pix_logo01 (5K)NAQCC News

Mar 17, 2012NAQCC Web Site Issue #162

In this issue:
1. March Sprint
2. February Challenge Results
3. General Club News
4. Chapter News
5. NAQCC QRS Nets
6. CW Assistance Project
7. CW Cartoon of the Month
8. Member Spotlight
9. News Items and Articles by Our Members

1. MARCH SPRINT: Our 89th regular monthly sprint is this coming Wednesday evening local time (8:30 EDT, 7:30 EDT, 6:30 MDT, 5:30 PDT) which in all 4 cases translates to Thursday 0030Z. Note the Z time change because of going to Daylight Savings time on March 11. If you're confused about Standard vs. Daylight vs. Z times, and many admit they are, we're going to try to explain it in some detail in the CW Assistant Project section below in the newsletter.

This will close out two years of sprints where we've had over 100 logs in all sprints but one. That's making a bold guess that we will have 100 logs this month, and I hope and think we will. That's very impressive and says a lot for the dedication of our members to the NAQCC. It's not as easy submitting logs or reports for our sprints as it is for many other clubs. Why? Because we require complete logs to be submitted so we may do a thorough cross-checking for errors. Other clubs require simply reporting the number of QSOs and perhaps number of multipliers for their sprints. We do ours the way we do because just like we teach and encourage the use of CW, we also try to teach and encourage correct contest logging. That's in case our sprints lead you to a 'career' in contesting where such details are important.

Although this is our 89th sprint, it's the first sprint with something new. The results web page will now be handled by Dean NW2K who will be taking care of preparing scores and soapbox comments. That relieves me (K3WWP) of some more work and I appreciate Dean offering to help with the task. I'll still be handling the cross-checking of the logs though.

If you're new to the sprints, please read the complete sprint rules carefully so you'll know exactly what we need in the form of logs. If you use GenLog correctly, then submit via the autologger, it will take you the least amount of time to compile and submit your log and report. Just a few minutes in most cases. If you have any doubts about using GenLog, check out our illustrated tutorial on using the program.

There is a plain text file (one for each continental USA time zone) of upcoming sprint dates for 2012. See the 'Print a Schedule' page in the 'Contests/Sprints' section of the web site. Print it out and post it somwhere prominently so you won't miss a single one of our sprints.

Read and understand the full general sprint rules and any specific rules for this month's sprint here.

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

2. FEBRUARY CHALLENGE RESULTS: Because of the way our sprint and newsletter schedule falls this month, we are able to present complete results for the previous month's sprint instead of saying something like, "since the deadline for submitting results hasn't come yet, we'll be unable to give complete results in the newsletter."

Our February Dog Tribute challenge proved to be very popular. Our members submitted names of 17 dogs who were very precious to them, but have now passed away. Eight members were able to make all 17 names: K9OSC, W9UX, PA7PYR, VO1BB, VE3FUJ, K3WWP, K1IEE, W2JEK. Five other members made 4-15 of the names: PA5LR, KX1NH, NU7T, N8XMS, WB0QQT. Those who made all the names get a certificate and a participation point. The others get a participation point.

All the soapbox comments thought it was a very enjoyable challenge. Perhaps we'll do another challenge later this year honoring other pets besides dogs.

Full Challenge results can always be found here.

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

3. GENERAL CLUB NEWS:

pix_blueball (1K) - HELP WANTED! NOT! Well not right now anyway. We have filled all the positions that we 'advertised' in the past few newsletters. However there may be other positions that we will try to 'farm out' later on.

For now, thanks to Dean NW2K (sprint results page), Jerry VE6CPP (monthly poll), Ki VA3PEN (special sprints results page), Jerry W7GAH (member update info from the FCC). Those are our most recent additions, but thanks to also to all of those who have been helping out with club tasks for varying periods of time now. We listed all of them a couple newsletters ago.

pix_blueball (1K) - Tom WY3H has taken care of securing our special event calls for our October NAQCC Anniversary celebration. That will be our 8th anniversary. How time flies when you're having fun, and we've been doing that for all 8 years now.

