Borderline News
A Publication Of the Borderline Amateur Radio Club  September 2000


Presidents Message

One of the toughest things about creating a message each month is
finding a subject that will apply to the majority of the people in the
group, this time however it is very easy for me as this is purely a
thank you.
Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers on my behalf
over the last couple of weeks. I really appreciate all of you and the
things that you do not only for the club but for each of us as
individuals when something is needed. I was impressed by those who took
the time to stop by and say an encouraging word or two when I was in the
hospital. I do have to admit that there were a couple of people that
stopped by that I didn't remember being there but I do appreciate it and
apologize for any stupid things I may have said during some of those
visits.
 Demerol is a wonderful thing when it is needed but it sure can screw up
your mental function.
Again thank you one and all and may the lord bless you as he has our
family during this time.
73 Von ka7erc

Repeater Courtesy and Modern Operating Practice's

How do I say I'm Monitoring the Repeater system?
 One of the things new and old hams often overlook is the quality of
modern FM communications. There is no need to talk "ham lingo" if you
happen to be full quieting into the local repeater. Talk like you're
talking on the telephone or next to the person. If you want to tell the
world that you are on the air then  simply ID
ie: "KA7ERC"  If you're in your car then you would say: "KA7ERC Mobile".
If you're walking around town and using your HT then say:  "KA7ERC
Portable". If you want to talk to anyone then say so like this: "KA7ERC
anyone around?" or "CQ,CQ KA7ERC"

NEVER, EVER USE CB LINGO "That's a big 10-4"
This is probably one of the most irritating things on the ham bands.

 How do I call someone on the Repeater system?

First Listen to the Repeater frequency for a minute or so to make sure
someone is not using it. Remember You're on a high quality FM repeater.
You really don't need to call someone over and over again, If they're
monitoring and have time to chat they will come back to you. A normal
call may go like this:
"KC7FMZ, KC7FMZ, KA7ERC"
 or "KC7FMZ, KC7FMZ, ARE YOU AROUND NANCY"
  Usually 2 call's of this type is sufficient to get a reply even if the
station you're calling is scanning, There is no need, unless you're
signal is very noisy, to use phonetics. Remember to PAUSE for ½ to one
second AFTER keying your microphone.. If you key up and start to talk
without waiting for this delay your first word may be cut off.

How do I BREAK into a conversation?

The best way to break into a conversation is to DO NOTHING UNTIL YOU
LISTEN FOR AWHILE.  Make sure you have something to add to the
conversation and not change the subject matter or call another station
and have them move to another frequency. The best way is to wait until
one person is finished with their transmission. After the courtesy tone
say "BREAK" and your call sign and wait to be acknowledged by one of the
party's talking.  ie: "BREAK KA7ERC".     If you have and EMERGENCY then
say so! ie: "EMERGENCY BREAK KA7ERC". If you're in a conversation, every
couple of minutes or so let everything drop off to give someone trying
to break a chance to break in and also reset the timeout timers. Be
courteous and acknowledge a BREAKING station on your next transmission.

Use enough Power and / or a better Antenna system to maintain
"COMFORTABLE" communications.
The old HAM idea of using as little power as possible has to be mixed
with common sense. Modern HT's can drop to as little as 1/10 of a watt
or 100mw. and are listening to a Repeater running 30 to 100 watts of RF
power, so remember just because you can hear the repeater "FULL
QUIETING" doesn't mean you should drop your power down to extra low
power and make everyone try to guess who is calling, Try to maintain a
85% full quieting signal into the repeater. A rule of thumb start at
HIGH power and have someone listen to your signal then reduce power and
let them tell you if your signal has any more noise on it. If it doesn't
then go ahead and use lower power levels BUT if your signal gets any
noisier raise your power back to a Higher power level or better yet a
better antenna system.
One other item we need to add to this is a reminder that any type of
business is to be taken care of somewhere else. There can be no type of
business transacted on the air, this must include little things such as
arrangements between employees to get a job done or goods arranged for.
Also arranging work schedules or tracking employees. Anything dealing
with your employment should be considered shaky ground and avoided on
the ham bands if possible.
ALWAYS ID !!!!

