Clubs

“Pi” Pugh, K1RV, writes on the K1USN mailing list:

Tuesday evening we launched our inaugural K1USN Zoom session. It was a great success with 27 check-ins. Future sessions will be announced and we will send out invitations to those who have indicated that they wish to participate.

Drop me a e-mail if you wish to be added to our K1USN Zoom list. Send it to pi.k1rv@gmail.com.

Looking for presentations for upcoming K1USN ZOOM meetings. Already have several planned by Rick – N1DC.

Possible subjects of interest:

• Reverse Beacon Network
• Contesting
• Antennas
• CWOPs and CW Academy
• Propagation
• Station Logging Software – HRD, Logic, others?
• Contest Logging Software – N1MM+, Writelog
• DMR
• HT Programming
• IRLP
• SDRPLAY
• Flex Radios
• DX Cluster Filtering
• Satellite Operation
• Operating Aides – DX Atlas, Ionoprobe, VE3SUN DX Monitor, CW Skimmer, etc

If you have knowledge in any of these areas and would like to help or can think of additional subjects of interest, let me know.

Ray Cord, K2TGX, writes on the Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC mailing list:

“Since our first try at a virtual club meeting was such a success, we have decided to give it a go again. Tuesday, May 19th is our meeting night and the meeting net will start at 8:00 PM on the [K1SMH 147.195] repeater. Hope you can all make it.”

Sumner Weisman, W1VIV, writes on the Framingham ARA mailing list:

Thursday, May 7, 2020, is the date for our usual FARA monthly meeting. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are not holding our meetings at the Framingham Police Station. Instead, we will be holding a virtual club meeting on Zoom. We welcome you to join us at 7:30 PM, and enjoy our meeting from the comfort of your home. All are probably familiar with Zoom by now. If you are not, just click on the link below and you will be in the meeting. You will need a computer with a camera and microphone. If you do not have that, you can still join the meeting by calling one of the phone numbers shown below, where you will have audio but of course no video. We hope to see you there!

73,

Sumner Weisman, W1VIV, Director

Andy Wallace, KA1GTT, writes on the Billerica ARS web site:

Everyone, the need for health safety has caused us to postpone club meetings at the church, our VE sessions, and our Saturday morning breakfasts. I am sure all of you are unhappy and miss getting together as a club. Me, too!

The Board has discussed the idea of virtual meetings and we have decided that next Wednesday, our normal club meeting date, we will hold a VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING with members. I am happy to say that Phil Temples, K9HI, ARRL Assistant Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager, will help us on our maiden flight with Zoom. I am trying to line up a speaker for the meeting as we speak – likely it will be regarding Field Day 2020 during changing situations regarding stay-at-home advisories.

I will announce the link to join the Zoom meeting before the meeting date, but it will be posted to the BARS email list and should not be shared outside our Club. 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 participate. We will likely have some sort of roundtable where folks can catch up.

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 next Wednesday. This will be a fresh experience for us. I can’t believe we only cancelled the April meeting – it feels like it’s been 12 months and I really want to reconnect with ham friends.

Hank McCarl, W4RIG, CAARA President, writes on the CAARA mailing list:

The CAARA Board has approved an emergency donation of $200 to the Open Door food program to assist with distribution of food to needy residents of Cape Ann and our surrounding communities.  Individual donations can be made by the general membership to:  Open Door at 28 Emerson Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930

Jake Hurd and Bill Morris made the Recommendations and the CAARA Board approved by unanimous vote to help with the current emergency.

Ray Cord, K2TGX, writes on the Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC mailing list:

We have decided to try a Meeting On The Air in place of our displaced Monthly meeting. It will start at 8:00 PM on Tuesday, April 21 on the K1SMH 147.195 repeater. Hopefully, John N1FLO, will be available to give us an ARES update. We will review what has transpired from last meeting, talk about upcoming activities and, of course, hopefully start planning for Field Day. The format will be some what the same as a normal meeting. We will do check-ins just as we do for the ARES Net and at the end we will go through the Roll Call for final comment.

If you have a question or comment during the meeting, just say “Question or Comment” when the transmission drops.

TNX 73,

Ray K2TGX
Secretary/TreasurerSMHARC

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

Our next club meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, will be conducted via video conference.  For the past two weeks, the PART board has been testing several systems, and we’ve settled on Cisco’s Webex (webex.com).  This system is easy to use, has good audio and video quality, and doesn’t require you to install any software on your computer; all you have to do is click on a link in an email. We can have up to 100 attendees in the meeting for an unlimited amount of time, and best of all, it’s free.

If your computer doesn’t have a video camera, or if you don’t have a computer at all, you’ll still be able to attend.  You don’t need a camera to be able to view the conference on your computer, and there will be a dial-in number to call if you just want to hear the audio.

To get everyone ready for the club meeting, we’re going to hold practice sessions right after the Sunday night net for the next two weeks.  At about 8:15 PM on Sunday evening I’ll send an email via Groups.io to the club that will have the URL link and dial-in number.  We can use the repeater to coordinate the session and resolve connectivity problems.

Some things to note:

• Video conferencing systems use a lot of resources in your computer to properly display all the video.  If you’re on a laptop computer or smartphone, be sure it’s plugged in; if not, the battery will quickly drain.
• Be in a well-lighted room, with the light on your face.
• When you first attend a meeting on Webex, you’ll be asked to allow your camera and microphone to access the software.  There may be a short delay while the link is initialized.
• Mute your microphone if you’re not talking.  There’s a mute button on the Webex screen.

See you next Sunday.