Clubs

Amateur radio in the news: first transatlantic QSO, DIY space exploration,

December 11, 2016 By Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

Homage to first shortwave trans-Atlantic radio broadcast. Members of the Radio Society of Great Britain took part at the North Ayrshire coastal town on Sunday. They exchanged broadcasts with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the Radio Club of America in Connecticut. The groups said the first transmission helped pioneer global communications.

trans-atlantic-qso-stn — This station at 1BCG in CT was the first to make a transatlantic contact on December 11, 1921. Courtesy: ARRL.

DIY space explorer gleans dramatic pictures from GoPro balloon rig. Wayne, N5WIN, writes, “I am a regular reader of you blog and was wondering if you happened to read this story. Jacob, N5WON, is my son and this was a great little project that is getting a lot of attention. I, N5WIN, drove chase for this and it really was a lot of fun. There is some great background behind it all and I believe these kinds of stories help attract a new generation of amateur radio operators. He resurrected the Baylor Amateur Radio Club when he started school there in 2013 and I told him at the time he had to do cool and fun stuff to get the current generation away from smart phones to something as “archaic” as amateur radio. This is just the thing and since he is graduating in May hopefully this will light a spark to carry the club on.

Elders who use tech tools feel less lonely, more physically fit, Stanford study finds. Ham radio operator Rudy Bahr, 93, of Mountain View uses a computer program that, in an earthquake or other crisis, can communicate radio messages directly to emergency operation centers, hospitals and other critical facilities. Created by the volunteer-run Southern Peninsula Emergency Communications System, it offers a direct connection that is more reliable than traditional email or cell services.

More than just ham radio

October 9, 2016 By Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

The Amateur’s Code was originally written by Paul M. Segal, W9EEA in 1928. One of its tenets is:

The radio amateur is balanced. Radio is a hobby never interfering with duties owed to his family, job, school or community.

As part of my duty to my community, I am a member of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club, and I’ve written about the parallels between amateur radio and Rotary in the past. Yesterday, I used my skills as a teacher/trainer to help other Rotarians and their clubs by being a “facilitator” at a Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI), which is a grassroots leadership development program.

rli-20161008-300x400 — Yours truly leading a discussion on creating Rotary service projects.

Being a facilitator at an RLI training session is a lot different than teaching a one-day Tech class. They don’t call us teachers or trainers because our job isn’t so much to tell the attendees what we know, but rather to lead or guide the discusssion. We try to get the attendees to share their experiences on a particular topic.

I led two sessions yesterday: Creating Service Projects and Attracting New Members. If you think about it, both of these topics are relevant to amateur radio and amateur radio clubs.

Respect your Elmers!

October 2, 2016 By Dan KB6NU 1 Comment

scars No, that’s not a typo in the headline above. Here’s what the Norman, OK South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) is doing to honor their Elmers. Thanks to Sam, W5KF for sending this to me….Dan

Elmer List on the W5NOR.org website

This week we talk about a brand new feature on the W5NOR web site. In the amateur radio community, an experienced amateur radio operator who mentors a new or prospective ham is commonly called an “Elmer”. In our hobby, that seems to be a great way for knowledge to be transferred. Yes, we all have taken an FCC test to receive our license, however that’s only the starting point. Remember that person that helped you set up your first radio, or gave you the courage to press the PTT button, or answered endless questions about a radio, or an antenna? That’s the kind of thing we’re talking about.

Thanks to a great suggestion from Gary Skaggs WB5ULK [not sure it was my idea. – Editor], we’ve created the SCARS Elmer Page, located at http://w5nor.org/elmers for us to celebrate Elmers; past, present, and future. We provide a place for Elmers to list their specialty, and contact information, which allows new hams to find someone they can ask questions of. Since this is a new section of the web site, this list is rather short. In fact, as of this writing, there’s only one listing. So, if you’re willing to help others on a given topic, send a message to [email protected] and you will be added to the list. Right now we need lots of different categories, like antennas, radio setup, HT programming, contesting, satellite operation, high power operation, test gear, building your own gear, repairing radios, APRS, D-Star, DMR, CW, logging, etc. oh well, you get the idea. Listen, you don’t need a PhD to be listed here. You just need a willingness to help others in a given area. It’s OK to be a new ham, and be listed here. You may have just struggled through your first space contact, but you’ll have infinitely more knowledge than the person who’s been a ham for 40 years, and has never tried that portion of the hobby.

