Monthly Archives: February 2018

Meeting Monday Feb 12 @ 7 PM

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We will have our regular monthly meeting this coming Monday, 7:00 PM February 12, at KVH.

Before the meeting, starting at 6:45, we will have one or more show & tell tables setup for members to view.  A table will focus on something of potential interest to members.  It might be a chance to see a new radio, or it might be technical in nature.  This will become a regular part of meetings going forward.

After the meeting, we are fortunately to have Mike Bragg, K1VI, travel to us from Pawtucket to give us a presentation on the new digital modes that have taken HF by storm; modes like FT-8 and JT-9 (see https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html ). This is the same presentation that he gave during the January “Consortium” meeting.

The weather looks to be good for Monday, so hopefully we will have a good turnout.

New DXCC Entity – Z6, Kosovo

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The ARRL DXCC Advisory Committee revised their rules and have therefore admitted a new entity to their DXCC list: Kosovo, who’s calls begin with “Z6”.

There has been a fairly large DXpedition in Kosovo, using the callsign Z60A for the past few weeks.  Some nice NCRC member (I won’t mention names, but his call sign is W1LY), has already worked Kosovo for the club (twice)!

This is a fairly easy country to work before sunset on 40 meters and the activity, though stiff, is starting to calm down a bit.  Give it a try!

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Don’t Forget – International Grid Chase

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The ARRL’s International Grid Chase is a contest that runs all year long, but it actually resets at the first of every month.  So everyone has a chance to participate on an even footing with every new month.  February just started, so get on the air and have some fun!

As a reminder, all you need to do is make contacts and upload your log to LotW.  There are no special exchanges required, although some folks might choose to activate rare grids that are not near population centers and call CQ accordingly.

You can check your standing at the Leader Board, which is updated about every four hours.  The features are still being worked on, and it isn’t clear how things will finally be displayed month-by-month, but it is keeping track of your score.

Digital modes can be quite useful, especially the new FT-8 mode.  Our next club meeting on February 12th, will feature a presentation from Mike, K1VI (a repeat of the January Consortium meeting).