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Issued January 2015 Issue No. 60
Club Website: www.qsl.net/k7jar
S-Meter e-mail: parcnews@hotmail.com
Club Repeater: Output 146.62 MHz; Input 146.02 MHz, No Tone
Next Meeting Friday February 20th 2015
Meeting QTH is: Hawthorne and Walnut - Colville
CLUB NET:
Sunday Evenings 8:00p.m. Local
The President’s Corner
Well another month has gone by. This month we conducted an open
testing session on January 17th. It was a busy morning, as we administered
17 tests to a total of 12 people. When all was said and done there were 9
new Tech’s. and 4 new Generals. Two of these individuals started with the
Tech. and walked out as Generals – “Congratulations to all testers”.
I would like to thank Jim WW7DD and John KL7LL for their help in administering these tests
and my wife Tracie KF7DRA for her help in logging in and collecting the money at the door.
The clubs next big event is our annual March auction, so start cleaning out your HAM shacks.
On April 13th and running to May 20th there will be classes at the local community college for
the Tech license with the testing being done on May 20th, this will be an open test session, so let’s get
the word out.
Remember to support our PARC net on Sunday nights at 8:00pm. Looking forward to meeting
with you all at our next meeting February 20th 2015.
Tom Howe
KE7TEG
Announcements
Northwestern Division Scholarship Fund
For more information on the Scholarship or to make a contribution, go to
http://www.nwarrl.wetnet.net/node/132 or contact your Section Manager.
Ham of the Year
Jim Tills W7JWT
Announcing 34th
Annual Mike and
Key ARC
Electronics Show
and Flea Market
March 7th at
Washington State
Fair Grounds in
Puyallup
See last page of News Letter for
more information
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Highlights from our January meeting…….
Attendance: 20
Meeting was called to order by Tom KE7TEG, at 19:33 hours on
January 16th 2015.
A quorum of Officers was present.
Introductions were made and the minutes of the December meeting
were read and accepted.
Treasurer's Report – Randy N7CKJ $8,807.88
ARES – Dave WD7K reminded us of the ARES Net which is
every Sunday at 7:45pm local. The Washington State Emergency Net
(WSEN) – anyone with HF privileges is welcome (encouraged) to
check in when Stevens County is called. Saturdays at 0900 on 3985
kHz and on Mondays at 1830 also on 3985 kHz.
PARC Net – George W7WBN reported that the second simplex session covered all areas using a base station.
Larry, KR7LRJ reported that one person could not be heard in all areas that were using an HT.
Board Report - John KL7LL reported for Bruce and reminded the Officers that the annual financial statement
is due in February.
Announcements:
There will be a testing session this Saturday the 17th at 11:00am at our meeting
location. We are expecting around five people. Tom asked for any volunteer V.E.’s to help out. Jim WW7DD and John
KL7LL volunteered.
Tom is also working with the local college to get a Tech Class started. He said that Spokane Community
College wanted a high price to sign up, so if things did not work out he would do a private class on his own.
Old Business: Everyone had a great time at the December Christmas party/meeting.
New Business: Jim W7JWT offered to bring in his restored H500 radio in February and give a small
presentation on restoration, should be interesting.
Tom asked members if there was any interest in a presentation on radiograms. It was decided that the
presentation would be about twenty minutes long and would be at the April meeting.
Discussion followed about March Auction – clean out your Ham Shack! Jim WW7DD volunteered to be the
auctioneer. Randy N7CKJ said that the proceeds would go to the club unless an item was on consignment, then the club
would take 20%.
Lynn Miner NSHS is a member of the Spokane DX club, Tom asked him to give us a brief overview of what
their club was all about. The DX club, at times, can get quite technical, they experiment with antennas (type, strengths,
range, etc..), and they run Frequency trials which are conducted in early spring/summer. Anyone interested can get
more information by attending one of their monthly meetings, which are held the first Thursday of each month rotating
between two locations, check out their website at www.sdxa.org.
Diane KC7WQB presented Jim Tills W7JWT with “HAM OF THE YEAR”
Meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by: Edward L. Zeiser KF7DVL, Secretary
Thank you Randy N7CKJ for your short presentation on Coax wire, it was very informative.
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ARES Report
by Dave - WD7K
ARES Net is every Sunday at 7:45pm local. The Stevens County ARES net can be heard
on the 146.620 repeater located SW of Colville on Monumental Mountain and, when
linked, the 147.060 repeater (which has a PL tone of 77.0) located NW of Spokane on
Lookout Point.
The Washington State Emergency Net (WSEN) – anyone with HF privileges is
welcome (encouraged) to check in when Stevens County is called. Saturdays at 0900
on 3985 kHz and on Mondays at 1830 also on 3985 kHz.
