Volume 6, Number 10



Volume 9, Number 6 June 2004

The Nugget

The Newsletter of the Mother Lode DX/Contest Club

MEETING LOCATION

This month’s meeting is scheduled for Noon on Saturday, the 19th of June at the Round Table Pizza Parlor in Martel, CA.

Meeting Program

This month's presentation will be by Bill, K6KM and Ginny, N6RER (Snider) they will be sharing with us their recent trip to Asia. Another “Gotta’ See” program. Be there!

Late Roster Addition

KF6T, Jack Morgan

2040 Pheasant Hill Lane

Auburn, CA. 95602

H: (530) 878-1150

Jack@

FROM THE PREZ

Oh man, was that fun! A small group of us (WX6V, KF6T & I) participated in the WPX-CW contest from W6SR’s QTH (a very short trip for me). What a contest! Despite declining conditions, we were able to rack up 48 productive hours of contesting as a MULTI-SINGLE entry and turned in a decent score - just over 2.8M points. This included an opening on 15 meters to Asia from ~01:00-02:30LT with reports of “BIG SIG”. See what I mean? Many thanks to Rick (W6SR) and Karen (WB6OKK) who were outstanding hosts (as usual).

Time for a Field Day plug. It’s time to pack up the campers, the tents, the generators, coax, etc and get ready for Field Day. We’ve obtained the permit for Peddler Hill. That spot was more than adequate last year and “the core” group will be heading up early Friday the 25th. We could really use additional support in the way of setup/tear-down help as well as other necessary tasks. Please attend the June 19th meeting where Jim (WX6V) will divulge our plan. Don’t be turned off if your’ not the contesting type. We would love to see you up there, if for nothing more, to enjoy the Friday-Saturday evening cookout. For the rest of us, it’s final prep time. Time to check the small details, laptops, (CW KEYING CABLES hi), etc. Last year it was big fun and we hope to see you up on the hill.

Thanks to those of you who replied via email to my request posted on the club website . Also to those of you who pointed out error(s). Thanks!. I was beginning to think no one was using the page. Again, let me ask you for any additional items that you’d like to see on the club web site.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Jim (WX6V) who has been doing a great job, standing in for me during my absence. Please take the time to thank Jim for all the work he’s been doing for the

club. C U June 19th and again on the 25th.

73 – Ron KG6CMS

THE vice-prez says!

Hi everyone!

Sure enjoyed Gary's presentation last month about his trip to J6. Interesting to see an article in the National Contest Journal about the same trip. This month - Bill and Ginny Snider will be sharing with us their recent trip to Asia. In July, we will be holding our joint meeting and potluck luncheon with the folks from NCCC. See the announcement of this meeting elsewhere in the newsletter. Highlighting this meeting will be a presentation by Alan Eshleman, K6SRZ, about the recent T33C Dxpedition to Banaba.

Had a fabulous time operating in the WPX CW contest a few weekends ago. Ron (KG6CMS), Jack (KF6T), Rick (W6SR), and I enjoyed reasonably decent band conditions as we operated from Rick's place as a Multi-One entry using my call. I particularly enjoyed the unexpected opening to Asia on 15 meters during one of my operating shifts from 12:45 am to around 2 AM local time. I felt like I was the only U.S. station on the band, with several comments about the strength of our signal! My thanks go out to Rick and Karen for being great hosts to our contest group once again.

The next operating event on the horizon for our club is this year's Field Day, which will be held over the weekend of June 25-27. For those of you that are thinking about joining us, here's how to get there. If you are coming up from the Jackson area, take Highway 88 east. When you get to about the 6,500 foot elevation level, you will see a sign on the left side of the highway that reads "Bear River Lake Resort Recreation Area" and a big white arrow that points to the right. This is the road to our site - except - you need to turn to the left instead. A concrete road heads up into the forest and .8 miles up the road you will come to the top of the hill and a small grove of six trees. At this point, you are directly over the Hwy 88 Scenic Overlook. If you get to a sign announcing the Caltrans Peddler Hill Maintenance Yard, turn around - you've gone a little bit too far.

If you are coming from the Placerville-Auburn area, then I would recommend taking the Sly Park Road exit off of Hwy 50 (just east of Pollock Pines), turn right at the end of the exit, then turn left onto Mormon Emigrant Trail just after you pass Jenkinson Lake. This will eventually bring you to Hwy 88. Turn right (heading west) on Hwy 88 and go 7.2 miles to the afore-mentioned Bear River Lake Resort highway sign. Turn right and head up the hill.

If you plan on joining us for any or all of the weekend, and you are not already on my Field Day e-mail list, please e-mail me at wx6v@ and let me know. I will add you to my list of participants and keep you informed of what is going on. The initial setup is scheduled to start Friday afternoon (6/25) around 1:00 or so. Field Day officially starts at 11 A.M. Saturday morning and lasts until 11 A.M. Sunday morning. Station/antenna tear down will probably last until around 2 P.M. Sunday. By the way - there is family camping at the Bear River Lake Resort just down the hill from our FD site. Camping sites there are $25/night. Call them at 209-295-4868 for more information or check out their web site at . In addition to camping, the Resort also has a general store (ice is available 24 hours a day), a full service restaurant, and the campground has coin-operated showers.

We will be operating in Class 2a. This means that we will have two stations on the air for the full 24 hours. In addition, we will have a "Get-On-The-Air" (GOTA) station running on the HF bands until we make the allowed maximum of 400 contacts for this station; and a VHF station running CW/SSB on 6 & 2 meters. With this many stations running, there should be ample time slots available for everyone to operate. An 18 KW diesel generator supplied by WB6GEF will provide more than enough AC power for all stations. One station will be housed in a motor home supplied by Lyle, K6QG, which also has a built-in bed for overnight accommodations. The other two stations will be housed in tents. All of the major antennas, antenna supports, and equipment have been decided upon already. Still needed are some smaller items. We will finalize our preparations at this month's club meeting. Plan on bringing a tent along for sleeping accommodations. Last year, the weather was very pleasant, with highs in the 80s and lows in the low 50s. Hoping for the same this year. By the way, if you want to bring an air mattress, I will have an air gun with me that can fill it up in no time.

