MASSASOIT AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION
                              Bridgewater, Ma.

                       Monthly Electronic Newsletter

                    Massasoit Amateur Radio Association
                          Founded January 6, 1962
                                 PO Box 428
                           Bridgewater, MA  02324

                               December 1995



CHRISTMAS GREETING

We wish all members of the Massasoit Amateur Radio Association, and
their families, the Merriest Christmas, the Happiest Holidays, and the
most prosperous, joyful, and peaceful New Year.

In the spirit of the Season, we extend these same wishes to our sister
club, WARC, and all our Amateur Radio friends here in Eastern
Massachusetts, across the country, and around the world.


CHRISTMAS PARTY NEWS

This year's Christmas Party will be held on the regular meeting night,
Tuesday, December 19, but it will be held at the PUB 106 rather than
the St. Thomas Acquinas Church Hall.  The party begins at 7:00PM
rather than 8:00PM.  If you have not done so already, please try to
contact Mary Ann, N1SGV, or Gary, WA1CIM, to give them your choice of
menu.
Directions: Head out of East Bridgewater towards Halifax on Rt. 106.
Pub 106 is on your left about 5 miles down.  It used to be called
Joe's Spa, but was completely renovated into a family-style restaurant
this year when it changed hands.


REPEATER IS MOVED

On Friday, November 24, after Thanksgiving, a working party organized
by Jay, N1FDX, moved the new 2M repeater into the new shed.  The
repeater was off the air for about 11/2 hours while the actual move
was made.  The whole job took about 3+ hours.

The 440 machine is still in the new shed.  Its antenna line is coupled
with the commercial repeater that shares the shed, so those two
machines need to be moved together.
Plans are to move those in the Spring, as a unit.  Then the old shed
will have its heat shut off, and be used only for storage.

Thanks to Warren/N1CGK, Carl/N1FYZ, Steve/N1JFU, and Mark/N1NLR for
helping Jay, N1FDX during the move.


FIRST NIGHT UPDATE
by Carl Aveni, N1FYZ

According to a story in the Sunday Enterprise of November 26, there
will be no 'First Night' celebration in Brockton this year.  In an
article entitled FIRST NIGHT FIZZLES OUT, the Brockton organizers hope
that the event will return.  Brockton Jaycees President Michael J.
Zucco said the decision to cancel what would have been the
celebration's fourth annual event was made during the previous week.
He cited serious time constraints facing organizers to plan First
Night '96 as well as a lack of funding.  "With the amount of time we
had, we did what we could," Zucco said..  "But, there was not enough
time to pull it together".
First Night was an alternative to other New Years Eve celebrations
that the entire family could enjoy in a safe, alcohol-free
environment.  It had a wide variety of entertainment, and was topped
off with a spectacular fireworks display.  We are sorry to see this
event come to an end, even if for only a short while.  It became an
annual Club event as well as a much needed fund raiser for the
Brockton School system.
Thank you to everyone who has participated in the past during these
events.  It was fun, and we look forward to doing more events like it
in the future.



SECRETARY'S NOTES

The November meeting was by far the largest of the year.  Attendance
was around 29 members and guests.  We were called to order at 8:13PM
due to our coordinating with CCD classes which were finishing up.
The Secretaries Report was accepted as printed in the November
MARANEWS.

Treasurer's report: Opening balance; $673.  Closing balance: $582.

Repeater Report: The Transmit PL's are on line as of November 20.
They are at 67.0 Hz, the same as the receive PL's.  This will
eliminate interference from band openings, etc.  Jay, N1FDX, asked for
a working party to move the 2M repeater into the new shed on Friday,
the day after Thanksgiving (see more info later on in this issue).

BBS Report: The N1JFU BBS is now running faster.  Steve fixed a disk
caching problem that had occurred on the BBS PC.

The East Bridgewater YMCA sent a 'thank-you' letter to MARA, care of
Gary DeCoster, WA1CIM, for their work during the October Fall Frolic
road race.

Kenwood Radio sent MARA a 15-minute video on their TS-870S.  It will
be shown at the January meeting.  Members who show up and sign a
roster sheet will receive a free Kenwood World Map.  More in the
January MARANEWS.

