SKYWARN CLASS

There is a SkyWarn class being held next weekend in Manchester. Here are the details I received:

Date: Saturday, April 28
 
Time: 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm
 
Location: 
Manchester RCC
321 Olcott St
Manchester, CT
 
Details:
The morning session is full. An afternoon session has been added.
Taught by: Amateur Radio Coordinator
Registration is Required via Eventbrite at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skywarn-training-class-tickets-43915232643

 

Thanks go to Kevin for forwarding this information.

 

RE: SPRING?

As the wonderful season of Spring seems to hide from us, here are some quick ham radio updates/reminders:

RASON AUCTION – Still scheduled for April 21, 2018. Check out the RASON Website for more info.

TECH CLASS – A very successful Technician class in Ledyard has concluded. Congratulations to the new Techs (and some Generals)! Hope to hear you on the air soon!

GROTON REPEATER – Work is being done at SCRAMS’ Groton repeater site by a GFA contractor to identify and eliminate interference. One part of this process has required them to turn off the CAT controller. What this means is that the repeater may sound and act a bit different. For example there is no output tone anymore. If you use Tone Squelch (tone on input and output) you will have to switch to tone only on input or the repeater will sound very quiet to you.

RESOURCES – Do not forget to check out the W1OEM ARES Region 4 Calendar and the CT ARES Discussion List

READY FOR SPRING

After a very cold few weeks I think a bunch of us are ready for Spring already. Here are some things going on to take our minds off the cold:

#1 – RASON AUCTION – Saturday April 21, 2018 – Same auction place! Same auction time!

Click here to check all the details on the RASON site.

#2 – Technician Class – Started in January the class is reportedly very well attended and going great. Expect to hear some new callsigns on the air late winter/early spring!

#3 – RASON Meeting Update – Just a note for everyone, RASON meetings now start at 7:30pm

And if you really enjoy thinking about warm weather, start thinking about Field Day 2018 — June 23-24, 2018!

73!

HOLIDAY UPDATE

Sorry to bring up the Holidays so early but it is for a good cause!

#1 – New Annual Holiday Party Details:

2017 Christmas Holiday Breakfast Buffet

Where:   The Restaurant at River Ridge Golf Course

         259 Preston Ave.

         Jewett City, CT  06351

          Exit 22 (old exit 85) off I-395 to CT Rt. 164 South.

When:    Saturday, December 16, 2017,  10:00am EST

Cost:       $25 per person

Menu:     Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Home Fries, Eggs Benedict, Danish Pastry, Fruit Salad

               Sausage Garvey, Toast, Biscuits, French Toast, Coffee, Tea, Juice & Omelet Station!

RSVP:    On or before Dec. 8th send your check made payable to RASON to:

               Chip Griffin, N1MIE

               1672 Glasgo Rd.

               Griswold, CT  06351

               Please include your name, call sign and the names of any guests.

Each person attending will be entered into a raffle for amateur radio related and general interest door prizes.

UPDATE: For children 10 years old and under the cost is $12.

#2 – Christmas Eve Net:

The Christmas Eve Net is scheduled for 10PM on Christmas Eve (December 24th) on the N1NW repeaters. I thought the time was listed somewhere here but I could’t find it.

AUCTION/FOXHUNT UPDATE

Sorry for the delay…

AUCTION:

Saturday at 8AM for sellers, 9AM for buyers, 10AM start.
October 28, 2017

Check out the Tri-City Auction Flyer for more information (including a partial equipment list).

Don’t forget: $2.00 at the door, bring cash, and park around back!

FOX HUNT:

The fox hunt has been rescheduled for Saturday November 11, 1PM.

Sunday at 1:00 PM
October 29, 2017

Meeting place:
I-395 Exit 14 Norwichtown
Commuter Lot just west of I-395
Norwich, Connecticut

FOX HUNT

I know you’ve heard the ghostly whispers so here is the information:

The yet-to-be-named fox hunt is scheduled for

Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 1:00 PM

and will occur in the New London County area.

Additional information will be coming out very soon.

 

I wonder if I could make a lot of money selling directional antennas at the auction the day before? Just kidding! 🙂

IT’S NOT TOO EARLY

… to start thinking about Ham Radio during the holidays!

The annual Holiday Brunch is coming up so mark your calendars!

WHEN: Saturday, December 16, 2017
WHERE: River Ridge Golf Course (259 Preston Rd, Jewett City, CT 06351)
COST: $25 (more information on where to send it coming soon)

And soon after the brunch we have the Christmas Eve Net.

WHEN: Christmas Eve (Sunday, December 24, 2017)
WHERE: 146.73 Mhz (-) and 449.725 Mhz (-) tone 156.7 Hz and Echolink node 711268.
COST: $0

Fall Events

Just a heads up for everyone on upcoming Fall events. I know the site has been a bit quiet lately.. so..

First just a quick comment about the Simplex Net. We did have a second Simplex Net in August which worked pretty much as expected but we did get a check-in from Westerly which was good to hear.

Now on to the events…

Technician Amateur Radio Class
DATE: Weekly on Wednesdays from September 27, 2017 to November 15, 2017
TIME: 6PM to 8PM
WHERE: Montville High School
INSTRUCTOR: Larry Wolfgang
COST: $99 (This fee includes the book, exam, and NLAED fees, New London residents get a $5 discount)
REGISTRATION REQUIRED SEE LINK BELOW

New London Adult Education: https://www.newlondonadulted.org/CourseCatalog/ScheduleView.asp?ScheduleId=4327

Tri-City Auction
DATE: October 28, 2017
TIME: 8AM for sellers, 9AM for browsing, 10AM the auction starts
WHERE: Gales Ferry Firehouse (click here for map)
COST: $2.00 at the door plus cash for the (new to you) toys!
TALK-IN: 146.97Mhz tone 156.7Hz

Tri-City Amateur Radio Club Website: http://www.qsl.net/tricityarc/

AFTERTHOUGHTS

Ok, so the Simplex Net did not go as planned. And I will admit that part of it was my fault. My radio was not as thoroughly tested and ready for simplex as I had thought.

That said, there was a large showing of support from the Westerly area for the HE Net preceding the simplex net, which was awesome. I just wish everything had worked out enough to have been able to hear them check in on simplex.

WE HAVE LEARNED!

And we will keep learning! Being one (or the only?) simplex net in south east Connecticut I have to say that it was a learning experience, hopefully for more than just me and my radio (which apparently I need to read the manual again for). I know a bunch of stations were able to make contact which was excellent. I do not yet have any data as far as what power or where people were, but that is something I’d like to plan to collect next time, either over the air or email or on a repeater afterwards.

NEXT TIME?

Yes! I plan to run another Simplex Net. I think the day we picked worked out really well, so I’d like to schedule the next Simplex Net for about 1 month away — Tuesday August 22, 2017. Same time same frequency. This date is of course subject to change. We can discuss it on the next few HE nets and see what works best.

 

EDIT: Sorry for mentioning my post on the Net tonight and then forgetting to click the Publish button!