MARANEWS

	   February, 1995	Volume 34, Issue 2

		 Monthly Newsletter of the
	     Massasoit Amateur Radio Association
		  Founded January 6, 1962
		      PO Box 428
		  Bridgewater, MA  02324


PRESIDENT	      Mark Greenlaw, N1NLR
VICE PRESIDENT	 Steve Powers, WA1WED
TREASURER	      Gary DeCoster, WA1CIM
SECRETARY	      Bob Mandeville, N1EDM
REPEATER TRUSTEE       Jay Zappulla, N1FDX
BBS TRUSTEE	    Steve Meuse, N1JFU

2-M Repeater	   147.180+ (Tone 67.0)
440 Repeater	   444.550+ (Tone 88.5)
PBBS N1KBT	     145.030 - Bridgewater
DIGI WA1ZUF-1	  145.050 - 25 watts at 110 feet, BSC campus
DIGI N1EDM-1	   145.030 - 10 watts, central Brockton
NODE BRIDGE	    145.030 - at N1KBT PBBS
NODE BROCK	     145.030 - 10 watts, central Brockton
INFO N1EDM-4	   145.030 - at BROCK Node

Monthly Meeting:       Every 3rd Tuesday of the Month, 8 PM

Meeting on the Air:    1st, 2nd, & 4th Tuesday, 8 PM, 147.180+

Trivial Pursuit Net:   Thursday Evenings, 8 PM, 147.180+

Area Phone BBS's
     SANCTUARY	       508-587-4615  1200-14.4K baud, N81
     HAM SHACK BBS	   508-588-6242  1200-14.4K baud, N81


		     (BELATED)HAPPY VALENTINES DAY???
Courtesy of KC4PWY
Poor memory, bad handwriting and a note to myself spelled disaster
when I left home last February 14 and returned with a can of
Valvoline for my wife.
--Liberty in St. Paul "Pioneer-Press"


N1MII NEW MARANEWS PUBLISHER

If you notice a new look to this newsletter, it is because Lenny
Amabile, N1MII, is now taking over the reins of editing, printing,
and mailing MARANEWS.  To this end, Len has purchased Microsoft
Publisher to use on  MARANEWS, which will give the newsletter a new
look.  Over the next several months, Len will be experimenting with
the new software and new styles, so look for the face of MARANEWS
to change during 1995 even more.  Send your thoughts to Len!

Also, beginning with this issue, MARANEWS is returning to a monthly
publication schedule, provided it does not become too great a
burden on the club treasury.


FIRST NIGHT A SUCCESS!
by Carl Aveni, N1FYZ
1995 was ushered in by another successful First Night Brockton
celebration. By all accounts, this year's event was the best yet.
Nine tents (three more than last year), improved lighting, and a
new public address system helped to make things run smoothly.  MARA
was well represented during the 12 hours that this event was in
operation.

Fifteen members volunteered their time during various phases of
First Night to insure that communications were intact. During one
particularly hectic point, amateur radio assisted with two nearly
simultaneous auto accidents that occurred at one of the entrances
to the high school.  While the special event station was not
overpowered with QSO's, we did hear from seven states and three
countries while demonstrating amateur radio to an enthusiastic
crowd.

My heartfelt thanks to all who pitched in to make our presence
invaluable to the First Night Committee. An appreciation reception
for all volunteers was held at the Holiday Inn, Westgate Mall on
Saturday, January 28th.
73...  de N1FYZ, Carl


SHOWING UP FOR MEETINGS

It was brought to the committee~s attention after the last monthly
meeting that we had unintentionally disrupted the Church~s January
CCD meeting with our chatter as we showed up a bit early.

We were asked (nicely, by the way) to help by being quieter.  The
CCD teachers are starting to use the small cubicles off the
gymnasium floor as mini classrooms. The membership was asked to
show up a little closer to 8 PM rather than at 7PM as lots of us
(your truly included)  normally do, and to hold the `noise~ down
until about 8 PM when CCD is over and our meeting can start.
Thanks for your understanding, and the Church appreciates it
too. 
QSL CARDS IN FEBRUARY

If you have QSL cards to send to the Outgoing QSL bureau, please
bring them to the February meeting, along with $1 and a copy of
your QST address label. We will bundle the cards together and ship
them off to the ARRL~s Outgoing QSL bureau for you.


