vol. 37, # 10 wacom ham · 1 october 2012 vol. 37, # 10 wacom president’s message—2 wacom...
TRANSCRIPT
1
OCTOBER 2012 Vol 37 10
WACOM Presidentrsquos Messagemdash2
WACOM General Informationmdash3
WACOM Meeting Minutes - 4
Upcoming Eventsmdash5
WACOM DX Cornermdash6-7
Jack Layton W9UK Lecture ndash8
Washington Labor Day 5K Racemdash9
VE TestEcho Link Coveragemdash10
EchoLink Information ndash11
DXpeditions Feature mdash Sable Islandmdash12-13
Mystery Stationmdash14
WACOM Hamfest Flyer ndash 15
WACOM Renewal Form - 16
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
DXpedition FeaturemdashSable Island
THE
WACOM
HAM
West Alexander Fair Special Event Stationmdashdetails to come in November issue
VE ClassmdashFall 2012 Labor Day 5K Race Team
2
WACOM Presidentrsquos Message - October 2012
Here comes October with many things
happening around WACOM
The WACOM CAVE is coming along Rather than club room it WILL be
more of a Radio Cave for many of our club functions While our Monthly
Meetings will certainly remain at the County Building other functions ranging from classes to
board meetings will be able to utilize the space Operations for various specific events may even
be housed in the new facility It will have capabilities from HF thru UHF which could be utilized
for next years PA QSO party The primary goal is to establish a station which can be used by club
members who are licensed but have yet to establish their own HF station The committee is
even discussing the capability to remotely operate several substantial stations with large antenna
systems
Volunteers have spent many hours working on the walls amp doors ( which we put up) the floor
painting and just the planning Wait not just the planning as Planning was and is the only way
to secure a desirable outcome And we have OJT ( On Job Training ) for more volunteers Give
me a call We strategize on the 79 repeater
On Thursday Oct 4th meeting at the County Building W9UK who wrote the book on
Directional Broadcast Antennas will enlighten many of us on WIRE ANTENNAS however
only if YOU ATTEND I see such an opportunity as UNIQUE and NECESSARY for any
ham ( easy for a retired guy to say) The WACOM hamfest is coming up a few weeks That mas-
sive event for the club does need your help so contact Bud N3TIR to arrange a little time for the
clubs big effort setting uptearing down et cetera The way to make it your hamfest is by you
participating
Likewise for the Radio Room we could use experienced wallboard mudders this week
A few days left to work a rare one Conway Reef 3D2C before they depart It will be years before
that Country ( DXCC entity) is active again their info page amp on-line log
httpwwwyt1adinfo3d2cindexhtml
CU on the Radio at the meeting and up at OUR Firehouse
BillmdashNY9H
3
Officers
President Bill Steffey NY9H
ny9harrlnet
Vice President Dave Demotte N3IDH
ddemotte67verizonnet
Secretary John Quigg N3GHR
jjquiggcomcastnet
Treasurer Norma Plants N3YJJ
njplantsyahoocom
Board of Directors
Director Adam Quigg NZ3S
kb3omhcomcastnet
Director Jim Burtoft KC3HW
jburtoftverizonnet
Director Bud Plants N3TIR
budbnelectronicscom
Webmaster Joe Caldwell N3XE
joecaldwelljcgmailcom
WACOM Ham Editor Ken Frankenbery AA3GM
ktfrank2verizonnet
Repeaters W3CYO - 145490 MHz 443300 MHz
K3PSP - 146790 MHz
2 Meter Net - Tuesdays at 830PM on K3PSP Repeater
10-meter net - Tuesdays at 9PM on 28340 MHz
YL Net - Wednesdays at 730PM on K3PSP Repeater
Elmer Net - Wednesdays at 8PM on K3PSP Repeater (immediately following the WA-COM YL Net)
LOCAL TRAFFIC NETS
lt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gt
SWPA 2-Meter Daily Net 146880 800 pm
HF WPA Phone Daily Net 3983 600
pm
WACOM OFFICERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
STAFF REPEATERS AND NETS
4
WACOM General Meeting Minutes
6 September 2012 730 PM
Next WACOM meeting 4 October 2012 730 PM
FEATURING
Jack Layton W9UK on wire antennas
Present Bill S(NY9H) Sam (W3CYO) Dave D (N3IDH) Paul (W3PLP) Patty (N3XAR) Adam (NZ3S) John(N3GHR) Bob Ke (KB3IN) Frank (KB3AAG) Jim B (KC3HW) Ed (N3ZNI) Don (KB3YRL) Fay(KA3VOM) Bob Ki (K14DBH) Joe F (WA3WBM) Dennis (K3PSP) Tom (K3PLM) guest Sam Mayberry
Bill called the meeting to order at 734 PM
Reports
Minutes ndash there were no formal minutes as last monthrsquos meeting was at the picnic - Bob moved to accept the non-minutes Joe
2nd motion carried
Treasurer ndash Bill passed out treasurerrsquos report Joe moved to accept treasurerrsquos report Bob 2nd motion carried
Repeater ndash Sam says 49 OK pouring of cement for tower may take place Dennis reported that 79 up and running at Washing-
ton Park equipment moved from Mt Wheeler
Education ndash 16 in Technician class
Nets ndash Wednesday night YL and Elmer nets will start after West Alex fair
Public Service (ARES RACES) ndash Dave thanks to all who helped with the Labor Day runwalk
Old Business
WACOM Shack ndash fire company has removed all their equipment and room is now ready to renovate Shack committee has de-
termined that about $1000 will be needed to do the renovation Jim moved that the club authorize up to $1000 to be spent by
the committee to buy supplies for the renovation Dave seconded motion carried Dave stated that the fire department will
replace the outside doors
Ham Fest ndash all major venders from last year coming again main prizes purchased Bud would like to have two separate meet-
ings to talk about the Ham Fest
Field Day ndash Ken would like to have a committee to start planning next yearrsquos event discussion followed Dave said that if we
want to have Field Day at the fire house we should make reservations as early as possible rent for the event would be $300 the
reason for not using the gun club again was discussed decision will be postponed until Ken is available to discuss
New Business
Certificate ndash Bill reworked Work All Counties certificate
Weather Station ndash Dennis is installing a weather station for the 79 repeater Jim moved that the club contribute $400 for the
weather station Joe 2nd motion carried
Auditors ndash volunteers needed to audit the clubrsquos books
Meetings ndash next monthrsquos meeting will feature a talk on wire antennas
Roster ndash Bill passed around new roster so that those present could check for correct information
There being no further business Adam moved to adjourn Dave 2nd meeting adjourned at 751
Thanks to Bill for his talk on Echo Link
5
2012 WACOM Upcoming Events Calendar Meetings Contests amp Other Significant Club Events (Subject to Change)
4 October 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
6-7 October 2012mdash California QSO Party httpwwwcqporgRuleshtml
13-14 October 2012mdashPA QSO Party - httpwwwnittany-arcnetPAQSOhtml
15-19 October 2012mdashARRL School Roundup httpwwwarrlorg
27-28 October 2012mdashCQ World Wide DX Contest SSB httpwwwcqwwcom
3-4 November 2012mdash ARRL Sweepstakes CW httpwwwarrlorg
1 November 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
4 November 2012mdash WACOM Hamfest httpwwwwacomarcorghamfesthtml
17-18 November 2012 ARRL Sweepstakes SSB httpwwwarrlorg
24-25 November 2012 CQ World Wide DX Contest CW httpwwwcqwwcom
30 Novmdash2 December 2012 ARRL 160 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
8-9 December 2012 ARRL 10 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
16 December 2012mdash ARRL Rookie Roundup CW httpwwwarrlorg
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Want to show off your shack
antennas andor projects
E-mail photos and descrip-
tions to KenmdashAA3GM
6
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctober 2012 COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct05 Monaco 3A G4DFI G0VJG
20120825 By G0VJG as 3AG0VJG HF SSB 100w extensive operat-ing time
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct07 Crete SV9 DF8DX VA3RJ By DF8DX as SV9DF8DX fm EU-015 (GIOTA KRS-005
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct15 Niger 5U5U
See Info
ATDX 20120925
By TL0A also F6EXV (5U6E) and DJ8NK (5U8NK) HF SSB RTTY QSL Christian Saint-Arroman Chemin de
2012 Oct01 2012 Nov01 Saba amp St Eustatius
PJ6 G4IUF ATDX
20120912 By G4IUF as PJ6G4IUF fm Saba I (NA-145 WFF PAFF-027 WLOTA 2043) 80-6m CW SSB + digital
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct08 Mongolia JT1EV JA6EV 425DXN By JA6EV fm the Ulaanbaatar DX Club station also
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct27 Tanzania 5H2DK OH2NNE DXWNet 20120909
By OH2NNE fm Moshi 80-10m SSB 100w tribander + dipoles QSL OK via OH Buro or direct
2012 Oct03 2012 Oct16 Chad TT8TT LotW IK7JWY 20120725
By I2YSB I1HJT IK2CIO IK2CKR IK2DIA IK2HKT fm NDjamena (Grid JK72) 160-6m CW SSB RTTY focus on JA + WCNA QSL also OK via I2YSB direct or IK2CIO
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct09 Mariana Is AH0KT LotW JH8PHT 20120924
By JH8PHT 80-6m also QRV on 10m FM and AM QSL also OK via JH8PHT
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct19 Mayotte TO2M
F6AML
ATDX 20120924
By F6AML fm AF-027 (WLOTA 0376 LH27oe) 80-10m CW SSB 500w Spiderbeam + verticals QSL OK via Buro or direct (w US$2 no IRCs)
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct10 Palau T88IK JF1LUT ATDX 20120818
By JF1LUT fm Arakabesan I Koror (OC-009 PJ77fi) 17-6m SSB QSL OK via JARL Buro or direct
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct11 Saudi Ara-
bia 7Z7AB 7Z1CQ
VA3RJ 20120712
By HZ1BF 7Z1CQ 7Z1SJ HZ1MD HZ1BW HZ1HN HZ1AR HZ1DG HZ1FS HZ1TL fm Al-Dhahrah Island
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct12 Christmas I VK9XM OH2YY OH2YY 20120810
By OH2YY OH1TV 40-10m SSB CW QSL OK via SRAL Buro or direct Pekka Ahlqvist OH2YY Vapaalanpolku 8B
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct15 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Huanine I (OC-067) 40-10m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct14 Liechten-
stein
HB0
PA4N
PA4N 20120928
By PA4N as HB0PA4N 80-10m CW focus on Asia and JA updates via Twitter frankoppedijk
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct17 Sable I CY0 OQRS WA4DAN 20120817
By WA4DAN as WA4DANCY0 and AA4VK as AA4VKCY0 QSL also OK via WA4DAN direct
2012 Oct08 2012 Dec15 Tanzania 5H3NP WB0VGI DXWNet By WB0VGI HF G5RV + dipoles
2012 Oct11 2012 Oct15 Fiji 3D2ZY PY7ZY ATDX By PY7ZY fm Viti Levu I (OC-016) HF
