RF

ORANGE COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB, INC.

VOL. LI NO. 12 P.O. BOX 3454, TUSTIN, CA 92781-3454 December 2010

The Prez Sez.....

By Kristin K6PEQ In This Issue: Page

The PREZ SEZ …....................1

January Meeting ….…..………....1
CLUB INFORMATION ….........2
Heathkit of the Month ...........3
OCARC Flashback............…......7
11/13 Board Meeting ……. …….8
November General Meeting ……9
2011 Board of Directors ……....10
PS Hamfest Announcement ..11
Just for Fun ……………………12

Prez Says:

This year went by in a flash! We had a great field day, great

speakers, and a lot of fun volunteering at different events and
The next general meeting will be
entertaining meetings. The holiday party had a big turn out and on:
Jagerhaus treated us well, like always. I am looking forward to Friday, Jan. 21st
the next year where our club can continue to grow and develop @ 7:00 PM
to meet the needs of our members. We have some new board
members who have some great ideas and I can’t wait to see As usual, we will be meeting in
what is in store. My job was made easy this year with the help the east Red Cross Building,
Room 208. The speaker will be
of a phenomenal board. It was a privilege working with you. I Scott KC6MMF, who will speak
want to thank you for letting me serve you as president and hope on the Winlink System and its
you have a Happy Holidays! relevance to Amateur Radio.

Don't miss this highly in-

73, formative and very inter-
Kristin, K6PEQ esting presentation!

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 1

 Monthly Events:
ORANGE COUNTY Directors-At-Large:
Nicholas Haban, AF6CF General Meeting:
AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Third Friday of the month
www.W6ZE.org (714) 693-9778
at 7:00 PM
[email protected]
American Red Cross
601 N. Golden Circle Dr.
Larry Mallek, K6YUI
(Near Tustin Ave. & 4th St.)
(714) 533-0887
Santa Ana, CA
[email protected]
Club Breakfast:
2010 Club Appointments: Second Saturday of every
month at 8:00 AM
W6ZE Club License Trustee: Jagerhaus Restaurant
Bob Eckweiler, AF6C 2525 E. Ball Road
(714) 639-5074 (Ball exit off 57-Freeway)
[email protected] Anaheim, CA

Club Historian: Club Nets (Listen for W6ZE):

2010 Board of Directors: 28.375 ± MHz SSB
Bob Evans, WB6IXN
(714) 543-9111 Wed- 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Bob AF6C, Net Control
President: [email protected]
Kristin Dankert, K6PEQ 146.55 MHz Simplex FM
(714) 544-9846 RF Editor (rotating): Wed- 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM
[email protected] Nicholas Haban, AF6CF Bob, WB6IXN, Net Control
(714) 693-9778
Vice President: [email protected] 7.086 ± MHz CW OCWN
Paul Gussow, W6GMU Sun- 9:00 AM – 10 AM
(714) 624-1717 WEB Master: John WA6RND, Net Control
[email protected] Ken Konechy, W6HHC
(714) 744-0217 VISIT OUR WEB SITE
Secretary: [email protected]
http://www.w6ze.org
Kris Jacob, KC6TOD
(562) 619-8870 Assistant WEB Master:
for up-to-the-minute club
[email protected] Bob Eckweiler, AF6C information, the latest
(714) 639-5074 membership rosters, special
Treasurer: [email protected] activities, back issues of RF,
Ken Konechy, W6HHC links to ham-related sites,
(714) 744-0217 ARRL Awards Appointee: vendors and manufacturers,
Arnie Shatz, N6HC pictures of club events and much
[email protected] much more.
(714) 573-2965
Membership: [email protected]
Loran Dargatz, AF6PS Club Dues:
(714) 777-9018 Larry Beilin, K6VDP Regular Members ...$20
[email protected] (714) 557-7217 Family Members* ...$10
Activities: [email protected] Teenage Members ..$10
Dan Dankert, N6PEQ Club Badge** …....$3
(714) 544-9846 OCCARO Delegate:
Steve Brody, N1AB Dues run from Jan thru Dec and are
[email protected] prorated for new members.
Publicity: (714) 974-0338
Robbie Robinson, KB6CJZ [email protected] *Additional members in the family of
(714) 978-8049 a regular member pay the family rate
[email protected] up to $30 per family.
Technical: **There is a $1.50 charge if you’d
Bob Eckweiler, AF6C like to have your badge mailed to
(714) 639-5074 you.
[email protected]

