Digital Mobile Radio

Speaker: Skip Evans, W2YJL

Abstract:

This talk will cover the following questions:

About our speaker:

Skip graduated from RPI with an EE degree, and trained at KAPL as a nuclear engineer. He has traveled all over the US and Canada to nuclear site installations. Eventually, he transferred to GE Medical Systems. He retired as a specialist in nuclear medicine. Skip has lived in Glenville for 35 years, and has held an amateur radio license for 74 years. Currently, Skip holds an advanced class ticket.

Note: The meeting location is 309 Alplaus Ave, Alplaus, NY, and the building is at the corner of Alplaus Avenue and Bruce Drive. Please park in the paved lot adjacent to this building. Do not park in the restricted area in front of the building that houses the fire trucks. We will meet in the Multi- purpose Room (entrance is on the North side of this building).

Baker Island Dxpedition

Speaker: John Miller, K6MM

Abstract: This will be a video presentation of the 2018 Dxpedition to Baker Island, which lies on the equator, about 1900 miles southwest of Hawaii.

About our speaker:

John Miller has been a ham since 1968 and has participated in seven Dxpeditions. His website, https://www.qrz.com/db/K6MM, shows his lifelong commitment to amateur radio.

The History of Telegraph Keys

Speaker: Tom Pererra, W1TP

Abstract: The invention of the electric telegraph revolutionized communication and led to the development of all forms of digital technology and the Internet. Messages that would have taken days or months to deliver could be sent in a fraction of a second. As with all revolutionary technological advances, controversies arose about who was the first to invent this technology. Manufacturing companies competed with each other for the lucrative telegraph key market and military customers demanded specialized technology.

As time went on, the earliest telegraph keys became very valuable collectors’ items.

This presentation will trace the evolution of telegraph keys and telegraph key designs, and provide up-to-date information about their current values.

About our speaker:

Tom Perera is a retired professor of neuroscience. He has been an active ham radio operator for over 69 years. He has been collecting and researching telegraph keys since he was first licensed. His telegraph museum website: W1TP.com is the go-to website for all telegraph key information. It contains 3000 pictures and descriptions of telegraph keys most of which he has owned. His book: “Telegraph Key Collector’s Guidebook,” his “Telegraph Key Collectors” CD-ROM library, and his many lectures and demonstrations provide additional information about telegraph key history.

Field Day 2022 and Annual Business Meeting

Speaker: Tim Long W2UI and James MacMurray N2UZQ

Abstract: The June meeting is also our annual business meeting, including our annual election of Board Members and Officers.

Officers and Board of Directors Nominations for 2022-2023 are:

President: Jim Silva WA2JMS

Vice President: Skip Evans W2YJL

Secretary: Jim Stewart K2PK

Treasurer: Tim Long W2UI

Board member: John Clement, NM2R

Board member: Dean Poeth, II, K8TM

Board member: Paul Siemers, WY2F

Board member: Bob Saltzman, WB2ARK

Please plan to attend this meeting.

About our speakers:
Tim Long got his start in amateur radio in 1961 when he passed his Novice exam given by his scoutmaster WA2FFJ and received call WN2KHQ. That call sign became WB2KHQ, then WA4DXR, then WB2SPN, and now W2UI. Tim has served SARA in various positions including many years as Secretary, two stints as Vice President, two tours as President, and countless years as Treasurer (dues cheerfully accepted). Tim holds BSEE and MSCS degrees and is now retired after a career with Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corp. in West Milton. Besides ham radio antenna work and Field Day, Tim enjoys golf.

James MacMurray was born in 1972 and grew up in Scotia. James was licensed in 1993 and received his Extra while going to college for Data Communications. He is past president of SARA, current treasurer for SMARA, Emergency Coordinator for Schenectady County ARES, and Assistant Section Manager for Eastern NY. He has served as a Director for SARA for the past 6 years and served SMARA as a past President, Vice President, and Treasurer. Currently James is a full time Employee Retirement Examiner 3 for the State of New York Office of the State Comptroller. James has interests in VHF/UHF weak signal, HF phone, and HF Digital contesting.

Eastern NY Section ARRL Update

Speaker: John Fritze Jr., K2QY (in person)

Abstract: John will bring us up to date regarding both the ENY Section and the ARRL – what has happened during the past two years.

About our speaker: John was first licensed in 1977 as WA2TQW (novice), followed by Advanced and Extra Class as K2BCR. Since 2003, his call has been K2QY. He is an ARRL Life Member. John has been president and director of the Albany Amateur Radio Association (AARA) multiple times in the 1980s and again in 2010-2013, and currently serves on their board.

He served as President of Albany County Amateur Communication Emergency Services (ACACES) 2013-2017, as Radio Officer for Albany County RACES/ARES, as the Albany County Emergency Coordinator, and as ARES ENY Northern District Emergency Coordinator since 2012.

He is one of the first VEs in the country (1984), and is an instructor with Capital Area Radio Enthusiasts (CARES). He has served as Hudson Division Assistant Director, and is chairman for Digital Communications for ARES/RACES in ENY. John is an ARRL Field Instructor, Examiner, and VE.

His amateur radio interests include DX, contesting, ISS, NBEMS, Winlink, APRS, Satellites, ISS, DXpeditions (to Bermuda, Barbados, St. Maarten…), Summits and National Parks on the Air, Home Brewing, public service events, QRP, Minimalist radio, Mobile HF, and Maritime Amateur Radio (HF and VHF/UHF)!