BETTER COVERAGE FOR PLYMOUTH REPEATER
Mike, N1OEG, reported in December that the Plymouth 2M repeater has
increased power and as a result, its area of coverage has increased
as well.  It is possible to bring it up from as far away as
Brockton under ideal conditions.  Add 146.685- to your HT or mobile
Memory channels.

RS-15 LAUNCHED
The RS-15 satellite was launched  by ROKOT launcher from the
formerly secret military Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia. The RS-15
is devoted to 100 years of radio discovery by~ A.S.Popov in Russia.
The Laboratory of Aerospace Technique of ROSTO, Russian Society for
Military Sport and Technique, is acting as  coordination office for
radio amateur satellites.  Such work is done in close cooperation
with Russian Space Agency and other aerospace organizations.  The
RS-15 analog transponder was made in Tsiolkovskiy Museum for the
History of Cosmonautics in Kaluga, under the coordination of V.
Samkov and A. Papkov. Information on the ham radio~s latest bird is
as follows:
Name:	  RS-15
Launch:	26 December, 1994, 0300 UTC
Inclination:   64 deg. 12 min.
Period:	124 min. 24 sec.
Apogee/Perigee:1946 km./1809 km
Uplink:	145.857 - 145.897 MHz
Downlink:      29.357 -  29.397 MHz,   Power  5 W
Beacon #1:     29.398 MHz,  CW,  Power  0.4 or 1.2 W
Beacon #2:     29.353 MHz,  CW,  Power same as Beacon #1
BulBoard:      2 Kbytes, CW
Antennas:      Dipoles
Weight:	70 kg
Attitude:      No space stabilization.


HAVE YOU WORKED RS-12?????

Many MARA club members are having fun using a new mode of
operation.  Thanks to a tip-off from Whitey, K1VV, and the Marconi
Radio Club, several members have been working the RS-12 satellite.
The beauty of RS-12 is that it is Mode-K, or fully HF operable...
15M up, and 10M down.

The following information was edited from an article titled MORE
QRP SATELLITE WORK, PART ONE by Michael A. Czuhajewski WA8MCQ,
Severn, MD, written for RP Quarterly, journal of the QRP Amateur
Radio Club International.
For the absolute newcomer who wants to get started right away and
doesn't have immediate access to any other articles on RS-12, here
are the frequencies:  15 meter uplink is nominally 40 kHz wide,
from 21.210 to 21.250 MHz.  You can use either SSB or CW.  In
general, CW tends to gather near the lower end of the passband, but
don't forget to tune up into "SSB country," since I occasionally
hear CW up there.  The corresponding downlink is  29.410 to 29.450
MHz.  The telemetry beacon, with 20 WPM CW, is on 29.408, and the
ROBOT is at 29.454.  (If the bird is out of sight and you get
bored, you can always tune down to 29.357 and listen for the RS-10
beacon.  You need 2 meter equipment to get into that bird, though.)

The G3IOR article mentioned that while they say it's a 40 kHz
passband, there is some overlap at the edges and that you can be
heard up to 15 KHz or more outside those edges (although
sensitivity and efficiency are reduced).  Unfortunately, though,
you might not be heard since few people would be likely to listen
outside the published frequency range.

There are different satellite modes (uplink/downlink combinations)
available.  At the time of writing, RS-10 was operating with a two
meter uplink and ten meter downlink (Mode A), while RS-12 listens
on 15 meters and comes back down on 10M (Mode K).  The latter is my
favorite, since it only requires HF gear--no need to go out and buy
a 2 meter all-mode rig or build a transverter.  There are usually
about 6 passes a day, which for me are 3 in the morning and 3 in
the evening. Of a set of 3 passes, the middle (and closest) one is
usually the best and most productive.  The other two passes are
farther away and thus signals will be weaker, but they allow you to
work greater distances.

To use this bird it is required to have a 2 meter SSB or CW rig for
transmit and a ten meter rig for receive.  The receive side is
usually no problem, but the transmit side can be.  However, as
noted in the first article, the Soviet Union had orbited a new
amateur radio satellite, RS-12/13. This "bird" is of great interest
to QRPers and homebrewers, as all you need is a 15 meter
transmitter and a 10 meter receiver!  (And two antennas, of
course.)  Low transmit power, 5 watts or less, works quite well.
On the down side, the uplink is located in the Advanced and Extra
class license area.  Now there's a good reason to upgrade!