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 2

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.w6ze.org
Heathkit of the Month #24: For the 50’s - 60’s ham with a single conversion
by Bob Eckweiler, AF6C receiver with a 455 KC IF (such as the National
NC-88, the Hammarlund HQ-129X, or the
Heathkit AR-3) poor selectivity and crowded
bands presented a challenge. Bob knows! The
NC-88 was his receiver during his novice
The Heathkit QF-1 days.
Q-Multiplier
A solution to poor selectivity is the Q-
Introduction: Multiplier. This regenerative device hooks up
In the fifties and into the sixties many of the to the mixer of a receiver and allows an im-
less expensive general coverage receivers provement in selectivity as well as gain, or the
lacked decent selectivity. A typical fifties single ability to notch out an interfering heterodyne
conversion receiver has a bandwidth of 6 KC* or other narrow band signal.
at -6 dB and a whopping 30 KC at -60 dB.
The Heathkit QF-1 Q-Multiplier:
An improvement found on the better single The Heathkit Q- Multiplier was first introduced
conversion receivers is the crystal filter. This in late 1955 as a way to improve the selectivity
filter should not be confused with today's of many receivers of the day (especially on the
sealed lattice crystal filters. These filters typi- Heathkit AR-3). It was designated the QF-1 and
cally consisted of a single crystal at the IF fre- sold for $9.95. The small unit measures 7-3/8"
quency. The circuit included a rotary switch W x 4-11/16" H x 4-1/8" deep, weighs 1-1/2 lbs.
(often six-position) and a phasing capacitor and has four controls on the front panel:
control. The switch offered an “Off” position
where the filter is out of the circuit and five
"Selectivity" positions, each more selective than
the last. Position five of the selectivity could
offer 100 CPS at -6 dB and 7 KC at -60 dB.
Modern sealed lattice crystal filters have much
steeper skirts (A typical CW filter might be 400
Hz at -6 dB and only 2KHz at -60 dB.) And that
is at an IF frequency over seven times higher.

Another way selectivity was improved in the

old days was to reduce the frequency of the IF.
The National NC-300 and the Heathkit RX-1
Mohawk have second IF frequencies of 85 and
50 KC respectively. At these low IFs it is easier
to improve selectivity. The trade off is that im- Heathkit QF-1 Q-Multiplier
age rejection is poor if the receiver is single
conversion. At 85 KC an image just 170 KC Front Panel Controls:
could easily make it through the receiver. The Top Row:
solution was to go to double conversion, with a • Passband Tuning (Vernier capacitor)
high frequency IF to reduce images and a low
IF to provide better selectivity. The NC-300 Bottom Row (left to right):
and Mohawk have first IF frequencies of 2,215 • Null Adj. (potentiometer)
and 1,682 KC respectively. • Function: OFF, Sharp, Null, Broad (rotary
switch

