NETNEWS

by WB6IXN

9/03/2006 OCWN 40m CW Net - NCS/UEB checked in IMW, HKT, IXN, IB, RND, and NT.  UEB’s daughter returned frm her kayaking adventure in Mexico, and today, Rick will busy himself in the yard removing overgrown landscaping.  IMW cudn’t copy any OPs except NCS!…And Ian said it sure was gud to be back on the air after eight weeks.  HKT flew to Calgary in an Airbus.  Cabin pressure was 6900 ft….He flew to Hawaii in an American built plane, the pressure was 5100 ft….And Homer had a gud time in both places.  IXN didn’t go to the mountains last week…His niece got a spine injury and had surgery.  IB. wid lots of QSB & QRN on OP sigs, will be working around the place and enjoying the holiday weekend.   Last Friday, RND’s dipole ant. broke off one end…John made a temporary fix, converting the dipole into an ‘inverted vee’.  (Ed. note:  John’s sigs were 599+ at IXN’s QTH!)  HKT gave RND a ‘booming sigs’ rpt in Torrance!  NT, wid a great day fer all beach-goers before school starts, wishes all a gud Labor Day.

9/06/2006 10m Phone Net - W6ZE/AF6C checked in KTS, HHC, and IXN.  IXN fell asleep during the News on TV and arrived on the Net late!  KTS stayed home over Labor Day, working on projects including the MS-150 bikeathon.  AF6C & IXN, discussing chores around horse stalls, agreed that there was nothing like the smell of ammonia to wake you up quickly!  And HHC, AF6C, and IXN all use ‘throw-away’ passwords for unsecure websites.  HHC repaired a bad connection, getting the mobile rig bk on the air, and Ken & Dianne enjoyed a great meal at the Phoenix Club on Labor Day, avoiding the hubbub of the Orange Street Fair.  IXN passed along kudos to Ken, HHC, and Bob, AF6C, for their tireless efforts in maintaining the OCARC website, one of the best amateur sites on the Web with many links to sites of interest to hams, and would-be hams!…Tnx, guys!  AF6C is charging up the IPOD in preparation to airing the ARRL Audio News on the 2m Net.

9/06/2006 2m Phone Net - W6ZE/IXN checked in JD, KTS, AF6C, HHC, KFW, AUL, and DDE.  JD & XYL find covering wid a sheet in bed at nights is quite adequate during the hot spell, and IXN said that Lee got a gud report today frm the Doc on his recent hernia surgery.  KTS, using a vertical groundplane tied to a chain-link fence, doesn’t mind the heat, only the humidity!…And David said that he certainly enjoyed the Club potluck at the PEQ’s QTH!  Air conditioning now reaching HHC’s shack has lowered the temp. 8 degrees, and Ken reminded all OPs abt the Club Bfast this Sat. morning at Jaegerhaus.  And HHC & DDE are enrolled in the Citizen Police Academy course wid the Orange PD.   AF6C alerted OPs abt a gud podcast, TWIT, (This Week In Technology), and Bob said that it was 77 deg. outside the QTH right now, a bit cooler than last nite!  IXN said that Santa Ana’s COMLINK has now replaced the old COP program.  KFW/m, and later at the QTH, just got bk frm din-din at the Elks Club…Now Chris must catch up on weed cutting after the long trip bk East.  AUL, just home frm picking up a new case fer the XYL’s new laptop, is working on code fer the ‘icebox’ computer at work, and Nicolas said they had family at the QTH over Labor Day.  And DDE will soon be off to San Diego fer a couple of days.  AF6C then aired the ARRL Audio News fer Sept. 1, 3006…The ISS (Iternational Space Station) continues to be one of the best advertisements for amateur radio in fostering understanding, friendship, and cooperation between nations!…Tnx, Bob!

9/10/2006 OCWN 40m CW Net - NCS/UEB checked in IMW, HKT, KFW, OIO, IXN, and NT.  UEB’s harmonic leaves fer USCD on Thursday, leaving the nest empty!…And Rick is looking forward to a gud time at Pacificon next month.  IMW removed the rusty L-network frm the base of the antenna in hopes of improving his sigs…And Ian UEB & OPs that his YL harmonic is still at home…HI!  HKT has only one Route 66 station so far, it is W6P in LA…Homer has never gotten more than 5…And HKT said a big classic car show is coming soon to Palos Verdes. KFW had nothing to report and kicked bk to listen to the rest of the Net.  OIO said that Eddy(K5WQG) & friends decided to hve a straight key DXpedition to Belize this week…Ann heard V31MR (WQG’s Belize call sign) on 15m and worked him!  IXN is still painting the QTH, now wid a sore back!  And NT, wid gloomy WX and vy bad QRN, can’t hear IMW or IXN.  IXN was able to copy NT abt 539.  HKT said OIO was booming in at his QTH in Torrance.  