Dave Klimas - WD7K
Stevens County ARES
Emergency Coordinator
H (509) 738-6876
C (509) 675-8843
wd7k@hughes.net
PARC Sunday Night Net
PARC Net Simplex Tests
Recently, we conducted two Simplex tests to determine 2-Meter coverage if the
PARC repeater went down. The first test was conducted on November 30th by Cynthia
(WW7CA) from her location south of Addy. The second was conducted by Larry
(KR7LRJ) on January 11th from the Emergency Room at Mt Carmel Hospital in Colville.
Both tests were very successful.
TEST RESULTS
From Cynthia's location, considering distance, terrain and some member's
equipment, most of the participants were able to communicate with minimal problems.
Some using hand-held units were hard to hear or could not get through due to low power.
From Larry's location at the hospital, essentially on a hill near the center of
Colville, everyone was able to communicate with the exception of one who had equipment problems.
CONCLUSION
In an emergency, if the repeater goes down, members can still communicate with others in the Colville area (from
Addy to Barstow). Low-Power units may have some difficulty at extreme ranges but messages can be relayed. The
recommended frequency for Simplex is 146.520 (the National Simplex Channel). Members should be familiar with how to
change their units to operate on Simplex.
Sincere thanks to everyone that participated in these tests. Your cooperation contributed to the successful outcome.
George, W7WBN
If you want to give your hand a try at Sunday night Net Control which is at 8:00 pm on the 146.62 send George an e-mail at
audax@gotsky.com
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PARC BIO – January 2015 – sorry nobody stepped forward this month.
Where is he?
Corporal Gomez is stationed at Camp Pendleton in
Oceanside California.
Go Hawks
Mailing Address: CPL Gomez, Alberto
CLB-15 TSLS
Box 555717
Camp Pendleton, CA 92055-5717
Relaxing before the big game on Saturday 1/31/15.
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The Radio Corner by Jim W7JWT
The Zenith Model “600 Series” and the
“R-520A/ URR Military Trans-Oceanic” The Final Tube TOs
All good things must come to an end. And so it is with the
Zenith tube Trans-Oceanic’s. This was the final series of tube
Trans-Oceanic’s; and in the end, it was the LAST tube model
portable radio made in the United States. The “600 Series” was
introduced with the L600 model in spring of 1954. The new design retained elements of the H500 cabinet –
even the entire plastic front panel of the radio. The most noticeable change introduced with the L600 was the
slide rule dial. This straightened horizontal arrangement allowed a longer and more easily readable dial for
each band, thus simplifying tuning. When coupled with the electrical band spread concept, this dial made the
“600 Series” Trans-Oceanic one of the easiest consumer radios to tune (until the advent of digital tuning 25
years later). There were a number of other design innovations developed by Zenith to improve the usefulness
of this last-of-the-tube-era Trans-Oceanic’s. These include:
Dial Light: A spring-loaded switch controlled a separate dedicated 1.5v battery.
Power Cord Take-Up Reel: Kind of nice. The idea must have come from a vacuum cleaner.
Attached Log Book: Reintroduced an attached log book last seen in the 1949 8G005Y.
On/Off Indicator Tag on Volume Control Knob: An attempt to solve the battery drain problem caused by
leaving the radio ON in transport.
Small Wave magnet: One improvement introduced in the “600 Series” that is sometimes overlooked was the
new smaller Wave magnet. It was now a ferrite bar encapsulated in black plastic and removable from the top of
the receiver cabinet.
Leather Case Option: The genuine cowhide-covered case was coupled with a change from the standard
black and gray plastic cabinet parts to rich dark and light brown plastic to match the rich brown of the cowhide.
The combination produced what many feel to be the most elegant Trans-Oceanic ever offered to the public.
The only major change in the electronic design of the “600 Series” chassis was the introduction of the 50A1
current regulator tube. (It was included in the military version of the H500, the R-520/URR). It was necessary to
add this tube since the 1.5-volt oscillator tubes were being driven to their design limits to perform at shortwave
frequencies, and variations in AC line voltage sometimes caused the oscillator tube to “drop out” and the set to
cease functioning. Variations in normal line voltage could also cause the oscillators to fluctuate a bit in
frequency affecting the accuracy of the dial or making stations sometimes seem to “drift” in frequency. This
was not a constant problem and did not happen at all when the sets were operated from batteries. The
inclusion of the 50A1 tube in the “600 Series” models solved this problem.
There were six models produced in the “600 Series”. In order of introduction, these were the L600, R600,
T600, Y600, A600, and B600. With no styling changes, and very few changes to the electronics, these
“models” were really all versions of the original L600.