At this point in time, we will be relying on ourselves for food. However, if anyone in the club would like to step up and volunteer their time to take care of the food needs of the group as a whole, please let me know. This will be a full-time job keeping everyone fed and at peak operating efficiency for the weekend! Speaking of food, one of the highlights of the weekend will be the steak cookout after setup on Friday. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

See ya at the meeting or at Field Day,

Jim -WX6V-

MLDXCC PROFILE OF THE MONTH

Jack Morgan – KF6T (ex W1FEA)

I was born just before the attack on Pearl Harbor and my mother used to say I had something to do with it. I grew up in the farmlands of Connecticut and had lots of free time (no TV, video games, etc) to get into lots of exciting things. My friends I and became “experts” at collecting snakes, magic, Erector sets, chemistry (including pyrotechnics) and any machine that could be taken apart. My aunt had a big Zenith radio with “green eye tuning.” I found that it was fun listening to an occasional ham while tuning around. One of my friends belonged to the local Civil Defense group and he took me to a meeting (I was about 12). If you joined the group and had a HAM license, you could borrow a Gonset 2-meter rig until the next meeting, a whole month! That was my incentive and I soon received WN1FEA in the mail and was now “on the air”. Our family moved to a mountain top location (my parents loved the view) and I learned just how much that helped “getting out.” I built a Heathkit AT-1 and started working CW on the low bands, I loved CW and soon had my 35wpm code-proficiency endorsement. At age 15 I got a job at an electronics store in Hartford and learned all about “electronic components”. The following year, I became a Lab Tech at the ARRL in West Hartford and went to work for Don Mix, W1TS.

Working at the “League” was a great experience, the “old guys” treated me like a son, and they told me tales about Marconi and old-time wireless in general. During high school, I started working for Byron Goodman, W1DX and got to do my own projects exclusively for the Handbook. Whenever I had spare time (especially during summer), I pulled my current project off the shelf and worked on it. I built all kinds of things and published about 20 articles on my projects. During this time, Bill Eitel (Eimac co-founder) was a frequent visitor to the Lab and I always got to show him all that was “new”.

Later, while attending college in Mass (WPI) I decided to visit my relatives in California one summer. I drove a restored Triumph TR3 (another hobby) and started out with a whole $150 in my pocket. When I arrived in CA, two weeks later, I still had $50 left over. I still don’t know how I did that. While in the Bay Area, I looked up Bill Eitel at Eimac, and asked him where I might go to work after I graduated college. He asked me if I wanted a job this summer and I said “sure.” He told Bill Orr (West Coast Handbook – “competition”) to put me anywhere in the company that I thought was interesting. I decided on the Low Power Microwave Division and stayed there for five years. I never did go back to Connecticut.

Eimac eventually merged with Varian and I left at that point. I also got married to my wife Sandy, and went to work for Aertech. This was another Microwave Company run jointly by two great guys – just like Eimac.

I continued my education at San Jose State finally earning a BS and MSEE while working part time.

Five years later (1973), I started my own company “Vindicator” which designed and manufactured high tech security equipment. My partner and I did that for 15 years and it was great fun. We wanted to move our company out of the Bay Area and Auburn ended up on the top of our list of prospective sites. But we never did move our company, we sold it instead. So just our family moved to Auburn, and it just so happens to be on nice a hilltop.

I spent a few years building my station and entering a lot of contests, often making it into the top ten nationally. I also started another company called Abicon, and received four patents on my camera control systems. I worked non-stop for two years on software and hardware before deciding there has to be more to life than this.

I became Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 6 and really enjoyed working with the kids (which included my son Chad – KC6EWK). I also accepted a teaching position at Colfax High and was charged with creating a computer program to teach kids about hardware and programming. Chad and my daughter Carrie both liked to compete on the snow, and I subsequently became the Colfax High head coach for the Ski Team. They trained a lot and I eventually got tired of skiing by myself. One day, at Boreal, I tried snowboarding. What a strange (and fun) experience – I kept at it and finally could go just about anywhere on this thing. At that time there were no snowboarding teams at the high school level, so I proposed to the governing body that they allow a “few” snowboarders on the ski team. That was later ratified by the CIF and today there are 1200 snowboard racers statewide – way more than skiers.

I enjoy being a “forerunner” (the first one down a racecourse) and I encourage my team members to join and race USASA (USA Snowboard Association) as well.

For the past three years, I have qualified for the USASA National Championships and have received three gold, and two silver metals for Alpine racing in the “old guy” class. Recently I was on national TV, interviewed by Fox Sports at the National Snowboard Championships at Angel Fire, NM. I plan to continue my work for the USASA and help make the path easier for kids to progress from the grass roots level all the way to the Winter Olympics.

My teaching job was recently eliminated due to budget cuts, no future in computers I guess, however, but I still coach the Colfax Team. I also spend time working on my home projects (just finished building a solar panel array) and upgrading my station. My wife and I also get to play grandparent to our daughter’s twin boys born 8 months ago. It is hard for me to believe that in a few months I will celebrate my 50th year as a HAM. de Jack KF6T

Editors Note: Jack, KF6T, Dick Norton, N6AA (CQ Contest Hall of Fame) and Art Goddard, W6XD (now ARRL Southwestern Division Director) were all freshman roommates at WPI in Mass. Now that’s an elite group!

