Volume 6, Number 10



Volume 9, Number 8 August 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 28th of August at the Round Table Pizza Parlor in Martel, CA.

Meeting Program

This month’s program will feature a FB video presentation about the recent 3B9C DXpedition to Rodriguez Island. Should be fascinating to see how they coordinated all of the equipment and operators for this ultra large scale DX operation.

FROM THE PREZ

Thanks to Dr. Alan Eshleman (K6SRZ) for a fine presentation on the T33C From all reports it was another “Don’t you Dare Miss it” program. Thanks to all who made the trek to the foothills and support this meeting! Those of us who couldn’t make it regret not being able to see the “rest of the club!”

Wow, we’ve had some pretty good presentations so far this year. I hope we can keep the momentum. It slipped my mind last month but thanks to Bill & Ginny for a fun presentation on their trip to JA-land. Also thanks to Gary NI6T for the month prior.

HEY! Who’s got pictures from the Field Day? Send them to me. It’s time we got something sent into QST or CQ. I’ll also make sure we get something on the website (as long as we still have the space).

I saw something on the NCCC email reflector where they will be looking for donations for CQP plaques. I believe we did this last year and it only makes sense to donate because we’re going to steal the Club plaque again, aren’t we??!! Speaking of CQP, we need to make sure everyone has CQP (Oct 2-3) scheduled on their calendar. THIS IS THE CONTEST FOR THE MLDXCC AND WE NEED EVERYONE TO TURN IN A LOG! If you need a station to operate, we will find you one. Don’t make me call you at 11:30 Friday night to see if you’re going to operate. Resistance is futile!

But wait, there’s more. October 30-31 is CQWW-SSB up at K6KM’s (& N6RER’s). This is a fantastic phone contest that we did some KB’ing last year, on our first time out. This is a phone contest so everyone can come out and play. I wouldn’t miss this opportunity if I where you. You will have your choice of operating schedules. Rick will be coming out with more info, check the newsletter for updates.

Man, October is a busy month. I just received mailer for Pacificon 04, Oct 15-17. Hope everyone has enough “Radio Points” with the family to work all these events in to their schedule. That’s all from here. 73 – Ron KG6CMS

MLDXCC PROFILE OF THE MONTH

W6FI, Mike Gould

I was first licensed (in So. Calif.) as KN6ZXE in late 1956 at age 13. A few months later I made general class and lost the "N" in my call.

CW has always been my favorite. It was like a secret language that my friends and I could use to communicate with, and which our parents couldn't understand. My friends, (K6EGW, W6KGP, K6LOM, & K6YUI) and I got pretty proficient with CW, trying to outdo each other in various contests while building up our country totals.

My first rig was a Lysco transmitter (a real piece of #!%*)and a BC 348---leaving me somewhat handicapped. For my 14th birthday, my parents gave me a Globe Chief and a 75A1 --- I was in ham heaven!

I was first bitten by the DX bug in 1957 when my mother (who was the administrative assistant to the curator of the Natural History Museum in L.A.) mentioned, in passing, that several of the assistant curators where going on a field trip to some obscure island off the West coast of Central America. It had a name something like Clipperton, and they needed a ham operator along for communications. I almost jumped out of my skin. At the time, this was one of the rarest countries in all of "Hamden". I literally begged to go along, but this was 1957 or '58 and I was only 14 or 15 and they needed an "adult". I did get a nice thank you letter from the head of the scientific expedition.

During the next 10 years, or so, came high school, college, marriage, and the Navy during the Vietnam era, and my hamming dwindled to operating Navy club stations (Pensacola, and Skaggs Island, Ca.)

After being discharged from the Navy, Janet (XYL)and I moved back to So. Cal. again. We bought out first home in Palos Verdes, where I was re-bitten by the DX bug. This house had a killer view at 1500-ft. elevation, over looking the L.A. basin with a clear shot in almost all directions. It was a great DX location, allowing me to "work em all" during the next 33 years. In fact, the location was so good that another ham moved in right across the street---I think his call was WB6OKK (we all know Rick as W6SR now). Since my antennas were down for repairs when he was buying the house, he had no warning of his neighbor’s hobby. We coexisted for 5 or 6 years with nary a crossword. In fact, we became good friends, and it was Rick and his XYL Karen who helped convince us to move to Paradise (I mean Placerville).

