Are You A 10/10 Member?

The purpose of the TenTen International Net, Inc. is to support the interest in and promote activity on the 10-meter band. All interested amateurs are invited to join.

Many members enjoy collecting and exchanging TenTen numbers, and working toward the many awards available. There are a number of affiliated TenTen Chapters worldwide that issue certificates and have programs.

TenTen International sponsors a variety of operating events and contests. The net meets at 1800 UTC on 28.800 MHz daily (except Sunday) and 28.380 MHz daily (except Sunday). For further information and a prospective member kit, contact:

Mike Elliot, KF7ZQ
9832 W. Gurdon Court
Boise, ID 83704

Send $1.00, 2 First Class Stamps and an address label for the kit. You may also receive information from any TenTen member on the air. Dues are $10 per year and there are life memberships available. DX memberships are $13 per year. As part of your membership, you receive the 10-10 News quarterly newsletter, which is mailed either First Class (US) or Air Mail (DX). The 10-10 web page can be found at http://listserv.lehigh.edu/lists/tenten-l/index.html

J8, ST. VINCENT. EA2ADJ, EA2BP and EA2CLU, are making plans to be active here between March 21st and April 1st. This includes activity in the CQ WPX SSB Contest (March 28-29th) as J80R (Juliet eight zero Romeo). Before and after the contest, they will use the callsign J8/EA2BP on all bands on SSB/CW and RTTY.

JD, OGASAWARA. Look for JF1LGD/JD1 to be active mainly on SSB (some CW) from here. He has been active on the WARC bands (18 and 24 MHz) and also on 15 meters. Activity will last until the end of March. Meanwhile, look for JA1FUY, JF1GUQ, JA2CVF, JA1XVU and JI1FOL to be active March 14-17th. They will sign as homecall/JD1. Activity will be SSTV only on 20 and 15 meters.

JT, MONGOLIA (Update). As mentioned in OPDX.343, a Hungarian group who are members of the Hungarian Pannon DX Club will operate from Ulan-bator from May 17th through June 2nd. The team which includes HA0HW, HA4GDO, HA6NL, HA7SK and HA7VK, plans to keep 2-3 stations simultaneously on the air 24 hours a day to maximize band openings on all HF bands.

If You’ve Got a Question...
"ASK UNCLE ELMER"

The "tiger tail", which attaches to the BNC connector on the HT, is a quarter-wave length of conductor. Its presence serves as an electrical ground that is far superior to that provided by your hand on the HT. In effect, it acts as the other half of a dipole. To improve further on this, the rubber duck itself can be replaced by a quarter-wave conductor, thus

To make a quarter-wave replace- ment for a rubber duck for a 2-meter HT, you will need 19 3/4 inches of gauge 12 solid, insulated wire and a BNC - to - SO-239 adapter. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from one end of the wire and bend the stripped length over itself to fit snugly into the SO-239 end of the adapter. Bend a small loop (about 1/4 inch) into the other end of the wire to keep the

If you would like to know more about the theory of this antenna, or have any other questions (or good ideas), contact any TARA officer or board member. They will forward your input (anonymously) to "Uncle Elmer" for publication in this column. Also, you may send your requests via e-mail to elmer@n2ty.org.