The RS-12/13 satellite is virtually a carbon copy of RS-10/11.  The
amateur radio satellite is actually a parasite system attached to
a navigational satellite, deriving all its power and stability from
it. On board are two separate sets of transponders, each covering
Mode A (2 meters up, 10 meters down), Mode K (15 meters up, 10
meters down) and mode T (15 meters up, 2 meters down). You will
probably find a lot of signals on the band, mostly SSB.

If you listen, you will find that it's DX, or stateside ops working
DX.  They're on the bird and don't even know it!  Look for someone
calling CQ RS on CW or CQ RS 12 on voice.  If you hear one, tune
the transmitter to the approximate frequency and start
transmitting.  You should start hearing your downlink.  It may be
necessary to adjust the transmit frequency to find yourself, but
once you do, you're there.  Beware, at the start and end of the
passes the QSB can be very, very bad.  If you don't hear anyone but
you can hear yourself, call CQ, remembering to append the "RS" to
it.  As you can imagine, the nighttime passes are much better than
the daylight ones.

RS-12/13 has a ROBOT function, which allows the operator to talk to
the satellite itself.  However, to my knowledge the ROBOT has
either not been on or the attenuators have been in, requiring 100+
watts to access.  (Boo, hiss.) Listen for them anyway, you might
just get lucky.


RS-12 Mode K
21.210 -- 21.250 MHz uplink; 29.410 -- 29.450 MHz downlink.
Beacon at 29.408
ROBOT uplink at 21.129 MHz, downlink at 29.454 MHz


RS-13 Mode K
21.260 -- 21.300 MHz uplink; 29.460 -- 29.500 MHz downlink.
Beacon at 29.458 MHz
ROBOT uplink at 21.138 MHz, downlink at 29.504 MHz


BSA SPECIAL EVENT

Bob McGuire, N1HKV, ever-faithful BSA Assistant Scoutmaster has
been asked to put on a special event station for a Boy Scout
Camporee to be held at LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro on April 29.
Bob is asking for club assistance either for operators or for
people to arrange scheds from their own homes.  Contact Bob for
more information and to discuss ideas.  Can you come up with some
interesting suggestions that kids would dig into, such as working
Satellites or WEFAX???



BSA Net/JOTA news

Special Bulletin 36  ARLX036
Boy Scouts of America is establishing a new net called BSA Net,
International. It will meet every Sunday at 2030 UTC on 14.290 MHz.
KB8OCC will act as net control.  Thanks to David Michelson, KB8OCC,
for the preceding information.

Dates have been set for the 1995 Jamboree On The Air operating
event. JOTA is an annual event in which Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts
and Guides from all over the world speak to each other by means of
Amateur Radio. JOTA 1995 will take place Saturday October 22, at
0001 hours local time to Sunday October 23, at 2359 hours local
time.


SECRETARY'S REPORT
by Bob Mandeville, N1EDM
* The January 1995 meeting was called to order at 8:05 PM with 20
members and guests present.  The Secretary~s report   for December
was accepted as printed in the December MARANEWS.
* The Treasurers report had an opening balance of $1590.00 and a
closing balance of $1498.70.
* Carl Aveni, N1FYZ, reported that First Night ~95 had an
attendance of over 15,000 people, and thanked the sixteen members
of MARA and WARC who came by to help.  More info in another area of
this newsletter.
* Jay, N1FDX, gave a repeater report.  The new repeater is almost
ready. It is being bench tested and they are awaiting manuals
needed for programming.
* Steve, N1JFU, commented on the recent BBS problems such as
software crashes, serial ports going bad, etc.  He also discussed
plans to put the system on the hill with the repeater where the
tower antennas would permit better access by users and better
throughput from KA1RCI.
* Ron, N1PXX, discussed the upcoming `sound-alike' CW class being
offered by Dave Topalis, KA1TXO.  More details elsewhere in this
issue.
* Mark Greenlaw, N1NLR, talked about upcoming WARC
Novice/Technician classes being offered at Stoughton HS.  More
details elsewhere in this issue.  Mark also passed out a
CERTIFICATE OF SURVIVAL to all the hams who helped  out at the 1995
FIRST NIGHT event.
* Maryanne DeCoster, N1SGW, was officially voted in as a member of
MARA, (which was only a formality after all the   support she has
already given the club).
*  Leo, WB1ECZ, was the winner of the 50-50 Raffle.



NEW LICENSES IN FIVE DAYS ????
This message was sent to all VE Team Liaisons in January from the
ARRL VEC.  The information will be of interest to anyone wishing to
upgrade.