During the FCC fire sale of 1X2 callsigns in 1996 (otherwise known as vanity callsigns), I received my W6FI, and a few years later, I talked Janet into taking the technician class test and reclaiming K6ZXE.

Finally, the third phase of my being bitten by the DX bug trilogy occurred around the mid 80's when Janet and I traveled to the South Seas where we visited Tahiti, Moorea, Riataia, and Bora-Bora. I was licensed as FO0GM and had 2 of the best vacations of our lives. But that is another story.......... de Mike, W6FI

THE vice-prez says!

I hope that you enjoyed the joint club meeting with NCCC last month. I regret not being able to attend. I was in Charleston, S.C. that day helping my son move his household goods into a storage locker. I’ll always remember the day because it was around 90 degrees with around 90% humidity. I don’t recall ever feeling that hot and sweating so much. I sure was glad to return home to California a few days later and our dry climate.

Well – ARRL has received our Field Day entry information. Our final score was 7,000 points. We received 50 extra bonus points for submitting our entry on-line! Didn’t know about this bonus until I submitted our entry. Final Field Day results should be available sometime in November, if ARRL follows their normal timeline to process the entries.

The next operating event on the horizon for K6AO is this year's CQ World Wide Phone DX Contest at the FB QTH of K6KM. Mark your calendars now for the weekend of October 29-31. A lot more will be said about this later as we prepare for the contest. Initial plans are to operate again in the Multi-2 class. You may recall that K6AO posted the top score in California in last year’s CQWW Phone event!

I don’t want to overlook the upcoming CQP Contest during the week of October 1-3. It seems that a challenge has been made to our long reign as the top scoring California club in this event. Hope to hear lots of club members on the bands in defense of our #1 position again this year. Is anyone in the club planning a county DXpedition this year? Let me know so that I put the information in the club newsletter.

I noticed a lot of familiar callsigns appearing in e-mail postings for the NAQP CW and Phone contests this month. Hope that y’all had fun! I have not been on-the-air at all – in fact, I haven’t even turned on the radio to listen around the bands for a number of weeks. There are probably spider webs on my rig’s tuning dials! We are painting the outside of our house this year in addition to some landscape work in the front yard, so that has been keeping me more than busy this summer.

See ya at the meeting!

73's, Jim -WX6V-

Sierra Chapter Meeting of The NCCC

About 21 folks gathered Aug. 15 at N6XI Truckee for the irregularly scheduled meeting of the Sierra Chapter. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Attendees included K6KM, N6RER, N6NT + Wesley (call?), N6XI, KD6MOB, W6ISO, K5RC, K7AFO, K6EU, KI6IV, K6ST, N7ON + Mieko (call?), N6RO, AI6V, AI6YL, N6KT, K6DGW, AD6E, NT6K and probably a few others whose identities escape me at the moment. Sorry, we didn't take roll or fill out any Official Forms!

We had BBQ burgers and Polish Dawgs with some fantastic salads and sides, plenty of 807s and lower-power beverages and a truly inspiring presentation by N6NT on ZF2NT (The House). A mere mortal would have bagged that project several times but Bruce kept on going despite storms, injuries, supply problems and lack of labor and the result is simply awesome.

Some came early and some left late in order to enjoy a variety of Sierra activities. N6RO, AI6V and AI6YL had good comments on the Joe Walsh WB6ACU concert Saturday night. They also rendezvous'ed with N6KT at the V/YL QTH. K6ST, N6NT and I did a flight-seeing tour of Lake Tahoe to copious ooh's and ahh's.

Instead of advice on where to locate my second, smaller tower, I got a gentle nudge from N6NT to Just Do It. So we did and it's now ready to be mated with the venerable C4S. Thanks Bruce, Carl, Ken, Rich, Bob and others for that!