Pre-Announcement for the July (Joint NCCC and MLDXCC meeting). Our July meeting will be Saturday, July 24, at 12:00 noon in Jackson. CA.

This is a joint meeting with the Mother Lode DX/Contest Club (MLDX/CC) and the Northern California Contest Club (NCCC), our 5th annual.

Alan Eshleman, K6SRZ, will have a timely and interesting program about the recent T33C DX-pedition to Banaba.

The meeting will include a barbecue and potluck. Grilled chicken breasts and beef tri-tip, condiments, buns and plates/eating utensils will be provided by the MLDX/CC. NCCC will provide soft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages. Please bring the following to share based on the first letter of the suffix of your call sign:

A-G- Chips/dips/salsas

H-N- Salad (potato, macaroni, fruit, green, etc.)

O-U- Relishes (assorted pickles, olives, carrot sticks, veggies w/sip, etc.)

V-Z- Desserts (simple desserts, cookies, fresh fruit, etc.)

Does anyone need directions?? Talk in on Amador County ARC repeater, K6ARC, 146.835 –600 kHz. (100 hz. PL, if in use). Alternates; W6SF, 146.165 +600 or 146.52.

Jackson is located at the intersection of State Highway 88 and 49 in Amador County, southeast of Sacramento.

Directions to the meeting:

The meeting will be at the Senior Services Center, 229 New York Ranch Road, Jackson, Ca. Take State Highways 49/88 to Jackson. From the West (Highway 88) or the North (Highway 49), go through the traffic light at 49/88 intersection and proceed to the bottom of the hill, turn left at the 2nd stop sign (Safeway and Cambell’s Kwick Serve gas station will be on your right), onto Highway 88 East toward Lake Tahoe. Follow signs to Senior Center and turn left onto Court Street (approximately 1 mile). New York Rand Road will be the first stop sign (1/4 mile). Turn right and the Senior Center will be on the left approximately 100 yards from the intersection and behind an apartment complex (signs will direct you to “Oak Manor”). Parking is available in both the front and the back. Additional parking is available next door at the Quail Hollow Professional Center with stairs at the rear that lead to the Senior Center. Please do not park in the spots marked for the Oak Manor Convalescent Home.

In addition to the Safeway mentioned above, if you continue South through the stop at 49/88, there will be a Raley’s on the right (1 mile).

To Jackson from the Bay Area – take Interstate 580 East to Interstate 205 (bypass Tracy) and proceed to I 5 north. Proceed north to Stockton and take Highway 4 east to Highway 99 north. Proceed north approximately 1 mile and take Highway 88 east to Jackson.

To Jackson from Nevada – Take Interstate 80 or State Highway 50 West to Highway 49 and proceed south to Jackson. Or take CA/NV Highway 395 south to Highway 88 west to Jackson and turn right on Court Street.

To Jackson from the North or Sacramento – Take Highway 16 (Jackson Rd) east to Highway 49 and go south.

From the South – Take Highway 99 North to Highway 88 east to Jackson.

Amador County is in the heart of the Mother Lode Gold Country. Our meeting location will be minutes from antique shops galore, 18 wineries, gold mine tours, camping and fishing sites, and the historic Chaw’se Indian Grinding Rock State Park. In addition, the Jackson Rancheria Casino/Hotel is a jaunt up New York Ranch Rd.

Thursday through Sunday the Amador County Fair will be open in Plymouth, one of the best small county fairs in California: wine tasting, live arena events, exhibits, great food and dancing. Heck, ya’ just might want to spend the weekend.

For additional information contact:

Kay or Ken, K6KO-k6ko@ K6TA-k6ta@ (phone 209-2965577)

Dick, K6LRN k6lrn@ (phone 530-620-2147)

Jim, WX6V wx6v@ (phone 530-823-6268)

This is always a fun event - plan to be there!!

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

At our last meeting Gary, KI6T did a great job telling us everything we needed to know about accommodations available to the DXer and contester in J6. He also gave us a run-down on his recent contest winning group effort from J6DX. Thanks and congrats to Gary!!

Yeah, I know this issue is a bit early. Why? The daughter is bringing up one of the Grandkids for three days early next week and we are going to be very busy until they fly home.

Well the big radio news for this month was a High Power, Multi-One, WPX CW effort (callsign WX6V) from the ol’ W6SR QTH. Ron, KG6CMS, Jack, KF6T, and of course Jim, WX6V struggled along, in less than stellar conditions, for the full 48Hrs. When the smoke cleared they made about 1695 QSO’s and nearly 2.9 million points. I my opinion a FB effort considering the poor conditions and that they were operating from my less than “Big Gun” station. Where was I you ask? With my finely honed CW contesting skills (yeah right) I was where I should be, in the background. I was cheering the boys on, or using my sharpen-stick to get their attention, HI HI

Before the WPX CW contest, Ron, KG6CMS was over a couple of times trying to get both of my computers to talk each other and to get them networked using WriteLog. After 10-12 hours of hard work and a lot of cussing, all went pretty good for the full 48-Hour contest. And we had no real Internet disconnect problems, now that’s a first. However, Writelog still had a few surprises in store for us. It took us a while to figure out that my virus checking software was causing some really badly-timed CW messages to be sent when using the stored CW messages. So……be sure you disable your virus software B-4 staring your contest program. Crap! I shudda’ know that!! Old age, stupidity or a combination of both must be the problem, HI HI

Let’s face it, May was a great month to collect stamps, weed-wack, or perform some USEFUL endeavor. Cause’ being on the radio sucked! I did receive my 75M ZA/K7ZV QSL for another 80M country, it’s #216 on that band. At this rate I will only have to live to be 125 to get to number 300. Hummm, not likley.

