QRM 3 June1973
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a1M-l
BULLETIN ISSUED BY THE NORTHERY ) P.0,B0X 1010
LRANCHES OF THE WIRELESS INSTITUTE - LAUNCESTON
OF AUSTRALIA TAS, DIVISION TAS 7250
JUNE, 1973
VoL, 3 NO, 3
e eee e e ee
REGISTERED AT G.P.0O. HOBART
for transmission by post as
a veriodical, CATEGORY B. "PRICE 10¢
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
DO YOU KNOW OSCAR,
In case you don't -~ and judeging by the scarcity of publicity you prebably
don't - Oscar 6 is an amatcur satellitc c1rclin« the carth cvery 115 minutes and
capable to rcsnonding to signals trensrittedto 1’c cn a band of frecquencies
“botween 145,9 Mhz and 146,00 Yhz, It rctron.aits the rcccived signals between
2,45 and 29,55 Mhz, -In. fact it is amatcur ccrmunication via satellite - the
first really successful satcllite tc bc uscd by amatcurs, This is rcally scrncthing
ncw, cxeiting and different - so what the hcll is wreng,
Firstly, there hasn't been enough back up nublicity given to times of passcs
'm’ cens.quently fer toc many anateurs don't know when tc listen, Secendly one
canpot rcly on Oscar being on duc to insufficicnt contrel, low battery powecr cte,
Thus nany amnatcurs who werc intcrested have dropred out 'm(‘ Oscar is orbiting
awvey awaitir g custemers,
Jow, WHAT CAN WE DO. Plenty! - Give Oscer rore publlclt;yas does QST and Radic
. Communicaticns, Publicise details of QSO's and call signs c¢f stations active,
Give times of nasses in table form such as 7PF is deing in CRM., Try to assunc
that Oscar will be operating regularly on certain days and adhere tc this, Tell
=- )
cveryone thet it is casy to copcrate through Oscar any decent recciver tuning
throuzh 2,5 Mhz and any cld aerial such as a dipole will receive signals, A
rediun powered transritter is CX just rctunc tc 145.9, You den't need SST or arility
(¥
te 0SY, It will responcd to CW, SEE or AM, ‘
Give the gang scre incentive to go leoking for Oscar, In eny sport or hcbby
you rwst promote corpetition, Why not a WAS ccrtificate via satellitc, Now is the
tirc, H,F. bonds arc gctting worse daily with declining sunspots, VHF types are
noinly working repcaters which dees net present any challenge, Ackivity could
c2sily lag yet here we arc with an entirely ncw concept in comamication - cne with
wvhich we will cventually bc able to cormmmicate world wide,
Rererber its not the scientists arongst us thet will'kcep ham radio geing
it s thc operators - so let's get operating — Satellite coirmmication is herc to
staY - fct started NOW]
SN HFRIANHHHHWRK
COL VKTLZ
MEE T IV 68
v
ULVERSTCNE
'
A AT LAKIN'S HALL
NORTH WESTERY BRAVCH IAL
E ROOMS HIGH STREET, LAUN CES‘I(;NR
gg};m gglz NORTHERY BRAVCH A,E,B,
ATUAL CCOVENTION IN MT, GAMBIER
JUNE 9th and 10th SCUTH EAST RADIC GROUP OF S,4,
(AP HPNE(]
RDAY MORTINGS AT KINGS MEAD OWS HIGH SCHOOL
Y208 CLASSES NOW 2nd and Ath SATU
BULLETIN OF NORTHERN BRAICHES W,I,A. TAS, JUNE, 107%
PAGE 2
rlf ¢ & 5y
NORTHERN BRINCH NOTES s R T R R 5 3 B
C.R.M. can be likcned as to a naper disposal unit - just as one edition goecs t
to print your Editor is looking for morc copy and when news is scarce this can be
embarrassing to all concerncd, The last branch mceting saw an attendance 31,
ably chaircd as mwsual by Pcter 7PF, attendencc was about average and must surecly
rcfleet continuing intercst in the Branch., Do keep up this fine cffort - it is
rostenpreciatcd by your cormittee, Two items of major interest were brought up.,
Firstly Peter 7PF gave us thc latest rundown on the repeater frecuency change,
Peter Dowd 7PD proposcd thata lctter by sent to Council rcoucsting that
screone be opted as State W.I.C,E. 1\1 co--ordinator and that said perscn investigate
the future and or maintenance of State W,I,C.EN, group and alsc ascertain the
availability of equipment and »nersonnel for W,I,C,E.N, »nurposes and informaticn
on W.I,C.EN, activitics in othcr Statcs, Phewi What a routhful,. Anyway the
nroposal has boen forwarded to Division end no doubt when thet hard wor-in - group
zct the tirme to deal with it we will get the answers,
Next Branch mceting will be on Junc 8th, '73 at thc A.E,B, rooms at High
Street - following general busincess the evening will be given over to a- #FUNK -SALE!
