Month: August 2002

Following an absence of several years, there will be a VHF/UHF/Microwave session at this year’s New England Division ARRL Convention. These programs will occur from 9 AM until 1PM Sunday, August 25, immediately followed by the convention prize drawings at 2PM.This session will meet in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel, so there will be plenty of seating. Bring all of your friends!

Sunday will provide a “laid back” atmosphere for the VHF program, without competition from the many other Convention events held on Saturday. In contrast with Saturday, parking at the Boxboro Woods Holiday Inn is readily available on Sunday, and many dealers are eager to make “deals” rather than transporting their unsold merchandise back home.

Of course your $10.00 registration ticket (purchased at the door) provides admission on both days. Friday’s events held at the convention site will require preregistration and an additional fee.

Lew Collins, W1GXT, is serving as the VHF Program Chairman for the convention.

Check the Convention web site at http://www.boxboro.org for updates on the convention program, lists of commercial exhibitors, and other information.

8:30 AM Informal gathering for conversation and coffee

9:00 AM “Introduction to VHF/UHF Weak Signal Operating” presented by Grant “Chip” Taylor, W1AIM, Cabot, VT

This presentation will provide an overview of VHF/UHF propagation and technology. It will include practical hints for expanding your horizons on the bands above 50 MHz. This talk will be of interest to the newcomer as well as to the experienced VHFer.

10:00 AM “Your Rig Covers Six Meters – Now What?” presented by Dave Olean, K1WHS, Lebanon, ME

This presentation, which focuses mostly on antennas, will enable owners of the new “all band” transceivers to realize the potential of their new radio to work world-wide DX on 50 MHz. In addition, there will be some discussion of the other aspects of station design, such as feedlines, amplifiers, etc.

11:00 AM “Antennas for the Microwave Bands” presented by Paul Wade, W1GHZ, Shirley, MA

This presentation will describe a variety of easily constructed antennas for use on the bands above 1GHz. If you have dreamed of having an antenna with over 20 dB of gain, this talk is for you!

12:00 Noon “Predicting Radio Line-of-Sight Using the USGS Digital Topographic Maps” presented by Matt Reilly, KB1VC, Stow, MA

For years the USGS has provided digitized topographic map data in the form of their Digital Elevation Map datasets. This presentation will show you how to use a web service that utilizes this data to plot the radio signal path between any two points in the continental U.S.

Check the Convention web site at http://www.boxboro.org for updates on the convention program.

73,

Lew Collins
W1GXT
VHF Program Chairman