W6IFE Newsletter

April 2005 Edition

President Chris Shoaff N9RIN 2911
Calle Heraldo San Clemente CA 92673 949-388-3121 [email-masked]

Vice President Doug Millar,
K6JEY 2791 Cedar Ave Long Beach, CA 90806
562-424-3737 [email-masked]

Recording Sec Mel Swanberg, WA6JBD
231 E Alessandro Blvd Riverside, CA 92508 909-369-6515 [email-masked]

Corresponding Sec Kurt Geitner,
K6RRA1077 E Pacific Coast Hwy TMB142 Seal Beach, CA 90740
310-718-4910 [email-masked]

Treasurer Dick Kolbly, K6HIJ 26335
Community Barstow, CA 92311 760-253-2477 [email-masked]

Editor Bill Burns, WA6QYR 247 Rebel
Rd Ridgecrest, CA 93555 760-375-8566 [email-masked]

Webmaster Chip Angle, N6CA 25309 Andreo Lomita, CA 90717 310-539-5395
[email-masked]

ARRL Interface Frank Kelly, WB6CWN 1111 Rancho Conejo Blvd. #501 Newbury
Park, CA 91320

805-499-8047 [email-masked]

W6IFE License Trustee Ed Munn, W6OYJ 6255 Radcliffe Dr. San Diego, CA 92122
858-453-4563

[email-masked].

At the 7 April meeting Paul Chominski
WA6PY on EME personal history and current projects. Paul's story is interesting
and he has a lot of experience on 10GHz and 23cm EME, as well as building high
power amplifiers. We will have nominations and elections of the SBMS 2005-06
officers. Folks are to bring something to the third auction off during the
meeting for the benefit of the Auxiliary Fund, which is to provide extra monies
to the treasury for MUD05 expenses. Here are three categories of sales:

1. Whatever it brings, give it to the club.

2. Starting bid needs to be met or it goes back to the owner. If it goes

over that, it all goes to the club.

3. Starting bid needs to be met, the club gets a percentage of the final
bid.

Put a tag on the items so that I know which category they fit in.

The SBMS meets at the American Legion Hall 1024 Main Street (south of the 91
freeway) in Corona, CA at 1900 hours local time on the first Thursday of each
month. Check out the SBMS web site at http://www.ham-radio.com/sbms/.

Last meeting: Chip, N6CA talked about ways to
improve the resistance of the tripod mount to winds blowing it over. Dick, K6HIJ
talked about the Idea IF radio. Thanks to both for good information. Nominations
from the floor for the 2005 SBMS officers were made. Chris, N9RIN President;
Doug, K6JEY VP; Mel, WA6JEY secretary; Dick, K6HIJ treasurer; Kurt K6RRA
corresponding secretary; Bill, WA6QYR newsletter editor. Visitors Scott KC6MMF
of Orange and Ken K6HK also of Orange were present. Mike, W6YLZ and Frank, W6QI
were presented awards for high scores in the ARRL 10 GHz and Up contest. 28
people present.

Scheduling.

30 April & 7 May SBMS 2 GHZ and Up contest see
www.ham-radio.com/sbsm/club contest/2GHz up test 2005.pdf.

11-13 June ARRL June VHF QSO Party

25-26 June ARRL Field Day

6-7 August ARRL UHF Contest

20-21 August ARRL 10 GHz and Up contest

10-12 September ARRL September VHF QSO Party

17-18 September ARRL 10 GHz and Up contest

For more details see later page by Not yet elected but running already
"Square Deal Doug"

Activity reported at the March SBMS: Chris, N9RIN
went to a SDMG meeting and worked with some Hittite items and 4x multipliers;
Mel, WA6JBD worked with some NEC synthesizers in the 1600-2400 MHz range; Chuck,
WA6EXV works N6RMJ, WB6CWN and N6CA from Red Rock State Park and has been
working on OVRO drawings; Bill WA6QYR worked on his computer with the Shera
locking equipment; Howard W6YGB had some tube problems with his 1296 amplifier;
Kerry, N6IZW repaired a spectrum analyzer and has had 15 mile IR Laser contacts
non-line of sight, even rain scatter; Ed, W6OYJ went to MUD planning meeting
looking at building for the antenna range; Doug, K6JEY did some 7289 tube
testing; Bob, WA6VHS did some tripod work; Pat, N6RMJ has 2304 MHz rig working
better; Dennis, WA6NIA went on OVRO trip; John KJ6HZ broke his IF radio; Scott,
WA6MMF has been working with High Speed Multi Media radio; Wayne, KH6WZ got his
10 GHz radio working; Larry , KG6EG is gathering parts; Chip, N6CA is buying
tripods off ebay, getting the rig ready to ship to Paul KH6HME this summer; Ken.
W6DTA had environmental problems with the rain; KC6DYD is buying tripods of
ebay; Dick, K6HIJ is building feeds for OVRO; Chuck, K6PIP has some working
Gunnplexers; Gary, K6KVC had rain coming into the shack via the inside of
coaxial cables.

