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February 2025 - Maple Grove Radio Club
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If you are having trouble reading this newsletter in your email client try turning off "Dark Mode." Also, you can always read it online from the newsletter archives.
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MGRC Mission Statement
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Maple Grove Radio Club provides education to current and future amateur radio operators, with the goal of serving the public. We are a reliable communications resource for events and emergencies in Maple Grove and surrounding communities.
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President's Message
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It’s that time of year again. The tech class is firing up February 5th and runs from 18:30 to 21:15 on zoom. If you know anyone who is interested in ham radio please let them know about the class. We are also looking for more instructors so please don’t hesitate to reach out. The slides are already complete, you don’t need to commit to a full course load. If you have a topic you like please sign up for that class. If you are a club member you are able to sit in on the classes as well.
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I am also happy to announce that we have a new embroidery business we are working with, Lee's Pro Shop. Thanks to Paul Brandt, K0PJB for getting us in contact with Brad over there. Brad was generous enough to donate the setup for the stitch file and we will have an order sheet soon on the website. Paul will be bringing some of the test items he ordered to our February meeting. They look great and we are excited to offer high-vis jackets once again. Thanks again for you work there Paul.
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I just want to wrap things up with a call for Midwinter Madness volunteers, the sign up genius link will be coming out shortly so please sign up for where you can. It will be here faster than we know it.
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K0YVZ Award Nominations
This award is for service in the ham radio community
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Erik Westgard, NY9D
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First licensed as N0HPT in St. Paul, MN. Moved to Chicago, upgraded to NY9D in 1987. Former member of WCRA (Wheaton, IL). Moved to Phoenix, AZ and Dayton, OH. ARRL Life Member. WAS #5308. DXCC #8640.
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Moved back to Minnesota in 1996. Active in the Metro Area Repeater Association and Mining Amateur Radio Club. Currently Chair of Medical Communications for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, and Loppet Winter Festival. Also Technical Lead, Loppet Cup 2024.
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Erik teaches Digital Strategy and Innovation at Metropolitan State University in the MBA program.
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He has around five Icom D-Star DD mode modules on the air in secure rooftop locations, supporting most of the Twin Cities metro area.
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Mission: To provide state of the art volunteer emergency communications and IT Service Management to government agencies, events, NGOs and the general public.
Currently Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator – Technology for ARES Minnesota.
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Michael P Wisniewski, KC0TAF
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Ham for over twenty years. Amateur Extra. Lives in Grey Eagle MN. Former ARES MN leadership.
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Currently Emergency Director for Todd County MN. Has a 2 meter voice repeater plus an APRS digipeater in Long Prairie with extremely good coverage for them.
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Has been a great Elmer to hams in Central Minnesota and through his Public Service involvement assisted in establishing the Central Minnesota Comm Unit for amateur radio involvement with Public Safety. This includes assistance in designing, purchasing, and building two amateur radio go boxes that have both HF and 2m/70cm radios.
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Mike has also been very generous with his support or events like the MS TRAM bile tour and the Tour de Saints. During the past three statewide COMMEX exercises he has been extremely helpful with amateur radio operators to work as team members with public safety folks to fulfill the objectives of the event.
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Winter POTA Event
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The Winter POTA event was held at the Mississippi Gateway Regional park in 9 degrees with biting wind. Jeff KF0RMY shocked us all with his guard rail antenna. The most surprising thing was that the SWR was 1.5! He tuned his Xiegu G90 up and made contacts on 15 meters. The other participants made contacts from the comfort of their vehicles.
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Connect with Elmers/Mentors
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All club members are invited to join our groups.io forum. Please go to https://groups.io/g/MGRC/join to join. It should take less than a day for a moderator to approve. This form is a great way to get any technical questions answered.
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Similarly, all club members are welcome to join our Slack chat:
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Held at the Chester Bird American Legion Post 523 located at 200 Lilac Drive N Golden Valley, MN 55422. Here is a link for directions.
Club meeting starts at 1915 hours (7:15pm CDT). Please come early for social time/ dinner before the meeting.
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Dick Johnson will present
Antennas and Grounding
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You can also attend by zoom if you are unable to meet in person:
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Next Board Meeting
Members are welcome to attend MGRC Board Meetings (only board members can vote), which are typically the 3rd Thursday of each month.
Board meetings are always by zoom. Please contact president@k0ltc.org or any board member or officer if you would like the Zoom meeting link to attend.
