The West Central Ohio Amateur Radio Association is a group of amateur radio operators based in the Dayton, Columbus, and surrounding regions. This group has formed around systems that originally were developed under the old Kettering Medical Center Amateur Radio Association (KMCARA). It is wholly independent of the Kettering Medical Center (KMC) and the KMCARA but does have some working relations with the KMC through memorandums of understanding with KMC.

Membership Dues should be paid by/before the March meeting

January WCOARA Meeting

The West Central Ohio Amateur Radio Association meeting is scheduled to occur at 7:00 P.M., Monday, 16 January 2012, in the Schuster Conference Room, in the Charles F. Kettering Hospital, Kettering, Ohio. As a reminder, we have confirmed reservations for this room on the third Monday of each month, from now until December 2012. At the time of writing this newsletter submission, we do not have a speaker for the January meeting.

Ideas from members, regarding what the association should be doing in the coming year, and/or suggested changes to our past methods of conducting association business and activities, are the main topics for the January business meeting. Our efforts to restore our repeater systems to a fully operational status will also be discussed.

December WCOARA Holiday Party

WCOARA’s Holiday Party took place at 6:00 P.M., Monday, 12 December 2011, at the Golden Coral Buffet, at 8870 Kingsridge Drive, South of the Dayton Mall. This annual holiday dinner gathering replaced the usual monthly meeting in December, and provided an opportunity to enjoy fellowship with other amateur radio operators, their families and friends. Holiday party attendees included the following: Judy McIntyre and Lynden McIntyre, N8RXL, Bill White, WB4LAI, Randy Allen, KA0AZS, Emil Constantine, KC8HYK, Gretchen Burger and her two children, Jeannette Burger, KD8AFR, and Chris Burger, KC8WRA, Mary Isbel and her grandson, Don Chelman, KB8LWL, Shirley Roberts, N8LX, and Lynn Roberts, N8LXK, and Joyce Burnette and Keith Burnette, KB8GYB. In all, seventeen people attended the holiday party, and they seemed to have a good time.

Operating Committee Chairpersons

Technical Committee: Bill, WB4LAI

Emergency Operations Committee: Chris, KC8WRA

Interference Committee: Don, KC8LWL

Membership Committee: Lynn, N8LXK

Public Information Committee: Terry, W8WLW

Science and Education Committee: Emil, KC8HYK As always, we need volunteers to serve on our committees.

WCOARA Election Results

The election of WCOARA officers, for the year 2012 was held at the 21 November 2011 meeting. The following candidates were elected:

President: Keith Burnette: KB8GYB

Vice President: Jeannette Burger, KD8AFR

Secretary: Patrick Davis, N8WAA

Treasurer: Don Chelman, KB8LWL

Board Member: Emil Constantine, KC8HYK

Emergency Alert Radio System (EARS)

The Radio Shack Realistic Weather Radio Alert II receiver provided to the WCOARA, by Terry, W8WLW, has not yet been assessed for use as an EARS radio. This is due to the holidays, and the time being spent on the 145.110 MHz repeater system.

WCOARA Repeater Systems Repair and Upgrade Information

The trouble shooting of the Mason remote receive site equipment by Bill, WB4LAI, has been postponed due to the holidays. Otherwise, there is no new information to report on the Dayton 145.110 MHz Repeater. 2. Columbus 145.110 MHz Repeater Update Status

The December 2011 WCOARA Newsletter described the Wednesday, 7 December 2011, trip to Columbus to reinstall our repeater rack in the WCMH-TV transmitter building, and to have George Fitz, the tower climber, install our 1.25 meter link and 2-meter transmitter antennas on the tower. As described in the newsletter, although the system appeared to be working when we left Columbus, testing of the system by Shirley, N8LX, and Ned, N8OIF, on the day after the installation, revealed that the link to Columbus from Dayton was not working properly.