9/13/2006 10m Phone Net - W6ZE/AF6C checked in LDC, HHC, and IXN.  AF6C has just about completed the new webpage fer newcomers to Amateur Radio, and Bob went round & round wid a possum in the woodshed!…Now he keeps the creature at bay wid red pepper sprinkled liberally around in the shed.  LDC, inspecting the generator compartment in the motor home, found that he had provided a nesting area fer rodents on his last trip to Montana…At least, Larry avoided fire in the generator compartment!…Then Larry went QRT to watch a dancing contest on TV.  HHC, home frm a busy day at the ‘salt mines’, asked AF6C to figure the dB loss moving frm 35 to 32 watts…Both later agreed on abt a .2 dB loss…And, AF6C will have ARRL Audio News ready fer 2m tonite.  IXN reported the IAU has released the official planet number:  8 major planets and 3 minor planets.  And IXN confirmed that Randy Oates was an OCARC member in 1973.

9/13/2006 2m Phone Net - W6ZE/IXN checked in KTS, AUL, VDP, DDE, HHC, KFW, KF6LHR(Ray), AF6C, and GW.   KTS got bk frm a meeting on the MS 150 bikeathon, reporting abt 2300 bike riders this year!…And David & HHC briefly discussed reporting funds collected by charitable, non-profit corporations.  AUL will miss Club meeting Fri. eve…Nicolas will be out of town.   VDP & XYL bought a house in Kingman, AZ…We will miss Larry at Club meetings and on the Nets!  IXN suggested that VDP bring extra gear, parts, etc., to the Club Auction next month!  DDE just got bk frm San Diego where he enjoyed an extensive tour of the aircraft carrier, Midway…And we’ll see Steve at Club meeting Fri. eve.  HHC enjoyed meeting LHR and daughter at the Club bfast last Sat., and Ray told OPs that his j-pole ant. is mounted abt 3 ft. above the roof.  And HHC said that LDC has already submitted a list of items, frm the Elks RC in GG, that he’ll be bringing to the Club Auction in October.  DDE & HHC will attend another Citizens Academy meeting at the Orange PD tomorrow eve., and KFW, enjoying the cooler WX, asked VDP fer a wafer switch which Larry thinks he can provide.  LHR had a ‘dryer fire’ in the garage…Now Ray has a dry-wall repair job in the garage!  AUL gave AF6C moral support at the Club bfast Sat. morning as Bob had to fill up a low tire on the auto in the parking lot.  KFW, PEQ, and AF6C will repair a clogged valve on the Club generator.   AF6C now has a new page fer new hams up on the website.  AF6C aired ARRL Audio News dtd 9/8/06…Fire Dragon jammer, and, ‘The Sound of Hope’ jammer, are still battling each other on the ham bands, much to the consternation of the amateur radio community!…Steps are being taken wid the Chinese Govt. to see what can be done!…Tnx, Bob!

9/17/2006 OCWN 40m CW Net - NCS/UEB checked in IMW, KFW, GVG, IC, OIO, VDP, RND, NT, and IXN.  UEB just submitted his ARRL 20 WPM copy to the ARRL for his 20 WPM Code Proficiency Sticker!…Go Rick!!…Then UEB was off fer a bike ride to get sum coffee before an all out assult on the yard work.  IMW was pleased wid the great Net check-in, and Ian said that NT was coming in like gangbusters!  And KFW enjoyed Larry McDavid’s talk on power pole terminals & crimps at the OCARC meeting last Friday…Next month will be the Club Annual Auction!  GVG, in Newport Beach using a 3-foot long mobile whip, just returned frm a fun trip to England where prices are high and the dollar is dropping.  IC, back frm a fun family trip to Hawaii, is now working on a new loop ant. fer the Calif. QSO Party.  OIO, using a friend and an old computer, printed out all of her FISTS logs that were saved on floppies…Now, to type them all into the new computer!  VDP & XYL got bk frm Arizona where they bought a house in Golden Valley near Kingman…Larry plans to move over the next few months.  RND, feeling better on this nice fall day,  copied all sigs FB, but all OPs experienced a sharp rise in QRN within 5 minutes!  NT, wid a great day at the beach, told OPs needing a QCWA QSO to call him after Net.  And IXN told OPs abt a new page on www.w6ze.org that is devoted to new hams or prospective hams.

