THURSDAY MAY 20, 2010.

THE CHICAGO SUBURBAN RADIO ASSOCIATION

Illinois’ Oldest Amateur Radio Club - N9BAT

CSRA BOARD AND COMMITTEE

CLUB PRESIDENT 2009-2010

708.562.2827 | eddiewa9gqk@att.net
May 2010
VICE PRESIDENT 2010-2011

773.556.6459 | f2@crescenzi.net

SECRETARY

773.281.0489 | tomnsherry@ameritech.net

TREASURER

708.383.5349 | aa9f@arrl.net

SARGEANT-AT-ARMS/WELCOME & RAFFLES

WE ONCE AGAIN look back at our 708.485.2687 | urbieman@yahoo.com

long, rich history with our next
Special Event - N9BAT/85. MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN
See page 3 for details.
708.788.8316 | njmalina@yahoo.com
Pictured here is one of our earliest
members, Jerry Cerny W9LOJ. TXT EDITOR/PUBLICITY
Jerry was a charter member of
the Chicago Suburban Radio 708.287.1336 | w9chi@arrl.net
Association, joining the group in
1925. Jerry was a pioneer in ham EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CHAIRMAN
radio and broadcasting. Jerry and
his wife Blanche were owners of 630.655.6312 | mpauschke@worldnet.att.net
DeKalb, Illinois stations WLBK-AM
& WDEK-FM from 1965-1998. After COFFEE & MEETING REFRESHMENTS CHAIRMAN
moving from DeKalb in 1982 they
lived in Sarasota Florida and 708.484.7384 | tomn9tm@prodigy.net
Traverse City Michigan.
N9BAT CLUB CALLSIGN TRUSTEE:
See you on the air!

Scott Childers - W9CHI CLUB WEBSITE: http://

TXT Editor
CLUB EMAIL ADDRESS:

24/7 CSRA HAM HOTLINE:

TXT copyright ©2010

TXT | MAY 2010 | TWO

 FRONT PAGE
CSRA Board Meeting Minutes April 15, 2010 de W9TTY
NEXT MEETING CSRA President Ed Schumacher WA9GQK called the board meeting to
order at 7:00 PM. Present were Frank K9KTU, Ray AA9F, Ron K9RWU, Tom
W9TTY
at Grace Lutheran Church
in the Fellowship Room on the lower level. Discussion Topics: Club Anniversary Special Event Station, Social Events,
Nets, Field Day
Doors open at 6:30pm Meeting begins at 7:30pm
May 19, 2010 is the 85th anniversary of the first meeting of CSRA. The
Grace Lutheran Church is located at
special event call sign will be N9BAT/85. It was recommended that QSL
1101 Manchester Avenue cards be sent to checkins on the 2 meter and 15 meter nets during the
in Westchester, Illinois. 85th anniversary year special event week. Email blast announcements
One block north of Roosevelt Road, will be sent to local ham clubs.
just west of 25th Avenue.
Club officers will work with Scott W9CHI to email blast CSRA social events
Directions and maps on our website at to local clubs.
http://www.CSRAham.com
Discussion of the need for 2 meter net control manager. It was suggested
that net control operators invite checkins to submit articles to TXT and to
become a Monday night net control operator.

Club secretary will draft Field Day invitation to the Village of Brookfield and
a formal invitation to the Village of North Riverside.