Steve Tolf, K1ST, is looking for help for the Boston Marathon in May.
He needs about 50 operators.  Contact Steve via Internet at
stolf@alternate.com or via his CBA.

Bruce, K1HTN, reminded members about the upcoming ARRL 10M contest.


LADDER LINE
cont. from last month

Since I insisted on sticking with a single-dipole design,
Dean suggested that I replace my coaxial cable with ladder line.
Unlike coax, where one conductor completely surrounds another, ladder
line places both conductors in parallel.  Insulating material is used
to maintain a consistent separation.  As a result, the fields radiated
by the conductors cancel each other and the line is balanced.  In
450-ohm line, sections of insulating plastic give the cable a
ladder-like appearance, "Oh, no," I said.  "I know all about ladder
line.  It radiates RF in your house and you have to keep it away from
metal or it won't work.  Dean simply smiled. He ran the loss
calculations again, but this time he substituted ladder line.  Wow! On
40 through 10 meters, the loss hardly exceeded 0.3 dB.  Now he had my
attention.

But what about all those ladder-line problems?
"If the ladder line is balanced, it doesn't radiate RF," he replied.
"As far  as metal objects are concerned, you need to keep the line a
few inches away from big sections of steel, aluminum and so on.  The
fields around the  conductors can couple to metal and this creates an
imbalance.  Unless you  intend to tape the ladder line along your
gutters, however, I wouldn't worry  about it.  Your tuner should be
able to handle any imbalance that occurs."      The Test    I was
determined to put Dean's statements to the test.  I purchased a
100-foot  roll of 450-ohm ladder line and attached it to the center of
my dipole.  Since  this was a temporary installation, I routed the
line across the roof and into  the window of my radio room.  Along the
way I passed over a couple of gutters, across some chimney flashing
and along some aluminum siding to my window--which was equipped with
metal sashes!    After attaching the line to the balanced-antenna
posts on my tuner, I fired  up the radio.

"This will never work," I mumbled.  The tuner loaded easily on 40
meters, but that proved nothing.  The antenna  was resonant on 40
meters anyway.  I started moving up, band by band.  Each time, the
tuner lowered the SWR at the transmitter to a flat 1:1 match without
difficulty.  No arcing. No RF interference.  I was stunned!    On 15
meters, I heard a pileup centered on a station in the Marshal Islands.
I grabbed the microphone and announced my call sign when he said, ". .
.  standing by for calls." He answered me on the first attempt!    "I
know what I'll do," I said with a fiendish laugh.  "I'll load the
antenna  on 80 meters. It's way too short to load on 80!"    Wrong
again. The tuner quickly brought the SWR down to 1:1.  I then
proceeded to make several contacts and received outstanding signal
reports.  This was the first time that I was ever able to use my
dipole on 80 meters.  I tried  160 meters, but that was pushing it a
bit too far for the tuner.  A muffled  frying sound indicated its
displeasure.

A few weeks later I stripped out my old cable and replaced it with
450-ohm  ladder line.  The performance has been excellent on all
bands.  As you might  guess, the improvement is most dramatic on the
bands where the SWR is  highest. Thanks to ladder line, the vast
majority of my output power is now  radiated at the antenna-- not lost
in the feed line.

Not a Cure-All    It's important to point out that my nonresonant
dipole is a compromise solution designed for the restrictions at my
home.  The ladder line isn't magical.  It simply allows a mediocre
antenna to perform much better than it  might otherwise.  I must keep
my output below 150 watts or risk dangerously high RF voltage levels
on the feed line (now you know why the tuner arced on  160 meters!).
Some antenna tuners may arc even at relatively low power levels.  If
you decide to attempt this type of antenna design, I recommend a
heavy-duty antenna tuner rated at 1 kW or higher.  The tuner must
provide a balanced output (not all tuners do).

