Tag Archives: field day

Field Day, Meeting, Shack

July 27, 2017 AEA Amateur Radio Club Meeting

AEA Amateur Radio Club meeting was held at 11:30 am on 7/27/17.  

Ten people were in attendance, two of whom joined at this meeting:

  • Teresa Moore AG6OD
  • Don Hall KK6DCX
  • Kirk Crawford KK6KC
  • Tom Essenpreis KB9ENS
  • Ryan Noguchi AI6DO
  • Victor Lin KK6RZO
  • Bob Lanahan KK6WYW
  • NEW MEMBER Susan McCormack K6SUZ
  • NEW MEMBER Wayne Wheeler  W6AHH
  • Joe Barger N6KK


 The meeting started with a report on this year’s Field Day and a discussion of what we should remember for next year.  Then we discussed the budget, including plans for upgrading the A2 shack HF radio and antenna.  Finally, HamCon is coming to Torrance this fall, September 15-17.  Besides interesting talks, there will be an opportunity for an added cost to tour the radio room on the battleship Iowa.  More information on all of these topics is available in the powerpoint presentation, which can be found on the club web site.

The meeting ended with a raffle.  All members including the new members received a free raffle ticket.  Victor won a Pixie transceiver, Don got the heat shrink tubing, Kirk got a helping hands tool, and Susan got the tape measure.

Wayne volunteered to do a presentation on his project to rebuild a 1928 HF radio.  He is on the calendar for the October meeting.

Teresa Moore

July 2017 Meeting Slides

Meeting

January 2017 Meeting Minutes

Audio of the meeting:

Audio Player
    Members in attendance:

  • Kirk KK6KC
  • Teresa AG6OD
  • Bob KK6WYW


14 members have paid dues for 2017

Holiday reports:

Kirk talked about using APRS during his recent RV trip.  His system involved a little Bluetooth APRS tracker device, a radio, and an old phone running APRSdroid.

Tom did a SOTA hike and got at least 4 contacts.

Bob studied for his General license and takes the exam on Saturday.  He may do a SOTA hike after the exam.

New Business:

Bob needs a computer for the A2 shack.  Kirk will look into getting a redeployed system from the Aerospace loan pool.

Some of the radios in the A2 shack have issues.  One doesn’t tune and another doesn’t receive well but seems to transmit OK using a 10 m horizontal dipole on the penthouse roof.  We may want to put an inverted V dipole on the penthouse.

Antenna survey for the A2 shack will take place Thursday Feb 2 at 1 pm for antenna planning.

    Upcoming Events:

  • 1/28-29 Winter Field Day
  • 1/28  Montana QSO party
  • 1/28 TRW swap meet
  • 2/4 Palm Springs Hamfest
  • 2/4 Vermont QSO party
  • 2/17-18 Yuma Hamfest
  • 6/24-25 Field Day (Kirk will be out of town)

Raffle:
1st prize to Bob who picked the 40 m transceiver kit
2nd prize to Kirk who picked the heat shrink tubing set
3rd prize to Teresa  who got the diagonal cutters

Field Day, Meeting

June 2016 Meeting Minutes

AEA Radio Club Meeting 6/30/16

Audio of the meeting:

Audio Player

Slides from the meeting

 

6 people in attendance

  • Kirk Crawford KK6KC
  • Don Hall KK6DCX
  • Phil Martzen KK6PSA
  • Teresa Moore AG6OD
  • Tom Essenpreis KB9ENS
  • Ching Kong KJ6QBI


 

Field Day Report:

Kirk, Don, Phil, Teresa, Emily Conroy, and Korede Oladimeji participated in our club Field Day event, which was held on the top two floors of the parking structure.  We made 25 HF contacts on the 20m and 40 m bands.  No VHF/UHF contacts were made.  We started around 12-1 pm and started shutting down around 4-5 pm.  We made HF contacts in 13 sections, from California to Canada to Oklahoma.

