MCWA meets the first Tuesday of every month at:

Nunda Township Office
North of Rte. 176 near Terra Cotta.
West of Rte. 31; south of Edgewood Road, on Bay Rd.

Is this confusing? I hope not.

Next Meeting - Tuesday, August 3, 2010 7:30 p.m.

When: Tuesday's 7 pm - socializing 7:30 pm - meeting

August Program - is an ARVN video “Digital Voice for Amateur Radio – VHF/UHF” courtesy of Don Novack K9ZKJ. This video discusses digital technology in general and then gives a choice of low bands or VHF/UHF. We will be viewing the VHF/UHF presentation this meeting. The video contains good information on the various modes and what they are being used for. The complete presentation is less than 45 minutes.

July Program – Field Day 2010 - 2011
We will ask those who participated in 2010 Field Day to describe their activities. After hearing about the activities of various members we will open a discussion on whether MCWA will be ready to put up a Field Day effort next year. A Field Day effort can involve people who show up on Field Day to construct and operate a station as well as those who help prepare the many things necessary for Field Day. Not everyone can or will be able to show up the particular weekend but members can help prepare before hand. We will discuss whether members have an interest and what that interest is. If you’re interested in Field Day try to be at the July meeting. If you’re not interested in Field Day try to be at the July meeting.

June Program - Sounds of Amateur Radio Digital By W9MLP
Ever wonder what those strange sounds were you are hearing on the ham bands? Some of them are digital modes. This presentation gives audio examples of various digital modes so you can identify them. Also included are some basic descriptions of the mode including bandpass. Covered are examples of digital voice modes on SSB and FM. Hear what the signal sounds like before decoding, as well as FM voice compared to digital voice on the same medium. Listen up and discover what some of those strange sounds might be.

May Program - Ham Radio and the Law: Getting It Up and Keeping It Up
by Jim O'Connell, W9WU, Attorney and ARRL Volunteer Counsel
A discussion of legal issues of interest to hams, including how to avoid restrictive covenants when you're buying that new QTH, how to present your case for a tower permit plus information on the latest court rulings on RFI, PRB-1 and towers. If time permits, an update on the ARRL's Legal Defense and Antenna Assistance Committee.

April Program – RFI and the Amateur Station by Steve K9DCI
As microprocessors get used in just about everything, the potential for generating unintended radio signals has been increasing. The old issues of noisy motors, door bell transformers and an occasional troublesome electronic device are no longer the norm. From computers and wireless routers to TVs, coffee makers and power-line noise, not to mention wireless weather stations and various snake-oil devices such as electronic clamp-on water "purifiers", the RF background radiation level is increasing. FCC Part 15 is supposed to minimize these signals, but it was not written with an endless number of devices in mind. To find and cure this RFI requires a methodical approach. Steve Noskowicz, K9DCI, put his more than 35 years of experience in radio into helping identify the noisy lightning arresters in McHenry, using some standard techniques. He will provide an outline to help you identify and fix RFI to your amateur station.

Steve sent us a pdf file of his presentation and two video files. PDF - VHF Sweep Video - UHF Sweep Video

March Program is a Video
THE 2009 "UNAUTHORIZED" HAMVENTION TOUR. Unauthorized? Well, they didn't say we could (and they didn't stop us). ARVN's intrepid reporters Jeff AC4ZO and Gary KN4AQ uncover the interesting, unusual and oddball at the Hamvention. And there's plenty of that. At 42 minutes, this episode makes a great club meeting program, whether you've been to Dayton or not. It includes a lot of footage from 2008 that wasn't edited last year.

February Program
By Jack W9MU. A discussion about historical individuals including mathematicians and inventors who contributed to the science of radio. Learn about the people who helped your hobby exist. Some you have heard of, some you may not have.

January Program:
A video excerpt from the 2009 FCC Forum at Dayton Hamvention - Meet Laura Smith, the new FCC Special Council. She'll tell you about herself, her family, and her approach to her new job. She is the replacement for the retired Riley Hollingsworth K4ZFH.