Also, there is a link to the “ARRL Elmer Award” page of the American Radio Relay League’s web site. Here, you can enter your favorite Elmer’s name and callsign. The ARRL will print a nice certificate, and mail it to the address you enter. Yes, for FREE! This certificate can either be mailed to your favorite Elmer, or you can mail it to yourself so you can present it to them personally. Feel free to order an Elmer certificate, and present it to your Elmer at an upcoming SCARS meeting. Talk with one of the officers before the meeting to get your place on the agenda. What a great way to recognize these people for their extra efforts.

Finally, we’ve got a place to list YOUR favorite Elmer in our SCARS Elmer Hall-of-Fame. This is the place to memorialize your Elmer, whether they are SCARS members, Silent Keys, or not. I’ve already listed a few Elmers on the list from my own travels through the hobby. We’d love to list the people that help us all succeed.

So, please help make this page useful, visit the SCARS Elmer page at: http://w5nor.org/elmers and be listed as an Elmer, and list your favorite Elmers.

You all might think of doing something similar in your club. A little recognition could go a long way.

Now, I want to know why there’s a Canadian club in Oklahoma?!

#AltARC looking in new directions for amateur radio

September 28, 2016 By Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

In the U.K., Mitchell 2E0EMO, is trying to start the Alternative Amateur Radio Club, #AltARC, a national club aimed at young people, hackers, geeks, and nerds. In a post on the Essex Ham Forum, he sets out his ideas for the new club.

He notes that many clubs make do not make welcome younger people or cater to their interests. “As an amateur I grew tired of being a young person wanting to play with new technologies but being shut down.”

Mitchell would like to hear people’s views and from those who would like to get involved and hopefully form a team.

I wholeheartedly support this effort, and hope that some young hacker hams will pick up on this here in the U.S. Hackers bring a lot of energy to ham radio, and I look forward to seeing what a ham radio hacker club comes up with.

From my Twitter feed: Club centennial, lead-bending tool, emergency preparedness

August 17, 2016 By Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

Randy @K7AGE
Lead bending tool out of piece of scrap perf board. Time to dig for scrap. #hamradio goo.gl/BYZP2p

Kevin Thornton K5KVN @K5KVN
Univ of Arkansas radio club to celebrate 100 years! Special event station is 8/27 rso.uark.edu/w5ym/w5ym-spec…

ARRL @arrl
FEMA Teaming with Amateur Radio Clubs to Present Preparedness Information: September is National Preparedness… bit.ly/2bfvRcn

Spark in the Park: A Science Fair for Amateur Radio, Saturday, August 20

August 15, 2016 By Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

This Saturday, I will be at Spark in the Park, showing my books, encouraging others to teach classes, and promoting CW. Here are the details:

WHEN: August 20, 2016, 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM (Yes, an afternoon event !!)
WHERE: Home School Building, 5625 Burlingame SW, Wyoming, MI
HOW MUCH: No Admission Charge!
WHO (Sponsoring Clubs):
- Holland Amateur Radio Club
- Lowell Amateur Radio Club
- Grand Rapids Amateur Radio Association
- Allegan County Amateur Radio Club
- Kalamazoo Amateur Radio Club
- Muskegon Area Amateur Radio Council
- Riverside Radio Amateurs (Ionia County)
WHAT IS IT?:
- It’s not a flea market.
- It’s not a field day.
- It’s kinda like a science fair for amateur radio.
- It is an exposition of many facets of amateur radio, including:
  - VHF/UHF roving in a pickup truck, Bob, K8DOG
  - VHF/UHF vehicle roving, Dave, KF8QL
  - Mototrbo digital radio, Mike, KB8ZGL
  - HF digital modes, ARRL Michigan Section Technical Specialist
  - Amateur Mesh networks
  - QRP portable operations
  - Remote transceiver operation
  - “Go Bags” and boxes
  - Microwave
  - Amateur radio controlled quad and hexcopters, with live video downlinks
  - Arduino amateur radio projects

There are lots of pictures at http://www.k8tb.org/sitp.htm. Here are a few samples:

Bob, K8EIO, is tricycle mobile, with a KX3.

Doug, KD8CAO, working the FO-29 SSB satellite.

Mike, W8DER's, most impressive Arduino display. — Mike, W8DER’s, most impressive Arduino display.

Amateur radio in the news: AES signs off, club signs up 340 members in a year

July 24, 2016 By Dan KB6NU 3 Comments

aes-logo1 Amateur Electronic Supply (AES) signs off. Among ham radio operators, it’s known as the candy store. Amateur Electronic Supply sells radios, antennas and equipment that help hams connect with other hams throughout the world. It opened in Milwaukee in the late 1950s, attracted amateur radio enthusiasts from throughout the Midwest and eventually spawned stores in Cleveland, Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas. Now AES is closing its doors after almost six decades in business, and the stunned ham radio community is reeling.

