PCARS (K8BF)

What: 4:1 hybrid balun build
Where: At the Clubsite
When: April 27, 2024 9am-12pm

This antenna is quite versatile, capable of handling 100 watts and working on frequencies ranging from 80-10m. It can be used for a delta loop or an off-center fed antenna. This is my go to antenna for portable operations. It has not been tested in wet weather so keep that in mind if you’re planning a permanent install. The cost for participating in this build is $40, which covers everything except the antenna wire. The build process is expected to take around 3-4 hours. To join, please RSVP by Thursday April 18th to bmercer@eutonian.com and payment will be required upfront. Cash is preferred but we can also arrange paypal once you email me.

A small assortment of tools will help the build go smoothly. If you can bring side cutters, and a soldering iron, you can get through most of the build. I’ll bring some small tools that I have to share, but they will be limited. If you are familiar with winding torroids, that is the bulk of this build. We will also be soldering on some small connectors, and bolting the mounting studs in. I will also have a nanovna and dummy loads so we can run a sweep on each build to verify that it is constructed correctly.

The plan for the build is for everyone to have their own instruction manual that will walk you through step by step with pictures. This way everyone will have a visual to follow along with at their own pace. The instructions will also include some basic information on how to test the balun to make sure it’s functioning correctly. Having built several of these, I’ve also come up with a few helpful hints I will include along the way.

Because of the lead time in preparing the kits, I will need to know absolutely no later than April 18th if you are interested in participating.

73’s
Brandon KE8ARB

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Our next Portable Operations SIG will be on Tuesday, April 9th at 7 PM; that is if we haven’t ceased to exist as predicted by the tinfoil hat crowd.

There’s a lot to talk about this month.

The Hamvention forum schedule has been released. I like to sit in on the forums, and try to learn some things each year. The schedule this year is impressive, and you can read it at https://hamvention.org/event-details/forums/

We also have our April ParkPedition at Punderson State Park coming up on the 20th.

The WWFF program has added some new parks into the system

A friend has purchased the Chameleon antenna, and is really enjoying it!

Lastly, let’s talk about logging programs! N3FJP has an update that allows us to enter the new POTA park numbers easier; the HAMRS developer is back at the stick, and working on the program.

Or, bring up a topic of your own; See you on Tuesday!

As usual, we’re meeting at PCARS World Headquarters (705 Oakwood St, Ravenna). If you’d prefer, feel free to join us on Zoom. Here’s the info:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/92154491950?pwd=cmZNSlFhZVRmcVg3L3pnazdrK1ZuUT09

Meeting ID: 921 5449 1950

Passcode: 878917

One tap mobile

+13092053325,,92154491950#,,,,*878917# US

+13126266799,,92154491950#,,,,*878917# US (Chicago)

Hope you can make it! 73, DE WG8X

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Don’t miss out on our upcoming PCARS meeting, which is just around the corner! Be sure to mark your calendars for Monday, April 08, and join us at American Legion Post 496 on Mogadore Rd in Kent. The meeting will commence promptly at 7:00 PM.

The Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are designed to offer a relaxed environment for PCARS members with common interests in amateur radio activities. It’s a great opportunity to delve deeper into specific topics, exchange thoughts, and gain insights.

During this month’s gathering, the HF WAS & DX Nets, DX/contest, and Could be Anything SIGs will give an overview of their focus areas and discuss their goals and activities. Feel free to ask any questions you may have!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97799867749?pwd=VFovbkFxSXhzMnF1Qm9kUDhDaksydz09

Meeting ID: 977 9986 7749
Passcode: 575209

Minutes of March 2024 Monthly Meeting:
Click here to see last month’s meeting minutes or use the following link copied to your browser:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13BQFOSR3j7-gHSEaZV__1k_KcRJ_ItE4/view?usp=sharing

Mike – KP4VZ
PCARS President

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PCARS CONTESTERS:

Well, the WA7BNM Perpetual Contest Calendar for 2024 failed me this year. During the last DX/Contesting SIG meeting, I mentioned that the Louisiana QSO Party would be held this weekend (April 6&7). This was the only QSO Party listed on the calendar. Weeelllll – I found out that there are two more QSO parties being held this same weekend. They are the Mississippi QSOP and the Missouri QSOP. Those of you who would like to participate in any of these contests, just Google them to get the full rules and other documents you might need, like the county lists, rovers, etc.

I will try to be more vigilant from here on and not depend on one source. It’s the old “Fool me once, fool me twice” scenario.

73 – Chuck W8PT

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Information obtained from Acrea Cremation Group – https://www.areacremationgroup.com/obituaries/david-dorson

David Dorson – K8PKN
June 14, 1943 — March 20, 2024
PCARS Past Member #417

David J. Dorson died peacefully at home on March 20, 2024 after a 20 year battle with prostate cancer. Born on June 14, 1943 in Warren, OH, he and his twin Donald were the youngest of 4 children of H.George Dorson and Iva L. Dorson. David loved to tell elaborate stories about the shenanigans they got up to while growing up on a farm in Colebrook. David had a love for radios he developed as a teen studying to get his ham radio license. His call sign was K8PKN and he and his brother (W1GBO) managed to stay in touch over the airways from just about every corner of the globe. The twins helped run the Hiram College radio station and graduated with a BA in physics in 1965. Then he moved to Groton, MA for a job teaching physics and math in the public school. In July 1966 he returned to Ohio to marry Beverly Green, a fellow Hiram and Grand Valley High School graduate. He accepted a job at Hiram College as a research assistant with a former professor and eventually also taught classes in physical oceanography, science for elementary education students, and electronics, and additionally took care of the language lab, campus radio station, and science department equipment.

On top of his teaching load, he ran a dairy farm in Garrettsville, an apartment building in Hiram and later a radio business, David was never one to spend much time just sitting around! To free up time for more of his interests, he retired from Hiram in 1980. However, in the fall of 1983 an illness struck the cows, so he gave up milking and began substitute teaching. About that time, the head of the science department at Western Reserve Academy recruited him for an open physics department position. After an interview, the headmaster, Skip Flanagan remarked that he wanted to hire the person with some farming experience, and while this surprised Beverly, it also made it clear that it would not be anything like a 9-5 job.

Selling the farm and moving to Reserve was a life changing experience for the entire family. All four children, Meredith ’87, Matthew ’89, Melanie ’94, Donald ’97, and his niece Laura ’91, graduated from WRA. David loved teaching! It didn’t matter if the subject was physics, radios, or tuning carburetors, he loved to explain things to anyone even vaguely interested in listening. His passion for the practical aspects of physics and his way of thinking about things in everyday life seemed to interest many of his students. As Mr. Dorson always told his classes, “there’s no substitute for doing it!”

David retired from WRA in 1998 and then spent 25 years running a commercial radio business, managing and then selling an apartment building, improving his grandfather’s farm in Colebrook, maintaining a fleet of antique John Deere and other non-green tractors, restoring seventeen WWII Jeeps, a 1943 WC-13 truck and a 1953 army ambulance. The last two machines were taken on a series of Military Vehicle Preservation Association convoys on the Lincoln Highway to San Francisco and with his wife to Alaska and on Route 66, all the way across the country and back three times! David was never one to slow down! We never quite believed he ever would, but sadly he had to, in the end.

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