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 3

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.w6ze.org

• Peak Adj. (potentiometer) use the RCA connector, to realign the first IF to
compensate for the added length of RG-58 ca-
On the rear there are two cables coming out ble to the RCA connector. The length of IF ca-
through two grommets. One cable is for power: ble between receiver connector and the Q-
The QF-1 derives its power from the receiver Multiplier is compensated for inside the QF-1.
(6.3VAC @ 300 ma and 150 - 250 VDC @ 2
ma) to power the one tube, a 12AX7 dual tri- How the QF-1 Works:
ode. The second cable is a short length of RG- In the Sharp mode the QF-1 acts as a very high
58 coax cable that connects internally to the "Q" tuned circuit in parallel with the first IF
receiver. That connection is to the plate of the transformer. A parallel circuit has high imped-
mixer for the 455 KC IF or the plate side of the ance at the tuned frequency and lower imped-
first 455 KC IF transformer. The QF-1 kit came ance as the frequency moves away from reso-
with an octal plug and socket and an RCA plug nance. Since the "Q" is very high, the slope of
and jack to make the power and IF connections resonance is steep and signals are rapidly at-
respectively if the receiver lacks them. tenuated as their frequency deviates from the
QF-1’s center frequency. This high "Q" is
The instructions suggest you check the re- achieved by a high "Q" coil that is significantly
ceiver’s 455 KC IF alignment first and, if you enhanced by a regenerative circuit using the
December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 4
RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.w6ze.org
first triode section of the dual triode tube.
The "Q" is may be increased up to around
4,000. The gain of the signal is also in-
creased in the bandpass. The actual "Q"
may be adjusted by the Peak Adj. control,
thus adjusting the bandwidth (and the
gain).

In the Broad mode a resistor is switched

in allowing a higher gain at a broader
bandwidth. Otherwise it is identical to the
Sharp mode.

In the Null mode the second section of the

dual triode tube acts as an inverting cir-
cuit that changes the high "Q" circuit
across the IF transformer from a parallel
into a series impedance. A series resonant
circuit has a low impedance at resonance,
shunting any signal to ground that is at its
resonance point. Signals off the resonance
are passed through the normal receiver IF
QF-1 ad from the Heathkits for 1956 Catalog
bandpass. the Null Adj. control adjusts the
"Q" of the null. The vernier Tuning control tunes the Q-
Multiplier across the receiver pass band. It is
The HD-11 and GD-125 Q-Multiplier: smooth and easy to adjust in most cases. If the
Heathkit replaced the QF-1 with the HD-11 in heterodyning oscillator in the receiver is lower
1961 ($14.95), and the GD-125 in 1966. The than the received signal frequency then the QF-
GD-125 stopped production in 1971. The later 1 tunes the IF backwards. On some receivers
two units had some minor circuit variations the relationship between the oscillator and sig-
and one big addition; they included the power nal frequency changes with band, which makes
supply so no power connections to the receiver tuning work normally on some bands and
were needed with these units. The minor backwards on others. This can make tuning the
changes were in the Peak Adj. and Null Adj. Q-multiplier confusing.
circuit values. The last unit also omitted a small
trimmer capacitor. The HD-11 looks almost In the Sharp mode adjusting the Peak Adj. con-
identical to the QF-1 in size. The graphics on trol changes the selectivity from broad to very
the front are green instead of gray and the front sharp. As the selectivity increases so does the
panel sports a neon pilot light. The GD-125 is gain. If you go too far the unit will break into
in a totally restyled low-profile case. oscillation, were you should then back off until
the point the oscillation stops for highest selec-
Operation: tivity. You may then tune across the passband
Operating the QF-1 Q-Multiplier takes some of your receiver with the vernier tuning control.
practice, especially in Null mode. It helps to
have a stable receiver as a drifting signal will The Null mode is even sharper than the peak.
need to be retuned precisely by the receiver Tuning is critical and requires a lot of practice
tuning or you will also need to retune the Q- to become usable in normal operation. How-
Multiplier. ever once it is learned it can really be effective

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 5

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.w6ze.org
in nulling out heterodynes and nearby un- have built a power supply right into the QF-1;
wanted CW signals. there is plenty of room.