Of course, if I had a resonant antenna instead, I could go back to my
low-loss coaxial cable and enjoy equally good performance.  I probably
wouldn't need an antenna tuner and I could run much more power.
Ladder line can be effected by weather. (Ice, water or debris between
the  conductors can upset the balance.)  Unless you reinforce the
connection at the  antenna, the line is likely to break very quickly.
And ladder line can be difficult to locate.  (If your local dealer
doesn't sell it, check  the advertising pages of QST for wire and
cable suppliers.)  These disadvantages notwithstanding, ladder line is
an excellent choice for almost  any kind of HF antenna.  Not only is
it inexpensive, the loss figures at HF frequencies are very low.

Apartment and Condo Dwellers    If you're an apartment/condo dweller,
or anyone else suffering under antenna restrictions, ladder line may
offer a way for you to get on the air.  If you have an attic, for
example, install the longest dipole you can and feed it  with ladder
line. Don't worry about the length of your antenna. Just make sure
that both sides are equal.  Use your antenna tuner and determine on
which  bands you can achieve a 1:1 SWR.  You may be surprised to
discover that you can become active on at least some HF bands after
all!


PHASE 3D LAUNCH SET BACK
ARLS015

The launch of the Phase 3D Amateur Radio satellite has been set back
from May 1996 to September, according to the Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation (AMSAT).

The satellite is manifested on the European Space Agency's Ariane-5
Flight 502.  The agency reported that tests on the launcher's
cryogenic main stage have been under way in Kourou, French Guyana, and
were to have ended shortly, but problems have called for changes that
will delay upcoming launches 501 and 502.

AMSAT-North America President Bill Tynan, W3XO, said he was
disappointed at the news, but that these things can often be expected
in any development program.  ''Ariane 5 is a very ambitious
development program, but one which I am confident will result in great
success for ESA-- both technically and commercially,'' Tynan said.

Tynan also said that the Phase 3D team will use the extra time to good
advantage to construct an even better and more thoroughly tested
spacecraft.

A story about the P3D satellite appeared in May and December 1995
QST's.


VE NEWS

The FCC has announced that effective January 1, 1996, the maximum
allowable reimbursement fee for an amateur operator license
examination is $6.07.  This increase, up from $5.92 in 1995, is based
upon a 2.544% CPI increase between 9/94 and 9/95.  Accordingly, and
consistent with our precedence of rounding down to the nearest 5
cents, the ARRL VEC has set its 1996 test fee at $6.05 for each exam
except for those examinations consisting of only element 1A, Element
2, or both for which there is no charge.
Effective as of October 27, 1995; New hams who contact the ARRL
looking for their new call sign or newly upgraded license information
must call 1-860-594-0300 weekdays between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM.
Always allow 10 days from the test date before calling.  This number
is in the [ARRL] VEC department and is a toll call.  The previous
number through the ARRL/EAD is no longer available for this purpose.
Direct E-mail to "vec@arrl.org".  While the FCC still has their
800-322-1117 number, it is always busy.  Examinees should always call
the ARRL rather than the FCC.  Examinees should not use the 1-800 VE
Hotline, as this is only for ARRL VE's who are conducting VE business.
73, Bart Jahnke, KB9NM, ARRL/VEC Manager.


MESSAGES YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR

Yes, it's December.  Hopefully, your Christmas shopping is almost
complete.  If not, start now and finish it before the week before
Christmas.  Then sit down, relax, watch the Christmas TV Specials and
laugh at everybody else who is running around like a Christmas turkey
with their heads cut off.

You are probably asking yourself what this excellent piece of advice
is going to cost you (ahem).  The answer is sooooo simple.  It's time
for (brace yourself, get a good grip on the chair.....) dues.

Dues are still only $20, with family memberships still costing $25.
No hidden surprises this year, no extra costs.  Just the dues.  Please
pay them now, before the Christmas bills come in, and before you start
to do your Income Tax's and decide that you can't afford them.  This
is the type of thing that brings a tear to your Treasurer's eye, and a
lump to his throat. Thanks!


VANITY CLUB CALL UPDATE

Warren, N1CGK, brought up the point of why our repeater and BBS have
not changed their calls to our club call.  Good question.  When vanity
calls were first announced, MARA was required to first get a generic
call before we could apply for a vanity call.  We did, and received
KB1BPZ in June.  Carl, N1FYZ, was asked to be custodian due to his
EXTRA-Class status which would then let us obtain any grade of call
that we wanted.

