Technical

Dr. Phil Erickson, W1PJE, was the invited banquet speaker at this year’s annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference held on September 14-16, 2018, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Erickson is an assistant director and head of MIT’s Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences group at Haystack Observatory.  He holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and space plasma physics from Cornell and is a member of the American Geophysical Union and the International Radio Science Union. Dr. Erickson is an Extra class ham and member of TAPR, ARRL, RSGB, Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club and the HamSCI initiative. He is the lead principal investigator of a National Science Foundation-sponsored UHF Megawatt class ionospheric radar at MIT Haystack and has authored or co-authored over 75 articles about the ionospheric and magnetospheric phenomena and radio physics.

W1PJE’s talk was entitled, “Towards A 21st Century Understanding of Earth’s Upper Atmosphere: The Value of Radio Based Amateur-Scientist Partnerships.” 

Jerry Woodworth, N1DD writes on the YCCC mailing list:

I forgot to remove batteries from a measuring instrument. AA Panasonic batteries cracked and some kind of fluid came out. On visual the damage does not appear to be fatal. However there is considerable white residue left. Any hints on what will remove the residue?

Greg Zenger, N2GZ replies:

Flush with de-ionized water and then dry with alcohol.

I avoid vinegar (acetic acid) as it can do more damage than good. Sure it neutralizes the alkali, but diluting it with water is just as effective at reducing the alkalinity and doesn’t leave an acid residue.   If there is a lot of leaked battery electrolyte  you can wipe it up with a cotton swab and then neutralize with vinegar before putting it in the trash, but don’t put the vinegar on your electronics.

De-ionized water readily dissolves the contamination and washes it away, the process can be sped up by scrubbing with a cotton swab. You can get de-ionized water at the grocery store in gallon jugs.

I prefer methanol for use on electronics, but isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) is commonly available and will work just fine. Look for a high percentage for best results. Medical isopropyl is often only 70-90%. 99% or greater is what you want. A gallon can of it from the hardware store is generally the cheapest way to get it. Water content in the alcohol slows down the evaporation time and can get left behind in little crevices like under chips or in through vias.

Flushing with pure alcohol washes away residual water and then quickly evaporates leaving nothing behind.

You may need to use a dental pick or some emery cloth to remove any corrosion that has increased the contact resistance of the battery terminals. 

Dan Pedtke, KW2T writes:

Looks like we’re on this month with the two engineers from National Grid.  They have verified they will be coming this week.  So we’ll learn some interesting things about the local power grid, and be able to ask questions about it.  I mentioned five topics to them as examples:

• The local large transmission lines – what are they used for, power to/from where, voltage, etc.
• The Sandy Pond inverter station – not a National Grid asset, but maybe some basic facts
• Working on live transmission lines – what’s it like to have 13KV in your hands
• What is the effect of all the solar installations in the area?
• How to deal with RF Interference issues.

If you’ve ever wondered how the power gets to your house, here’s your chance to find out this Thursday, April 12, at the Grady Research Building in Ayer at  7:00 PM.

See  www.DansTechNight.com for details and directions.

Hope to see you there.