Don’t forget! Our first meeting of the new season is this Friday, September 7th. Read all about the meeting, upcoming raffles and more in the September issue of Zero Beat.
Frandy once again has put together eight pages of HCRA and local interest for September. Enjoy!
“Welcome back my friends…..”
Welcome to the NEW HCRA – new meeting hall, new website, new raffle and more! I hope your summer has been interesting and exciting. Now, as the leaves begin to turn and there’s a bite of crisp autumn in the air, it is time to re-energize your activity in amateur radio! The new HCRA has lots of stuff in store for you – read on.
New Meeting Location
Thanks to the efforts of John/Kx1x we have secured a new meeting hall. Starting with the September 2012 meeting our meetings will be held at the Auxiliary Conference Center at the Holyoke Medical Center. Many of you have been here before, it’s where the Western Mass VE Team has given examinations for close to a decade. We have all the details of the hall and how to get there on our website. Simply click this link!
What does the new location give us that prompted the change? Let me count the ways. First off the location is free. Your board has decided to make a donation to HMC for the use of the facility however we’re still saving over $500/year in room fees. That’s just the start of good things. Our new location is newly renovated with state of the art heating and cooling, comfortable chairs, a complete A/V setup including screen, projector, sound system and wifi. Handicap access, convenient rest rooms, vending machines and 24/7 security round out the list. I think you’ll find it a superior alternative to our old location.
If, after reading the information about the location, you have ANY questions concerning directions, parking or anything else send me an email or call and I’ll do my best to help ease the transition. All my contact information can be found on the ‘Contacts‘ page of the new HCRA website. Speaking of the website, this brings us to our next major improvement…
The NEW HCRA Website!
When we launched our first website, sometime back in the 1990’s, we were ahead of our time as amateur radio clubs go. However over the ensuing years everything around us changed and we didn’t! What was cutting edge became ‘old fashioned’ and we didn’t do anything about it. Sure, our facebook page is an example of forward thinking but we needed to get our website into the 21st Century too.
The board discussed improving the website for over a year. Unfortunately the folks with the time didn’t have the skills, and the ones with the skills didn’t have the time. One night, after the HCRA meeting and over a beer or two, Jeff/NT1K volunteered to take on the task if we wanted him to do so. Heck yeah, we had been talking about it for months and now, here’s someone that actually has the skills AND the time to ‘get er done’. You’re looking at the results of a few solid weeks (40 to 80 hours) of work – and we’re just getting started!
The new site promises to be interactive and will improve the exposure of HCRA to the amateur radio community around the world. We’re learning to use the new tools available and there’s more to come. Two things on the top of the ‘to do’ list are a swap & sell page and a page where you can actually join or renew on line. I’m thinking we’re off to a pretty good start, don’t you?
As with everything new there will be growing pains and some concern over change (aka “not doing things the old way”). If anyone feels we’ve missed the mark in a few areas please let us know. Better yet, sign up on the website and leave some constructive comments. That’s the beauty of the new site, it offers a chance for everyone to have a say in the execution.
Jeff will be presenting a website tour at the September meeting. After the presentation please take a moment to thank him for his efforts. The change involved a lot of work that easily goes unnoticed.
Back by popular demand – the KX3 Raffle!
The Elecraft KX3 continues to be the hottest transceiver to hit the market in quite some time. A few years back it would be difficult to imagine a compact, all band HF transceiver with DSP, ATU, keyer and more wrapped up in a package weighing less than two pounds. That’s the good news, the bad news is it will set you back at least a kilobuck AND there’s a 120 day waiting list – you just can’t go out and buy one and put it on the air today.
Enter the HCRA KX3 Raffle. For as little as a $10 donation you get a chance to take one of these bad boys home! Only printed 250 tickets have been printed so your chances are very good it could be YOU! (Ask Dan/KB1VWQ about that). The rig is already on order so when the drawing is made, you get to take it home – right then!
Tickets go on sale at the September meeting and are sure to sell out quickly. Be sure to grab yours now before they are all gone. Read more about the raffle here.
Renewal Time is here!
Once again it’s time to open your wallets and support your favorite radio club. Our fiscal year ended August 31st. If you haven’t renewed yet, please do so at the September meeting or by mail using our handy application form. We have worked hard over the past ten years to control our costs, provide quality events for our members and NOT raise dues. By becoming a member you will help keep dues low and fun high! See Rich/N1KXR or Dave/N1MFL at the September meeting and stay current with HCRA. If you can bring a completed application with you it will make the process quicker for everyone.
Still not convinced? OK, here’s some incentive. If you join or renew your HCRA membership by the close of the October 5th meeting you could be the winner of a TYT TH-F5 dual band HT with rechargeable batteries, desk and mobile charger. Getting the bulk of our memberships early in the season allows us plan the year ahead. Help us out by renewing early and we might help you out with a new HT. Fair enough?