As usual we'll have a call sign for each USA call area - N1A, N2A, through N9A, N0A. Now we need to start signing up volunteers to operate the stations. Those of you who have done so previously know the routine, but we will explain it to the newer members or anyone else who needs a reminder.

It's just a matter of operating as you normally do, but using the special call instead of your own. Dates and times are up to you and your fellow operators from your call area. They will be posted here on the NAQCC web site if you notify us at least the day before your operating period(s). We like to have at least 4 or 5 operators from each call area so we can give out as many QSOs as possible during the week.

Oh, the week is from 0000Z Sunday October 7 through 2400Z Saturday October 13. That includes our monthly sprint on Tuesday evening local time October 9. In that sprint we make every effort to have one operator from each call area participate for the full 2 hours using the special call for there area.

Anyone from a raw rookie at CW to a seasoned veteran CW operator is welcome and CAN do the job. Interested? Just email and let us know. We'll post a list of volunteers on the special N#A page of the web site and here in the newsletter as they sign up. Don't be afraid to let us know this early. You can always back out later if anything comes up that would prevent you from operating.

pix_blueball (1K) - Have you checked out our picture gallery lately? Is your picture there? If not, we would like to have you join the 348 members who do currently have their picture there. Just send us a nice facial shot where the face portion of the picture is at least 120 x 120 pixels. Anything smaller than that will probably be blurry. It can be much larger. That will hc162 (1K) work well when it is cropped and re-sized. We think pictures of members make a club that much more personalized and friendly. If you can, name the picture file as follows: pix_sm_k3wwp.jpg (Substitue your call for mine and change jpg to gif or png if the file is in that format. Please all lower case letters in the file name.) Email it as an attachment and include your call AND membership number in the body of the email. Make the subject of the email NAQCC Picture Gallery. If you follow the above procedure EXACTLY, you will have my eternal gratitude and your picture will be posted promptly. If you don't, it may take a while for your picture to be posted. Send to pix_email_naqcc (1K)

pix_blueball (1K) - Just a quick reminder we're continuing with the hidden call sign idea originally suggested by Bill KB3XS. Somewhere in this newsletter is a call sign of a member in a place that is definitely out of context and containing a mix of upper and lower case letters. If it is YOUR call sign and YOU find it, email pix_email_naqcc (1K) BEFORE the publication date of the next newsletter (Mar 31) and win a gift certificate for 100 NAQCC QSL cards produced by the CheapQSLs.com company run by Hal K6RF (#0171) and donated by the NAQCC thanks to your generous monetary donations to the club. Cheap refers only to the price, not the quality of the cards. They are beautiful and a great way to show your pride in being a NAQCC member. See the main page of the web site to find out how to purchase your own cards.

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

4. CHAPTER NEWS:

Here is where our club chapters present news about their chapter activities. We currently have four chapters - European, Minnesota, Texas, and Western Pennsylvania. We're looking forward to expanding that roster. Chapters are more or less self-governing local gatherings organized by members in a geographical area and subject to a list of guidelines under the auspices of the NAQCC. If you would be interested in starting a chapter in your area, let us know and we'll send a copy of the guidelines.


NAQCC EUROPEAN CHAPTER:

pix_sm_mw3ymy (13K)
Any items in this section are from EU Chapter President Matt MW3YMY unless otherwise credited.
Questions or comments should go to pix_email_mw3ymy (1K)
The EU Chapter web site is at http://naqcc-eu.org/




NAQCC MINNESOTA CHAPTER:

pix_sm_wd0k (9K)
Any items in this section are from Chapter President Rich WD0K unless otherwise credited.
Questions or comments should go to pix_email_wd0k (1K).







