W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checks in Clem W0MEC Westminster, Phil K6PAD Huntington Beach, Gene KJ6OML Garden Grove, Sam W6JTT Garden Grove, Steve KK6REB Cypress, and Vijay KM6IZO Irvine. Clem reads Net Control at RST 56 to 57, Phil 10dB over s9, and Gene at RST 58. Phil reads Net Control at s2 to s4, Clem at 10dB over s9; Gene is an s1 to s2; Sam is s6 to s7, and Vijay is no copy. The heater went out at his QTH, so he is freezing in the shack, says Phil. It was almost 30 years old, so it served well. He is getting a new heater installed Thursday and Friday. Phil has a space heater for the night. Gene receives N.C., Clem, Phil, and Sam at s9. It is a cold day, says Gene, and 73, from what Corey could make out. Sam is almost unreadable to Corey. Sam”s place in the mountains got 6 to 8 inches of snow, and his antenna at his Garden Grove QTH is damaged and needs some work, Clem relays. Sam is a little more readable to Net Control on the second go-round. Sam can barely hear Net Control, Clem at 29dB over s9, and a good signal from Phil. Steve is down in the white noise to Net Control. Steve is busy with a new truck and a mobile rig from his garage, but an antenna has broken loose with a bad contact. The rig is more permanent now. Vijay doesn”t come back after the second go-round. Phil and Steve exchange signal reports, then Corey signs the Net clear. Corey YHX reads the check-ins at s6.2, s4.1, s3.8, s3.0, s2.9, and weak, respectively. QRT 19:52 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checks in Clem W0MEC Westminster, Gene KJ6OML Garden Grove, Sam W6JTT Garden Grove, Phil K6PAD Huntington Beach, Bob WB6IXN Santa Ana, Vijay KM6IZO Irvine, Mike W6MAO Rialto, Greg W6ATB Orange, and Erik KM6MMO El Mirage. Clem has Net Control at s8 to s9, and can hear Gene, Sam, Phil, Bob, and Erik well. It has been nice and sunny today, reports Clem. He is running 60W into a Slim-Jim antenna up 26ft. Gene hears Clem, Sam, Phil, Bob, and Vijay nice and clear, here on 2m. Sam has a lot of hash noise on Net Control for some reason. Gene doesn”t pick up the same noise. Clem, Gene, Phil, Bob, and Vijay are solid copy, says Sam. During antenna repair, he and his son found that the cord that holds up the dipole antenna had rotted-through and fell apart, but they repaired the damage. Phil copies Net Control, Clem Gene, Sam, Bob, and Vijay well, but signal strengths are down across-the-board. Corey is an s3; Clem is an s8; Gene is s1; Bob is s4; Vijay is an s1; Mike is 1 bar, and Greg is 3 bars, says Phil. He could not hear Erik. Phil inquires as to the points standing for Winter Field Day. Corey reports we may be first overall. Bob says hello this evening; Clem, Gene, Sam, Phil, and Vijay are 100% copy. We cancelled the antenna party due to inclement weather, and Bob reports a downpour that Sunday that would have soaked Corey on the ladder. Bob determines that rain and high winds are the two things to watch out for, for this kind of work. Bob has a tax-man doing his taxes this year. Bob reports the rain is supposed to be over this weekend, but there is to be a weak front coming through, dropping light rain late Saturday or early Sunday, on one forecast; it remains to be seen, says Bob. Corey will call Bob later, to schedule some antenna work. Vijay confirms the weekend rain, but it will be clearer on Sunday. Vijay asks for some tips on putting together the newsletter this month. Corey offers some advice, and Vijay says he will get it straightened out eventually. Mike says it has been cold and rainy up in Rialto. It was down to 35°F last night, and is to get down that low tonight. Snow Valley got three-feet of snow, as well as many of the other ski resorts. There have been some micro-quakes, in Banning and Idyllwild, says Mike. Mike has Net Control at s6, and there is some squealing on 80m, so Corey is not missing anything on that band. Corey says the tree out front took down his 80/40m dipole as it fell. It is getting cold, 35°F and dropping, Mike reports. Greg had his antennas disconnected for the storm that came through, but realized it after Net start. Greg