Hello PCARS Members,

The heat of July is almost over – then the heat of August will be here soon as well….

Anyway, that means a new PCARS newsletter is in the works. If you have anything for the newsletter, please send it to me along with any (large format and in-focus) photos.

Friday – July 26th is the last Friday of the month and inputs are due no later that 8 pm on the 26th.

Let’s keep our newsletter going great with your help! Looking forward to getting your inputs. Email .TXT files to KB8UUZ@Gmail.com

73,

Parky – PCARS Newsletter Editor

 

It was the Unified S-Band Radio System that helped Apollo 11 place a man on the moon on July 20, 1969, 50 years ago tomorrow.

 

Collins Radio played an important part in Voice of America history, as it built the powerful 250,000 watt shortwave transmitters that replaced original Crosley transmitters in 1963. Collins also made an important contribution to Project Apollo.

 

The earlier Mercury and Gemini space programs used separate radio systems for voice communications, tracking, and telemetry (data collection for monitoring). The multiple systems were adequate for these simpler missions. However, the Apollo mission to land on the moon required expanded communications capabilities due to the increased distance and the use of two separate manned spacecrafts- the command module and the lunar module.

 

NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Collins Radio met this challenge by developing the Unified S-Band System (USB), which integrated the different radio systems into a single system. During the Apollo 11 mission, it used the ultra-high frequency S-Band, also known as the microwave band, for radio transmission between the modules and the NASA ground station. The USB antennas could transmit and receive radio signals simultaneously. These 80-foot antennas were built by Blaw Knox, who also constructed the iconic 831-foot WLW tower in Mason, OH. The system even had an “emergency key” that allowed for Morse Code transmission in the event that voice communication was lost. And, yes, this USB system also supported video signals, so that the world could see Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind” on television. 

 

Today, the S-band frequencies are used to carry GPS and Bluetooth radio signals. 

Attention PCARS Contesters:

This coming Saturday, July 20, K8BF will be on the air in the North American QSO Party, RTTY mode contest.

The contest starts at 2PM local time (1800 UTC) and ends at 2AM Sunday morning (0600 UTC). We plan to take part in all 12 hours. We will have two operating positions active since we are entering in the multi-two category.

George, K3GP, will be our leader for this one and will be at the club site at least one hour early to give anyone who wants, some last minute instruction. I will be there around noon with coffee and donuts.

I encourage any PCARS member, who wants to take part in a RTTY contest, to attend. We hope that the WX and propagation cooperate with our effort to come in first place again.

See you there!

—

73 – Chuck W8PT

PCARS Net – Thursday July 18

Tom – WB8LCD – will be running the PCARS net FROM the clubsite this week! He will be there from approximately 6:30 – 10:00 PM – so, stop on out and check into the net from the clubsite, AND, we will fire up some HF to see if we can make some QSO’s with the YDXA hams at PJ2T! (At the very least – get your yardwork done early, get inside and give us a check-in)

Next week, July 25th, Ed – K8IV – will be NCS for the net, again, from the clubsite. This will be our regular “Net-Night at the Clubsite”, so come on out and participate in some good Ham Radio Fun!

73,

Tom wb8lcd

PCARS will be demonstrating ham radio this Saturday at an open to the public Maker Event. The event is being held at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 8667 Shepard Rd., Macedonia, OH. The event runs from 9-1 but we will be setting up at 8. I will have my portable station, my fox hunting gear and some experiments with magnets.

If you are interesting in helping with this event, please send an email tojawilson@j3solutions.com. If you would like to display some gear that would be great. Just let me know.

Thanks,

Jim, AC8NT

July FlexNet

The next FlexNet will be held on July 10, 2019 at 8pm.

This month’s net will be on FM Simplex and can be found at 146.460. If

the frequency needs to change, we will have someone on the 146.895

repeater providing updates.

If you need an antenna for your 2 meter setup, here is a weblink to a

few very simple and CHEAP plans I would encourage you to check out.

Operating FM simplex is fun and simple with a very small investment.

After the net, we ask that you please send a QSL card to each and every

person you contact. You can use the SquirrelBuro QSL box that is

located at the clubsite and at club meetings to exchange cards. Please

remember to use UTC time/date on all of your QSL’s.

Deron N8XTH

July FlexNet

The next FlexNet will be held on July 10, 2019 at 8pm.

This month’s net will be on FM Simplex and can be found at 146.460. If

the frequency needs to change, we will have someone on the 146.895

repeater providing updates.

If you need an antenna for your 2 meter setup, here is a weblink to a

few very simple and CHEAP plans I would encourage you to check out.

Operating FM simplex is fun and simple with a very small investment.

After the net, we ask that you please send a QSL card to each and every

person you contact. You can use the SquirrelBuro QSL box that is

located at the clubsite and at club meetings to exchange cards. Please

remember to use UTC time/date on all of your QSL’s.

Deron N8XTH

Greetings Club Members,

July Monthly Meeting

Just want to remind you that we are having our July Monthly Meeting this Monday, July 8th at 7:00 PM at the American Legion Post 496, 1945 Mogadore Rd., Kent, OH. Our speaker will be Frank Tompkins W8EZT giving us the latest information on Fox Hunting. Fox Hunting is fun for all ages and a great part of our hobby. Come on out and hear this great presentation. As usual we will have our 50/50 and will be spending quality time with our fellow hams.

UHF Repeater

Ed K8IV, Rick K8CAV and I moved the UHF 444.575/449.575 repeater (NO PL Tone) to the new high ground site near Mantua today. We completed some initial testing around the area of the Headwaters Adventures Race and found the coverage outstanding. The testing was done with my ICOM T70 handheld and its “rubber ducky” antenna operated inside Rick’s jeep I also hit the repeater from Stow using 5 watts and my car mounted antenna . I am asking our members to try out this new repeater location and tell us what you think at the meeting on Monday.

I would like to thank Dave Dorson K8PKN the owner of the site, Ed K8IV for setting up the repeater and Rick K8CAV for making this project possible. It is a great addition to our resource list.

Jim, AC8NT

Greetings PCARS Members, ARRL Officials, Amateur Radio Clubs and other interested people,

The July 2019 issue of The RADIOGRAM has been published and is ready for you to enjoy. Hope you enjoy this issue – READ ALL ABOUT IT – Field Day 2019, the PCARS Preliminary Results are out! – Youth DX Adventure , On The Air this month – Hamvention 2019 photos – New World Wide Digi Contest Announced – DX Highlites – PCARS Custom Coffee Cups – something for everyone!

Feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone interested in ham radio or PCARS.

To see a copy of the newsletter Click Here. If you if have trouble copy this link to your browser:

Take care & 73,

Tom “Parky”, KB8UUZ

PCARS Newsletter Editor

Any mistakes found in the newsletter are there on purpose so some of you can can have fun finding them…. The Radiogram is the monthly newsletter of PCARS. Every month, we bring you news, events, DX listings, articles, and lots of fun. All of the issues, dating back to the very first, are on the club website (http:www.portcars.org) for you to download and read. Amateur Radio articles are welcome. Send your submission in .txt (text) format to the editor: kb8uuz@gmail.com