"Wants and Gots for sale"

Want: 1w 10 GHz PA Chris N9RIN 949-388-3121

MICROWAVE UP DATE 2005

Chairman: Pat Coker, N6RMJ of SBMS

Planning Committee: Pat Coker, N6RMJ of SBMS

David Peters, KI6FF of WSWSS

Dennis Kidder, WA6NIA of SBMS

Presentations: Chip Angle, N6CA

Publicity: Wayne, KH6WZ

PRIZES: Dave Glawson, WA6CGR

Registration & Finance: Dick Kolbly, K6HIJ

Family Program: Mel's wife&emdash;need name

Surplus Tour: Mel, WA6JBD

Location: Sheraton Cerritos Town Center

List of Presentations:

SBMS 50 YEARS Dick Kolbly, K6HIJ

Pat, N6RMJ signed at contract with the Cerritos Hotel. Mel, WA6JBD will be
collecting surplus store information for the junk run. The SBMS web site has MUD
2005 subsite. SBMS will be allowed use of the hotel roof for signal sources for
the antenna-measuring event. Room rates were discussed at the $99 level.

Pat is working on getting a link set up on line to do hotel reservations.
Chip has some 12 speakers on line for presentations. David, KI6FF is working
transportation issues. Ken is figuring out the tee shirt and hat designs. Mel is
working on adding to his list of surplus stores for the tour. Mel's wife is
going to be leading the spouses program.

Microwave Up Date 2005 Call for Papers

MUD 2005 will be held this year in the Los Angeles area on October 27 thru
the 31st. As the Technical Program Chairman this year, I would like to invite
interested authors to present a paper(s) for the 2005 conference.

Microwave Update is the premiere microwave amateur radio conference on the
planet. Many people around the world collect the proceedings from this
conference since it represents the current state of the art in microwave amateur
radio. This is a great opportunity to get your ideas and papers published! You
don't have to give a talk to get your paper included in the proceedings.

Electronic submissions in Word, WordPerfect or text format accepted by email
or CD. Usual drawing formats also accepted with your paper(s).

Cutoff date for inclusion in the proceedings is September 5th, 2005. If you
are interested in writing and/or presenting a paper for the 2005Conference,
please send me an email or write to:

N6CA PO Box 35 Lomita CA 90717-0035 email: [email-masked]

Please contact me as soon as possible with an abstract or even a general
idea. This will help the conference team with its planning activities. For more
information about the Microwave UpDate 2005 see:
http://www.microwaveupdate.org

73 Chip N6CA

------------------------

The auction by "Square Deal Doug" again brought in more monies to the
Auxiliary fund- All mode 10 meter radio HR2600, 2003 RSGB microwave projects
book, 47 GHz LO, mixers, wire, boxes of stuff, 0-20v 0-50a switcher power
supply, some HTs, and an HP 141T scope were among the items going for gain of
the society.

-------------------------

Owens Valley Radio Observatory Project

The OVRO SBMS Project Update&emdash;Dennis, WA6NIA and Chuck, WA6EXV
visited the site to take measurements and see how things were placed. Mark
Hodges of the OVRO took them around the site and out on to the feed of the
40-meter dish. This facility has become the "class room" for the Education part
of the observatory staff. Tasks needing work are a survey of the many coaxes
running to the feed, documenting the lay out of the box to go at the feed, and
planning the events. It is hoped that there will be a quarterly operation for
both the world amateur EME people and high school student around the world.
There is a phone line from the feed to the control room. There is also Internet
capability from the control room to help schedule operations others beyond the
site. The dish at 10 GHz is 1 arc second wide&emdash;a problem with past
ENME experiments. The moon is 30 arc seconds wide. A moon map" is available and
the dish is controllable to within that arc second during the tracking and
communication experiments. Both 1296 MHz and 10 GHz experiments are being
planned. Two college professors have signed on with the OVRO SBMS project to use
our system as part or their instruction. They are quite excited and have several
ideas for projects using EME. More later. Doug K6JEY

Beacons-

Heaps Peak DM14kf 34.14.2.4n 117.8.25.2w 8kft horz 1296.0-.2 MHz in 2304.6-.8
MHz out

Frazier Mtn DM04ms 8013 ft 10,386.3104 MHz 1.4w 14-dBi-omni horz.

