The 24 attendees at our meeting were treated to an intuitive explanation of PLLs and phase noise as well as a very interesting demonstration of phase noise by Ed and his spectrum analyzer.
This month’s WVARA meeting will be held in-person on Wednesday, November 8, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. Social time begins around 6:45pm with the meeting beginning at 7pm. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
Ed Fong, WB6IQN, will bring us up to speed on a central part of all modern radios — the phase-lock loop (PLL). PLLs are used everywhere. Not only in our transceivers, but cell phones, televisions, computers, etc. We could not live without them. PLL’s where not practical until the invention of the modern day integrated circuit which allowed thousands of transistors on a single chip. Prior to the PLL, we used single crystals for VHF FM. This was very expensive and most of us could only afford a few channels.
Ed will explain how PLL’s work in a non mathematical presentation. He will explain where phase noise originates and techniques engineers have used minimize it. Ed will bring his HP 8591 spectrum analyzer and compare the phase noise of various HT’s to a crystal control radio. Bring your HT and see how yours performs against a crystal control radio. Ed is an enthusiastic speaker and is guaranteed to both enlighten and enliven with his presentation.
Ed Fong was first licensed in 1968 as WN6IQN. He later upgraded to Extra Class (when 20 WPM was required ) with his present call of WB6IQN. He obtained the BSEE and MSEE degrees from the Univ. of California at Berkeley and his Ph.D. from the Univ. of San Francisco. A Life Senior Member of the IEEE, he has 12 patents and over 40 published papers and books in the area of communications and integrated circuit design. Presently, he is employed by the University of California, Santa Cruz (previously with Berkeley from 1997-2010) as an instructor teaching graduate classes in Antenna Design, RF design and high speed interface. In his 35 year career, he has done work for Stanford University, National Semiconductor, Advanced Micro Devices, numerous startup companies in the Silicon Valley.
Please note:
• Since the west side entrance to the Red Cross Building is always locked, we recommend entering the Red Cross Building through the main entrance situated on the north side of the building.
• The Red Cross locks the main entrance at 7pm sharp, so please come early in order to get access to the building.
• We will be in Meeting Room 3 — about 100 feet from any entrance. As a result, late comers who knock on an outside door won’t be heard from our meeting room. If you need help getting in the door, you can my cellphone: 408-636-6172.
• The meeting will be in-person only and not streamed via Zoom.
By the way, several of us meet nearby for dinner prior to the meeting at 5:30pm at Dish-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com . Feel free to join us.
73s,
Jim, K6EI
WVARA Vice President
This month’s WVARA meeting will be held in-person at 7pm on Wednesday, October 11, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
Jim Peterson, K6EI, will be giving this month’s presentation, which will cover a topic relevant to all radio amateurs — reducing your RF exposure risk. While the exposure risk associated with amateur radio is generally low, there are practical steps that every ham should take to quantify the risk associated with their equipment, and actions we can all take reduce our exposure risk. We’ll cover what the FCC recommends in terms of RF safety, as well as practical safety tips that every ham should consider.
Other details:
• Since the west side entrance to the Red Cross Building is always locked, we recommend entering the Red Cross Building through the main entrance situated on the north side of the building.
• The Red Cross locks the main entrance at 7pm sharp, so please come early in order to get access to the building.
• We will be in Meeting Room 3 — about 100 feet from any entrance. As a result, late comers who knock on an outside door won’t be heard from our meeting room. If you need help getting in the door, you can my cellphone: 408-636-6172.
By the way, several of us meet nearbyfor dinner prior to the meeting at 5:30pm at Dish-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com . Feel free to drop by and join us for dinner.
This month’s WVARA meeting will be held in-person at 7pm on Wednesday, Sept 13, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
This month’s meeting will cover the California QSO Party. This terrific event occurs each year during the first weekend in October when hams across the country (and the globe) try to contact all 58 California counties.
Our primary speaker will be Dean Wood, N6DE, who will update us on plans for the California QSO Party. Among other things, Dean will cover the various ways that WVARA members can have fun participating in this great contest.
