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
January 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

AS THE DEAD OF WINTER sets in, 708.485.2687 | urbieman@yahoo.com

many of us find time to do some
operating, now that the holidays MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN
are behind us. That is, after the
snow has been shoveled, the 708.788.8316 | njmalina@yahoo.com
sidewalks salted and the
neighbors car has been jump TXT EDITOR/PUBLICITY
started!
708.287.1336 | w9chi@arrl.net
Take heart as we operate from
inside our igloos this time of year. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CHAIRMAN
Activity and contest on the bands
is usually increased and we are just 630.655.6312 | mpauschke@worldnet.att.net
a few short weeks away from the
year’s first hamfest - Wheaton Ra- COFFEE & MEETING REFRESHMENTS CHAIRMAN
dio Club - at Kane County Fair-
grounds on January 24th! 708.484.7384 | tomn9tm@prodigy.net
If that’s not enough to keep you N9BAT CLUB CALLSIGN TRUSTEE:
going, just remember that we are
a mere six months away from Field
CLUB WEBSITE: http://
Day!

Winter Greetings, CLUB EMAIL ADDRESS:

Scott Childers - W9CHI

TXT Editor
24/7 CSRA HAM HOTLINE:

TXT copyright ©2009

TXT | JANUARY 2010 | TWO


NEXT MEETING
at Grace Lutheran Church
in the Fellowship Room on the lower
level.
Doors open at 6:30pm
Meeting begins at 7:30pm
Grace Lutheran Church is located at
1101 Manchester Avenue
in Westchester, Illinois.
One block north of Roosevelt Road,
just west of 25th Avenue.
Directions and maps on our website at
http://www.CSRAham.com
WHEATON FEST COMING UP THIS MONTH!
The holidays are over and once again our thoughts turn
back to Hamfests. And the first and one of the best of the
year is coming up this month. The Wheaton Community
Radio Amateurs (WCRA) Hamfest is once again taking
place at the brand new building at the Kane County
Fairgrounds in St. Charles on Sunday January 24th. The
Fairgrounds are located on Randall Road, just south of
Illinois 64 (North Avenue).
CSRA will be manning a club table at the fest. We are
looking for volunterrs to man the table for a few minutes
here and there. Also Scott Childers W9CHI will be pre-
senting his History of WLS Radio multimedia demo at
10:30am.
Click here for more details on the fest at
Click
for a map
to the
hamfest.
FRONT PAGE
Surge of New Amateur Radio Licensees!
This past year was a banner year for new Amateur Radio licensees.
According to ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, the FCC
issued more than 30,000 new ham radio licenses. "In 2009, the
demand for Amateur Radio exam sessions remained elevated and
is still running at a higher rate than before the FCC's restructuring of
the license requirements in 2007," Somma said. "This high level of
exam session activity has produced an elevated influx of new
applications, far outpacing recent years."
A total of 30,144 new licenses were granted in 2009, an increase
of almost 7.5 percent from 2008. In 2005, 16,368 new hams joined
Amateur Radio's ranks; just five years later, that number had
increased by almost 14,000 -- a whopping 84 percent! The ARRL VEC
is one of 14 VECs who administer Amateur Radio license exams.
"When looking at the statistics over the last 10 years, these are some
the highest numbers we've seen," Somma explained. "Additionally,
our total number of licensees across all three classes has grown each
year." Currently there are 682,500 licensed Amateur Radio operators
in the US, an almost 3 percent rise over 2008. In 2008, there were
663,500 licensed amateurs; there were 655,800 in 2007. Broken down
by license class, at the end of 2009 there were 17,084 Novices,
334,245 Technicians, 150,970 Generals, 60,795 Advanced and
119,403 Amateur Extra licensees.
“The ARRL VEC has been busy meeting the needs of the Amateur
Radio community by helping people to become radio amateurs or
upgrade their existing licenses," Somma said. "In 2009, ARRL VEs
administered 44,595 exam elements at 6369 ARRL VEC-sponsored
exam sessions. The number of amateurs who want to be Volunteer
Examiners and who want to teach Amateur Radio classes is also
going up -- we've seen a spike in the number of applications from
General and Extra class radio amateurs who want to give back to
their community by serving as ARRL examiners and instructors."