Palos Verde DM03ts 1300 ft 10,368.300 MHz 1.6w 14-dBi-omni horz.

San Diego DM12mq 32.41.8n 116.56.09w 10,368.070 MHz 14 dbm 10db omni horz

Santiago DM13fr 33.42.690n 117.32.020w 5664 ft 10,368.330 MHz 0.5w 10dbi
horz

ATV: 2441.5 MHz in 5.9 GHz out 10.368.4 MHz in 3460 MHz out

Chip, N6CA spoke at the March SBMS meeting about how to try to keep the
tripod-mounted rig from blowing over in the wind. Chips ideas included making
the base feet as far apart as possible to keep the moments large. Using a wind
speed vs. dish area one can come up with the pressure the wind will place on the
rig. Then using a angle plate like shown on the picture take a bathroom scale
and push against the plate with that pressure and see if the tripod goes over.
Using the portable battery hanging under the center of the tripod helps give
more stability.

Dick, K6HIJ spoke on the ideal IF radio characteristics that one would like
to have when using microwave transverter. His talk is included in this
issue.

The "Ultimate" IF Rig - Some Thoughts

Dick Kolbly K6HIJ

When we build our microwave station, rarely do we give much thought to the
intermediate-frequency receiver and exciter until the last stages. Most of us
use an existing VHF or UHF transceiver and live with the shortcomings. Having
both operated home and mobile microwave stations and using existing
high-frequency radios for exciters and IF receivers, I have never found the
equipment I used to be completely satisfactory for what I was trying to
accomplish.

The purpose of this discourse is an attempt to define what the "ultimate"
exciter/IF radio would be like. No attempt has been made to fit these
"requirements" to any existing equipment, only to provoke discussion and
design.

Following are some specifications, based on discussions and some
experience:

Receiver Section:

Tuning Range: 29 - 31 MHz. (Tranverters could be used to extend the
range)

Operating Modes:

Wide-band FM (+/- 50 KHz)

Narrow-band FM (+/- 2.5 KHz)

Single-sideband (2.1 KHz)

CW (Adjustable bandwidth, down to 100 Hz or less)

DSP/Digital Modes

Sensitivity: Not Critical - this is set by the microwave equipment.

Spurious Signals/Birdies: <-10 dB below noise floor.

Dynamic Range:

Frequency Display: 100 Hz resolution, usable under a wide range of
illumination.

Frequency Stability: <10 Hz, with provision for external reference
input

Exciter Section:

Tuning Range: 29-31 MHz

Signal Modes:

Wide-band FM

Narrow-band FM

Single Sideband (Upper/lower)

CW

Digital modes (JT31, WSJT, etc)

Power output: 20 mW (+13 dBm, all modes)

Some general comments:

Bill of Materials (BOM) Cost: <$300.00

Many features of this proposed rig are incorporated in the current TAPR
DSP-10 receiver/exciter. The frequency range of the DSP-10 is the 2-meter band,
which is also a good range for an IF receiver/exciter. The wide band modes could
be incorporated as a separate IF strip.

The DSP-10 has the disadvantage that it requires a computer for operation.
Also, my opinion is that the unit should "operate like a ham rig", with knobs
for tuning, volume, bandwidth, etc. and "normal" buttons and switches. It may be
possible to develop a "front panel" type of interface for the DSP-10.

Some features that could easily be incorporated into the design include:

A display offset mode so that the receiver displays that actual microwave
frequency received.

Built-in push-to-talk and a sequencer to operate microwave relays, power
amplifiers, etc.

A linear noise-power output for noise figure, Y-factor, and astronomical
measurements. This could incorporate a log scale detector for dB
measurements.

Flash memory to hold setup information, such as frequency offsets, sequencer
delays, etc.

A few thoughts on the local oscillator: The local oscillator is a key
component in any receiver. It must meet the stability requirements, and be free
from excessive noise and spurious signals. If we intend to have narrow band
reception, the stability must be within the bandwidth requirements.