Notes from the cluster:
The HCRA October meeting will feature Tom Homewood/W1TO. Tom will be showing us how to get on radio teletype (RTTY), one of many exciting digital modes. Besides a RTTY primer W1TO will talk about RTTY contesting and the Yankee Clipper Contest Club. This will be a dual meeting – it will also be a YCCC meeting and you will be able to join or renew your YCCC membership at our meeting.
The Silent Auction returns at our October meeting. We’ve secured some nice donations over the past few months and will be offering them up to our members at realistic prices.
We will be putting out annual auction ‘on hold’ for 2012 in order to concentrate on getting all the new changes under our belt. It ‘may’ return in 2013 – at this moment it is too soon to tell.
The MTARA picnic is September 9th, just two days after our meeting. HCRA members are most welcome to partake in the fun, food and drink. Purchase tickets from Diane/KB1KST. Info about this and other upcoming events is on our website under the heading of, you guessed it, events!
I think it’s time to put the closing paragraph on this month’s From the Shack. I hope everyone feels all the changes are positive and position HCRA to grow as an amateur radio club and local area resource for years to come. Please, don’t hesitate to voice your thoughts, good or bad, about the new HCRA. Most importantly continue to be the engaged and active amateur radio operator as you’ve always been. That’s the attitude the brings new folks into our fun, exciting and, when disaster strikes, necessary hobby.
’73…
Jim/KK1W
Our club is looking for a few volunteers for the upcoming 2012/2013 season. Here’s a chance for you to give something back to your fellow club members. The pay is little (well actually none!) but the rewards are great.
KX3 Raffle Coordinator
As coordinator you would actively promote the raffle at HCRA meetings, local hamfests and flea markets. Money is turned in at the end of each meeting so there is no worry about cash accountability. Imagine the enjoyment you’ll get when the friend you sold a ticket to is the winner!
Meeting Hall Supervisor (or some other name – couldn’t think of a good one)
We need someone to arrive about 15 minutes before the meeting. Make sure it is unlocked, grab a few early arrivals and get the chairs setup. During the meeting make sure any trash is placed in the proper receptacles. After the meeting return the room to its original condition.
Holiday Party Coordinator
We have the restaurant reserved and the menu pretty much under control. We’re looking for someone to promote the tickets, get the word out and make sure we have a proper guest list for the party. If you have some ideas to ‘liven up’ the event let’s hear them too. This is a one time a year, fun job – who wants it this year?
Apply in person or via the web. Education or past work history not important, only a strong desire to make HCRA the best amateur radio club on the planet!
Thanks for making HCRA the great club it is!
Jim/KK1W
We were one of the first clubs in the world to give away an Elecraft KX3 – and we’re doing it again! Tickets will be available starting September 7th during our kick-off meeting at the Holyoke Medical Center. A $10 donation puts you in the running. Only 250 tickets will be available and the drawing will be held March 1st, 2013.
Mark your calendars now for September 7th. You don’t want to miss our very first meeting at the new location. We’ve other surprises scheduled for the meeting too – stay tuned!
Income:
Park Refund: $746.00
FD Raffle: $380.00
FD Food: $260.00
Membership: $15.00
Silent Auction: $87.00
Total Income: $1483.00
Expenses
Hall Rent: $90.00
FD Parts: $21.23
Trailer setup food: $50.00
Crew Charter: $20.00
KX3 (long term raffle prize): $1026.80
Web Hosting: $88.00
Triplexer/bpf filters (Field Day): $670.85
Field Day Food: $500.00
Total Expenses: $2378.88
Starting Balance: $6613.69
Ending Balance: $6017.81
Notes: (added by KK1W)
Field Day Expense Breakdown
Field Day Food: $110 (after FD raffle profit of $130 and donations of $260)
Field Day Equipment: $692.00 (Triplexers, BPF filters, misc. parts)
Field Day Equipment Trailer: $700 (expected 10 year life)
Dufresne Park Rental (3 days): $746 (the ‘Park Refund’ is the return of our 100% security deposit. Actual park cost for the three days including the kitchen was $746)
Yesterday I has the chance to set up the KX3 while vacationing on Prince Edward Island. Unfortunately the weather was not great but I managed to get an end fed wirestrung between two small pines and down to the deck. I heard a few summits but they couldn’t hear the little KX3 on the EFW.
Much better luck was to be had in the evening. There was a QRP contest starting at 0100z, the Run For The Bacon (RFTB). Dialing down the KX3 to 5 watts I managed eight contacts, one a far as Germany! I took a break in the middle of the test and even managed to check into the reddit net on 75 meters.
Off to do some bike riding and tourist stuff today, probably get back on 40cw later this evening.
Don’t forget about the club meeting on the 7th, hope to see you there.
Jim/KK1W
Here’s Frandy/N1FJ making a CW contact with a KX3 on Dry Hill – W1/CR-003 on August 15th, 2012.