2012 Oct12 2012 Nov01 St Kitts amp
Nevis V47JA LotW
W5JON 20120806
By W5JON fm Calypso Bay St Kitts (NA-104 PK87pg) 160-6m incl 60m SSB dipoles vertical yagi for 6m QSL
2012 Oct13 2012 Oct15 Mariana Is KH0 JA1FMN JA1FMN By JA1FMN fm Saipan 17 15m PSK31 SSB holiday style
2012 Oct15 2012 Oct19 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Raiatea I (OC-067) 30-17m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call sign
2012 Oct15 2012 Dec12 Uganda 5X1NH G3RWF DXWNet By G3RWF fm Fort Portal (KJ50co) 80-10m mainly CW
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct23 Rodrigues I 3B9SP LotW DXWNet 20120704
By HB9ACA HB9BOI HB9BOU HB9BQP HB9CYF HB9HFN HB9SLO HB9TNA HB9TYJ 160-6m CW SSB
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
7
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctOber 2012 (cOnrsquot) COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
2012 Oct17 2012 Oct21 Aruba P40Z DF7ZS DF7ZS By DF7ZS mainly for WAG Contest
2012 Oct17 2012 Dec10 Solomon Is H44MS DL2GAC DL2GAC By DL2GAC 80-6m SSB
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct22 Mariana Is NH0J JJ2VLY DXWNet By JA1NVF JF7ELG JJ2VLY JQ2GYU fm Tinian I (OC-
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct29 Macao XX9 EA7FTR DXWNet By EA7FTR as XX9TFR fm Coloane I also EA5HPX
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Tahaa I (OC-067) 40-17m
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 Vietnam XV29FM TBA DXWNet By JL7XBN fm Vung Tau 20 15 10m focus on 10m FM
2012 Oct20 2012 Oct24 Papua New P29VCX SM6CVX 425DXN By G3KHZ SM6CVX DL6KVA HB9BXE K5WQG fm
2012 Oct21 2012 Nov04 Seychelles S79 See Info IK5RUN By IK5RUN as S79UN I5OYY as S79YY I5IHE as S79LC
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct25 Zimbabwe Z21GF ZS6AYU ZS6AYU By ZS6AYU fm Victoria Falls holiday style operation
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct26 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Maupiti I (OC-067) 30-17m
2012 Oct22 2012 Nov03 Senegal 6V7S RK4FF DXWNet By RK4FF fm Le Calao
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct29 American KH8 JA2ZL JA2ZL By JA2ZL fm Pago Pago (OC-045 USi AS007S WLOTA
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct30 Montserrat VP2MXU G3NKC ATDX By G4XUM HF
2012 Oct26 2012 Nov05 Togo 5V7TH LotW ON4CIT 20120830
By ON4CIT fm Lome (JJ06od) 40-6m SSB CW RTTY focus on JA QSL also OK via ON4CIT Buro or direct
WIRE ANTENNAS
by Jack Layton W9UK
WACOM meeting OCTOBER 4
THIS Thursday night 730
Washington County Building RM 103 100 W Beau St Washington PA Parking available
on the top level
Author of more than technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for
OCTOBER is Jack Layton W9UK Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVON
WGCI in Chicago That was 1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND
which was followed by a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to CE at KDKA In 1992 Jack went into his own busi-
ness Layton Technical Services providing technical consulting services to radio and television broad-
casters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to at-
tend if you radiate with any wires You do right
More info wacomarcorg or bill ny9harrlnet
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
2
WACOM Presidentrsquos Message - October 2012
Here comes October with many things
happening around WACOM
The WACOM CAVE is coming along Rather than club room it WILL be
more of a Radio Cave for many of our club functions While our Monthly
Meetings will certainly remain at the County Building other functions ranging from classes to
board meetings will be able to utilize the space Operations for various specific events may even
be housed in the new facility It will have capabilities from HF thru UHF which could be utilized
for next years PA QSO party The primary goal is to establish a station which can be used by club
members who are licensed but have yet to establish their own HF station The committee is
even discussing the capability to remotely operate several substantial stations with large antenna
systems
Volunteers have spent many hours working on the walls amp doors ( which we put up) the floor
painting and just the planning Wait not just the planning as Planning was and is the only way
to secure a desirable outcome And we have OJT ( On Job Training ) for more volunteers Give
me a call We strategize on the 79 repeater
On Thursday Oct 4th meeting at the County Building W9UK who wrote the book on
Directional Broadcast Antennas will enlighten many of us on WIRE ANTENNAS however
only if YOU ATTEND I see such an opportunity as UNIQUE and NECESSARY for any
ham ( easy for a retired guy to say) The WACOM hamfest is coming up a few weeks That mas-
sive event for the club does need your help so contact Bud N3TIR to arrange a little time for the
clubs big effort setting uptearing down et cetera The way to make it your hamfest is by you
participating
Likewise for the Radio Room we could use experienced wallboard mudders this week
A few days left to work a rare one Conway Reef 3D2C before they depart It will be years before
that Country ( DXCC entity) is active again their info page amp on-line log
httpwwwyt1adinfo3d2cindexhtml
CU on the Radio at the meeting and up at OUR Firehouse
BillmdashNY9H
3
Officers
President Bill Steffey NY9H
ny9harrlnet
Vice President Dave Demotte N3IDH
ddemotte67verizonnet
Secretary John Quigg N3GHR
jjquiggcomcastnet
Treasurer Norma Plants N3YJJ
njplantsyahoocom
Board of Directors
Director Adam Quigg NZ3S
kb3omhcomcastnet
Director Jim Burtoft KC3HW
jburtoftverizonnet
Director Bud Plants N3TIR
budbnelectronicscom
Webmaster Joe Caldwell N3XE
joecaldwelljcgmailcom
WACOM Ham Editor Ken Frankenbery AA3GM
ktfrank2verizonnet
Repeaters W3CYO - 145490 MHz 443300 MHz
K3PSP - 146790 MHz
2 Meter Net - Tuesdays at 830PM on K3PSP Repeater
10-meter net - Tuesdays at 9PM on 28340 MHz
YL Net - Wednesdays at 730PM on K3PSP Repeater
Elmer Net - Wednesdays at 8PM on K3PSP Repeater (immediately following the WA-COM YL Net)
LOCAL TRAFFIC NETS
lt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gt
SWPA 2-Meter Daily Net 146880 800 pm
HF WPA Phone Daily Net 3983 600
pm
WACOM OFFICERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
STAFF REPEATERS AND NETS
4
WACOM General Meeting Minutes
6 September 2012 730 PM
Next WACOM meeting 4 October 2012 730 PM
FEATURING
Jack Layton W9UK on wire antennas
Present Bill S(NY9H) Sam (W3CYO) Dave D (N3IDH) Paul (W3PLP) Patty (N3XAR) Adam (NZ3S) John(N3GHR) Bob Ke (KB3IN) Frank (KB3AAG) Jim B (KC3HW) Ed (N3ZNI) Don (KB3YRL) Fay(KA3VOM) Bob Ki (K14DBH) Joe F (WA3WBM) Dennis (K3PSP) Tom (K3PLM) guest Sam Mayberry
Bill called the meeting to order at 734 PM
Reports
Minutes ndash there were no formal minutes as last monthrsquos meeting was at the picnic - Bob moved to accept the non-minutes Joe
2nd motion carried
Treasurer ndash Bill passed out treasurerrsquos report Joe moved to accept treasurerrsquos report Bob 2nd motion carried
Repeater ndash Sam says 49 OK pouring of cement for tower may take place Dennis reported that 79 up and running at Washing-
ton Park equipment moved from Mt Wheeler
Education ndash 16 in Technician class
Nets ndash Wednesday night YL and Elmer nets will start after West Alex fair
Public Service (ARES RACES) ndash Dave thanks to all who helped with the Labor Day runwalk
Old Business
WACOM Shack ndash fire company has removed all their equipment and room is now ready to renovate Shack committee has de-
termined that about $1000 will be needed to do the renovation Jim moved that the club authorize up to $1000 to be spent by
the committee to buy supplies for the renovation Dave seconded motion carried Dave stated that the fire department will
replace the outside doors
Ham Fest ndash all major venders from last year coming again main prizes purchased Bud would like to have two separate meet-
ings to talk about the Ham Fest
Field Day ndash Ken would like to have a committee to start planning next yearrsquos event discussion followed Dave said that if we
want to have Field Day at the fire house we should make reservations as early as possible rent for the event would be $300 the
reason for not using the gun club again was discussed decision will be postponed until Ken is available to discuss
New Business
Certificate ndash Bill reworked Work All Counties certificate
Weather Station ndash Dennis is installing a weather station for the 79 repeater Jim moved that the club contribute $400 for the
weather station Joe 2nd motion carried
Auditors ndash volunteers needed to audit the clubrsquos books
Meetings ndash next monthrsquos meeting will feature a talk on wire antennas
Roster ndash Bill passed around new roster so that those present could check for correct information
There being no further business Adam moved to adjourn Dave 2nd meeting adjourned at 751
Thanks to Bill for his talk on Echo Link
5
2012 WACOM Upcoming Events Calendar Meetings Contests amp Other Significant Club Events (Subject to Change)
4 October 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
6-7 October 2012mdash California QSO Party httpwwwcqporgRuleshtml
13-14 October 2012mdashPA QSO Party - httpwwwnittany-arcnetPAQSOhtml
15-19 October 2012mdashARRL School Roundup httpwwwarrlorg
27-28 October 2012mdashCQ World Wide DX Contest SSB httpwwwcqwwcom
3-4 November 2012mdash ARRL Sweepstakes CW httpwwwarrlorg
1 November 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
4 November 2012mdash WACOM Hamfest httpwwwwacomarcorghamfesthtml
17-18 November 2012 ARRL Sweepstakes SSB httpwwwarrlorg
24-25 November 2012 CQ World Wide DX Contest CW httpwwwcqwwcom
30 Novmdash2 December 2012 ARRL 160 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
8-9 December 2012 ARRL 10 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
16 December 2012mdash ARRL Rookie Roundup CW httpwwwarrlorg
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Want to show off your shack
antennas andor projects
E-mail photos and descrip-
tions to KenmdashAA3GM
6
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctober 2012 COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct05 Monaco 3A G4DFI G0VJG
20120825 By G0VJG as 3AG0VJG HF SSB 100w extensive operat-ing time