 

Lessons Learned:

  • The fiberglass masts are too floppy for the heavy VHF antennas. Next year replace them with 10’ aluminum masts
  • The 440 VHF antenna should be vertical rather than horizontal
  • Next year replace the three VHF/UHF setups with one multiband setup
  • Next year try 20m, 40m, and 80m dipole antennas as inverted Vs, one over each light pole
  • Need to be able to use the headset microphones and push-to-talk button (did not work)
  • Buy what we need for digital modes and try having a digital setup next year
  • Need to replace the mike stand for the Kenwood
  • Next year have a Field Day “practice” where we set up and try out our systems, especially the VHF/UHF setup, coordinating communications with someone in a shack or on a handheld.
  • Make a list of VHF/UHF simplex frequencies for next year

 

Trailer Cleanup:

A meeting was scheduled for July 6 at 11:30 to work on putting the radios back in the trailer and organize our equipment in the trailer. [OOPS I forgot about this! – KK6KC]

 

Budget:

The budget is due July 15.  Some ideas for budget items were:

  • Labeled plastic bins to organize supplies in the trailer
  • Field day equipment mentioned above
  • Better power strips
  • Line filters/power conditioners
  • Equipment for the A6 shack
  • D8 shack SDR
  • VHF/UHF antenna analyzer
  • Pan adapter for KX3
  • HRD software
  • Whatever we need for the APRS emergency communication plan (Ryan is supposed to spec this out; we can use a Buddipole antenna set for 30 m)

 

The library has radio club books that belong to us that they need us to store during the library remodel.  Kirk will let us know what we’ve got when he finds out and may need additional storage space depending on how many books there are. [EDIT It was only a single book, General Class learning guide from 2007.  Out of date so I had it recycled.]

 

Meeting Ideas

We discussed ideas for future meetings.  These ideas included:

  • Antennas for condominiums
  • DXpedition videos
  • Field Day videos (what do other clubs do?)
  • Digital modes (Teresa’s husband Dustin has been doing a lot of digital stuff lately and could give a presentation.)

If you have other ideas or would be willing to present something to the club, please comment below or email Kirk

Field Day, Meeting, Shack

May 26, 2016 Meeting Notes

Audio of the meeting:

Audio Player

Members in attendance:

  • Ryan Noguchi AI6DO
  • Kirk Crawford KK6KC
  • Don Hall KK6DCX
  • Teresa Moore AG6OD
  • Joe Barger N6KK


We had some discussion about the upcoming Field Day. We considered what we could do for a 20 or 40 meter wire beam antenna on top of the parking structure and how we would keep the driven element and the reflector parallel to each other. However, given that we expect very few people to be available to do Field Day with the club, we decided to just stick with the antennas we already have: the CrankIR and Buddipole for HF and the verticals attached to the fiberglass masts for UHF/VHF. We will probably run a 20 m station and either 40 or 15, depending on conditions that day.

On the Wednesday before Field Day, we will put up signs advising people to not park in the travel parking on the 4th floor and the North-East section of the 3rd floor. Cones and tape will be put out Thursday afternoon to block off parking spaces, and tables and chairs will be delivered to the 3rd floor Friday afternoon. All equipment will be moved Saturday morning. Kirk will bring 5 gallons of gas for the generator. We won’t invite any external visitors (like city council, press, etc.)

For general emergency use, we discussed having a 30 m APRS system that can send an email out in case of emergency. Ryan will spec out a system and report back. We will also want to be able to communicate with COS/Chantilly on voice, which can be set up over email via APRS.

Kirk brought up the point that during the A6 evacuation a couple months back, the security radios caused a lot of interference on our standard go-to 2 meter simplex frequency (147.51 MHz). He suggested trying a 440 simplex frequency. We would have to test to see how far we can get with 440 simplex. If there is someone with access to a real antenna, we might be able to relay messages.

It was recommended that we purchase the Yamaha CM500 headsets for the rigs in the trailer and for Field Day use.

Kirk reported that he had asked about putting an A6 shack in an electrical room on the second floor of A6. Maintenance people got upset about us using the electrical rooms in general. We will be cleaning to be sure that we are not blocking any electrical panels in any of our shacks in electrical rooms, especially in A2. Kirk is waiting for approval on the A6 shack but will put together a preliminary list including costs for budgeting purposes.

Joe wants to buy a good Software Defined Radio for the D8 shack.

Budgets are due in July so we should allocate/spend money now.

Field Day

Field Day Preparation Report

5/11/16 Field Day preparation

Kirk, Teresa, Ching, Bob

We finalized our location and will be setting up on top of the parking structure. Unless a lot more people express interest in coming we will not set up multiple locations this year.