. But this is a sale with a differcnce, A1l items tc be sold will be donaticns
frem you (Gentlemen) to the Club Room Account Fund,
Last tire this happencd John 7JV reported that $70,00 was raised -~ he reckons
he is looking for abeut $240,00 this tire! So bring your gifts along or if
you havec no transport contact any menber of the cormittec for help, No one will
be ermbarrassed if, more than car be sold, is donated, as we cin always arrenge
another night te disposc of the rest - or disnosc of the brass, copper ete.
cecntont fer cash to a scrap dealcer, :
Sceondly whilst we arc on the subjcet of cquipment Bob 7ZRF bought a swag
of Itals and Air Dux coils back frem Hobart with him for sale cn behalf of the
Divisicnal Equiprent Store, No doubt he will fetch this to the m cting or at
least a 1list frequency and ceoil sizes, Bob can be contacted by phone if you haves
o URGENT NLED for eithcr items, But do turn up on June ©th, We likc to sce you
and we do nced your cashi
Did you note the stir cn a rceent broadcast with respeet of a Hobart weather
report - it certainly encouraged a few rore stations to call in on the 70 metre
call back, Recten Johm 7JV worked 20 stations for his Jubilece Award that dayl
Mlsc notc the BEARDED ONL is causine scme (RM on 160 metrcs after redification
tc his gear, UWhat next will he get up to1(IKW SSB on &M .. the B arded One),
72GG is still horsing arcund rost nishts on 2 & 6 metres - he found cut
the cother day thet he can get M and M from the sarc rig - wish he weuld tell
me how as I'm locking for a chegp way to get on 67,
7RR has been sworting a thick 1ip lately .. rosults ¢f a bad cold I'm told
not threcugh blewing his trumpct as cnc character remar-ed,
Dori't ferget the preposed Golden Jubilec dinncr in Hobart on July 7th, If
mybody has got any idcas for this night out I'm surc the organisers would
a~oreciate 1t, The grcatcst help we can all give is to suoport it and attend,
sc organisc your baby sitters, save your biscuits and dust out the Tuxedo,
Must not forget to ncntflcn Welly's 7ZWX finc prescntation end talk on Slow
Secen T,V, (S.S.T.V.) at the last meeting, He ce,r'tainly brought out somc of the
rorc toechnical faccts of the art and olwost convinced us it was no trouble at
211 to get active, Hil
Robin 7RH still runs his CW classes on Sunday aftcrncen 2,30 np. at his
shack, These classces are not only for the New Breed, but also for others (like
nysclf) whe arc not conversant with full CW procccdure on the amatcur bands,
Perscnally I still can't figurc why CW cpcraters can't scend plain English
ingstead of all thesc gquecer abreviations, Perhaps the departrent right scrap
the "English lanpuage™ CW test end then we can learn Egyotian Hyrcgliphics, All
jeking aside Rebin I would like to attend if I could find thoe tine,
Gucss this is all for this month, S.c¢ you ALL on June 8th together with
your '"Donaticn' at AEB Rocms at High Strcet,
73s cde 7NR,
-
\‘
W
\C
b TUP P;L-L‘.;‘o.;'x) .LL‘ii;)J_:;.‘;:L: to (:bi.‘.ik'i L} -.y
OBLTUARY L.J. Crooks VK78
It 1is with regret that we have to report the death of
Mr. Len Crooks, VL7Bi, on the 24 th kay. He was Patron of
the Tasmanian Division of the «.l.Ase
One of the 'old timers' of smateur k:idio, Lcn will be
remeibered by many of the older citizens of Launceston for
the excellent programmes he used to broadcast every sunday
on the 200 metre band., His signature tune "Sunday Afternoon'
was eagerly awaited by practically everyone who possessed a
radio in Northern Tasmania in the 1920's and early 30's.
