Tag Archives: Voice of America

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – May 2022 edition

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Tom – WB8LCD and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Tom has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the Ohio section will need to use the mailing list link above.  Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).

  • Go to www.arrl.org and click the Login button.
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  • When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name.  Click your Name.  This will take you to the “My Account” page.
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  • To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
  • Check the box next to “Division and Section News.”  If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
  • Click Save
  • There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.”  You’re all set!

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at:

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

70 years of Hamvention. Themed the “Reunion” after 70 years have passed since the first Hamvention on March 22, 1952. This year also marked the return after a two-year hiatus. Thousands of hams, family, friends, and enthusiasts descended on the Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Xenia, Ohio for the convention, May 20 – 22nd. The ARRL Letter states this event brings $30 million to the economy of Dayton and surrounding region.

According to the DX Engineering recap, the count is 31,367 attendees this year. Down 1,075 from 2019, which for the crap we’ve had to put up with the last two years, still quite the showing of attendees. I was hopeful the crowds would be huge and worthwhile for vendors and flea market. My dad – N8ETP and myself attended Friday and Saturday. The Friday crowd seemed like a Saturday crowd, especially at lunch time around the food trucks! We hit the indoor exhibitors. Saturday seemed a little on the lighter side. Could have been the storms and rain Friday night into Saturday morning that kept some away. Hamvention wouldn’t be complete without spring storms! We hit the flea market Saturday and might have missed the larger indoor crowds. If you did the indoor exhibitors just right and found shaded seating areas to rest, I was able to skate by without sunscreen Friday.

Hamvention Friday lunch crowd

The ARRL had their large exhibit area as per usual. There I got to talk a moment with our previous Section Manager, now Vice Director of the Great Lakes Division, Scott Yonally – N8SY. While talking with Scott, a ham stopped by and said he really enjoyed my articles right here in the OSJ. Always appreciate that. I asked if he wanted to see anything and he commented about SDR. It has been awhile since I talked about Software Defined Radio or used them for any projects. Stay tuned. Had a good chat with the Ohio Section Public Information Coordinator and Editor of the ARRL Letter, John – KD8IDJ.

I popped in and talked to Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT, Advisor for the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program. I became licensed when I was in high school. One of the things I looked for in a college was a university that had a ham club or, at least, one associated with the university. Still wanting to be radio-active, I wasn’t going to have mobile or base station radios on campus. Only being a Technician back in those days, no HF either. An HT was going to be it so having a repeater close-by was my way of communicating. I found the Wood County Amateur Radio Club, which has support from the university with rooftop space and Internet resources from BGSU Information Technology Services. The club now has three repeaters, including a Fusion digital, as well as an APRS IGate on campus. Additionally, while at school, I was involved in efforts to keep college radio clubs active and on the air. Participated in the College Amateur Radio Club and collegiate Echolink nets (both defunct). I’m a big proponent of getting college students, such as engineering students, exposed to and active in amateur radio.

I asked Tony, ‘what is something the rest of the ham radio community can do to make sure collegiate clubs thrive and survive?’ I wasn’t quite as clever with rhyming at the time. He suggested a couple things that might help college clubs such as donating equipment. They may not receive much, if any, funding from the school for radio gear. The bigger benefit, he felt, would be to simply get involved. A few hams can help Elmer and teach students how to setup a station, maintain equipment, or simply teaching new operating modes such as digital. This would help faculty advisors keep the club going as advisors are often a single staff member and they may need time for other responsibilities and career goals. The link to the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program has resources to find college radio clubs, ways to participate in events, and example constitution and bylaws to get a club started.