Radios: We will be using the Kenwood and KX-3 HF radios and the three VHF/UHF radios from the trailer. We will use the two power supplies from the trailer, one for the two HF radios and the other for the three VHF/UHF radios.

Antennas/masts: For VHF, we have the multiband Comet CX-333 antenna (2m, 440 MHz, 220 MHz), a 2 m F23A vertical, a 220 MHz F142 vertical, and a 440 MHz beam with rotator in the trailer. There is a 440 vertical in a shack somewhere. We have 2 10’ masts in the trailer and a 5’ mast in the A2 shack.

For HF, we have the CrankIR for the Kenwood and the Buddipole for the KX-3 in the trailer. We plan to also build/buy a 40 m beam to be used with the Kenwood. We have 3 33’ masts that we can use for this, we need one more. We can use the light pole in the parking structure for the center mast.

As an aside, we also saw a 80/40/20/15/10 vertical in the A2 shack and plan to set that up as the HF antenna for the A2 shack.

Feed Lines: The Buddipole has its own long feed line. We found one 50’ and one 100’ feedline, but the 100’ line has the big N-type connectors.

Power: Need to make a power cable to go from the generator to the stations. The A2 shack has a 100’ 15A cable and a power strip. We’ll need extension cables and plug strips for each table.

Computers: Kirk will bring his laptop/software. Teresa may bring a laptop as well, in which case we would need to buy another copy of the software and figure out how to connect the two computers or log the results from two different computers.

LIST OF THINGS TO BUY

  • 4 headsets
  • 1 10-ft mast to strap to wall for VHF/UHF verticals. (We have a 5’ section in the A2 shack)
  • Gear for strapping masts to the parking structure wall (ratcheting nylon straps)
  • 3 50’ feedlines
  • 8 adaptors from N-type connector to normal RF connector
  • 30A/125 V NEMA L5-30 connector
  • 100’ of 30-A rated cable
  • Regular 30A/125 V connector for other end of generator cable
  • AC splitter
  • 2 100’ extension cords
  • 2 power strips
  • 40 m beam antenna (or everything to make one)
  • 500’ of rope + pulley (so we can use light pole in parking structure as the center mast for the 40m beam)
  • One more 33’ mast for the fourth end support for the 40-m beam
  • 4 large pipe clamps
  • 4 3’ sections of pipe
  • Whatever is needed for the KX-3/Buddipole setup
  • 3 lamps for the tables
  • Possibly another copy of the software (if we have multiple laptops)


 

LIST OF THINGS TO DO

  • Order 3 tables and 8 chairs from facilities
  • Have security cordon off parts of the parking structure (ideally by 11 am on Friday so we can start setting up Friday)
  • Make adaptors to hook KX-3 to power supply
  • Figure out what the various unmarked antennas in the A2 shack are and mark them
  • Move canopy in A2 shack to trailer
  • * Figure out how to log results from two computers

Field Day, Meeting, Shack

April 2016 Meeting Minutes

Audio of the Meeting:

Audio Player

Slides of the meeting

AEA Amateur Radio Club meeting 4/28/16

Members in attendance:

  • KK6KC Kirk Crawford
  • AG6OD Teresa Moore
  • KJ6QBI Ching Kong
  • KK6WYW Bob Lanahan
  • KK6PSA Phil Martzen


Repeater Status: WB6VMV repeater is fixed, just needs to be connected to the controller, which will happen 4/29/16. We will keep the net on W6HA for Monday and then switch back to WB6VMV on Tuesday May 3.

Field Day: the El Segundo gate is now closed on weekends, so VC1 is not an available location for Field Day. We can use VC2 and/or the parking structure. In the parking structure, we can use pipe clamps or big nylon straps to attach antennas to the wall. At VC2, the trailer would be parked to the north of the building. If only a few people plan to come to Field Day, we will not set up at two locations. The final location(s) will be determined at the next meeting.

Everyone that is bringing personal gear to Field Day should get it ready. Be sure to bring a self-contained system (except for power, which we will provide from the generator.)

Teresa will run the Kenwood HF rig and Kirk will be in charge of the KX3. We may want to set up a 40-m beam.

On May 11 at 11:30 we will meet at the trailer to do an inventory of the five rigs that will be used on Field Day. Then we will make a list of things to purchase before Field Day.