At the close of monkey business, W6ISO was off in his truck and trailer to do some Sierra fly-fishing. KI6IV did his usual mountain biking, putting us couch potatoes to shame. N6NT talked Ann and me into some Nitrox instruction next week, but that's another story and another hobby...

These hinterland (highland?) gatherings are always fun and a great excuse to see other folks and their shacks. Thanks to everyone for visiting. Let's do more!

Rick, N6XI

ZS8MI QSL Cards

I received an email from Ludwig, ZS6WLC that stated the ZS8MI QSL cards are being mailed, and should arrive soon. A new one for me.

73, Jettie W6RFF

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Great July MLDXCC/NCCC meeting! We had over 40 OM’s and YL’s in attendance Wow! Alan K6SRZ did a very professional job on the T33C presentation. This was definitely not another, 27 different pictures of a Blue Footed Booby bird. It was, well…Great! If you missed it you missed one of the best meeting and presentations our club has hosted. The food was top-notch (thanks to Kay, Ken for the main course) and to all our members for their contributions! Oh, I don’t want to forget Jeff, WK6I who (again) brought us some of his fine “Twisted Oak” brand wine. There were several folks that brought wine, but his was the first to disappear. We were truly eatin’ in style! As usual we had more food and drink than we could consume. If you left hungry or thirsty you must have been on a diet or blind, HI HI.

Two weeks ago, Norm, N6JV and I installed a W-51 tower base for our newest club member Mike, W6FI. The base is in; his antenna’s and rotor are ready to go now all he needs is the tower delivered. That’s scheduled to arrive this Wednesday, so by meeting time it should be at least attached to the base and ready for antennas.

Last Thursday (the 19th), Chip N6CA (who owns Angle Linear and holds many UHF and Microwave records) and Larry KG6EG came up and stayed with us for two days. I have known Chip since the early 70’s and even helped him with the sale and purchase of some real estate in the early 70’s. At that time, the end of the Apollo Program, most (Aerospace) engineers just couldn’t find a job, any job. So I was in R.E. for a few years, but that’s another story for another time. Anyway, Chip and Larry came up to try to establish a new North American record on the 10GHz band, they had coordinated with a station setup in Baja to run schedules during the 10GHz contest. They were not successful, however they did work 480+ miles to San Diego from the Shingle Springs area using a 4’ dish and 20 Watts. I was able to put together a couple of quickie dinners with them, N6JV, K6QG, W6FI and I were all able to get in some quality BS-time.

The hot weather, a four-day unsuccessful trip to Las Vegas (to try to resolve a lawsuit) and lots of company conspired to eat-up a bunch of my time this past month. So not much was done to improve the station or get up any of the antennas I talked about last month. I did fabricate the 40 and 80M verticals that I am going to add, but I have not done any hole diggin’ or radial work. And, with as dry as it’s been, and my propensity for starting fires, staying away from radial soldering is probably a good thing, HI HI

DX conditions were not too bad the early part of this month. I managed to work the YV0D on 18 and 30 for two new band countries as well as 7P8AB on 18 and 80M. The 7P8 guys were supposed to go to C9 and get on the air. With as easy as they were to work from 7P8, I hoped that this would give me a chance at my last zone to complete 5BWAZ. I still need Z-37 on 80. But it was not to be, they decided to stay-on in 7P8, oh well………..

Bill K6KM and Ginny N6RER have gracious offered their FB station for club use during the CQWW Phone Contest, 29-31 October. Last year we entered multi operator and finished as the top #6 station in our class. Not bad for the first DX outing as a club effort, huh? At last year’s effort we threw a ton of people at the contest and crushed our competition with sheer numbers and stick-to-it-ness. Not efficient, but a winning strategy. This year a “SMART” multi-single or multi-2 (If we have enough people) effort makes more sense. Last year Bill and Ginny rented beds and fed a non-stop line of hungry hams for 2 ½ days. When we were not on the air we were strewn thought their home. This year it makes sense to setup a schedule and have a rotating-crew operating for some number of hours each. Why? Three reasons.

