SEMO Amateur Radio Club
P. O. Box 98
Jackson. Mo 63755
May, 2006
Meetings:
The "Little Dayton" tailgate swap will be held on May 1st, 2006 at 6:00 PM in the parking lot of the Cape Girardeau County Office Building. (There will be testing if necessary)
Next Meeting Date
The next business meeting will be held April 3, 2006 at 7:00 PM in the basement of the Cape Girardeau County Office Building.
ARRL Volunteer Examinations
ARRL VE testing sessions are held after each monthly meeting for those interested in obtaining or upgrading an Amateur Radio License.
The fee for testing is $14.00 for all test elements.
Willie Sandin, NØMGJ President sandineng@charter.net
John Frye, WJØU 1st VP jgfrye@showme.net
Ernie Chiles, WØRMS 1st VP chiles@showme.net
Martha Vandivort, NØXBW Secretary marthav1@isp.com
Irma Frye, NØJPJ Treasurer jgfrye@showme.net
Joe Lorberg, WAØZNI Trustee lorbergco@sbcglobal.net
June Events
2006 ARRL June VHF QSO Party June 10-12, 2006 Begins 1800 UTC Saturday, ends 0300 UTC Monday
2006 ARRL Field Day June 24-25, 2006
Area Nets
3905 Net Sunday, 9:30 AM 3.905 MHz
SEMO Net Daily, 7:00 PM 146.685 MHz (PL 100.0 Hz)
SEMO 440 Net Daily, 6:30 PM 444.2 MHz
East Ozark ARC Net Monday, 8:00 PM 147.030 MHz
Ste Genevieve Radio Club? Tuesday, 8:00 PM 146.625 MHz
Skywarn Net Thursday, 8:00 PM 146.820 MHz (PL 100.0 Hz)

If you have anything you would like to contribute to the newsletter, please let me know at newsletter@semoarc.org.
ARRL VEC ANNOUNCES VANITY CALL SIGN LICENSE RENEWAL PROGRAM

The ARRL VEC now can process license renewals for vanity call sign holders for a modest fee. The service is available to ARRL members and nonmembers, although League members will pay less. Routine, non-vanity renewals continue to be processed at no cost for ARRL members. In addition, ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, points out that trustees of club stations with vanity call signs may renew either via the Universal Licensing System (ULS) or through a Club Station Call Sign Administrator, such as ARRL VEC.
"2006 is an appropriate year for the ARRL VEC to implement this service, since the licenses of the many radio amateurs who obtained their vanity call signs as a result of the FCC program that went into effect in 1996 will expire this year," Somma said. The first of those licenses are due to expire in June.
"As the FCC has already noted, licensees who want to keep their vanity call signs must pay the regulatory fee, currently $21.90 for the 10-year license term, when renewing their licenses," Somma noted. "Licensees who don't want to pay the mandatory regulatory fee to retain a vanity call sign may request a sequentially issued call sign at the time of renewal."
The FCC has proposed to reduce the vanity call sign regulatory fee to $20.10 for the 10-year license term. The new fee, if adopted, would go into effect in August or September.
Amateur Radio licensees may file for renewal only within 90 days of their license expiration date. All radio amateurs must have an FCC Registration Number (FRN) before filing any application with the Commission. Applicants can obtain an FRN by going to the ULS and clicking on the "New Users Register" link. You must supply your Social Security Number to obtain an FRN.
Those holding specifically requested call signs issued prior to 1996 are exempt from the vanity call sign regulatory fee. That's because Congress did not authorize the FCC to collect regulatory fees until 1993. Such heritage call sign holders do not appear as vanity licensees in the ULS Amateur Radio database.
Somma says the ARRL's new license renewal/modification Web pages contain complete information on license-filing procedures, including step-by-step instructions on how to renew or update a license using the FCC's ULS site and a schedule of fees.
SEMO Amateur Radio Club April 3, 2006

The regular April meeting of the SEMO Amateur Radio Club was called to order by President Willie Sandin at 7:00 P.M. in the meeting room of the Cape Girardeau County Administrative Building. The Secretary's minutes were read and approved. The Treasurer reported 29 members and $1087.12 in the Treasury.
Old Business: The web site is up and running. Information for the club and/or members can be posted. Also , anything needing to go into the newsletter can be put on the web.