Spy Radio Operations, Enigmas, and CIA Bugs

Speaker: Tom Perera, W1TP

Abstract: Tom will describe the desperate attempts by the resistance during WWII to build and hide secret radios so they could keep informed about the progress of the war. He will show how spies communicated critically important intelligence information back to the Allies while being ruthlessly hunted by direction-finding teams. The role of the Enigma and the latest CIA “bugs” and radios will also be described.

About our speaker: Tom is a retired professor of neuroscience. He has been an active ham for over 69 years while collecting, researching, lecturing and writing about WWII radios telegraph keys and German Enigma cipher machines.

His website, http://w1tp.com , shows and describes over 3000 telegraph keys and radios, and his online Enigma museum, http://EnigmaMuseum.com , shows Enigma history and technology.

An Introduction to Satellites for the Radio Amateur

Speaker: Dom Mallozzi, N1DM

Abstract: Dom’s talk will concentrate on the use of amateur satellites for voice and CW, and will cover the following topics:

• Simple stations for getting on the air, with a concentration on antennas
• Tracking and where to find data on satellite passes for the Northeast US
• What is doppler? What you can work? Where to get more information.

Dom will include some examples of current satellites and their capabilities along with DX opportunities. He will also briefly discuss ISS operations.

About our speaker: Dom holds a BSEE from the University of Rhode Island in Electrical Engineering. For the past 25 years, Dom has served as a metrologist for Raytheon, specializing in electronic measurements and calibration quality policies. During his 38-year career with Raytheon, he spent a few years designing test equipment for high voltage components in RADAR stations. After retiring in 2019, he has done consulting and serves as the Co-Chair of the Accredited Standards Committee of the National Conference of Standards Laboratories, Int’l. He holds an FCC General Radio Operator’s License (GROL) with RADAR endorsement. Dom also serves as the Radio Engineer for Town of Natick (MA) Fire Dept. and Police Departments. He also helps maintain the Natick Public Schools multi-site DMR system.

Dom has been an active amateur radio operator for the past 49 years. His interests lie in equipment construction, antennas, repeaters, 160 and 40 M CW, DMR, FT4/FT8, JS8, satellites, contesting, etc. He holds a 160 M WAS using 100 watts from a suburban lot and also a Satellite VUCC with in excess of 150 grid squares confirmed. He has designed and built a complete repeater control system and a duplexer. He is the licensee and technical support for the local UHF RACES repeater. He is often a visiting operator at W1AW; in December, 2021, he was an invited operator at W1AW for the 10M contest. For many years he has participated in the W1OP station in RI during 160 CW contests and the CW effort for Field Day.

Dom contributed to the 15th edition of the ARRL Antenna Handbook and the 1999 ARRL Handbook. He has also published articles in QEX and ORBIT magazine and Technical Correspondence items in QST. During COVID, he has given a series of technical and radio historical ZOOM presentations to a variety of organizations.

Sunspot Cycle 25 and HF Propagation

Speaker: Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA

Abstract: Carl K9LA will give a brief update on the progress of the new Solar Cycle 25 and what to expect propagation-wise in the next several years. He will then discuss how space weather affects MF/HF/VHF propagation. Finally, he will review disturbances to propagation and offer possible mitigation for these disturbances.

About our speaker: Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA started his radio career as a short wave listener in the late 1950s, and was “licensed” as WPE9BQH with Popular Electronics. He received his Novice license (WN9AVT) in October 1961, and selected K9LA in 1977. Carl is an electrical engineering graduate of Purdue University and was an RF design engineer for Motorola and Magnavox/Raytheon until his retirement in 2013. Carl enjoys propagation research, DXing (he’s at the Top of the Honor Roll), contesting (he was NCJ Editor from 2002-2007), experimenting with antennas and restoring/ using vintage equipment.

He and his wife Vicky AE9YL enjoy traveling, which has included DXpeditions to Syria (YK9A in February 2001), to Market Reef (OJ0/AE9YL and OJ0/K9LA in July 2002) and numerous trips to ZF (Vicky is ZF2YL and Carl is ZF2LA). He has received the Bill Orr W6SAI Technical Writing Award, the YASME Foundation Excellence Award and the Indiana Radio Club Council Technical Excellence Award. He has written monthly propagation columns for WorldRadio and NCJ, and has written solar and propagation articles for many Amateur Radio publications. He was the lead author in the recent update of “The CQ Shortwave Propagation Handbook – 4th Edition”.

Carl was the Vice Director of the ARRL Central Division from 2017-2021. He now serves as the Director of the Central Division, and is on several committees.

A Million Watts of RF!

Speaker: Lauren Libby, WØLD, President and CEO, Trans World Radio

Abstract: What does a million watt transmitter look like? We’ll get an inside look at one of the largest shortwave broadcasters in the world as Trans World Radio International President Lauren Libby, WØLD, takes us on a global tour of their transmitters and broadcast and media operation that speaks to 175 countries in 230 languages daily.

About our speaker: Lauren has been a licensed Radio Amateur since age 12. He has held the amateur call signs WNØLSH, WAØLSH, KXØO, V31JO, CO2/KXØO, PJ4V, and WØLD. He has been to over 90 countries, visiting many international amateur radio operators.

Lauren has been an active VHF/UHF amateur since he has been licensed and holds WAS/WAC on 2 meters and WAS on 6 meters. He has served twice as president of the Central States VHF Society. He was awarded the Mel Wilson award for service to the VHF/UHF community. He was elected to membership in the Radio Club of America. Lauren chaired the VUAC (VHF/UHF Advisory Committee) of the ARRL in the 1990s and 2000s. Some of Lauren’s current interests include EME, highpower tropo experiments, contesting, and digital communication on the amateur bands.

December Social Event

Happy Holidays from SARA