1. A fresh crew is a fast crew.

2. The operators would not have to commit for the entire weekend.

3. Our hosts will not have hot and cold running HAMS through their home for 48 hrs.

If you are interested in this operation contact me by the 3rd week in September. If our club doesn’t have enough interest we must let Bill know early so that one of the many operators from the NCCC will put their station on the air.

This week Larry Mallek, K6YUI will be up for a (4-5 day) visit beginning on 8/25. He will be looking with a realtor and investigate relocating to this area. Presently Larry lives within pistol shot (no pun intended) of the 91 & I-5 fwy junctions. I have known Larry for many years, he is an avid DXer and long time member of the SCDXC. He will be coming to the MLDXCC meeting with me as well, so let’s give him a warm welcome.

Enough for now, CU all at the meeting Saturday the 28th. de Rick W6SR

HELP THE NCDXF !!

Here is a list of the current items I have for sale

(1) Various SWR/Power meters From $10.00

(2) Misc small 12 volt power supplies open frame $10

(3) Heathkit Station Monitor HO 5404 no Panadapter $110.00

(4) Kenwood SW 10 remote SWR power volt meter $35.00

(5)Tailtwister recently overhauled with pigtail connector $325.00

(6) 1 Bearcat Scanner four-six works OK condx good $20.00

(7) 1 Realistic PRO-31 Scanned Works condx good $25.00

(8) Yaesu FTDX 560 condx very good needs finals and driver tubed with manual $175.00

(9) Astron RS 7 some scratches $25,00

(10) Astron KPS 7 some scratches $25.00

(11)Heathkit HW 2002 with ps OFFERS

(12) 1 Realistic HTX-202 with Speaker/Mic looks good $35.00

NO CHARGER/ NO MANUAL

(13) 1 Kenwood TR 2600A condx OK $15.00

NO CHARGER/MANUAL

(14) Flesher Corp TU-470 TU unit OFFER

(15) Pakratt 232 unit only no software/no wall wort or Book OFFER

(16) Astron RS 12 M 12 amp with meter $35.00

(17) MFJ Grand Master Memory Keyer No book or wall wort OFFER

18) Wanzer Z match antennae tuner full legal limit excellent condx

19) With documentation $115.00

Buyer pays shipping.

These Items are being sold for The Northern California DX Foundation. All proceeds are returned to Amateur Radio.

Also From The Redwood Empire DX Assn I have 2 Kenwood TS830s in good condx $350.00 each with copy of OP manual.

Contact Chuck, N6OJ 707-763-2528 or n6oj@

THE SECRETARY/TREASURER’S REPORT

I was having too much fun and I got distracted and didn't take notes. I can’t recall us doing anything of note.

It was something like...call to order by Gary, KI6T, acting in absence

of Pres. & VP. Did some intros, got Tom, ND2T to podium. Announcements. Alan, K6SRZ gave FB talk on expedition to T33C. Most interesting and informative. Q & A. Meeting adjourned.

Note; XYLs + a couple of OMs did a heck of a job getting the food out and then collected at end of festivities...a VITAL part of the operation. A BIG THANK YOU!!!!

I am tired, been battling lousy condx. in NAQP. Only 447 Qs x 114 mults.

for 50,958 points. Worked Geo, KI6CG/7 in MT for a mult. on 40. I was called by KH6 on 40 & 80. Also got VY1JA on 80. QRN level was running about S 9 due to weather on east side of Sierra. Temp in shack didn't

get below 87 degrees all day! I had two fans going + both windows open.

Man have I Gotta’ get some a/c in the shack!!

73 de Dick Wilson K6LRN (pretend Secretary)

MLDXCC TREASURER'S REPORT

Balance July 1, 2004: $364.02

Income: 00.00

Expenses: 00.00

Balance July 31, 2004: $364.12

73, Carolyn, K6TKD, Treasurer

Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 673

The Ohio/Penn DX PacketCluster

DX Bulletin No. 673 August 23, 2004 Editor Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW Provided by (Cleveland, Ohio). Thanks to the Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society, Northern Ohio DX Association, Ohio/Penn PacketCluster Network, AB5K & the AR TelNet Clusters Network, K1XN & GoList, N2YO, W2SN, K3GV, NG3K, W3UR & The Daily DX, N4AA & QRZ DX, K8YSE, K9RJ, DL1EK & The DX News Letter,F5CWU & La Gazette du DX, F5NQL & UFT, G3UML, HA0HW, HS0ZDZ, I1JQJ/IK1ADH& 425 DX News, JA0SC, JI6KVR & JA-IOTA Islands News, PA7FM, VA3RJ & ICPO

and VK6HZ for the following DX information.