He was keenly interested in every facet of Amateur Radio
and operated on all bands 200 metres through to 432 MHz. His
shack was always the focal point of local and visiting
Amateurs and his help and advice to those interested in
radio was instrumental in several of todays amateurs fisst
obtaining their Amateur Licenee. He played an active part in
the foundation of the Wireless Institute of Australia and,
until his death, he retained this interest and was a
life member of the Tasmanian Division.
Len lived by the Amateur Code as written and published
by that grand "0ld Man" of amateur radio Hiram Percy Maxim,
W1AW, in the very early days of radio, one of which stated;
"The amateur is gentlemanly. He never knowlingly
uses the air for his own amusement in such a way
as to lessen the pleasure of others.'
This was Len's policy which he practised right through his
lifetime, not only in Ham radio , but in his whole way of
living. A true gentleman- one that everyone who has met will
always remember with respect,
He will be sadly missed by all and, to his family, we
extend our deepest sympathy.
Q@ R M
BULLETIN OF NORTHERN BRANCHES W. I, A, TAS, JUNE, 1973
PAGE 3
NORTH WESTLRN BRANCHNOTES
Thirteen members were prccent at our May meeting, How unlucky! It was
agreed that the usunl ragchewing indulged in prior to meetings in future would
be deferred until after the meeting, In other words we propose to start on
time, . : ~
Agein members were urged vo attend the annual meeling in Launceston, And
meny did, We agreed that it was nossibly the most interesting meeting ever held.
We conpliment both the Chairman T2d and the deputy Brien for the way in which
they hendled the meeting, Ue a.L.L learned a great deel.
We wish the new Council every succegs,
Now for +the story of the month] I recently had reason to visit a certain
supermarket in Devonpert, To my amazcment I vas accosted by the new proprietors
BRIAN and EDITH, no other nan VK7ZEE, Before I had *time to regain my composure
my business wad L.ul.z.C"t'd, but I cxplained that it wouldn't work as I can never
find any reedy cosh., TYou will heve gathercd that Brian has left the 0ld job in
radio, '
This brings us w enotiher important matter, The VK7 Beacon on 2 metres
CK7VE has had to ¢ peimpvel from its location, The above paragraph will explain
whi, and it will oe neceesary to £ind a new hove for it, In the meantime the
opportunity wili be tak “n o wodiiy the neyer ‘o the new call sign VK7RTZ,
Several membere arve lovoivel. 7ZGR pr-ow\h1 the know-how with 7ZBE, 7ZIE and 7ZAR
lending a helping hend. tooe B of work is dnvolved as it 1is electronic.
To moralise - you'll : thc uater till the well rewns dry!
e woullLl beacon till its gonel OED
Some personci [ [orecast sove new nf »igs in the area shortly from
remarks heard on the alr,
7ZRS was heard on 2 metros reocatly, Come again Rayl
7¥S has discovercd that 2 m, is a great ragchew bandi
Several local beys are showing in tcu,ox in c.w, énd could stag‘e a comeback
shortly. DMore CR] , ,
Ais my last notes wore mau"_LdL\ud in the printing with QI‘Ole results, I haven't
a typlng mcnlno so thnese are printed, Hope it works outl
CUL,
1\1(3("\1(41"\7 CRAK
FOR SALE
(1) Collins ART.13 iiiotunc Trensritter, 150 watts AM/CW to 813 P.A., 811A
Yodulator, High Level Clipping, N.Odlfled Pre Amp Stage, Complete with handbook
and professionally Tuilt power supply 1500 Volt & 150MA - $00,00 0.N.O.