To: ARRL VE TEAM LIAISONS (Share this with your VE~s)
ARRL/VEC begins full-time electronic filing:
The ARRL/VEC was instructed today (1/13/95) to forward all FORM 610
application data to the FCC electronically, via EMAIL.  Although we
have been sending diskettes to the FCC with this data and the
applicable hardcopy FORM 610 applications, effective today, we must
retain the FORM 610 applications at the ARRL/VEC.

We expect that this full electronic filing will eventually result
in FCC processing time as short as 2 to 3 days.  For now, however,
expect it to be about 5 days or so.  After 3 weeks have passed,
call us .

As we informed your team in early December, effective with new FCC
rules on 12/20/94, applicants can call the FCC at 800-322-1117 to
determine whether their new license has been granted.  If the
license has been granted, the applicant can immediately begin using
the new privileges with their FCC-issued call sign.  ARRL/VEC test
session processing time is averaging 1 to 2 days.

[Note to test takers and upgraders].  If you have questions about
the status of your recent upgrade or license, please contact our VE
team (such as Bob, N1EDM), first.  He will be in the best position
to give you information.   If ARRL contact is necessary, let Bob do
it for you.  He will have answers to the questions that the VE
people will be asking.  This will prevent unnecessary calls to the
ARRL VEC and speed up the answer you want to receive.  Of course,
if you wish to contact the ARRL VEC directly, you are free to do
so.  We are just trying to save you and the ARRL VEC needless
trouble and delay.  Thanks for your cooperation.

While on the subject, the local VE team has been referred to as the
MASSASOIT ARA VE Team, as it was anticipated that the VE~s would be
members of MARA.   In reality, the VE~s on the team come from
several clubs (the team depends on the help of these VE~s)  Our
primary help is from our `sister' club, the Whitman ARC.  As you
can see, the name MASSASOIT ARA VE Team just isn't appropriate, and
hasn't been for quite some time.  Creative suggestions for a new
team name would be welcome.  Any ideas???  Contact Bob, N1EDM, with
your ideas.


UPCOMING VE SESSIONS
Two sessions are scheduled for mid to late Spring.  The first is
anticipated on Thursday Evening, April 17, at the EOC room,
downstairs at the Bridgewater Police Station.   This will be in
conjunction with the CW class being taught by Dave Topalis, KA1TXO,
at the Bridgewater EOC.  Contact Dave, or Ron N1PXX on the Whitman
or Bridgewater repeater for more information about joining the CW
class.  This class started in late January.

The second VE session will be at the Stoughton High School on
Tuesday, May 16, for the students of the Novice/Tech class being
taught by Bob Schillinger, KA1PGU.  There is still time to join
Bob~s Novice/Tech class if you know of someone who would like free
lessons.  Classes begin in early March, once a week, Tuesday
evenings 7 to 9 PM. Contact Bob at 617-344-2773.

Emphasis is on the word `anticipated'.  Due to the vaguaries of
winter conditions, either or both sessions could be scheduled one
or more weeks later if winter storms cancel a session.  Both VE
sessions will be open to anyone for any class of Theory or CW
testing.


MARLBOROUGH FLEA MARKET, FEBRUARY 18

Marlborough Middle School, Thresher Drive (off Union St.) or off
Bolton St (Rt. 85).  Time: 10AM to 2 PM. Setup 8AM.  Tables $12 in
advance, $15 (if available) at the door.  Admission $2.
Information; Ann Weldon KA1PON (508) 481-4988 (before 9:30 PM).
Directions; Rt. 495 to Exit 20E.  Take 20E to Rt. 85N.  Turn right
on Union St. (3rd light, if the map is correct).  Thresher Drive is
on the left.




BRAINTREE FLEA MARKET, MARCH 5
Posted by Ernie MacLauchlan N1OHJ on Packet.

Ham Radio Flea Market, sponsored by the South Shore Amateur Radio
Club.  DAV#29 Hall,Liberty St., Braintree, Mass, on Sunday March 5,
1995 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM.   Door Prize!

Directions: Take Rte#3 to exit 17. Go East .4 miles turn right on
to Middle St. Go 1.3 miles (As you pass under Rte#3 Middle St.
becomes Liberty St.DAV#29 on the left. Talk-Ins:146.67- Quincy
Repeater.

Ernie also notes that the DAV Rental agreement does not allow
tailgating in the parking lot.  VE Exams will be given to
pre-registered applicants.  A copy of present license and/or
Completion Certificate will be required, or a Birth Certificate may
be an alternate  ID.

