THURSDAY MARCH 18, 2010.

THE CHICAGO SUBURBAN RADIO ASSOCIATION

Illinois’ Oldest Amateur Radio Club - N9BAT

CSRA BOARD AND COMMITTEE

CLUB PRESIDENT 2009-2010

708.562.2827 | eddiewa9gqk@att.net
March 2010
VICE PRESIDENT 2010-2011

773.556.6459 | f2@crescenzi.net

SECRETARY

773.281.0489 | tomnsherry@ameritech.net

TREASURER

708.383.5349 | aa9f@arrl.net

SARGEANT-AT-ARMS/WELCOME & RAFFLES

WEE TOOK A TRIP back in time at 708.485.2687 | urbieman@yahoo.com

the February meeting. John Franta
KA9MJE, Ron Urbaytis K9RWU and MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN
Ed Schumacher WA9GQK were
nice enough to play shown and 708.788.8316 | njmalina@yahoo.com
tell with their veinge ARC-5
transmitters and receivers. All TXT EDITOR/PUBLICITY
admitted that they were a work in
progress, but that was a part of 708.287.1336 | w9chi@arrl.net
the fun!
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CHAIRMAN
As the weather gets nicer and the
daylight lingers, we hope you can 630.655.6312 | mpauschke@worldnet.att.net
make it to the March meeting and
enjoy some fun and friendship. COFFEE & MEETING REFRESHMENTS CHAIRMAN
Don’t forget, members are
welcome to bring items to sell or 708.484.7384 | tomn9tm@prodigy.net
give away at our monthly “club
mini-hamfest.” Just remember, N9BAT CLUB CALLSIGN TRUSTEE:
whatever you don’t sell or give
away, goes back home with you!
CLUB WEBSITE: http://
And don’t forget: club dues are
due as well! CLUB EMAIL ADDRESS:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Scott Childers - W9CHI 24/7 CSRA HAM HOTLINE:

TXT Editor

TXT copyright ©2010

TXT | MARCH 2010 | TWO

 FRONT PAGE
NEXT MEETING OUR RIGHTS, RIGHT OR WRONG? Recent events in the Village of Brookfield have sparked a lot of
discussion among area hams and a significant portion of our last
meeting was spent on the subject. Not to belabor the point but rather to
at Grace Lutheran Church
expand a little, I offer the following for everyone's benefit.
in the Fellowship Room on the lower level.
Doors open at 6:30pm Meeting begins at 7:30pm As Federally licensed
radio operators we hams
Grace Lutheran Church is located at enjoy special privileges
1101 Manchester Avenue resulting from many hard
fought battles in the early
in Westchester, Illinois.
days of the development of
One block north of Roosevelt Road, radio communications. We
just west of 25th Avenue. are unique in many ways
among users of the radio
Directions and maps on our website at spectrum yet still enjoy
http://www.CSRAham.com Government protection of
our pursuit without the fees charged to most other users. We have also
recently won a major victory with the publication of PRB-1 protecting us
Amateur Radio Quiz: Workbench Wisdom from restrictive legislation by local governing bodies regarding our need
1) An Arduino is a type of ________________. for effective antennas. We do indeed have significant rights attached to
a. transistor array our licenses which are clearly spelled out in various official documents.
b. microprocessor prototyping system
c. coax connector As with other freedoms we enjoy, there also go other responsibilities
d. Italian vacuum tube which are not specifically stated in any government rules and regulations
but are accepted as common courtesy and consideration of our fellow
2) Which is most likely to have a "bat handle?" citizens. This is precisely the center of the issue which has developed in
a. soldering iron Brookfield. Though the ham cited by Brookfield is absolutely entitled to
b. rack-mount enclosure keep his antennas and the Village acted improperly in their misguided
c. toggle switch attempt to enforce a blight complaint via an inappropriate ordinance
d. torque wrench without due process, we should still take note of the overall lesson from
this incident.
3) Which connector family is most closely associated with
parallel data interfaces? We as hams should always strive to setup and operate our stations in
a. DB a manner that exhibits the high standards we have been known for. We,
b. USB after all, have achieved our licenses after passing stringent tests which
c. BNC makes our hobby unique among all others. We are on a par with the
d. Centronics Commercial boys as far as the level of our exams and many people still
think of hams as something special and remember with awe some distant
4) What type of holes does a nibbling tool cut? relative who was "also a ham." Considering that our antennas are a
a. circles billboard advertising our presence, we should be putting on our best
b. squares face especially in this area. Sloppy installations or poorly maintained
c. rectangles ones say we are not so great. Just as a dirty car or sloppy dress speaks
d. irregular volumes to others about us without ever exchanging a word, so does the
appearance of our antenna systems.
5) What does DIP stand for?
a. Drill In Place Yes, we do have our rights to our antennas but we also have our pride
b. Dual Interconnection Pins and social responsibility to put the best face possible on them. They may
c. Dual In Line Package not be the thing of great joy to our neighbors that they are to us, but at
d. Delta Insertion Point least our neighbors can respect the time and effort we put into them to
ANSWERS APPEAR ON PAGE FIVE provide what may be lifesaving communications for someone else in
another part of the world or even to put that neighbor in touch with
CHECK IN TO OUR CLUB NETS someone in an emergency. We will be far more believable when we look
the part of what we claim to be and perhaps then even those neighbors
CSRA Info Net CSRA CATS Net may begin to look on our antennas as objects of community pride rather
Mondays at 8:00pm Wednesdays at 7:00pm than just eyesores.
146.76 Repeater 21.331 USB +/- "Submitted for your approval"
CSRA CW Net
Sundays at 8:00pm Ed, WA9GQK
7.100 MHz
TXT | MARCH 2010 | THREE
 QRM
FOR
CSRA DUES ARE
- 2 Meter FM (VHF)
- 5.5 Watts (0.5 W selectable) NOW DUE
- 107 Total Memory Channels
- Great Audio - 300 mW Output (at 7.2V DC) It’s that time of the year!
- CTCSS/DTCS Encode/Decode with Tone Scan CSRA club dues are now
- 16 Button DTMF Keypad with Encode due. Please remit 10
Standard and Decode Optional dollars to club treasurer
- Fast Scanning - 40 Channels Per Second
Ray Good AA9F at the
- Backlit Alphanumeric LCD
- Auto Repeater next meeting or send your
- Optional PC Programming check or money order to
- Military Rugged Construction the club Post Office Box.
- Battery Case for 6 "AA" Batteries
CSRA dues remain the
This radio is new-in-box. Never used, never
lowest and the best value
taken out of the box or even turned on!
in the ham radio
Retails for $115 - community.

