Recent Announcements:

• LEARA Club Net promotion - see the LEARA "On The Air" column in the newsletter for more info
• The Thursday LEARA Club net meets every Thursday at 8 PM on 146.760. All are welcome to participate.
• ARES nets meet every Tuesdays at 8 PM on 145.410 repeater. .
  ARES meetings have been postponed until September.
• The Wednesday SkyWarn Wednesday night practice nets will meet every Wednesday in March thru September at 8:30PM on 146.760 repeater.
  At the end of the net a short simplex net will take place on 146.475.
  Feel free to check in and test your gear on simplex.
• The National Weather Service has cancled it's customary multiple county Spring Spotter training for Spring of 2020
  An On-Line Spotter training vidio from the NWS is available at www.facebook.com/NWSCleveland/videos/858879174941020/
• Next LEARA monthly membership meeting Will be Tuesday September 29, 2020 as a virtual meeting held on Zoom. See the latest newsletter for general info. Details will be emailed to the membership. This month will be on Allstar and how to use it on the 88 machine.
• Next LEARA Trustee meeting Saturday November 14, at 9:00AM - (stay tuned for update)
• Have pictures of your shack or mobile installation? Pass them along to the newsletter editor Carsten KD8WBB at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• IRLP is no longer on the '88 repeater; The 88 system has been upgraded to Allstar and Echo link. See the LEARA Newsletter and Web Page for more information
• The Fusion Repeater on 444.700 is on the air in both digital and analog modes. Check out the Repeaters tab for more information.
• Upcoming Hamfests – See Newsletter on the Club's Net page. (None are scheduled due to COVID-19)
• Public Service events: The Public Service season for 2020 is on hold for now, please check out the link at: http://neoesg.org/events
  and scroll to the bottom or click "HERE"
  
  Note
  ARES is having an emergency training excercise on October 3 and 4. It is the yearly Black Swan excercise for a simulated emergency/ disaster. It runs for 48 hours, BUT Cuyahoga County ARES is commiting to 4 hours on the 3rd and 4 hours on the 4th. It will run both days 10am to 2pm. and will be run from your own home. You do not have to be an ARES member to participate.
  
  Since no events were held for radio support this year, this is a perfect opportunity to play radio and support this excercise. Digital RF, Winlink or FLDigi, is a plus but not necessary. It will an excercise in passing information.
  
  If you want more information or want to volunteer, please contact Matt KC8NZJ at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or sign up at N8ESG.Org.
  
  Please monitor events at the above N8ESG.org link
  
  
• N8UPZ reminds everyone that the National Weather Service can always use help with precipitation monitoring. For further info please check out the CoCoRaHS web site at http://www.cocorahs.org


• We can always use net controlers, which means that you can try your hand at running a LEARA net! Give it a try, it's not that hard. Learn the voices and call signs of your fellow radio members. We presently have 7 active net controlers to bring you the net each week. Why not join up and give us a hand.
  You can even do a part time shift - say 4 times a year! Give it a try!
  Contact Carl KB8VXE at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  
•  

NOTICE:

• LEARA Fundraiser: LEARA is raffling off a Honda EU2200i generator to raise much-needed funds. This is the premier inverter generator for Field Day, camping, light duty home power backup, and many other uses. In addittion to the 120VAC ouput this generator also has a 12VDC output, useful for charging batteries or running ham radio gear.
  
  Tickets are available from trustees and also on line at the http://www.leara.org/raffle.org LEARA website. There are a maximum of 500 tickets. Tickets are $20 each. Note that if a minimum number of ticket sales are not reached, your money will be refunded.

Sunshine Report

• K8WLF SK
  FRANK M HEMRICH K8WLF, better known to most of us as Fritz,
  Passed away Saturday (9/19/20) afternoon.
  The family will have a private funeral
  and sometime in the spring there will be a memorial service.
  Fritz fought a long fight, and it was time for him to go home.
  
  Here is Fritz's obit and link to the U-Tube video his daughter (Ellen) put together.
  The transitions are fast, so you can slow them down on the lower right side once U-Tube is up and running.
  Frank Hemrich Obituary - Willoughby, OH | McMahon-Coyne-Vitantonio Funeral Homes
  U-Tube is here: A Life Well Lived - YouTube  
  
  
 