NAQCC TEXAS CHAPTER:

pix_sm_k5duz (2K)
Any items in this section are from TX Chapter Director Ron K5DUZ unless otherwise credited.
Questions or comments should go to pix_email_txchapter (1K)
The TX Chapter web site is at http://www.naqcctx.com/

The East Texas QRS Net (ETN) meets each Monday evening at 1900 CDST (0000 UTC). The net has now moved to 7060 KHz as the 80m QRN was beginning to be troublesome. The ETN net is open to all comers, not just stations in Texas, so if you hear the net in session please check-in with Allen, KA5TJS, #4512, the NCS . Check the weekly NAQCC net e-mail for the latest ETN info.

Allen is in the process of assembling an Oak Hills Research model OHR 100A, 40m transceiver. He is making notes about and taking pictures of the assembly process, which we will post on the Texas Chapter web site along with his comments about using the OHR 100A on the air.

The March NAQCC Sprint is next Tuesday evening, March 20th, at 1930 CDST so plan to join in on the fun.

Remember that all NAQCC members located in Texas (352 at last count) are automatically members of the Texas Chapter. We would love to hear from you about any of your recent ham activities, new QRP rig or antenna.


NAQCC WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER:

pix_arrl_wpa_section (4K)
Any items in this section are from John K3WWP unless otherwise credited.
Questions or comments should go to pix_email_naqcc (1K)
All chapter news can be found ONLY here in this section of the newsletter.

The WPA Chapter is again making plans to set up at the Butler Hamfest coming up the first Sunday in June. It's always nice to meet a lot of local members there, and hopefully to sign up some new members as well. We hope to see you there this year. We'll be praying for good weather.

Mike KC2EGL and I will be getting together for our monthly activities sometime probably next week or the week after. One thing we have in mind is again trying for a Messier Marathon. For those not into astronomy, that's observing all 110 special objects (clusters, galaxies, nebulae) on a list created by Charles Messier from his observations in the early days of telescopes back in the 1600s - all in a single night. Because of the chance arrangement of these objects, the middle of March is the only time this is possible because none of the objects are too close to the sun in the sky. Well, this is a ham radio newsletter, not an astronomy newsletter, so I'll not say more about it here. You can research it further on the Internet if you wish. We will report our success or failure in the next newsletter though.

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

5. NAQCC QRS NETS:
AF4LB
News and net reports in this section are from QRS Net Manager Dan AF4LB unless otherwise credited.
Dan will handle all Net related material at this email address: pix_email_af4lb (1K)


We need to add to our roster of nets so we can cover the whole country if possible. Some members have told us that they listen for the nets that we have now, but are unable to hear them because of the area in which they live. All of our present NCSs can testify that it is a very rewarding and enjoyable job running a net and helping others get needed actual on the air code practice. If you would like to start a net in your area, contact Dan and let him know so you can work out the details.

Latest NAQCC QRS Nets schedule can be found on the NAQCC web site here.

Please check the schedule regularly as there will be some frequency changes coming up because of the warm weather noise now starting on 80 meters. The NQN, ETN, and ECN nets have already switched to 7060 kHz, and there may be others soon.

Recent Net Activity report:
Net Name (Abbreviation)
Date(UTC) NCS   Participants

NAQCC Main QRS Net (NQN)
2-27-12   AF4LB  -10-  AF4LB KF4IBU N4PLK K1IEE N8IUP N9RLO VE3FUJ KN8B KG3W KA5TJS
3-6-12    AF4LB   -5-  AF4LB K1IEE N8IUP N9RLO N4PLK
3-11-12   AF4LB   -3-  AF4LB K1IEE W4HH
 
NAQCC East Texas QRS Net (ETN)
3-7-12    KA5TJS  -2-  KA5TJS KE5YGA

NAQCC Rocky Mtn Regional/Continental QRS net (RMR) - Tuesday
2-28-12   WC7S    -2-  WC7S KG0YR

NAQCC Rocky Mtn Regional/Continental QRS net (RMR) - Thursday
3-1-12    WC7S    -5-  WC7S N9RLO KG0YR K1IEE AE7CG
3-8-12    WC7S    -4-  WC7S AE7CG K1IEE N0ZH

NAQCC East Coast QRS Net (ECN)
2-24-12   AF4LB   -2-  AF4LB KF4IBU
3-9-12    AF4LB   -2-  AF4LB K1IEE
3-17-12   AF4LB   -2-  AF4LB K1IEE

NAQCC Pacific NorthWest QRS Net (PNW)
2/24/12   KE7LKW  -3-  KE7LKW K7ZI KG0YR 
3-9-12    KE7LKW  -4-  KE7LKW N6KIX WB4SPB K7ZNP
For more net info, see CW Assistance/QRS Nets on the web site.

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

6. NAQCC CW ASSISTANCE PROJECT:
pix_sm_k5duz (13K)
Items in this section are from CW Assistance Project Coordinator Ron K5DUZ (L) unless otherwise credited.
If you are interested in helping out or need help with any CW and/or QRP matters contact:
K5DUZ - pix_email_k5duz (1K)



Ron is still involved in another work project and will be unavailable to write info for this section for a while longer. If you would like to write something that you feel will be helpful to our members in learning CW or improving CW skills, please feel free to do so.

From K3WWP - If you read the first item about our upcoming sprint (and you should have even if you're not really into sprints - the hidden call may have been there - or anywhere else), you know I'm going to talk about UTC or Z time along with Standard and Daylight Savings time as well.

Some hams admit openly they have trouble with times when converting from one system to another. That's understandable in a way because some folks have trouble remembering to turn the clocks ahead or back for Standard or Daylight Savings time.

Of course, the easiest way to remember S vs. DS time is the simple phrase, "Spring forward, Fall back". When going from Standard to Daylight Savings time in the spring, you turn your clock forward one hour, and then you go back to Standard time in the fall by turning the clock back one hour. Very elementary.

It's a little trickier with Standard or Daylight Savings vs. UTC or Z time. First of all UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time and Z for Zulu Time, both of which are the same and interchangable for all practical purposes. Z is just a bit more convenient to use when expressing time.

UTC is the successor to GMT or Greenwich Meridian Time. GMT is the time at Greenwich observatory in England or the prime meridian from which positive and negative longitude is measured. Greenwich is at Zero degrees longitude.

To know the exact moment in time when an event occurs at two points at different locations on the Earth, it is convenient to express that moment in UTC or Z time. If you, in Pennsylvania tell a friend in Hawaii you will give them a call at 7:30PM Eastern Daylight Savings time, your friend may be confused as to what that means in his (Hawaiian?) time. However if you both use UTC in which every moment at every location on the Earth shares the exact same time, and you tell him you'll call him at 2330Z, he knows immediately exactly when to expect your call.

That's enough of a preamble, and even if you're confused, all the above may be clear to you. So now let's get down to the nitty gritty of converting your local time to UTC which from now on I'll just call Z time. I'll use some examples.

1. Each of the four main USA time zones and the eight times including Standard and Daylight Savings times has a simple conversion factor to go from local to Z time which I'll summarize here in a little table. To go from local to Z just add the number of hours indicated in the table.
EST - 5
EDT - 4

CST - 6
CDT - 5

MST - 7
MDT - 6

PST - 8
PDT - 7
2. Z is a 24 hour time format with no AM or PM. 0000Z is midnightZ, 1200Z is noonZ, 2359 is one minute before the next day's midnightZ

3. Before converting your local time, you must also think of it as a 24 hour time format. 12 midnight is 0000 local time, 8 AM is 0800 local time, 12 noon is 1200 local time, 4 PM is (12 + 4) 1600 local time, 11:59 PM is (12 + 11) 2359 local time. Got that? Let's go to step 4.