Somma applauded all the volunteers whose "hard work and
contribution of countless hours of time helps to ensure the future of
Amateur Radio. The ARRL VEC thanks our 32,411 VEs from around the
world whose dedication and service helped to contribute to the
success of Amateur Radio. I am delighted by these important
achievements. 2009 was a very good year for Amateur Radio and I
am excited by the promise of 2010." (-ARRL)
See the graph by clicking this link:
http://www.arrl.org/news/images/nms/fullsized/1366.jpg
OVERHEARD...
“Two antennas met on a roof and
fell in love. When they married,
the wedding was okay, but the
reception was fantastic!”
-Anonymous club joke teller
TXT | JANUARY 2010 | THREE
 QRM
ICOM IC-706 TO GO QRT
Ed Note: Amateur Radio Victoria reports that the Icom IC-706MkIIG transceiver will definitely
ARRL VHF CONTEST
cease production. In a news report, they say: FUN FOR ALL HAMS
Despite deniers in the USA, it has been confirmed that Wednesday 9 December is The ARRL VHF Sweepstakes is coming
the last day that the ICOM plant in Wakayama Japan will produce the IC-706 MKIIG up in a few weeks. It begins 1900 UTC
transceiver. Saturday and ends 0359 UTC
Monday (January 23-25, 2010). That
ICOM Australia said it has checked with Japan and been reassured that the earlier works out to a start time of 1:00pm
advice received that the popular transceiver has been discontinued is correct. The local time Saturday through 9:59pm
reason is that some components used in the IC-706MKIIG are no longer available Sunday night.
and the model had to cease production.
League officials have asked for
ICOM Australia’s authorized agents were told in writing last month that only back activities that include Technicians.
orders received before 30 November would be suppliedbefore production stopped. This contest is ideal for Technicians
Also now out of production are the IC-T90A, IC-2720H, IC-910H and a few receivers. and we would like to promote you
getting on the air no matter what
The only source of denials is the USA, which includes ICOM America stating that the ticket you hold! The object is to work
transceiver will remain on its product line. That could simply be due to it holding as many amateur stations in as many
sufficient stock. different 2 degrees x 1 degree grid
squares as possible using authorized
Perhaps there may be frequencies above 50 MHz.
model run-out pricing for
the discontinued The Chicago area is mostly in EN 51
transceiver in the new year? though to the east is EN 61. You can
check the grid square map here. The
In Australia the biggest bands used in the 2010 ARRL January
seller of amateur radio VHF Sweepstake bands include: 50
equipment and ICOM MHz, 144 MHz, 222 MHz, 432 MHz, 902
agent, Strictly Ham said it MHz and 1296 MHz. Tune up and
has a back order and with down these bands, some one will be
stock on hand fewer than listening for you. If you choose, you
20 were left to sell. may want to alert members or what
frequencies you may be on to help
News from Australia via people find you, and get a point for
authorized ICOM agents them.
that the production of the
IC-706MKIIg transceiver is ending has attracted counter claims by ICOM America. The ARRL encourages veteran
operators to support the event.
Clearly the news is unpalatable. However after four days of inquiry, and in the
absence deniers in Europe, Asia or elsewhere, the only conclusion is that arguably For a set of complete rules for the
the most popular rig in modern times has stopped being made. January VHF Sweepstakes, simply
click on this link: ARRLWeb
The compact mobile transceiver that is equally at its best when used as a base
station and widely featured in numerous DXpeditions, first appeared just as the
IC-706 in 1995. CHECK IN TO OUR CLUB NETS
CSRA Info Net
That first model was HF, 6m and 10w on 2m. Then followed the IC-706MKII in Mondays at 8:00pm
1997 with the 2m power output lifted to 20w. 146.76 Repeater
In 1999 the MKIIG arrived with 50w on 2m plus 70cm with 20w, making it a very sought
after transceiver. It’s long-life is testament to it’s utility. CSRA CATS Net
Wednesdays at 7:00pm
21.331 USB +/-
FOR SALE
AUTEK RESEARCH WM-1 computing SWR meter w/ manual.
CSRA CW Net
Sundays at 8:00pm
$100 OBO Contact Ed, WA9GQK at roster number (page 2)
7.100 MHz
TXT | JANUARY 2010 | FOUR