THIS MONTHS MEETING AGENDA
- Veterans Day Parade
Name Call Date ExpiresThere will be no more paper notices mailed due to the rising cost of postage and supplies. All future notices will be sent electronically. See Members List for your expires date.
Will be dropped November 15th
Early, Steve AD6VI 8/31/2009
Heiser, David KI6SAO 8/31/2009
Third Notice
Bart, Jon K6QVA 9/30/2009
Beach, Paul WA6SYA 9/30/2009
Ream, Don KI6QYY 9/30/2009
Second Notice
Moynihan, Roger K6RPM 10/31/2009
Smith, Todd KG6WVY 10/31/2009
First Notice
Ahnell, Karl KI6TUH 11/30/2009
Dewey, Wayne WD6AHX 11/30/2009
Gilman, Chell KI6FKA 11/30/2009
Good, Daryl WA5QMV 11/30/2009
Lay, Karen KI6FKC 11/30/2009
Perrine, Hayden KG6YVD 11/30/2009
10/31/2009
Ron,
Please consider posting the following in the next FARC newsletter. The article is one of the best I have read on fire fighting philosophy.
Best 73, Bob/W6VR
With forests burning, U.S. officials are clashing with environmentalists over how best to reduce the risks of future
catastrophic blazes. Fascinating Smithsonian article: http://tinyurl.com/yewe9n3
Thanks to Paul Sautter, W6SJL, for the URL.
By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the same folks that bring you WWV, publish a monthly newsletter called NIST Tech Beat. Here's an item rom the 10/6/09 issue of NIST Tech Beat that will be of interest to radio amateurs:
To subdue the steaming heat of hurricanes or to thaw out during a blizzard, gasoline-powered, portable generators are a lifeline during weather emergencies when homes are cut off without electricity. But these generators emit poisonous carbon monoxide—a single generator can produce a hundred times more of the colorless, odorless gas than a modern car’s exhaust. New research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows that to prevent potentially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, users may need to keep generators farther from the house than previously believed—perhaps as much as 25 feet.
Up to half of the incidents of non-fatal carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning reported in the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons involved generators run within 7 feet of the home, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Carbon monoxide can enter a house through a number of airflow paths, such as a door or window left open to accommodate the extension cord that brings power from the generator into the house. While some guidance recommends 10 feet from open windows as a safe operating distance, NIST researcher Steven Emmerich says the “safe” operating distance depends on the house, the weather conditions and the unit. A generator’s carbon monoxide output is usually higher than an automobile’s, he says, because most generators do not have the sophisticated emission controls that cars do.
“People need to be aware that generators are potentially deadly and they need to educate themselves on proper use,” Emmerich says. With funding from CDC, NIST researchers are gathering reliable data to support future CDC guidance.
NIST building researchers simulated multiple scenarios of a portable generator operating outside of a one-story house, using both a test structure and two different computer models—the NIST-developed CONTAM indoor air quality model and a computational fluid dynamics model.
The simulations included factors that could be controlled by humans, such as generator location, exhaust direction and window-opening size, and environmental factors such as wind, temperature and house dimensions. In the simulations the generator was placed at various distances from the house and tested under different weather conditions.
“We found that for the house modeled in this study,” researcher Leon Wang says, “a generator position 15 feet away from open windows was not far enough to prevent carbon monoxide entry into the house.”
Winds perpendicular to the open window resulted in more carbon monoxide entry than winds at an angle, and lower wind speeds generally allowed more carbon monoxide in the house. “Slow, stagnant wind seems to be the worst case because it leads to the carbon monoxide lingering by the windows,” Wang explains. Researchers determined that placing the generator outside of the airflow recirculation regions near the open windows reduced carbon monoxide entry.
In the next phase of the study NIST will model a two-story house that researchers believe will interact with the wind differently. NIST researchers also have worked with the Consumer Product Safety Commission on related work. (See: “NIST to Study Hazards of Portable Gasoline-Powered Generators,” NIST Tech Beat, March 5, 2008.)
The generator study can be downloaded at http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build09/PDF/b09009.pdf.
* L. Wang and S.J. Emmerich. Modeling the Effects of Outdoor Gasoline Powered Generator Use on Indoor Carbon Monoxide Exposures. (NIST Technical Note 1637,) 2009.
Rich-KI6RRQ alerted us to up coming ISS visual passes, come join us on FARC repeaters.