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct07 Crete SV9 DF8DX VA3RJ By DF8DX as SV9DF8DX fm EU-015 (GIOTA KRS-005
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct15 Niger 5U5U
See Info
ATDX 20120925
By TL0A also F6EXV (5U6E) and DJ8NK (5U8NK) HF SSB RTTY QSL Christian Saint-Arroman Chemin de
2012 Oct01 2012 Nov01 Saba amp St Eustatius
PJ6 G4IUF ATDX
20120912 By G4IUF as PJ6G4IUF fm Saba I (NA-145 WFF PAFF-027 WLOTA 2043) 80-6m CW SSB + digital
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct08 Mongolia JT1EV JA6EV 425DXN By JA6EV fm the Ulaanbaatar DX Club station also
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct27 Tanzania 5H2DK OH2NNE DXWNet 20120909
By OH2NNE fm Moshi 80-10m SSB 100w tribander + dipoles QSL OK via OH Buro or direct
2012 Oct03 2012 Oct16 Chad TT8TT LotW IK7JWY 20120725
By I2YSB I1HJT IK2CIO IK2CKR IK2DIA IK2HKT fm NDjamena (Grid JK72) 160-6m CW SSB RTTY focus on JA + WCNA QSL also OK via I2YSB direct or IK2CIO
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct09 Mariana Is AH0KT LotW JH8PHT 20120924
By JH8PHT 80-6m also QRV on 10m FM and AM QSL also OK via JH8PHT
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct19 Mayotte TO2M
F6AML
ATDX 20120924
By F6AML fm AF-027 (WLOTA 0376 LH27oe) 80-10m CW SSB 500w Spiderbeam + verticals QSL OK via Buro or direct (w US$2 no IRCs)
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct10 Palau T88IK JF1LUT ATDX 20120818
By JF1LUT fm Arakabesan I Koror (OC-009 PJ77fi) 17-6m SSB QSL OK via JARL Buro or direct
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct11 Saudi Ara-
bia 7Z7AB 7Z1CQ
VA3RJ 20120712
By HZ1BF 7Z1CQ 7Z1SJ HZ1MD HZ1BW HZ1HN HZ1AR HZ1DG HZ1FS HZ1TL fm Al-Dhahrah Island
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct12 Christmas I VK9XM OH2YY OH2YY 20120810
By OH2YY OH1TV 40-10m SSB CW QSL OK via SRAL Buro or direct Pekka Ahlqvist OH2YY Vapaalanpolku 8B
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct15 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Huanine I (OC-067) 40-10m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct14 Liechten-
stein
HB0
PA4N
PA4N 20120928
By PA4N as HB0PA4N 80-10m CW focus on Asia and JA updates via Twitter frankoppedijk
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct17 Sable I CY0 OQRS WA4DAN 20120817
By WA4DAN as WA4DANCY0 and AA4VK as AA4VKCY0 QSL also OK via WA4DAN direct
2012 Oct08 2012 Dec15 Tanzania 5H3NP WB0VGI DXWNet By WB0VGI HF G5RV + dipoles
2012 Oct11 2012 Oct15 Fiji 3D2ZY PY7ZY ATDX By PY7ZY fm Viti Levu I (OC-016) HF
2012 Oct12 2012 Nov01 St Kitts amp
Nevis V47JA LotW
W5JON 20120806
By W5JON fm Calypso Bay St Kitts (NA-104 PK87pg) 160-6m incl 60m SSB dipoles vertical yagi for 6m QSL
2012 Oct13 2012 Oct15 Mariana Is KH0 JA1FMN JA1FMN By JA1FMN fm Saipan 17 15m PSK31 SSB holiday style
2012 Oct15 2012 Oct19 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Raiatea I (OC-067) 30-17m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call sign
2012 Oct15 2012 Dec12 Uganda 5X1NH G3RWF DXWNet By G3RWF fm Fort Portal (KJ50co) 80-10m mainly CW
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct23 Rodrigues I 3B9SP LotW DXWNet 20120704
By HB9ACA HB9BOI HB9BOU HB9BQP HB9CYF HB9HFN HB9SLO HB9TNA HB9TYJ 160-6m CW SSB
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
7
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctOber 2012 (cOnrsquot) COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
2012 Oct17 2012 Oct21 Aruba P40Z DF7ZS DF7ZS By DF7ZS mainly for WAG Contest
2012 Oct17 2012 Dec10 Solomon Is H44MS DL2GAC DL2GAC By DL2GAC 80-6m SSB
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct22 Mariana Is NH0J JJ2VLY DXWNet By JA1NVF JF7ELG JJ2VLY JQ2GYU fm Tinian I (OC-
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct29 Macao XX9 EA7FTR DXWNet By EA7FTR as XX9TFR fm Coloane I also EA5HPX
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Tahaa I (OC-067) 40-17m
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 Vietnam XV29FM TBA DXWNet By JL7XBN fm Vung Tau 20 15 10m focus on 10m FM
2012 Oct20 2012 Oct24 Papua New P29VCX SM6CVX 425DXN By G3KHZ SM6CVX DL6KVA HB9BXE K5WQG fm
2012 Oct21 2012 Nov04 Seychelles S79 See Info IK5RUN By IK5RUN as S79UN I5OYY as S79YY I5IHE as S79LC
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct25 Zimbabwe Z21GF ZS6AYU ZS6AYU By ZS6AYU fm Victoria Falls holiday style operation
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct26 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Maupiti I (OC-067) 30-17m
2012 Oct22 2012 Nov03 Senegal 6V7S RK4FF DXWNet By RK4FF fm Le Calao
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct29 American KH8 JA2ZL JA2ZL By JA2ZL fm Pago Pago (OC-045 USi AS007S WLOTA
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct30 Montserrat VP2MXU G3NKC ATDX By G4XUM HF
2012 Oct26 2012 Nov05 Togo 5V7TH LotW ON4CIT 20120830
By ON4CIT fm Lome (JJ06od) 40-6m SSB CW RTTY focus on JA QSL also OK via ON4CIT Buro or direct
WIRE ANTENNAS
by Jack Layton W9UK
WACOM meeting OCTOBER 4
THIS Thursday night 730
Washington County Building RM 103 100 W Beau St Washington PA Parking available
on the top level
Author of more than technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for
OCTOBER is Jack Layton W9UK Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVON
WGCI in Chicago That was 1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND
which was followed by a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to CE at KDKA In 1992 Jack went into his own busi-
ness Layton Technical Services providing technical consulting services to radio and television broad-
casters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to at-
tend if you radiate with any wires You do right
More info wacomarcorg or bill ny9harrlnet
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
3
Officers
President Bill Steffey NY9H
ny9harrlnet
Vice President Dave Demotte N3IDH
ddemotte67verizonnet
Secretary John Quigg N3GHR
jjquiggcomcastnet
Treasurer Norma Plants N3YJJ
njplantsyahoocom
Board of Directors
Director Adam Quigg NZ3S
kb3omhcomcastnet
Director Jim Burtoft KC3HW
jburtoftverizonnet
Director Bud Plants N3TIR
budbnelectronicscom
Webmaster Joe Caldwell N3XE
joecaldwelljcgmailcom
WACOM Ham Editor Ken Frankenbery AA3GM
ktfrank2verizonnet
Repeaters W3CYO - 145490 MHz 443300 MHz
K3PSP - 146790 MHz
2 Meter Net - Tuesdays at 830PM on K3PSP Repeater
10-meter net - Tuesdays at 9PM on 28340 MHz
YL Net - Wednesdays at 730PM on K3PSP Repeater
Elmer Net - Wednesdays at 8PM on K3PSP Repeater (immediately following the WA-COM YL Net)
LOCAL TRAFFIC NETS
lt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gtlt+gt
SWPA 2-Meter Daily Net 146880 800 pm
HF WPA Phone Daily Net 3983 600
pm
WACOM OFFICERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
STAFF REPEATERS AND NETS
4
WACOM General Meeting Minutes
6 September 2012 730 PM
Next WACOM meeting 4 October 2012 730 PM
FEATURING
Jack Layton W9UK on wire antennas
Present Bill S(NY9H) Sam (W3CYO) Dave D (N3IDH) Paul (W3PLP) Patty (N3XAR) Adam (NZ3S) John(N3GHR) Bob Ke (KB3IN) Frank (KB3AAG) Jim B (KC3HW) Ed (N3ZNI) Don (KB3YRL) Fay(KA3VOM) Bob Ki (K14DBH) Joe F (WA3WBM) Dennis (K3PSP) Tom (K3PLM) guest Sam Mayberry
Bill called the meeting to order at 734 PM
Reports
Minutes ndash there were no formal minutes as last monthrsquos meeting was at the picnic - Bob moved to accept the non-minutes Joe
2nd motion carried
Treasurer ndash Bill passed out treasurerrsquos report Joe moved to accept treasurerrsquos report Bob 2nd motion carried
Repeater ndash Sam says 49 OK pouring of cement for tower may take place Dennis reported that 79 up and running at Washing-
ton Park equipment moved from Mt Wheeler
Education ndash 16 in Technician class
Nets ndash Wednesday night YL and Elmer nets will start after West Alex fair
Public Service (ARES RACES) ndash Dave thanks to all who helped with the Labor Day runwalk
Old Business
WACOM Shack ndash fire company has removed all their equipment and room is now ready to renovate Shack committee has de-
termined that about $1000 will be needed to do the renovation Jim moved that the club authorize up to $1000 to be spent by
the committee to buy supplies for the renovation Dave seconded motion carried Dave stated that the fire department will
replace the outside doors
Ham Fest ndash all major venders from last year coming again main prizes purchased Bud would like to have two separate meet-
ings to talk about the Ham Fest
Field Day ndash Ken would like to have a committee to start planning next yearrsquos event discussion followed Dave said that if we
want to have Field Day at the fire house we should make reservations as early as possible rent for the event would be $300 the
reason for not using the gun club again was discussed decision will be postponed until Ken is available to discuss
New Business
Certificate ndash Bill reworked Work All Counties certificate
Weather Station ndash Dennis is installing a weather station for the 79 repeater Jim moved that the club contribute $400 for the
weather station Joe 2nd motion carried
Auditors ndash volunteers needed to audit the clubrsquos books
Meetings ndash next monthrsquos meeting will feature a talk on wire antennas
Roster ndash Bill passed around new roster so that those present could check for correct information
There being no further business Adam moved to adjourn Dave 2nd meeting adjourned at 751
Thanks to Bill for his talk on Echo Link
5
2012 WACOM Upcoming Events Calendar Meetings Contests amp Other Significant Club Events (Subject to Change)
4 October 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
6-7 October 2012mdash California QSO Party httpwwwcqporgRuleshtml
13-14 October 2012mdashPA QSO Party - httpwwwnittany-arcnetPAQSOhtml
15-19 October 2012mdashARRL School Roundup httpwwwarrlorg
27-28 October 2012mdashCQ World Wide DX Contest SSB httpwwwcqwwcom
3-4 November 2012mdash ARRL Sweepstakes CW httpwwwarrlorg
1 November 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
4 November 2012mdash WACOM Hamfest httpwwwwacomarcorghamfesthtml
17-18 November 2012 ARRL Sweepstakes SSB httpwwwarrlorg
24-25 November 2012 CQ World Wide DX Contest CW httpwwwcqwwcom
30 Novmdash2 December 2012 ARRL 160 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