ICOM SHF module and control head

ICOM booth was on my to-do list to checkout their SHF module prototype I mentioned last month. It was there, not a lot is known which was disappointing. The non-functioning prototype was “under glass” (couldn’t touch or play) shown mounted to a pole, presuming it can be mounted outside close to the antennas to minimize line losses. There was an Ethernet cable from the SHF module plugged into a device that looked like an IC-705. The ICOM representative pointed out that it’s not labeled as a 705 nor could a 705 reach the frequency displayed on the unit (5.780 GHz). The Ethernet cable carries PoE (power over Ethernet), presumably from the control head to the SHF module since the control head was powered. When asked what applications might this be used for or anticipated use cases, the representative didn’t have any. I didn’t know if they’re producing the hardware and leaving it to the ham community to figure out uses. They didn’t have answers so purpose still remains unclear. D-STAR was mentioned, so maybe they’re looking to do RF links that’s not the 10 GHz links they were originally hoping for in the early days of D-STAR repeaters. With a control head that can operate different modes, has filters, speaker, and a waterfall, to me it looks like they’re thinking some kind of operating in or around the Wi-Fi bands – maybe not necessarily for ham radio only.

Early the next day, I got to have an eyeball QSO with AmateurLogic.TV‘s own George – W5JDX. It was the first time we’ve met after helping out with their weekly Sound Check net. We talked about forums that were on-tap and treasures found the first day. We got a picture together so there’s evidence we were there and in the same place. I later got to meet the “Cheap Old Man,” Emile – KE5QKR. Amateur Logic has a weekly net on my DVMIS interlink system that bridges 12 ham radio voice networks.

Saturday’s start was preceded by early morning showers. The paved remote parking lots of the high school and town square really helped out instead of parking on soft grass. Quickly though, the sun came out and it was pretty brutal as temperatures reached the mid-80’s. It was flea market day and we spent the day meandering the inner horse track for some treasure. Want to build a repeater? Want to fix up an old radio? Looking for cheap finds? Want to make new friends? Looking to do something new in ham radio? It’s all out in the Hamvention flea market.

Since getting locked down, I have been playing with commercial gear in the ham bands, mostly NXDN and P25 radios. I was looking to find VHF counterparts to some UHF gear I already own. I found a VHF Motorola CDM1250 for $60 with hand mic. Tried it out, after returning home, on some local frequencies and it seems to work great. Don’t know if I’ll use it as a spare or maybe reignite my interest in APRS. I did find a VHF XTS but the seller was firm on the price, more than I wanted to pay.

We managed to survive a little longer than 4 hours in the flea market. We kept hydrated and layered on sunscreen twice. That was a good call. I thought I got burned after returning to the hotel but it was just some slight redness. Festivities were abruptly interrupted about 2:15p with an announcement of approaching storms known to produce hail and had cloud-to-ground lightning. We missed most of what hit Xenia but got our share at the hotel in Dayton. Rains were coming down horizontally for about 15 minutes and had pea sized hail. Please, for the love of everything sacred, double-check your equipment. There were stations squawking APRS during Skywarn nets. Yes, we’re called “amateurs” but most people look to us as professional operators. Lidding up emergency nets with APRS squawks is neither.

Whether because of the slight possibility of not having the show or the economy and supply chain issues, big names did not make the show. Radio manufacturer Kenwood did not have a booth at the show, neither did Heil Sound. Maybe due to last minute changes and lack of commitments for the reasons above, there was no formal list of vendors in the program. Big tents outside the forum rooms were not present this year. While Heil Sound was not present, I received their mailing indicating they still had specials for the weekend and allowed vendors like DX Engineering, HRO, and R&L to make deals on their products. A mainstay, W5KUB, in the past, streamed his entire trek from Tennessee to Dayton and streamed the entire event. Tom was still there but not streaming. I didn’t see any videos about Hamvention posted to his channel either as of this writing.

K8JTK (left) and AmateurLogic.TV host George – W5JDX (right)

Vendors I know were located in specific areas at past shows were also missing. They weren’t there or maybe cut back their presence. Things were different over previous years at the fairgrounds. That leaves more opportunity for other vendors to make their presence known.