This past Multi-Single may be the last one for a while. It looks like my mother (who is 87) is coming to live us. We are in the process of getting estimates to modify the down-stairs radio room into a small apartment. She refuses to live up-stairs (with us) in a nicely appointed guestroom, so I guess a construction project is on the horizon. She says she has to have her own space, and does not want to be a bother to us. Gee, it’s no bother at all. I’m sure glad that money grows on trees around here, cause’ adding another room down-stairs with a kitchen, storage and associated cabinetry ain’t gonna’ be cheap! But, in this life ya’ gotta’ do, what you gotta’ do. So now I get to move all the radio stuff to one of the up-stairs guest bedrooms and re-wire all this crap. What a joy that’s gonna be, I can hardly wait. NOT!

Those of us that submitted for DXCC up-grades at the Visalia convention (as I did) have probably gotten them back already. Wow, what service, less than a 30-day turn-around. Which has set me thinking, did the league get that much faster at inputting the data? Or are the number of DXers dropping faster? I sure hope it’s the former, HI HI

Oh, one last thing before I forget, I noted excellent performance from a simple “40M sloping-diamond loop antenna”. I constructed this antenna just a few weeks ago as a low-noise alternative to the sloping dipole that I had used for the last year or so on the multiplier radio. After assembly, the noise was lower and it and seemed to “hear-well”. But the real test is how well will it perform in a contest? Not only did we work everything we heard, but we also broke some big pileups using only 800-900W output. The apex of the diamond-loop is only 48’ at the fed end, it slopes down to the NE with the bottom only about 15’ off the ground. What did we work you ask? A61, ZS6 and many other good mults., we heard many other DX stations but couldn’t call em’ because they were not a multiplier. And of course, that’s a no-no for our multi-single class. Anyway, if your’ interested, I can give you the information. Enough for now, CU all at the meeting Saturday the 19th. de Rick W6SR

THE SECRETARY/TREASURER’S REPORT

SECRETARY’S REPORT de Dick Wilson, K6LRN May 04 MEETING NOTES:

The meeting was called to order at 12:53 PM by VP Jim Venneman, WX6V. President Ron St. Jean was absent. All other officers were present.

Minutes of last meeting were approved as printed in ‘Nugget’, as was the Treasurer’s report. Treasurer K6TKD was presented with bill for liability insurance in the amount of $325. Paid.

New business; Dennis King, N6KD was suggested as guest speaker for July joint meeting with the Northern California Contest Club. He would talk on his recent trip and operation from PJ2T.

Field Day; Jim reported that plans were to begin set-up at the Peddler Hill site on Friday morning, June 25 as allowed by FD rules (no earlier than 1800Z). We will be using WriteLog, was working on computer networking, gathering or identifying gear to be used. Dick, N6TNX volunteered some band-pass filters, Lyle, N6QG will get them from Dick. We will be operating in the 2A class (2 transmitters) with a “Get on the Air” station.

Jim also reported on planned club operation in CQ Worldwide SSB as a multi-op from K6KM’s QTH in October.

There was a short discussion on the International DX Convention at Visalia. It was noted that there is a meeting tentatively scheduled for July 17 to plan for the 2005 Convention which will be hosted by the Northern California DX Club. Rick, N6RK volunteered to represent MLDXCC.

Discussion on accuracy in Sweepstakes contest; Dick, K6LRN commented on ‘busts’ of section info in SS exchange. Many ops are typing or writing SCV instead of SV for Sacramento Valley section stations causing them to lose credit for QSO. Dick will drop note to NCJ/QST.

Gary, KI6T presented club competition trophy to Jim on behalf of the NCCC for effort in 2003 CQP.

Gary then gave an interesting and informative talk on his trip to St. Lucia to operate J6DX with members of the Ohio DX Association. Thank you, Gary!!

Meeting was adjourned at 2:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted by reluctant scribe,

Dick Wilson K6LRN (pretend Secretary)

MLDXCC TREASURER’S REPORT

Balance April 1, 2004: $558.89

Income: Donation: 15.00

Dues __90.00

105.00

Expenses: Newsletter

2/04 through 4/04 59.00

Balance May 1, 2004

Checking 518.53

Cash _86.36

Total: $604.89

de Carolyn Wilson, K6TKD, Treasurer

We don’t have an up-to-date report since our treasurer has been in EU for a couple of weeks. But we were assured by K6LRN that all is well, and we can pay our bills.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Foothill Flea Market

2nd Saturday of each month from March through October at Lockheed, Sunnyvale.

Livermore Swap Meet

1st Sunday of each month at Las Positas College in Livermore, 7:00 AM to noon, all year. Talk in 147.045 from the west 145.35 from the east. Contact Cliff Chiba, KF6EII, (209) 835-6715, email larkswap@.

Placerville Swap Meet

Every third Sunday, 3970 B Missouri Flat Rd #3, Placerville. 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Talk-in on 146.865 – PL 142.2, 440.700 + PL 88.5. No fee, free parking. Hwy. 50 East, take Missouri Flat off-ramp. Go over Hwy. to 2nd light, into shopping center in front of Radio Shack.