is on VOX, now. He is doing some Treasurer work for the Club, adding new members, and such. Corey has Greg do a quick summary of the new members, for Membership-Chair confirmation. Greg has a low 2m antenna, right now. He plans on some antenna work after it dries up outside. Phil can see Santiago Peak from his QTH, and there is some snow on its left side. It is 47°F and dropping, and 73 to the OPs, says Phil. Corey confirms Erik as new to the net, and gives him some information on the Club. Erik is close to Victorville in the high-desert. He has been a ham for about a year, and found us as a rare simplex contact. Erik had some “freak snow” last night from 9 pm to 1 am, last night. Welcome to the Net, Erik. Corey YHX reads the check-ins at s7, F.Q., s5, s4, F.Q., s6, s5, F.Q., and s4, respectively. QRT 21:06 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey, Net Control. The tree took down Corey”s dipole, today. No 80M Nets until further notice. QRT 21:00 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checks in Clem W0MEC Westminster, Jim AF6N Tustin, James AF6DE, Rodger N6GMT, Sam W6JTT Garden Grove, Gene KJ6OML Garden Grove, and Vijay KM6IZO Irvine. Clem calls for remote check-ins, and reports Sam”s check-in. Clem reads Net Control at RST 58, and Sam at 40dB over s9. Jim says good evening. Jim reads Net Control at s9+, Clem is s5 to s6, James is s5, Rodger is s5, and Sam is at the noise level. James has been very busy with family college degrees, and is retired, other than tutoring. He is getting the Ham Shack back in order after the micro-quakes, and is organizing his radio workbench and rig for emergency preparedness. Corey can”t read Rodger on the first transmission. Rodger comes back partly readable. The noise floor comes up and washes out Rodger, Clem, and Sam. On the second go-round Rodger comes back mostly readable. Net Control is popping above the noise floor, and hears from the other OPs okay, says Rodger. Sam starts out almost readable, changes something, and becomes unreadable to Net Control, then switches back and is partly readable. Sam switches again and is undetectable to Net Control. Clem relays for Sam on the last go-round. Sam hears Net Control just a little bit better. To Net Control, Clem is readable, but Sam is not. Gene reads all the OPs clear, and will see us on Friday. Jim relays Vijay”s check-in, because Net Control can”t copy Vijay. Vijay is working with his antenna, Jim says. Corey reads the check-ins at s7.1, s8.0, 24dB over s9, s7.6, s5.3, s6.8, and no copy, respectively. QRT 19:56 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checks in Clem W0MEC Westminster, James AF6DE Orange, Rodger N6GMT, Vijay KM6IZO Irvine, Gene KJ6OML Garden Grove, Dick KD6RUP Laguna Woods, Sam W6JTT Garden Grove, and Bob WB6IXN Santa Ana. Clem is running 60W with his amp, has good signals on Corey, James, Rodger, Vijay, Gene, Dick, Sam, and Bob. Vijay disappeared after he went to simplex, says Clem. There was rain early today, but it cleared up by the afternoon, Clem reports. There is rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow. James is back on the radio after a long time. He is cleaning his shack, and installing some new electronic test equipment. James is looking into repairing radios in the event of an emergency. He has a Yaesu FT-890 for HF, an FT-950, some Kenwood Pros, and an Icom IC-2200. He has several antennas, including some homebrews. James has a high-sloping roof, and is operating 2m with a j-pole from HRO in the attic. Net Control and all the OPs sound good, James says. Rodger is running 50W into a whip about 20ft up on a piece of pipe outside the house. He listened to 10M, with signals fading in and out. It is good to be back on the air again, says Rodger. Rodger says Clem has a good signal, Sam is s2, and Bob is over s9. Vijay checks in via Echolink, then switches to simplex. On Echolink, he can only hear Clem, Rodger, and Sam. Signals are good on simplex, including Net Control, says Vijay. In Astronomy, JPL lost contact with the Mars Rover Opportunity. The last signal from it was about ten days ago. The