by WB6IXN
7/7/1999 10m `DX' Phone Net - Sunspot activity continues to improve HF communications as W6ZE/AF6C checks in KH7LD, Dennis, in Oahu, and, ZL3NRA, Ray, frm Cantaburg, NZ, near Christchurch. Bob also checked in WOX, LEX, JD, LDC, RND, VDP, HHC, & COJ. Ray and Dennis were busy giving OPs their sig rpts. Field Day discussion and rag-chewing consumed the remainder of the Net.
7/7/1999 2m Phone Net - W6ZE/VDP assumed NC duties in the absence of IXN who was vacationing in the San Jacinto Mts. Larry checked in ZH, UCH, WIU, HHC, TWA, YY, and BWH. 10m DX, the Orange County Fair, and sum interference frm 2 emergency nets provided discussion topics. BWH arrives later in the Net after attending an Orange Cnty Fair meeting. VPP is on vacation, and a bit of discussion on the ARRL Convention ensued. BWH then aired Newsline.
7/14/199 10m Phone Net - W6ZE/AF6C checks in ZH, W6F, BWH, HHC, LEX, RND, IXN, BWH, TWA, and JD. Congrats to ARS W6F at the Orange County Fair fer garnering 5 ribbons!...BWH lists a red ribbon fer theme & decoration; a blue ribbon fer inter-action wid the public; a blue ribbon fer education purposes; a blue ribbon fer personnel; and a blue ribbon fer best of show!! AF6C prepares fer visit frm the neice, and Bob learns that W6F has a tribander on a tower section mounted on the roof. And ZH, TWA and other OC Fair OPs mention the good & bad features of the new KACHINA 505-D rig at W6F. And we may get sum new Club members frm the visitors! HHC endures 13-hour workdays lately, and Ken reminds all abt the Club meeting Fri. eve., announcing a program on Solar Panels!...Shud be interesting!! LEX announces sum vy interesting unadvertised antenna specials frm Comet, 1725 N. Grove St., in Anaheim (see 2m Net below). IXN greets all OPs at W6F, including visitors. RND will get new glasses soon, and John's recent eye surgery was successful! RND was dwn in the QRN at IXN's QTH tonite. TWA is swimming in ripe tomatoes, and Charles does yard work chores & tells IXN & OPs he remembers terrific lightning storms in Oklahoma! JD reports that BWH, NAH, TL, EUO, TWA, PFA, and OPI all worked at the W6F booth.
7/14/1999 2m Phone Net - W6ZE/IXN checks in LEX, PFA, LO, UCH, TWA, VDP, WIU, OPI, FZE, and W6F. W6F/BWH checks in to announce no Newsline fer tonite due to logistics. LO checks in to make contact wid VDP...They move to landline. IXN hears hum on LO's sigs! PFA was not impressed wid the new KACHINA software-operated rig..Tom experienced high QRN and weak audio sigs! TWA was fascinated wid the new rig. BWH announced OP names of those working at W6F. (Hope we listed all OPs!)
We take this opportunity to thank BWH fer countless hours spent in helping make W6F a great success! OPI experiences a balance problem wid lighting at W6F & the OC Fair..Cindy recovers quickly once away frm the Fair environment!! FZE celebrates his 18th BD working wid a scout troop, and we congrat Patrick on reaching the honored rank of Eagle Scout!! FZE also worked emergency communications during the GG Fire! OPI announces the Red Cross Sched. fer OPs to get their Red Cross cards on the weekend of July 31-Aug 1. UCH & WIU `fly in & Fly out'. Cory experiences sum mike trouble, but she and UCH return after Net fer testing. VDP arrives on the scene & tells IXN that he & LO were making arrangements fer the Swapmeet this weekend. We all `ragchew' fer a short time, wid BWH making relevant comments frm time to time!
7/21/1999 10m Phone Net - W6ZE/AF6C checks in JD, IXN, EUO, WOX, LEX, and VDP. AF6C gets home frm work just in time to begin the Net. Bob was out in the `boon-docks' today running tests and checking out a new FAA site! And Bob tells OPs abt a 'lil restaurant above Fairhaven on Tustin Ave. that has a gud steak special at reasonable prices! JD, all alone wid the XYL up in the Palmdale area, tells OPs he enjoyed the talk on solar panels at Club meeting last Fri. eve. IXN & ZE discuss the 4.1 event 6 mi. NW of Anza, mentioning that TEZ also lives in the area! EUO had funeral duties today wid his aunt passing away frm a massive stroke! And WOX tells OPs to try the fried bananas at a Cuban restaurant on the Orange Traffic Circle. LEX tells OPs there has been 2m ducting to Hawaii fer the past two weeks! Chris quickly constructed an 8-element 2m beam, which he described to OPs, to take advantage of the ducting. VDP says NOA worked Hawaai on 6m frm the O.C. Fair Booth!