Subsequently, on Friday, 9 December 2011, Lynden, N8RXL, notified Keith, KB8GYB, that he had formulated a plan to trouble shoot the Columbus repeater. Keith then called Don, KB8LWL, Shirley, N8LX, and Steve, WB8CHK, the WCMH-TV maintenance engineer, to make arrangements for us to go to Columbus, on Monday, 12 December 2011, to run further trouble shooting tests on the repeater system.

Lynden, Don, and Keith, arrived at the station on Monday morning, at 10:10 A.M., and after carrying in the test equipment, Lynden started trouble shooting the repeater system, with assistance from Don and Keith. Without going into detail about the tests conducted, it suffices to say that everything that we thought might be a problem, turned out to be working fine (i.e., no bad logic or RF components, no wiring errors, etc.). The problem we were trying to solve was that, on an intermittent basis, the audio from Dayton would stop being received and retransmitted by the Columbus repeater, for no apparent reason. Using Lynden’s mobile 220 MHz radio, connected directly to the link antenna, it was established that the audio from Dayton was being received full quieting, and consequently it was concluded that something in the Columbus repeater that was cutting off the audio. After some time was spent trying to find the source of this problem, it was observed by one of us (it’s no longer clear which of us finally had this epiphany), that the fan on the 220 MHz amplifier would run at those times, when the Dayton audio was cut off. Since the fan only runs when the 220 amplifier is receiving a RF signal that is to be transmitted back to Dayton, and since enabling the 220 amplifier activates a relay in the amplifier that is designed to shut off the audio being received from Dayton, we had found the cause of the problem, but without finding the origin of the signal that was activating the amplifier. Also, despite the fact that the 220 MHz transmitter was being activated, Shirley was hearing no transmitted audio in Dayton, other than relay chatter, associated with the apparent intermittence of the RF signal that was causing the amplifier’s relay to repetitively engage and disengage. Lacking RF signal test equipment, and having exhausted other possible causes for the problem, we went to lunch across the street at 12:40 P.M.. While there, Lynden talked to Shirley and Bill on the telephone. During this call, Bill agreed to join us on another trip to Columbus, with test equipment capable of tracking RF signals. After lunch, we packed up our test equipment, at the station, and returned to Dayton

On 19 December 2011, Bill, WB4LAI, Don, KB8LWL, Lynden, N8RXL, and Keith, KB8GYB, traveled to Columbus to try to solve the problem with the repeater link from Dayton, described here and in the December WCOARA Newsletter. Besides the normal test equipment that Lynden and the rest of us took to the site, Bill brought an oscilloscope and a spectrum analyzer. Although the problem occurred intermittently, which never bodes well for finding the underlying cause of a problem, the source of the RF signal that was activating the 220 MHz amplifier was found and corrected, during a two-hour period of setup and testing.

While en route to Columbus, Bill said that he expected to find the problem in the 2-meter side of the repeater system. After performing some preliminary tests, Bill and Lynden monitored the signals in the Columbus 2-meter receiver using the spectrum analyzer, but the RF signal, thought to be causing the problem, was not found. Later, during periods when no 2-meter signal was being received in Columbus, it was found that the 2-meter amplifier was producing a spurious signal that slowly shifted frequency with time, about the repeater’s 145.110 MHz transmit frequency. This signal was apparently of sufficient magnitude to activate the 220 MHz amplifier, to transmit the signal back to Dayton. As previously stated, the activation of the 220 MHz amplifier is designed to cause signals being received from Dayton, to be switched off. This is necessary to permit someone who keys up the repeater in Columbus, to be able to have what they say transmitted back to Dayton. While viewing the spurious signal on the spectrum analyzer, Bill was able to eliminate it by tuning the 2-meter amplifier. Consequently, the problem of receiving signals from Dayton, which we went to Columbus to fix, was solved.