 REMEMBER YOU ABUSE EVERYBODY LOSE'S.
(Thanks to SDARC)

The Jamboral

 Monday August 7th we (Lamond wx7l, Julie n7vjo and Keith kk7ex) hooked
up to the club trailer and headed to Fillmore, Utah.  The trailer had
been checked out, repaired, loaded with food and lots and lots of water,
and was ready to go.  We landed in Fillmore at about 3:30 pm.  We then
set up the trailer, hooked up the radios, raised the HF antenna, fired
up the computer and looked at a blank monitor screen.  The monitor did
not make the trip.  So much for logging and doing a little slow scan
TV.  In the process of getting set up we found the BARC flag.  Down came
the HF antenna and the flag was attached.  We checked in with net
control and settled in.
 At about 4:30 the wind started to blow at about 35 to 45 miles an
hour.  It was a little dusty but everything was OK.  After supper Keith
and I went to help set up the 40 foot tall climbing tower.  We were
helping attach cables.  One of the men there invited us to come help
drive elephant stakes into the rocks.  Yes, rocks not ground.  Well,
there was some dirt mixed in with it. An elephant stake is a one and one
half inches in diameter, four foot tall steel, stake.   Eight stakes and
two broken sledge hammer handles later we were finished, in more ways
than one.
 Julie and I slept in the trailer.  After about 7 pm the wind had died
down to dead calm.  It was hot.  All night I kept smelling something
dead in or under the trailer.  At first I thought it was a mouse, then a
cat, then a large dog.  In the morning I was checking under the trailer
when Keith told me to stop looking for dead horses, the smell was coming
from the mushroom farm up the road.  It was very nice when the wind
changed direction.
 Tuesday we helped others get set up and we learned more about the nets
that were running and the people staffing them.  An explorer post out of
Orem were doing most of the communications for the jamboral. These teen
aged young men and women ran the talk in net, the medical net, the lost
cub scout net, the security net, the district to council net, and
shadowed jamboral leaders to provide communications for them.  They also
were night security around the midway and stage.  I case you can't tell
we were impressed.
 That evening the wind hit with a vengeance.  We were told it hit 65
miles an hour. We lowered the HF antenna and tried to hold tents to the
ground.  Keith, while holding onto a large tent was lifted off the
ground.  One young boy was thrown in the air and knocked unconscious.
One large tent fell on a young women and the tent poles bruised her
back.  Then there was the dust.  And more dust.   And more dust.  After
a couple of hours the wind died down and the evening was calm and
beautiful.
 Wednesday was a very relaxing day.  We put finishing touches on things
and played on the radio.  There was a horrendous background noise in the
area.  We were next to power lines, but that was not all of it.  Maybe
the 30,000 (a slight exaggeration) generators were the problem.  And a
couple days it was the radar that military were demonstrating.  We could
hardly hear anyone on the high noon or beehive nets.  We did hear Leo
kf7ag check in one day, but we couldn't get back to him.   We also heard
net control recognize Chandler w7byu, but we couldn't hear net control
to ask permission to contact him.  It was a very noisy place.
 Wednesday night we had to stay up all night and guard the climbing
tower.  Each of us took a shift so we would all be equally tired for the
rest of the week.  The stars were beautiful.  The meteors fantastic.
And it was boring!  The only fun was watching people stumble to the rest
rooms and listening to the symphony of snoring and cot squeaks.
 Thursday the scouts came to the jamboral.  Along with them were Keith's
son Devon kc7tej, Linus n7mds and Trixie n7mge.  And a replacement
monitor!  We now had about 30,000 scouts, and between 5,000 and 10,000
leaders to watch after.  The traffic on the nets increased ten fold.
 Each evening and morning everyone met at the stage for talks and
entertainment.  Keith would climb the tower to film the events.  Some of
the speakers were President Monson, Elder Holland, Governor Leavit,
Senator Hatch, National Scout leaders, including the head of the CIA.
Some of the entertainers were a sound effects man, Osmonds the new
genation, The Kwadahi Indian dancers, the confederate air force, sky
divers, and Lee Greenwood.  It was a blast.  One of the things that
impressed me most was the parade of flags.  Each unit had brought a
flag.  As they paraded around us it was beautiful.  1700 American
flags!  It was wonderful to see.
 On Friday cub scouts were invited to come.  About 10,000 came.  They
were so excited.  That evening they were so lost.  Our job was to watch
for lost cubs.  We found 4 lost ones.  You could see the panic in their
eyes.  It usually did not take long to get them to their leaders.  The
lost cub net was very busy that night.
 Saturday we packed up and came home.  It is good to be home to a
shower, sleeping all night, and breathing fresh air.
 Some thoughts and ideas learned at the jamboral.  The explorer post had
made vests with a bright yellow nylon front and a mesh back.  The front
had pockets for pens, radios, and batteries.  The back had a pocket for
a camelback.  A camelback is soft, long, thin, water bag with a hose to
sip from.  Water became very important on this camp.  It was easy to get
dehydrated.  This vest made it easy for them to stay watered and
radioed.  It was very visible and people knew to go to them if they
needed any thing.
 Another thing learned is DO NOT SHOW YOUR RADIO SHACK HTX 202 TO ANYONE
FROM THE WASATCH FRONT!  They have an attitude about them.  With a nicad
battery that has completely run down they can go into transmit mode on
their own.  Anytime someone sat on their mic button.  The call went out
to tell Uintah to put new batteries in their radio.  I have prevented
this problem by using AA alkaline batteries.  Well before the transmit
problem occurs my signal is weak and I change batteries.
 Another thing learned.  Take a bike.  The camp was at least 1/4 mile
wide by ½ mile deep.
 Thanks for the use of the trailer!  It made the week enjoyable.

