Clubs

Phil Erickson, W1PJE, writes on the NVARC mailing list:

We’re pleased to announce that the May [20, 2021 Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club] meeting will feature Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, speaking on the topic “Cycle 25 Update and Understanding Space Weather”.  NVARC is very fortunate to have K9LA, who is in demand nationally and is a regular at Dayton Hamvention’s forum talks.  He also made presentations in 2021 both at K3LR’s Virtual Contest University and 4Z1UG’s QSO Today Virtual Expo.

Summary: Carl K9LA will discuss the predictions for and the progress of Solar Cycle 25, including what to expect in terms of propagation throughout 2021 and as Cycle 25 ascends. He will also review simple antennas for 15m, 12m and 10m as Cycle 25 ramps up. He will then briefly review websites with space weather data and how to tie this important data to HF propagation conditions. Finally, he will highlight real-time propagation websites that allow us to assess what’s happening right now.

Biography: Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA started his radio career as a short wave listener in the late 1950s. He received his Novice license (WN9AVT) in October 1961, and selected K9LA in 1977. Carl is a graduate of Purdue University and was an RF design engineer until his retirement in 2013. Carl enjoys propagation, DXing (he’s at the Top of the Honor Roll), contesting (he was NCJ Editor from 2002-2007), experimenting with antennas and restoring/using vintage equipment.

He and his wife Vicky AE9YL enjoy traveling, which has included DXpeditions to Syria (YK9A in 2001), to Market Reef (OJ0/AE9YL and OJ0/K9LA in 2002) and numerous trips to ZF (Vicky is ZF2YL and Carl is ZF2LA). Carl is currently the ARRL Central Division Vice Director. He has received the Bill Orr W6SAI Technical Writing Award, the YASME Foundation Excellence Award and the Indiana Radio Club Council Technical Excellence Award.

73

Phil W1PJE

George Allison, K1IG, writes on the PART of Westford mailing list:

Congratulations to PART of Westford member Bob, W1IS, who, along with Bob, KC1DSQ, have the lead article in the June 2021 issue of QST! Their article, “A Portable Two-Element 40-Meter Wire Beam,” describes an antenna that PART has used successfully in several Field Days.

ARRL members can cast their vote for the QST Cover Plaque award by visiting this site starting May 10.

New England Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society Online Meeting: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 7:00 pm – “Contesting” by Marty Sullaway, NN1C

Marty Sullaway is a 19-year-old radio aficionado living in Eastern Massachusetts. A lover of all things technical, his time in amateur radio has been spent designing and selling station automation hardware, teaching licensing classes, and pushing the limits in remote contesting. Marty has been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to pilot many larger contest stations, both as a single operator and as part of multi-operator teams. Marty will be a competitor at the World Radiosport Team Championship in Italy in 2022, and frequently operates from the Cayman Islands where he is a partner in maintaining a contest station there. Marty is a frequent digital content producer in amateur radio, acting as a frequent amateur radio club speaker, podcast guest, and has been published in The National Contest Journal as well as CQ Magazine, and various other media channels. Marty is currently a student at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is pursuing a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and works in mmWave radar systems and image processing. 

The next [Billerica Amateur Radio Society] Zoom Meeting will be Wednesday,  May 5, 2021 at 7:00 PM.

Our guest speaker will be Terry Stader, KA8SCP. Terry will give a presentation on the D-STAR digital mode which has been, and will be, a popular digital mode. I am sure Terry’s presentation will be interesting and informative, so please join us!

We will announce the link to join the Zoom meeting before the meeting, but it will be posted to the BARS email list .  Are you on the email list? If not, please send an email to bars-subscribe@w1hh.org and then simply reply to the robot response from the server and you will be subscribed.

Observing our Zoom meeting requires only a web browser and headphones/speakers. You do not need a webcam or microphone unless you want to speak or be seen.

Before our meeting date, please go to https://zoom.us/test and see if it will function for you. If you have problems, we can try to assist – feel free to ask questions on the BARS email list.

I am looking forward to “seeing” many of you on Wednesday 5/5 here at 1900.

Doug, N1WRN
President, Billerica Amateur Radio Society

The next Barnstable Amateur Radio Club meeting is April 20, 2021 at 7 PM on Zoom. 

Following the brief meeting, one of our newest members Don, KC1JPS, will speak about his experience resurrecting a 1990s GE Orion VHF public service radio to operate in the 2-meter amateur bands. The talk includes where they can found, how expensive they are, what is involved in programming them, adjusting them, etc.

For Zoom conference details, contact Rich Cady, N1IXF, at recady -at- att -dot- net.

