Welcome to HCRA

Category: Meetings

Posts related to upcoming or past meetings

  • Meeting Topic Changed For Feb 5th’s Meeting

    NP77

    Due to a sudden work schedule change, John Kalotai will not be able to be our guest speaker this Friday. However the meeting is still taking place.

    Frandy Johnson (N1FJ) and Jim Mullen (KK1W) will be doing a presentation on their recent National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) adventures. We will also be discussing some possible future club events. This will be an excellent way to discuss our club.

    We apologize about the short notice but we wanted to make sure we had a speaker lined up. A Big thanks to Frandy and Jim for helping us out. It should be exciting.

    Thanks,
    Jeffrey Bail (NT1K)

  • Show and Tell – April 2016

    ShowAndTell2016

    HCRA’S SHOW AND TELL 2016
    – Friday April 1st, 2016 –

    THIS IS NOT A JOKE!

    The Hampden county radio association will be holding its annual show and tell on Friday, April 1st, 2016. This is where HCRA members can show off their amateur radio related projects. If you’ve been working on something over the months, bring it to April’s meeting and share it with other members and the general public. If you project was fascinating enough, you might walk away with prize!

    If you haven’t started on a project by now, don’t worry. You still have 4 months to work on project which is plenty of time to create something wonderful.

  • Notes From Last Nights Meeting (DMR W/ Steve WA1ZEV)

    Digital Mobile Radio Presentation

    (Presenter:  Steve Shore WA1-ZEV, October 2, 2015 Hamden County Radio Association)

    **  Reference Material **

     

    DMR Orientation:

    Network Providers:

    • DMR-MARC (Motorola Amateur Radio Club)
    • CT-ARES DMR Network (State of Connecticut State Police Amateur Radio Club)
    • DCI (Digital Communications Interconnect)

    Popular Web Sites:

    DMR Repeater Status Web Sites:

    Radio Brands:

    Network Categories:

    *Local          *Audio Test           *Statewide         *Regional          *North America          *Worldwide

    Basic Programming Data:

    1. Frequency pair
    2. Time Slot (1 or 2)
    3. Color Code
    4. Talk Group

     

    Digital Mobile Radio Presentation

    (Presenter:  Steve Shore WA1-ZEV, October 2, 2015 Hamden County Radio Association)

    **  Reference Material **

    Page  2.

    Getting Started

    Getting started with DMR is easy! Just follow the four steps below and you’ll be up and running in no time!

    1. Check for DMR Coverage

    Verify that you are within the coverage area of a DMR repeater using the DMR repeater map, or if you are in the Greater Toronto Area, check out the interactive repeater coverage map.

    2. Get a Subscriber ID

    All radios on ham radio DMR networks require a unique Subscriber ID, so you will need to have one assigned before you can program your radio to operate on a DMR repeater. If you intend to have more than one DMR radio active at any given time, then you should request a Subscriber ID for each radio.

    Apply for a Subscriber ID

    Within about 24 hours, you should receive your Subscriber ID via email. Please do not transmit with your DMR radio until you have received a Subscriber ID and have this programmed into your radio. Using ad-hoc Subscriber ID numbers will cause conflicts with other users on the network.

    3. Obtain a DMR Radio

    Obtain a DMR radio, the programming software and cable (if required for your desired radio model) from one of the sources listed on the FAQ page.

    4. Program your DMR radio

    Program your DMR radio using the DMR repeater specifications found on the DMR repeater map by clicking on DMR repeaters in your local area, plus the Subscriber ID you received via e-mail. If you are in Canada, we have preconfigured radio programming files for the most popular DMR radio models that contain all Canadian DMR repeaters. Otherwise, please refer to the following programming tutorial for step-by-step programming instructions.

    5. When all else fails or you need assistance, e-mail  Steve (WA1-ZEV)

  • Next Meeting is Friday, September 4th 2015

    Welcome to a new season of HCRA

    Larry (W1AST) has been hard at work obtaining guest speakers for the upcoming season. The guest speaker for the first meeting of the season on Friday, September 4th will be Fred Stefanick (N1DPM). He will be discussing EME communications and how you don’t necessarily need a massive array of antennas to make it possible. We will also have a quick re-cap of Field Day and some other business.

    It’s also that time of the year again for membership renewals.
    Our online system for renewals only is open for anyone that would like to use either their paypal account or their credit card if they would like to renew online.
    Or you can download, and mail in the application
    We also have our annual 250 ticket raffle going on. This year we’ve stepped it up a bit. We’re raffling off a Kenwood TS-590SG HF-6M 100w base station rig (retails $1700). It’s a very excellent rig that rivals radios that are double the price. It could be possibly yours for just $10 which goes to help out HCRA.
    Stay tuned…

  • HCRA’s 250 Raffle – Win A Kenwood TS-590SG

    Win A Kenwood TS-590SG

    ts-590sgraffle

    Tickets Just $10 EA

     

    It’s that time for the Hampden County Radio Associations (HCRA) annual raffle. This year the board of directors wanted to raffle off a 100w base station transceiver. The Kenwood TS-590SG ($1700 Retail) was the perfect choice because it’s a very excellent radio packed with features that rival radios that cost much more. It’s an HF-6M 100W with 32bit DSP that has excellent receiver according to sherwood engineering. Some of the features include

    • Auto Tuner
    • On Screen CW decoding
    • HF and 6M Antenna Jacks
    • Programmable Functions
    • 500hz / 2.7kHz  Roofing Filters
    • DSP AGC
    • USB Port
    • Noise Reduction
    • Down Conversion

    HCRA has printed 250 tickets. Due to the price of the item, HCRA has put a limit on the minimum amount of tickets that can be sold before the raffle is allowed to take place. If the minimum amount has been reached, the item will be raffled at the Mount Tom Amateur Repeater Association’s Ham Fest in 2016. We’re asking $10 for each ticket.

