Meeting at VFW, November 11, 7 PM ***Dual-Band HT Raffle***

The next NCRC meeting will be at the Middletown VFW, 52 Underwood LN, at 7:00 PM on November 11.

We will be having a raffle of a dual-band HT. The raffle winner will receive their choice of half of the raffle proceeds or a new BaoFeng UV-5R dual-band HT.

Agenda:

  • Treasure’s Report
  • Installation of new members (six graduates of our latest Technician Class)
  • Election of Officers for 2014
  • Raffle of a dual-band HT
  • Presentation on operating/setup of BaoFeng UV-5R Radios

Hope to see everyone there!

Congratulations to New Hams and Future Members

The Technician Class exam was this past Monday, and all 7 students passed with flying colors.  Five of them have applied for membership in the club.  Congratulations to the following:

Stephen Mead, KC1AQQ, Middletown
Paul Mankofsky, KC1AQP, Middletown
Paul Duclos, KC1AQO, Riverside
John Reynolds, KC1AQM, So. Dartmouth
Alex Hall, KC1AQN, Newport

In addition, two other hams took and passed their exam, Paul Williams, KC1AQR, and Jarrod Deines, KD0YAJ.  Congratulations to them as well!

Finding Wanders Quickly — Middletown FD finds hiding boy

Middletown Fire Dept (MFD) demonstrated the SafetyNet tracker bracelet system on Sunday October 20th at Glen Park in Portsmouth.  Pictures can be viewed online here

Aided by MFD, a citizen volunteer (Rob White KB1ZZU)  used MFD’s  tracker equipment to find a well-hidden 10 year old Cub Scout in about five minutes. MFD fire fighters then let the 10 year old scout track down another 216 MHz radio tracker bracelet well-hidden up a distant tree.

It was pretty clear to all that this tracker technology could save hundreds of labor hours trying to find a wandering person before they fall into the water or die from exposure.

An estimated 24,000 Rhode Islanders fit into the wandering category.   Newport’s city council recently passed a resolution asking city staff to look at this tracking option. The tracker equipment and training is provided at no cost to the city. The tracking bracelet has a nominal monthly charge.

Portsmouth FD is also trained in the use of this equipment.

This demo was arranged by the Newport County Radio Club who hosted local Boy Scouts this last weekend at a Jamboree on the Air training event at Glen Park.