That’s bad news, but the ARRL reports that HRO will be taking over the Milwaukee store….Dan

Utah County ham radio club draws statewide attention. The Utah Valley Amateur Radio Club officially organized Feb. 5 with the call sign K7UVA. In less than six months, the club has amassed more than 340 members who hail from Lehi to Payson, and it has already passed one of the oldest and largest clubs in the state in membership numbers.

It’s amazing that a club could go from zero to 340 members in less than a year. This is a club that someone should study. Are you listening, ARRL?...Dan

merle-taylor Morse Code whiz. When Merle Taylor joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942, she proved to be such a whiz at Morse Code that she was assigned to train the air crews. Now almost 93, she still practises her dots and dashes every day!

I hope that I’m still sending code at 93!…Dan

Radio club celebrates 100 years

July 19, 2016 By Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

The ARRL celebrated their centennial in 2015. This means, of course, that many local amateur radio clubs will be celebrating their centennials soon. One of the clubs that I send my columns to is the South Jersey Radio Association (SJRA). Incorporated on June 12, 1916, the SJRA claims to be the oldest continuously operating amateur radio club in North America.

In the latest edition of Harmonics, their newsletter, they described some of the ways they are celebrating their centennial, including:

an SJRA QSO Party,
a 100th anniversary banquet (at a Trump country club no less!),
100th anniversary clothing, hats, patches, and coffee mugs,
researching their history and putting the information on their website and into a specially-printed book.

Some of the members are also signing “/100” to denote 100 years of service.

Do you know of any other clubs that are celebrating their 100th anniversary? If so, please let me know. I’d like to recognize them and find out what they’re doing to celebrate.

Checklist for a GOTA station

June 22, 2016 By Dan KB6NU 13 Comments

As in years past, I’ll be the head coach of our Field Day GOTA station. (As I live in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, I’ve been calling myself the “Jim Harbaugh” of Field Day.) So, I don’t forget to bring anything, I thought I’d come up with a checklist for the station. Please have a look at the list below and see if I’ve missed anything:

Tent or some other kind of shelter. This year, we’re going to use a 10′ by 10′ canopy to make the station open and accessible. When we’re not operating, we’ll put the rig in one of the other shelters.
Table and two or three chairs.
Radio. As we normally do, we’ll be using the club’s ICOM IC-746PRO.
Antenna. We’ll be using my 40m/20m inverted-V supported by my surplus fiberglass mast set. This year, I’m even hoping to get around to tuning the antenna a little better. Last time we connected an antenna analyzer to it, the resonant frequency was a little low on both 40m and 20m. I also plan to bring my box of assorted antenna parts, just in case I need another pully or insulator or something.
Coax cable. I’ll be bringing a 100-ft. spool of RG-8X coax.
20A or more power supply.
Power cable to connect the rig to the power supply.
Extension cords to connect to the generator.
Laptop computer for logging. Don’t forget the power cord!
Pad of paper and pens and pencils for keeping track of the GOTA station operators and for making notes.
Cheat sheets with instructions on how to say the station callsign phonetically, how to call CQ, and how to answer a CQ and exchange Field Day information.

Some other things that aren’t essential, but that you might want to bring include:

Camera to take pictures.
Business cards or QSL cards to hand out to people that might be interested in learning more about amateur radio or your club.
CW key of some kind, just in case someone like Stuart (now W8SRC) shows up.
Bug spray.
Sun screen. Bug spray and sun screen are, arguably, essential items.

So, what did I forget?

Amateur radio in the news…in Hawaii

June 16, 2016 By Dan KB6NU Leave a Comment

Hoʻokipa “pill box” has roots in radio. Members of the Maui Amateur Radio Club will participate in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, on Saturday, June 25 in a field between the Hāna Highway and the ocean, just past Ho’okipa Beach Park. Field Day, an event started by the Amateur Radio Relay League in 1933, is the largest emergency communication event in the world. Field Day also showcases the science and skill of Amateur Radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend. The club was established in 1936 and claims to be Hawaii’s first amateur radio club.

Screen-Shot-2016-06-15-at-3.18.05-PM

Communication’s last line. LIHUE — The highlight of Tad Miura’s experience as a ham radio operator happened in 2010, on a particularly slow day in Hawaii’s amateur radio world. In fact, had Miura not been on his radio, the ham operator attempting to communicate with Hawaii from the International Space Station may have passed over unnoticed. But instead, the two of them were able to log the contact in their records, and had about eight minutes of uninterrupted conversation before the International Space Station orbited out of range. “He knew about the Navy base here, about PMRF (Pacific Missile Range Facility), and he said he’d been there,” Miura said. “So we were able to have a conversation about that.”

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