The Chicago Suburban Radio Association CSRA General Meeting April 15, 2010 Minutes de W9TTY
will continue to celebrate the club’s 85th
Anniversary with another Special Event Old Business
Station operation, which will be held from A motion was made to approve minutes of the March, 2010 meeting as
May 15-23 and the call will be found in TXT. Approved. This was followed by the treasurer’s report. Ray
used. The actual anniversary date is May AA9F noted that Field Day insurance had been paid to ARRL. CSRA sec-
retary Tom W9TTY noted that the Field Day permit had been applied for.
19, 1925. All club members are authorized
and encouraged to use this special callsign Membership Chairperson Norm K9NJM reported that annual dues were
within their license privileges. Net Control coming in. A positive report on the 15 meter net was made by net
control John KA9MJE. Volunteers were solicited for the 2 meter net.
stations will also use the call for the selected
days of operation. We will once again offer Sergeant at arms Ron K9RWU welcomed new members and guests: Jim
special QSL cards. More details in this KC9HSM won the free ticket to June 6 Starved Rock Radio Club Hamfest.
month’s meeting minutes to the right of this The upcoming 85th anniversary of the first CSRA meeting was discussed.
article. Scott W9CHI is creating the QSL card for the special event station. All net
controls will mention this upcoming celebration and announce that out
Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month of state checkins can receive the special QSL commemorative card.
Members were urged to get on the air, keep a log, and send logging
A reminder from Norm K9NJM that all cell phone numbers results to Ed WA9GQK. Special event contacts should send their QSL
are being released to telemarketing companies this month cards to the PO Box. Information at N9BAT on QRZ.com and
and you will start to receive sales calls. YOU WILL BE CSRAHAM.com.
CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.
New Business
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell
phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list Thursday May 7 is next social where Field Day, 2010 will be discussed.
It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number Mothers Day Restaurant in North Riverside was suggested.
for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number
you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different Frank K9KTU asked members to be available on April 28 between 4 and 5
phone number. PM for a demo of 2 meter repeater 146.76 for a Boy Scout event.

Help others by passing this along ... It takes about 20 CSRA Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Doug KC9MLN for his
seconds. The Do Not Call website is AMSAT presentation following the meeting. Meeting adjourned.
https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx
TXT | MAY 2010 | THREE
 QRM
AT&T U-VERSE & RFI DON’T MIX! CSRA DUES ARE
With AT&T U-verse service becoming more established in our area, some of my
experiences with it may be of interest to other hams. My first incident of RFI with the system
was actually interference between two components of the AT&T equipment itself! I am
NOW DUE
classifying this as RFI because it did involve a radiated signal from one device interfering
with another and is not carried over the connecting cables.
It’s that time of the year!
Backing up for just a moment here, the system installed basically consists of a separate CSRA club dues are now
modem that separates the telephone (VOIP), internet and cable television signals all being due. Please remit 10
received off of your original copper wire telephone feed. The television is routed to digital
dollars to club treasurer
receivers at each set, two being included in the basic package, with one master DVR box
usually located at the first set closest to the modem location. The VOIP telephone is Ray Good AA9F at the
distributed via original wiring to all the phone next meeting or send your
jacks. The internet can be distributed via check or money order to
phone wiring, new cable or a wi-fi. There is
also a battery backup unit located with the the club Post Office Box.
modem.
A short time after our system was installed, CSRA dues remain the
I became aware of a tapping sound on the
television audio and soon determined that it lowest and the best value
was present on most signals (goood luck in the ham radio
trying to find any dead air time on most community.
network channels in order to listen for this with
non-stop wall of sound). I eventually noticed
the tapping matched the pulse of one of the LEDs in the modem and simply repositioning Please continue to support
the modem eliminated it. Illinois’ oldest amateur
The next incident was a little more serious. Now I was chasing a dx'pedition which gave
radio club. Your club -
me plenty of opportunity to operate several different bands on phone and CW as well as
a couple of times with the amp. It didn't take long to finally completely blow away the CSRA!
U-verse. This was eventually easily solved by rerouting the CAT-5 cable (unshielded of
course, you didn't really think AT&T was going to install shielded CAT-5 did you?). The main
offending mode was CW which apparently the modem saw as confusing digital signals on
the input (can't copy code?). Also, high power simply overloaded the line and caused the
same thing, modem lockup. Keeping the AT&T cable away from proximity to my feedlines
cured this problem. The tech who came out advised me they do have shielded cable but
it is not on the trucks for general installation in homes. At least he knew what ham radio was,
his brother is a ham.
CLUB NETS
Do not forget about our club nets
All is well with the world now, right? NO. Annoying burbles have been appearing in our every week! Be sure to check in to
bands for years now with the digital revolution but the one that was parking right next to the get the latest info on the club as
20 meter Salvation Army daily net frequency was really starting to annoy me. However, I well as a chance to chat with
had lost the use of my old portable short wave radio and it seemed every time I went out
other members and hams too!
to the mobile, the signal had moved or something. Finally the day came when I had the
time to do some driving around and I could copy the offending signal on the mobile rig. It
didn't take much driving around to definitely locate the signal back to my QTH for sure. By
this time I did have another portable SW receiver which was also capable of copying the
CSRA Info Net
signal and imagine my dismay when it zeroed in on the very northwest corner of my house! Mondays at 8:00pm
A veritable antenna! To keep this story short, the receiver on the upstairs tv was putting out
an incredible amount of trash via the power cube back onto the house wiring.
146.76 Repeater
I eventually tried one of those little snapon ferrite cubes from Radio Shack and the signal
was reduced enough to live with but still not completely gone. Now comes the big mistake.
I found that the tech who did the original installation had left another power cube that had CSRA CATS Net
not only a ferrite cube snapped and tie wrapped on the low voltage cable, but it also had Wednesdays at 7:00pm
a large core on the 110v cord with the cord wrapped through it several times. AHA! (did I
steal that from Oprah?). AT&T must have had some problems and maybe this was a fix for 21.331 USB +/-
me too. Finally got everything together and connected and guess what? 20dB over S9
noise was what! (Continued on Page Six) CSRA CW Net
Sundays at 8:00pm
Pictures, meeting notes, information and social
networking. Become a fan of CSRA on Facebook 7.100 MHz
by logging on from our website.
TXT | MAY 2010 | FOUR

