We will be having a regular meeting of NCRC this Monday beginning at 7 PM at KVH in Middletown. In addition to a short business meeting, we will have a DSTAR Presentation by Bob WB4SON.
See you there!
Little Gould Island Activation Saturday ~11:15 AM
*** UPDATE 1:15 PM *** The activation has completed and they are now QRT. Not a lot of activity on 40-meters, but 20 was a great success. Thanks to all that helped to activate the island.
*** UPDATE 12:45 PM *** The activation was made official on 20-meters, so it is now RI-031S. The crew has moved to 40-meters on 7.270 MHz.
*** UPDATE 11:25 AM *** The crew is on the air now (RF issue resolved) they are making contacts. They are on 14.270 at the moment to avoid the hurricane net.
The W1SYE Island Activation Team will be activating a new island on the air, Little Gould Island, which is located in the Sakonnet River near Tiverton RI. The island designation is RI031, with the letter “S” added once the activation is official.
This is a rare treat as the island is not open to the public (it’s a bird nesting sanctuary), but a member of the crew is a trained biologist and therefore we have permission to land.
The gang should be on the air around 11:15 AM beginning with 20 meters near 14.260 +/- QRM. After lunch, if possible, there may be a shift to 40 meters around 7.230 MHz.
Beavertail Lighthouse Activation
Five NCRC members, Paul N1PSX, Steve KC1AQQ, Scott WX1X, Mike AA1XQ, and Dave KC1GPA, activated Beavertail Lighthouse yesterday during the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. Operating as W1SYE, they made approximately 80 contacts on 20 meters from about noon until 3 PM. Band conditions were beyond horrible yesterday, with long duration deep fades.
Station setup in tent just in back of the lighthouse. Paul N1PSX just visible on left
Rather than use the 63 foot base loaded vertical, the team erected a dipole using greenstick, a better choice for 20 meters
Thanks to Scott WX1X for the photos.
Passing of Steve Hodell, KA1RCI
The following was received from our Paul N1PSX, our Section Emergency Coordinator:
It is with a sad heart I bring you all news that after a long hard fight,
Steve Hodell KA1RCI has passed. He entered hospice about a week ago, and
passed yesterday evening [ed: Aug 19, 2017]. I will be calling a special net on his network tonight at 8pm for a last call, no round of condolences, just a last call to honor a ham who contributed more than most to the RI amateur radio community.
If you can check in, please do.
If you can get the word out to others that would be great.
Steve will be missed, and of course this will raise the issue to a priority
as to what the RI community can do to keep the repeater network operating,
but that is a question for another day.
73,
Paul Silverzweig
N1PSX
Steve Hodell, KA1RCI, SK
EE Times runs a monthly cartoon caption contest. This recent one is pretty applicable to hams:
Put down your soldering irons and leave the building peacefully. It’s the weekend, go out and play like normal people!