(2) G2DAF Recciver Professionally built, Etched front panel 160, €0, 40, 20,
15 and 10 Metre Bands plus 4 additional Channels, 3 Halt Lattice Xtal Filters
2.4 Kc @ 6db, 3,7 Kec @ 60db Baddwidth, SSB/AM Detectors, Motor tuning,
Eddystone Dial ete, ete, - $i50.00 0.V,0,
D, il SLOWAN VK7iS
GLET BROOK™
BASS HIGHWAY
SPREYTON....7310
SUTLETTY OF VCRTLY B CHes W, 1.4, Tis, Ju, 1977
Times are for the closest .S and S-N passes for cach day, Other passcs
cen be heard 1 hr, 55 min., earlicr and later with 20 degrees less or greater,
For those without a Celculater add 1 hr, 42 nin, to give the centre of a pass fer
A1(Z time) and 1 hr, 12 min, for PM(Z tire), The satcllite should be heard for
20 minutes centred on thesc tircs,
e e o ot 2 g eSy S o APt AR 1 1+l i o0 5wt 4B T 2 A Sl A <AR -+ —————
DLTE ORBIT DATE ORBIT TIME Z oW DATE ORBIT DATE ORBIT TIMEZ oV
S eo eo g
Junc 1 2864 ng,7 3703 0953 191 Junc 23 3140 fug.29 3979 1031 206
1 70 7 09 2103 004 23 46 29 85 2201 018
2 77 8 16 1028 205 24, 52 30 91 0931 191
2 83 8 22 2158 018 2/, 58 30 97 2101 003
3 & 9 28 0928 190 25 65 31 4004 1026 205
3 95 9 34 2058 003 25 70 31 09 2156 017
4 2202 10 41 1023 204 26 77 Sep.1 16 0926 190
4 08 10 47 2153 016 26 83 1 22 20 56 002
5 14 11 53 0923 189 27 20 2 2 1021 203
5 L0 11 59 2053 001 27 96 2 35 2151 016
6 27 12 66 1017 203 28 3202 3 41 0921 187
6 33 12 72 2148 015 28 07 3 46 2051 001
7 ) 13 78 0918 188 29 15 4, 54 1016 202
7 45 13 84 2048 000 29 20 4, 50 2146 015
8 52 14 91 1013 201 30 27 5 66 0916 187
8 58 14 97 2143 014 30 33 5 7 2 20456 000
9 64, 15 3803 0913 186 Jul, 1 40 6 79 1011 205
9 70 15 09 2043 359 1 46 6 85 2141 013
10 76 16 15 1008 200 2 52 7 91 0911 186
10 82 16 21 2138 012 2 58 7 97 2041 3528
11 90 17 2 1102 214 3 65 g 4104 1006 200
11 95 17 34 2037 357 3 71 8 10 2136 012
12 3002 18 41 1002 199 4, 78 9 17 1101 213
12 07 18 46 2132 011 4 83 9 22 2036 357
13 15 19 5, 1057 212 5 90 10 2 1000 198
13 20 19 59 203 356 5 96 10 35 2130 011
14 27 20 66 0957 198 6 3303 11 42 1055 212
14, 32 20 71 2127 010 6 08 11 47 2030 356
15 40 21 7 1052 210 7 15 12 54 0955 197
15 45 21 8, 2027 354 7 21 12 60 2125 0710
16 52 22 91 0952 196 8 28 13 67 1050 211
16 58 22 97 2122 008 8 33 13 72 2025 355