Contact Scott W9CHI at 708/287-1336 or Please continue to support

email W9CHI@arrl.net Illinois’ oldest amateur
radio club. Your club -

QSL OF THE MONTH CSRA!

AES SUPERFEST
APRIL 9 &10

If you are into a road trip, AES Superfest is

coming up on Friday April 9th and
Saturday April 10th at the Amateur
Electronics Supply Milwaukee store at
5710 Good Hope Road. The fest is free to
the public and is always well attended by
equipment manufacturers as well as
interesting forums and a chance to look
at (and buy) some goodies! Gordon West
Ed WA9GQK provided this month’s card. The QSL is from a QSO on Dec 16, 2009
WB6NOA will once again be on hand at
using ssb and only 100w with a beam heading of approximately. 15 degrees west
the fest. QSL Card checking will be
of due south. The card arrived March 2 from the stateside manager, K1IED.
available on Saturday for WAS, DXCC,
WAC & VUCC. A WTMJ Meteorologist will
FOR SALE discuss storm spotting and safety. Best of
all the fest is all indoors at the AES
AUTEK RESEARCH WM-1 computing SWR meter w/ manual.
building. Parking and shuttles are
available.
$100 OBO Contact Ed, WA9GQK at roster number (page 2)
More details at www.aesham.com.
items for sale are welcome here! N9BAT@arrl.net
TXT | MARCH 2010 | FOUR
COULD ANTI-TEXTING LAW AFFECT
AMATEUR MOBILE OPERATION?
Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN
I would like to direct your attention to newly introduced Illinois
HB5761. This bill amends the recently adopted anti-texting law to
provide an exception for persons in possession of a current and valid
Amateur Radio license issued by the Federal Communications
Commission.
The definition of 'mobile communications devices' is so broad in
the law as written that it could be interpreted to take in just about any
contraption which could be carried or mounted in a vehicle to convey
information. I pointed this out in the News last month. The change is
necessary to lessen our chances of being victimized by uninformed
enforcement. To a police officer, a microphone in the hand
is undistinguishable from a cell phone at fifty yards away through
normally tinted windows.
NEITHER I NOR THE LEAGUE ADVOCATE MOBILE TEXTING OR DISTRACTED
DRIVING.
You are urged to contact your State Representative asking him or
her to join with Rep. John Bradley as a co-sponsor of this bill. When
you do contact your representative, please remember that we aren't
entitled to any preferential treatment. Emphasize that amateurs have
a long history of being able to use their equipment without distraction,
and the law as currently written places an unnecessary limit on our
ability to provide supplementary emergency communications. Be
clear, concise and do not demand or insist. Politely ask. Say please
and thank you. I apologize if some of this sounds basic and patroniz-
ing, but you'd be amazed at some of the correspondence to legisla-
tors on which I'm copied. Many thanks to those who have already
responded.
Additionally, there is another radio related bill circulating, HB5194.
This prevents rebroadcast or retransmission of any signals carried on
the State Police radio system. This does not affect hams directly, but
many of us are also scannists. HB5194, in my own opinion, is generi-
cally bad law as it duplicates provisions of the Communications Act
of 1934 as amended and is therefore unnecessary. I have received
communication on this bill from concerned hams. We don't have an
'official' opinion as it is not our ox being directly gored. You may wish
to do your own due diligence on this matter separately. I'd ask that
you please not tie the two bills together and to use separate
correspondence for each if you do comment on both bills.
Blanket Waiver to Allow Amateur Radio
in Hospital Emergency Drills?
In February 2010, the American Hospital Association (AHA) filed a
request with the FCC for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) of