The 685 machine will not have more than normal upkeep until we're on the high antenna. The 82 machine is doing fine. It was noted that several people monitored Richard Piper during the last tornado watch on 82.
John Clark advised that he still hasn't put Echo Link on 82 but he's working on it.
The corrected draft of the constitution and by-laws was passed out and also to be in newsletter for voting in June.
In response to a question on benefits of ARRL Affiliation Willie responded that a general liability insurance would be available for club functions, repeater insurance is supposed to be available only to affiliate members and the club gets $2.00 if ARRL dues are paid thru the club .
New Business:
May meeting: Swapfest 6:00 P.M. Parking Lot
June meeting: Charlotte Craig, guest speaker on emergency service, Charlottes Buckets
SO YOU WANT TO BE A LID!
Lid...a term used in amateur radio to denote a poor operator; one who is inept at the practice of the art.
A monumental problem facing amateur radio today is the alarming amount of poor operators filling the air waves. It is the opinion of many that one of the reasons for this is the fact that many of the new operators really have not been advised about proper operating procedures. Too many of the "amateur radio classes" produced today spend very little, if any, time correcting operating procedures. Their major thrust is to teach the code, cram the theory, and fill out a 610 form!
It is easy to be a lid, it must be, there are so many of them. If you are already a lid, read on. you may find some new "lid-isms." If you are not yet a full-fledged lid, you may learn some new material for your next transmissions.
Probably the most popular is "QRZ the frequency." Nobody can be quite sure what the exact meaning of this is. The ARRL Handbook lists QRZ as a CW "shorthand" signal meaning "Who is calling me?" On phone it may mean something else, although I can't imagine a frequency calling someone! I even heard a W5 utter "QRZ the channel!" Now this guy is a chief lid. The frequency was silent for a while (Probably as most good operators were in a state of shock) and then a signal from afar responded, "This is the channel and I wasn't calling you!"
I think "QRZ the channel" and "QRZ the frequency" are real winners. Use them a lot. You'll chase the good, experienced hams out of their gourds.
Actually, the use of "Q" signals on phone is in itself a true "lid-ism." The "Q" signals were devised by high speed CW operators as a form of "shorthand" in order to speed up their transmissions. What use they have on phone is questionable, as in many cases you can say the actual meaning just as fast. In many cases they cause more confusion than if you would have said the actual meaning. Then you get the real lid who comes off with "QRM-Mary or QRN-Nancy?" Good heavens, why didn't he just say he had interference?
Now, you must be ready with this one at a moment's notice: "HI." Never, ever, laugh if you find something funny. Say "HI" or even better "HI-HI." It doesn't really take the place of laughter, but it tells the other operators that you know how to laugh on CW.
Another one. Always give your callsign phonetically when operating on phone, especially when conditions are good and signals are clear. It's another small way to take up valuable air time without really adding any intelligence to a conversation. To cut a fine line, it is not legal to identify your station by saying "Whiskey Five Victor Sierra Romeo." If your call is issued W5VSR, the identification is "This is W5VSR." If copy is difficult and for clarification, then, "This is W5VSR. Whiskey Five Victor Sierra Romeo." So continue your lid-ism and show how clever you can be with ridiculous phonetics. A good friend of mine is W5BS; he has a lot of self-restraint!!
Are you interested in DX? Put these on your DX lid list, "CQ Dog X-Ray." jazz it up a little by saying, impressively "CQ Dog X-Ray, beaming Asia." Not only does that improve your antenna's directionality, but it lets everyone hearing you think you have a beam, whether you do or not.
The number one, all time lid award of the century goes to those great DX operators who listen down on one frequency in the foreign part of the band and transmit up in the American phone band without ever listening on the transmitting frequency to see if it was clear. Of course, you must use two processors, in tandem, mike gain wide open, and drive your three 8877 final tubes with an SB-220 while bellering forth, "CQ Dog X-Ray" for five continuous minutes, before listening. This is the way to attract lots of attention. Lots of it!
Next on the list is the subject of "Break." I do believe that we inherited that one from the CBers. Just find a comfortable roundtable in progress, and say "Break" or better "Break-Break" or best "Breaker-Breaker." Don't give any calls; neither the station you hear nor your own. Don't listen for a few minutes first to find out if you can hear all of the stations in the roundtable. Just break in and disrupt everything. If that doesn't work, start tuning up your rig on that frequency. After all, aren't the frequencies there for all to enjoy?
