Monthly Archives: May 2023

NCRC May Meeting

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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.

73

ARRL Member Survey

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Making a Big Decision — Together

Dear ARRL member,

For only the second time in 22 years, we are considering a dues increase. Promoting and protecting amateur radio requires a strong and vibrant ARRL. Paying our dues (and some of you go above and beyond) is one way each of us does our part.

In my column in the April issue of QST (read now), I introduced the following question:

How does ARRL handle an increase in dues?

On May 1, we will launch an online survey, inviting all ARRL members to participate. The survey will include some short questions about raising dues and modifying the way some membership benefits are bundled. The survey will also include an opportunity to share your feedback. The participation of every member is important.

Do this before May 1: Review your ARRL website account

Before you can take the survey in May, you’ll need to make sure you have a working ARRL website account that is associated with your membership.

Follow these steps:

  1. Go to www.arrl.org/take-dues-survey. This is a member-only page.
  2. If you are already logged in to your account, you’ll see CONGRATULATIONS! on the members-only page that will host the survey in May.
  3. If you are NOT already logged in to your account, follow the instructions on the page to log in. Or, select the Login button at the top of the web page, and you will be prompted to enter your ARRL website username (usually your call sign) and password. If you have not logged in since April 2022, please use these Login Instructions.
  4. The survey will open on May 1. Return to this web page to take the survey on, or after, May 1: www.arrl.org/take-dues-survey.

If you need additional help with your login, call us Monday – Thursday from 8 AM to 7 PM ET, and Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM ET at 860-594-0200 or email us at membership@arrl.org.

Thank you for being a member and collaborating on this big decision.

73

David A. Minster, NA2AA
Chief Executive Officer

Virtual Ham Bootcamp May 13th

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The Nashua Area Radio Society will be holding an online Ham Bootcamp on Saturday May 13th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Eastern Time.

Ham Bootcamp is a program to help new, inactive, and prospective hams gain the skills and information that they need to Get on The Air. It is open to any interested Ham or Prospective Ham in the US and Canada and there is no charge to attendees.

The morning session is geared toward operating on the VHF/UHF bands:

  • Putting together a Station for Repeaters – How to pick an HT or Mobile Radio and an Antenna
  • Radio Programming Tutorial
  • Making Contacts and Joining a Repeater Net
  • Getting Started with Amateur Radio Satellites
  • Getting started with Fox Hunting

The afternoon session is geared toward operating on the HF Bands:

  • Putting together an HF Station for SSB, CW, and Digital
  • Picking and putting up an HF Antenna, Feedlines, and Grounds
  • Operating on the HF bands using SSB Voice
  • Getting started with WSJT-X and FT8 Digital

There will also be breakout sessions where attendee can choose one of the following topics:

  • Learning CW
  • Intro to EmComm
  • Finding DX, Logging and QSLing
  • Portable Operating

… and more! Registration is now open for the May 13th session. You can get more information about Ham Bootcamp, including a link to register at n1fd.org/bootcamp If you have any questions, you can contact us at bootcamp@n1fd.org. Registration is required to receive the link to the web conference.