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MGRC Weekly Net
Our weekly Net is on Wednesdays at 20:00 UTC (8pm), on 147.000, positive offset, tone 114.8. We use directed Net protocol and will have a new question for discussion every week. Please call in if you can reach the K0LTC repeater. We need additional NET Operators! If you'd like to receive Net operator training please contact net@k0ltc.org.
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TALARC The American Legion Amateur Radio Club
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Chair: Tim Arimond - N0BYH.
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Shack is operational with both HF and VHF/UHF stations.
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Contact Stephen Cullen if interested in shack access: KF0AED9@gmail.com.
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Just need to be an MGRC member in good standing to be eligible for honorary membership.
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Zoom meetings 4th Thursday of each month at 6:30pm.
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Club Calendar of Events
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Special Article: S.W.R. and Coaxial Cables
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In the past, a group of people from the Maple Grove Radio Club met for a technical discussion on the topic of coaxial cables, S.W.R. / R.L. (Standing Wave Ratio or more proper, Return Loss), and touching on antennae concepts. This tends to be a very broad and intensive subject if we choose to drill down into its depths. These topics do tie very strongly into our FCC licensing training courses dealing with antenna construction, trimming/tuning of an antenna and moreso, to everyday operations like tuning our transmitter for a good S.W.R. value as we navigate up and down each ham band for a typical QSO.
Here are just a few excerpts from our discussions we had that are worth sharing with other operating hams. From the top, with any equipment, product or service, it is all about compromise and having a balance between cost and performance. For coaxial cable, it is recommended to lean more towards a higher performance choice and less concern about its cost. Cabling, in general, is still a small percentage of your total budget for a shack. There are various foam (inner) dielectric materials available which can affect the velocity factor of the cable, or simply better performers. The scope of coaxial cables is far beyond what can be written here and there is a plethora of information on YouTube regarding this subject.
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Herein after, this entire discussion is based upon using 50 Ohm common types of cables. More specifically, shown below are some of the basic number(s) to keep in mind when selecting a new cable or simply evaluating your existing setup. A key number to remember in our ham activities and to take away from this reading is the following. For every 3dB (decibel) of power change, whether up or down, relates to a 50% gain or loss, respectively. This is commonly known as the “half-power” level and is ubiquitous in our field’s terminology ranging from antenna’s, power measurements, filter measurements and many others.
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An important distinction should be made. The choice of coaxial cable type, whether high performance or low performance type or length, will have no bearing on the S.W.R. value but only for summing power loss. S.W.R. is an entirely separate entity and is based upon matching impedances from the transmitter to the antenna. Also, any small ancillary device in between the transmitter and antenna will not influence S.W.R. but can have a very minute loss-factor, usually negligible. Some may make an argument that these tiny ancillary devices, and or the coaxial cable’s capacitance factor can influence S.W.R. Yes, viewing that statement under a microscope can, but these values are so tiny that they are negligible with our general test equipment. As viewed on a Smith Chart, adding capacitance can randomly either help or hinder the reactive component, depending on the main antenna impedance, the dominating factor. A typical antenna impedance will be mostly resistive but will always contain either capacitive or inductive values and only a V.N.A. or antenna analyzer can determine that.
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Moving forward, your antenna S.W.R. mismatch, coaxial cable loss, antenna loss, etc., all negatively impact the goal of E.R.P. (Effective Radiated Power) going out and over the air. These are negative decibel values and are all considered as losses. Let’s add in yet another factor; antenna gain, specified by the symbol “dBi” as seen on data sheets, antenna manufacturers or theoretical discussions. It is stated as positive decibels relative to Isotropic or the “perfect radiator”. Some may remember that term from their FCC license course. For conversation, if your station is starting off with 10 Watts of output power from your favorite rig, by the time you add in the above losses, e.g., Coaxial Cable loss (type and length), S.W.R. loss or reflection, antenna losses, your actual radiated power will be less or much less than what you might think. Circling back around, let us now add back in the “dBi” gain factor. This does increase the available output radiation strength but only in a concentrated or very minute direction (typically) or “lobe” as viewed on an antenna radiation pattern while all other lobes or directions are much attenuated. In other words, one direction (vector) is increased while other points are decreased, hence, the net power change is zero. Keep in mind that there is never an increase in actual power, the electromagnetic radiation is just simply focused.