    Tickets will be available at HCRA meetings, VE Sessions at Holyoke Medical Center, Field Day, Selected area Hamfest/Fleamarkets and through the board of directors.

  • Links and slides from this past meeting

    Big thanks to Steve Dick (K1RF) for making the trip up to Hampden County to talk about speaker design for the amateur radio operator. It was very interesting. Steve referenced a lot of websites and products. He has sent us a PDF of his presentation.

    Loudspeaker Design Considerations for Amateur Radio RevD

    With this PDF, you should be able to click on the links he referenced.

    Thanks for coming out to the meeting!

  • QSL Card Sources

    Did last night’s meeting want you to start making QSL cards? Here are some sources in how to obtain some QSL cards! There are many printers that are local, regional and even international. These are just some of the many places

    • UX5UO Print – See a lot of QSL cards come from this printer. Prices range from $59 per 1000 to $160 per 1000 high quality
    • Cheap QSLs – $9.99 per 100, this would be great for a portable operation or if you don’t do much activity
    • Universal Radio’s Blank Globe Cards – for $5 you can get a 100 cards. But you would have to manually fill in all the information.
    • KB3IFH – Another known QSL card maker
    • Franklin Printing – $135 per 1000 for new cards, $85 per 1000 for reprints

    There are also options in how to print cards from home

    Not sure how to design your card?

    Some QSL card makers will help you out with your design at no cost or a small fee.
    Radio QTH offers to help you out. All you need to do is fill out the information, upload a picture and you now have a design!

    Avoid having to print, label and sort cards! Global QSL will do it for you! Check out their website for prices. It’s not bad considering the only work you need to do filter and send your electronic log file to them

    Card designed and printed? You can send direct or you can using either the ARRL Bureau or others to save on postage.

    Don’t forget that QSL cards will be coming back to you from the DX!

    You’ll need to have an account setup with the W1 QSL Bureau.
    Please checkout their website for more information

    A big thanks goes out to Eric (KV1J) who made the trek out to western mass and gave a great presentation. You now have an idea in what it takes to get you your QSL card.

    – Jeff (NT1K)
    HCRA At-Large

  • HCRA Is Now On Club Log

    HCRA is now listed as a club on ClubLog.org. This allows HCRA members who use clublog to see how they rank against other HCRA members in DXCC standings. HCRA could also compete with other clubs. This could create friendly competition  within the club as well as with other clubs. It can also benefit knowing that if your fellow club member made contact with a certain DX entity, that it could be possible for you as well.

    If you are a HCRA who uses electronic QSL services such as LoTW, QRZ.com and eQSL.cc then it would be stongly suggest that you create an account at clublog.org, upload your logs and join the HCRA club on ClubLog to see where you stand.

    If you are a ClubLog member and would like to Join the HCRA League, please do the following

    1: Go to Clublog.Org and Sign In.

    ClubLog1If you do not have an account, you can sign up for free and upload a log. Please follow the instructions on ClubLog.org

    2: Once you’re signed in, Click Settings

    ClubLog2

     

    Located on top of the page, Click on the Setting Link

    3: Click on the “Clubs” Link/Button located near the top of the page

    ClubLog3

    4: Look for “HCRA – Hampden County Amateur Radio Association”: in the list, Highlight it and click the “Join Club(s)” button under the list

    ClubLog4

     

    Please note that members have to be manually added to the club to prevent random people from joining in. Once approved you should be able to view your standings.

    ClubLog6On the left side of the page, please click “DXCC Leagues” then choose HCRA from the dropdown list and then click “Generate DXCC League” button. You should now be able to see standings from all HCRA members that are participating on ClubLog. Please note that if you don’t see your callsign right away, don’t worry. Sometimes it takes a day for the lists to repopulate on the server which we have no control over.

    Thanks for Participating!

     

     

  • HCRA Badges Still Available

    hcrant1kbadgejpg

     

    Badges are no longer available through HCRA. Please check out
    http://www.hamstuff.com/Badges_html/Badges.html

  • Win A MFJ-266B Antenna Analyzer!

    Win A MFJ-266B Antenna Analyzer From HCRA

    266b

    All you have to do is join or renew your membership before the end of Octobers meeting (10/3/2014) and it’s possible that you can walk away with an MFJ-266B Antenna Analyzer.

    Specs on The MFJ-266B can be found HERE. It’s similar to the 266C but does not support 220Mhz area measurements. If you don’t have an analyzer or the one you have doesn’t cover UHF, this would be an excellent addition to your shack. It can be yours just by supporting the club!

    You have 3 options to renew. You can show up to the October meeting and renew, you can renew right now using our on-line renewal system or you can print and fill out the application and send it VIA post office. All mail applications must be received by October 2nd 2014 for it to qualify for this raffle.

    Drawing will be held Friday, October 3rd, 2014 at the end of the meeting. Meeting starts approx 7:30pm at the Holyoke Hospital Auxiliary Conference Center in Holyoke MA.
    Click Here for directions to the meeting 

    Thank you for your support!