3B9, RODRIGUES ISLAND. Robert, 3B9FR, has been very active on RTTY lately. Watch 15/17/20 meters between 1400-1700z and after 0230z(on 20 meters). He has NO QSL MANAGER. QSL direct to: Robert Felicite, P.O. Box 31, Citronelle, Rodrigues Island, VIA MAURITIUS ISLAND,INDIAN OCEAN.

3DA, SWAZILAND (Also C9). Look for Joe/AA4NN and Chuck/W4GMY to be active as 3DA0NN and 3DA0CG, respectively, November 17-22nd. They plan to have two separate CW stations active on 160-10 meters including the WARC bands. The duo plan to set up a contest in Mozambique (C9) beginning November 24th in preparation for a Multi-Single entry in the CQ WW CW Contest. The callsign has not yet been assigned. Also, they are interested

and looking for two additional CW operators for this contest effort. If interested, please contact: aa4nn@ or w4gmy@

5U, NIGER. You have less than a week to work Michael, PA5M (aka 9U5M/ST2DX), as 5U7DX from Niamey, Niger. He'll be leaving the country and heading for Mali (TZ) on August 27th. He will only be active in his spare time. Most of his activity has be on 17 and 30 meters CW, but there has been QSNs on 20 meters CW and 17 meters SSB. Watch these bands between 1230-1330z and 1930-0000z. His QSL Manager Dennis, PA7FM, informs OPDX that online logs and all information on Michael can be found on:



Dennis also mentions that for Michael's trip to Mali (and after that Ghana and Benin), the licence is not in hand yet, but they are working on that. QSL via PA7FM. ADDED NOTE: All direct ST2DX QSLs have been answered now, and new requests will be answered as soon as they arrive.

7Q, MALAWI (Update). Allen, G0IAS, reported to OPDX last week that he was hoping to go down to Malawi before the year's end and be active as 7Q7RM. This week Allen states that he will hopefully be going down to see Ron, 7Q7RM, and has received his Malawi callsign which is 7Q7AH. Also, he reports that Les (original callsign not provide) will be going to Malawi and be active again as 7Q7LA. Les was the first 7Q callsign to

be issued with an OFFICIAL licence after 16 years of non OFFICIAL

transmission between 1974 and April 19th, 1990. His length of stay is to be around 12 weeks. Allen will provide more info as he gets it.

A6, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Operator Abdullah, A61Q, has been quite active

over the past couple of weeks on 80/20/17/15/12/10 meters CW. Activity

seems to take place at various times during the day. Watch clusters for

QSNs. QSL via EA7FTR.

HB0, LIECHTENSTEIN. Geza, HA4XG, will operate from Masescha (1350m ASL)

as HB0/HA4XG between August 28th and September 4th. Activity will be on

40-10 meters CW/SSB, using 100 watts into a GP antenna. For the first

time, he will be on 2 meters with a 8 element Yagi on WSJT and tropo

(w/120 watts on VHF). His main activity time will be in the mornings and

evenings because this is a family holiday (which comes first). QSL via

his home callsign either direct () or through the HA Bureau.

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

AS-103. The CTARL DX group lead by Paul, BV4FH, will activate Peng Hu

Island from August 27-29th. Callsign will be BV9A and activity

will be on 40/20/15/10 meters CW/SSB. QSL via BV4YB.

NA-026. SPECIAL EVENT. The Kings County Repeater Association and The Metropolitan 222 ARS will co-sponsor the activity of KC2RA, a Memorial Station on Governors Island, NY, September 11th. Operations will take place between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM

EDT (1500-2000z) on 28340 kHz, 21340 kHz, 14250 kHz and 7250 kHz (+/- QRM); also VHF/UHF if possible.