In addition to Dean’s presentation, we’ll also hear tips from four WVARA members who last year activated four rare counties during CQP: Bobby (K0XI), Mark (W6IA), Kevin (KK6VF), and Jim (K6EI).
Three things to remember:
• Since the west side entrance to the Red Cross Building is always locked, we recommend entering the Red Cross Building through the main entrance situated on the north side of the building.
• The Red Cross locks the main entrance at 7pm sharp, so please come early in order to get access to the building.
• We will be in Meeting Room 3 — about 100 feet from any entrance. As a result, late comers who knock on an outside door won’t be heard from our meeting room. If you need help getting in the door, you can my cellphone: 408-636-6172.
If you can’t make it to the Red Cross Building on Sept 13, feel free to join us via Zoom. Zoom instructions are at the end of this email.
By the way, several of us meet nearbyfor dinner prior to the meeting at 5:30pm at Dish-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com . Feel free to drop by and join us for dinner.
When not contesting, Dean works as a hardware design engineer for networking companies in Silicon Valley. Dean’s involvement with WVARA spans two decades, with responsibilities including past WVARA President, Vice President, Secretary, Board Member, Field Day Coordinator, Flea Market helper, meeting presenter, and other things I’ve forgotten.
The next WVARA meeting will be held in-person on Wednesday, June 14, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. Social time begins at 6:40pm with the formal meeting starting at 7pm. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
BTW, a half dozen of us meet nearby for dinner prior to the meeting at 5:30pm nearby at Disn-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com . Feel free to join us.
Meeting Topic: AREDN (Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network) — Come hear about RF Microwave Networking here in the South Bay Area. We will learn about what exists now, and how AREDN can be expanded for experimentation, community support, and emergencies. This will also be an opportunity for WVARA members to ask questions about setting up multi-Mbps systems at home, portable, and at key community locations.
Our speaker, Jim Moss, N9JIM, is working with a small group of hams to establish a microwave backbone around the SF Bay Area — in particular the South Bay. The first mountaintop station was established in 2013 on 3GHz and demonstrated IPphone & text messaging to flyaway portable setups. In 2022, Jim helped establish a 5GHz mountaintop node with AREDN firmware. BTW, Jim also holds the current (2020) 122GHz distance record holder with K6ML & KB6BA. They operated from Mt Umunhum (near San Jose, CA) to Mt Vaca (near Vacaville, CA) a distance of about 80 miles using 18″ dishes and about 1mW. Jim is also active on 1.2GHz EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) communications using 500w and a 1.5m dish. Very cool!
If you can’t wait until June 14 to learn about AREDN, then check out the AREDN website at: https://www.arednmesh.org/
Regarding our June 14 meeting, three things to remember:
• Since the west side entrance to the Red Cross Building is always locked, we recommend entering the Red Cross Building through the main entrance situated on the north side of the building.
• The Red Cross locks the main entrance at 7pm sharp, so please come early in order to get access to the building.
• We will be in Meeting Room 3 — about 100 feet from any entrance. As a result, late comers who knock on an outside door won’t be heard from our meeting room. If you need help getting in the door, you can my cellphone: 408-636-6172.
Although we will be meeting in person, Jim’s presentation will also be streamed via Zoom. Zoom instructions will be sent via WVARA reflector and can likewise be obtained by contacting K6EI — his email is available via QRZ.
