham radio phenomenon in which a female operator instantly attracts a pile-up with the mere sound of her voice. It also applies to the YLs themselves in addition to being the name of a new YL-oriented club, still in the process of organizing, called Chick Factor International (W9YL).
Amanda, AF6YL, will be back at W9IMS this year, and she'll be joined on Chick Factor Night by several other female members and guests of the club. The "scheduled to appear" list includes mom Kortnee Feriante, KF6Y; Heather Heininger, KB9ZLB; Kim Oberc, KC9IRN; and Emily Bishop, WE4MB. The club has also issued an open invitation to other YLs who reside or plan to be in the Indianapolis area Saturday evening.
The W9IMS Comm Center can put several transmitters on the air simultaneously, so there should be no shortage of opportunity to work the YLs. Look for W9IMS on several of the following frequencies (plus or minus): 3.840 MHz, 7.240, 14.240, 18.140, 21.340, 28.340, 50.140, 144.240 SSB and 146.52 simplex FM. For updated frequency information, look for DX spots at sites such as DX Summit -- http://oh2aq.kolumbus.com/dxs
As a special tribute to a Chick Factor pioneer, a YL op will conduct a CW sked at 2100 UTC Saturday with Denice Stoops (KI6BBR) on 14.050 MHz. Denice — the first female telegrapher hired at historic maritime radio station KPH ( http://www.radiomarine.org/kph-proj.html) — will operate K6KPH, the Maritime Radio Historical Society station, located at the KPH facility at Point Reyes National Seashore in California.
Any station that works W9IMS (and any SWL who receives it) during the month of May is eligible for a special Indy 500 QSL card, and the club also awards a certificate for working or receiving all three of its annual special event operations in any combination of years.
But nothing additional will be awarded for working/tuning in one or all of the Chick Factor participants.
Then again, when it comes to chatting with YLs, when have awards ever mattered?
William Cross, W3TN, a staff member in the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and Riley Hollingsworth, Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, spoke at the FCC Forum on Saturday afternoon at the 2008 Dayton Hamvention. Cross opened by explaining just where Amateur Radio falls in the FCC's bureaucracy.
"The Mobility Division of Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has the oversight of the Amateur Radio Service," Cross said. "We handle the day-to-day administration of the Amateur Service and some of the rulemaking activities that affect the Amateur Radio Service. The Gettysburg office handles applications, licensing -- including vanity calls -- and the ULS. Within the Commission, other bureaus also make rules that affect you. The Office of Engineering and Technology handles spectrum allocations and equipment issues. Our Managing Director's Office is the office that handles matters relating to fees, such as the fees relating to vanity call signs, Debt Collection Improvement Act matters, the need for Federal Registration Numbers."
Cross divided comments into two areas: Proceedings where the Commission has issued a decision and rulemaking requests that have been filed with the FCC, but which are pending resolution by the Commission.
Calling the past year "interesting, because it has been a quiet year on the regulatory front," he said that no big rulemaking items were released. "This being an election year, there doesn't seem to be any legislation on Capitol Hill that is of direct interest or impact on the Amateur Service. This year is a good time for Amateur Radio to be flying 'below the radar,' and that's where ham radio is right now in terms of the big picture -- below the radar," Cross said. "We wrapped up a couple of Petitions for Rulemaking [PRM] that were pending and it doesn't look like (at least in the near future) there will be anything else coming out."
One of the cases the FCC issued a decision on was what Cross referred to as the Miller Order. This Order, released May 7, dismissed a PRM from Mark Miller, N5RFX. Miller sought three points: To delete the FCC's 2006 addition to how it defines data, to amend the rules to prohibit automatically controlled stations from transmitting on frequency segments other than those specified in Section 97.221(b), and to replace the symbol rate limits in Section 97.307(f) with bandwidth limitations.
"The effect of these changes," Cross explained, "when taken together, would have been, as [Miller] said, 'A small number of wider bandwidth modes, including Pactor III, would no longer be authorized.' Translating that into English, what he was asking for was 'bye-bye Winlink.' Don't get me wrong -- Winlink as a communications system seems to have become the 'Brussels sprouts of ham radio' -- you either love it or you hate it. And trying to bury it under ketchup or hollandaise sauce hasn't changed the basic like or dislike for Winlink. Most of the controversy here seems to swirl around how certain licensees use it. Some use it for a radio e-mail system. Others use it for getting weather maps while they are on sailboats in places the brave dare not go. Others use it for their personal business activities, such as buying and selling stocks. These uses are really a Section 97.113, a 'prohibited communications' question, not a technology question."