Unfortunately, while the tests were being conducted in Columbus, a new problem was observed. While the transmissions back to Dayton were reported by Shirley, N8LX, to be full quieting, there was a white noise in the background of Shirley’s transmissions from Dayton, which we had not observed during our last visits. As had been done in our previous visit, for a different reason, Lynden used his mobile 220 MHz radio, attached directly to the link beam antenna, to confirm, in this case, that the white noise was indeed being received by the antenna, and not being generated within our repeater, or by equipment located somewhere else within the transmitter building.

Although we did not know, while in Columbus, whether the white noise was being received from a Columbus or a Dayton source, we now attribute the noise heard in Columbus to white noise on the output of the Dayton 220 MHz repeater. This noise was heard on both hand-held and mobile 220 MHz radios, immediately after returning from Columbus. Upon our return from Columbus, it was also observed that the received output power level of the Dayton 220 MHz repeater’s transmitted signal was noticeably reduced, and, in addition, was exhibiting slow variations over time. This behavior has continued up to the present time, but is not new. Keith has observed these variations in the 224.160 MHz repeater’s output for several years. The most extreme case observed occurred during the first Saturday Night Round Table Net in December 2011, when the signal being received faded from full scale, away to no signal, over the period of the first half hour of the net, a result that was confirmed, at the time, by Shirley. At the time, this behavior caused us to consider the possibility that continuous use of the repeater, and the possible additional heating of electronic components, was causing the output power of the repeater to be progressively reduced. However, the large signal strength reductions, observed during the net, have not recurred during other nets. More recently, smaller reductions in received signal strength have been observed, sometimes for extended periods of time, but they occur unpredictably, even after long periods of inactivity on the repeater. In other words, we as yet have no idea what is causing the problem.

It had been expected that getting the Columbus repeater system back on the air would result in our hearing some Columbus stations over the repeater, if only to tell us that the repeater was noisy. Having heard nobody get on the repeater, who was known to be from Columbus, on 5 January 2012, Keith sent an E-mail to Ned, N8OIF, who had played a key role, together with Shirley, in trouble shooting the repeater system following our earlier visits to Columbus. After spending some time monitoring the Columbus 145.110 MHz repeater system, Ned replied on 9 January 2012, with the following message: “Last Thursday shortly after I received your email, I tried to call you on the repeater. I also tried to call Shirley. Obviously I got neither one of you, but I can tell that I am able to key up the repeater without a problem, and I can hear Dayton-area conversations without any problem. Please let me know if you need an on-the-air test.” Lynden plans to conduct an on-the-air test with Ned, at a time convenient to Ned, sometime before our 16 January 2012 WCOARA Meeting.

The bottom line, from Ned’s message, is that the Columbus side of the repeater system is now working correctly. Furthermore, we are being heard in Columbus, even though we appear to at times be operating at reduced signal strengths. This means the antennas are doing their job, and it only remains to get the time to trouble shoot whatever is causing the problem with the 220 MHz transmitter here in Dayton, and then repair the problem. The euphemism that is used in the previous sentence, “it only remains,” does not refer to how easy it will be to find and fix the problem, but rather to the fact that we will not have to drive all the way to Columbus, in order to attempt to find and fix the problem.

On Wednesday, 11 January 2012, Keith responded to a call from Kevin, WB8DMX, in Columbus, whose audio was full quieting. During the conversation Kevin reported receiving Dayton full quieting, although, after further questioning, he later amended his description of the received signal to include the presence of white noise in the signal’s background. Kevin also checked into the Ohio District 3 ARES Net, from Franklin County, on Wednesday night.

WCOARA Hamvention Flea Market

The WCOARA currently has no plans to set up a flea market site, during the 2012 Dayton Hamvention. The cost to have two flea market spots, on an aisle, remains $200, which is beyond our means, given the very small income we typically receive from operating the site. This is the president’s preliminary assessment of the situation, but, of course, is subject to the wishes of our members.

2012 Field Day

We will have a preliminary discussion our 2012 Field Day plans, at the January meeting, and request suggestions about how it should be organized and run.