Here are some quickies: Say "Go" or "Come back" or "C'mon, Good Buddy," instead of "Over" if you think you must say anything at all to let the other operator know you are ready to listen to him. Don't forget the all time Broderick Crawford "10-4" or better "That's a big 10-4."
It is a shame the F.C.C. no longer requires us to indicate portable operation. They have taken away another opportunity for the lid-ism---"This is Whiskey Five Very Strong Radio, Port Five." I just typed this on my port typewriter!
RESULTS GUARANTEED!!
Did you ever hear a phone operator who sounds like he's operating from a dungeon? Maybe he is, but even without a dungeon you can get the same effect by turning up your mike gain and holding your Golden Eagle D-104 at least one foot, better at two, from your face. Never close talk a mike. Disc Jockeys never do and they are "cool." When you are on the air, you are "cool" too, so you do the same. Communications microphones are designed to be close talked. Keep that mike gain at a minimum level. That way you won't be transmitting the voices of your wife and kids screaming five rooms away. Of course, to be a super lid in the audio department, do use a "power mike" driving a processor. Everybody knows that the engineers who designed your transmitter purposely made it short on mike gain.
Lastly, when giving your name, refer to it as your "Handle." It's folksy. And be sure to say, "The handle here is Beaver." That's liddier than just plain, "My name is Beaver." It also helps to punctuate your remarks with "By golly" whenever possible and remember whenever in a large roundtable, especially on a VHF repeater, give each and every call sign in the group complete with phonetics when IDing. Also don't forget to add "For ID" after your callsign.
There are many other ways to be a lid, but I feel confident that if more operators were to take a look at this disaster from the lighter side, perhaps we'll all see just how ridiculous most of the phone operation on the ham bands is today. Phone conversation should really not take on a much different atmosphere from talking to your friends on the telephone. Do you say "Over" or "Break" or the worst "Come back" when you are on the telephone? Well then, why do so many do it on the amateur bands? All of that is ever so redundant on a repeater system where most have "End-of-transmission" beep tones; and of course, there is usually a squelch burst ahead of that, so you actually ended up with a fellow ending his sentence with "Come back".... followed by a squelch burst followed by the repeater's beep and in many cases the repeater carrier dropping. You have just four indications that it's your turn! QSL?
Let's all pay more attention to this problem and see if we can help "Clean up" our operations and put amateur radio operations back up to the more professional nature that it enjoyed before many poor habits of the CB band crept up on us.
This article appeared in the September, 1978, Ham Radio Horizons, entitled "So You Want To Be a Lid!," by A.J. "Buddy" Massa, W5VSR.
For Sale
This is a sample of what is on the "For Sale" page on the website.
ASTRON 12A
PYRAMID GOLD 12A
PYRAMID PHASE III 25A
Yaesu FT840 100w HF Rig $400.00
Alinco DX77T 100w HF Rig $300.00
Radio Shack HTX-10 10meter all-mode mobile $100.00
Uniden HR2600 10meter all-mode mobile $75.00
MFJ 941 Versa Tuner II $50.00
MFJ 1270 Packet TNC $50.00MFJ 1278 Multimode TNC $100.00
Icom F520 256ch 25w VHF Mobile $150.00
Icom F620 256ch 25w UHF Mobile $150.00
TS520S MC50 Desk Mike All manuals included.
I Have A Thing About Grounds
As the title suggests, this article is about grounds. Not just any old ground mind you, but the one(s) that relate to amateur mobile operation. It appears that far too many amateurs don't know the difference between DC, RF, ground as in Earth, and Ground Plane. It is this specific misunderstanding that has prompted me to write this article.
Although this article could delve into all aspects of the subject matter, in this case there is just one misunderstanding I want to dispel. It is simply this; a ground strap IS NOT a replacement for a proper ground plane! This very misunderstanding comes up almost daily in the Mobile forum on this web site.
A vehicle is a very poor ground plane especially under 30 MHz. In reality, it isn't much more than a capacitor to what ever surface is under the vehicle. A surface with a conductivity factor we have no control over. Fact is, as we motor around, the surface makeup and conductivity change continuously. Normally, we don't see this changing conductivity reflected in any of the meters commonly used to monitor transceiver output or SWR. There are exceptions to this, and I'll touch on them further down.
There are some very important facts that need to be mentioned at this point. Ground loss is the largest single factor we have to deal with when we're trying to achieve the best HF antenna efficiency we can. It isn't the only loss we deal with, however.