9/20/2006 10m Phone Net - W6ZE/AF6C checked in LDC, IXN, and NOL.  AF6C said that HHC & DDE were at the OPD’s Citizen Police Academy class tonite.  And AF6C bought a new soldering iron that does coax connectors FB!  IXN’s brother, Lee, is bk to lifting agn after the doc cleared him on previous hernia surgery.  IXN thinks that the Gerritsen sentencing will help a little to clean up LID interference on the ham bands.   And NOL & JAY are bk frm a fun trip to Bulgaria as participants in the RDF World Championships…JAY will give a talk on the Event at the ARRL Convention in San Diego!  NOL said that the RDF world Championship event will be held in S. Korea in 2008, and in Croatia in 2010.  LDC is collecting items fer the Club Auction next month, and Larry has a high QRN at the shack tonite.

9/20/06 2m Phone Net - W6ZE/IXN checked in LHR, AF6C, KTS, and DDE.  LHR got into ham radio 10 yrs ago but lost touch wid it ’til recently…Ray just picked up a Dell computer & flat monitor frm the factory on the web fer a gud price, and AF6C told LHR that, joining the Club at this late date, his Club dues will be pro-rated.  AF6C educated IXN on the 60 KHz sigs frm WWVB that operate WWVB receiving clocks that many hams have in their shacks, and, AF6C has a new weed growing on the bk 40 that he is aggressivly battling!   KTS just got home frm a bikeathon meeting, and David said the loan business is picking up…And David will attend the ARRL Convention in San Diego this weekend.  DDE checked in after arrival home frm the Citizens Police Academy class at the Orange PD.  AF6C then aired ARNewsline #1518…Laser communications can successfully be carried out by bouncing laser beams off clouds!…The Rec Cross has now been assigned two special emergency frequencies, and, a free life term license, renewable every 5 yrs, will be available in the UK starting in Dec…Tnx, Bob!

9/24/06 OCWN 40m CW Net - NCS/UEB checked in IMW, KFW, IB, HKT, VDP, OIO, RND, NT, and IXN.  UEB & XYL enjoyed a boat ride yesterday frm Sunset Marina to Long Beach, then lunch…Later today, Rick will be looking at bikes, no buying yet.  IMW told OPs that today & next Sunday is the Classic Exchange for vintage gear, today fer SSB and next Sunday fer CW…Ian hoes to get his “19” set on the air fer the CW part.  KFW’s harmonic had surgery on her foot, so Chris & XYL hve been spending sum time at the hospital!   Wid bad band condx, NC had RND relay IB’s report.  However, UEB later heard Casey say that he had not received the session reports in 2 months.  HKT got 12 Route 66 contacts, the best ever fer Homer fer this special event…And HKT did not see any OCWNers at the ARRL Southwestern ARRL Convention In San Diego yesterday…Homer took in the Classic Car Show in Palos Verdes las Sunday, and HKT told UEB that Convention exhibits were good, wid sum gud and sum fair tech. forums.   VDP, switching over frm the wrong ant., is hiring a tree trimmer and fixing up the QTH in preparation fer the grand move to Golden Valley, AZ.  OIO is still cutting and chopping in the back yard, and Ann quipped, at least VDP won’t hve to worry about this anymore, all they grow out there is dirt!  RND, wid best sigs frm OIO, was happy that we didn’t get the high winds that were forecast.  NT, also experiencing weak sigs, hard NCS at 459…But Ray had nice WX at the beach.  IXN had the QRN rise to S7 and he cudn’t copy NT…Bob still continues painting on the QTH.

9/27/06 10m Phone Net - W6ZE/AF6C checked in IXN.  HHC was out to din-din, and other OPs were probably watching new TV shows.  IXN told Bob abt bad effects frm a pneumonia shot, and AF6C told IXN abt tetanus shots he used to take to work in horse stables.