Vol. 30 No. 02 November, 1994 Ess-Zed Rensselaer Amateur Radio Club ---------------------------------------- Inside... Transverters Two with WS2B KE4IBF Speaks Like A Pro Fire-Side Chatting, N2XGL's Style Zed Notes Life Goes On at W2SZ ---------------------------------------- THE PRESIDENT'S PERSNICKETY 'POSTROPHE Before I get started, I want to thank the members who showed up Saturday, October 22. It was a long day and we all worked real hard trying to get the stations set up. The construction is complete! As of this writing, the skirt is on and so is the gas! By the time this hits print, we should have a parking lot too. Unfortunately minimal amounts of asbestos were found in the floor tiles of the old building. This has already delayed the removal of the old Shack and could take much longer. The paver was cool enough to dig a hole in the back yard for the tower that has been sitting around for a while so watch your step! W2SZ is steaming full speed into its next chapter. There are so many ways that you can become involved. From communicating around the country to around the globe, to chatting on the local repeater. You can learn about and participate in radio contests with the best. Find out more about Packet Radio and the other forms of digital communications that link computers through radio. Communicate with other stations through satellites in space! If you're interested in electronics, W2SZ has a well used Shop that picks up where your lab courses leave off. Not only that, but the Shack is just one cool place to hang out. Enhance your "technology based" education at RPI with one of the best clubs on campus. Everyone is welcome and students are especially invited. Come to the Open House on Saturday, November 5, between 12:30 and 5 pm. There is no obligation and for a limited time only, with $16 down, you pay no interest for one full year! Cash back bonus and factory rebates unavailable. Tag, title, tax not included. Some of the projects that could be in the works include, slow scan TV on HF, fast scan on VHF, multi-mode in second op HF, setting up a tower for the new satellite Az-El rotor and the whole satellite station, getting the tribander on the windmill tower, fixing the Genny, and constructing new antennas for the bands we don't have. There's lots of neat stuff to do, pick a project that's right for you. We might be participating in the November Sweepstakes this year. That's a radio contest sponsored by the American Radio Relay League. There's been talk of doing a special College Club Competition. If you're interested, or want to find out more about contesting, you should contact me or another club officer. And this is an extra special thanks to the project managers; Rob Carney and Mark Aiken, over at the office of Facilities Planning and Design that made our new Shack a reality. You guys are the best! -Brett -- N1LAG ------------------------------------------ THE SECRETARY'S SALUBRIOUS SOLILOQUY Here's a line I think we've all heard before: "Gee, wouldn't it be nice to play with satellites?" The idea has been batted around a lot, but we've never had the time and resources to try it out. It looks like that has changed. We have acquired most of the equipment we need, and have an incentive to start on the work. Talking to a satellite requires a bit of equipment. The main thing you need is a good amount of gain. In order to send and receive clear signals to and from satellites, circularly polarized antennae are used. These antennae have to be mounted on a rotor that can point anywhere in the sky, and track an object moving at a fairly high angular velocity. We haven't had a problem with the antennae; we have one set and we can make the other one. Our new toy, which will let us talk to the satellites, is a Yeasu Az-El (Azimuth-Elevation) rotor. We are going to put this on top of a short tower next to the parking lot, so it is up off the ground but still easy to access to maintain and repair. We are going to run the feed from these antennae down to the VHF operating station, and run our satellite work from there. It looks like the equipment side of this is really coming together. We have a fairly nice incentive to work on satellite communications now, too. We have been asked recently by a professor in the Chemistry Department to find out how feasible it would be to set up a system to read data off of a NOAA satellite that is making observations of the oceans. It looks like a good chance for us to spread our name while exploring into an area that we haven't delved into before. As this project shapes up, I will keep the club up to date with articles our progress. I think there is a lot learn here; I hope that all of our members can find a part of it that they enjoy. - KA9WZO ------------------------------------------- THE EQUIP-MANAGER'S MELLIFLUOUS MISSIVE "Hamming it up with your computer" Hi, I'm Cesare, the equipment supervisor for W2SZ. My job is to take care of all the various radios and other equipment that the club owns. Any questions regarding using or borrowing club equipment should be directed to me. If there is anything