Since an HF mobile antenna can seldom be a full 1/4 wave in length, it is necessary to place an inductor in the antenna. This inductor (loading coil in common vernacular) cancels out the capacitive reactance caused by the requisite shortening. The word "caused" isn't really correct in this instance, but will do in place of a lengthy explanation.
Any HF mobile antenna has several resistive factors, that when combined make up its input impedance. One of those is radiation resistance (which isn't real per se), but the big one is coil loss. In very simple terms, coil loss is the resistive component which does nothing more than produce heat. Again, in simple terms, the more inductance a coil has the more loss it has. As we go down in frequency, the coil must get larger in inductance, thus losses go up, and efficiency goes down. Radiation resistance goes down as well, adding insult to injury. We can increase the coil's physical size which increases the coil's Q and reduces its losses, but there is a point of diminishing return. In most cases (not all), coil loss pales in comparison to ground loss.
Definitive numbers for these losses are readily available on the net, and in publications from a variety of sources especially the ARRL. I won't repeat them here because it is out of context of the main point of the article. Suffice to say, we want to keep all of the losses low (except radiation loss) if efficiency is our goal.
Assuming it is our goal, the most efficient place to mount an HF mobile antenna in in the center of the roof. This reduces the ground losses to a minimum, and it also minimizes antenna coupling losses. Antenna coupling losses are caused in part by the capacitance between the antenna and the surface under the vehicle. Keep in mind, the lower the mounting position the higher ground and coupling losses will be. Although I use the term ground loss as inclusive of all the encountered losses except coil loss and radiation resistance, it is in fact much more complex than most amateurs realize.
Since ground loss is the largest loss factor, it behooves us to keep it as low as we can. Because the body of the vehicle (and its capacitance to the surface under it) is the other half of our antenna, any thing we place between the two, adds additional loss. I've picked a couple of examples to illustrate the point.
Keeping coil losses low is an important goal in maintaining efficiency, so the coil must be located as far away from the body of the vehicle as possible. This fact causes some amateurs to assume that by placing their antenna atop a long stalk will reduce coil losses. That's true, but the ground losses skyrocket!
Some amateurs don't like to drill holes to mount their antennas (at least ones that can be seen), so they mount them on various kinds of brackets. One popular place is the rear hatch or trunk lid as the case may be.
Because these locations and mounting methods are not ideal, some amateurs assume a simple ground strap between the mount and the body of the vehicle will replace the lack of an adequate ground plane under the antenna, and the associated losses therein. This assumption is incorrect! Unless of course the ground straps are long enough to act as radials, which is a ridiculous notion. In fact, the mount doesn't have to grounded to the vehicle at all! It could even be made of plastic! If grounding the mount cured an RFI problem, or lowered your SWR, then something else was (is) amiss.
There is a lot of popular discussion with respect to how much importance all of this has. After all, some antenna is better than no antenna. The other justification goes something like this. "I'll have you know I worked Peter Island on 40 meters with my hatch-mounted mini bug catcher and got a 59 report." This only proves one thing; just how little radiated power it really takes to communicate.
My father liked to use the phrase "high, wide, and handsome" in describing an ideal. It is very apropos when it comes to the ideal HF mobile antenna, and its location on the vehicle. Higher, bigger, and better are the main adjectives if the prime goal is to get heard. Anything less is exactly that, less.
I mentioned above that you don't normally see the changing conductivity of the surface you're driving over reflected in any of the meters commonly used to monitor transceiver output or SWR. If you do, it means your antenna is mounted to close to the pavement. In a similar fashion, if the SWR changes as the antenna moves around in the slipstream, it's mounted too close to the body. Remember my father's admonition, "High Wide and Handsome".
Achieving an efficient HF mobile set up is almost an oxymoronic statement. Some very popular commercial HF mobile antennas are less than 1% efficient on 75 meters, and perhaps approach 10% on 20 meters (compared to a well designed and properly ground planed 1/4 wave base station vertical). Yet, their owners rant and rave about how many DX stations they have worked. Assume for a moment you could increase the efficiency to 5% on 75 meters, and to 50% on 20 meters; how many DX stations do you think you could work then? It is, in fact, possible to achieve these higher efficiencies, but I'll guarantee you that it takes more than a chunk of RG 8 braid between the antenna mount and the body of the vehicle to do it.
Alan, KØBG