8-9 December 2012 ARRL 10 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
16 December 2012mdash ARRL Rookie Roundup CW httpwwwarrlorg
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Want to show off your shack
antennas andor projects
E-mail photos and descrip-
tions to KenmdashAA3GM
6
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctober 2012 COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct05 Monaco 3A G4DFI G0VJG
20120825 By G0VJG as 3AG0VJG HF SSB 100w extensive operat-ing time
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct07 Crete SV9 DF8DX VA3RJ By DF8DX as SV9DF8DX fm EU-015 (GIOTA KRS-005
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct15 Niger 5U5U
See Info
ATDX 20120925
By TL0A also F6EXV (5U6E) and DJ8NK (5U8NK) HF SSB RTTY QSL Christian Saint-Arroman Chemin de
2012 Oct01 2012 Nov01 Saba amp St Eustatius
PJ6 G4IUF ATDX
20120912 By G4IUF as PJ6G4IUF fm Saba I (NA-145 WFF PAFF-027 WLOTA 2043) 80-6m CW SSB + digital
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct08 Mongolia JT1EV JA6EV 425DXN By JA6EV fm the Ulaanbaatar DX Club station also
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct27 Tanzania 5H2DK OH2NNE DXWNet 20120909
By OH2NNE fm Moshi 80-10m SSB 100w tribander + dipoles QSL OK via OH Buro or direct
2012 Oct03 2012 Oct16 Chad TT8TT LotW IK7JWY 20120725
By I2YSB I1HJT IK2CIO IK2CKR IK2DIA IK2HKT fm NDjamena (Grid JK72) 160-6m CW SSB RTTY focus on JA + WCNA QSL also OK via I2YSB direct or IK2CIO
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct09 Mariana Is AH0KT LotW JH8PHT 20120924
By JH8PHT 80-6m also QRV on 10m FM and AM QSL also OK via JH8PHT
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct19 Mayotte TO2M
F6AML
ATDX 20120924
By F6AML fm AF-027 (WLOTA 0376 LH27oe) 80-10m CW SSB 500w Spiderbeam + verticals QSL OK via Buro or direct (w US$2 no IRCs)
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct10 Palau T88IK JF1LUT ATDX 20120818
By JF1LUT fm Arakabesan I Koror (OC-009 PJ77fi) 17-6m SSB QSL OK via JARL Buro or direct
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct11 Saudi Ara-
bia 7Z7AB 7Z1CQ
VA3RJ 20120712
By HZ1BF 7Z1CQ 7Z1SJ HZ1MD HZ1BW HZ1HN HZ1AR HZ1DG HZ1FS HZ1TL fm Al-Dhahrah Island
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct12 Christmas I VK9XM OH2YY OH2YY 20120810
By OH2YY OH1TV 40-10m SSB CW QSL OK via SRAL Buro or direct Pekka Ahlqvist OH2YY Vapaalanpolku 8B
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct15 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Huanine I (OC-067) 40-10m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct14 Liechten-
stein
HB0
PA4N
PA4N 20120928
By PA4N as HB0PA4N 80-10m CW focus on Asia and JA updates via Twitter frankoppedijk
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct17 Sable I CY0 OQRS WA4DAN 20120817
By WA4DAN as WA4DANCY0 and AA4VK as AA4VKCY0 QSL also OK via WA4DAN direct
2012 Oct08 2012 Dec15 Tanzania 5H3NP WB0VGI DXWNet By WB0VGI HF G5RV + dipoles
2012 Oct11 2012 Oct15 Fiji 3D2ZY PY7ZY ATDX By PY7ZY fm Viti Levu I (OC-016) HF
2012 Oct12 2012 Nov01 St Kitts amp
Nevis V47JA LotW
W5JON 20120806
By W5JON fm Calypso Bay St Kitts (NA-104 PK87pg) 160-6m incl 60m SSB dipoles vertical yagi for 6m QSL
2012 Oct13 2012 Oct15 Mariana Is KH0 JA1FMN JA1FMN By JA1FMN fm Saipan 17 15m PSK31 SSB holiday style
2012 Oct15 2012 Oct19 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Raiatea I (OC-067) 30-17m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call sign
2012 Oct15 2012 Dec12 Uganda 5X1NH G3RWF DXWNet By G3RWF fm Fort Portal (KJ50co) 80-10m mainly CW
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct23 Rodrigues I 3B9SP LotW DXWNet 20120704
By HB9ACA HB9BOI HB9BOU HB9BQP HB9CYF HB9HFN HB9SLO HB9TNA HB9TYJ 160-6m CW SSB
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
7
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctOber 2012 (cOnrsquot) COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
2012 Oct17 2012 Oct21 Aruba P40Z DF7ZS DF7ZS By DF7ZS mainly for WAG Contest
2012 Oct17 2012 Dec10 Solomon Is H44MS DL2GAC DL2GAC By DL2GAC 80-6m SSB
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct22 Mariana Is NH0J JJ2VLY DXWNet By JA1NVF JF7ELG JJ2VLY JQ2GYU fm Tinian I (OC-
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct29 Macao XX9 EA7FTR DXWNet By EA7FTR as XX9TFR fm Coloane I also EA5HPX
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Tahaa I (OC-067) 40-17m
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 Vietnam XV29FM TBA DXWNet By JL7XBN fm Vung Tau 20 15 10m focus on 10m FM
2012 Oct20 2012 Oct24 Papua New P29VCX SM6CVX 425DXN By G3KHZ SM6CVX DL6KVA HB9BXE K5WQG fm
2012 Oct21 2012 Nov04 Seychelles S79 See Info IK5RUN By IK5RUN as S79UN I5OYY as S79YY I5IHE as S79LC
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct25 Zimbabwe Z21GF ZS6AYU ZS6AYU By ZS6AYU fm Victoria Falls holiday style operation
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct26 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Maupiti I (OC-067) 30-17m
2012 Oct22 2012 Nov03 Senegal 6V7S RK4FF DXWNet By RK4FF fm Le Calao
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct29 American KH8 JA2ZL JA2ZL By JA2ZL fm Pago Pago (OC-045 USi AS007S WLOTA
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct30 Montserrat VP2MXU G3NKC ATDX By G4XUM HF
2012 Oct26 2012 Nov05 Togo 5V7TH LotW ON4CIT 20120830
By ON4CIT fm Lome (JJ06od) 40-6m SSB CW RTTY focus on JA QSL also OK via ON4CIT Buro or direct
WIRE ANTENNAS
by Jack Layton W9UK
WACOM meeting OCTOBER 4
THIS Thursday night 730
Washington County Building RM 103 100 W Beau St Washington PA Parking available
on the top level
Author of more than technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for
OCTOBER is Jack Layton W9UK Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVON
WGCI in Chicago That was 1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND
which was followed by a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to CE at KDKA In 1992 Jack went into his own busi-
ness Layton Technical Services providing technical consulting services to radio and television broad-
casters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to at-
tend if you radiate with any wires You do right
More info wacomarcorg or bill ny9harrlnet
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
4
WACOM General Meeting Minutes
6 September 2012 730 PM
Next WACOM meeting 4 October 2012 730 PM
FEATURING
Jack Layton W9UK on wire antennas
Present Bill S(NY9H) Sam (W3CYO) Dave D (N3IDH) Paul (W3PLP) Patty (N3XAR) Adam (NZ3S) John(N3GHR) Bob Ke (KB3IN) Frank (KB3AAG) Jim B (KC3HW) Ed (N3ZNI) Don (KB3YRL) Fay(KA3VOM) Bob Ki (K14DBH) Joe F (WA3WBM) Dennis (K3PSP) Tom (K3PLM) guest Sam Mayberry
Bill called the meeting to order at 734 PM
Reports
Minutes ndash there were no formal minutes as last monthrsquos meeting was at the picnic - Bob moved to accept the non-minutes Joe
2nd motion carried
Treasurer ndash Bill passed out treasurerrsquos report Joe moved to accept treasurerrsquos report Bob 2nd motion carried
Repeater ndash Sam says 49 OK pouring of cement for tower may take place Dennis reported that 79 up and running at Washing-
ton Park equipment moved from Mt Wheeler
Education ndash 16 in Technician class
Nets ndash Wednesday night YL and Elmer nets will start after West Alex fair
Public Service (ARES RACES) ndash Dave thanks to all who helped with the Labor Day runwalk
Old Business
WACOM Shack ndash fire company has removed all their equipment and room is now ready to renovate Shack committee has de-
termined that about $1000 will be needed to do the renovation Jim moved that the club authorize up to $1000 to be spent by
the committee to buy supplies for the renovation Dave seconded motion carried Dave stated that the fire department will
replace the outside doors
Ham Fest ndash all major venders from last year coming again main prizes purchased Bud would like to have two separate meet-
ings to talk about the Ham Fest
Field Day ndash Ken would like to have a committee to start planning next yearrsquos event discussion followed Dave said that if we
want to have Field Day at the fire house we should make reservations as early as possible rent for the event would be $300 the
reason for not using the gun club again was discussed decision will be postponed until Ken is available to discuss
New Business
Certificate ndash Bill reworked Work All Counties certificate
Weather Station ndash Dennis is installing a weather station for the 79 repeater Jim moved that the club contribute $400 for the
weather station Joe 2nd motion carried
Auditors ndash volunteers needed to audit the clubrsquos books
Meetings ndash next monthrsquos meeting will feature a talk on wire antennas
Roster ndash Bill passed around new roster so that those present could check for correct information
There being no further business Adam moved to adjourn Dave 2nd meeting adjourned at 751
Thanks to Bill for his talk on Echo Link
5
2012 WACOM Upcoming Events Calendar Meetings Contests amp Other Significant Club Events (Subject to Change)
4 October 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
6-7 October 2012mdash California QSO Party httpwwwcqporgRuleshtml
13-14 October 2012mdashPA QSO Party - httpwwwnittany-arcnetPAQSOhtml
15-19 October 2012mdashARRL School Roundup httpwwwarrlorg
27-28 October 2012mdashCQ World Wide DX Contest SSB httpwwwcqwwcom
3-4 November 2012mdash ARRL Sweepstakes CW httpwwwarrlorg
1 November 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
4 November 2012mdash WACOM Hamfest httpwwwwacomarcorghamfesthtml
17-18 November 2012 ARRL Sweepstakes SSB httpwwwarrlorg
24-25 November 2012 CQ World Wide DX Contest CW httpwwwcqwwcom
30 Novmdash2 December 2012 ARRL 160 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
8-9 December 2012 ARRL 10 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
16 December 2012mdash ARRL Rookie Roundup CW httpwwwarrlorg
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Want to show off your shack
antennas andor projects
E-mail photos and descrip-
tions to KenmdashAA3GM
6
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctober 2012 COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct05 Monaco 3A G4DFI G0VJG
20120825 By G0VJG as 3AG0VJG HF SSB 100w extensive operat-ing time