17 65 23 3904 1046 210 9 40 14 79 0950 196
17 70 2 09 2022 353 9 46 14 85 2120 008
18 77 2/, 16 0947 195 10 53 15 92 1045 210
18 83 2/ 22 2127 007 10 58 15 97 2020 353
19 20 25 29 1042 208 11 65 16 4204 0945 195
19 95 25 34 2017 352 11 71 16 10 2115 007
20 3105 26 41 0941 193 12 78 17 17 1040 208
20 07 26 46 2111 006 12 83 17 22 20 15 352
21 15 27 54, 1036 207 13 90 18 29 0940 193
21 21 27 60 2206 020 13 96 18 35 2110 006
22 27 28 66 0936 192 14 3403 19 42 1035 207
22 33 28 72 2106 005 14 09 19 L8 2205 020
15 15 20 54 0935 192
15 21 20 60 2105 005
16 28 21 67 1030 206
16 34 21 73 2200 018
17 40 22 79 0930 191
17 46 22 g5 2100 003
Q@ R M
BULLETIN OF NORTHERN BRANCHES W,I.A., TAS, JUNE, 1973
PAGE 5
DATE ORBIT DATE ORBIT TIME Z oW DATE ORBIT DATE ORBIT TIMEZ oW
Jul,18 53 Sep.23 92 1025 205 fug.1 28 Oct.7 67 0949 195
18 59 23 98 2155 017 1 34 7 73 2119 008
19 65 24 4304 0925 190 2 41 g8 8 1043 209
19 71 24 10 2055 002 2 46 8 85 2018 353
20 3478 25 4317 1020 203 3 53 9 92 0943 194
20 84 25 23 2149 016 3 59 9 97 2113 006
21 90 26 29 0919 188 4L 66 10 4505 1038 208
21 96 26 35 2049 001 Lo 71 10 10 2013 351
22 3503 27 42 1014 202 5 78 1 17 0938 193
22 10 27 19 2144 015 5 84 11 23 2108 005
23 15 28 54 0914 187 6 91 12 30 1033 206
23 21 28 60 2044 000 6 97 12 36 2203 019
2/ 28 29 67 1009 201
24 36 2 175 2139 013
25 40 30 7 0909 186
25 46 30 85 2030 358
26 53 Oct, 1 92 1004 200
26 59 1 97 2134 012
27 64, 2 4403 0904 185
27 70 2 09 2034 357
28 78 3 17 095 190
28 84 3 23 2129 010
29 91 4 30 1054 212
2 96 4 35 202X 355
30 3603 5 42 0954 167
30 0% 5 48 2124 009
31 16 6 55 1049 210
31 21 6 €0 2024 354
e e T . Nt e eo e e et e eA Y3 eA T,37 . il .8 .< 8
Io G- Ln
We ureently require orders for I.G.L. equipment te make up to a ririrun crder.
Inyone who thinks he has scmething on order nlease confirm with John VK7JV,
L new item available is a channcl scanncr, this will scan 4 chennels and lock on
tc the first teo have a signel on it,
FAIEN I K
I have just been informed that the ncw Callbock will be out shortly. Also the ARRL
1973 Hencbock will be available shortly, place your order now and be surc you'll
have one, Sce John 7JV,
37 3 0
TN RN
582 3 & .