The Comet GP9 dual band, three-
section, fiberglass vertical base an-
tenna is for 2 meters (5/8 wave x3)
and 440 MHz (5/8wave x8).
Gain: 8.5/11.9 dB
Power: 200 watts
VSWR: 1.5:1 or less
Connector: UHF (SO-239)
Height: 17.75 feet
Weight: 6 Lbs.
Sells for over $200 new, will
sell for $120.
Scott W9CHI
708/287-1336 or W9CHI@arrl.net
Tired of having the ugliest installation in the neighbor-
hood? Tired of that walked-on feeling when you don’t get
through the DX Pile-up? Unable to rag-chew through the
Tuner-Uppers? Take Heart! Throw away those ugly and
weak dipoles and verticals.
Alset Engineering Sunspot Special Price....$250.00
Hy Gain 103CA 10 Meter monoband 3 element Yagi.
Stainless Steel Hardware, Manual & Spare hardware. Hy
Gain BN-86 Balun with stainless steel hardware and
manual. Alliance T-45 Rotor with 5 conductor cable
With this antenna you can command the 10 Meter band
during the upcoming sunspot peak and beautify your
property.
Free consultation and installation advice from a
competent Registered Professional Engineer included.
Other Items For Sale:
Aztec Balun & Manual............................................$35.00
Heathkit Phone Patch with Manual........................$75.00
Grandmaster Memory Keyer with Manual.............$100.00
Tube Socket - Johnson #275 (for 3-500Z)..............$25.00
Power Supply 12VDC @ 5.0 amps........................$50.00
Classic HP-205AG Audio Generator & Manual.....$100.00
Contact: Alset Engineering at PO Box 512, Western Springs,
IL 60558 or call Al Whetter - W9WJ at 708/246-2692.
CLASSIFIED
AUTEK RESEARCH WM-1 computing SWR meter
w/ manual.
$100 OBO Contact Ed, WA9GQK at roster
A reminder that the stock of repair parts from the
estate of Frank Bacci, W9IJN, is available to
members in need of specific items. This stock
includes various tube sockets, connectors, resistors
in now hard to find sizes of carbon composition,
capacitors of all types, many other small
components too numerous to list individually.
Almost all are unused and very clean vintage
manufacture. Perfect for repair or restoration of
gear from the fifties through sixties. No modern
Asian junk manufacture. Please limit requests to
items actually needed for a repair as some
quantities are limited and we would like to help the
most members possible, i.e. please do not request
items merely for personal inventory. So before
going to eBay or the replica catalog suppliers,
check with me for availability. This is a free member
service. - Ed, WA9GQK.
SCANNING VIA
THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Monitoring the public service radio channels in town
can be as exciting as watching Rust-Oleum dry on my
tower. There is not a lot of radio action in the burbs, so I
listen to the action in the neighboring communities. But
that has become a frustrating endeavor, since most of
the big city public service communications are scanner-
proof, using systems such as trunking and encoded
digital transmissions to foil my vintage scanner.
To thwart scanner-proofing, my old ARRL
Headquarters pal, John Nelson, K0IO, suggested
listening to live public service radio feeds over the
Internet. John recommended RadioReference.com that
among other things, provides live audio feeds of public
service radio action from hither and yon (and maybe
your hometown, too).
John points out that "what is interesting is there are
recordings of radio transmissions from QRP hand-held
transceivers used by public service personnel on the
ground that you normally cannot hear with a scanner."
By the way, RadioReference.com also has an
extensive online database of public service radio
frequency assignments in the U.S.
And for more radio action than you can imagine,
John suggests the live audio feeds of the New York City