The Broad mode is identical to the sharp mode The other modification is a connection, using a
except that a resistor is switched in that brings short piece of RG-58 or similar coax cable,
the "Q" down, resulting in easier tuning and from the mixer tube plate driving the first 455
higher gain for a given bandwidth. This mode KC IF to an RCA connector on the rear of the
may also be used as a tunable BFO by increas- receiver. The connector and its mate were sup-
ing the Peak Adj. control to just beyond the os- plied as part of the kit. Once the modification is
cillation point. made the first 455 KC IF transformer should be
realigned to compensate for the added capaci-
tance of the coax. The additional length of coax
between the QF-1 and the receiver is tuned out
internally in the QF-1. The realignment assures
that if the Q-Multiplier is disconnected the re-
ceiver will perform as it always has.

Conclusion:
If you have an old single conversion receiver
that uses a 455 KC IF, and that you've restored
you might keep an eye out for any of the
Heathkit Q-Multiplier models to enhance the
receiver's performance.

* This article is about a device from the fifties

so the abbreviation KC (for kilocycles per sec-
ond) is being used instead KHz (for kilohertz).

73, from AF6C

Remember if you come across any old

Heathkit Manuals or Catalogs that you do
not need, please pass them along to me.
Thanks - AF6C

QF-1 Q-Multiplier Manual Cover

Receiver Modification:
Most receivers need some modification to use
the QF-1 Q-multiplier. If the receiver has an
auxiliary connector that provides B+ and
6.3VAC filament power you are halfway there.
If not then you must tap into the receiver
power supply and wire the needed voltages to a
connector you install on the back apron of the
receiver. the alternative is to build a separate
power supply to power the QF-1. Many people
December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 6
RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.W6ZE.org

A Flashback to the Past

OCARC 1971 Officers
By Ken W6HHC

I dug this 1971 OCARC photo out of my archives in the attic, and was motivated by questions from
Ron Cade W6ZQ (then WA6FIT) to identify some of the members shown in the photo.

Front L-R: Bill Robinson N6BR (then WB6WOO), Ron Cade W6ZQ (then WA6FIT), President Bill
Hall N6EDY (then WB6CQR), Ken Konechy W6HHC, Jack Shaw WA6YWN
Back L-R: Jerry VerDuft ADØA (then WA6ROF), Roger Coult WA6AAL, Bud Barkhurst WA6VPP,
Don Gould W6EQY, Bob Eckweiler AF6C (then WB6QNU), Jim Keller W6YXY (then WB6YXY),
Paul Taylor WN6ENT

This photo was taken in the old Lincoln Savings and Loan meeting place at 17th St and Bristol in
Santa Ana. It is interesting to note that seven of the leaders shown in the photo had been, or went
on to become, OCARC Presidents.

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 7

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.W6ZE.org

OCARC Board Meeting Minutes for: Old Business (cont.):

November 13, 2010 • Holiday Party ‐ $900 prize money to be increased to 

$1200, by Nicholas AF6CF & Larry K6aYUI seconded.  
The OCARC Board meeting was held at the Set up at 5:30 pm.   Noted that donations are down 
JagerHaus Restaurant, 2525 East Ball Road, due to the economy. 
Anaheim, at 8:15AM Saturday, November 13,
2010. There were a total of 7 directors and 4 NEW Business –
visitors – Diane Konechy Steve N1AB, Steve
KJ6LHA, John W6JOR. There was a quorum • No need for December Board meeting
with the directors’ present. • Board approved a motion by Nicholas AF6CF
to shut down the OCARC Thursday evening
2M repeater net because of poor participa-
DIRECTOR REPORTS: tion. This club net was started to give people
• President Kristin K6PEQ –  with handhelds a better opportunity to partici-
• Vice President Paul W6GMU confirmed No‐ pate in a club net, but seems there was little
vember speaker Wayne Barringer KB6UJW  interest.
• Treasurer Ken W6HHC –Balance on hand  • Audit Committee – Kristine KC6TOD, Kristin
$5,994.00 and the auction had a net income  K6PEQ, Bob AF6C
of $600.00  • Next Board meeting January 8th, 2011.
• Kristine –KC6TOD – thanked Bob Eckweiler 
AF6C for taking the October minutes at the  GOOD OF THE CLUB - nothing
monthly meeting. 
Motion made to adjourn meeting by Nicolas AF6CF
• Membership Loran AF6PS – flyers are at  and seconded by Larry K6YUI.
HRO, new roster available per Nicolas  Meeting adjourned 8:50 AM
• Activities Dan N6PEQ per Kristin said we 
would reschedule the potluck  Respectfully submitted:
• Technical Bob AF6C suggested simple club  Kristine Jacob KC6TOD, Secretary “ Merry
project to build a Field Strength meter  Christmas” Thank you for my two years as Secre-
• Nicholas AF6CF holding for new business  tary!
• Larry K6YUI – none 
 