that needs to be fixed, or you notice something missing (which isn't being borrowed), please bring it to my attention. This is the first in a series of articles that deal with computers and ham radio. Ham Radio and computers go hand in hand. One of the most interesting examples of this is the ability to connect packet radio to the internet via a gateway. The simplest form of a gateway allows users on the internet to send messages to users on packet. Messages can also be sent from packet to the internet. An example of such a gateway and its help file is included below. How to Use the WB7TPY Packet <-> Internet Gateway First, some brief operational notes: (1) Messages must not contain any foul language, or commercial purpose. (2) Messages can only be sent to countries that the United States has a third-party agreement. All others will be destroyed. (3) Messages from the internet should be less then 5K in length. No files should be sent. (4) If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me either on packet radio: WB7TPY@WB7TPY.AZ.USA.NA -or- Internet: david@stat.com -or- Fidonet: David Dodell @ 1:114/15 Have fun. Use the gateway as much as you like. That is what it is there for. ------ From Internet to Packet ------ Send mail to the internet address of: gate@wb7tpy.ampr.org The first line of text must contain a full packet address, proceeded with the word "Packet:" For example, mail to my packet address, would have the first line of text; Packet: wb7tpy@wb7tpy.az.usa.na ------ From Packet to Internet ------ Send as private mail (never a bulletin) to the packet address of: gate@wb7tpy.az.usa.na The first line of text must contain a full domained internet address, proceeded with the word "Internet:" For example, mail to my internet address, would have the first line of text; Internet: david@stat.com The other common type of gateways let you actually connect to the gateway computer. Users from the internet can just "telnet" to the gateway. Packet users can also connect, although this is usually limited to the location of the gateway. These gateways have many more features, including the usual mail between packet and the internet. The most useful feature is probably the ability to get on the internet from packet, actually allowing users to connect to internet hosts from the gateway. I have included a short transcript from the gateway at w9yt.engr.wisc.edu. Notice the info - you don't need a very powerful computer to run a gateway. telnet 144.92.84.185 Trying... Connected to 144.92.84.185. Escape character is '^]'. JNOS (w9yt.engr.wisc.edu) login: Password: [JNOS-1.10c-IHM$] Welcome Cesare, to the w9yt.engr.wisc.edu TCP/IP Mailbox (JNOS 1.10c (8088)). Currently 1 user. W9YT.ENGR.WISC.EDU PACKET GATEWAY Mail WO9U, timc@cs.wisc.edu for more information. type CA for the on-line callbook (If you don't have an account, you won't be able to do much here.) You have 0 messages. Area: kb2now Current msg# 0. > ? Mail: Area Kill List Read Send Verbose Gateway: Connect Escape Nodes NRroute Ports PIng Telnet File: Download Upload What Zap General: ?-Help Bye CONVers Finger Help Info IHeard IProute Jheard Mbox Operator Xpert Area: kb2now Current msg# 0. > I JNOS version 1.10c (8088) Welcome to the W9YT packet <-> internet gateway for the Madison area. This BBS is located at the W9YT facilities, and is administered by Tim, WO9U.\ To get help, type 'H' , or 'A help' and read the messages. Local user messages are in the area 'all' Equipment: 20 MHz 80386, 86Mb harddisk, a MFJ multi-mode TNC, and currently one radio on 145.75 MHz 1200 baud, and an ethernet card on the engineering department's ethernet. If you are interested in learning more or have questions regarding the use of the system, tcpip services etc... please send mail to 'wo9u'. 73, WO9U Area: kb2now Current msg# 0. > bye Thank you Cesare, for calling w9yt.engr.wisc.edu JNOS. Connection closed. Well, have fun, and be sure to e-mail me at mancic@rpi.edu if you have any questions. Look for my article in the next issue, which will include a list of gateways. Copies of this article can be found on RCS, in /dept/union/w2sz/public/gateway-article -KB2NOW -------------------------------------------- TECH NOTES (note, due to text format this newsletter does not have post scipt images in it.... ask for an acual newsletter if you want them). -- With Lance Lascari Xverter Part Deux : A simple 6m Transverter This month I'll get right into a discussion of a simple transverter that I am designing (prototype #1 has been built) to get on the 6m amateur band inexpensively. I would like to explain the rationale behind the design, the basics of how it works, and let you know the current status of the project. Why would anyone want to get on 6m? Here are a few reasons. 