A2 shack: Bob Lanahan was designated at the new custodian for this shack and tasked with inventorying what is there and determining if we need to purchase anything.

Budget: We have $8K in the bank.

Ideas for spending money included:

  • Create an A6 shack
  • Upgrade D8 shack
  • Waterfall display dongles (3) with upconverter
  • Heil headphone sets (5)
  • New microphone for Kenwood
  • Portable tower w/ 20 meter beam so we can hit COS/Chantilly after a big earthquake

 

Field Day

Possible Field Day Location: Top of Parking Structure

(Copied from emails)

Kirk Crawford:

Parking Structure at AGO
Parking Structure at AGO

After our last meeting I had an idea that we might think of as an alternative field day location.  We could set up on the Parking Structure.  I would propose that we install the antennas on the roof/top level of the structure, and then have our tables/radios on the level below that.  We wouldn’t be able to use the EOC trailer, but we would get a significant height advantage for the antennas.  It would not be as easy for retirees and others to get to since it is significantly past the security gates.  What do you guys think?  I got the idea from the South Bay Amateur Radio club that does their field day in the Torrance Memorial parking structure.

Archie Buchanan:

You are right, there would be a great spot for radios and antennas. It would be great.

Teresa Moore

Interesting idea.  We’d get better signal, but it’s harder logistically.  I’ll likely have my kids with me, and the nearest bathroom is in A6, and I can’t just send them there without going with them to badge them in.  It would also be harder for a city council person (or whatever public figure we solicit) to show up.  On the other hand, we don’t have to rely on Security to move the trailer.

Who is planning to come to the Aerospace Field Day?  I was planning to be there for at least a few hours (my husband will be doing a Field Day exercise with his unit so he won’t be there and I’ll have all three kids, at least one of which is old enough to work a station for a while under a licensed station control operator).  

Meeting

February 2016 Meeting Minutes

2/26/16

AEA Amateur Radio Club Meeting

In attendance:

  • Teresa Moore AG6OD
  • Archie Buchanan KD6OLH
  • Don Putnick NA6Z
  • Ching Kong KJ6QBI
  • Gerrit Sorenson
  • Don Hall KK6DCX
  • Kirk Crawford KK6KC


Kirk gave a repeater report; repeater is fixed and will be installed once the backup battery is purchased.

The club has more Ham It Forward licenses to give out, so if you know anyone at Aerospace that might be interested in getting an amateur radio license then let them know about this free resource.

The D8 shack is being used for contesting, Ryan Noguchi March 19-20 for various contests.  The shack is available to any member who would like to participate.

The HF net to COS occurred in January, but the February net was canceled.  We will try to check in to the March net on March 2 at 9 am in the D8 shack.

Kirk gave a report on the upgrades to the Buddipole.

We are starting preparation for Field Day.  We need volunteers for the following positions:

PR coordinator (Don Hall)

HF Rig 1 (Kenwood) coordinator

HF Rig 2 (KX3) coordinator

VHF Rigs coordinator

Location and Trailer Movement coordinator (Kirk Crawford)

Please let Kirk know if you are interested in volunteering for one of these positions.  We will most likely use VC 1 again as our Field Day location.  We need to figure out what antennas we plan to use.

Tuesday March 15 we will plan to set up the Buddipole antenna and one of the HF radios in the VC1 parking lot and try to make some contacts.

The D8 remote operations plan is still not functional.  There were various problems which were never overcome.

Meeting

January 2016 Meeting Minutes

1-28-16

AEA Amateur Radio Club Meeting

In attendance:  KK6DCX Don Hall, KK6WYW Bob Lanahan, AG6OD Teresa Moore

The daily net has been going well.

Teresa gave a report on the repeater status.  Mike Worshum is working the issue.  Dave Ping repaired the repeater but they still need to purchase a new backup battery which will require a vote from the city council.  In the meantime, we are welcome to use the Hughes repeater.

There was a CERT exercise scheduled for February, Don Hall will check with Jason Bayonne as to the status on that.

It would be good to have a computer for the A3 shack so that the net email can be sent directly from there.  Don will check into that.

No one knew the status of the monthly net with the Colorado and Chantilly offices.

We need to start thinking about Field Day, and schedule some lunchtime practices where we set up antennas and try to make contact.

Field Day

Field Day 2015 Photos

Image

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