Congratulations to DARA and the 600+ volunteers on a job well done and reunion for Hamvention. If you’ve never ridden the school buses from the parking lots, you probably didn’t know that Xenia Community Schools do not have school the Friday of Hamvention. This is such a big event for the area that school children have the day off. Michael Kalter – W8CI mentioned on the DX Engineering video many did not know that fact. Most, including myself, do not realize how much of an undertaking this event really is. The DARA Hamvention YouTube channel has forums if you missed them or want to review a presentation.

The day before the hamfest started, Ham Radio Crash Course’s Josh – KI6NAZ streamed a Voice of America Hamvention Tour. It is jam-packed tour with lots of history of the station, engineering, model of the antenna arrays – the VOA antennas are no longer standing, and the switching matrix which is still standing. This tour is a fantastic history lesson and a must see for any radio buff on a future visit to Hamvention. Tours were given on Thursday for those that arrived early.

With Field Day coming up, sending 10 messages over RF from a site garners 100 bonus points. This includes Winlink messages. I love to receive messages about setup, stations, operating, or social activities taking place. These can be sent via the National Traffic System (NTS) or Winlink – K8JTK at Winlink.org – to my station. The Field Day rules state messages must leave via RF from the site (7.3.6). It does not state “formal messages” be in any particular format or utilize any particular network. A message to the SM or SEC must be in radiogram format and leave via RF or no credit will be given (7.3.5). If there are any questions about sending or format, send the message using the NTS network or Radiogram form in Winlink Express. Copies of messages must be included with the Field Day report submission for credit.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – May 2018 edition

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Scott – N8SY and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Scott has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the section will need to use the mailing list link above.
Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).
Go to www.arrl.org and logon.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at: http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2018/OSJ-May-18.pdf

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

DSCF5081 K8JTKHey gang,

Another Hamvention has come to a close. My dad (N8ETP) and I were able to make it again. We were joined by my mom (N8GTK) this year too. This was her second Hamvention. She got to experience one at Hara Arena and now one at the Greene County Fairgrounds. Last year my dad and I parked on site at the fairgrounds. We didn’t get stuck but took about 3 car washes to get the mud off. This year we decided to park off-site and were bussed in. I remember being able to fit in the isles and seats last time I was on a school bus – not so much this time. Off-site parking was the better decision. Our site at Young’s Dairy was not nearly as muddy as the fairgrounds parking lot was this year or last. Other off-site locations offer a paved lot if parking in a field is not your thing.

On Friday, the busses dropped off and picked up in a remote area away from the main entrance. Farm tractors transported Hamvention goers to the main entrance with hayride trailers. This lasted a day because rain combined with heavy machinery and grassy fields turned it into – you guessed it – a mud wrestling pit. Saturday, the busses dropped us off in one of the parking lots and then we rode golf carts to the main gate. Beats being stuck.

Being the second year at the new location, it’s still a work-in-progress. Improvements have been made over last year and there is still more in the pipeline. An addition to the flea market was crushed asphalt and gravel isles. This should have improved conditions in the flea market though I can’t say for sure. We started in the flea market on Friday but about an hour later it started raining buckets and we headed indoors unfortunately not to return. Rearranging the indoor facilities provided a much larger covered eating area. The tent used for outdoor vendors was much nicer. The ground might have gotten wet underneath but I don’t think occupants got the rain coming in through the sides as they did last year. Another building is expected to be constructed for next year.

Despite the wet weather, it still seemed like attendance was up. It’s kind of a bummer not being able to walk away with a new purchase at the hamfest. A couple purchases needed to be shipped because vendors didn’t have the room but it’s a good problem to have as Hamvention continues to bring in vendors from around the world. According to the conversations I had, next year will be dry and all the problems will be solved! Don’t hold me to the ‘being dry’ part.