Yep, dueling KX3’s? No, not really. We brought them both along but only used one at a time. Actually Frandy is using mine at the moment, his is the one further to the left on our ‘rock solid’ operating table. All in all we made 21 QSO’s, on 40, 20 and 15 meter CW.
The outing was a shakedown cruise for our KX3’s and a test of a new segmented dipole. The dipole is for 20 and 40 meters. At the end of the 20 meter segment you there is a connection you can leave open for 20 meters or complete the connection for 40 meters. It’s actually a three band antenna; when configured for 40 meters it will also tune on 15 meters (third harmonic). The antenna is purposely built very light to minimize the weight supported by the kite pole we use to hold up the center. It was configured as an inverted ‘V’.
The KX3’s worked very well, both of them sporting our ‘Palm Paddle’ modification. The transceiver is easy to use, the tuner is fast and we worked the world (well, from CA to Germany) with our 12 watts. Coming from an 817 the KX3 has more power, built in ATU, built in keyer, superb filtering, NR and a much easier to use display and menu system. The FT-817 chalks up some high points with better audio output and more durable packaging. But as Frandy says, “that KX3 is a keeper!).
KX3 #1124 (mine) should be QRV from a few summits in NS soon – stay tuned!
Jim/KK1W
Well, I bit the bullet back in March, caved in and ordered a KX3 kit. It arrived August 9th via my friendly postlady and was on the air that evening. Overall the build process was painless – maybe 3.5 hours to complete without working very hard.
One of the major reasons for purchasing the radio was SOTA activations, primarily using CW (Morse code). The radio was a major purchase and since I already own a set of Palm Mini Paddles I chose not to order the Elecraft paddles that screw directly to the front of the transceiver.
Of course the magnetic base of the Mini Paddles does not work very well on the KX3’s aluminum case. A quick internet search didn’t turn up an ‘aluminum magnets’ so I was forced to find a different solution. I mocked up a cardboard version of a thin steel end panel that would slip over the RH side of the KX3 and held in place by the thumb screws. I took a few photos and bounced the idea off Frandy/N1FJ, Jeff/NT1K and Barry/N1EU.
After sleeping on it I thought it could be accomplished more simply by a single strip of steel, perhaps stuck to the radio with double stick tape. I opened up my email and Frandy had already done the deed, using one of those metal strips that mounts electrical boxes in sheet rock. They’re called ‘F’ brackets, or by the slang term ‘battleships’. Damn, I have a bunch of those in stock, why didn’t I see them last night?
Anyway, a half hour later or so my Palm Paddles are mounted neatly on the RH side of the rig. I choose to counter sink the screw holes and use slightly longer FH screws (1/4″) to mount the steel strip, a sturdy method and still allows dis-assembly without having to peel off the strip. I could have elected to drill the holes larger than the bolt heads, and use double stick tape with the same result. I guess I just like to screw things together!
Here’s a short step by step of the process. The battleships cost maybe 25 cents, there were extra screws in the spare parts bag that fit perfectly, total time maybe 1/2 hour or so. I still may send my strip to the paint shop (rattle can) – but not today. We’re going on an activation tomorrow!
First, find yourself a ‘battleship’ and modify. Most any hardware store/home center will have these in their electrical department.
Cut where indicated, drill to fit, file the edges to a nice shape. Polish with one of those 3-M finishing pads, paint to match if desired. Sorry for the reflection in the photo, there is a vertical cut line just to the left of the ‘cut at arrows’. The easiest thing to do is remove the side panel from the KX3 and use it as a template.
I added a piece of vinyl electrical tape on the back (not shown) so it won’t mar the case, then took out the original screws and attached the strip with two 1/4″ long screws that came in the spare parts bag. The original screws will just fit but I had these so why not use them?
Warning! Choose your screw length carefully, you don’t want them to extend too far into the KX3 and cause damage!
That’s all there is too it. Less than $1 in materials, maybe an hours time and your Palm Mini Paddles are ready to make lots of CW QSO’s Thanks to Frandy, Barry & Jeff for all their ideas.
Jim/KK1W
The weather is ‘supposed’ to be decent tomorrow morning, a perfect time to go to a hamfest. If you haven’t been to one in a while take a ride to the Berkshires and have fun. They have a bunch of good raffle prizes too.
http://www.nobarc.org/hamfest.htm
Maybe I’ll see you there?
Jim/KK1W
Here’s some photographs that should get you ready for our first meeting at the Holyoke Medical Center. The auditorium is newly renovated, features seating for 100 guests, offers free wi-fi, podium with sound system, LCD projector, screen and sound system if needed, The site is fully accessible, rest room, drinking fountain and soda/juice vending machine right outside the door.
See you at our kickoff meeting, 7:30 PM, September 7th.
Jim/KK1W