There was a good member turnout at the February URAC meeting, held in the LAMM Break Room. Following fomalities, our speaker for this evening was my Dad, Dr. Jacques Linder, who gave us a very interesting talk on Astronomy. We learned of telescopes in use today, and future telescopes we’ll see in coming years. He presented photos taken from the Hubble Space Telescope and from the W.M.Keck Observatory (near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii). He showed how telescopes work with the lenses that are used.
Category Archives: Club Meeting
First URAC Meeting of 2015
There was a moderate showing for URAC’s January meeting in the LA Maritime Museum Break Room. Commencing as usual at 7:00pm, our guest speaker was Howard Rogers, KF6NOR.
This was a very interesting look into a battery’s chemical makeup, how to charge depending upon type, what type to use depending upon purpose, and how to maintain personal safety with their use. Presented were the many types and how they function, with explanation of the appropriate selection for space craft vs cars, cameras vs flashlights, etc.
Thank you, Howard, for a Great Talk!
URAC November 2014 Meeting at the VTS/Marine Exchange
Fifteen URAC members and guests attended the November meeting. Held at the Marine Exchange of Southern California which, in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, runs the Vessel Traffic System (VTS), refreshments of cookies from Scotty K6ZNL and coffee from our host were provided.
Following official business, which included election of officers for 2015, our Guest speaker was Capt J Kipling (“Kip”) Louttit, Marine Exchange Executive Director.
Rich in history going back to the early 1900s, Capt Louttit gave lots of detailed information on how the Marine Exchange evolved to keep ships at sea safe as they enter and leave the port, as well as tidbits concerning its location on old Fort MacArthur.
“From horseback runners and lookouts waving signal flags and using flashing signal lights — to today’s highly professional MX-VTS technicians operating state-of-the-art electronic radar tracking equipment, radio communications and computer database functions — the Marine Exchange of Southern California has evolved into one of the world’s foremost such organizations, becoming a world-class entity serving the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, El Segundo, San Diego and Port Hueneme as well as the maritime business communities throughout the Southern California region.” (http://www.mxsocal.org/Our-History.aspx)
Following the presentation, we visited the Control Center upstairs to observe the VTS in operation. It was a spectacular evening for viewing the port and ship activity.
With park gates to close and lock at 10:pm, the last of our guests didn’t depart until almost ten; a sure sign of a most interesting evening.
A Big Thank You to Captain Louttit for his hospitality, presentation, and tour of his operation!!
October 2014 URAC Meeting
There was good attendance Friday night for URAC’s October meeting, held in the LA Maritime Museum’s Break Room. It was quite interesting. Our speaker, Brian Thorson from Edison, gave a talk on RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). He had a very nice powerpoint presentation and a few noise making demos as well. There were plenty of Q&As after the meeting.
April URAC Meeting Show your shack
Last Friday was the monthly URAC meeting at the Think Café. As usual, there was good attendance for dinner before the start. Brought to order at 7:30 PM, this night’s topic was SHOW YOUR SHACK, a program put togeter by Scotty K6ZNL. She arranged a slide show of station pictures which were then described by the owners. Everyone had a very interest shack, and some included their Antenna setup. There were 6 presenters for the program; it was a fun change for the meeting.
March URAC Meeting Catalina DXpedition
We had a good showing last Friday at the Think Café for dinner. When the meeting was called to order (about 19:20) URAC’s own Diana Feinberg, AI6DF, gave a great presentation of the IOTA station operation on Catalina Island. There were many pictures and diagrams of the set up at Two Harbors. Dianna was there with the PVARC Group, of which some were also URAC members participating. Her presentation started with the boat trip over, which was very smooth, and covered lugging all the equipment to the site once the boat docked. The set up of antennas and radios was very interesting. They had a visitor during the set up and take down … a Catalina Buffalo (or Bison) named George who showed up in many slides. He seemed interested in the goings on, though I don’t know if they made him a Honorary Ham?
They seem to have made a good many contacts, both in the US and some DX. All in all, fun was had by all. There was a tour of the place were they all stayed, which had a nice outdoor covered kitchen and communal Rest Rooms. Thank you, Diana, for a most interesting program. Great Job!
February 2014 URAC Meeting
There was a good showing last night for dinner at the Think Cafe, which was followed at 7:30 PM by the URAC Monthly Club Meeting. Our guest speaker, URAC’s own David Ziskin AG6E, presented a very interesting program on Marine Radio. We learned of differant radios commercial ships and private vessels carry, how the various frequencies are meant to be used, and of some important channels that ships may or may not monitor depending upon their circumstances. He talked on the specifics of, and reasons for using, proper phonetics on the air. He also spoke of maximum VHF communication distances, the difference between line of sight and radio horizon, and provided the formula for determining that horizon limit (Horizon-in-miles = square root of [2 x antennae height-in-feet]). Sea Stories from his personal experiences brought the information to life, and rounded up a great program! Thank you, David, for a most enjoyable evening.