CONTEST FEEDBACK UP-COMING CONTESTS

ARRL June VHF QSO Party 1800Z, Jun 12 to 0300Z, Jun 14

SARL Kid's Day 0700Z-0900Z, Jun 16

All Asian DX Contest, CW 0000Z, Jun 19 to 2400Z, Jun 20

SMIRK Contest 0000Z, Jun 19 to 2400Z, Jun 20

Kid's Day Contest 1800Z-2400Z, Jun 19

Marconi Memorial HF Contest 1400Z, Jun 26 to 1400Z, Jun 27

ARRL Field Day 1800Z, Jun 26 to 2100Z, Jun 27

RAC Canada Day Contest 0000Z-2359Z, Jul 1

DL-DX RTTY Contest 1100Z, Jul 3 to 1059Z, Jul 4

Original QRP Contest 1500Z, Jul 3 to 1500Z, Jul 4

DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest 1100Z-1700Z, Jul

ARS Spartan Sprint 0100Z-0300Z, Jul 6 IARU HF World Championship 1200Z, Jul 10 to 1200Z, Jul 11

Mid-Summer Six Club Contest 2300Z, Jul 16 to 0300Z, Jul 18

VK/Trans-Tasman 160m Contest 0800Z-1400Z, Jul 17

North American QSO Party, RTTY 1800Z, Jul 17 to 0600Z, Jul 18

CQ Worldwide VHF Contest 1800Z, Jul 17 to 2100Z, Jul 18

Russian RTTY WW Contest 0000Z, Jul 24 to 2400Z, Jul 25

RSGB IOTA Contest 1200Z, Jul 24 to 1200Z, Jul 25

Check the NCJ, CQ, and QST/ARRL for full rules and other details. Send me your scores; at k6lrn@

CU.73, Dick, K6LRN

STUFF FOR SALE

Did you see the note on NCCC reflector from Chuck Tiernes, N6OJ about the three TS-830s that the Redwood Empire DX Association is selling??

Good radios...I've used at least a couple of them. At least a couple have CW filters. No mics, no VFOs, no speakers (just the built-in one). When last seen they were clean, not beat up. As I remember they have been modified to give slightly higher output...100 + instead of about 90-95 W. Call Chuck, N6OJ-707-763-2528 (Petaluma) direct. Call early & get pick of the litter.

de Dick K6LRN

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster

DX Bulletin No. 663

June 7, 2004

Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW

Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network & 425 DX News, JI6KVR & JA-IOTA Islands News, LU7EE, M5AAV, M0AFJ, PA2R, PS7AB, VA3RJ & ICPO and ARRL DX Bulletin for the following DX information.

2004 DAYTON PHOTO GALLERY. Tom Roscoe, K8CX, has posted the 2004 Dayton Gallery on the Web at: The Gallery has 174 photos this year. Tom took 146 photos and the rest came from W4MYA. There are photos from the Contesters Dinner, Top Band Dinner, DX Dinner, and Crowne Plaza Hospitality Suites.

CE0, EASTER ISLAND. Scott, AC3A, will be active as CE0/AC3A from June 20-24th. He will mainly concentrate on 6 meters - if the band cooperates. However, Scott will also be on HF during his evenings.

ET3, ETHIOPIA. Michal, ET3TK, has been very active on RTTY lately (along with some PSK) on 30/20/17/15 meters. Check 30 meters after 2000z, 20 meters after 0130z and later after 1830z, 17 meters after 1430z, 15 meters after 1230z, and 10 meters after 1100z. QSL via OK1CU.

FORT ACTIVITY. Look for members of the LABRE RN to be active as ZX7AA and ZW7AA from Fortaleza dos Reis Magos, June 11-13th. Activity will be on all bands and modes. Operation is good for the DFH award as RN-01. QSL via PS7KC by the Bureau or direct to: P.O. Box 251, Natal - RN - 59010-970 - Brazil.

FREE PREFIX MAPS!! Tim, EI8IC, has a great collection of the most comprehensive prefix maps on the Web; now available for free to download (ed. Yes, for FREE!). There are 34 new maps available separately or in a combined zipped archive. Visit the following Web page at:

HB0, LIECHTENSTEIN. Dov, 4Z4DX, will be active as HB0/M0DOV from June 27-28th. Activity will be on the WARC bands, RTTY and PSK31. QSL via 4Z4DX.

IOTA NEWS..........................

AS-067. A photo gallery is now available on the Web for the recent JA4PXE/6 and JH4WXV/6 Uji Island DXpedition at:

AS-081. Operators Han/DS2GOO, Son/DS3HWS, Chae/DS5BSX, Choi/6K2CLF (YL) and possibly others will be active from Kadok Island June 18-20th. They will sign as homecall/5 or D90HE/5. QSL via operator's home callsign (or QSL D90HE/5 via DS2GOO). The team will use 100w transceivers with a vertical and various wire antennas. The operation's Web page can be found at:

EU-010. Tim, M0AFH, will be active as MM0AFJ/P from the Island of Harris from June 27th to July 2nd. Activity will be on 80-10 meters CW and SSB with some 6 meters if conditions allow. QSL via his home callsign M0AFJ. Skeds are available by E-mail to: M0AFJ@tiscali.co.uk

EU-028. Operators IK5PWQ, IK5WOB and IK5XCT will be active June 13th (only one day) from Elba Island as: IA5/IK5PWQ, IA5/IK5WOB and IA5/IK5XCT. Activity will be CW/SSB on 40/30/20/17/15/12/10 meters using Vertical GP, Inverted V and a Vertical Dipole center feed. QSL via their home callsign, by the Bureau or direct ().

EU-030. Herb, OZ7SM, is expected to spend his holidays on Bornholm Island until June 18th. No QSNs have been reported yet.

EU-064. Francois, F8DVD, will be active from Noirmoutier Island (DIFM AT-20) for the upcoming IOTA Contest on July 24-25th. He will use the special callsign, TM8N, on all bands 80-10 meters. Francois will set up and try some of his gear a few days before the contest. QSL via F8DVD, either via the French REF Bureau or direct to: Francois Bergez, 6, rue de la Liberte, F-71000 MACON, France. Those who will choose the direct way, please send 1 IRC. If no IRC, send 1USD (Europe) or 2USD (outside of Europe).

