CVARC monthly club general meetings start at 7:30 P.M. the third Thursday of each month and are held at:
- East County Sheriff's Station (ECSS)
- 2101 East Olsen Road
- Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
- Map to ECSS
- Solar Indicies
- January Newsletter
On February 16, Erik James will speak on
"Emergency Operations Protocols and Techniques"
Zak Cohen, N6PK
On February 16, 2012, Erik James will speak on "Emergency Operations Protocols and Techniques" Erik James has served various county governments in many positions over the past several years. This includes Reserve Deputy Sheriff, Rescue Technician and Firefighter for Los Angeles County and Crime Analyst for Ventura County. Erik has trained as a Swiftwater Rescue Technician and Snow/Ice Rescue Tech.
He has been involved in all local county brushfires, floods and searches for missing hikers. He has help manage search operations for the Mountain Rescue Association. He is currently working for J.D. Powers and Associates and is a member of ACS.
Erik's discussion will focus on the importance and uses of amateur radio during emergency situations. This will include the operational aspects of scanning and selecting emergency frequencies used to communicate with family and emergency team members.
He will also discuss how to check into emergency communication networks and relay status reports. LASD Plan B Communication and MSAR Plan A Communication plans will be covered.
An Invitation to YOU!! The Newbie Net is On-the-Air
Diane Wainwood, KJ6JEJ
You're invited to join other new (and fairly new) CVARC hams and Elmers on "The Newbie Net", an excellent opportunity to practice good operating procedures, overcome "radio shyness", and get acquainted with other new operators (and some Elmers, too). After a 2-week holiday break, we've resumed operation on Sunday evenings, from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm, on the BOZO Repeater, 147.885, negative offset of 127.3. We had our best turn-out so far on Jan. 8, with 13 check-ins, including an out-of-state visitor!
We'll be listening for you on Sunday evenings (I try to send a reminder e-mail through the CVARC Discussion group). If anyone else would like a turn as net control, please let me know--its an excellent opportunity to learn a lot from "supervising" Elmers, who are invariably kind and helpful in their feedback!
Battery Basics
Rob Hanson, W6RH
Practically all batteries used in Ham Radio power backup systems are Lead-Acid type batteries. Even after over a century of use, they still offer the best price to power ratio.
ALL of the batteries commonly used in deep cycle applications are Lead-Acid. This includes the standard flooded (wet) batteries, gelled, and AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat). They all use the same chemistry, although the actual construction of the plates, etc., varies.
The lifespan of a deep cycle battery will vary considerably with how it is used, how it is maintained and charged, temperature, and other factors.
These are some typical expectations for batteries if used in deep cycle service:
- Type of battery: Expected battery life in 'deep-cycle' mode
- Starting: 3-12 months
- Marine: 1-6 years
- Golf cart: 2-7 years
- Gelled deep cycle: 2-5 years
- AGM deep cycle: 4-7 years
Starting batteries are commonly used to start and run engines. Engine starters need a very large starting current for a very short time. Starting batteries have a large number of thin plates for maximum surface area. The plates are composed of a lead "sponge", similar in appearance to a very fine foam sponge. This gives a very large surface area, but if deep cycled, this sponge will quickly be consumed and fall to the bottom of the cells. Automotive batteries will generally fail after 30-150 deep cycles if deep cycled, while they may last for thousands of cycles in normal starting use (2-5% discharge).
Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down as much as 80% time after time, and have much thicker plates. The major difference between a true deep cycle battery and others is that the plates are SOLID lead plates – not sponge. This gives less surface area, thus less "instant" power like starting batteries need. Although these can be cycled down to 20% charge, the best lifespan vs. cost method is to keep the average cycle at about 50% discharge.
Golf cart batteries are quite popular for small systems and RVs. The problem is that "golf cart" refers to a size of battery (commonly called GC-2 or T-105), not the type or construction – so the quality and construction of a golf cart battery can vary considerably – ranging from the cheap off brand with thin plates up to the true deep cycle brands, such as Crown, Deka, Trojan, etc. In general, you get what you pay for.
Marine batteries are usually a "hybrid", and fall between the starting and deep-cycle batteries. In the hybrid, the plates may be composed of lead sponge, but it is coarser and heavier than that used in starting batteries. It is often hard to tell what you are getting in a "marine" battery, but most are a hybrid.
Gelled deep cycle batteries, or "Gel Cells" contain acid that has been "gelled" by the addition of Silica Gel, turning the acid into a solid mass that looks like gooey Jell-O. The advantage of these batteries is that it is impossible to spill acid even if they are broken. However, there are several disadvantages (must be charged at a slower rate and lower voltage to prevent permanent damage; in hot climates, water loss can be enough over 2-4 years to cause premature battery failure).
AGM, or Absorbed Glass Mat, deep cycle batteries have all the advantages (and then some) of gelled, with none of the disadvantages, and they can take much more abuse. Since all the acid is contained in the glass mats, they cannot spill, even if broken. This also means that since they are non-hazardous, the shipping costs are lower. In addition, since there is no liquid to freeze and expand, they are practically immune from freezing damage. Nearly all AGM batteries are "recombinant" – what that means is that the oxygen and hydrogen recombine INSIDE the battery. AGMs will cost 2 to 3 times as much as flooded batteries of the same capacity. In many installations, where the batteries are set in an area where you don't have to worry about fumes or leakage, a standard or industrial deep cycle is a better economic choice.
Parking At East County Sheriff's Station
We have filled up the Visitor's Parking area at the East County Sheriff's Station (ECSS) during our last couple of CVARC General Meetings due to the excellent turnouts that we have had. If the Visitor's Parking area is filled when you arrive for a CVARC meeting, you can park in the Employee's Only parking area which is to the immediate right of the Visitor's Parking area as you drive into the sheriff's station. There may be people coming to the sheriff's station during our club meeting looking for police department assistance. For that reason we should not park in the Visitor's Parking area "15 Minute Only" parking spaces. Ken Larson
Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club 2012 FCC Exam Schedule
By Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR
The Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club (CVARC) has scheduled examinations for FCC Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) licenses six times during 2011.
Exams are conducted by accredited Volunteer Examiners and sessions are sponsored by CVARC. Exams are conducted for all FCC Amateur Radio license classes under the supervision of the ARRL VEC. No pre-registration is necessary, walk-ins are welcome. The Exams listed below will be conducted at the Ventura County Sheriff's East County Station at 2101 E. Olsen Road between Hwy 23 and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library at 8:30 a.m.
Candidates need to bring:
- A form of government-issued photo I.D. (e.g.: Driver's License, Passport or School District ID).
- Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID or FRN.
- The original and a photocopy of any existing FCC license or CSCE notice of passing an exam element.
- $15 Exam fee (exact change preferred).
- Pens, pencils, calculator. Calculator memory must be cleared prior to exam
- February 12
- April 15
- June 10
- August 12
- October 14
- December 9
Should there be questions not addressed above, please contact Jeff Reinhardt AA6JR at aa6jr@sbcglobal.net or phone 818-706-3853.
Any correspondence to CVARC should be mailed to:
- CVARC
- P.O. Box 2093
- Thousand Oaks, CA 91358-2093
Updated: January 29, 2012 8:02 AM