7/21/1999 2m Phone Net - W6ZE/IXN checks in WIU, YY, VDP, W6F/BWH, UCH, and TRA. WIU spends time learning morse code since Field Day, and Cory asks BWH fer in-law adr to send a letter of tnx fer use of the FD site. YY & YVA, Linda, hve spent the last few days hving fun wid the Nat. Fantasy Fan Club Convention which hosts Disney and other fantasy industry celebs., which is being held at the Wyatt-Alacante at Harbor & Chapman. VDP says he hasn't heard much hamming frm the ham booth at the O.C. Fair. TRA & XYL are lucky to hve escaped wid their lives in an auto accident which completely demolished their suburban and badly damaged the airstream trailer. Gene's XYL is still in the hospital recovering frm numerous fractures! And TRA's FT-847 was damaged. Also, Gene can't find his FT-50 HT! UCH joins us at Net's end, and IXN & Jim discuss the recent 4.1 on the San Jacinto Fault. W6F/BWH airs Newsline #1144 frm the OC Fair booth...We learn that OPs renewing their licenses under the FCC's Universal Licensing plan, will hve to submit their TIN (Tax Identification Number), which, for most of us, will be our SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!
7/28/1999 10m Phone Net - W6ZE/AF6C checks in JD, LDC, IXN, LEX/m, WOX, RND, EUO, VPP, FMX, and HHC. JD tells LEX that he has gud sigs into the QTH tonite, and Lowell tells OPs that Board meeting will be Aug. 8, at HHC's QTH. LDC comes in vy weak, but rotating the beam solves that problem! Larry finishes 4 chapters in his book...Nw fer chapt. 5! And LDC says he hears other stations in the background tonite. AF6C, hving worked all day wid a lightning-downed microwave system, says he worked an OP in France last week, and, Bob's word of wisdom fer the week: "The longer, the higher, and the uglier the ant. is, the better it works!" IXN busies himself wid mapping seismometer sites in CA. on his Gazetteer maps. When `El Presidente' says there is noise..there is noise!..No sooner had Bud said it was a quiet band tonite, when behold!..Noise on his sigs arose, and was heard by all OPs!..How did you do it, VPP?!! FMX enjoyed the Club talk on solar cells & panels, and Paul & OPs discuss various copiers & printers. LEX, mobile, wid the harmonic by his side, goes to the Tustin Marketplace hardware store to buy sum ant. hardware, wid the 1/4 wave ant. putting out nice sigs. frm the roof of the truck. WOX says 6m has been open the past week, wid Art picking up 2 new grid squares & another state! And Art hears RND's strong CW sigs as John works the FISTS OPs. RND was happy wid the `Tour de France' outcome, wid John also commenting that CA presently has the best WX in the country! And RND listens attentively as OPs discuss copiers...John's in the market looking fer one! HHC, bk frm Vegas, tells OPs abt the new hotels, especially the Venetia, wid its marble & Italian art. Then HHC & OPs discuss the difference between Joshua trees and Yucca plants. EUO, playing on the computer, but getting sum work done too, hears all OPs well tonite.
7/28/1999 2m Phone Net - W6ZE/IXN checks in ZH, SMY, BWH/m, VDP, TWA, LEX/m, HHC, and RE. ZH still doesn't hve his car yet! And Chris reminds all OPs abt the Red Cross class this weekend to get, or re-new your Red Cross cards. SMY & IXN Discuss recent FCC crackdown in illegal ham band operations, and VDP is fighting off the flu bug. And Larry says 6m has been open, wid Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Tijuana, Baja, etc., all heard! IXN Tnx TWA fer the sugar-sweet tomatoes, and Charles says all his tomatoes are small this year. TWA had poor reception on 10m tonite, so he didn't join the 10m crew! HHC came bk frm Vegas wid a wee bit more money than he took wid him! LEX picks up sum 1/4" aluminum rod at the hardware, and Chris has gud mobile sigs frm the Tustin Mall. It was great to hear RE's voice on an HT frm the retirement home in Tustin. Alex needs a better ant. fer the HT, and maybe look fer sum hot spots to get rid of the `white noise'. Congrats to BWH for his dedication to amateur radio in working the Orange County Fair Booth fer abt 15 out of the 17 days it was open! And Bob annunces that right after the Ham Convention, the Multiple Sclerosis event, Oct. 9-10, will be held. BWH then airs Newsline #1145..