Sun Sun
Time Satellite Azm Elv Mag Range Azm Elv
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2009-11-07 17:51:58 ISS SW 226.2 0.0 2.3 2176 258.6 -13.0
2009-11-07 17:56:57 ISS Up 314.8 84.8 -2.0 346 259.2 -14.0
2009-11-07 17:58:20 ISS NE 43.3 27.4 -0.6* 691 259.4 -14.3
2009-11-08 18:15:05 ISS W 252.0 0.0 2.2 2178 261.2 -17.9
2009-11-08 18:19:48 ISS NW 323.3 21.8 -0.2 815 261.8 -18.8
2009-11-08 18:20:37 ISS N 348.9 19.4 -0.1* 887 261.9 -19.0
2009-11-09 17:02:25 ISS SW 225.5 0.0 2.5 2169 251.6 -3.3
2009-11-09 17:07:23 ISS Up 307.6 88.3 -1.9 344 252.3 -4.3
2009-11-09 17:11:23 ISS NE 46.1 3.9 1.4* 1759 252.8 -5.0
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/?issue=2009-10-20
The meeting will be held on November 4, 2009 (the first Wednesday of each month). Arrive at 7:00pm for set-up and chat; the meeting starts at 7:30pm. Talk-in on 146.730 MHz repeater. Directions to the Safety Center.
Come early and enjoy an "eyeball" QSO with our members.
The program for the November meeting will be presented by Loren AD6ZJ, on the subject of Four-Square Antennas.
Also at the November meeting: club officer nominations! The nominating committee (Jim W6SST, Jo KB6NMK, and Ron K2RP) will present a slate of officer nominations, and additional nominations will be accepted from the floor. The election is held at the December meeting.
Carlsbad Safety Center
2560 Orion Way
Carlsbad
There was no official meeting of the Fallbrook Amateur Radio Club in October.
The following financial report is published for member information.
Checking Balance August 31, 2009 $3,098.10
Petty Cash Balance August 31, 2009 41.03
Total $ 3,139.13
SEPTEMBER INCOME
ARRL Dues 39.00
Meeting Donations (CASH) 13.00
FARC Membership Dues 180.00
Total $232.00
SEPTEMBER EXPENSES
ARRL Dues 37.00
Repeater Parts 78.25
Total $115.25
Petty Cash transferred to Checking (CASH) $20.00
Checking Balance September 30, 2009 $3,221.85
Petty Cash Balance September 30, 2009 $34.03
Total $ 3,255.88
Ken Dickson, W6MF
Fallbrook Amateur Radio Club
Secretary/Treasurer
We welcome two new members this month.
New Members - Robert Gill, KD6LVF
Andre Hansen, K6AH
Dewey ECC Committee
Bigs-KG6GIU, Ron-KG6HSQ, Ken-W6MF, Randy-KD6UAK, Bob-W6VR, Hayden-KG6YVD
Technical Committee
Bob-W6VR, AA4CD-Chris, Bob-WB6DIJ, Paul-W6SJL, Daryl-WA5QMV, Ron-KG6HSQ
| News Items from CGC Communicator Newsletter Robert Gonsett - W6VR Editor |
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******************************************* SPECIAL SECTION ON SDG&E SMART METERS ******************************************* OVERVIEW A new San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) "Smart Meter" electric power meter was installed at CGC in Fallbrook on October 1, 2009. It replaced an old-style mechanical meter. The new unit is an Itron type C2SODL2 with a digital display. It is virtually of identical size to the old meter but has two RF transmitters and receivers built-in. The following SignOnSanDiego article from July 2008 gives an overview of the Smart Meter program. The second URL links to a fascinating SDG&E technical slide show dated August 2009: SDG&E SMART METERS -- INFO ON FILE WITH THE FCC The FCC ID number on the Smart Meter installed at CGC is SK9AMI-3. By visiting the following FCC Website, quite a bit can be learned about the RF portion of this interesting device: www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid/
For Grantee Code, put in: SK9 For Product Code, put in: AMI-3 Then click the search button. On the new Web page, five file lines appeared at the time of our search. The right columns indicate that the meter uses two transmit frequency bands: 902.25-927.75 and 2405-2475 MHz, sometimes called the 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz ISM bands. These are the license-free "Industrial, Scientific and Medical" bands that contain everything from cordless telephones to wireless computer mice. By opening the "Detail" exhibit of the first file line, we learn that the Smart Meter uses 0 dBi gain slot antennas for both frequency bands and that both of the transmitters may come on the air at the same time. The maximum EIRP (effective radiated power relative to isotropic) with both transmitters turned on is 0.2 watts. Both transmitters use spread spectrum modulation. The 915 MHz transmitter communicates with SDG&E while the 2.4 GHz transmitter is designed to communicate with ZigBee- equipped consumer devices and your gas meter, if you have one. SDG&E SMART METERS - OBSERVED SIGNALS CGC has not yet seen either of aforementioned transmitters on the air, but we haven't looked hard either. We have however noted a host of weak harmonics that are radiated continuously from the meter, probably from an internal crystal oscillator. The fundamental frequency is 4.19428 MHz. Harmonics of the clock to beyond 1,000 MHz have been seen at our frequency and spectral monitoring lab. For example, in just the FM broadcast band, harmonics fall in the passbands of the following FM channels: 88.1, 92.3, 96.5, 100.7 and 104.9 