4. Let's do some conversions now by considering the table in step 1 and the info in step 3:
8:30AM EST is 0830 local plus 5 hours or 1330Z
11:30AM EDT is 1130 local plus 4 hours or 1530Z
3:30PM CST is (12 + 3) 1530 local plus 6 hours or 2130Z
1:45PM PDT is (12 + 1) 1345 local plus 7 hours or 2045Z

5. So far so good, I hope, but here comes the part that throws most people, I believe. Let's look at an example to show what I mean.
11:00 PM EST is (12 + 11) 2300 local plus 5 hours or 2800Z. Wait a minute! There are only 24 hours in a day, aren't there? Yes, so we've run into a special situation. What do we do now. Well suppose that 11:00 PM EST was on a Wednesday evening. In that case as in all cases when the time after conversion is 2400Z or more, we subtract 2400 (2800-2400=0400), so the time is really 0400Z, AND (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT) IT IS NO LONGER WEDNESDAY, BUT THURSDAY SINCE THE Z DATE CHANGED AT 2400 (0000).

So 11:00 PM EST Wednesday is the same as 0400Z Thursday.

If you work someone at 0400Z on a Wednesday evening, you MUST report that at being 0400Z Thursday

6. Now let's go from Z back to local time. In that case you take into consideration the 24 hour time, the switching of days, and the conversion factor as follows:
If you know the event takes place on Thursday at 1600Z and you are in the EST time zone, now you SUBTRACT the conversion factor from the Z time (16 - 5 = 11) and Thursday 1600Z becomes Thursday 1100 local or 11:00AM EST. Simple if the local time winds up between 0000 and 1859 local time for the EST zone.

However if the event is on Thursday at 0200Z and you are in the EST time zone, when you subtract the conversion factor from the Z time (2 - 5 = -3), again we have a dilemma. There are no negative hours in a 24 hour time system. So in this case, WE ADD 2400 TO THE RESULTING TIME, i.e. -0300 + 2400 = 2100 local time which converts to (2100 - 1200 = 9:00PM) since times greater than 1200 local need to have 1200 subtracted and the time becomes PM. Finally, when you get a negative result like the -3 or -0300, the day reverts to the day before.

To sum up, Thursday 0200Z becomes Wednesday 9:00PM local time. Whew!

I certainly hope that ends your confusion. I apologize if I made it either too elementary or too complicated, but that depends on how much of it you understood in the first place and I tried to cover it completely for all levels.

Still confused? Buy a 24 hour clock, set it to UTC, put it in your shack. When you're in your shack, totally forget about local time and date, and live in a UTC world while you're there. Just remember when you go in the shack on a Wednesday evening, when the UTC clock shows 0000, it is now Thursday from then on, and log it as such.

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

7. CW CARTOON OF THE MONTH:
pix_sm_w9cbt (13K)
Let's take a comedy and/or nostalgia break now courtesy of Dick Sylvan W9CBT NAQCC #2062. Dick has been a long-time QRP/CW operator. One of his many talents is being a cartoon artist. Dick's cartoons appear monthly in the K9YA Telegraph, a free ham radio eZine, where he is staff cartoonist. The NAQCC is very honored to reprint Dick's cartoons originally published in the K9YA Telegraph. Dick has also authored a book entitled "Hi Hi - A Collection of Ham Radio Cartoons" available via his web site. A new cartoon has appeared in each of our even-numbered newsletters ever since their debut in Issue #058, November 17, 2007.
pix_cartoon162_HamQuips_lawyers (78K)

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

8. MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
pix_sm_n8xms (13K)
This section is managed by Paul N8XMS and any questions about it should go to pix_email_n8xms (1K). Paul selects members at random and asks them if they would like to be featured in the Member Spotlight in the newsletter.
Steve Sellmeyer WB0QQT #292

Picture of WB0QQT

I first became interested in amateur radio in 1975 and obtained my novice call of WN0QQT. I upgraded to General a year later, acquired the call of WB0QQT and like others I tossed the telegraph key into the corner and operated only phone for the next 4 years. Yes, I have a microphone around here nowdays somewhere but I don’t have much use for it. HI HI. I was also building and enjoying Heathkits during this time.