Parking will be in the parking lot only.  Please do NOT park on
side street next to DAV, or in any neighbors yards.

VE Exams & Info;  Contact WA1GHL 145.21- (617) 288-6906.  Ernie~s
packet address is N1OHJ @ WA1PHY.#EMA.MA.USA.NA for additional
information.  There can be no cancellations after Feb. 20. No
guarantee of tables if not pre-paid.  Table fee includes 1
admission.  Hope to see you there, Ernie MacLauchlan N1OHJ BBS
(N1OHJ-1) 145.75 (617) 337-7506.


		      BROCK NODE GOING PART TIME

Please advise Bob, N1EDM, if you are a regular BROCK node user.
Bob would like to use the radio and TNC for other purposes from
time to time (WEFAX, DXClusters, etc.,) unless there is a lot of
activity that would warrant it being on frequency 100% of the time.
The Digi/Node will remain on 145.030 for the majority of the time,
but if you find that it is `down', it could just be assigned to
another freq. for a short while (or a couple of days, if it's a
contest weekend).  The Node has at least one regular user, but
usage is hard to track.  If you are a regular user, please drop a
note into the N1EDM-4 Maildrop to let Bob know.  Thanks.


RECENT CONTEST RESULTS
Ernie Guimares, KA1VY, sweated over four bands on the VHF contest
weekend. For his efforts, he worked over 100 contacts, and worked
into Florida on 6 Meters, which netted him a new grid down there.


Jay Zappulla, N1FDX, had 97 QSO~s and 15 grids for 1455 points
working the 2M band with Carl, N1FDX, Sheryl, N1QXY, and Mark,
N1NLR. Bob Johnson, WA1OFR, also worked the contest but we weren~t
been able to get a report on how he did.

Dave Bourque sent word down from New Hampshire that he heard Jay
and Ernie on the bands.  He says  (paraphrased) "... we did very
well.  Pass this along to Jay and rub it in if you don't mind.  On
2 meters we had 225 QSO~s with 25 grids.  Our  overall score was
27,081 points according to the logging program.  We had 387 QSO~s
for 459  points and 59 grids. I did hear N1FDX and KA1VY on the
band".

Dave was also an extra-point station for the Northern New England
QSO Party on the stormy February 4 weekend. Bob (N1EDM) and Carl
(N1FYZ) were supposed to work the station from Dave~s QTH but
cooler heads (and XYL~s logic) prevailed.  Dave was scheduled to
have four transmitters on the air and worked every frequency from
160M to starlight on the bands.  Even with the storm and only one
helper for a short amount of time, Dave still managed to run 10,000
points in the contest.


ITS A KNOWN FACT....
that you can clean your dentures in bourbon.  It is also a known
fact that you have to take them out to do it.
[Courtesy of the Ham Shack and/or Sanctuary BBS]


POWER CONNECTOR FOR ICOM~S
by Dave, KC7CEX (on Packet)

I have two ICOM mobile radios and had been unable to find a source
for power connectors other than ICOM.  I noticed that the connector
was identical to those used on 7.2 volt Ni-Cad packs for radio
controlled cars and planes. MCM Electronics sells these connectors
at a very reasonable price compared to ICOM's price of $10.00 per
set.  I am not promoting MCM.  It~s just that they are the only
other source I have found for this type of connector. I hope this
helps someone out.   73   de  DAVE
KC7CEX@KC6RHO.#NONEV.NV.USA.NOAM


HELLO??

Here we are at the end of the February newsletter, and we are left
with a lot of white on the last page.  Too bad, because I know that
many of you out there have alot to share.  I know this because I
hear you on the repeaters and on HF. Also I see your messages on
packet.  I~m sure that there are those who would like to reach out
to a good portion of the amateur  radio community.  A handful of
people do not necessarily reflect the interests of all of us.  I~m
not being critical...just honest. I know that the majority of us
cannot afford (timewise) to actively participate in all our
activities.  We would welcome your participation in this news
letter.  I believe we will be starting a computer Q&A.  We do have
a few experts out there.  Also anything else that the membership
shows an interest in will end up on these pages. I do check the
hamshack BBS daily and by the time the March newsletter goes out,
I'll have a mini BBS set up here at the house.  In the meantime, my
voice line is (508)947-2176...till 11:00pm.

So leave me a message in the form of a text file..or give a call.
There isn~t enough in my head to write much more than what you see
here. See you next month..get on the phone (top of the page) or on
the computer.. and let us hear from you...73.

Lenny Amabile...N1MII