OH0, ALAND ISLAND. A group of Latvians will be active as OH0I during

the CQ WW DX SSB Contest (October 30-31st) as a Multi-Single entry. The

operators mentioned are: YL1ZF, YL2KL, YL2LY and YL3CW. QSL via OH3BHL.

Also, operator YL2KL will return to be active as OH0I in the CQ WW DX CW Contest (November 27-28th) as a Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. Also, QSL via OH3BHL.

OH0, ALAND ISLAND. Ari, OH5DX, will be active as OH0Z in both CQ WW DX

SSB Contest (October 30-31st) and CQ WW DX CW Contest (November 27-28th) as Single-Op/All-Band/High-Power entry. QSL via OH5DX (ex-OH1EH). Also, visit the OH0Z Web page at:

OHIO QSO PARTY. The OQP is next weekend August 28th between 1600-0400z.

Join the fun and work many Ohio counties (maybe your editor!). For more

details and rules, visit the Web page at:

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

By the time you read this, John, VK6HZ, who was active as YJ0AHZ from Vanuatu (OC-035) this past week will be QRT. QSL via his home call, VK6HZ.

QSL VI2MI via VK2XNF (See instructions below). The previous callsign was to be VK9MI, but was changed. Activity was from Montague Island during last weekend's International Lighthouse Weekend. Montague Island is located on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 12km off the coast from the town of Narooma. The island is a nature reserve managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The operators for the weekend were: VK2XNF/Neil Fallshaw, VK2CWI/Ken Carey, VK2KEV/

Kevin Purves, and VK2HAK/Justin Rumsey. QSL instructions are: * Direct, No card - SASE w/info including 1 IRC * Bureau, No card - E-mail for Bureau card. E-mail address

is: vk2xnf@.au

R1MV, MALYJ VYSOTSKIJ ISLAND. A group of operators are planning to activate MV Island as R1MVI next weekend betweem August 27-29th. Their expected activity will be on 80-10 meters (160m will depend on their

opportunity to install an antenna during the short stay). Operations are expected to be RTTY, PSK31, CW and SSB. Radio equipment mentioned are: FT-1000, FT-990, Acom-1000 and Acom-2000A. Antennas are: ôî-3MK4

and G5RV. Station's power is: Honda EM-20 generator. Operators mentioned are: RA3CQ, RA3AMG, UA1CKC, RA1CD, RA1AR and ES4RZ. QSL Manager is RA3AMG.

UPCOMING CONVENTIONS........................

W9DXCC CONVENTION 2004 - The Northern Illinois DX Association is pleased

to announce the 52nd annual W9DXCC Convention to be held September

17-18th. The 2004 convention will be at a new location, the Holiday Inn

in Elk Grove Village, IL, conveniently located by Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Woodfield Mall and other suburban attractions. Banquet speaker is: John Devoldere, ON4UN. The many forum speakers are: John Battin/K9DX, Jerry Rosalius/WB9Z, Eric Scace/K3NA, Jay Terleski/WX0B, Scott Robbins/W4PA, Lee Finkel/KY7M and Carl Luetzelschwab/K9LA. The ARRL Forum features Central Division Director Dick Isely/W9GIG,Vice Director Howie Huntington/K9KM, DX Advisory Committee Chairman Jim O'Connell/W9WU, and Membership Service Chairman and Logbook of the World Guru Wayne Mills/N7NG. For the IOTA fans, Mike McGirr/K9AJ,

Jim Model/K9PPY, and Gordon Bazsali/WB9EEE will have the latest Island News. There will be prizes! For more complete details, please visit

the W9DXCC Web page at:

