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Owatonna Steele County Amateur Radio 14-Apr-2017

OSCAR News - March, 2Ø11

OSCAR Meeting
The next OSCAR meeting is 10-Mar @ 9:00 AM, the second Saturday of the month. Meetings are held in the meeting room at the Owatonna HyVee, 18th Street @ Oak Avenue.

Daylight Savings Time
Remember to set your alarm clocks for 2:00 AM on 11-Mar to move your clocks up 1 hour. Greenwhich Mean Time (GMT) is not affected by this man made adjustment. Be sure you adjust your log books to reflect GMT is 5 hours ahead of Central Daylight Savings Time.

SKYWARN Spotter Class
Steele County SKYWARN Spotter class is scheduled for 13-Mar. This class is for new spotters as well as a refresher for those previously trained. Remember, you must complete a Spotter Class at least every two years to remain certified.

SKYWARN Meeting
The next SKYWARN meeting is 20-Mar @ 7:00 PM, the third Tuesday of the month. Meetings are held at the Owatonna Fire Station.

OSCAR Technician Class
The 2012 edition of the Technician Class began on 14-Feb with 8 participants. Teachers are Dennis NØRPI, Dale WBØPKG, Randy KDØUNV, Jeff KCØUOW, Larry KRØK,and Tom NØUW. OSCAR members are encouraged to sit on the classes and heckle the instructors. The VE session is scheduled for 08-Mar.

Participants that are successful passing the 08-Mar exam will be rewarded with an OSCAR membership for the balance of 2012. They also earn an opportunity to go home that night with a used ICOM V-8 handheld doanted by Larry KRØK.

Elmer Session
The 2012 Elmer Session is scheduled for 22-Mar at the Owatonna Fire Station. Elmers are individuals that provide personal guidance and assistance to new and would-be hams. Although intended to provide support for the new licensees from the OSCAR Technician Class, anyone needing a question answered are invited to attend. There is no established structure. Show up with your problem and we'll do our best to help. Check out the Elmer Page to see if some common questions that are asked. OSCAR members are invited to be part of the team of experts.

Technical Net Training From Multiple Sources
Association of Emergency Radio Organizations (AERO) is holding its Basic Emergency Operator Communication (AERO 1) class and Net Control (AERO 2) class on Saturday, March 03, 2012 at the City of Bloomington Police. Registration for either class must be completed no later than Thursday, March 01, 2012. Register with Dan Peitso, N0PIY at N0PIY@arrl.net or phone 763-755-3262. E-mail registration is preferred. You will need your HT extra battery pack perferred, notebook and pens and and perfer earphones or lapel microphone for the drill.

AERO 1 focuses on proper radio procedures, presentation in person and on the radio, and how to prepare for deployment in time of need. Doors open at 8:30 A.M.; class is from 9:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. with exercises after lunch. Attendees for AERO 1 should complete complete FEMA’s IS-100.b before taking AERO 1.

AERO 2 focuses on Nets with emphasis on Net Controllers, Net Creation, and establishment of Net protocols. Doors open at 9:30 A.M.; class is from 10:00 A.M. until 4:00 P.M. with exercises after lunch. Participants for AERO 2 class should have completed AERO 1 and FEMA’s IS-200.b.

VARS Technician Class From Jon WBØZFH
The Viking Amateur Radio Society will be conducting a Technician class starting on April 3 at 7pm. The classes will run about 2 hours each night. Anyone who wishes to enroll or help teach the class can contact Reg Cass at reg_cass@msn.com

History of KØHNY
The club call sign KØHNY was acquired "in memorium" to honor Charlie. A brief history of Charlie has been added to the Archives that includes some memories by Marv NØFJP and Dave WBØVAK. Others are welcome to submit a paragraph.

NØRPI Channel From Dennis NØRPI
Dennis NØRPI has been playing with his new Mac computer making videos. Go to YouTube to see Dennis' Yaesu FT-450 working 12 Meters mobile.

60-meter Changes From Multiple Sources
New Amateur Radio rules for 60-meters take effect on 03-Mar. This band consists of five channels for Amateur Radio. The channel currently at 5.358 MHz is being replaced with a channel at 5.368 MHz. The ERP is being increased 3dB to 100 watts PEP. Data, RTTY, and CW modes will also be allowed.

Tunnel-Junction Transistor Laser From Science Daily
Scientists successfully demonstrated a microwave signal mixer made from a tunnel-junction transistor laser. The mixing device accepts two electrical inputs and produces an optical signal that was measured at frequencies of up to 22.7 GHz. This new type of transistor uses the photon internally to modify the electrical operation and make the transistor itself a different device. The sensitivity of the tunnel-junction transistor laser to voltage control enables the device to be directly modulated by both current and voltage. This flexibility facilitates the design of new nonlinear signal processing devices for improved optical power output.

CALM TV From Multiple Sources
Nope, this isn't a new network on cable. The remote control for your TV may get a rest by the end of 2012. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act means television commercials have the same average volume as the programs they accompany. Unfortunately, the rules do not take effect until December, 2012.

Self Healing circuits From Multiple Sources
Many of us have had to deal with cracks in solder joints or circuit board tracings. As devices become smaller, the task of trying to find some of the failures becomes near impossible. Take one more step to miniaturization and think about the number of pathways in an integrated circuit. The failure of one path can cause a whole device to be useless. Researchers demonstrated a material and process that allow broken circuits to heal themselves. Microscopic capsules with a liquid metal are laid along the pathways. The capsule breaks When a crack develops in the circuit. The liquid metal is released and reconnects the broken path.

Single Molecule Switch From Multiple Sources
The search to design components smaller and smaller is down to the molecular level. One molecular switch is composed of metal atoms held together by a nitrogen atom and surrounded by a cage made up of carbon atoms. The molecular structure changes the way electric current is passed by changing the alignment of the metal atoms. Six logical states can be achieved.

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