6m is a very interesting band in that it shares the characteristics of both HF and VHF. For example, you can work DX on 6m if conditions are good (and DX doesn't mean across the state, it means across the country...). Anyone with a license above novice can operate on this band, that's surely a plus. Six has some repeaters with great coverage... like the mighty 52.23 on mount Greylock. The band is very promising from the performance standpoint, but not very well populated in this area. I would like to provide one way to change that. OK smart guy, if I want to design a transverter that will be usable by the greatest number of people, where do I start? Well, that brings up the question, What do you need other than a transverter to get on the band? The answer is the IF radio (since antenna's are pretty easy to construct). Now most transverters for 6m, 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm are designed to use 28 MHz IF frequencies. As I discussed last month, this is merely a convention. The assumption made when designing most of these transverters was that everybody owns a 28 MHz radio. How many college students or new hams (especially since the no-code generation) do you know that own a 28 MHz radio? I don't know too many, so this means that we need to look into another solution. The conclusion that I came to was that almost everybody owns a 2m Hand-held Transceiver. The greatest common denominator has been found, but will it work? Sure! Now this brings up an interesting issue, that with a 2m HT we won't be able to generate 2m SSB/CW signals, only FM. Most people who are serious VHF'ers use SSB/CW, but that doesn't mean that we as beginners on the band need to start that way. FM simplex and repeater operation on this band are quite common in the grand scheme of things, so we're OK (besides, the HT is easy to lug around in the car for easy mobile operation). One might presume that some time down the road, after trying 6m FM, some people would like to try SSB. To expand on the thought, if you are interested in trying 6m SSB, then it is likely that you would also be interested in trying 2m SSB. What I'm getting at here is that if a transverter is designed for converting 2m to 6m, any 2m radio can be used as the IF. So, if after a while you decide to buy or build some 2m SSB gear, then you can connect it up to the transverter and be on 6m SSB as well. The next challenge is to make the transverter cheap, and easy to build. When looking at the traditional transverter layout, one sees that there are two completely separate systems, the receive and transmit converter. Unless we are playing repeater, we only need one of these systems to be active at any given instant. A good ham would look at this and say "How can I *share* some of these components to make the entire system cheaper, easier to build, and more compact?". The answer is that the transverter is designed with ONE bandpass filter at 6m, ONE mixer, and ONE bandpass filter at 2m. I don't claim this as original, this topology has been published many times before, but still isn't mainstream. Quick cost analysis (rough estimate based on new parts): Mixer $5 Filter Components (6m) $10 Filter Components (2m) $5 Since we now only need one of each of these components, we have an extra $20 to spend on beer or an alternative beverage (hopefully after the project is constructed!). The only things that we have to add are some switches to switch this "common" module between the receive and transmit circuitry. We will find that we can do this with $1 worth of special diodes, a few capacitors, and a few resistors. The next thing that we need to do is choose parts that are inexpensive. The first thing that I did when designing this unit was to look at the cheapest but best transistors that I could find. I ended up finding a plastic cased version of a very popular transistor (in the amateur community), the 2n5179, at a price one tenth of the regular 2n5179 price (ten cents instead of $1). I won't get into the gory details, but simple amplifiers can be constructed with this transistor that require no tuning and provide good performance at low power levels over a wide bandwidth(for instance, I use the same amplifiers at 50 MHz and 94 MHz). Not only does a "no-tune" amplifier have appeal since it's one less hassle, but it makes it cheaper since tunable capacitors or inductors are expensive. These transistors don't cut it for all applications, but for the general purpose applications they're just fine. As for cheap components go, the inductors used in this project are all wound with common bus wire, using drill bits as the forms. As one could imagine that's quite a bit cheaper than buying them for > $1 each from Digi-Key! Another choice made was to use a CB-radio type power transistor in the power amplifier. As one could imagine, if you choose a part that is used in some consumer application, the price will be lower than a more "specialized part". The rest of the components are garden variety resistors, capacitors, switching transistors, and diodes. I won't get too far into the details of the design and construction, because it is very preliminary, and would take up too much space. How it works and what it is made of. In the terms of last months article, this transverter uses an IF of 144-148MHz, an RF of 50-54MHz, and a local oscillator frequency of 94 MHz. There are three filters in the design, one at 94 MHz to keep the local oscillator clean, one that covers 144-148 MHz to provide the IF bandpass, and one that covers 50-54 MHz to provide the RF bandpass. Items that are not in the simplest block diagram presented last month are a series of amplifiers and attenuators to adjust power levels, switches to provide "component sharing", and an RF-sensing circuit. A **!!preliminary!!