You can register on-line or request more info via: w9va@

THE SEANET CONVENTION 2004 - BANGKOK, THAILAND: "This year's convention

which will be held in the Arnoma Hotel, in the city-centre of Bangkok

from Friday 19th to Sunday 21st November 2004. The hotel is close to

most of the City's attractions, and is within short walking distance of

the new Sky Train which links with most important destinations in the

City. Some major shopping destinations are within walking distance,

such as the World Trade Centre, Pratunam Market, Prantip Plaza, Naripan

Plaza, Central Stores, Sogo etc.... All the usual popular SEANET social

and sightseeing events will be arranged, plus something new, and of

course the SEANET special event radio station HS72B (all bands). We

will also organise a CQ WW CW Contest team entry the following weekend

from HS0AC (HS72B) Club Station, and suitably licensed members are

welcome to join in. More details, including a registration form are

available from the Convention Web-site , or

please contact Ray Gerrard, HS0ZDZ, PO Box 69, Bangkok Airport Post

Office, Bangkok 10212, Thailand, E-mail for brochures

and information. Sawadee Khrap!" Mayuree Chotikul, HS1YL, President of RAST (Under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King)

VK9L, LORD HOWE ISLAND (DXpedition Update). Longtime English DXer Laurie Margolis, G3UML, is joining the October operation on Lord Howe Island, organized by VK4FW and the Oceania DX Group. A team of Australians,

Italians, and now one Englishman, will arrive on Lord Howe on October 9th for a well-equipped two week operation. Full details to follow later. G3UML has been active since 1965 and holds DXCC completed and full 5BWAZ, as well as much contest experience.

VY2, PEI, CANADA. George, K3GV, will be active between August 29th and

September 12th as K3GV/VY2 from Prince Edward Island (IOTA NA-029,

CIA PE-001). Activity will be on 15 and 20 meters around the usual IOTA frequencies. QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

XX9, MACAO. Hiro, JA0SC, will be going to the Island of Coloane, and will be there between August 24-31st. He will receive his callsign after his arrival there. Activity will be on the digital modes especially on SSTV. Operating bands are 20-10 meters, using 200 watts and a 2 element

HB9CV antenna. QSL to his home callsign (OK at ).

YO DX HF CONTEST (ed. And I Don't Mean YAO!). Chip, N2YO, wants to remind everyone that on August 28-29th, to please consider participating in the YO DX HF 2004 Contest (24 hour contest) which is held on the last weekend of August every year. Rules can be found on the following Web page at:



Compatible YO DX HF Contest software is listed here:



ZK3, TOKELAU ISLANDS. Atsu, 5W1SA, must be active again as ZK3SA. Activity was heard on Friday, August 20th, on 40 meters CW and 20 meters SSB. His length of stay is unknown. QSL via JH7OHF.

ANYONE HEARD ABOUT CERT?

A good description, etc. of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is at the following website:

The structure and function that CERT takes varies from area to area. The closest description would seem to be the fire service's equivalent to law enforcement's volunteer programs, which go by names such as "STARS," "VIP's," etc. I know they were very active in Florida, in the wake of Hurricane Charley, but I haven't seen any reports yet.

CERT's are trained to provide basic first aid, rescue, and building searches, to provide these emergency services for up to three days. This is the period of time that it is estimated it could take for regular emergency services to reach some areas after a disaster or major emergency. I'm sure you're very familiar with that concept.

Amateur radio operators are particularly valued in CERT, for obvious reasons. Here, in Stanislaus County, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) has made it a priority to get as many of us as possible certified in CERT. Of course, the additional emergency training is good for all of us. But we also anticipate that supporting CERT teams will likely be a major mission for ARES in any large - scale emergency.

Modesto Fire Department has received a federal grant to train CERT volunteers, and they're offering a series of classes. They don't care where a person lives. If a person comes, they'll train and equip him/her at no charge. The next class will be offered Tuesday evenings, starting 9/7. There are classes, offered on three consecutive Saturdays, starting 10/16 and would no doubt work better for those still working. There may well be a class offered closer to Sacramento, but all are welcome to the Modesto class.

For the Modesto class you can call 209-572-9590, Chief Dave Grant of MFD.

BTW LLNL is covered by Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), an organization almost identical to ARES. There's much more, of course, but I'll stop short of writing another book on the subject. For more information contact me: Dave Wallace, KA6GJN in Turlock @ (209) 667-6023.