the Commission's Rules "to permit hospitals seeking accreditation to
use Amateur Radio operators who are hospital employees to transmit
communications on behalf of the hospital as part of emergency
preparedness drills." On March 3, the FCC issued a Public Notice --
WP Docket 10-54 -- seeking comments if the Commission "should
grant AHA's request for a blanket waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3) to
permit amateur operators who are hospital employees to participate
in emergency drills that are conducted by hospitals for accreditation
purposes and that are not government-sponsored. "Section
97.113(a)(3) specifically prohibits amateur stations from transmitting
communications "in which the station licensee or control operator
has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an
employer." (ARRL)
WHERE ARE THE HAM
RADIO HACKERS?
Dan Romanchik KB6NU
On the Ten-Tec Omni VII Yahoo Group (http://
groups.yahoo.com/group/Ten-Tec-Omni-VII/), one ham
wrote: "If I was 17 years-old I would be hacking I-phones
and other items like George Hotz, the 17 year-old from New
Jersey who was able to unlock the Apple I-phone so that it
could be used on other cell service networks.
"When I was his age, I was hacking dial telephones. Then
one day the phone company showed up at my house. My
parents were not impressed with my technical abilities.
"This morning there is a story that George has just hacked
the 'un-hackable' Sony 3 Play Station. He says the hack was
95% software and 5% hardware.
"A quick check of the modifications site run by that guy
over in Denmark, shows that there are NO MODS for the
O7...interesting. I just wonder how many strange and
wonderful things can be done with those 36 buttons/
switches on the front panel. Can the O7 be made even
better?"
In my reply, I asked, "Why stop at pressing some buttons
on the front panel? Why doesn't someone really hack the
Omni VII and develop a completely new software package
for it?" Rigs like the Omni VII and the Elecraft K3 would seem
to be perfect candidates for this kind of hacking.
Sure, there is an order of magnitude difference between
a $300 iPod and a $3,000 radio, but we're big boys, aren't
we? Besides, aside from overdriving the finals, what real
damage can you do to the radio? It seems to me that even
if you manage to screw up the software in the rig, you can
get back to square one by simply re-loading the
manufacturer's software.
Ham radio operators have a long history of modifying
their radios. Page through any stack of QSTs or CQ
Magazines from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, and you'll find
many articles describing modifications to the popular
radios of the day. About the only thing hams do to their rigs
today is to clip a diode to allow it to operate out-of-band.
What does it say about the technical capabilities of
today's hams that we haven't yet done with our gear what
some 17-year-old kid has done with the iPhone and the
PlayStation? Why don't we have any third-party software for
Omni VII or the K3? I think if a manufacturer actually
encouraged third-party software development, they'd
quickly gain a following and make their brand even
stronger, don't you?
Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, blogs about ham radio at
www.kb6nu.com, teaches the infamous One-Day Tech
Class, and operates a lot of 40m CW. E-mail him your
comments and questions at cwgeek@kb6nu.com.
1. b -- www.arduino.cc
2. c -- Miniature toggle switches frequently have handles shaped
like a baseball bat.
3. d -- Now mostly known as a "parallel port" connector, it was
originally developed as a high-speed data interface by
Centronics for its printers.
4. d -- A nibbling tool is used to cut irregularly-shaped holes in
sheet metal in a series of small, rectangular bites.
5. c -- This is the most common package for through-hole
components.
TXT | MARCH 2010 | FIVE