EU-167. Members of the Algarve DX Group will activate Pessegueiro Island from June 11-13th. The team will use the callsign of the Radioamador Clube de Loule, CS0RCL/P. Activity will be on all bands on CW/SSB/RTTY. Operators mentioned are: Toze/ CT1GFK, Goncalo/CT1GPQ, Paulo/CT2ITZ and Miguel/CT2IUA. QSL cards are "OK" via the bureau to CS0RCL or direct to CT1GFK. More information is available via the Web page at:

SA-046. Jim, PY7XC, will be active during the month of June as PY7XC/p from Itamarac Island (DIB-18 for the Brazilian Island Award). Activity will be on CW, SSB and the digimodes. QSL via his home callsign ().

KP2, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. Just a reminder to look for members of the North Jersey DX Association (NJDXA), Ann/W2AZK and Brian/KF2HC to be active as W2AZK/KP2 and KF2HC/KP2 from the Island of St Croix between now and June 12th. Activity will be on 160-6 meter CW/SSB. QSL via their home callsigns direct or via the bureau. Confirmed QSOs with Ann and Brian are good towards the North Jersey DX Association's "NJDXA Award". For more details, visit the NJDXA Web page at:

LIGHTHOUSE ACTIVITY. A special event station signing CS5E will be active June 12th from Gibalta Lighthouse (Reference Number ARLHS POR022). This activity is also valid for the Portuguese Lighthouses Award (Reference Number DFP FES09). Operations will be on 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters, SSB. QSL via CT1CSY. Visit the Web page at:

QSL INFO AND NEWS...................

Mart, DL6UAA, informs OPDX readers to NOT QSL 3B8GL via UR5VHB. The 3B8GL QSLs are managed by his father 3B8CF. He states that Ashvin, 3B8GL, never sent his logs to UR5VHB and Mart has known 3B8CF/3B8GL personally for nearly 10 years in person. Mart says, "So SAVE your IRCs or dollars and do not send any QSL requests to a money-collector."

Maurice, F5NQL, reports that the first batch of direct QSLs for the 5V7C Togo 2004 operation has been mailed this past week up to June 4th.

AH8A QSLS. QSL Manager Ron, AC7DX, informs OPDX readers that he has been unable to secure logs since October 2002 from AH8A. He states, "I will not be able to confirm QSOs after 10-24-2002. My policy is... No logs, no confirmations."

The latest CQ WPX CW Contest QSL info has bee posted on the following Web page at:

Tito, LU7EE, states QSLs for LU7EE are only via direct. The address is "OK" on or in the CallBook.

Javi, LU5FF, who participated in last weekend's CQ WPX CW Contest as a SOLP/20m entry, should be QSLed via EA7JX.

NEED A QSL MANAGER? Graham, M5AAV, is offering his services to anyone who requires a QSL Manager. Currently, Graham handles, apart from the M5 series for the RSGB, G6PZ, GB6MD, GB90RSGB/113, TX4PG, ZK3SB and Z21KF. He can be contacted via E-mail at: m5aav@zetnet.co.uk or via his "snailmail" address at: 37 Highfield Gardens, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, BB2 3SN. Also, visit his Web site at:

Rob, PA2R/PA5ET, reports that he is not the QSL Manager for the following stations: VP2E and 8Q7WP (2004).

QSL MANAGER CHANGE FOR P40L. John, P40L, has a new QSL Manger. The new Manager is Gert, K5WW, effective immediately. Gert informs OPDX that he has volunteered to do P40L's QSLing for QSOs made in 2003 and later. QSL direct with a SAE and 1 USD or 1 new IRC or via the Bureau.

QSL WW2DDM via K4UK. This was a special event station operated by FISTS to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

QSL W5D via Jefferson Amateur Radio Club, W5GAD, PO Box 73665, Metarie, LA 70033 USA. This was a D-Day Museum special event station that was active over the past weekend to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day (the Allied invasion of Normandy). A certificate will be available for those contacting W5D. Include 2.50 USD for postage and handling (or include an SASE for a QSL card). For Certificate/QSL requests, use the address above.

Phil, G3SWH, is pleased to announce that all the direct QSL requests received (for V8JIM) to date have been processed and that the cards themselves will be mailed over the course of the next few days.

SPECIAL ACTIVITY (Late Announcement). Joe, HG2EBJ, from Hungary informs OPDX that a new special callsign has been activated from Tatabanya City, HA2YNG (shortend suffix of YOUNG). All operators at HA2YNG are bewteen the ages of 10-18 years old. Their first activity was on International Children's Day (May 12th). The latest activity was this past weekend on June 6th. The HA2YNG station is located in Tatabanya at the HA2KNC Radio Club station. It sounds like more activity will be forthcoming, so stay tuned. QSL via the bureau to Joe, HG2EBJ (E-mail to Manager can be sent to: ha2ebj@index.hu ).

SPECIAL EVENT. The official amateur radio club station of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is W9IMS. This special event station was active for the Indianapolis 500 race on and before May 30th. Also, look for W9IMS to be active during two other races that complete the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Triple Crown -- the United States Grand Prix (Formula One) on June 20th, and the Brickyard 400 (NASCAR) on August 8th. Activity for these operations are about three weeks before each race: during the month of June (for the U.S. Grand Prix) and from mid-July through early August (for the Brickyard 400), again ending the operations on the respective race days. Activity will be on various frequencies and modes (watch DX spots), including 6 meters when possible. Suggested frequencies are (-/+ QRM): 1840, 3840, 7240, 14070 PSK31, 14240, 21340, 28340, 50140, 144.240 SSB, and 146.52 Simplex FM. Stations that work W9IMS (or log them, in the case of SWLs) will receive an official W9IMS Indianapolis Motor Speedway QSL card. Plans are in the works for a couple of collectable bonuses:

1. A distinctly different QSL card for each of the three special event operations.

2. A certificate, suitable for framing, awarded to anyone who takes the "checkered flag" by working (or logging) W9IMS during all three operations.

These special events will continue to occur annually, and any combination of years will be valid as long as all three operations are worked (or logged). So, the only way to qualify is to start now. For an official W9IMS Indianapolis Motor Speedway QSL card, send a SASE to: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Amateur Radio Club, P.O. Box 18495, Indianapolis, IN 46218-0495, USA. Stations outside the United States may QSL via the bureau.

SV/A, MOUNT ATHOS. Monk Apollo, SV2ASP/A, was heard this past Sunday on 15 meters SSB (21260 kHz after 1000z). QSL via direct.

SV9, CRETE. Panos, SV8DTL, will be here with his XYL Eyh, SV8DTZ, until June 15th. He will be active as SV9/SV8DTL on the following suggested frequencies: 14255, 21255, 28495 and 50115 kHz. QSL via SV8DTL, by the Bureau or direct using the address on .

VP2E, ANGUILLA (Special Callsign). Look for Jim, WB2REM, will be active with the special callsign VP2EREM from June 17-27th. Activity will be on 40/20/15/10 meters CW/SSB. QSL via WB2REM.

VP9, BERMUDA. Tom, W9AEB, will be operating as VP9/W9AEB from now until June 11th. His activity has been mainly on 20 meters after 1930z on CW and SSB. QSL via WF9V.

WLH CONTEST. The Worldwide World Lighthouses Contest is held each year on the first full weekend of July, so this year the contest will take place from 0600z, July 5th to 1200z, July 6th. The complete rules are available online at the WLH Web site at: _ Expeditioning from a Lighthouse or not, all hams and SWLs world-wide are welcome to participate.

XU7, CAMBODIA. Pete, SM5GMZ, will be active as XU7ADI from November 22nd to December 5th. He will also enter the CQWW DX CW Contest (November 27-28th) as a Single-Op/Low-Power entry. Outside of the contest, look for him to be active on CW mainly and on all bands (including the WARC bands).

XU7, CAMBODIA. Jaak, ES1FB, will be active as XU7ACE from Sihanoukville for the CQWW SSB Contest as a Single-Op/All-Band/Low-Power entry. QSL via ES1RA. Visit the following Web page at:

YI, IRAQ. Wally, YI9WRV (N4ZNH), continues to be active on 20 meters almost daily, usually between 1700-1830z. He now has a new QSL Manager. QSL via W3HNK.

PROPAGATION FORECAST

From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA June 4, 2004 The sun appears nearly blank. Today one small spot, sunspot 621 faces earth, but there are no other noticeable areas of activity. Only two days ago there were several more sunspots, but they are no longer visible. These sunspots didn't rotate off the visible disk, but just faded from view. Sunspot numbers and solar flux are understandably quite low. Average daily sunspot numbers for the May 27 through June 2 period was nearly 40 points lower than the daily average for the previous seven days. Over the same period, average daily solar flux was down almost seven points. Fortunately, geomagnetic activity was low. Over the weekend conditions were unsettled, but otherwise several days had mid-latitude geomagnetic A indices in the single digits. Over the next week expect low geomagnetic activity. Planetary A index for June 4-8 is expected at 10, 8, 8, 10 and 10. Solar flux values for the same days are predicted to be 90, 95, 95, 100 and 100. Solar flux is expected to peak between June 11-16 around 110. Now that May is over, we should look at some monthly trends over the last year. The monthly average of daily sunspot numbers for May 2003 through May 2004 was 89.6, 118.4, 132.8, 114.3, 82.6, 118.9, 103, 75.7, 62.3, 75.6, 81, 59.3 and 77. The monthly average of daily solar flux for the same 13 months was 116.6, 129.4, 127.7, 122.1, 112.2, 155.5, 140.8, 116.1, 114.1, 107, 112.1, 101.2 and 99.8. Solar flux hit a new monthly low during May for this downward side of the solar cycle when it dropped below 100. We're in a late spring propagation mode now. The higher HF bands, such as 10 and 12 meters, are seeing fewer openings, although this month we should see sporadic E skip. As the days grow longer, absorption during daylight hours should increase. Daytime propagation on 20 meters won't be as good as a few months earlier, but late night propagation should improve. Also during the summer, seasonal noise levels increase, probably more noticeable on 160, 80 and 40 meters. 40 meters should still be good for some long distance nighttime propagation. Field Day is still several weeks off, but currently the SEC 45 Day AP forecast for planetary A index shows unsettled conditions predicted for June 26 and 27 with A values of 15. This is really too early to tell, but the picture of conditions for that weekend should become clearer as we approach the date. For more information concerning propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service propagation page at . Sunspot numbers for May 27 through June 2 were 62, 52, 57, 64, 54, 76 and 63 with a mean of 61.1. 10.7 cm flux was 101.8, 102.4, 101.2, 99.6, 95.4, 90 and 90.4, with a mean of 97.3. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 9, 14, 13, 14, 16 and 11, with a mean of 11.9. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 6, 12, 11, 11, 14 and 9, with a mean of 9.7.

MLDXCC 2004 Meeting Schedule

June 19th

July 24th(joint meeting with NCCC)

August 28th

September 18th

October 9th

November 13th

December 18

Thanks to Ken, K6TA and Kay, K6TO for scheduling our meeting room with RT pizza.

Membership Criteria

Membership criteria may be obtained by writing the Secretary/Treasurer at:

MLDXCC

PO Box 1073

Pine Grove, CA 95665-1073

The club website is:

The MLDXCC NEWSLETTER

Information may be reproduced provided credit is given MLDXCC.