batteries were weak from a dust storm on Mars, spelling the end of the space device after 15 years of service, says Vijay. Gene reads Clem, James, Rodger, Vijay, Dick, and Sam nice and clear. Reception was scratchy on 10M, says Gene. Dick is in Laguna Woods, operating a Wouxun 5W HT, and Corey reads him full-copy. He has a mobile radio new-in-the-box, but it won”t fit in the Fiat. Sam reads Net Control and Bob Full-Quieting in Garden Grove. There was some wind damage to his antennas, and plans to get up there and fix it tomorrow. Sam is running about 25W. Corey reads him full-copy with just a little white-noise. Bob reports rain for this weekend. The wind damaged two of his awnings. If he gets a chance before the antenna work Sunday, Bob will work on that too. He is glad he isn”t in Pennsylvania though, there are scads and scads of snow there about now, Bob says. As far as the Antenna Party, we will have to play it by ear, because of the rain forecasts, he says. Bob says wind gusts are something to also watch out for. His 2m rig is working well, however. On the second go-round, Clem and Corey talk about the antenna party at Bob”s QTH. Corey reads the check-ins at s7, F.Q., s6 to s7, s5, F.Q., s4 to s5, s5, and F.Q., respectively. QRT 21:02 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checks in Sam W6JTT Garden Grove, and Jim AF6N Tustin. Sam reports poor band conditions, but he hears Net Control. Sam comes in twice as good on the second transmission. He can hear Net Control”s call sign, but that”s about it. Corey reads him full-copy. Jim switches from his dummy load, and comes in loud and clear. He is trying to stay warm, tonight. Jim says his audio is wide on the rig. Corey tells him he is a bit low in frequency. Sam and Jim sign clear. Corey reads the check-ins at s4.2, and s7.6, respectively. QRT 19:41 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checks in Sam W6JTT Garden Grove, Gene KJ6OML Garden Grove, Terrence AI6ZV Costa Mesa, Jeff KK6TRC/Echolink Huntington Beach, Vijay KM6IZO Irvine, Steve KK6REB Cypress, and Tom W6ETC/Echolink. Sam had a lot of rain and storm noise at his QTH on 10m. Net Control reads him loud and clear. Sam tried two different antennas on 10m. Sam”s second antenna is a 40m dipole. Corey read him full-copy on the second try. On the second go-round, Sam reports things have been going smoothly. His son has been doing work up at Idyllwild, and got out of there before the highway at Banning got wiped-out. The only access up there now is the Palm Springs highway. Gene was too busy getting things safe from the wind and rain to check-in to the 10M Net, tonight. Corey reads him full-quieting. Gene receives all nice and clear, and says 73. Terrence had a nice DX contact on 40m, tonight. It was on 7.163MHz at about 5:30pm, a station in Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean. His call sign was PJ4/IZ4DPV. He got an RST 59 from the remote station with a homemade inverted-U, a speaker wire antenna with 100W output. Terrence receives all s7 to s9, and says good evening to all. Jeff is live on his base station the first go-round. He switches to Echolink so Tom can hear him. Jeff reports inclement weather about half-an-hour to 45 minutes ago. There were some serious downpours. The storm caused some interference, and Corey, Tom, and Jeff talk about rain-scatter and inversion layers for a little while. Vijay asks if the other OPs have seen the Supermoon the past couple nights. The Full Moon is at its closest for the next two or three years. Steve heard Jeff on the Rio Hondo Net a few minutes ago. Tom says good evening and thanks Jeff for providing Echolink, tonight. Tom”s HF mobile station is down, and it turns out to be a software problem with one of the main radios. Tom reads Vijay partly with lots of static, and N.C. sounds “hollow.” Corey inquires, and Tom says Corey sounds as through a tunnel. Corey reads the check-ins at s6, F.Q., s7-s8, s6, s5-s6, s5-s6, and s6 respectively. QRT 20:55 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey Orange checks in Gene KJ6OML Garden Grove, Clem W0MEC Westminster. Gene got out