Our next WVARA meeting will be held in-person at 7pm on Wednesday, March 8, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
Social time for this month’s meeting will begin around 6:45pm, with this month’s presentation beginning at 7pm. This month’s presenter is Paul Wesling, KM6LH, who will be speaking about amateur radio’s dramatic impact on the beginnings of the Silicon Valley. Why did Silicon Valley come into being? The story goes back to local Hams (amateur radio operators) trying to break RCA’s tube patents, “angel” investors, the sinking of the Titanic, Fred Terman and Stanford University, local invention of high‐power tubes, WW II and radar, William Shockley’s mother living in Palo Alto, and the SF Bay Area infrastructure that developed – these factors pretty much determined that the semiconductor and IC industries would be located in California’s Santa Clara Valley, and that the Valley would remain the world’s innovation center as new technologies emerged – computers, then software, mobile, biotech, Big Data, VR/AR, autonomous vehicles and now blockchain – and it would become the model for innovation worldwide. This presentation gives an exciting and colorful history of device technology development and innovation that began in Palo Alto, then spread across the Santa Clara Valley during and following World War II. You’ll meet some of the colorful characters – Cyril Elwell, Leonard Fuller, Lee de Forest, Bill Eitel W6UF, Charles Litton 6AO, Fred Terman 6AE/W6DI, David Packard 9DRV, Bill Hewlett, Russ Varian and others – extending to Nolan Bushnell W7DUK and Steve Wozniak WA6BND – who came to define the worldwide electronics industries through their inventions and process development.
Paul is an IEEE Life Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer and has observed the Valley for decades as an engineer, executive, resident, and educator. He received degrees in electrical engineering and materials science from Stanford University, then worked locally at companies including Lenkurt Electric, Sperry‐ Univac, and Amdahl, joining Tandem Computers in Cupertino in 1985. Paul retired from HP in 2001, then served as “Mr. IEEE” for the San Francisco Bay Area for 10 years. He is a Life Fellow of the IEEE. He received the IEEE’s Centennial Medal, the Board’s Distinguished Service award, the Society Contribution Award, the IEEE’s Third Millennium Medal, and the EPS Society’s Presidential Recognition Award. He edits the IEEE/ASME/SEMI Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap for prediction of technology directions in electronics packaging.
BTW, several of us meet for dinner prior to the meeting at 5:45pm nearby at Disn-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com Feel free to join us for dinner.
Although we will be meeting in person, Paul’s presentation will also be streamed via Zoom. Zoom instructions will be sent via WVARA reflector and can likewise be obtained by contacting K6EI — his email is available via QRZ.
Three things to remember:
– Jim, K6EI
This month’s WVARA meeting will be held in-person at 7pm on Wednesday, January 11, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
Two things to remember:
1) The Red Cross locks the exterior doors at 7pm sharp, so please come a few minutes early in order to get access to the building.
2) We will be in Meeting Room 3 — about 100 feet from the side door. As a result, late comers who knock on the side door won’t be heard from our meeting room. If you are late and need access, you can call my cellphone (408 636-6172) and someone will come let you in. But please try to arrive before 7pm to avoid this hassle.
To start the new year, we will have a presentation by Kaitlyn Handelman (KN6MAN) on Cybersecurity and Radios In Space. Radio transmitters surround us on the ground, in the air, and increasingly in space. Space is the place for amateur radio, telecommunications, and scientific transmissions. Space is awesome, but what could happen if a bad actor decided to attack satellite systems? More importantly, what fun can good actors have exploring satellite transmissions?
Kaitlyn Handelman (KN6MAN) is an offensive security engineer at Amazon where she secures ground, air, and space-based hardware. Kaitlyn has previous experience securing air and space systems at NASA.
BTW, several of us meet for dinner prior to the meeting at 5:45pm nearby at Disn-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com Some WVARA members also dine at Panera Bread a few miles further to the south at 503 Coleman Avenue at Autumn Parkway at the San Jose Market Center. Feel free to drop by either location for dinner.
Although we will be meeting in person, Kaitlyn’s presentation will also be streamed via Zoom. For Zoom log-on details contact Jim at k6ei at earthlink.net
.Jim, K6EI
WVARA Vice President
This month’s WVARA meeting will be held in-person at 7pm on Wednesday, November 9, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. We will be holding elections for next year’s club officers. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
In addition to holding elections, we will have a presentation by Steve Sergeant, KC6ZKT, regarding WVARA plans for Winter Field Day 2023. Winter Field Day, to be held on January 28-29, is an emergency communications exercise focused on providing communications services in some of our area’s most challenging conditions. You can learn more about WFD at [ https://www.winterfieldday.com/ ].
