PRC mtg Apr 4, 2016

  All about coax Many of us might think “Coax! What could somebody tell me about that stuff that I don’t already know?”  Well, I can say that Larry Shimerka, KC8VZZ really put some work into the topic and we all learned something new about this fundamental aspect of our hobby.  Larry’s presentation included many … Continue reading “PRC mtg Apr 4, 2016”

  All about coax

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Larry Shimerka, KC8VZZ presents his new program on COAX

Many of us might think “Coax! What could somebody tell me about that stuff that I don’t already know?”  Well, I can say that Larry Shimerka, KC8VZZ really put some work into the topic and we all learned something20160321_205445_copy new about this fundamental aspect of our hobby.  Larry’s presentation included many actual samples of hardline, LMR -400 and other pricey coax.  And, as if that wasn’t enough we even viewed a short video on the proper way to solder the PL-259.

      

Photos: Ken Osicki, K8OAE


PRC to host Replay for Kids

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Replay for Kids‘ modified toys for handicapped children.

This April 4th will be a unique meeting.  Our guests from Replay for Kids of Strongsville will put us to work  modifying toys.  The organization specializes in adapting common toys so they can be enjoyed by handicapped children. While the organization provides the materials and tools, volunteers such as you and I provide the skill and labor to make it happen. The evening promises to be a fun opportunity to get hands on experience and benefit children.

Upper vs. Lower (Sideband — not dentures)

You might have wondered why it is that on the HF bands below40 meters we use lower sideband (LSB) while we switch to upper (USB) for the higher bands. In the April ’16 QST (p.24) Dave Cook, WA∅TTN explained. It all goes back to the receiver and transmitter designs in use at the time. (Recall that an early ham stations consisted of a separate transmitter and receiver. Dave’s explanation seems to pick up after transceivers became the norm. Another wonderful design that appeared was the variable frequency oscillator. The VFO liberated hams from crystals that had a fixed frequency.)

All this to say that the writer’s explanation covers post-transceiver introduction. He says that the IF frequency of the transmitter and the receiver were at 9 MHz.  The transmitter and the receiver used the same filters for carrier suppression and filtering out the undesired sideband. It worked out that the sidebands fall into those two differences when mixed with the (common) VFO output.

In the early 60’s, when I was starting into this hobby as a novice, sideband meant “double sideband” in which the AM carrier was removed but both the lower and the upper sidebands were transmitted. The missing carrier was referred to as “suppressed carrier.”  Soon afterward it was discovered how to remove not only the carrier but one of the sidebands. 


After several years of great work as NCO, Bob, KA8WQL has found it necessary to step down as Net Control Operator for the FM net.  Bob was covering the 1st Tuesday of the month.  If you would like to take the position, we would love to have you.  Please contact any of the officers or send us an e-mail.  If you can only take the role temporarily, we can work around that and it would help your club tremendously.

The nets are a great way for the club to reach out to new hams in the area and to invite prospective members to participate in the fun.


PRC to Celebrate 4th Annual Earth Day

Stearns Homestead

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High Output Solar Panels

This year the Parma Radio Club will again celebrate Earth Day by operating a special event station in the heart of Parma at Stearns Homestead, the unique historical urban farm on Ridge Road. The Homestead is owned by the City of Parma and maintained by the Parma Area Historical Society as a living educational facility for people of all ages. This year marks our 4th Earth Day celebration in which we plus entirely on power from the sun. On Saturday April 23rd the PRC will have several transmitters in operation on the HF bands. and offer our radio contacts a custom QSL card to commemorate the event. Earth Day is celebrated around the world in hundreds of countries by millions of people and seeks to remind everyone of the fragility and singularity of our special planet. We welcome visitors and operators. In recent years we’ve spread the word to as many as three countries, hundteds of amateur operators and untold shortwave listeners. This event station gives us the opportunity to inform listeners about Earth Day but also our area and the Stearns Homestead. For more information about Stearns Homestead, the site of increasingly popular summer farmers market go to www.stearnshomestead.com

 We’ll be on the air from 10 am to 4 pm 1400z t0 2000z.  Operation will be entirely from solar power.  Mode of operation will be SSB on 40, 20  and 15 meters.

For photos of previous events see our albums.


Hal Rogers, K8CMD

President, Communications Director