From 1980 to 1990 I dropped amateur radio to pursue other interests. QRP got my radio interests rekindled again with the discovery of QRP kits, as I have always enjoyed and received great satisfaction from building something and seeing it work. I still do to this very day and when not on the air I can be found melting solder on one project or another. I retired from the Nebraska Air National Guard in 2002 after 30 years service in aircraft maintenance so I now have more time to build and operate. I also enjoy reading and small scale woodworking.

I belong to several CW clubs including FISTS, NAQCC, QRP ARCI AND SKCC. Other groups I participate in are the Midwest Homebrewers QRP Group and the Four State QRP Group. I also check into the K9YA Slow Net and the Four States Nets. Sadly to say I listen and try to check into the present NAQCC nets but cannot seem to hear any of the net control stations from here in Nebraska so I have hopes someone in the Midwest will start one in the near future.

The NAQCC has always been one of my favorite clubs due to their informative newsletter, word challenges, awards program and sprints. I am not a true contester by any means but the sprints are attractive to me due to the friendly nature and just plain fun.

The station presently consists of a Kenwood TS 440s, OHR monobander for 20 meters with DD-1 digi display, SW+40 for 40 meters and under construction right now are the GQRP Sudden Receiver and matching Sudden Transmitter for 40 meters. Antennas consists of a Hustler 4 band trap vertical for 10 thru 40 meters and an inverted vee for 80 meters. In my basement corner shop I have an Icom-718 as a backup radio hooked to a random wire running out the basement window and up to a tree in the backyard. It gets rotated with the TS-440 from time to time into the hamshack.

I just want to take a moment to say thank you to all the NAQCC folks who write columns and do the editing etc. for a mighty fine newsletter. It gets printed out here and makes it’s way to the recliner with a cup of coffee for some very enjoyable reading. From the recliner it gets passed along to others at local club meetings, coffee gatherings and the like. Keep up the good work guys!!

Now if I can just master that GenLog thing to get in the Golden Log List this year......

72’s, Steve Sellmeyer
WB0QQT

pix_newsletterline_new (2K)

9. NEWS ITEMS AND ARTICLES BY OUR MEMBERS:
pix_sm_kd2mx (13K)
This section is a forum for you to tell other members what you've been up to on the ham bands or to submit an article dealing with some aspect of CW and QRP operation or equipment. Examples might include, but not limited to, antenna projects, QRP and/or SDR equipment, tuners, battery technology, keyers, logging, or other related topic of interest to the QRP community.
Send your news items and articles to our news editor Paul KD2MX at pix_email_kd2mx (1K). Deadline for submitting news items for the next newsletter is Jan 26. For your convenience any links in this section will open in a new browser window so you can come immediately back here to the newsletter just by closing that extra window. DISCLAIMER: Any views expressed in this section are those of the member submitting them, and may or may not be those of the NAQCC or its officers.

pix_blueball (1K) From John K3WWP #0002 - I don't usually plug something unless I am really pleased with it. I found a great web site at which you can find just about any hard-to-find battery you may need for any application. I had been looking (unsuccessfully) for a replacement battery for the finder scope on my telescope for a very long time. Everyone kept telling me it isn't manufactured any longer because it was a mercury battery. Well, finally I found an alkaline replacement for it at batteryBob's web site. Best of all, they accept personal checks for their on-line orders, AND they ship the same day the check is received. A welcome change from web sites that only accept credit cards, PayPal, and the like - none of which I use here. If I can't pay with cash or personal check, I just don't buy it - period. So if you're looking for a hard-to-find battery, just do a Bing search for batteryBob, and I'm sure you'll find what you need and be able to purchase it very quickly, no matter how you choose to pay for it. Mine came just about one week after I put my check in the mail. Any delay was due to the shipping agent - the Post Office, UPS, etc.