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct07 Crete SV9 DF8DX VA3RJ By DF8DX as SV9DF8DX fm EU-015 (GIOTA KRS-005
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct15 Niger 5U5U
See Info
ATDX 20120925
By TL0A also F6EXV (5U6E) and DJ8NK (5U8NK) HF SSB RTTY QSL Christian Saint-Arroman Chemin de
2012 Oct01 2012 Nov01 Saba amp St Eustatius
PJ6 G4IUF ATDX
20120912 By G4IUF as PJ6G4IUF fm Saba I (NA-145 WFF PAFF-027 WLOTA 2043) 80-6m CW SSB + digital
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct08 Mongolia JT1EV JA6EV 425DXN By JA6EV fm the Ulaanbaatar DX Club station also
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct27 Tanzania 5H2DK OH2NNE DXWNet 20120909
By OH2NNE fm Moshi 80-10m SSB 100w tribander + dipoles QSL OK via OH Buro or direct
2012 Oct03 2012 Oct16 Chad TT8TT LotW IK7JWY 20120725
By I2YSB I1HJT IK2CIO IK2CKR IK2DIA IK2HKT fm NDjamena (Grid JK72) 160-6m CW SSB RTTY focus on JA + WCNA QSL also OK via I2YSB direct or IK2CIO
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct09 Mariana Is AH0KT LotW JH8PHT 20120924
By JH8PHT 80-6m also QRV on 10m FM and AM QSL also OK via JH8PHT
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct19 Mayotte TO2M
F6AML
ATDX 20120924
By F6AML fm AF-027 (WLOTA 0376 LH27oe) 80-10m CW SSB 500w Spiderbeam + verticals QSL OK via Buro or direct (w US$2 no IRCs)
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct10 Palau T88IK JF1LUT ATDX 20120818
By JF1LUT fm Arakabesan I Koror (OC-009 PJ77fi) 17-6m SSB QSL OK via JARL Buro or direct
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct11 Saudi Ara-
bia 7Z7AB 7Z1CQ
VA3RJ 20120712
By HZ1BF 7Z1CQ 7Z1SJ HZ1MD HZ1BW HZ1HN HZ1AR HZ1DG HZ1FS HZ1TL fm Al-Dhahrah Island
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct12 Christmas I VK9XM OH2YY OH2YY 20120810
By OH2YY OH1TV 40-10m SSB CW QSL OK via SRAL Buro or direct Pekka Ahlqvist OH2YY Vapaalanpolku 8B
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct15 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Huanine I (OC-067) 40-10m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct14 Liechten-
stein
HB0
PA4N
PA4N 20120928
By PA4N as HB0PA4N 80-10m CW focus on Asia and JA updates via Twitter frankoppedijk
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct17 Sable I CY0 OQRS WA4DAN 20120817
By WA4DAN as WA4DANCY0 and AA4VK as AA4VKCY0 QSL also OK via WA4DAN direct
2012 Oct08 2012 Dec15 Tanzania 5H3NP WB0VGI DXWNet By WB0VGI HF G5RV + dipoles
2012 Oct11 2012 Oct15 Fiji 3D2ZY PY7ZY ATDX By PY7ZY fm Viti Levu I (OC-016) HF
2012 Oct12 2012 Nov01 St Kitts amp
Nevis V47JA LotW
W5JON 20120806
By W5JON fm Calypso Bay St Kitts (NA-104 PK87pg) 160-6m incl 60m SSB dipoles vertical yagi for 6m QSL
2012 Oct13 2012 Oct15 Mariana Is KH0 JA1FMN JA1FMN By JA1FMN fm Saipan 17 15m PSK31 SSB holiday style
2012 Oct15 2012 Oct19 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Raiatea I (OC-067) 30-17m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call sign
2012 Oct15 2012 Dec12 Uganda 5X1NH G3RWF DXWNet By G3RWF fm Fort Portal (KJ50co) 80-10m mainly CW
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct23 Rodrigues I 3B9SP LotW DXWNet 20120704
By HB9ACA HB9BOI HB9BOU HB9BQP HB9CYF HB9HFN HB9SLO HB9TNA HB9TYJ 160-6m CW SSB
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
7
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctOber 2012 (cOnrsquot) COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
2012 Oct17 2012 Oct21 Aruba P40Z DF7ZS DF7ZS By DF7ZS mainly for WAG Contest
2012 Oct17 2012 Dec10 Solomon Is H44MS DL2GAC DL2GAC By DL2GAC 80-6m SSB
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct22 Mariana Is NH0J JJ2VLY DXWNet By JA1NVF JF7ELG JJ2VLY JQ2GYU fm Tinian I (OC-
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct29 Macao XX9 EA7FTR DXWNet By EA7FTR as XX9TFR fm Coloane I also EA5HPX
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Tahaa I (OC-067) 40-17m
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 Vietnam XV29FM TBA DXWNet By JL7XBN fm Vung Tau 20 15 10m focus on 10m FM
2012 Oct20 2012 Oct24 Papua New P29VCX SM6CVX 425DXN By G3KHZ SM6CVX DL6KVA HB9BXE K5WQG fm
2012 Oct21 2012 Nov04 Seychelles S79 See Info IK5RUN By IK5RUN as S79UN I5OYY as S79YY I5IHE as S79LC
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct25 Zimbabwe Z21GF ZS6AYU ZS6AYU By ZS6AYU fm Victoria Falls holiday style operation
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct26 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Maupiti I (OC-067) 30-17m
2012 Oct22 2012 Nov03 Senegal 6V7S RK4FF DXWNet By RK4FF fm Le Calao
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct29 American KH8 JA2ZL JA2ZL By JA2ZL fm Pago Pago (OC-045 USi AS007S WLOTA
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct30 Montserrat VP2MXU G3NKC ATDX By G4XUM HF
2012 Oct26 2012 Nov05 Togo 5V7TH LotW ON4CIT 20120830
By ON4CIT fm Lome (JJ06od) 40-6m SSB CW RTTY focus on JA QSL also OK via ON4CIT Buro or direct
WIRE ANTENNAS
by Jack Layton W9UK
WACOM meeting OCTOBER 4
THIS Thursday night 730
Washington County Building RM 103 100 W Beau St Washington PA Parking available
on the top level
Author of more than technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for
OCTOBER is Jack Layton W9UK Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVON
WGCI in Chicago That was 1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND
which was followed by a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to CE at KDKA In 1992 Jack went into his own busi-
ness Layton Technical Services providing technical consulting services to radio and television broad-
casters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to at-
tend if you radiate with any wires You do right
More info wacomarcorg or bill ny9harrlnet
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
5
2012 WACOM Upcoming Events Calendar Meetings Contests amp Other Significant Club Events (Subject to Change)
4 October 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
6-7 October 2012mdash California QSO Party httpwwwcqporgRuleshtml
13-14 October 2012mdashPA QSO Party - httpwwwnittany-arcnetPAQSOhtml
15-19 October 2012mdashARRL School Roundup httpwwwarrlorg
27-28 October 2012mdashCQ World Wide DX Contest SSB httpwwwcqwwcom
3-4 November 2012mdash ARRL Sweepstakes CW httpwwwarrlorg
1 November 2012 - WACOM Meeting at 730PM Washington County Building
4 November 2012mdash WACOM Hamfest httpwwwwacomarcorghamfesthtml
17-18 November 2012 ARRL Sweepstakes SSB httpwwwarrlorg
24-25 November 2012 CQ World Wide DX Contest CW httpwwwcqwwcom
30 Novmdash2 December 2012 ARRL 160 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
8-9 December 2012 ARRL 10 Meter Contest httpwwwarrlorg
16 December 2012mdash ARRL Rookie Roundup CW httpwwwarrlorg
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Want to show off your shack
antennas andor projects
E-mail photos and descrip-
tions to KenmdashAA3GM
6
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctober 2012 COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct05 Monaco 3A G4DFI G0VJG
20120825 By G0VJG as 3AG0VJG HF SSB 100w extensive operat-ing time
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct07 Crete SV9 DF8DX VA3RJ By DF8DX as SV9DF8DX fm EU-015 (GIOTA KRS-005
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct15 Niger 5U5U
See Info
ATDX 20120925
By TL0A also F6EXV (5U6E) and DJ8NK (5U8NK) HF SSB RTTY QSL Christian Saint-Arroman Chemin de
2012 Oct01 2012 Nov01 Saba amp St Eustatius
PJ6 G4IUF ATDX
20120912 By G4IUF as PJ6G4IUF fm Saba I (NA-145 WFF PAFF-027 WLOTA 2043) 80-6m CW SSB + digital
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct08 Mongolia JT1EV JA6EV 425DXN By JA6EV fm the Ulaanbaatar DX Club station also
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct27 Tanzania 5H2DK OH2NNE DXWNet 20120909
By OH2NNE fm Moshi 80-10m SSB 100w tribander + dipoles QSL OK via OH Buro or direct
2012 Oct03 2012 Oct16 Chad TT8TT LotW IK7JWY 20120725
By I2YSB I1HJT IK2CIO IK2CKR IK2DIA IK2HKT fm NDjamena (Grid JK72) 160-6m CW SSB RTTY focus on JA + WCNA QSL also OK via I2YSB direct or IK2CIO
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct09 Mariana Is AH0KT LotW JH8PHT 20120924
By JH8PHT 80-6m also QRV on 10m FM and AM QSL also OK via JH8PHT
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct19 Mayotte TO2M
F6AML
ATDX 20120924
By F6AML fm AF-027 (WLOTA 0376 LH27oe) 80-10m CW SSB 500w Spiderbeam + verticals QSL OK via Buro or direct (w US$2 no IRCs)
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct10 Palau T88IK JF1LUT ATDX 20120818
By JF1LUT fm Arakabesan I Koror (OC-009 PJ77fi) 17-6m SSB QSL OK via JARL Buro or direct
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct11 Saudi Ara-
bia 7Z7AB 7Z1CQ
VA3RJ 20120712
By HZ1BF 7Z1CQ 7Z1SJ HZ1MD HZ1BW HZ1HN HZ1AR HZ1DG HZ1FS HZ1TL fm Al-Dhahrah Island
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct12 Christmas I VK9XM OH2YY OH2YY 20120810
By OH2YY OH1TV 40-10m SSB CW QSL OK via SRAL Buro or direct Pekka Ahlqvist OH2YY Vapaalanpolku 8B
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct15 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Huanine I (OC-067) 40-10m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct14 Liechten-
stein
HB0
PA4N
PA4N 20120928
By PA4N as HB0PA4N 80-10m CW focus on Asia and JA updates via Twitter frankoppedijk
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct17 Sable I CY0 OQRS WA4DAN 20120817
By WA4DAN as WA4DANCY0 and AA4VK as AA4VKCY0 QSL also OK via WA4DAN direct
2012 Oct08 2012 Dec15 Tanzania 5H3NP WB0VGI DXWNet By WB0VGI HF G5RV + dipoles
2012 Oct11 2012 Oct15 Fiji 3D2ZY PY7ZY ATDX By PY7ZY fm Viti Levu I (OC-016) HF
2012 Oct12 2012 Nov01 St Kitts amp
Nevis V47JA LotW
W5JON 20120806
By W5JON fm Calypso Bay St Kitts (NA-104 PK87pg) 160-6m incl 60m SSB dipoles vertical yagi for 6m QSL
2012 Oct13 2012 Oct15 Mariana Is KH0 JA1FMN JA1FMN By JA1FMN fm Saipan 17 15m PSK31 SSB holiday style
2012 Oct15 2012 Oct19 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Raiatea I (OC-067) 30-17m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call sign
2012 Oct15 2012 Dec12 Uganda 5X1NH G3RWF DXWNet By G3RWF fm Fort Portal (KJ50co) 80-10m mainly CW