Price was $139.95 for Black Stag and $159.95 for Cowhide. Prices held at $139.95 (stag) / $159.95 (leather)
throughout the offering of the “600 Series”.
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There was also a military version of the “600 Series”. It was the R-520A/URR. It was covered in Green OilCloth. I am very fortunate to own one of these and in particular to own a “Proto-type” of the R-520A/URR.
When looking at the proto-type you would notice the wood cabinet was drilled for the military nameplate, but
the green oil-cloth was not punctured for the plate. The chassis installed was a standard commercial chassis,
but the knockouts for the phono jack and switch were not removed, and no jack and switch were installed. It is
not known what changes were made to the circuitry. I noticed it doesn't work on one band. I don't know if a
Zenith Engineer was modifying it, or if it later had some type of failure. The proto-type was originally setting on
a shelf in the Zenith Engineering area at the time Zenith went out of business. An engineer that was leaving the
company asked if he could have the proto-type. Zenith said sure - so out it went. He subsequently sold it to a
collector in North Carolina, who later sold it to me. I am the third owner. I'll try to take pictures of the
differences.
This article was based on info obtained from the book, ”The Zenith Trans-Oceanic, The Royalty of Radios”, by
John H. Bryant and Harold N. Cones.
Until next month, take an old tube portable radio out and put your arm around him. (Remember, radios are
people too). Let him know you still appreciate him, and also let him know that without him, all the fancy solid
state radios of today would not be possible.
CUL & 73s, Jim W7JWT
Here are pictures of a B600 Trans-Oceanic. The Log is in the flip up cover. The Wave magnet is just
behind the handle. In the back, on the far right, you can see the power cord rewind drum. Also note the phone
jack and switch on the rear of the chassis. They are not present on the Military radios.
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Here are pictures of a Leather covered Y600 Trans-Oceanic. Besides the obvious cabinet differences, it is
almost identical to the Stag covered B600.
Here are pictures of the Military Proto-type. In the following pictures you'll see how one can validate it is a
proto-type.
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In the picture on the left you can see two dimples in the green oil-cloth below the latch. This shows the cabinet
was drilled for the military nameplate, but no holes were punctured through the oil-cloth.
On the right you can see they used a commercial chassis. The knock-outs for the phone jack and switch are
present, but not removed.
It is clear Zenith Engineers were using this as their developmental military radio.
Here are pictures of the R-520A/URR military radio. All the tubes have tube shields. I assume there are no
paper capacitors inside. However, they did not put a barrier over the coil stack like they did in the previous
military radio.
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Here are pictures of the military R-520A/URR showing the “USA” symbols. You can also see the power
adapter that is installed to allow it to be operated on 220 volts.
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Calendar of Events – - 2015
February 2015
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1st
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12th
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18th
20TH
21st
21st
22nd
28th
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – George WA7MLS
North American SSB Sprint Contest
Senior Ball Colville High School
British Columbia QSO Party
Mexico RTTY International Contest
North American Sprint CW
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – Cynthia WW7CA
ARRL School Club Roundup
Kettle Falls Meyers Market “Growing and Cooking with Sprouts”
Happy Valentine’s Day and SARL Field Day Contest
Valentine’s Day Dance at the Ag-Trade Center Colville
Salem Oregon Ham-Fair
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – Jim WW7DD
Presidents’ Day
ESAR Meeting Ambulance Shack Colville 7:00pm
PARC Monthly Club Meeting at 7:30 pm Colville – Snacks by: Tracie KF7DRA
ARRL International DX Contest CW
Women in Agriculture Conference
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – Larry KR7LRJ
North American QSO Party RTTY
March 2015
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22nd
29th
29th
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – Tom KE7TEG
National Peanut Lovers Day
Woodlands Theatre presents: “Seussical” Tickets on sale Main Street Floral or 684-9096
34th Annual Mike & Key ARC Electronic Show & Flea Market see flyer below
National Oreo Cookie Day
Spring ahead for Day Light Savings time begins!
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – George W7WBN
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – Courtney KE7ZDL
St. Patrick’s Day
PARC Board Meeting 7:00 pm in Colville
PARC Monthly Club Meeting at 7:30 pm Colville – Snacks by: Lauren KL1LC
Home and Garden Show – Agri-Trade Center Colville (3-day)
ARRL International DX Contest CW
Micro Hams Digital Conference in Redmond WA ARRL sanctioned event
Women in Agriculture Conference
National Single Parent Day
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – George WA7MLS
Knights of Columbus Founders Day
Sunday Night Net 8:00 pm - Net Control Operator – Cynthia WW7CA
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The Senior Hub now open call 675-1479 for more information or check out their
website at www.colvilleseniorhub.org
o
Calendar of events will be an ongoing part of the news letter, submit your dates to parcnews@hotmail
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