Cross mentioned that there are "some things coming down the pike that you want to keep track of. The ARRL has a pending petition -- RM 11325 -- that requests that we amend the rules that apply to the power stations may use when transmitting spread-spectrum emissions -- BPL. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the FCC's final BPL rules. The Court did not vacate the rules, so they are still in effect. There will be another proceeding to address what the Court told the Commission it had to address."
The Northern California Packet Association has filed a request for clarification that the FCC define what is meant by the term "simultaneously" as it is used when defining a repeater. "The issue here is that in California," Cross explained, "D-STAR repeaters have been coordinated on channels that are set aside for auxiliary stations, on the basis that, because there is a delay in retransmission of the signal, the retransmission is not simultaneous, and therefore the repeating station is not a repeater." Cross said others have advanced what he calls "the duck argument: If the station looks like a repeater, if it functions like a repeater, and it sounds like a repeater, it should be treated as a repeater -- and confined to the repeater subbands. A decision on this will be coming [from the Commission] shortly."
When Hollingsworth stepped up to the podium, he spoke about what he called "the magic of radio," saying, "we need to realize the debt we owe to those who work so hard to further the goals of Amateur Radio, whether it's the Emergency Communications participants, club members, teachers, VEs, the League. One of the richest rewards in doing something is to experience joy in doing it. And with so many people working so hard on their own time to further the goals of Amateur Radio, we're all a little more free to enjoy radio and to make it fun as well as a public service."
Saying that "things have calmed down a lot in the Amateur Radio Service," Hollingsworth explained, "[that] when it comes to the Amateur Radio Service, there's one enforcement tool we need very badly and we just don't have it -- and that's straitjackets," he deadpanned, eliciting guffaws from the crowd of more than 150 people. "Some days I want to ask, 'Why can't everybody just get along?'"
Hollingsworth noted that since the 75 and 80 meter phone band has been expanded, "a lot of these regular small groups, ragchews and some of the Nets should consider "spreading out, because a lot of the regular operations every night are clumped together. Yes, there are still interference issues and interference allegations, but if everybody would spread out a little bit, now, it's going to take a real change of habit by a group that has used the same frequency for 40 years to talk across the state, but you really need to spread out and take advantage [of the band] expansion."
He also noted that interest in Morse code "seems to be higher than ever before." On the enforcement side, Hollingsworth said he has noticed "no difference in enforcement problems related to no-code, and I think I'm seeing more young people at events that I go to." He reminded audience that only 1 percent of Amateur Radio licensees filed comments in the Morse code Proceeding. "I see the new code keys for sale here, and I always see a big crowd of people around anything related to code or code keyers. I think the interest has really peaked."
Hollingsworth pointed out a 12 year old boy who sat in the front row. When asked, the boy responded he received his license three years ago when he was 9. "The future President of the League might be sitting right there," Hollingsworth explained, pointing at the boy. "That's our future, right there, and we're depending on you. We need a lot more young people and I think that Morse code seems to interest young people -- hopefully they're getting tired of instant messengers and the Internet. Last night someone told me about a 14 year old Net Control Operator on a national Net."
Calling for "more courtesy" on the Amateur Radio bands, Hollingsworth said, "This fighting amongst yourselves is the worst thing that you can do. You have some rude operators and operators who don't care and who are hateful and bitter about life in general, but every group has that, whether it's doctors, electricians, lawyers, plumbers, whatever, every group has a certain percentage of people like that. What you have to do is to remind yourself every day to stay on the high road and report to us if you can't resolve a problem after you've given it a chance to go away. There are plenty of ugly situations in the world and you don't have to add to them. Now, there are a few idiots in your Service who know all the answers, only because they haven't thought of all the questions. They just want recognition and reaction. Don't give it to them. Don't be baited. Don't feel insulted -- they are their own worst punishment. Don't dignify them with a response."
Hollingsworth implored the audience to "never let the Commission get by again with handing you 10 to 12 years of neglect. You have to stay vigilant. Even though the bands may sound better to you, you have to be vigilant to protect your Service, and be part of the solution -- not the problem -- and operate as if the whole world is listening, because generally it is."