The "modern" choice is a synthesizer. Although it should be fairly simple to
make a synthesizer that will move in 100 Hz increments, the problem of rapid
versus slow tuning poses some difficulties. My proposal is that we use a tunable
oscillator with a frequency counter as a display. The counter display section
could easily incorporate logic to allow locking the frequency to a predetermined
value. By using an oscillator with a low harmonic content and carefully
filtering the output, spurious responses could be readily controlled. On the
other hand, elimination of sidebands from a synthesizer requires careful
design.

Any IF device should be very well shielded. The unit will be operating in the
presence of a number of signal sources, and if it is used for portable
operation, often it will be required to function in the vicinity of strong RF
emitters, such as are found on mountaintops.

Local Oscillator

The DSP-10 Receiver/Exciter (From QST September 1999, The DSP-10: An All-Mode
2-meter transceiver Using a DSP IF and PC-Controlled Front Panel, Bob Larkin,
W7PUA)

73's Bill

Here is a list of planned programs for SBMS for the year. Please send a copy
or email a copy to anyone who you think would be interested in coming. We would
like to have the list posted in as many appropriate places as possible,
including our website.

The San Bernardino Microwave Society always meets on the first Thursday of
the month at the Legion Hall in Corona, Ca. at 7pm. We usually meet about 4pm
for dinner at Furr's restaurant located on the North side of the Lincoln off
ramp of the 91 freeway. The legion hall is at 1024 Main St. For further
information call Doug Millar K6JEY at 562 424 3737 or contact any SBMS member.
Our web site is at http://www.ham-radio.com/sbms/.

Up-coming meetings 2005-2006

April- Paul Chominski WA6PY on EME personal history and current projects.
Paul's story is interesting and he has a lot of experience on 10GHz and 23cm
EME, as well as building high power amplifiers

May- Frank and maybe Dennis on hand held 10gGHz radios. Miniature 10 GHz
receiver designs.

June- Noise Figure Measurement Clinic. Bring your preamps and transverters to
get their NF measured. 24GHz and below. Power Measurement available as well up
to 78GHz. Call for special power levels and frequencies above 100mw.

July- 76GHz equipment progress Kerry Banke K6IZW. We have had some exciting
developments. "Banke Labs" has been hard at work modifying some surplus
equipment.

August- Contest preparation and places. Find out where people are going
during the 10ghz and up contest, get information on locations and maybe form a
team.

September- Contest prep, Owens Valley project update and prep, and Microwave
Update rep. Lots to do for September and October

October- Microwave Update preparation.

November- Microwave Company rep on latest microwave developments we will have
someone in from industry to talk about the latest developments. Door prizes!

December- Christmas Party at The Lab and Gift Exchange

Meeting- History of Radio Astronomy- We hope to have a guest speaker.

January 2006- OVRO-SBMS Update and Report. Details of the Owens Valley Radio
Observatory project with pictures and sound.

February. - 1296Mhz High Power Amplifiers. Members will share their projects
and results. Want to build an amp? Join us for a presentation by those who have
had experience building them. Both solid state and Tubes.

Please check on the website if there have been any changes. We will keep you
posted there and in the newsletter.

Also-

Each month after the program we will have the Auxiliary fund Auction. Bring
your stuff and mark it as

Category 1 All proceeds go to the club

Category 2 Same but with a starting minimum

Category 3 Part goes to club and part to owner.

Thanks,

Square Deal Doug K6JEY

The Owens Valley Radio Observatory facility that SBMS will be helping
generate EME signals from. Photo WA6NIA

Dennis, WA6NIA out on Secret Site 51 during the 2004 ARRL 10 GHz and Up
contest with his 10 GHz rig. Behind him is the 24 GHz rig.

he San Bernardino Microwave Society is a technical amateur radio club
affiliated with the ARRL having a membership of over 90 amateurs from Hawaii and
Alaska to the east coast and beyond. Dues are $15 per year, which includes a
badge and monthly newsletter. Your mail label indicates your call followed by
when your dues are due. Dues can be sent to the treasurer as listed under the
banner on the front page. If you have material you would like in the newsletter
please send it to Bill WA6QYR at 247 Rebel Road Ridgecrest, CA 93555,
[email-masked], or phone 760-375-8566. The newsletter is generated
about the 15th of the month and put into the mail at least the week prior to the
meeting. This is your newsletter. SBMS Newsletter material can be copied as long
as SBMS is identified as source.

San Bernardino Microwave Society newsletter

247 Rebel Road

Ridgecrest, CA

93555

USA