RF Safety for Amateur Radio Operators

Speaker: Bob Olsen, WA7WWP

Abstract:
Bob will cover the FCC requirements for determining which amateur stations need to be evaluated for RF exposure and if needed how an evaluation can be conducted.

Bob will also discuss and demonstrate RF Exposure Calculators available to amateurs and the theory behind them. Bob will emphasize some of the difficulties and point out that most calculations overpredict the exposure. He will discuss the RF Exposure standards used by the FCC and add some information about the origin of these standards.

About our speaker:
Robert G. Olsen received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University 1968 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO in 1970 and 1974, respectively.

Bob has been a member of the electrical engineering faculty at Washington State University since 1973 and holds the rank of Emeritus Professor. During his tenure at WSU, he has been an NSF Faculty Fellow at GTE Laboratories in Waltham, MA, a visiting scientist at ABB Corporate Research in Västerås, Sweden and at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, CA ,and a Visiting Professor at the Technical University of Denmark.

Bob’s research interests span all aspects of electromagnetics issues in power transmission. He has approximately 100 publications in refereed journals and approximately 150 conference publications/presentations. He is also one of the authors of the AC Transmission Line Reference Book – 200 kV and Above, which is published by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and the author of the recently published two-volume book, High Voltage Overhead Transmission Line Electromagnetics.

He is a Fellow of the IEEE, an Honorary Life member of the IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society, and has served as chair of the IEEE Power Engineering Society AC Fields and Corona Effects Working Groups. In addition, he is past Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility and Radio Science.

He was first licensed in 1961 as WA2QPX in Westwood NJ. Since 1974, he has been licensed as Amateur Extra Class WA7WWP. His recent activity has been HF (mostly 20 meters) CW and digital, plus a small amount of 2 meter activity.

He currently lives in Pullman, WA.

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 Multipurpose Room (entrance is on the North side of this building).

Software Defined Radio

Speaker: Mike Walker, VA3MW

Abstract:
Mike will show how today’s HF radio is not only better than yesterday’s super-het radio, but how you get more performance for your dollar. He also will talk about how the new radios ‘scale’ toward the future and not grow old the day you buy it.

About our speaker:
Mike Walker has been an active amateur radio operator since 1974, and loving every minute of it. His interests are repeaters, HF, HF contesting, satellites, and tinkering with EME digital modes and 10 GHz microwave. In addition to being a general aviation pilot, he loves HF station integration and remote HF operation. He currently represents FlexRadio Systems with the Marketing and Education team. He is very well versed in the FlexRadio technology. Technology is truly his hobby.

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 Multipurpose Room (entrance is on the North side of this building).

Modulation: Sound Card Digital Modes on HF SSB

Speaker: Barry Feierman, K3EUI

Abstract:

Sound card modes: How they look and sound. What can a sound card do that a human voice cannot do in terms of passing information on a radio signal?

Barry will discuss the concept of modulating a 145 MHz RF wave with a 1.5 kHz sound wave. He will transmit a signal first on AM, then on SSB, and finally on FM. Using an SDRPlay receiver with a spectrum analyzer set to 145 MHz, he will display the RF spectrum of these signals.

Barry will demonstrate a variety of popular sound card digital modes, including CW, PSK31, RTTY, Olivia, MFSK, and THOR. Using an SSB transmitter, he will share with NY ops who have an 80m SSB radio and antenna what these modes sound like (assuming propagation from Philly to Schenectady on 80m NVIS).

He will use the internet sound as a backup. Popular apps like FLDIGI and Winlink use these sounds created in a sound card to produce “modes” that transfer information much faster than is possible with a human voice on a phone link. Rates as fast as thousands of bits per second on HF SSB is possible using modern sound cards (getting beyond the present 300 baud speed limit of one carrier on HF bands in the USA).

About our speaker:

Barry was first licensed KN3EUI in 1958 when he was 13 years old and quickly fell in love with CW and 40 meters. After advancing to General one year later and operating on 10m, he was working the world on HF AM and CW. His rig was a Heathkit DX100, so no SSB modes.

Barry’s professional training is in Astrophysics, having worked and studied at Swarthmore College Sproul Observatory, and then further graduate work at Kitt Peak and the University of Arizona. He also worked summers at the Royal Greenwich Observatory (England) and the U.S.Naval Observatory in Washington DC, and then at Flagstaff, Arizona. He spent a sabbatical year and a few summers at Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff, AZ) where he got to have lunch with the man who discovered Pluto at Lowell.

Barry’s teaching career began at Westtown School in West Chester (PA) in 1970, where he taught high school physics, astronomy, and electronics for over forty years. He then spent a year teaching physics at university (West Chester) and Bryn Mawr College.

Barry’s interests in ham radio now include the sound card digital modes, the Nano VNA as a test instrument, and modulation methods on HF SSB and VHF FM using the SDRplay and RSP Spectrum software. He is the net manager of the PaNBEMS net every Sunday morning at 0730 on 3583.0 kHz. He is also active in local county EMCOMM work via ARES/RACES.

Barry is an extra class licensee, and lives in West Chester, PA.

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).

December Social Event

Happy Holidays from SARA

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.