I'm just inserting the other member news items in the newsletter, and I want to thank Mike N5JKY for his kind comments about my web site. If you want to see what Mike is talking about, I invite you to visit my site at http://k3wwp.com/

While I'm thanking folks, I also want to thank all our new volunteers who are helping out with the running of the NAQCC. You've increased my free time a lot, and given me time to enjoy the many other aspects of life in which I am interested. Now here are the news items from some other members.

pix_blueball (1K) From Terry KE5YUM #3102 - I am pleased to announce that I have added a Heathkit HW-8 to my QRP shack. I bought this beautiful rig from my dad, Lester KF5GGU. I put it on the air last night and made three short QSOs. I plan to use it in the upcoming sprints and the East Texas QRS net. I would like to hear from other HW-8 owners/users so I can learn to optimize my skills with this fine rig. My email address is available via QRZ.

pix_blueball (1K) From Mike N5JKY #470 - I just wanted to say how much I enjoy each month's NAQCC newsletter. And I had a nice surprise, seeing that I got a mention in Merlin's (KD0V #2002) report. But not in the hidden call sign, actually I have no clue who has the hidden call sign since I can NEVER spot the hidden call, try as I might. Therefore, I would like to apply for the Stupid Reader Award, given to faithful readers who just haven't figured this hidden call sign thing out yet after a minimum of 25 tries. Endorsements could be added after each 25 additional failures. Of course, tongue firmly planted in cheek...

By the way, I enjoy John's (K3WWP #2) website and online diary. I think that I have been visiting his site for about ten years now. It is always fun and often inspiring. I can't claim to be 100% CW since I occasionally like to use PSK31 and Hellschreiber, but I have been 100% QRP since 1994 (and mostly QRP since 1984).

Ade Weiss W0RSP has just published a free online book about the history of QRP in the USA from 1961 to 1981. Here is the link: http://www.qrpdxpropagationantennas.com/uploads/QRPhist1968-81.pdf. Also, Chuck Adams, K7QO #690, has started an informal contest to work as many Xtal controlled QRP stations as possible between now and the end of the year: http://www.k7qo.net/rock_hunter_page.html.

pix_blueball (1K) From Jerry VE6CPP #5697 - Greetings QRP Gang! I recently took over the 'Polls' for the NAQCC. After a few trial and error attempts, and much welcomed elmering from John, K3WWP, we finally did get Poll #007 published! If you did not happen to see it mentioned in the last newsletter, this was the question:

What type of Key or Keyer is your Favorite for your QRP activities ? (Select One)
Total Votes - 83 (5931 Members = 1.4% responding? We can Do Better!)

Our polls are meant to educate and entertain and the more who participate the better. Future polls will include antennas, QRP/QRPp operation, CW, and similar topics related to club activities.

The new poll has been posted. It only takes a coupe of clicks to cast your vote. I am open to any suggestions you may have for future polls as well! I can be reached at: ve6cpp@rac.ca

My "Old but New to Me HW-8" is awaiting me at the Post Office. I hope to have her on the air soon and work some QRP! I have my NAQCC QSL's from CheapQSLs.com just awaiting the pen! 73 and Happy QRPing!

Club email address - pix_email_naqcc (1K)

The publication of our next newsletter will be announced via email to all members for whom we have a valid email address unless you specifically have unsubscribed from the email.

Past on-line newsletters beginning with issue #042 are now archived on the site. So if you missed seeing any past issues, you can check them out in the archives.

Unless otherwise credited, all items are written by K3WWP.

If you came directly to this newsletter, we invite you now to browse the NAQCC Web Site.