VOA Bethany Relay Station (Wikipedia)

For a couple years, one thing I’ve wanted to do while in Dayton was visit the Voice of America (VOA) museum. This year, with the three of us, we made it a point and it was well worth a visit. I believe the first time I ever heard of Voice of America was in a college Telecommunications class. We had an assignment to listen to VOA over an evening and write our thoughts about what we heard in the broadcast. This was in the mid-2000’s and the VOA was available as an online stream. Grated many people have not heard of VOA which is understandable because its target audience isn’t U.S. citizens. The primary intent of VOA was broadcast programming to be consumed by foreign audiences to help influence public opinion abroad regarding the U.S. Propaganda, if you will.

My primary operating interests are digital modes and using computers but I have a healthy respect and am very interested in the history of radio. There’s a lot of radio history in our own backyard. Down in West Chester, Ohio are two very famous transmission facilities: WLW and the Voice of America Bethany Relay station. WLW is famous for being the highest power transmitter ever used in the U.S. on broadcast AM radio. Between 1934 and 1939 WLW operated at a power output of 500 kW. The transmitter they operated was serial number 1. In 1938, a congressional resolution was introduced which limited broadcast AM transmission to 50 kW, which is still the current maximum power output. The WLW tower is also rare featuring the unique “Blaw-Knox” diamond shape.

Adjacent to the WLW tower is the VOA facility known as the Bethany Relay Station. In 1944, the facility began transmitting American programming on shortwave frequencies primarily into Europe during World War II. They could broadcast into Africa and South America as well. The site had 6 transmitters built by the same company that operated the WLW transmitter, Crosley Radio. Four stations were 200 kW and two were 50 kW. Originally the facility sat on a 625-acre site built inland so it couldn’t be easily attacked like other VOA sites close to the ocean might be. Due to a shift to satellite technology, the station was decommissioned in 1994. Much of the property was turned over to the Metroparks and is now a recreational park. The transmission towers and antennas have all been demolished. The transmission building and antenna switching facility is all that remains which is now home to a museum and ham radio club.

WLW Engineering Azimuthal Projection Map

The National VOA Museum of Broadcasting and the West Chester Amateur Radio Association, WC8VOA, preserve and care for the Bethany Relay Station. The museum chronicles the history of VOA and how it played key roles in forming public opinion of the U.S. during wartime. It featured a fitting tribute to the last known surviving engineer for WLW and VOA, Clyde Haehnle, who passed away last month. An azimuthal projection map, which Clyde drew, is featured in many places. This map shows the distance and angle from Cincinnati to any point on the globe which was used to direct VOA antennas to any part of the world. Another room features the history of the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation with tubes on display used in the WLW 500 kW transmitter and types of radios consumers would have used in their homes. A radio timeline shows the history of radio from the spark gap to the iPad. Opposite those displays are the broadcaster’s museum which featured a couple pieces of history from the Cleveland area, which I was surprised to see.

Of the old VOA facility, there is still a shortwave transmitter on display complete with control panel, the newer of the two control rooms where operators could select programming broadcast over each transmitter, and the antenna switching matrix. If all that isn’t enough, you can operate the WC8VOA club station in the old control room of the VOA.

We could have easily spent a half-day there because there was so much to look at, watch, and listen. This was an amazing facility with a lot of history between WLW and VOA. The VOA Museum of Broadcasting and West Chester Amateur Radio Association where such gracious hosts. They were around to answer questions and pass along the history of this station. If you’re in the area or if not, make plans for Hamvention next year to spend [more than] a couple hours at the VOA facility. It’s open every Saturday and Sunday 1 – 4pm with extended hours during Hamvention.

More information and videos on the VOA:
West Chester Amateur Radio Association (WC8VOA): http://wc8voa.org/
National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting: http://www.voamuseum.org/
Voice of America Museum Special (AmateurLogic.TV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w_ZXRJol_4

Clyde Haehnle, Remembering WLW & VOA (AmateurLogic.TV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnw-STvoj20

1992-04-24 Voice of America Bethany (Mason) Ohio Relay Station [in operation]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiGmEjH4dKE

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK