Volume 3 Number 11                  November, 1998

(Edited by Rex Allers, KK6MK)

Officers for 1998

We are always looking for more people to join and share with our group.

At the end of 1997 a vote was unanimous to reduce the dues back to $15.00 per year. It was also decided that a special rate of $25 for two years be implemented.

Please encourage anyone who might have an interest to join our group.

The October meeting was replaced by the WSWSS ' 98 Conference, which the 50 MHz and Up Group hosted this year. It was held on Saturday October 3 at the Sunnyvale Hilton. This event provided a great chance for members of the two groups to meet and share our similar interests.

It was an all-day event with many presentations related to operations at or above 50 MHz. Jim, N9JIM, hosted a building session where those who signed up constructed equipment for laser communications. The evening banquet featured an entertaining and informative presentation by Paul Shuch, N6TX, on SETI -- the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence.

Many thanks to our vice president Jim Moss, N9JIM, for doing all the planning and organization for this event. The content and facilities were great. The 50 MHz and Up Group picked up a few new members and met others who showed interest in our activities. I hope all our attending members and WSWSS members enjoyed the event as much as I did.

• Rex Allers, KK6MK

The Pacificon 98 convention was held in Concord on October 16, 17 & 18. The 50 MHz and Up Group did a series of presentations on Saturday. Our section was organized by our member Art Lange, W6RXQ. Thanks Art!

It seemed that the sessions were well received. Our presenters got numerous questions and comments from the attendees. We have one new member as a result and more visibility to the local amateur community.

Jeffrey Pawlan, WA6KBL, our board member is working hard to build a 10 GHz EME station. The goal is to accomplish this very quickly to fulfill an ambition of Ron Hopkins, N6BQ, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Much work has been accomplished, but much remains to be done.

The station will be based on a 16 foot Scientific Atlanta dish mounted on a WWII vintage SCR-584 radar pedestal. Current status: the tower is up mounted, the SCR-584 has been considerably cleaned up and refurbished, heavy-duty hardware has been built for mounting the dish.

There is still a lot of work to do. Remaining tasks include more work on the SCR-584, adding positioning sensors, wiring, electronics construction for control, mounting the pedestal on the tower, assembling and mounting the dish, 10 GHz electronics, .... And more.

The hope is to implement this in a very short period. Jeffrey is looking for any help you can offer. If you can offer time, sweat, brain power, or equipment to this task, please contact Jeffrey Pawlan (see the officers' list at the front of the newsletter).

Our very best wishes go out to Ron and his family.

At the September meeting, Rick Karlquist, N6RK, gave a great presentation -- The Use of Precision Quartz Oscillators and Atomic Standards in Ham Radio. I finally made a master copy of the video tape that was made of the presentation. If you would like a copy of this tape on VHS, contact me - Rex Allers, KK6MK (information in officers list.) There will be a nominal charge of $6 to cover costs.

Do you have a Web Page relevant to our members? Let us know and we will put it here. (You must be a member.)

From: H. T. Howard (Tay)

I have a number of Ku capable dishes to get rid of. They range from 2 to 12 feet in diameter.

Most are mesh but one is a heavy duty spun ten footer - it is one of the thirty two that were in the Stanford Mills cross many years ago. Lance and I took those down and sold them to TVRO folks in the early eighties. It is on a polar mount.

I was hoping to find good homes for all of them through you and for the Dirty dishes gang.

They are located in Chaparral's "dish farm" in San Jose. They'll have to be moved by Christmas time.

If you are interested drop me a note and I'll put you in contact with the right person.

Tay

Or contact Jeffrey Pawlan WA6KBL for information on how to reach Tay if you don't have email access.