September Meeting
September's meeting will be held at the Constitution Park in Roosevelt
(that is the one by Jay's house) On September 16 2000 at 6:00 pm. We
will have a good time and for those interested we will build some copper
J-pole antennas for 2meters, so come on over and see what we set on fire
this time.

WHO'S WHO Among us

Leo Clark KF7AG
Leo & his sweetheart Carma were married in 1952. They have 2 daughters
Debbie and Betty, 4 granddaughters & 2 grandsons.
Leo worked in the oilfields for sometime before he went back to
construction. Some of the places Leo has helped build are well known
landmarks. Places like, the Church Office Building, the Visitors Center
at the Temple grounds, Holy Cross Hospital, St Benedicts in Ogden, the
Roosevelt Hospital in the late 60's, and the Junior High in Vernal.
These along with many homes in the area. He now works in his own shop
and the things he can do with an old piece of wood are really amazing.
Their home is full of his handiwork like shelves and a wonderful table
that he made for Carma.
Leo also lays claim to going the longest time before upgrading his
license 13 years. He has been a member of several ham traffic nets over
the years, and is also a test station for the FCC on 5 megahertz.
Carma loves to Crochet and knit and has made Afghans, Doilies, and many
other lovely things. Her health recently has not permitted her to do a
lot of the things she loves.
October brings the 3rd anniversary of their being sealed in the Provo
Temple. Congratulations to a couple who are truly special people and a
very big part of our group.
Kay KC7MGD

Tid Bits
People are lonely because they build walls instead
of bridges.-Joseph Fort Newton
Finish each day and be done with it. Tomorrow is a new day: begin it
well.-Ralph Waldo Emerson
We have no right to ask, when sorrows comes, Why did this happen to me?
Unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way.-Philip
S. Bernstien
The most useless day of all is that in which we have not laughed.
-Sebastian R.N. Champort
Take time everyday to do something silly. -Philipa Walker
I would be honest, for there are those who trust me.  Howard Arnold
Walter
The only people who ever fail are those who never try.
Ilka Chase
Fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.
Shirley MacLaine
Work is love made visible. -Kahlil Gibran

Editors Input
 I would like to thank everyone who helped out with this Newsletter. It
is not as big as it could be but it is still bigger than the ones before
this one. Thanks a lot.

Club Officers
Von Johnson-KA7ERC-President
Lee Turner-KK7SI-Vice President
Jay Hansen-KA7BPB-Treasurer
Kay Johnson-KC7MGD-Secretary
Amanda Johnson-KD7FLK-Newsletter Editor