NETNEWS
by WB6IXN
2/6/2002 10m Phone Net – W6ZE/AF6C checked in HHC, KB1GZ, CCD, IXN, AB8AA, and PFA. HHC started a new computer server class at SAC. Ken also told OPs abt an E-mail he received frm a man in South County, abt an errant auto door control and garage door opener being affected by what the man thought was RF interference. All OPs offered possible causes and remedies to Ken. AF6C and HHC mentioned a possible speaker and program for a future Club meeting. AF6C heard the carrier, wid buzz, reported by HHC. IXN heard the carrier too, but widout the buzz. GZ didn’t hear the carrier sig. And Steve received an offer frm HHC to help erect a new ant. pole at the QTH. CCD checked in wid ‘Donald Duck’ sigs on the upper sideband. Tom changed to the other rig oscillator and the problem vanished. Then Tom was off to din-din. AA ‘flew in and flew out’, and OPs welcomed PFA, wid 5/9 sigs, bk to the Net after abt a 6 month absence due to Tennessee Valley Indians! A new TV solved PFA’s TVI problem, and Tom said that Orange PD will have its own communicators for ‘Baker to Vegas’ this year on the 20th & 21st of April. And Tom’s R-8 vert. is doing a FB job!
2/6/2002 2m Phone Net – W6ZE/IXN checked in WOX, TEZ, VDP, LEX, HHC, CCD, BWH, and W6WC, Tom. WOX enjoyed the nice WX this past week, and Art has nw started his bout wid income tax, introducing the harmonic to the woes of tax preparation! Art also got a couple more states worked toward his WAS. TEZ’s comment, "Taxes, UGH!" And Al said that he didn’t hve any paper, wid info. on badge supply prices, that AF6C had requested on last Net. OPs agn discussed the garage door opener problem presented by HHC. And WOX told OPs that he will not be able to participate in Baker-to-Vegas in April. IXN asked HHC abt his ancestral origin, and Ken told OPs that his side of the family came frm the Ukraine. VDP said that FD rules will be changed…No more Novice/Tech stations! And VDP said we shud begin to think abt FD…It’s just arnd the corner! LEX, doing business as usual, is completing a new 10-30 MHz ant., 8 to 9 ft in length, fer use at FD. CCD told OPs that he contacted a Russian OP on the VHF oscillator that gave him trouble on 10m tonite. BWH checked wid hum on his sigs. After replacing batteries in the mike, Bob’s hum disappeared. BWH aired Newsline, wid news abt a double solar max. in this cycle. To learn more abt the double max., try www.rainreport.com , or, N8MEO@MSM.com .
2/13/2002 10m Phone Net – W6ZE/AF6C checked in KB1GZ, LDC, IXN, K7KF(John), HHC, and IMW. AF6C is ‘getting the house in order’ for a sister visit. GZ will be off the air temporarily…Steve is taking his under warranty YAESU rig bk to the radio doctor fer repairs. GZ then 73’d to take the XYL to Trader Joe’s fer sum shopping. LDC sustained sum wind damage to the loop ant. during the SA winds, and Larry is off to the high desert over the holiday weekend, plus LDC is enjoying the Winter Olympics. AF6C told KF that he will guide him to Club meeting this Fri. eve. if necessary. KF will speak on ‘Contesting wid a Large Antenna Farm’. HHC told OPs abt the last huge Ficus tree in Orange meeting its demise, crushing an auto on its descent, during the recent SA winds. And Ken had just gotten bk frm a SAC class, hving been sprinkled wid a few raindrops on his way home, and IXN heard thunder and saw lightning in SE Santa Ana! IMW, wid a new backyard vertical ant., came on the air with gud sig rpts frm the Net. Ian is off to the Anza-Borrego Desert over the weekend. IXN read short items on the Milky Way Galaxy, and, meteors frm the Sirius Astronomer newsletter.
2/13/2002 2m Phone Net – W6ZE/IXN checked in TRA, VDP, HHC, KFW, BWH, LEX, and KR6AL(Frank). TRA’s vertical waved in the SA winds, but no damage done, and Gene has been busy redecorating the shack, painting and wall papering arnd the QTH. VDP escaped damage frm the wind, but was rewarded wid a yard full of leaves! HHC told IXN that the basics for Microsoft Windows was preceded by MacIntosh Windows! And Ken also told Bob that Windows 2000 shud be compatible wid Windows 98. KFW is enjoying the Winter Olympics, and Chris is building a 40m vertical ant. BWH suffered no wind damage, told OPs that $500+ dollars will be needed fer repairs on three rigs, and Bob aired Newsline #1278…We heard that recent estimates of valid amateur licenses may be 20% overinflated due to FCC holding non-renewal licensees, through a period of two years, on their rolls. LEX, hving used ‘installation overkill’ on his antennas, experienced no damage frm the high winds. Chris-KFW went up to a cabin in Big Bear fer sum R&R, skiing, and hamming. Frank, KR6AL, checked into Net on 5 watts frm Malibu, near the Ventura County line, wid 5/9 sigs at NC. AL and LEX often contact each other, and Frank can be found on the Catalina Repeater.
