Operating K9PC on 146.775 and 442.250 MHz (131.8 CTCSS)
Just a reminder that we have a meeting tomorrow evening at 7PM at the MAAC Foundation center, 4203 Montdale Park Dr, Valparaiso, IN 46383.
We will have a business meeting with officer elections. Current candidates are the existing officers — Paul Braun, WD9GCO, President and Brad Garner, KD9IRH, Secy/Treas,
We don’t have any presentations scheduled, so as always, if you have something to show or discuss, feel free.
See you tomorrow.
Our first in-person meeting since February of 2020 was a success! And
after talking to Gerry Scheff from MAAC, we are welcome to continue to
meet there. We also have access to the field next to the building if we
want to try some special events. This is a huge relief.
We’re going back to the 1st Friday of the month, at 7PM, with exceptions
for a holiday. So, the next meeting is March 3rd. April 7th falls on
Good Friday, and I’m sure a number of us will be in church (I sing in
our choir) so April will be on the 14th. The March meeting will also be
election of officers.
We also briefly discussed Field Day 2023, and Joe offered to host it at
his home again. That seemed to work out just fine last year, so I think
we take him up on it. It’s in June, so we have time to plan.
Let’s keep the momentum going and build our club back up!
Additionally, the LaPorte hamfest is this Saturday from 7AM to 1PM at
the LaPorte Civic Center.
Good evening.
Just a reminder that our regular meeting is this Friday evening, April
2nd at 7PM.
Our first order of business will be election of officers. Nobody else
has spoken up yet (although we will take nominations), and Brad Garner
and I are both agreeable to at least another term.
Afterwards, we will be watching a pre-recorded presentation on station
grounding by Ward Silver, N0AX from the ARRL. I reached out to Ward
about doing one in person, but right now he’s too swamped. Ward is the
main guy at the League for teaching about wiring and grounding for
better/safer operations.
Two weeks from now, on the 16th, our featured guest speaker is Craig
Thompson, K9CT, world-class contester and a part of several major
DXPeditions. He will be talking about the recent operations on Pitcairn
Island. You won’t want to miss this one.
The link for this Friday’s meeting is
https://uchicagomedicine.zoom.us/j/96405504370?pwd=UlpiaTFybUgvZ0VwczJOcFVPbGxZUT09
See you there!
—
Paul Braun WD9GCO
Amateur Radio Newsline Anchor
ARNewsline.org
Certified Music Junkie
Greetings!
Our next online meeting will be next Friday, March 19th at 7PM. Our
presentation will be by Bill Meara, N2CQR and Pete Juliano, N6QW of the
SolderSmoke Podcast. Pete and Bill talk about homebrewing on many levels
and occasionally restoring vintage iron. I’ve been subscribed to their
podcast for several years now and it’s always fascinating. You can read
more at http://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/
They will go over some of the basics of homebrewing and designing your
own equipment. They’re both excited for the opportunity to speak to us.
See you there! The link is:
https://uchicagomedicine.zoom.us/j/93510115417?pwd=cjBQTFR3Q2o3OXRtQ29USDdEejBrUT09
—
Paul Braun WD9GCO
Amateur Radio Newsline Anchor
ARNewsline.org
Certified Music Junkie
Greetings.
Since the last couple of Zoom meetings have been a success, I’m going to
throw out some suggestions for guests to gauge interest.
I’ve already got Sean Kutzko, KX9X to talk about the basics of satellite
operation. Sean is an expert in the field. When he worked for the ARRL,
he was the one who came up with the National Parks On The Air program.
However, Sean works late on Fridays, so he will most likely be on a
Saturday.
I’ve reached out to Ward Silver, N0AX, the ARRL’s expert on shack wiring
and grounding.
We’re going to have Joe, N9TAX talk about portable antennas.
I’m also reaching out to someone from the Voice Of America museum at the
Bethany Relay Station to talk about the history of the VOA, and possibly
about the history of the Crosley Radio company.
I’m thinking bringing in someone from the Collins Collectors’
Association would be interesting. I’ve always been interested in Collins
equipment, and I know some of our members (yes, I’m looking at YOU,
Danny) own some.
The presentation with Bob Heil, K9EID went over extremely well, judging
by the emails I got. Bob was also happy with the way things went, and
would love to come back. He’s certainly got more stories and topics –
perhaps he could discuss his Pine Board project from a few years ago
that was featured in QST and on Ham Nation.
I’ve reached out to Craig Thompson, K9CT, a top-level contester, to
discuss contesting at the team level.
Would there be enough interest to bring in a couple of manufacturer’s
reps, like Ray Novak from ICOM, or someone from Flex Radio?
As always, feel free to email me with suggestions. All it takes is for
me to email someone and ask if they’re available.
Thanks.
—
Paul Braun WD9GCO
Amateur Radio Newsline Anchor
ARNewsline.org
Certified Music Junkie
Good afternoon!
Mark your calendars! The next virtual Zoom meeting of the PCARC will feature a special guest presenter.
You asked for him, and he agreed. On Friday, March 5th at 7PM we’ll be joined by Dr. Bob Heil, K9EID
Dr. Bob has been ham since the 1950’s. He’s also been in the audio business since the 60’s, building some of the first big PA systems for touring rock bands such as the Grateful Dead and The Who. Bob also worked with Joe Walsh, WB6ACU (The James Gang, The Eagles) to develop the Talk Box that both Joe and Peter Frampton made famous. Heil Sound is the only manufacturer to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Heil is an accomplished theatre organist, and has been playing since his teens.
Bob has written two books on ham radio basics, created the Ham Nation podcast, and also developed a line of microphones and audio accessories, both for the pro audio world and for the amateur radio world.
Bob’s looking forward to speaking to our club. Make sure to show up early! I’ll send out the Zoom link early that week.
-- Paul Braun WD9GCO Amateur Radio Newsline Anchor ARNewsline.org Certified Music Junkie
Greetings!
Our first Zoom meeting was fairly successful, so we’re going to try
another one on Friday (our “normal” meeting night) for February.
Our featured guest speaker will be Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, who is not only
one of my Newsline teammates, but was just awarded the Carole Perry
Educator of the Year Award by the Orlando Hamcation for his outstanding
achievements in education, both as a high school chemistry teacher and
with amateur radio youth.
Neil will briefly touch on the upcoming YOTA youth camp, and then dive
into satellite communications including grid square chasing.
We’ll start at 7PM, and the presentation will be sometime after that.
The link for the meeting is:
https://uchicagomedicine.zoom.us/j/94841361891?pwd=ME1KOVdYTXJKNnJUTEM0cm82LzVRQT09
See you then!
—
Paul Braun WD9GCO
Amateur Radio Newsline Anchor
ARNewsline.org
Certified Music Junkie
We would like to thank Christian, N9MMR, for covering the basics of how RTL-SDR receivers work, hardware and software required to setup a RTL-SDR receiver, and his a live demo at the February Meeting.