Where: Nunda Township Office
North of Rte. 176 near Terra Cotta.
West of Rte. 31; south of Edgewood Road, on Bay Rd.
At 3510 Bay Road, Crystal Lake 60012

December Program:
A Short History of Television USA or What Ever Happened to Channel One by Marty, W9MLP...
Did you think we were the only ones that had a tumultuous history with the FCC? You are not even close. I think perhaps “Everyone Hates the FCC”. It has to be a particular kind of hell to be the gatekeeper for a finite resource in this special interest world. This program examines the regulatory side of television with an emphasis on the early years and the development of a standard. It does not deal with the technical aspects of television and concentrates on the pre 1950 era. There is some limited discussion on UHF TV, Color, and DTV but in the interest of time these subjects are condensed. Learn the early history of television and what happened to channel 1 at the December201 meeting of MCWA.

November PROGRAM… ANTENNA TUNERS: GOOD AND BAD by W9MU Jack
Basic function of impedance transformation and demonstration of tuner functions using QuickSmith. (QuickSmith is a Smith Chart based linear circuit simulation program)

October PROGRAM RE-SCHEDULED
The October program, A Short History of Television USA or What Ever Happened to Channel One by W9MLP, which was cancelled due to W9MLP having the flu, is re-scheduled for the December meeting. W9MLP will take extra precautions to remain health, not only to assure delivery of the program but also the flu is a terrible experience.

September Program:
This month's program is a video borrowed from NCDXF of the 2008 9X0R Rwanda Dxpedition. The video shows some of the trials and tribulations of setting up a dxpedition in a foreign land even when the accommodations are first class (at least by dxpedition standards). It covers erecting, operating and tearing down a successful operation. Don't miss this interesting video and a few facts about the dxpedition, Tuesday the first of September.

August Program:
This months meeting will be dedicated to business discussions, including setting up the rules for the new club library, future programs, club asset inventory, anything you want to discuss and possibly add, change or re-instate. Try to be there, let your ideas be heard, let your vote be counted.

July Program:
AMATEUR RADIO QUESTION POOLS
Where do these questions come from, anyway?

Ever wonder how the FCC decides what questions to ask on the Amateur Radio exams for Technician, General, and Extra Class? Pete Trotter, KB9SMG, is the publisher of the Gordon West, WB6NOA, study materials and an owner of Master Publishing and The W5YI Group. He'll join us at our meeting Tuesday, July 7, to discuss the development of question pools, the research that goes into the questions, and how all of that becomes study materials for the written exams. BTW, Pete also is the publisher of Jack Hudson's book, Basic Communications Electronics. Be sure to join us at the July meeting, Tuesday July 7 at the Nunda Township Hall for this exciting and informative program.

May Program:
was given by John K9DX as a discussion on low band antennas. He showed his solution (ham radio's largest 160 meter antenna)
See http://nidxa.org/memberWWW/k9dx_antennas.htm.

April Program -
An over view on dBs and their use in Ham Radio, including discussions on antenna specs, radio specs, and S meters by W9MLP.

S Meter Data Greg Ordy, W8WWV
http://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Amateur%20Radio/Experimentation/RawData.pdf

DECIBEL (dB)
http://tscm.com/decibel.pdf

March Program -
The March meeting covered AFSK vs. FSK by Jack, W9MU.
Please download this pdf file.

Currently our guest speakers are giving us links to the material they have presented.
We hope this continues. Click on our links page for more information.
We added a link to Sherwood Engineering and RigPicks Database.

How about the following times and frequencies for some CW practice ?

***** Time - about 7:30 - 9:00 PM CST *****
*** Frequencies - 80 meters - approximately 3.575 Mhz CW ***
----------------- 40 meters - approximately 7.115 Mhz CW ***

If anyone has any other ideas please give your input. Like maybe your
house isn't setup for 80 or 40 meters, so maybe a 20 or 15 meter
frequencies also.

73,
Rob KA9RBI - ka9rbi@arrl.net

Normal Meeting Location
GPS Coordinates:
N 42 16' 43.0"
W 88 18' 2.0"

Printable map in Adobe Acrobat format, click here.