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As you continue to read the specifications below, please note that there is a notable demarcation between the “HF” bands and the “VHF/UHF” bands of operation. Operation in the “HF” bands are much more forgiving and have less losses, simultaneously, increased power capability, whereas, in the “VHF/UHF” bands, losses are more significant and simultaneously, decreased power capability. i.e., expect to budget more for your 2-Meter/70cM cable choice than for your “HF” cable choice.
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Consider the following industry-standard cable types:
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- RG-58. This is one of the smaller** diameters coaxial cables on the market, typically just under 0.2” in diameter. The losses for this cable, at 10 MHZ, are 1.1 dB per 100 feet of length or 0.55 dB at 50 feet. At 150 MHZ, the loss is 4.1 dB per 100 feet or approximately 2.1 dB at 50 feet. The loss is high and is not a recommended cable for VHF application. It is limited to 530 Watts at 50 MHZ. Reference: Belden 8240.
- RG-8X. This is a medium sized diameter coaxial cable and is a very popular choice among hams. It is typically about 0.24” in diameter and is easily routable and bendable. The losses for this cable, at 10 MHZ, are 0.9 dB per every 100 feet of length or 0.45 dB for 50 feet. At 150 MHZ, the loss is 3 dB per 100 feet or approximately 1.5 dB for 50 feet. The loss of this cable is better than RG-58, described above, but is still noteworthy. It is good for H.F. and quite reasonable for VHF work. For H.F. applications, this cable is limited to 1KW and derated at VHF. Reference: Belden 9258.
- RG-8. This is a larger sized diameter coaxial cable and is a reasonably popular choice among hams and is a higher performer than items 1 or 2 above, only being limited by its higher unit cost. It is considered, by some to be a “low loss” device. It is typically about 0.4” in diameter and is not as easily routable or bendable compared to its smaller counterparts. The losses for this cable, at 10 MHZ, are 0.6 dB per every 100 feet of length or 0.3 dB for 50 feet. At 150 MHZ, the loss is 2.4 dB per 100 feet or approximately 1.2 dB for 50 feet. This cable is an excellent choice for H.F. and V.H.F. but does show an appreciable loss (4.2 dB) in U.H.F. (400MHZ) areas. For H.F. applications, this cable will handle the full legal limit but derated to 1,280 Watts at VHF. Reference: Belden 8237.
- LMR400: This is physically, very similar in size to the RG-8 cable, described above, but does have some notable higher performance features, e.g., larger inner conductor, higher quality foam insulations, improved shielding factor and improved power loss factors. This all comes with a slight cost increase from the RG-8.
Decibel Power Losses by the numbers:
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- 0.5 Decibel loss: 11%
- 1 Decibel loss: 21%
- 2 Decibel loss: 37%
- 3 Decibel loss: 50% (AKA the half-power level).
- 4 Decibel loss: 60%
- 5 Decibel loss: 68%
- 6 Decibel loss: 75%
As their quality or performance improves, ranging from adequate to better, as in items 1, 2, 3 and 4 above, respectively, their “Velocity Factor” (speed of electrical impulse vs speed of light) improves also. Cable length specifications described above are for 50 feet and 100 feet, respectively; trying to mimic lengths in actual practice. At a typical location, it can be all too common to have 50 feet or more in total running lengths.
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Note: Some minor dB loss values vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
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**Note, there are many smaller diameter cables available such as the use with “SMA” connectors, but these are not for indoor/outdoor or antenna feeding applications. Examples may include RG-174 or RG-188 types.
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Interesting Media & Links
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Loyd N9LB shares what he has learned as a broadcast engineer providing both grounding and lightning protection. He explains how the big broadcasters do it and and his recommendations for doing it on a smaller ham budget. This is not only for our safety but for the protection of our costly equipment. I also found this from Tom W8JI has a station ground website with examples too.
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Chris NW6V gives a presentation of Morse Code Keymanship 101. Or in other words how to have a great fist sending Morse Code on a strait key. He explains that following the dit-train is one of the key ideas. I found this video interesting and illuminating. He teases that there will be future presentations and I'm looking forward to them.
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Larry W0QE has created Basic and Advanced SimSmith playlists. In these 93 videos he goes over the features SimSmith has to model and analyze antennas, matching networks, and transmission lines. I know I will go back over these as needed because they stand as a general SimSmith reference. SimSmith works on Windows, MacOS and Linux.