At that time, we anticipated that vanity calls were 'just
around the corner'.  The Repeater and the BBS Committee
decided that it would not be logical to change the call, only to have
to change it again in a very short while (as we thought at the time)..

Finally, on December 1, the FCC released the Form 610-V and we now
have our copy.  According to a note from the ARRL enclosed with the
instructions , any forms submitted before Gate openings will be
returned unprocessed and could result in delays when the Gates
actually DO open.  "We don't expect to learn what the future dates for
the Gate openings will be until some time in the first quarter of
1996."

If/when you learn of any gate openings, please notify Carl, N1FYZ, or
any member of the Executive committee to let us process our Club
610-V.  Thanks.


ON SHOWING UP EARLY
by Bob Mandeville, N1EDM

At our last monthly meeting, Father White had a quiet chat with myself
and Carl, N1FYZ.  He asked us if it would be possible to show up
closer to meeting time, at 8PM as our early arrival is creating a
distraction to their CCD classes.

With the expansion of the parish, there has been a need to use the
gymnasium for classroom space.  When MARA members show up early, as we
normally do, it proves to be too much confusion to the students and
teachers, even though club members congregated in the kitchen and the
lobby, trying to stay out of sight.  Everyone was as quiet as
possible, but it is clear that our early arrival is creating a
problem.  From the parish's point of view, CCD classes certainly are
more important to the parish than MARA Club meetings.  From our own
point of view, the social aspect of arriving before the club meeting
is as important as the meeting itself - that fact has not been lost on
us.  But we have to cooperate with the Church and respect their
wishes.

Our December meeting will be at the Pub 106, so this month is not a
problem.  For the time being, in January and through the remainder of
the school year while CCD is meeting, please wait until about 7:55
before going into the Hall, and please extend the courtesy trying not
to disturb the CCD meetings which will be winding up at that time.
The only person who should be going in early should be the guy with
the coffee pot, who will be in and out as quickly and as quietly as
possible .

Thanks for bearing with us.  We are working to find a better, and more
permanent solution to this problem.  We appreciate your understanding.


610V SOFTWARE LOADED
Program file 610V_ALL.ZIP has been uploaded to the Ham Shack BBS.  It
includes a copy of the 610V form (in .PCX format) and the
instructions.  It also includes a JPEG file reader/printer  that runs
under Windows which will print out the forms.  It is recommended that
you select the printer option which lets you resize the form to fit
the entire page.  A Laser printer, a fast machine, and lots of memory
work best.


PRB-1 CLONE IN MASSACHUSETTS
ARLB106

A new law in Massachusetts will put the language of the FCC's Federal
Preemption of State and Local Laws Affecting Amateurs (PRB-1) on the
books when it takes effect next year.

H-2782, a bill in the Massachusetts legislature, was written by ARRL
Volunteer Counsel Thomas Carrigan, WA1NVS, in 1992. The bill was
passed by both Chambers of the Legislature earlier this year, then
sent back to the Legislature by Governor  William Weld, for
modification.  Both Chambers of the Legislature then enacted the Bill
in the last week of this year's legislative session and sent it to the
Governor, who signed the Bill into law on November 21.

The Bill becomes law 90 days after signing, and is assigned to Chapter
225 of the Massachusetts General Laws.

Eastern Massachusetts ARRL Section Manager Phil Temples, K9HI, said "I
like PRB-1.  The new Chapter 225 does not give Amateurs a green light
to do anything they want to do with their antennas.  You are still
bound by the zoning laws of your city or town, and you will still have
to go through the same process for approval that you have to go
through now.

''So, what's the difference?  Now, when you go to your town hall, you
can point to Chapter 225 as requiring that local regulations be
reasonable.  If you should find it necessary to go to court for
satisfaction, you can choose State court or Federal court.  State
court trials would be less expensive, but the precedents set in PRB-1
cases do not transfer to Massachusetts courts,'' Temples said.

Carrigan has written a primer for Massachusetts hams on what the new
law means.  It is available on the World Wide Web at
http://www.ultranet.com/(til de)shawn/wa1nvs.hmtl.

Temples also suggested that Massachusetts amateurs who contacted their
Representatives and Senators in support of H-2782 now send a note
thanking them for their support.