** schematic in postscript form can be found on the Rensselaer Computing System : ~lascal/public/pre-6mxvtr.ps. To print it in the lab you're in, type the following command: lpr ~lascal/public/pre-6mxvtr.ps The first part of this transverter that is worth looking at is the local oscillator. The crystal oscillator circuit is not original, it has been published many times before. I believe it was originally designed by Joe Reisert (W1JR) at least 10 years ago. The oscillator circuit is a little tricky, since it is fifth overtone oscillator, operating on frequency at 94 MHz ( most crystal oscillators are in the 2-20 MHz range). Following the oscillator is a pair of amplifiers that bring the signal up to a level appropriate to drive the mixer. The output of the amplifiers feeds the bandpass filter, which feeds an attenuator. Most low level mixers need about 5 milliwatts of local oscillator power to operate properly, so the LO is designed to provide more than 5 milliwatts, which is then attenuated down and fed into the mixer. This provides some margin for component variations and construction technique... in all cases enough power should be available. In summary, the local oscillator is has an oscillator circuit, a couple amplifiers, a bandpass filter, and an attenuator. There are a total of three tuning adjustments: the oscillator tank adjustment, and the two bandpass filter tuning adjustments. Next, we'll dissect the "T/R Common module", which is made up of PIN diode switches, the bandpass filters, and the mixer. The switches here are simple diode switches. When the diodes are biased ON (i.e. when the devices are in forward bias), they appear as a low value resistance. When the diodes are OFF, they look like a very high resistance. Thus, diodes look like an open switch when OFF, and a closed switch when ON. So, when properly configured, one can see that a pair of diodes can make a simple Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT) switch. As I mentioned earlier, these diodes are cheap, much cheaper than buying relays. The state of all the diodes is determined by the T/R switching apparatus, which is made up of an RF sensing circuit and a couple of transistor drivers. The RF sensing circuit merely looks at the IF port for a significant amount of RF energy. This energy would appear at the port when the IF radio is transmitting. Therefore the RF switch converts transmit input energy (an AC signal at 144 MHz) into a DC voltage applied to certain switches. Thus this is a form of "automatic" Transmit/Receive switching. The output of the transmit/receive switching apparatus drives the diode switches as well as the transmit/receive relay. One relay is used, since the planned power levels at the output of the transverter are on the order of 10 watts, higher than the cheap diode switches can handle. This circuit requires no adjustment, other than the input attenuator... which will vary with the radio used as the IF. The attenuator should drop the IF radio's transmit power output down to about a milliwatt. The filters are a fairly common topology. They are made up of parallel resonant "tank" circuits that are top coupled by capacitors. The tank circuits are designed to be resonant within the band of interest, and the coupling between them helps to determine the overall bandpass characteristics. Impedance transformation is accomplished by "tapping" the inductor in the input and output resonator. The impedance transformation is used to allow realistic components to be used in the filter ( no 1 farad capacitors in my circuits!). For a detailed description of the filter design technique used, ask me in person or see the excellent book "RF Circuit Design" by Chris Bowick. I can also give you some tips on how to simulate the circuits in PSPICE, so you can "play" without actually building them. The filters are fairly simple, they use hand-wound inductors, cheap trimmer caps, and some fixed silver-mica capacitors. The mixer chosen is very common in the amateur community, the Mini-Circuits SBL-1. This is a doubly balanced mixer, which provides good performance from 10-500 MHz, and costs merely five dollars. This good performance will be achievable as long as we provide a good impedance match at the IF and RF ports, and the proper amount of LO drive. The next thing to discuss is the RX preamplifier. This amplifier is what mainly determines the receive performance of the system. I originally designed the amplifier using an inexpensive dual-gate GaAs FET transistor. Unfortunately Motorola has decided to discontinue the device. Therefore I won't go into detail about the amplifier, because I will be designing a new one before too long. The essentials are that this amplifier needs to have a low noise figure (i.e. it should add