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ARRL NEWS
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Get Ready for "Ham Radio Open House" on World Amateur Radio Day 2025
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To help promote amateur radio science and technology, and to honor the 100th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), ARRL is inviting radio clubs and schools to organize a Ham Radio Open House in April, built around World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) on April 18.
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The event is intended to highlight the Amateur Radio Service for its development and practice of the latest radio communications and technology, and as a hands-on pathway into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for the next generation.
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In April, amateur radio clubs, school stations, and other groups will have the opportunity to advance public knowledge about ham radio by welcoming their communities into their stations for the Ham Radio Open House, as part of World Amateur Radio Day. The focus will be on scientific advancement and demonstrating cutting-edge technology. This is a chance to not only shape the conversation about modern ham radio but also to show how it serves as a steppingstone and testbed for many young people pursing STEM education and future high-tech careers.
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ARRL has teamed up with HamSCI -- Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation -- and the science community organization SciStarter to invite the public to participate in One Million Acts of Science during April, which is Citizen Science Month. By hosting a Ham Radio Open House at your group’s station on April 18, you'll introduce individuals who might never otherwise find out about today’s amateur radio, where science and technology intersect with fun and learning.
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ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX, said ARRL is excited to work with HamSCI and SciStarter on this project. “This is an exciting opportunity to really reclaim the public’s image of ham radio and show them the modern, cutting-edge technology that’s in use by many amateurs,” she said.
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Clubs are encouraged to showcase the latest weak-signal modes, such as FT8 using WSJT-X, or other digital modes. This could be a great opportunity to explore new areas of amateur radio and demonstrate how the service is at the cutting edge of electrical engineering.
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ARRL Club Grant Program Awards a Half Million Dollars to Grow Ham Radio
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Thirty-seven amateur radio clubs benefitted from $500,502 in grants through the ARRL Club Grant Program to implement projects that educate, recruit, train, and promote amateur radio in their communities. Funding for the grants comes from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC).
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There were 110 applicants to the 2024 ARRL Club Grant Program, with applicants from all ARRL Divisions and 40 states, requesting nearly $1.6 million in support, in amounts ranging from as small as $1,000 to as large as the maximum of $25,000. Funds were distributed to the clubs in December of 2024.
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Some examples of the work that will be accomplished via these grants include upgrades to antennas within Florida’s SARNet, a statewide linked UHF repeater network that is used extensively by emergency managers during hurricanes; enhancement of amateur radio-based telemetry systems onboard Illinois Space Society projects, and many programs targeting youth outreach.
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“These grants are possible because of the strong partnership between ARRL and ARDC,” said ARRL Director of Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL, “and provide transformational impact for the next generation of amateur radio clubs.”
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Upcoming State, Section, and Division Conventions
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- January 31 - February 1 | Jackson MS Capital City Hamfest 2025, hosting the ARRL Mississippi Section Convention, Jackson, Mississippi
- February 7 - 9 | Orlando HamCation, hosting the ARRL Southeastern Division Convention, Orlando, Florida
- February 8 | Hendricks County Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Indiana Section Convention, Danville, Indiana
- February 14 -15 | Yuma Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, Yuma, Arizona
- February 22 | HAM-CON, hosting the ARRL Vermont State Convention, Colchester, Vermont
- February 28 - March 1 | BirmingHamfest, hosting the ARRL Alabama Section Convention, Trussville, Alabama
- March 7 - 8 | Greater Houston HamFest, hosting the ARRL Texas State Convention, Rosenberg, Texas
- March 15 | 69th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Hamfest, hosting the ARRL West Texas Section Convention, Midland, Texas
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- President: Zack Whitney – K0ZTW (2021)
- Vice President: Stephen Cullen – KF0AED (2023)
- Secretary: William Oliver – KF0ADU (2022)
- Treasurer: Barb Hanson – KD0HUV (2024)
- Trustee K0LTC: Jerry Dorf – N0FWG
- Member: Clay Bartholow – W0LED (2021)
- Member: Gordon Patenaude – WA0WSR (2023)
- Member: Aaron Lewis – W0ADL (2024)
- Member: Scott Henley – KF0FFE (2024)
- Member: Paul Brandt - K0PJB (2025)
- Member: Chris Silva - AE0IM (2025)
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Love it, or hate it?
See anything interesting that I missed?
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