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct23 Rodrigues I 3B9SP LotW DXWNet 20120704
By HB9ACA HB9BOI HB9BOU HB9BQP HB9CYF HB9HFN HB9SLO HB9TNA HB9TYJ 160-6m CW SSB
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
7
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctOber 2012 (cOnrsquot) COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
2012 Oct17 2012 Oct21 Aruba P40Z DF7ZS DF7ZS By DF7ZS mainly for WAG Contest
2012 Oct17 2012 Dec10 Solomon Is H44MS DL2GAC DL2GAC By DL2GAC 80-6m SSB
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct22 Mariana Is NH0J JJ2VLY DXWNet By JA1NVF JF7ELG JJ2VLY JQ2GYU fm Tinian I (OC-
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct29 Macao XX9 EA7FTR DXWNet By EA7FTR as XX9TFR fm Coloane I also EA5HPX
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Tahaa I (OC-067) 40-17m
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 Vietnam XV29FM TBA DXWNet By JL7XBN fm Vung Tau 20 15 10m focus on 10m FM
2012 Oct20 2012 Oct24 Papua New P29VCX SM6CVX 425DXN By G3KHZ SM6CVX DL6KVA HB9BXE K5WQG fm
2012 Oct21 2012 Nov04 Seychelles S79 See Info IK5RUN By IK5RUN as S79UN I5OYY as S79YY I5IHE as S79LC
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct25 Zimbabwe Z21GF ZS6AYU ZS6AYU By ZS6AYU fm Victoria Falls holiday style operation
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct26 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Maupiti I (OC-067) 30-17m
2012 Oct22 2012 Nov03 Senegal 6V7S RK4FF DXWNet By RK4FF fm Le Calao
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct29 American KH8 JA2ZL JA2ZL By JA2ZL fm Pago Pago (OC-045 USi AS007S WLOTA
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct30 Montserrat VP2MXU G3NKC ATDX By G4XUM HF
2012 Oct26 2012 Nov05 Togo 5V7TH LotW ON4CIT 20120830
By ON4CIT fm Lome (JJ06od) 40-6m SSB CW RTTY focus on JA QSL also OK via ON4CIT Buro or direct
WIRE ANTENNAS
by Jack Layton W9UK
WACOM meeting OCTOBER 4
THIS Thursday night 730
Washington County Building RM 103 100 W Beau St Washington PA Parking available
on the top level
Author of more than technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for
OCTOBER is Jack Layton W9UK Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVON
WGCI in Chicago That was 1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND
which was followed by a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to CE at KDKA In 1992 Jack went into his own busi-
ness Layton Technical Services providing technical consulting services to radio and television broad-
casters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to at-
tend if you radiate with any wires You do right
More info wacomarcorg or bill ny9harrlnet
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
6
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctober 2012 COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct05 Monaco 3A G4DFI G0VJG
20120825 By G0VJG as 3AG0VJG HF SSB 100w extensive operat-ing time
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct07 Crete SV9 DF8DX VA3RJ By DF8DX as SV9DF8DX fm EU-015 (GIOTA KRS-005
2012 Oct01 2012 Oct15 Niger 5U5U
See Info
ATDX 20120925
By TL0A also F6EXV (5U6E) and DJ8NK (5U8NK) HF SSB RTTY QSL Christian Saint-Arroman Chemin de
2012 Oct01 2012 Nov01 Saba amp St Eustatius
PJ6 G4IUF ATDX
20120912 By G4IUF as PJ6G4IUF fm Saba I (NA-145 WFF PAFF-027 WLOTA 2043) 80-6m CW SSB + digital
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct08 Mongolia JT1EV JA6EV 425DXN By JA6EV fm the Ulaanbaatar DX Club station also
2012 Oct02 2012 Oct27 Tanzania 5H2DK OH2NNE DXWNet 20120909
By OH2NNE fm Moshi 80-10m SSB 100w tribander + dipoles QSL OK via OH Buro or direct
2012 Oct03 2012 Oct16 Chad TT8TT LotW IK7JWY 20120725
By I2YSB I1HJT IK2CIO IK2CKR IK2DIA IK2HKT fm NDjamena (Grid JK72) 160-6m CW SSB RTTY focus on JA + WCNA QSL also OK via I2YSB direct or IK2CIO
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct09 Mariana Is AH0KT LotW JH8PHT 20120924
By JH8PHT 80-6m also QRV on 10m FM and AM QSL also OK via JH8PHT
2012 Oct04 2012 Oct19 Mayotte TO2M
F6AML
ATDX 20120924
By F6AML fm AF-027 (WLOTA 0376 LH27oe) 80-10m CW SSB 500w Spiderbeam + verticals QSL OK via Buro or direct (w US$2 no IRCs)
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct10 Palau T88IK JF1LUT ATDX 20120818
By JF1LUT fm Arakabesan I Koror (OC-009 PJ77fi) 17-6m SSB QSL OK via JARL Buro or direct
2012 Oct05 2012 Oct11 Saudi Ara-
bia 7Z7AB 7Z1CQ
VA3RJ 20120712
By HZ1BF 7Z1CQ 7Z1SJ HZ1MD HZ1BW HZ1HN HZ1AR HZ1DG HZ1FS HZ1TL fm Al-Dhahrah Island
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct12 Christmas I VK9XM OH2YY OH2YY 20120810
By OH2YY OH1TV 40-10m SSB CW QSL OK via SRAL Buro or direct Pekka Ahlqvist OH2YY Vapaalanpolku 8B
2012 Oct06 2012 Oct15 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Huanine I (OC-067) 40-10m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct14 Liechten-
stein
HB0
PA4N
PA4N 20120928
By PA4N as HB0PA4N 80-10m CW focus on Asia and JA updates via Twitter frankoppedijk
2012 Oct08 2012 Oct17 Sable I CY0 OQRS WA4DAN 20120817
By WA4DAN as WA4DANCY0 and AA4VK as AA4VKCY0 QSL also OK via WA4DAN direct
2012 Oct08 2012 Dec15 Tanzania 5H3NP WB0VGI DXWNet By WB0VGI HF G5RV + dipoles
2012 Oct11 2012 Oct15 Fiji 3D2ZY PY7ZY ATDX By PY7ZY fm Viti Levu I (OC-016) HF
2012 Oct12 2012 Nov01 St Kitts amp
Nevis V47JA LotW
W5JON 20120806
By W5JON fm Calypso Bay St Kitts (NA-104 PK87pg) 160-6m incl 60m SSB dipoles vertical yagi for 6m QSL
2012 Oct13 2012 Oct15 Mariana Is KH0 JA1FMN JA1FMN By JA1FMN fm Saipan 17 15m PSK31 SSB holiday style
2012 Oct15 2012 Oct19 French
Polynesia FO F6BCW
F5NQL 20120802
By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Raiatea I (OC-067) 30-17m CW holiday style operation possibly w special call sign
2012 Oct15 2012 Dec12 Uganda 5X1NH G3RWF DXWNet By G3RWF fm Fort Portal (KJ50co) 80-10m mainly CW
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct23 Rodrigues I 3B9SP LotW DXWNet 20120704
By HB9ACA HB9BOI HB9BOU HB9BQP HB9CYF HB9HFN HB9SLO HB9TNA HB9TYJ 160-6m CW SSB
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
7
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctOber 2012 (cOnrsquot) COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
2012 Oct17 2012 Oct21 Aruba P40Z DF7ZS DF7ZS By DF7ZS mainly for WAG Contest
2012 Oct17 2012 Dec10 Solomon Is H44MS DL2GAC DL2GAC By DL2GAC 80-6m SSB
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct22 Mariana Is NH0J JJ2VLY DXWNet By JA1NVF JF7ELG JJ2VLY JQ2GYU fm Tinian I (OC-
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct29 Macao XX9 EA7FTR DXWNet By EA7FTR as XX9TFR fm Coloane I also EA5HPX
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Tahaa I (OC-067) 40-17m
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 Vietnam XV29FM TBA DXWNet By JL7XBN fm Vung Tau 20 15 10m focus on 10m FM
2012 Oct20 2012 Oct24 Papua New P29VCX SM6CVX 425DXN By G3KHZ SM6CVX DL6KVA HB9BXE K5WQG fm
2012 Oct21 2012 Nov04 Seychelles S79 See Info IK5RUN By IK5RUN as S79UN I5OYY as S79YY I5IHE as S79LC
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct25 Zimbabwe Z21GF ZS6AYU ZS6AYU By ZS6AYU fm Victoria Falls holiday style operation
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct26 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Maupiti I (OC-067) 30-17m
2012 Oct22 2012 Nov03 Senegal 6V7S RK4FF DXWNet By RK4FF fm Le Calao
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct29 American KH8 JA2ZL JA2ZL By JA2ZL fm Pago Pago (OC-045 USi AS007S WLOTA
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct30 Montserrat VP2MXU G3NKC ATDX By G4XUM HF
2012 Oct26 2012 Nov05 Togo 5V7TH LotW ON4CIT 20120830
By ON4CIT fm Lome (JJ06od) 40-6m SSB CW RTTY focus on JA QSL also OK via ON4CIT Buro or direct
WIRE ANTENNAS
by Jack Layton W9UK
WACOM meeting OCTOBER 4
THIS Thursday night 730
Washington County Building RM 103 100 W Beau St Washington PA Parking available
on the top level
Author of more than technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for
OCTOBER is Jack Layton W9UK Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVON
WGCI in Chicago That was 1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND
which was followed by a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to CE at KDKA In 1992 Jack went into his own busi-
ness Layton Technical Services providing technical consulting services to radio and television broad-
casters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to at-
tend if you radiate with any wires You do right
More info wacomarcorg or bill ny9harrlnet
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
7
WACOM HAM DX CornermdashOctOber 2012 (cOnrsquot) COURTESY httpwwwng3kcomMiscadxohtml
2012 Oct16 2012 Oct25 West Ki-
ribati T30PY OQRS
PY2WAS 20120306
By PT2OP PY1KN PY2PT PY2XB PY2WAS PY3MM PY4BZ PY7XC PY7ZY 160-6m CW SSB RTTY T30SIX
2012 Oct17 2012 Oct21 Aruba P40Z DF7ZS DF7ZS By DF7ZS mainly for WAG Contest
2012 Oct17 2012 Dec10 Solomon Is H44MS DL2GAC DL2GAC By DL2GAC 80-6m SSB
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct22 Mariana Is NH0J JJ2VLY DXWNet By JA1NVF JF7ELG JJ2VLY JQ2GYU fm Tinian I (OC-
2012 Oct18 2012 Oct29 Macao XX9 EA7FTR DXWNet By EA7FTR as XX9TFR fm Coloane I also EA5HPX
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Tahaa I (OC-067) 40-17m
2012 Oct19 2012 Oct22 Vietnam XV29FM TBA DXWNet By JL7XBN fm Vung Tau 20 15 10m focus on 10m FM
2012 Oct20 2012 Oct24 Papua New P29VCX SM6CVX 425DXN By G3KHZ SM6CVX DL6KVA HB9BXE K5WQG fm
2012 Oct21 2012 Nov04 Seychelles S79 See Info IK5RUN By IK5RUN as S79UN I5OYY as S79YY I5IHE as S79LC
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct25 Zimbabwe Z21GF ZS6AYU ZS6AYU By ZS6AYU fm Victoria Falls holiday style operation
2012 Oct22 2012 Oct26 French FO F6BCW F5NQL By F6BCW as FOF6BCW fm Maupiti I (OC-067) 30-17m
2012 Oct22 2012 Nov03 Senegal 6V7S RK4FF DXWNet By RK4FF fm Le Calao
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct29 American KH8 JA2ZL JA2ZL By JA2ZL fm Pago Pago (OC-045 USi AS007S WLOTA
2012 Oct23 2012 Oct30 Montserrat VP2MXU G3NKC ATDX By G4XUM HF
2012 Oct26 2012 Nov05 Togo 5V7TH LotW ON4CIT 20120830
By ON4CIT fm Lome (JJ06od) 40-6m SSB CW RTTY focus on JA QSL also OK via ON4CIT Buro or direct
WIRE ANTENNAS
by Jack Layton W9UK
WACOM meeting OCTOBER 4