WCOARA Membership Dues

It is again time to pay dues for the coming year. January is the month designated in our constitution for the payment of dues. Dues are $15, for the first member of a family, and $8, for each additional family member, to have full membership, and voting privileges. The WCOARA requires a minimum contribution of $10 for associate members, who receive the newsletter, but do not have the privilege of voting or holding office. The grace period for the late payment of dues extends to the March WCOARA Meeting, or, if no meeting occurs during that month, to the end of March.

Updates of WCOARA Membership Information

As a reminder, Lynn, N8LXK, needs to be informed of any changes that have occurred, during the past year, in home addresses, phone numbers, and E-mail addresses. You may contact Lynn by E-mail using the following E-mail address: n8lxk@arrl.net.

Presentations at Upcoming WCOARA Meetings

The question of whether the WCOARA should continue trying to get outside speakers to give presentations at our meetings, was raised by Keith, KB8GYB, in the December 2011 WCOARA Newsletter. As stated in the newsletter, we have been experiencing very low member turnouts for our meetings, during the last several years. Inviting companies or individuals to speak at our meetings, and then having only three to seven members attend the meeting, to hear their presentation, raises the question of why we asked them to make a presentation, in the first place, if there is so little interest in the topic that our members do not attend the meeting. So, at the January 2012 meeting, we need to have a discussion of whether or not we should suspend the practice of inviting outside speakers to our meetings.

As noted in the December newsletter, we have already had speakers, on many amateur radio related topics, including, for example, Satellite Communications, IRLP, Echo Link, Amateur Television, APRS, Skywarn, Fox Hunting, VHF/UHF DX radio communications, Win Link 2000, and ARES. However, we have had virtually no suggestions for topics now for at least several years.

If we are to invite outside speakers, is there any interest in any of the following topics: 1. Scanner and shortwave listener objectives and techniques. 2. The correct/safe setup of amateur radio stations. 3. Any of the antennas used for HF, VHF or UHF radio communications. 4. Preferred HF and VHF/UHFoperating practices. 5. Radio signal propagation, at different frequencies, and distances. 6. The effect of solar radiation on radio wave propagation. 7. The size/frequency scalability of Fractal Geometry antenna designs (used in cell phones). 8. To what extent is amateur radio communications degraded, if commercial power is not operating? 9. What methods exist for connecting to the Internet, if commercial power is not operating?

Upcoming Public Service Events

Presently we have three possible public service events to support this year. The Spring Valley Academy Building Block Run has not been held for several years, and to date we have not been contacted. It is certain that Channel 16's Great TV Auction will be run again this year in April, and nearly as certain that we will be asked, to again help escort their telephone volunteers to their vehicles. The third event is the Walk for Women’s Wellness, which typically occurs on the first Sunday afternoon in May. We do not as yet have firm dates, or additional information, for any of these public service events.

Ohio District 3 ARES Net

A Net Manager is still needed for the Ohio District 3 Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) Net. We would like to encourage any of our members to consider volunteering to serve as the Ohio District 3 ARES Net Manager. To obtain more information about this position, and the net, you may contact Randy, KA0AZS, or Keith, KB8GYB.

Alternatively, if you would like to volunteer to gain experience as a net control, you may review the Net Guidelines, used to run the net, on the District 3 ARES Web Page at www.ohd3ares.org. The Net Guidelines are listed under a drop-down box, under the title, Net Info. You can also download the Net Guidelines from this web page, for printing. Printing the Net Guidelines allows following along during an ARES Net, to get a better feeling for what is involved in being a net control operator.

Suggestions for Presentations at Upcoming WCOARA Meetings

As a continuing reminder, Emil, KC8HYK, needs member suggestions for presentation topics they would like to hear discussed at future WCOARA meetings. It is not necessary for you to come up with suggested speakers to make the presentations, just topics that you would be interested in learning more about.

Association Email List

Click her for the association's email list. It is a moderated list and you must be aproved to be added. To be aproved you must be a current member.

Be sure to check out our new (or slightly recycled) Officers.