WFD 2024 is in the books!

I want to thank everyone who helped with Winter Field Day 2024. NCRC operated 1O phone only (1 station, outdoors) this year instead of the usual 2O phone & CW.  We completed 748 HF Contacts, 1 satellite QSO, and sent and received 1 Winlink Message. We did not have the best weather this year.  Weather was fine on Saturday, but Sunday was raining all day and cold. However, it was nice and cozy in ticket booth shack.  Midnight to 8 am we had no operators so we had to shut down the station.  Again, Thank You to all.

Dave Neal W2DAN

First Meeting of the New Year!

NCRC’s January 2024 Meeting will be a hybrid in-person and Zoom meeting from 7:00pm to 8:15pm on Monday, January 8.  A ZOOM invitation will be sent out the weekend before.  In-person will be at St. Barnabas Parish Hall, 1697 East Main Rd. at Fairview Lane, Portsmouth, RI.  Minutes and Business Meeting slides will be posted as available.

Doors open at 6:00pm for setup and 6:30 for socializing.  Zoom should be up and running by then.  Join us!

Second Annual Pete Lawson Outdoor Adventure – Sunday, September 10, 2023

When:
Sunday, September 10, 2023
1:00pm to 5:00pm
(UTC-04:00) America/New York

Where:
Colt State Park, Bristol RI

SITE #25 MAP

Organizer: NCRC k1jsm@arrl.net

Description:
Newport County Radio Club is happy to announce our second annual Pete Lawson Outdoor Adventure recognizing the achievements of club members, and the many activities that the club participates in throughout the year. It’s also a fun way to get together and enjoy a late summer day! This year’s event will be held at Colt State Park in Bristol RI on Sunday September 10 starting at 1 PM.

PETER LAWSON OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
The 2nd annual Peter Lawson Outdoor Adventure will be at Colt State Park

Sunday September 10, 2023.
Register and Save the Date Now!

The picnic starts Sunday at 1 pm. Delicious catered dinner by Scratch Kitchen of Newport (same as last year).

Our Sunday picnic caps off three days of the All-RI POTA event, sponsored by NCRC, and managed by Jim Garman, KC1QDC. There will be active radio stations at the event so you can experience Parks-On-The-Air. Colt State Park is K-2872 in the Parks-On-The-Air (POTA) radio event.

The PLOA Sunday picnic event is for all NCRC members and their families. All RI POTA participants are invited as well. Best of all, it is FREE! You may wish to make a donation of any amount but not required.

WE NEED A HEAD COUNT to accurately forecast the amount of food to order. PLEASE sign up on the club web site now, W1SYE.ORG. Or, if web sites are not your thing, send an email to k1jsm@arrl.net.

As a reward for registering now, we have several drawings for prizes:

  • An antenna survey, recommendations & set-up assistance at your QTH by Mr. DX, W1LY.
  • $100 Gift Certificate to DXEngineering
  • A POTA activation (a guided training session) on another date & in RI with a POTA pro who will provide all the equipment.
  • A Wolf River Coil antenna (the antenna shoot out winner).

PLUS – events for the kids, and recognition of Jack Garforth, N1JK, (SK-Silent Key) and more.

Hope to see you there. Register now!

Should you be willing to donate to the event to cover expenses, please use the following Donation Button or find the link Pay Dues or Donate on the club website (You don’t need a PayPal account to donate as any credit card can be used).

NCRC August Meeting

NCRC’s August Meeting will be a hybrid in-person and Zoom meeting from 7:00pm to 8:15pm on Monday, August 14.  A ZOOM invitation will be sent out the weekend before.  In-person will be at St. Barnabas Parish Hall, 1697 East Main Rd. at Fairview Lane, Portsmouth, RI.  Minutes and Business Meeting slides will be posted as available.

Doors open at 6:45pm. Join us!

Jim Garman, KC1QDZ is excited to share updates with you about the upcoming PARKS ON THE AIR (POTA) – Activate All RI happening September 6-10, and the many ways you can get involved.
John Mills, K1JSM and Willy Maclean, W1LY will share updates on the Pete Lawson Outdoor Adventure on September 10. (K1JSM has just sent out a separate email with more details and how to register.) The PLOA includes a catered meal, is free and is offered as a thank you and club wide social event for all members and their families. The last day to register is August 30th. Here’s a link to the registration form.
We look forward to seeing you on August 14th as we plan for a great start to September with the POTA – Activate ALL RI and 2nd annual PLOA at Colt State Park. 

NCRC May Meeting

NCRC’s May Meeting will be a remote only meeting from 7:00pm to 8:30pm on Monday, May 8. A ZOOM invitation will be sent out later this weekend. Minutes and Business Meeting slides will be posted as available.

A special presentation entitled “Ham Radio Contesting” will be given by our own “DaveDan” Dave Neal, W2DAN. View his presentation recording here.

Join Dave Neal, W2DAN as he shares his enthusiasm for contesting in a presentation filled with information for both beginners and seasoned contesters. He is on a mission to welcome everyone into radio’s contesting world, and will show you why without casual operators contests would be boring for competitors. Each contest offers a new opportunity for hams at every level to push their own skills during a time-limited competition.

You can get started with hands-on learning the weekend before his presentation (May 6-7, 2023) by checking out the annual New England QSO Party NEQP.

For example, the 2022 NEQP results were just posted andW2DAN came in with a score of over 50,000 and 787 Phone QSOs.  Another respected NCRC contester, Peter Bartram, KQ1X posted 275 CW QSOs. But other casual contesting NCRC members also participated: Carl KC1NAM made 43 QSOs across all New England counties while Mike Cullen, K1NPT logged 41 QSOs. So check it out, and join with whatever personal goal you decide on.

Note that NEQP is open to Technician Class Licensees.  The suggested 10 Meter contest SSB operating frequency is 28.380 MHz which happens to be in the Technician Class privileges‘ range of 28.300-28.500 MHz: CW, Phone/SSB, so an NCRC club member might offer to set up a station on Sunday May 7, 2023 sometime during 9am-8pm on the 10M band and give interested licensed Techs or new Generals the chance for some hands-on experience before the club meeting. If you can help make this happen let club members know.

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