Past Trivia / Discussion Questions

• 07/16/20 Question: Which DX atmospheric conditions would be best? (for Solar Flux and A-Index)?
  Choices: A. Low Flux Low A, B. Low Flux Hi A, C. Hi Flux Low A, D. Hi Flux Hi A
  Answer: C. High Solar Flux for ionization of the atmosphere, Low A-Index for quiet geomagnetic conditions
  A series of events that took place in history, all on July 17 in various years, was announced.
• 07/23/20 Question: What is the name of the third grid added to the vacuum tube?Question:
  Choices: A) Screen, B) Suppressor, C) Modulator, D) None of the above
  Answer: B- Suppressor
• 07/30/20 Question: Many old radios use an OA2 tube as part of their circuitry. An OA2 is a what? Choices: a) Mixer Tetrode, b) Power Tube, c) Voltage Regulator, d) Audio Tube Answer: c- Voltage Regulator
• 08/06/20 Question: On a Raspberry Pi Microcomputer, where is the Operating System?
  Choices: A. No op system needed; B. On the hard drive; C. On a thumb drive; D. On an SD Card
  Answer: D. On an SD Card
• 08/13/20 Question#1: How many callsign districts border the Great Lakes?
  Choices: A) 2, B) 3, C) 4, D) 5 .
  Answer #1 - D)5 – 2 New York, 3 Western Pa, 8 Ohio and Michigan, 9 Indiana, Illinois, 0 Wisconson
  Question#2: What is the term for a repeater that transmits on the same frequency it receives on?
  Choices:A: Cross-band repeater, B: A UniBand Repeater, C: Simplex Repeater, D: A Ghost Link
  Answer #2: (Controversial?) QRZ says the answer is B, However most everyone else says C.
  Discussions follow:
  
  Written by: Christian KC0ARF, June 2004. Crossband Repeating is a process where a Ham transmits
  one signal on one band (typically UHF), and it is received by another radio with a better antenna/power
  installation, and re-transmitted (typically on VHF) to another radio system, or a repeater.
  
  KF6IRKHam MemberQRZ Page
  Yeah, I've answered questions with the 'real' correct answers, only to see I was told that I answered incorrectly.
  Like the one about AMSAT below ... I chose 1969, which was the correct answer) ... and what the heck is a UniBand repeater?
  (the correct answer was C: Simplex Repeater). If we're being judged on the amount of correct answers, we're not being
  judged fairly if the correct answers are wrong, are we? What gives ???
  
  Simplex repeater A simplex repeater records incoming transmissions and retransmits them on the same frequency.
  This has the effect of doubling the time required to transmit a message, while a traditional repeater typically
  costs thousands of dollars and might be semi-portable at best.
  
  The term, Ghost Links, refers to when: Nodes are represented by and graphics are not visible. However, when the
  assembly is opened in its own window, there are no issues. Parts/assemblies are instanced in the wrong position.
• 08/20/20 Question: Who invented the rubber duck antenna for handheld radios.
  Choices: A)Richard Johnson, B)Edwin Armstrong , C)Lee DeForest , D) Peter Martinez
  Answer: A: Richard B Johnson
• 08/27/20 Question: What wold you order to get a 9 pin d shell connector?
  Choices: A)DA-9P, B)DB-9P, C)DC-9P, D)DD-9P, E)DE-9P
  Answer: E) DE-9P

  D-connector-	pins-	rows-	row population
  DA	15	2	8/7
  DB	25	2	13/12
  DC	37	2	19/18
  DD	50	3	17/16/17
  DE	9	2	5/4

  
  A DB23 was what the Amiga used as its video output.
  People making video cables for the amiga are using a
  DB25 that has been hacked down in size
• 09/03/20 Question: When was 146.52 MHz first adopted as the 2-meter simplex calling frequency?
  Choices: A. 1951, B. 1955, C. 1967, or D. 1972
  Answer: D. 1972
• 09/10/20 Question: What do the letters PLL mean?
  Choices:
  a) Plane Line Length
  b) Phased Locked Loop
  c) Phased Line Loop
  d) Phased Linear Loop
  Answer: b) Phased Locked Loop
• 09/17/20 Question: If a DX station is working 'split,' what does that mean?
  Choices:
  A) He is using a separate transmitter and receiver,
  B) He is dividing his time between CW and SSB,
  C) He is transmitting on freq A and listening on Frequency B,
  D) None of the above
  Answer: C - DX Stations will, many times transmit on one frequency and specify where
  they are listening for calls. This is referred to as "working split".

Related info on WWV

During the 8/23/18 net, we were made aware of the proposal to eliminate the WWV-WWVH radio transmissions. read more about it at the following links.
http://www.arrl.org/news/nist-fy-2019-budget-would-eliminate-wwv-and-wwvh
http://www.arrl.org/news/concern-rising-within-amateur-radio-community-over-wwv-wwvh-shut-down-proposal

Trivia Question Etiquette

The Trivia Question is supposed to be a fun and learning experience for everyone checking in. Most of the time the answer is a multiple guess, and for many literally a guess. It makes the people sit and ponder the possible answers. If you don't know the answer, you may say so and acknowlege that you are taking a guess, and then give your answer. If you KNOW the correct answer, please just give give the letter or text of your choice only. Don't spoil the question for others by giving a complete dissertation on the principals, theories and biographies of the author or scientist. Giving that information early in the net spoils the fun for the people who have yet to play. Factoids and anecdotal information regarding history or even personal experience relating to the question is a most welcome additive to the discussion AFTER the answer has been given. Let the Net Control KNOW you have additional info for the end of the net.

Thanks for checking in and enjoy learning new facts, or basking in the knowlege that you have.

  Please note there is a slight change in the schedule.