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

Hawaii QSO Party 0700Z-2200Z, Aug 28

Ohio QSO Party 1600Z, Aug 28 to 0400Z, Aug 29

All Asian DX Contest, Phone 0000Z, Sep 4 to 2400Z, Sep 5

MI QRP Labor Day CW Sprint 2300Z, Sep 6 to 0300Z, Sep 7

ARS Spartan Sprint 0100Z-0300Z, Sep 7

YLRL Howdy Days 1400Z, Sep 8 to 0200Z, Sep 10

WAE DX Contest, SSB 0000Z, Sep 11 to 2359Z, Sep 12

ARRL September VHF QSO Party 1800Z, Sep 11 to 0300Z, Sep 13

North American Sprint, CW 0000Z-0400Z, Sep 12

Tennessee QSO Party 1800Z, Sep 12 to 0100Z, Sep 13

ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest 0600 local -2400 local , Sep 18 and 0600 local -2400 local , Sep 19

Collegiate QSO Party 1200Z, Sep 18 to 0400Z, Sep 19

South Carolina QSO Party 1300Z, Sep 18 to 2100Z, Sep 19

QRP Afield 1500Z, Sep 18 to 0300Z, Sep 19

Washington State Salmon Run 1600Z, Sep 18 to 0700Z, Sep 19 and 1600Z-2400Z, Sep 19

QCWA QSO Party 1800Z, Sep 18 to 1800Z, Sep 19

North American Sprint, SSB 0000Z-0400Z, Sep 19

144 MHz Fall Sprint 1900 local -2300 local , Sep 20

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, RTTY 0000Z,Sep 25 to 2400Z, Sep 26

Scandinavian Activity Contest, SSB 1200Z, Sep 25 to 1200Z, Sep 26

Arkansas QSO Party 1400Z, Sep 25 to 0600Z, Sep 26 and 1800Z, Sep 26 to 0200Z, Sep 27

Texas QSO Party 1400Z, Sep 25 to 0200Z, Sep 26 and 1400Z-2000Z, Sep 26

Alabama QSO Party 1800Z-2400Z, Sep 25

UBA ON Contest, 6m 0600Z, Sep 26 to 1000Z, Sep 6

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

CU.73, Dick, K6LRN

PROPAGATION FORECAST

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 34 ARLP034 From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA August 20, 2004 To all radio amateurs. SB PROP ARL ARLP034 ARLP034 Propagation de K7RA

Solar flux and sunspot numbers rose this week. August 13-14 were the peak days for both, and with low and stable geomagnetic indices, HF conditions were good. There weren't any days with notable geomagnetic upsets.

Sunspot 649 has rotated off the western limb of the sun, and on August 18 it emitted a large coronal mass ejection. Since it is facing away from earth, we are not likely to be affected, but from a right angle the mass thrown off the sun from this region is more visible than if the spot were facing us. Right now sunspot 652 is pointed in our direction, and there are some spots identified on the sun's far side using the helioseismic holography method.

Geomagnetic indices are expected to rise, then decline again over the next few days. The expected planetary A index for August 20-23 is 15, 12, 10 and 12. The expected solar flux for the same days is

115, 110, 105 and 100.

We are only a month away from the Fall equinox. Of course this will bring the good Fall conditions to HF. Due to the declining solar cycle, it probably won't be as good as Fall was over the past few years, but should be better overall for the higher bands than summertime was.

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 August 12 through 18 were 140, 160, 111, 98, 68, 63 and 53 with a mean of 99. 10.7 cm flux was 147.2, 148.6, 149.2, 138.8, 133.6, 135 and 139.9, with a mean of 141.8. Estimated planetary A indices were 9, 9, 9, 7, 8, 11 and 13, with a mean of 9.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 6, 5, 6, 3, 5, 9 and 10, with a mean of 6.3.

MLDXCC 2004 Meeting Schedule

August 28th

September 18th

October 9th

November 13th

December 18

Thanks to Ken, K6TA and Kay, K6TO for arranging for 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

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