The Clwbrocn account nceds beosting end one way of doing that is to have a bottlc
drive, Joe VK7ZGJ , Phone 443882 end Grahan VK7ZGG , Phone 460455 have volunteercd
to de the job and will be looking for your bottles, they'll even take beer botitles
2l theugh they ruch prefer cordial and wilk bottles, If you have any give then a
call, '
FER NINN
NORM NR has obvicusly found the Burcau of Meteorology's secrct of forccasting
weather and likewisc he is just as wnreliablel
I
TR N
Q. R. M.,
BULLLATIN O THO ORTHIRY Z0MIS WIA TAS June 73
page 6
TECHIICAL ARTICLE = VXTZBY
250 1MHZ FRILGUENCY
COUL‘I' - - . : PART TU/O
250 lhz. Pre-gcaler
4 freguency counter provides an exccllent means for amateurs to
sct their crystal-controlled transmittcrs, ete. "on channel™,
Rather than trying to opcratc a counter directly at VAR,o device
called a pre-scaler is cmployed to divide the incoming signal by a
pre-set, usually 10 or 100. Thus, with o divide-by-10 prec-scaler,
a 50 mhz counter can bc uscd to 300 mhz (provided, of coursc, that
the pre-gcaler has o response of at least 300 mhz. Fairchild hos
reeently introduced an IC vhich includes an input circuit with
cxcellent scnsitivity and emitter coupled logic circuits providing
a division ratio of 10. This dcvice which ig desgignated 95H90DC,
ig rated for operation to 300 mhz, The pre-gecaler circuit is
showm in Tg. 3. L bias voltoge is applicd to the input c1rcu1t
Thlo bias iz set for relisble division by adjusting R1. Typice
sensitivity at 146 mhz. is .1 mV. Becausc the pru-ucglcr nust worh
ovcr the 30~ to 250 mhz range, on claborate broadband de-coupling
scheme using two RF chokecs and tiro ferritc beads is nceded to
climinate RF from the biag linc., Twro hot carricy diodes (IIP-2800
connected back to back) arc included at the input to prevent the IC
from being danaged by high-lcvel RF voltagce. The output buffer an
level translator uscs e 2113564 transistor to drive the rest of the
counter., The price of this IC is $16-00 + Sales Tax, while it is
cxpensive, it would be difficult to build o unit costing less from
cither discrete components or IC flip-flops that would deliver the
sane level of performance.
250MIZ_PRE-SCALR FIG.
3
rfc 1,2 ferrite beads .
rfc 3,4 ferrite bead wound with 15 turns 34 B+S
TR 1 2n356L
D1,D2 HP-2800
o+
S VolT
——oc02
Séoo| l ?u 95+ 90 l
{
- » ' ToPView
Q. R. M.
BULLETIN OF THE NORII RN ZOWES TIA TLS June 73
page 7
TECIICLL ARTICLE (Cont)...
20 Ihz,Input Board
During the testing of this counter it was found that the
gensitivity left something to be desircd. Aftcr many hours of
fiddling and nuch hair pulling, it was found that the lack of
sengitivity was duc to inproper opcration of the IC uscd as the
pulsc shaper, After further fiddling and norc pulling of hoir
(2lmost bald by now!) I decided to throw it avay and start cgain. A
few days later I cpotted an advertiscment in "A.R." advertising a 50
nhz Counter Kit. The company was Yunkcr Elcctronics and they were
sclling the input board scparatcly for $15-00, so being o lazy bloke
at hcart, we bought onc, The circuit of this 30 mhz input board
appears at Fig. 4. The input amplificr uscs a FET type 215245, The
output of thig amplificr is coupled to the pulse shaper IC, o Tairchild
9582, a high spced ECUL dual D Flip-flop. This shaped signel is
then fed to the level translator transistor type 2N4258. The IK Tab
pot is adjusted for proper opcration of the anplificr. The spees.
on the input board arc as follows
Scngitivity - DC to 30 nhz 30nv
Input Impedance - 1 Heg. shunted with 22 pF
Danmage Qverload - 400V RS ot 1 KHZ.
Pover
Requirenents - 45 Volts at 70 na
30 MHZ INPUT BOARD FIG. 4
=e .
e + 5vG
\Z D3
470 PF 7
G
I~ 2% K . +
p— ourt
-3, %% | /o PF
1 MEG ,, \ 2 <—7fl/oo ?F - 220 220 L.
- = /o K "
t5Y 5Kk Ik gy L
' 7 BoTTom WEWS
E??582 ] B s
/ g € @C o(4
11,D2-18659 TR2 TR
D3 -1N4448
TR1 =2N5245
TR2 =-2N4258