Seminars - 2010

Let these Sea-Pac seminars catch your interest and open the door to new ham radio adventures. The presenters below volunteer their experience to share with you their knowledge and skills on the many facets of this great hobby. What ever your interests are, you’re sure to acquire new knowledge to take home and enjoy.

Below is an overview of the seminars Sea-Pac is presenting this year. This will help you select the seminars of interest. A thank you to presenters is always appreciated. And as a courtesy to all, be sure your hand-held radios and cell phones are turned off during the seminar.

Friday SeaPac Workshop

Friday June 4, 2010
1:00 PM- 5:00 PM
Convention Center, Seaside A,B&C

E-Enabled Applications for Amateur Radio:
Two powerful tools that make your radio into a Swiss Army Knife.

Dan Smith KK7DS
Dan advanced the capabilities of D-Star through D-Star digital voice, D-Rats, and other add-ons. The ARRL Board selected Dan as the recipient of the 2009 Technical Member. Dan holds an MS in Computer Science and is a Software Engineer for Linux Technology Center. Dan’s open source code has benefited Emergency Communications by effectively deploying D-Star in public service work. Dan holds an Amateur Extra Class license and lives in Hillsboro OR.

Stephen Hatch WA7DAD
Steve is the D-Star committee Chair of the Federal Way Amateur Radio Club. In March 2007, as president of the club, he accepted the donation of a D-Star repeater system. Since then, he has been assisting other groups in their D-Star repeater deployments, hosting user group meetings, workshops, and speaking at ham events. Steve works for Boeing IT Security, holds a General Class license and lives in Federal Way, WA. Steve’s wife Letricia is WA7MOM. Their family now consists of 7 hams with the club call of WA7DV.

Topics will include:

• How to take advantage of some advanced features of D-Star. Includes hooking up and utilizing a GPS, linking and unlinking, and data transfers. Repeater, gateway and related subjects.
  
• Advanced D-RATS. Things like WinLink/POP3 access and message routing.

Saturday Seminars:

10:00 AM SEMINARS

Introduction to Antenna Modeling – Seaside A&B
Ed Clulow N7TL Introducing ARRL’s EZNEC antenna modeling software. Learn how to use this limited issue software to explore the features of the antennas described in ARRL’s Antenna Handbook and experiment with your ideas.

Ham Law – Seaside C
Phil Kane K2ASP Phil, a lawyer and an engineer, is an F.C.C. veteran, having worked many years in the San Francisco Office. Discussions on many legal aspects of our hobby such as part 97, CC&R’s, and R.F.I. issues. A fun discussion of your rights & responsibilities.

Oregon ARES/RACES Purpose, Progress & Plans – Riverview A&B
Vincent Van Der Hyde K7VV Vincent will do a three-part presentation of
ARES/RACES in Oregon. Oregon Emergency Management in disaster situations, the growing use of the Oregon ARES Digital Network (OADN) and where Oregon ARES/RACES is headed at both state and local levels.

The National Traffic System – Riverview C
Kristin Tomson K7KWT Kristen holds a General Class license and enjoys welcoming new licensees to the world of ham radio. This class is geared toward those learning the National Traffic System method of passing emergency messages over the air. Her interactive presentation will cover such topics as frequencies, call signs, check-ins, and using dictation & message layouts.

11:30 AM Seminars

Ham Radio Demographics in the U.S. – Seaside A&B
Delvin Bunton N7QMT Delvin is an Extra Class licensee, and is working on a study of ham radio populations in the United States. His presentation will share population maps by county, state, section, and division that show where ham radio is growing and where it is static. See why some states and counties are hard to contact.

Red Cross Emergency Preparedness – Seaside C
Nicole Bateman – Clatsop County Red Cross Coordinator
Tom Manning – Volunteer Coordinator to the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office. A presentation on many types of emergency preparedness, which will cover everything from you at your residence to evacuation situations. Will include discussion on Tsunami preparation.

Suitcase DXpeditions – Riverview A&B
Bud Drummond W3FF Enjoy a fascinating presentation of how to do a budget DXpedition and go portable with just suitcases. Bud is the founder of Buddipole Antennas and will demonstrate how to operate from delightful locations with a complete station packed into one suitcase; radio, power, and antennas.