THIS Thursday night 730
Washington County Building RM 103 100 W Beau St Washington PA Parking available
on the top level
Author of more than technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for
OCTOBER is Jack Layton W9UK Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVON
WGCI in Chicago That was 1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND
which was followed by a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to CE at KDKA In 1992 Jack went into his own busi-
ness Layton Technical Services providing technical consulting services to radio and television broad-
casters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to at-
tend if you radiate with any wires You do right
More info wacomarcorg or bill ny9harrlnet
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
8
WIRE ANTENNAS
WACOM meeting 4 OCTOBER 2012
Author of more than a few technical Radio books our upcoming presenter for OCTOBER is
Jack Layton W9UK
Back in the seventies Jack was CE ( Chief Engineer ) at WVONWGCI in Chicago That was
1 Urban radio Then Westinghouses (GroupW ) in Chicago WIND which was followed by
a move to Pittsburgh in 1984 to KDKA In 1992 Jack went into business Layton Technical Services providing
technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters
We are very fortunate to have such an authoritative person present within his expertise You need to attend this
if you operate HF
Since I can I will now present Jackrsquos entire QRZ info page for the rest of the storyhellip [NY9H]
Seeing that several of the folks around me answered to the name of John I have been known as Jack since I was knee high to a grass-
hopper I was born and raised in Woodbury New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia By the age of 12 I was hanging wires in
tree tops At the tender age of 14 I got my novice license - KN2JKA In just a few months I graduated to a General Class License
and graduated to K2JKA A few months after that on a dare I trotted back to the FCC office and passed the First Class Radio Tele-
phone License exam Shortly thereafter I got my first job in a broadcast station running the board on weekends
In 1966 I married a lady whom I met in a radio station We moved across the river to suburban Philadelphia and I became W3ESQ
(Up until the early 1980s you had to change call letters when you moved from one district to another) Until 1967 all you needed for
all amateur frequency privileges was a General Class license However when the Incentive Licensing Program of 1967― came
about and Generals were about to be confined to only a portion of the bands I upgraded to Extra Class
In 1975 Cathy and I and by then also Judy and Christopher packed up and moved to Chicago I got the call W9NUU In early 1977
I became eligible for a two letter call and got W9UK When I moved to the Pittsburgh area in 1984 the FCC was no longer making
one change call letters when they relocated to a different area of the country
Former employment has included chief engineer of Globetrotter Communications WVON amp WGCI Chicago chief engineer of
Group Wrsquos WIND Chicago and chief engineer of KDKA Pittsburgh In 1992 I went into business for myself Layton Technical
Services provides technical consulting services to radio and television broadcasters Those services include due-diligence inspec-
tions facility asset evaluations ABIP compliance inspections for five state broadcaster associations AM directional antenna field
work including the adjustment and field intensity measurements associated with these systems and the detuning of structures near
AM directional antenna systems that could become parasitic re-radiators
I am a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and recognized by that organization as a Certified Professional Broadcast
Engineer I am the author of Directional Antennas Made Simple (the second edition became available in mid-2007) The Radio
Chief Operators Handbook published by the SBE The Broadcasterrsquos Guide to Creating amp Maintaining the Public Inspection File
and a regular contributor of technical articles to various broadcast trade journals
My first writing venture outside of a technical field was published in April 2010 Exploring the Mason Dixon Line Walking in the
Footsteps of History is the result of several years of research picture taking and on site field work When I completed the effort I felt
as if I personally knew Charles Mason and his sidekick Jeremiah Dixon even though they lived two-and-a-half centuries before me
The book is available from wwwamazoncom and wwwamericanhistorypresscom
The greatest adventure in my half century ham radio career occurred in February 2005 when I along with 4 others in my age group
went on a DXpedition to operate the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest on the Island of Montserrat The island a British Colony
is about 300 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico It is about half the size of Washington DC You share it with an active volcano
Our multi-operator station came in 4th worldwide in the contest Look up VP2MUK on QRZ for details of the adventure
Rarely will you find me on HF SSB I can be found on one or the other of the HFCW bands almost every day that I am not on the
road I enjoy rag chewing DX chasing and (a little bit of) contesting - in that order
When not hamming or involved in work activities I devote time to church activities I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Ro-
man Catholic Church in 1981 I preach teach visit shut ins and perform other ministries as a deacon in the church
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
9
Washington Labor Day 5K Run
3 September 2012
WACOM amp WASH Emergency Communications Team
Left to right Kevin N3HKQ Bob KN3IN Adam NZ3S Dave N3IDH Don KB3YLR
Bill NY9H Frank KB3AAG and John N3GHR
Ken AA3GM and Melanie N9SOG ran in the race
Jesse Aukeman and Anna Beck run neck amp neck through-
out the race Aukeman squeaked ahead of Beck by 3-
seconds for the winning time of 1640
First female walker in the lead
Here comes the pack AA3GM amp N9SOG have already
passed by Runners make a right turn onto Jefferson Avenue
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
10
VE Testing Session
4 Nov 12 from 10AM-2PM
At the WACOM Hamfest Washington Co Fairgrounds
Please bring the following to your test session
Picture ID or other suitable identification (2 forms of ID required)
Pen Pencil Calculator
Original FCC license plus a copy of license (if upgrading)
Original CSCE plus a copy of CSCE (if upgrading)
Check or Cash in the amount of $1500 (payable to ARRL VEC)
Correct change or check is very helpful
Talking will be kept to a minimum This is very disturbing to someone who is trying to obtain their license for
the first time Please pass this information on to interested parties Bob KI4DHB VEC Liaison
WACOM has added ECHOLINK to the 79 machine and increased coverage
for Washington County along I-79 amp I-70 from the Pittsburgh to Waynesburg
Another major improvement will extend coverage well beyond Monessen
Now that we have you covered GIVE IT A TRY 14679 (-600) 1318hz
WE GOT YOU COVERED
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
11
WACOM implemented an ECHOLINK interface during the summer of 2012 ECHOLINK is a combination of computer hardware and software integrated to
provide an audio linking system for use by licensed radio amateurs worldwide There are cur-
rently more than 170000 registered users in 158 countries worldwide
The Sound Card in your desktop or notebook computer is actually a very sophisticated Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) which is used to convert your voice from a microphone (analog) signal into the digital signal which
will then be transported across the Internet The audio is the ―A and the digital the ―D in the frequently referred to ―A to
D converter At the other end of the network the sound card processes the digital back into audio ―D to A
Since the Internet protocol (IP) is used for the voice transmissions this is one of many uses of ―VoIP Voice over IP
The program called Echolink available free over the Internet must be installed The computer running ECHOLINK soft-
ware is then used to register with the ECHOLINK Server which verifies the amateur license Next using a connection to the
Internet the software will display ALL the stations currently connected thru the ECHOLINK SERVER Unless a station
―node is indicating busy it can be ―connected
So we basically have two computer systems one at each end connected through the Internet server both running the Echo-
link software These two computers can now talk to each other one at a time simplex fashion
Certainly we donrsquot need Ham Radio licenses for computers to talk to computers using sound cards However when we add
this Internet connectivity to a radio transmitter or even more interesting a radio repeater system providing coverage to an
entire city our radio licenses are necessary since we are now transmitting over the airwaves
If we take one end and attach it to a repeater then anyone on the system IN THE WORLD can ―access this repeater using
his or her computer
Conversely at one end of this system we can have John in Canonsburg using his little ICOM talkie talking into the WA-
COM repeater and selecting any available node on the system John likes to work Australia amp Israelhellip Gary who moved to
the South can use WACOM to link back home while trucking thru Washington
About 12 years ago prior to traveling to Hawaii I had determined what stations used ECHOLINK in Honolulu While
there I accessed that repeaterrsquos Echolink connection dialing in the node number for my old local repeater I had established
a link For almost an hour while walking around a flea market in Honolulu my little Yaesu vx5 hanging around my neck
was ―linked to NORA I called CQ a few times and talked with some of my friends I also worked several people I never
had heard before on NORA I had some explaining to do as neither had heard about Echolink
A computer can initiate a connection to another computer or repeater so also can a mobile a base station or a hand held
radio initiate a connection thru a repeater to another node on the Echolink network And that node can be a computer or