Don Melanson, W1DM, writes:

Last night’s [April 15, 2021] Quannapowitt Radio Association Zoom meeting featuring the W1AW Video Tour turned into a surprise for a few of our members.  As the meeting was about to take place another ham operator signed into the meeting. His name is Skip Y. Sugimoto, JE2HCJ, from Japan.

It’s a funny story, according to Bob Reiser, AA1M, QRA club secretary. It seems when Bob was sorting his personal contacts for one of his upcoming ARRL awards he added Skip’s e-mail to our Zoom meeting invite without really knowing it. So Bob was quite surprised when Skip asked for the login.

Nothing was said to any of the members until Skip signed in. Skip started his day off by watching the video and then answered a few questions from some of the members. It was a very enjoyable evening by all the members and guests who attended. Skip was very impressed with the video and was welcomed by all.  Skip promised to keep in touch and possibly attend the next month’s meeting before he had to log out to go to work .

The QRA would like to thank the ARRL, Jeff Fox, K1GF, and W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, for making the video. It makes a W1AW tour possible for those unable to physically visit.

The North Shore Radio Association will hold its next meeting on April 19, 2021 at 7 PM.  Steve Schwarm, W3EVE, will present on Public Service opportunities.

Zoom conference information will be sent via the NSRA groups.io mailing list.  Contact Eric, KA1NCF, at ka1ncf -at- nsradio -dot- org to be added to the groups.io list.

Bruce Blain, K1BG, writes:

The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club’s next meeting is April 15 at 7:30 PM. This meeting will be conducted via Zoom. Meeting details are below. Thanks to Jim Hein, N8VIM, and Medtronics for the Zoom conference.

The April meeting will feature Frank Donovan, W3LPL, who will talk about the Centennial of the 1921 Transatlantic Tests. This was a historic achievement for Amateur Radio. I’m sure this will be an interesting meeting, and I for one am looking forward to it. 

April is also significant because the club holds elections for club officers and board members. Skip, K1NKR and I are on the nomination committee. If you are interested in volunteering for office, please contact Skip or myself. Nominations are open, and will be accepted until the elections take place.

Thanks and 73. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Bruce, K1BG

978-772-2773 or bruce.blain@charter.net 

From the QRA website:

The upcoming zoom meeting on April 15, 2021 at 7 PM of the Quannapowitt Radio Association will show the W1AW tour video. It’s approximately 14 minutes long and a very informative video for those who have never visited W1AW. It is presented by Jeff Fox, K1GF, and W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q. Please join us for this tour.

As always please e-mail Bob, AA1M at QRAW1EKT@GMAIL.COM or 781-272-6219 for Zoom Meeting ID and Password.

From the Boston ARC website:

The speaker at the April 15 [Boston Amateur Radio Club] general meeting will be Joe Harris, N1QD. Joe will give a presentation on DMR basics, with a focus on how to get set up on the club’s UHF repeater! The meeting will be on the Zoom platform at 7:30 PM EDT.

The Barnstable Amateur Radio Club is compiling a list of volunteer “Elmers” to help new amateurs, according to BARC president Norm Cantin, WA1NLG.

“New hams have a number of needs and questions ranging from: what equipment to start with, selecting antenna(s), what bands to operate, operating best practices to a whole host of other topics,” writes Cantin.  “I know we were all new hams at one point and really benefited from our Elmers.  I’m sure each one of us can contribute in some way.”

WA1NLG says that BARC is also putting together a “New Ham Kit” of which the Elmer list will be a part. This effort is being led by board member Rob Leiden, K1UI.

The Barnstable ARC is currently one of four Special Service Clubs in the Eastern Massachusetts section.

The Sci-Tech Amateur Radio Society will feature a presentation by Mindy Hull, KM1NDY, on “Practical Portable Radio Operation” on April 6, 2021 at 7 PM. 

With the availability of lightweight lithium batteries, portable operations is an increasingly mainstream and accessible pursuit of the amateur radio hobbyist. The excitement of radio field operations no longer needs to be relegated to official Field Days, with structured “On-the-Air” programs such as the Summits-on-the-Air (SOTA) and Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) providing endless and timeless remote communication opportunities. Portable radio is also where the outdoorist meets the amateur operator, requiring a complementary but different skill set from its participants than that acquired in the home station. While amateur radio is often (rightly) showcased for its highly technical foundation, portable operation brings in the interest and skills of hikers, backpackers, campers, survivalists, and preppers. This talk will discuss gear choices (both radio and outdoor), strategies for various types of portable operation, and activities that promote field communications. The goal is to give you the info you need to go do this yourself.