OLD BUSINESS:
• RF Newsletter “ Rotating” Editors – thank 
you to all who volunteer! 
o December – Nicholas AF6CF 
o January – Paul W6GMU 
o February – Kristin K6PEQ 
o March – Ken W6HHC 
• Speakers – Suggestion to have Bob AFC6 
show the membership how to use the Club 
website 
 

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 8

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.W6ZE.org

OCARC General Meeting Minutes

November 19, 2010

The OCARC November General Meeting was held at the Red Cross complex in Santa Ana at 7:05 pm
on Friday evening, November 19th, 2010. There were a total of 38 members and guests present.
.
Kristin K6PEQ started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. She then turned the meeting over to
Paul W6GMU to introduce our guest speaker – Wayne Barringer KB6UJW. Wayne has a tremendous
presentation on “Emergency Communications Preparedness”. The question is “Are you ready” to react
or perform for your community.

Wayne pointed our some tremendous issues, which we all need to think about! The community is not
prepared – the public is clueless, home preparation, To Go Kits (are you ready). Wayne shared his ex-
periences with Cal Fire using emergency response, communications officers, and coordination efforts.

He also reminded us that there are an inadequate number of experienced volunteers, pointing out where
we can all help. Wayne has written an entire Standard Manuel for emergency preparedness. He has
experienced through participation many disasters, fires and the like to know how to use the Amateur
Radio Community. It is a delightful evening to hear Wayne speak of how we can all join in and help.

After listening to Wayne, let’s see if we can all make an

effort to participate in our local communities.

Kristin reminded everyone of the Holiday Party at the

Jagerhaus Restaurant on Friday, December 10th. We
look forward to a nice turnout. Please RSVP to Kristin so
that we can insure the correct amount of food ordered.

The next item on the agenda for the evening was the election of the 2011 Board, thank you to Nicholas
AF6CF for coordinating the candidates for the 2011 elections. The election results for the OCARC Board
of Directors are shown on next page.

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 9

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.W6ZE.org

Listed below is the 2011 Board for OCARC:

President: Paul Gussow W6GMU

Vice President: George Jacob N6VNI

Secretary: Doug Britton W6FKX

Treasurer: Ken Konechy W6HHC

Membership: Jeff Hall W6UX

Activities: Kristin Dankert K6PEQ

Publicity: Steve Brody N1AB

Technical: Bob Eckweiler AF6C

Directors at Large: Dan Dankert N6PEQ and Larry Mallek K6YUI

Meeting Adjourned: 8:40 pm

Followed by an opportunity drawing

Just a note:

I would like to say it has been my pleasure to be the Secretary of OCARC for the last two years and look
forward to helping the club in whatever capacity in the future! Best of 73’s & 88’s … Kris KC6TOD

Respectfully Submitted

Kristine Jacob KC6TOD, Secretary

Just a reminder that the OCARC Board Meetings will now be held on the second Saturday of each
month at 8:15 AM at the Jagerhaus Restaurant, 2525 East Ball Road Anaheim. Visitors are welcome.

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 10

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.W6ZE.org

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 11

RF Newsletter Orange County Amateur Radio Club www.W6ZE.org

Just for fun

NO “LAME DUCK”

The OCARC Board, in an effort to save face, has decided not to have a Board Meeting for December.
Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!
73 DE AF6CF, Editor.

December 2010 - RF Newsletter - Page 12