Steve Sergeant is a third-generation ham. Originally licensed Novice class in 1972, his licensed expired and later in 1991 he was granted KC6ZKT as a Technician, and has since upgraded to Extra. Steve has a long career in audio engineering for professional and later consumer audio system integration. He currently works at Dolby Laboratories as an Applications Engineer. Steve is on the boards of the WVARA and the Nature Sounds Society. He is also a volunteer backpacking instructor for the Sierra Club, and a Uniformed Volunteer for California State Parks.
Three things to remember:
BTW, several of us meet for dinner prior to the meeting at 5:45pm nearby at Disn-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com Some WVARA members also dine at Panera Bread a few miles further to the south at 503 Coleman Avenue at Autumn Parkway at the San Jose Market Center. Feel free to drop by either location for dinner.
Although we will be meeting in person, Steve’s presentation will also be streamed via Zoom. Zoom instructions have been sent via WVARA reflector and can likewise be obtained by contacting K6EI — his email is available via QRZ.
Jim, K6EI
WVARA Vice President
The next WVARA meeting will be held in-person at 7pm on Wednesday, Oct 12, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
As every ham who has turned on a radio in the past few years has observed, the amount of electrical noise on the ham bands has increased dramatically. Our speaker will be Jim Peterson, K6EI, who will update us on how to detect, identify, locate, and reduce Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) around your station. Since many of us has learned hard-fought lessons on this topic, be prepared to share your own RFI-related stories with the rest of us during the meeting.
Three things to remember:
Several of us meet for dinner prior to the meeting at 5:45pm nearby at Disn-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com Some WVARA members also dine at Panera Bread a few miles further to the south at 503 Coleman Avenue at Autumn Parkway at the San Jose Market Center. Feel free to drop by either location for dinner.
By the way . . . although we will be meeting in person, the presentation will also be streamed live via Zoom. So if you can’t make it to the Red Cross Building on Oct 12, feel free to join us via Zoom. (This will be our first time attempting a hybrid in-person / Zoom meeting, so please be patient.) Zoom instructions have been sent via WVARA reflector and can likewise be obtained by contacting K6EI — his email is available via QRZ.
This month’s WVARA meeting will be held in-person at 7pm on Wednesday, Sept 14, in Meeting Room 3 at the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2731 N. First Street at Plumeria Drive (southwest corner) in San Jose. If you haven’t been to the Red Cross in a while, “talk-in” is usually available on the Association’s repeaters. Best choice would be 2m/220.
This month’s meeting will cover the California QSO Party. This terrific event occurs each year during the first weekend in October when hams across the country (and the globe) try to contact all 58 California counties.
Our primary speaker will be Dean Wood, N6DE, who will update us on plans for the California QSO Party. Among other things, Dean will cover the various ways that WVARA members can have fun participating in this great contest.
In addition to Dean’s presentation, we’ll also hear a few lessons-learned from WVARA members who in recent years have activated three rare counties during CQP. Bobby (K0XI) ran an expedition to Lassen County in 2020. Mark (W6IA) co-ran a M/M expedition to Glenn County in 2021. And Jim (K6EI) and Tom (W6ESL) helped activate W6BO’s M/M station in Sutter County in 2021.
By the way . . . although we will be meeting in person, Dean will be giving his presentation via Zoom. So if you can’t make it to the Red Cross Building on Sept 14, feel free to join us via Zoom. Zoom instructions have been sent via WVARA reflector and can likewise be obtained by contacting K6EI — his email is available via QRZ.
Several of us meet nearbyfor dinner prior to the meeting at 5:45pm at Dish-N-Dash (2551 N. 1st St. San Jose): https://dishdash.com Some WVARA members likewise dine at Panera Bread a few miles further to the south at 503 Coleman Avenue at Autumn Parkway at the San Jose Market Center. Feel free to drop by either location for dinner.
When not contesting, Dean works as a hardware design engineer for networking companies in Silicon Valley. Dean’s involvement with WVARA spans two decades, with responsibilities including past WVARA President, Vice President, Secretary, Board Member, Field Day Coordinator, Flea Market helper, meeting presenter, and other things I’ve forgotten.