very little noise to the incoming RX signal), fairly high gain (to overcome the losses in the bandpass filters and the mixer), and high dynamic range (it will be able to handle strong input signals such as nearby transmitters, without generating unwanted output signals). I should clarify by saying that dynamic range is determined by both the noise figure and the strong signal handling characteristics of the amplifier. Dynamic range has to do with the range over which the amplifier will perform appropriately ( noise figure determines the lower limit of input signal and the strong signal performance determines the upper limit of input signal). The transmit power amplifiers are fairly straightforward. The first two stages bring the signal level coming out of the RF bandpass filter up to a level of 100 milliwatts or so. These stages are of broadband design, similar to the amplifiers used in the local oscillator. The third stage is where the "CB" transistor is used to bring the 100 mW to the 1-3 watt level. Standard L-network impedance matching techniques are used. The fourth and final stage is comprised of a 15 W transistor connected much like the third stage, which will be used to provide the 10-15 watts of output. I am still working on the third and fourth stages of the power amplifier. A reliable 3 watts has been achievable from the third stage, but I have not yet formalized the circuit. The fourth stage has not yet been incorporated. The schematic does not include a low-pass filter, but it should. That is another component to be designed. Whew, this was longer than I had expected, hopefully I haven't gone too far with trying to confuse you. As mentioned, one prototype of the transverter has been built. The performance was pretty much as expected up to the 3watt level. Where the project is going I have spoken to about four people who are each interested in building one of these transverters when the design is complete. I'm not sure when that will be, hopefully by January. By that point, I plan to provide a more detailed description of the circuitry, components, required construction technique, and alignment procedure. I estimate the cost of components for a 3 watt transverter to be around $50. It is not yet clear whether or not a 10-15 watt output amplifier is practical for this project. For those of you in the club, I can probably help out with some components, we'll deal with that when the time comes. If you are interested in becoming involved or helping out, please let me know. It would be great if somebody would be interested in laying out a simple circuit board (since I'm not sure how much time I will have), as that would make it much easier for others to reproduce the design. At the very least, I will need people to construct a couple more prototypes (which may be just fine as complete transverters) to test the reproducibility. Well, that's it. I have attempted here to bring you through the very basics of what it takes to design a transverter. The ideas of reproducibility/simplicity, cost, and overall usefulness have been discussed. The real technical details are hard to convey in an article like this, but I trust that the reader can figure them out on their own using books and people as resources. Often the thing that is most confusing to those interested in becoming involved with amateur radio home-brewing involve a lack of understanding of why certain, seemingly arbitrary, design choices are made. I won't claim my choices to be the best, but I hope that sharing my lines of reasoning will take some of the black magic out of project design. The answers to the questions are easy, but knowing the right questions to ask is not always that simple. Any feedback on the article, or the project in general is welcomed. I have included a series of references, which the reader may wish to pursue if interested in RF circuit design. 73 de WS2B Lance Lascari 276-4565 lascal@rpi.edu --------------------------------------------------- THE VP'S VIVID VERSO This is an exciting time for us here at W2SZ. The Open House is bringing hams from near and far closer together for a few brief moments in our hectic lives. I've been working other local repeaters for the past weeks, and everybody is interested in this club. In fact, one might say that the community participation is as lively, if not more so, than the student population. Why is this so? It seems to be true that hams with years of experience are the easiest to draw into an amateur radio club. This is ironic. Especially for W2SZ. We're a student group acting for students. We provide a service to a community, and we tend to form long lasting relations with our members, but the goal of the club has got to be directed toward the students. I am reminded of Lucius Seneca, who wrote "ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt," or "the willing soul fate leads, but the unwilling drags along." The lack of student commitment might be due to the strong feelings of apathy that RPI students tend to get in the latter half of their first semester here. What is surprising to me is just how misdirected these feelings must be. There is more opportunity here than just about any other school could provide. We have a healthy student government, driving a powerful union of clubs and activities. Students have plenty of places to unwind from the stresses of classes. Perhaps that is what we need to believe when encouraging students to seek membership in W2SZ. This is a place of enjoyment. Everyone of us is here because we enjoy the art of amateur radio, but even more so because we enjoy the environment. People have been known to get quite angry with each other. Let us remember that W2SZ should provide a haven from the stress that runs rampant through our daily lives, not create more of it. The new shack is finally here. Thanks certainly goes to Brett for all he's done, along with everyone who's been involved. Let's get back to running W2SZ the way we know how to do. Let's turn this new shack into a building that offered the respite of relaxation as the old shack. The wood to make the shelves came from the old building, so should the friendship. 73's - N2XGL - Jeff Shykula --------------------------------------------- THE TREASURER'S TROUBLESOME TROVE Well... it is about that time again.... newsletter time! That means that we have to bring the membership, and followers, of the club up to speed as to what is happening with the new shack, moneys, and other projects. I am delighted to say that we still do have some money to spend left, although much of it is dedicated to things that have already been budgeted for. This does not mean that we can not get things that we want for the club, only that it takes a little while. And since the process is not a fast one, I would like to thank all of those people who have put up with it and helped the club immensely in the past few weeks. Well that about covers the monetary issues for this month. Geez, did you expect the life of a treasurer to be constant turmoil? Something that would be worth exposing in the pages of Ess-Zed? I think not. It is a relatively fun job, with some nice rewards. At this point I could mention that some new hand held radios were ordered and have arrived for the club. Members interested in possibly borrowing one of these units should contact the equipment manager to arrange for it. Also a new arrival to Zed is an azimuth/elevation rotor. This will be used for some satellite work, another exciting facet of ham radio. So... onto some other things. In the recent time much effort has been put into the new building, and with the project nearing its completion I must say that I am highly impressed with it. For those of you who have not been up to see the new shack, it might be worth your time. The new building is a really nice establishment. Hey, we even have a nice drive way, a good heating system, a couch, chairs, a TV, lots of radios of (course), and many other goodies... what a great chance to get out of the dorm on a Saturday in search of a slightly different atmosphere! I think that this is something that has been due for a long time, and since we finally have it, so we might as well take advantage of it. At this time I would like to take a few lines of text to thanks all of the people that have been involved with this beast of a project. It would not have been possible without a lot of work by some very dedicated individuals. Thanks all! Ok, that done... let us move on. What are some of the new and exciting things going on at W2SZ. Well... we are thinking of jumping into an HF contest, something that we have not done at the club for a good long while. So, what does this entail? Well a little tower work (hopefully before it gets REAL cold), and a little elbow grease at other points. Other things of interest currently in the works are: the setup/planning of the satellite station, getting some antennae up onto Fred's tower, finalizing the inside of the new building, and preparation for the big open house. These are just a few of the things that are available, and there are is also a lot if room for individual projects by the membership. If you have an interest come on up to the shack on of the weekends and get involved. Well I guess that about does it for me this month. Hope that I have not put y'all to sleep. Hope to see you soon at the club. Questions? Comments? Please feel free to e-mail (barenj@rpi.edu) or call me at 276-4555. 73's de KE4IBF ---------------------------------------------- W2SZ holds its General Meetings the First Saturday of every month at 1:00 p.m. at the shack. Talk in is available on 146.82(-), 224.42(-), and 443.00(+). -------------------------------------------- Repeater Etiquette: (1) Repeaters are meant for short contacts. The proper etiquette for coming onto the repeater is to listen for a minute or so, and if the repeater is quiet, make your call. If the repeater is busy, wait. To initiate contact, simply indicate that you are on the frequency. In this area, just saying your call is sufficient. (2) Identify legally. You must identify at the end of a transmission or a series of transmissions and at least once each 10 minutes during your communication. Do not over-identify. (3) Pause between transmissions. This allows others to use the repeater in case of emergency. (4) Keep transmissions short and thoughtful. Your transmissions are being heard by others, including non-hams with scanners. Do not give a bad impression about amateur radio. (5) Use simplex when possible. (6) Use the minimum power necessary to make contact. (7) Don't break into a contact unless you have something to add or an emergency. Breaking into a conversation is no more polite on the repeater than it is in person. (8) Repeaters are intended primarily for the use of mobile stations. Base stations should relinquish the repeater to mobile stations during commuter rush hours. Auto patches should be not be used to avoid a toll call. (9) Auto patches should not be used when a public phone is close by. Auto patch users should keep in mind that their call can be heard by everyone, and they are required to inform the answering party that this is the case. The auto patch does not substitute for a cellular phone. People who tie up the repeater with regular calls will be expected to support club efforts to maintain the services we provide. (10) W2SZ permits the use of foreign languages on the W2SZ repeaters due solely to the large number of international students attending RPI and their need to communicate with family members who know little English. The officers of W2SZ have a responsibility to ensure that respectful conversations are taking place, and may inquire as to the nature of foreign language communications. In this end, if at all possible, English should be used on the auto patch. (11) Auto patch tones may be recorded by other people, so one should never place credit card calls or use services which require the entering of personal numbers (like Social Security Number) via the touch tone pad. (12) Keep in mind that the 146.82(R) and 224.42(R) machines are kept linked. You may be talking to someone on 220, even though you are on 2 meters. The auto patch audio is not completely linked, and a person on the 220 side might mistakenly think the repeater is not in use, even while another person is listening to a party on the 2 meter auto patch. Repeated and/or flagrant violation of these common sense rules can result in a warning or suspension of your privileges on the W2SZ systems. Recent FCC interpretations permit repeater owners/trustees to determine who can use their repeaters. During emergency conditions, these guidelines are secondary. -------------------------------------- ZED NOTES Check out the new W2SZ Home Page on Mosaic. You can get there from RPI's Home Page. Remember the Capital District Amateur Radio Council Bulletins on 146.82 every Monday night at 1915 and Thursday 1700. Check out all the local news on our newsgroup at rpi.union.ham-radio. FCC Exams held in CII 3051 on campus Saturday, November 12. Show up at 8:15 a.m. Contact is Bud Hovey (WF2B) at 283-3227. This is the last one at RPI for the year. Check out the Commuter Net on 145.330(R) every weekday at 0600-0900 and 1500-1800. Saratoga RACES meets on Monday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. Contact Ed Barnett (N2RKA) on the Commuter Net listed above. The Saratoga RACES will hold its last FCC Exam test session for the year on Saturday, December 10. The test starts at 9:00 am in the Solar Building, Route 67, Ballston Spa. Troy Amateur Radio Association (TARA) meets at the Green Island Municipal Center on George Street in Green Island, two block North of the G.I. Bridge. Meetings are held the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm. ARES Net is held Sunday at 8:00 pm on the 147.360 repeater. The Schenectady Amateur Radio Association (SARA) meets on the first Monday of the month at 7:30 pm at the Schenectady High School. The Schenectady Museum Amateur Radio Association meets at 7:00 pm the third Wednesday of the month at the museum on Nott Terrace. Rensselaer County RACES/ARES Association holds its meetings the second Wednesday of the month at 7:30 pm at HVCC, Room 101, Fitzgibbon's Hall. The Albany Amateur Radio Association (AARA) meets on the second Friday of the month at 7:30 pm at the Colonie Community Center, Central Avenue (Rte. 5). For other club info, see Jeff Shykula (N2XGL). ============================================================= Ess-Zed Editor in Chief: N2XGL Jeffrey T. Shykula President: N1LAG Brett Mellor Vice President: N2XGL Jeffrey T. Shykula Treasurer: KE4IBF John Barenys Secretary: KA9WZO John Karcz Equipment: KB2NOW Cesare Mancini Repeaters: KB2HEL John Muller Trustee: W2HKM Dr. R. Athanasiou Submissions to this monthly newsletter of W2SZ, the Rensselaer Amateur Radio Club, are due by the last Wednesday of each month. Submissions should be double spaced type, or in electronic format to: Jeff Shykula - Editor in Chief W2SZ: Ess-Zed 06 Sunset Terrace, Troy, NY 12180 jshykula@charon.phys.rpi.edu Or Call 518-276-6578 for Questions, Comments, Criticisms, Advertising or Concerns. ----------------------------- Ess-Zed A Publication Of W2SZ 06 Sunset Terrace Troy, NY 12180 Ess-Zed November, 1994 Page -10- Vol. 30 No. 02