2/20/2002 10m Phone Net – W6ZE/AF6C checked in HHC, LDC, IXN, JD, and PFA. AF6C, just bk frm din-din wid his sister, told OPs abt a block and tackle arrangement to raise and lower antenna mast up and dwn his tower. HHC is preparing fer a ski trip, and Ken said he’ll be home sometime next Thursday. HHC, wid sum exposed wires to the computer, checked his SWR to eliminate that as a cause fer strange noises emanating frm the computer! Ken, just bk frm class, says his server class textbook is terrible! Ken also got a letter off to the City of Santa Ana concerning a FD site. IXN suggested that HHC contact TEZ if any FD site problem arises. LDC was bitten by Puppy while rough-housing…a ’lil blood issueing forth! And Larry had a gud time wid the motor home group on the high desert, hamming, biking, etc. LDC is enjoying the Winter Olympics, and Larry hopes to attend the TRW Swapmeet this weekend, and also, to repair his loop ant. JD heard all OPs loud & clear, then JD 73’d to continue watching the Winter Olympics. PFA missed last Fri. Club meeting…Tom was watching the Winter Olympics on his new digital high definition TV, on Ch. 4! And PFA recommended the Mongolian Barbecue, near Taft & Tustin, to OPs. Then Tom told us that he and Bruce, DLA, service bound tape recorders for the Braille Institute.
2/20/2002 2m Phone Net – W6ZE/IXN checked in UCH, VDP, KFW, HHC, BWH, W6VCW(Orv), CCD, and AF6C. UCH had to work and missed Club meeting, and Jim also missed his trip to the desert. VDP didn’t take the rig to YAESU, the thermal problem seems to have corrected itself! VDP also dumpted off sum old batteries at the recycling yard in HB. Larry sent HHC an E-mail wid new rules fer FD. VDP suggested a pre-FD meeting to plan strategies to maximize FD points. IXN will send VDP a ham website wid free contest logging programs, etc. KFW watched the Winter Olympics, did sum housework, and then went bk to the olympic games. HHC, preparing fer a skiing trip, does not want anymore shoulder injuries like the one he experienced last time out! BWH checked in mobile 5 mi. away frm the QTH. VCW, ORV, checked into Net fer the 2nd time since IBR used to be NC years ago! Orv’s XYL passed away in Jan., after 50 yrs of marriage. Orv mentioned his friend, Al, W6QOK, in a rest home, who operates on 147.585 MHz. CCD’s computer is dwn wid an ailing monitor. BWH, bk at the QTH, aired Newsline #1279. Bob had the mike positioned properly, for Newsline was hear 5/9 by NC. And Newsline told us that a Federal Appeals Court ruled that the FCC cannot deny a former pirate a legitimate broadcast license the way the present law is now written!
2/27/2002 10m Phone Net – W6ZE/AF6C checked in LDC, JD, KB1GZ, XO, and IXN. LDC, wid high QRN tonite, is looking forward to the Club campout at VKZ’s site in Anza on Mar. 8-10. And Larry enjoyed the Winter Olympics. Wid WOX’s help last Sat., LDC got the loop ant. repaired. AF6C has the ant. rotator repaired, and Bob plans to use his new block & tackle to hoist mast and rotator bk up the tower. JD, also wid QRN, had gud sigs on all OPs, and Lowell is beginning to enjoy retirement. J D also repaired the mike on the mobile unit which he will test on the 2m Net later tonite. GZ, on being asked abt snow in Connecticut, said that the snow ‘is right where it shud be’…in Connecticut! Steve said his rig was OK, the problems being ant. and operator error. GZ is also assembling the new GAF Titan ant., and Steve will miss the Club Bfast this Sat. XO tripped over a curb, at work on Valentine’s Day, fell, and broke his shoulder! Now fer surgery to get it pinned, and repair a torn rotator cup! IXN counted ‘three Bob check-ins’ tonite, and Bob commented on the increased seismic activity on inland faults.
2/27/2002 2m Phone Net – W6ZE/IXN checked in WOX, VDP, JD, KFW, AF6C, BWH, and LEX/m. WOX, JD, and IXN hve completed their tax returns, and Art said that he likes the Summer Olympics best. WOX needs RI to complete his CW WAS…if OPs wud only send their QSL cards! And Art picked up a headset at TRW Swapmeet last weekend. VDP worked a couple of Olympic Special Event stations, W7U and WI9OG, in Salt Lake City. And Larry is monitoring the Net on another radio tonite, as the rig has a thermal intermittent. VDP said that FD this year is a ‘whole new ballgame’…all kinds of ways to get more points! And this year’s Contest will open all of North and South America as participtants! JD’s repaired mike worked well on 2m, and Lowell and the XYL will saunter off to Julian tomorrow fer a ’lil R&R (one of the enjoyments of retirement). KFW attended a voting class to work on a precinct team in the upcoming election, and Chris enjoyed the Winter Olympics. AF6C reminded all OPs abt the Club Bfast this Sat., and Bob told us abt a precious gem display by Mike Scott, at the Bower Museum in Santa Ana. BWH watched the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, but ’lil else in between. Then Bob aired Newsline #1280, in which we were alerted to the danger RM 10051 poses to the 70 cm band. Also, Ultra Wideband is here, technology that can let us ‘see thru walls’! LEX just finished a whirlwind tour bk East: MD, VA, Wash. D.C., the Pentagon(to see damage of Sept. 11), DE, PA, and NJ, to meet wid company reps. and clients.