MHz. The good news is that the harmonics are relatively weak and our lab can work around them, much as we work around weak signals radiated by computer clock chips. Whether the Smart Meter's harmonics will cause objectionable interference to broadcast or other communications services has yet to be determined. Our off-hand reaction is that Smart Meters are no worse than home computers in terms of generating RFI; however, if most of the Smart Meters have the same oscillator frequency and the meters are installed throughout San Diego County and south Orange County as is now planned, it is possible that some communications channels will be compromised. SDG&E's Smart Meters are Part 15 devices meaning that they must not cause harmful interference and must accept RFI from other sources. ADDENDUM Last week, the CGC Communicator presented three stories on San Diego Gas & Electric's new "Smart Meter" program. We failed to include the URL to the fascinating SDG&E technical slide show dated August 2009, so here it is: o Shimmick Construction Company and affiliate issued $4,000 Notice of Apparent Liability for using a ham radio frequency (146.025 MHz) for commercial communications purposes in the mixing and delivery of concrete: NOBEL PRIZES FOR DIGITAL CAMERAS AND FIBER OPTICS Digital cameras generate much of the data on our optical fiber telecommunications networks. This year's Nobel Prize in Physics recognizes both inventions. The prize went to the inventors of the charge-coupled device camera chip, IEEE Fellows Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith, and also to the grandfather of optical fiber telecommunications, IEEE Fellow Charles K. Kao: YOUR CAR WILL BECOME A FARADAY CAGE Metalized (heat reflective) windows will be phased into new vehicles sold in California. This means that radio signals won't get into or out of your vehicle as easily as before, and that may cause problems as this story explains: POTENTIAL ARSONIST INDICTED A special criminal grand jury has indicted Rickie Lee Fowler, a 28-year-old prison inmate, on arson and murder charges in connection with the Old Fire wildfire in October 2003. If we are not mistaken, the Old Fire was the one that destroyed a number of broadcast transmitters as shown below: http://tinyurl.com/OldFireFowler
http://earthsignals.com/add_CGC/KCAL_KFRG_KSGN_fire.htm www.bext.com/_CGC/2003/cgc599.htm www.bext.com/_CGC/2003/cgc600.htm NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS o Samsung has rolled out a chip for the ATSC mobile DTV standard. It combines RF and digital circuits on one substrate to simplify hand held receiver manufacturing: o NPR's "Internet Radio" hits the market: http://rwonline.com/article/88982
o Some red LED lighting systems are invisible to civilian night vision goggles says the FAA, raising concerns for pilots:
HIGH TECH CORNER o Claim: Metamaterial antennas reduce size, keep performance: o Acoustic "meta lenses" are in the works too: KIDS SHOW US HOW TO BUILD A UHF DTV RECEIVING ANTENNA Naomi and Noah Miller, the children of FCC OET attorney James Miller, show us how to make our very own zig-zag-style UHF DTV receiving antenna with readily available parts. No preamplifier, no spurs, no Irma Frausto problem. One clean design. U-Tube video: GRADE A OFF TOPIC MATERIAL o OnStar RF circuit stops carjacked vehicle. This "was the first time since OnStar began offering the service in the 2009 model year that it was used to end a chase that could otherwise have had dire consequences." The carjacker jumped out of the stalled vehicle, ran and wound up in a swimming pool before being apprehended - a fitting ending to a great story: o Cool computer animation showing the International Space Station (ISS) being assembled in space, piece-by-piece: o When scientists pointed the world's best telescope at what seemed like an utterly empty patch of the night sky and did a 10-day time exposure, the results were amazing and humbling: o People are increasingly turning off their senses when following GPS directions and that results in some genuinely interesting situations: o Here is a robotic skier that apparently locates race gates via pattern recognition software (see end of video). Sure, the machine-skier is primitive, but so were automated chess programs when first introduced: http://tinyurl.com/RobotRacer
o Marvelous things are claimed for the Super Outlet, a gold plated 115 VAC wall outlet (just what we need):
o Engineers are more successful than doctors and lawyers at transforming income into wealth: o Injecting fun may change things for the better: o The CW Skimmer for hams: o An automation truism -- the more human operators rely on computer systems, the less likely they'll be ready to respond when those systems fail. |
| Duane, AA6EE is offering FARC members discount prices on ARRL items: |
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Duane, AA6EE is offering FARC members a discount on the Callbook 2010 CD which is now in stock.
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