SANTA CLAUSE REPORTS

As in recent years, MARA will again be relaying Santa reports on
Christmas Eve.  Listen to the repeater on your HT, and make sure you
have your 'Santa experts' there with you.  Carl, N1FYZ, will be
transmitting the reports as he receives them.  Of course, if your
'Santa experts' have any information they can add, Carl will be
interested in hearing from them as well.
Bill N1FRE Announced that beginning this month, the club meetings will
take place at the Cardinal Spellman Hall in Whitman.  Meetings will be
from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.
This is the WARC "winter mode" and will continue until March.
We have been soliciting articles from the membership.  We do encourage
participation.  We feel that this is your newsletter and contributions
would only serve to enhance our effort.



HAMS ON THE GO..The following was contributed by Bruce K1HTN.  We
weren't able to get his pictures scanned in time for the newsletter,
but Bruce is pretty descriptive in his narration.

On October 28th, a rainy Saturday, Bruce, K1HTN, and friend Ron Putt
of E. Bridgewater, toured the USS Salem, a heavy crusher, now on
display at the US Naval & Shipyard Museum, berthed next to the Fore
River Bridge on Rte 3A in Quincy, Ma.

The Salem was built at the Quincy Shipyard in 1948 and at 718 feet
long is longer than many battleships.  It went to sea in 1949 and
never saw battle.  It was the Flagship of the Navy's Sixth Fleet and
the "star" of "The Graf Spree" movie.

A friend of mine from IBM, Jim, N1DAN, served aboard the Salem in 1958
& 59 as an electronics technician, and is working on restoring the
equipment.  Most of the equipment that went to sea with the ship is
still onboard and is being put into operating condition.  Jim, N1DAN,
has restored the CIC (Combat Information Center), and is now working
on the radio rooms and antenna's to get a HAM station operating using
the original RCA ship's equipment.  (AM & CW)

The Salem has 3 turrets of 8" guns which are classified as "Rapid
Fire" because the barrels do not have to be depressed to reload, a
number 5" and 3" gun turrets.  All of the gun directors, radar
equipment, and antennas are on board.

Jim took Ron and I to every nook and cranny, even if the sign said "NO
Admittance".  Despite the rainy day we had a very interesting tour and
I would recommend it to everyone.  The ship is open Daily 10-7 and
costs $6.00 for adults, and $4.00 for children ages 4 to 12.

Bruce  K1HTN

PS  Steep ladders and small openings to crawl through.


DID YOU KNOW???
Can you guess which MARA Vice-President, who is married to the current
MARA President,  is expecting a harmonic on or about May 24??  One
hint; it is not Steve Powers, WA1WED.  (Steve had to step down as VP
earlier this year due to a work conflict).  Now, put your thinking
caps on...


SO YOU'RE BUYING A COMPUTER
by Lenny N1MII

There is probably nothing harder for the uninitiated than buying a
computer.  Most of us as hams would have little trouble buying a
radio.  We know what we want, what to expect and most of the time
we're not disappointed.  On the other hand, buying a computer is a
whole nother game.  There are many things to consider before you spend
your money

New or used?...That would depend on what you plan to use the machine
for.  If you are going to use the machine for packet only, you should
definitely go used.  Packet programs do not require a state of the art
chip.  They take up little space on the hard drive and use very little
memory.  In many cases you can run the program from a floppy, and many
of today's TNC's run independent of the computer once they're set up.

My choice for this type of machine would be a 286 100% compatible.
These machines can be had for prices starting at about $100.  Places
to shop for these machines would be classified ads, friends or my
favorite, the computer show.

To those who have never been to a computer flea market, suffice to say
it's like a giant candy store.  My advice would be to take a friend
who is familiar with the fleas and who knows how to bargain.  You'll
walk away happy.  Ask to see the computer work before you buy it.
It's hard to make a bad deal on a 286 machine.  All you need is a com
port and you're in business

Vocabulary

hard drive
dos
ram
conventional memory
floppy drives
C D rom
video card

These are some of the terms that you must know and know well when
buying anything other than an entry level machine.  We'll go into
these in depth next month
73,  Lenny