in the warmer weather this Monday, and got some work done. Clem asks Corey about the antenna work at Bob Evans”QTH. Corey gives a lengthy description of the work and what needs to be done. Clem says fine business, and Corey talks about the damaged feed connectors. Clem may be able to come to Bob”s some time in the upcoming weeks. Corey tells Clem a 1/4" x 2-1/2” hex-bolt, nut, and lock-washer are needed, and Clem will look for some in his supplies. The RF spade connectors need the silicone brushed off of them, but are stainless-steel. Corey mentions a 5/32” stainless nut for one of the connectors may also be needed. Corey tells of the situation with the antenna for a while. Clem will see what he can find and we will schedule a time Saturday. Clem is also looking for a manual for a Kenwood TS-530S. He looked on eBay already. Corey suggests an internet search. Corey YHX reads the check-ins at s3.5, and s5.9 to s6.3, respectively. QRT 19:47 PST.
W6ZE/KE6YHX Corey checks in Clem W0MEC Westminster, Gene KJ6OML Garden Grove, Phil K6PAD Huntington Beach, Jeff KK6TRC, Bob WB6IXN Santa Ana, Mike W6MAO Rialto, Vijay KM6IZO/Echolink Irvine, and Tom W6ETC/Echolink Tustin. Clem has good signals on Corey, Gene, Phil, Jeff, and Bob. Clem reports no rain, but it has been cloudy with the sun peeking-through, today. The rain has soaked the ground, and the grass is growing fast. More mowing ahead, says Clem. Gene hears Corey, Clem, Phil, Jeff, and Bob nice and clear, also. Phil lowered the power to 25W due to antenna problems during the rain. He has been receiving the OPs lower than usual because his antennas got water in them. Phil”s HF antenna got high SWR for the same reason. His antennas are almost back to normal. Corey and Phil talk about rain protection. Phil mentions Coax-Wrap, and the bad plastic end-caps on his antennas. Phil asks for the results from Winter Field Day, and Corey reports we may be first over-all, but it is unconfirmed. Jeff reports the Echolink Node is doing well through the rain. However, he too is challenged by some moisture, but in his area-lighting, not the antennas. Jeff tells Phil he is using the stretchy black Gorilla tape from Home Depot. It has held up for three years with no problems, says Jeff. Bob says the rain will make us play it by ear with the scheduled antenna work. Bob is having an annoyance; he laid the matching box for the damaged antenna on the window-sill. When he went out it was gone. He searched for it, and finally found that Lee”s caregiver tossed it in the trash. Corey tells Bob that he would not tolerate something like that from a caregiver. Bob asks where Gene”s QTH is, and Corey tells him Garden Grove. Clem clarifies, Gene is by the Hospital in Garden Grove. Bob QSLs. On the second go-round, Bob says he has some dental work ahead. Bob also describes some work on the matching-box for the HF antenna he will be doing. Mike reports 54°F, 55%R.H., and no Santa Ana winds in Rialto. The jet-stream has changed its path, and is directing a lot of storms our way. The snow packs are phenomenal this year. Everything is going great, says Mike. On the second go-round, Mike describes the climate situation in the San Gabriel foothills. Irrigation is not an issue, this year. He inquires if the club has pins or stickers to advertise? Corey mentions the shirts and mugs offered by the OCARC. Mike asks about the 80M Net, and Corey says not tonight, with the antenna down. Vijay has been brewing a Quadruple-Belgian-Style Ale. It will take four months, says Vijay. Vijay tries Echolink with great success on the second round. Tom says the members were getting high winds in Boron, then it started to rain. Unusual in the desert with so few clouds, says Tom. Tom says Net Control has a hollow sound. Corey recently swapped-out a bad microphone, and Bob advises holding the microphone further from his mouth. Bob notices a big difference when Corey does so. Tom thanks Jeff for providing the Echolink Node. He is listening carefully via the same, and says 73. Corey YHX reads the check-ins at s7, F.Q., s7, s6, F.Q., s4-s5, s6, and s5, respectively. QRT 21:07 PST.