2004 Officers of the MLDXCC

Prez: Ron St.Jean, KG6CMS kg6cms@

Vice Prez: Jim Vennenman, WX6V

wx6v@

Treasurer: Carolyn Wilson, K6TKD

k6tkd@

Contest Chairman: Dick Wilson, K6LRN,

k6lrn@

Director: Ray Parker, ND6S

Nd6sarrl@

Director: Gary Stilwell, KI6T

E-mail: ki6t@

Secretary: Ron St.Jean, KG6CMS kg6cms@

Nugget Editor

Rick Samoian,W6SR samoian@

QSL Manager:

Norm Regan, WA6SJQ

Publicity Chairperson

Brandt Woodard, K6BEW

ARRL Awards Checkers

DXCC, Gary Stillwell, KI6T & Ken Anderson, K6TA

WAS & others Dennis King, N6KD

ARRL Sixth District QSL Bureau

PO Box 530, Weed, CA 96094-0530. For more information, visit the ARRL Sixth District QSL Bureau Web site

K6AO MLDXCC

PO Box 1073

Pine Grove, CA 95665 k6ao@

K6BEW Brandt Woodward

510 Water St, #11

Jackson, CA 95642

H:209-223-2622 W:

k6bew@

K6BPB Lew Dickerson

14500 Fruitvale Ave

Apt. 2260

Saratoga, CA 95070

(408) 714-7504

Newsletter via Mail

KI6CG George Staudacher

11983 Hilltop Dr

Grass Valley, CA 95949

H:530-268-8681

ki6cg@

Newsletter via Mail

KG6CMS Ron St. Jean

7065 Cinnamon Teal Way

El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

H:530-676-0646 W:

kg6cms@

W0WZ Linda Harper

10155 Harding Avenue NE, Monticello, MN 55362 H:763-295-5577

theharpers@

WB6GEF Dave Green

9555 Jesus Maria Rd.

Mokelumne Hill CA 95245

W: (209) 286-1166

K6GT George Daughters

1560 Klamath Dr

Sunnyvale, CA 94087

H:408-732-2676

k6gt@

N6GWT Joe Grace

P.O. Box 7

Burson, CA 95225-0007

H: 209-772-1245

n6gwt@

WK6I Jeff Stai

PO Box 367

Murphys, CA 95247

WK6I@

H: 209-728-3853

N6JV Norm Wilson

8705 Crystal River Way

Sacramento CA 95828

916-689-3534

nwilson@n6jv.us



AA6K Shirley Rose

200 Best Road

Stockton, CA 95215-9565

(209) 464-3420

rosesl@

N6KD Dennis King

16500 King Rd

Jackson, CA 95642

H:209-223-5592

n6kd@

K6KM Bill Snider

3482 Sky Crest

Yankee Hill, CA 95965

H:530-533-3300 W:

k6km@

K6KO Kay Anderson

PO Box 853

Pine Grove, CA 95665

H:209-296-5577

k6ko@

K6LRN Dick Wilson

PO Box 273, Somerset, CA 95684

H:530-620-2147

K6lrn@

WL7NN George Van Lone

PO Box 8, Acampo, CA 95220

H:209-333-2233

Wl7nn@

KI6PG Bill Kling

PO Box 822

Twain Harte, CA 95383

H:209-586-5583

klings@

Newsletter via Mail

K6QG Lyle Bradt

7310 Conner Drive

Valley Springs CA 95252

209-786-7544

k6qg@

WB6QVI Fred Soderer

PO Box 2188

Arnold, CA 95223

H:209-795-5736

WB6QVI@

K6RK Chuck Patterson

3101 Withers Ave.

Lafayette, CA 94549

H:925-934-3419

k6rk@

N6RK Rick Karlquist

13432 Christensen Rd.

Galt, CA 95632-8845

Richard@

N6RER Ginny Snider

3482 Sky Crest

Yankee Hill, CA 95965

H:530-533-3300

ginny@

W6RFF Jettie Hill

306 St. Charles Ct.

Roseville, CA 95661

H:916-783-0383 W:

W6rff@

ND6S Ray Parker

12510 Winton Rd

Sutter Creek, CA 95685

H:209-267-5958

nd6sarrl@

W6SR Rick Samoian

2201 Du Ponte Dr

Placerville, CA 95667

H:530-672-2885 W:

samoian@

WA6SJQ Norm Regan

PO Box 238

Volcano, CA 95689

H:209-296-2252

bnregan@

KF6T, Jack Morgan

2040 Pheasant Hill Lane

Auburn, CA. 95602

H: (530) 878-1150

Jack@

KI6T Gary Stilwell

7632 Woodland Ln

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

H:916-961-6659 W:916-387-0730

ki6t@

NU6T Richard E Hill

3900 Central Avenue

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

H: (916) 962-2431

email:REHill@

K6TA Ken Anderson

PO Box 853

Pine Grove, CA 95665

H:209-296-5577 W:

k6ta@

K6TKD Carolyn Wilson

PO Box 273

Somerset, CA 95684

H:530-620-2147

k6tkd@

N6TNX Dick Zuttermeister

10519 Thompson Way

Valley Springs, CA 95252

H:209-786-2231 W:

tnwtnx@

K6TTT Jack Costa

260 Mistletoe Ct.

Angels Camp, CA 95222

H:209-736-4033 W:

costa@

WX6V Jim Venneman

12060 Holly Vista Way

Auburn, CA 95603

H:530-823-6268 6268 W:916-322-9887

wx6v@

W6VFA Web Weber

738 Corvey Circle

Galt, CA 95632

H:209-745-4687 W:

w6vfa@

N6XI Rick Tavan

20297 Hickory Hill Way

Saratoga, CA 95070

H:408-867-5797

W:530-587-3164

n6xi@

AE6Y Andy Faber

16321 Ridgecrest Ave.

Monte Sereno, CA 95030

H:408-395-9193

W:408-286-5800

ae6y@

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