Fire Department that you can access at http://
www.thebravest.com/scan/scanfdny.html
TXT | MAY 2010 | FIVE
 BACK PAGE
AT&T U-VERSE (Continued)
The next time I had the hours that I knew talking to AT&T would take, I made the fateful call. In the meantime I found yet another issue
for them to fix. My vintage all analog Signal One transceiver would knock out the VOIP phone on 40 meters. My Ten-Tec Orion at the
same power level did not. A low pass filter had no effect and I also verified that it was the signal off of the antenna and not something
radiated in the shack which is right below the location of the U-verse equipment in the room upstairs.
Of course the phone tech had to attempt what I told him would be useless procedures of reprogramming the modem over the lines.
This only shifted the burble up frequency and did nothing to stop the 40M signal getting into the totally unshielded equipment. After
blowing him off the phone three times with the radio he finally accepted this and contacted his supervisor for "permission" to send out
a real live tech. All of this ate up a good hour or more to prove that I knew what I was talking about and the phone tech had no grasp
of the technicalities involved, obviously not a radio guy.
Imagine my disappointment when upon arrival and listening to my explanation, the real live tech told me that 1. no one in their
department knew anything at all about rfi issues, read no training whatsoever, and 2. he knew of no parts, filters or anything else for
curing rfi being available from the company. He asked me what I could think of instead! After showing him my tests, demonstrating the
offending signals and my filter on the receiver power cube, describing the loss of phone service when running the particular transmitter,
etc. he just flat out stated that I knew more about this stuff than he or anyone else in his department including his supervisor! He also
allowed that he thought this ham radio stuff was just about the coolest thing he had ever seen and told his supervisor the same thing in
very excited tones.
I went back upstairs and removed the "filtered" AT&T cube from the one receiver (the tech took one look at it and said that those had
caused interference problems between the modems and the DVRs and weren't being used anymore) reinstalled my ferrite snapon and
watched the noise drop way back down and went for a cold beer. He also told me that most of the technicians had finally been told
about the tapping noise problem finally and knew to solve it the same way I did. What a relief, I followed accepted company practice!
I am now waiting for a burst of inspiration which may be some time in coming as I write this. If and when I solve all of this to my
complete satisfaction, rest assured that AT&T will not be the first folks I go running to with the answers. At least not for free. I will get it all
published in a ham radio forum and then offer my services to AT&T as a retired old dog engineer with some common sense and real
world experience. The price? Still up in the air but believe me, it will be worth my while for the time and aggravation. Oh, the
manufacturer of this mighty fine equipment? This is all the better stuff they went to from CISCO. Guess CISCO could use a couple of old
engineers over there too, any takers? My first advice to them is get out of the ham bands and then shield the boxes. I would be
embarrassed if something I designed for a system interfered with another part of the same system. And they just raised the equipment
charge for this junk!

Doug Anoman KC9MLN

gave a very informative
presentation on satellites at
the April Meeting and it also
happened to be his
birthday! (left) Ed WA9GQK
presents Doug with a CSRA
Certificate of Appreciation.

TXT | MAY 2010 | SIX