even another repeater system with mobiles amp handhelds
This program is currently available on the Internet for FREE
You need a computer a sound card a microphone and a speaker and at least a dial-up Internet connection As you become
familiar with the procedures yoursquoll learn how to originate calls from your computer your mobile or talkie
Next get on the Internet and check out the Echolink site learn more and download the software httpwwwecholinkorg
There it will explain how to establish your node number
Next get on WACOM 14679 ( -600) get to know us wwwwa3comarccom echowacom812
4679
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
12
Have you ever wanted to try something REALLY challenging How about trying to operate (or just get to) the tiny DX entity of Sable Island Here is a brief background on the island A DXpedition is scheduled to oper-ate from there from 8-17 October 2012 [Ed]
Overview
Sable Island is a small island situated 190 miles southeast of Halifax Canada and about 109 miles southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean It is a year-round home to approximately five people with summer numbers swelled by tourists scientists and others Notable for its Sable Island Ponies the island is protected under the Canada Shipping Act requiring permission from the Canadian Coast Guard to visit Sable Island is part of District 13 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia The island is also a protected National Park Reserve of Canada
Sable Island derived its name from the French word for sand It lacks natural trees being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation In 1901 the federal government planted over 80000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil all died Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of a single Scots pine Although planted in the 1960s it is only a few feet tall The island is home to over 400 free-roaming Sable Island Ponies protected by law from human interference This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock In the past excess horses were rounded up shipped off the island and sold many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia In 1960 the Canadian Government gave the horse popu-lation full protection from human interference
History
The expedition of Portuguese explorer Joatildeo Aacutelvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520ndash1521 and were among the first Europeans to encounter the island A brief attempt at French colonization at the end of the 16th century using convicts failed The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers ship-wreck survivors and salvagers known as wreckers A life-saving station was established on Sable Island by the Governor of Nova Scotia John Wen-tworth in 1801 The Nova Scotian rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today The station grew to in-cluded a central station and several lookout posts The Canadian government took over administration of the station with Confederation in 1867 and added two lighthouses in 1872 one on the eastern tip and one on the western[3] Until the advent of modern ship navigation Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers In the early 20th century the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established a weather station Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920[4]
Although the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated and eventually decommissioned the light stations Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from a permanently occupied station on Sable Island because of its unique isolated geographic position down-wind from the North American mainland
Why is it DX
Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 Part 4 Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal govern-ment (the exclusive Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends to [] 9 Beacons Buoys Lighthouses and Sable Island) For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio entity (equivalent to a country for award credit) and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0
SOURCE WIKIPEDIA
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
13
Sable Island Access Request for permission to visit Sable Island must be made in writing to the Director of Marine Programs (Canadian Coast Guard see Contacts below) and the
request must include the details regarding the purpose of the visit mode of transportation tofrom the Island (type of aircraft or vessel) the number of people in the
party (and their names and addresses) the anticipated arrival and departure dates and requirements for logistical support on the Island
Accommodations amp Logistical Support The Sable Island Station administered by the Meteorological Service of Canada (Environment Canada) provides the year-round infrastructure for all programs
conducted on the Island Although support of operational scientific and conservation activities is the primary role of the facility the Station also provides support for visitors Arrangements for logistical support on the Island can be made by contacting the Operations Manager (Sable Island Station see Contacts below)
Logistical support must be organized well in advance because availability varies depending on operational requirements and programs underway Camping is not permitted on Sable Island Visitors who have obtained authorization for overnight stays must arrange for accommodations at the Station The Station has no vehi-
cles for rent but visitors may be able to charter a Station vehicle and driver subject to operational requirements The Station is equipped with a variety of radio
and satellite communications systems similarly available for use by visitors subject to operational requirements Visitors are expected to be as self-sufficient as possible and fees are applicable to any services required (see Fee Schedule below) Station activities have priority and visitors are permitted on site only as long
as they abide by Station procedures and guidelines
Travel
Once permission to visit Sable Island is obtained visitors would usually organize their own transportation tofrom the Island (charter aircraft or boat or private boat) In recent years the most common modes of transport for visitors have been fixed-wing aircraft chartered through Maritime Air Charter Ltd (the only fixed-
wing charter service to the Island see Contacts below) and private boat
Air and sea travel to and from Sable Island can be confounded by weather sea state mechanical and personnel problems and offshore emergencies For the fixed-wing aircraft the most common causes of delay are poor weather conditions (either in Halifax or on the Island) or lack of a landing area on the Island Cruise ships
have encountered difficulties with weather and surf conditions and of the fourteen such ships that have come to Sable Island ten had to sail away without having
landed their passengers on the Island
Maritime Air Charter Limited uses a Britten-Norman Islander a fixed-wing aircraft designed for short distance take-offs and landings Some visitors come as
groups of five or six persons for a ―day-trip The Islanderrsquos payload is 485 kg (1070 lbs) so when a party of people arranges to use the Islander they must con-sider their combined body weight and strike a balance between number of people and amount of baggage All flights ndash fixed-wing and helicopter - depart from the
Halifax International Airport Depending on the direction and strength of winds the air travel time between Sable Island and the airport is between 125 to 150
hours
SOURCE httpwwwgreenhorsesocietycomVisitorsSable_Island_Visitorshtm
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
14
MYSTERY STATION
NAME THAT (OLD) EQUIPMENT
ANSWERS
Top shelf (left to right)
Tentec 405 3-50 watt amp
Tentec 509 5 watt hf argonaut
Bearcat 210 scanner
rotor control
Icom 701 hf 100 watt xcvr
Icon 211 100 watt 2 meter all mode
KW antenna matching unit
Yeasu Ft101 HF rig
Heathkit phone patch
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
15
WACOM 2012 HAMFEST Washington Amateur Communications
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4th 2012
WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
2151 North Main St
WASHINGTON PA 15301
800 AM ndash300 PMmdashAdmission $500
Doors open early for VENDOR SETUP Saturday 600 pm
Talk in on 146790 MHz no Pl
MAJOR VENDORS
Over 200 tables
KJI ELECTRONICSmdashQUICK SILVER RADIO
MAIN PRIZES
1st AMERITRON 811 HF Amplifier
2nd HI-DEF TV
3RD VHF FM TRANSCEIVER ICOM IC-V8000
BLACK BOX PRIZE ONLY 50 TICKETS SOLD
MAIN DRAWING AT 100 PM NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN
Vendors Contact Bud Plants N3TIR budn3tircom 724-350-6745
Vendor Forms located at wwwwacomarcorg
6Ft TABLES SUPPLIED cost $1200 ea - Discount reserve more than (5) $1000ea
TABLE DEADLINE IS OCT 24th 2012- Must prepay to hold tables
VE TESTING TIME TBA
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE
DOOR PRIZES--YL PRIZE---DX CARD CHECKER
THE MEADOWS CASINO NEAR BY
Send vendor payment to-
Please include vendor form and make checks payable to
WACOM co Norma Plants N3YJJ
236 Chambers Ridge Road West Alexander Pa 15376
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM
16
Name ___________________________________ Address________________________________________
City _________________________ State ____ Zip_________
Home Phone ______________________________ Business Phone ____________________________
Other Phone EbullMail _____________________________
Amateur Call ________________________ License Class _________________________
Spouse _____________________________ Spouse Call __________________________
Spouse License Class ________________________
In case of emergency for what bands do you have equipment
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What are your favorite amateur activities
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
What activities would you like to see WACOM sponsor
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
ARRL Member Y N
Please return completed form and dues to
WACOM co Norma Plants 236 chambers Ridge Road West Alexander PA 15376
E- mail n3yjjarrlnet
Dues Individual $20 per year Additional Family Members $10 each
2012
MEMBER INFORMATION AND DUES RENEWAL FORM