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The Six Meter Club of Chicago(SMCC) promotes interest in the Amateur Radio Service by fostering activity on all radio bands(HF, VHF, and UHF), provides emergency communications, community radio services, and technical assistance related to radio and its use in communications.
Six Meter Club of Chicago (SMCC)

SMCC RECEIVES REQUEST FOR HELP AT CHARITY EVENT


Our Club has received a request again this year for assistance with
Hinsdale's Walk The Walk,
which is sponsored by the Hinsdale Community House. It will take place on Sunday, April 26,
following the same route through side streets as it has in the past, and we will need
communicators at various intersections where the walk  “turns corners”
to keep an eye on the participants and report its progress

(NOTE: this is not a run, so reporting first, second, third, etc. is not necessary)

Since we will be just several blocks from our repeater site, all communications can be easily handled via our two meter (146.37/97) system.
Thanks to Will, W9WSS and Brandon, N9LMZ who will be acting as coordinators for this event.
We'll have sign up sheets at the next several meetings.
The event organizers provide special T-shirts commemorating the event, so we will need your size also.
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APRIL SMCC MEETING MOVED TO APRIL 17
Since the second Friday in April is Good Friday, we have arranged with our meeting site,
St. John's Lutheran Church, to move our meeting back one week to the third Friday in April - April 17.
We'll be in our usual spot, just a week later, so please mark your calendars!
REMEMBER
NEW SECURITY IN EFFECT AT SMCC MEETING SITE
The entry door at St. John's will no longer be left open due to new security regulations
club officers will be present from 7 to 7:20 p.m. to let attendees in.
For anyone arriving later than 7:20,
we will monitor 146.55 simplex so you MUST call in order to be ushered in.
Thanks for your understanding and compliance with these rules!
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W9GOB   DANIEL "Danny" BUSTA      SK
It is with a heavy heart I must inform you all of the passing of Danny W9GOB
Danny was a longtime friend and member of the Six Meter Club of Chicago

Danny will be waked at
Palos Bible Church 12701 S. 70th avenue
Palos Heights IL. 60463

Saturday May 2nd 
Viewing will be from 10:00 am to 12:00pm with a service Starting at 12:00pm

Mike WD9GJK
Secretary for the Six Meter Club of Chicago 
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SIX METER CLUB OF CHICAGO
63rd ANNUAL
HAMFEST TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
HAM RADIO AND ELECTRONIC FLEA MARKET
Also featuring Antique and Vintage Radios - now Bigger and Better than ever!
Sunday, June 21, 2020 DuPage County Fairgrounds, Wheaton, Illinois
2015 Manchester Road (North of Roosevelt Rd., Rte. 38), East of County Farm Rd. GPS COORDINATES: N41.866667, W-88.132989
GATES AND FLEA MARKET OPEN 7 A.M. BUILDINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC 8 A.M.
SMCC Members:
Flyers and tickets for our Hamfest, which will be held Sunday, June 21 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, are available for distribution - if you haven't already picked them up, we'll have them for you at the meeting this month. The fest also features the Antique Radio Club of Illinois' swapmeet and the Midwest Classic Radio Net Hamboree, and has grown to become the premiere event of its kind in the midwest!
VHF Noise, Installation of UPS, and
222 MHz Repeater Audio Adjustment

Friday afternoon, February 28, 2020 at approximately 2:00 pm Andy KC9BKP, Brandon N9LMZ, Lee KB9OYP, and I started an evaluation of the noise on the VHF repeater, and low audio on the 222 MHz repeater. The 222 MHz repeater system had it's audio output increased by adjustments within the S-COM 7330 controller. It should be working just fine at this time.  We also installed the new battery backup (Uninterruptible Power Supply or "UPS") to the entire repeater network and peripherals. We also tested all functions of the repeaters including Echolink which worked fine.

Now, the bad news. After Andy conducted extended testing of the VHF antenna line, duplexer, and repeater, it was determined that the VHF antenna is defective. Any kind of wind or movement of the antenna causes extensive static crashes making QSO's and nets difficult as all of us have experienced. Andy has extremely sensitive and intricate test equipment including his brand new service monitor, and after changing several RF connectors of the jumper cables (which were not changed out when the feedlines were replaced) we thought the noise was gone, but it wasn't. Continued testing indicated that the antenna is defective and will continue to make noisy interference. Physical observation of the antenna from the ground indicated that one of the ground radials is missing which wouldn't cause noise or interference, but it still has defects.

Upon approval of the Board and membership, I will speak with my contact at BARS that we recently obtained our replacement VHF repeater antenna from. Also, this evening I spoke with Steve Bracy of Top Tower who said he would remove the defective antenna and install the new repeater antenna for us.  Please give this some serious thought, and I will be planning on making a motion at our upcoming general membership meeting for approval of the purchase of a new antenna for the VHF repeater.

Also be advised that I spoke extensively with Lee Kudia KB9OYP of Hinsdale Central High School, and he assured me
that he was not planning on retiring in the near future, so our position at the facility will be assured for several upcoming years.
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March 15  Update
Due to the fact that the Six Meter Club of Chicago (SMCC) was not able to convene at our regular monthly membership meeting on Friday, March 13, 2020,
and that I was not able to make a motion before the membership to obtain a new VHF antenna, we will unfortunately be plagued with sporadic interference
on the VHF repeater for a longer while.  I may suggest that net control operators utilize the UHF or 222 MHz repeaters to avoid undue interference. If you don't have these capabilities, please be patient while we deal with this issue.

I have obtained an extremely reasonable price from our antenna contractor, Steve Bracy of Top Tower, the company that did previous work on our repeater
at Hinsdale CENTRAL High School, and Amita Health Adventist Medical Center, Hinsdale. If and when the motion is made and hopefully passed, we will make arrangements to have the new VHF repeater antenna installed.

Please bear with us while we are in this interim period. Hopefully, this COVID-19 issue
will clear up in the near future, and we can conduct business in our usual manner.
Will Sperling W9WSS
Repeater Committee Chairman
ARRL Suspending Tours and Guest Visits to Headquarters
As part of efforts under way to help protect the health and safety of ARRL Headquarters employees and volunteers from the impacts of the coronavirus, ARRL has decided to suspend all tours and guest visits to Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station W1AW and ARRL Headquarters, effective Monday, March 16. Out of an abundance of caution, this suspension will be in effect until further notice.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our members and their guests who had been planning to visit us in Newington, Connecticut. We feel, however, that this is a necessary precaution and is in keeping with the guidance being provided by federal and local health professionals.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we all endeavor to deal with this difficult public health situation.

Source:ARRL
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FCC To Hire ‘Substantial Number’
Of New Agents To Capture Radio Pirates.
“Broadcasters would likely call it money well-spent, but it’s still cash coming from the federal government’s hands. The Federal Communications Commission estimates it will cost the agency at least $11 million to enforce the newly-adopted law that requires it to step up pirate radio enforcement. “Specifically, in order to combat the problem of illegal radio operations, the statute requires a sweeping process that will require new equipment and a substantial number of additional field agents to implement fully,”
Read the full story
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WE'RE LOOKING  FOR PROGRAMS!
We have always had an interesting variety of programs at our SMCC meetings, but our Program Director, Joe,
KC9TQF is on the lookout for new ones whether related to Amateur Radio or not, so if you have an idea for a
presentation that our members would enjoy, please let Joe know. We are fortunate to have access to a variety
of audio visual equipment in our meeting room at St. John's.
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