Design & Construction of my Dome Observatory – Riverview C
Jack Barnes WA7KMR Jack is an Amateur Astronomer and took 2 years to complete an observatory project. A few of the subjects covered will be Deep Sky Objects of primary interest; How a CCD camera, telescope & computer are integrated; Electronics & Mechanics needed to rotate the dome & telescope tracking.

1:00 PM Seminars

ARRL Forum – Seaside A&B
Ed Hare W1RFI and Jim Fenstermaker K9JF Ed is an ARRL Lab Technician and an Extra Class license holder. Ed works at ARRL Headquarters and comes to us from his residence in Burlington, CT. Jim is the ARRL NW Division Director and lives in Vancouver WA. An opportunity to meet with Ed Hare & Jim Fenstermaker in person and find out what the ARRL sees as the emphasis of Amateur Radio in the future.

Ham Education That Works – Seaside C
Delvin Bunton N7QMT Delvin and a friend (AC7NB) teach Ham Radio Classes (Tech & General) and like helping new hams get started with the magic of radio. They also teach “how to get started” classes, organized an antenna seminar, and organized a workshop with multiple short classes they call Ham Basics. Learn how to do this near your home.

Insurance to protect yourself as a Ham in Public Service – Riverview A&B
George Thornton AE7G George, an extra class licensee, has a Law Degree and practices as a personal injury litigation attorney in Seattle, WA. George is an avid road bicyclist and served for three years as President of the Redmond Cycling Club. A unique & challenging 1-day bicycle rally known as RAMROD involves 154 miles and 10,000 ft of climbing. In 2001 he obtained his first ham license and became Safety Director for RAMROD. This seminar explores legal & financial risks involved in public service as a ham.

How to beat the Morse Code – Riverview C
Bill Balzarini KL7BB Come and learn how to beat the Morse Code, the “Original Digital Mode” sent one bit at a time. Tips on listening ahead and writing behind while building a code buffer. 5 to 40+ words per minute and beyond.

2:30 PM
Break & Special Prize Drawings (Must be present to win)

3:00 PM Seminars

Depiction Mapping Software – Seaside A&B
Tim Goddard, and Gary Takis K7GJT A presentation demonstrating the capabilities of depiction mapping, simulation and collaboration software as a powerful tool for emergency communications. Find how amateur operators are bringing this exciting technology Emergency Operation Centers. Includes live demonstrations of Depiction’s capability to exchange information using the new APRS, and in conjunction with the global Winlink 2000 system using Paclink.

Alternate/Renewable Energy for your Ham Radio station – Riverview A&B
Ralph Javins N7KGA Ralph is an Extra Class licensee from Bothell, WA. Find how operating your regular 100 watt HF station or a 50 watt VHF/UHF station off solar and wind power is not hard to do. See how in an emergency or disaster, it is more practical for a longer period of time than with a gasoline generator.

How to couple your antenna to the Sky with Zero Sun Spots –Riverview C
Bill Balzarini KL7BB Find out the needs of location and antennas to make your signals get to those far away exotic DX locations. Subjects will include Beams, Verticals, Ground Systems, Towers and Locations. Primary focus will be on the 20, 40, 75, 6 and 2 meter bands as well as 440Mhz. See practical examples of antennas used on the 2008 Alaskan Artic Circle W1AW/KL7 special event station.

5:00 PM
Convention Closes for the day

Sunday Seminars:

9:00 AM-10:30 AM Seminars

The Ins & Outs of QSL Cards – Seaside A&B
Vincent Van Der Hyde K7VV Join Vincent for a great presentation on getting your QSL noticed and getting a card in return. Whether for a contest or that rare DX contact, stack the odds in your favor for a successful QSL card exchange.

An Introduction to Amateur Radio Astronomy – Riverview A&B
John Roberts WJ7P
This presentation will cover overview of astronomical radio sources and how they can be observed with simple equipment. It includes the basics of radio telescopes, astronomical radio noise sources, NASA’s Radio Jove Kit for listening to Jupiter and the Sun. Describes an “Itty Bitty Radio Telescope” and includes information about the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers.