OK, here we go. It the first meeting of the year tomorrow night at the Holyoke Medical Center at 7:30.
There will be the usual camaraderie, 3 that’s right 3 guest speakers. KK1W, W1MSW, and W1MOR. All have short presentations on these summers’ activities that the club participated in in one way or another, They will be talking about Field Days and WRTC.
There will be chances for you to buy your HCRA 250 Raffle tickets for a nice KX3.
Renew you membership and get entered for a MFJ 266B antenna analyzer.
HCRA’s raffle this year is going to be for a Elecraft KX3!
(Raffle for radio only! Antenna, angle adapter, microphone and keyer not included)
For a mere $10 donation to the HCRA, you get a chance to win an assembled KX3 by Elecraft valued at around $1000.
This is an very popular and excellent HF portable radio that has an excellent receiver, low power consumption, can run on external power or 8AA batteries internally, it can transmit up to 12W and has plenty of options like an 100W amplifier, 2M module, pan adapter, ATU, Roofing filters, internal battery charger, custom CW paddle and others that can be added later.
HCRA has printed only 250 tickets and we will start selling them during field day 2014. Tickets will also be sold at meetings and other events throughout 2014 and part of 2015. The drawing will happen when all 250 tickets have been sold or during MTARA’s Hamfest in March of 2015. Plenty of time to obtain your chance.
Raffle is just for the Elecraft KX3 Transceiver only.
Drawing Date Subject To Change
The following people have balances due for WRTC purchases. If you’re planning on coming to this Friday’ meeting please see Dave or myself to pay off your balance. If not a check sent to our PO Box ASAP would be greatly appreciated.
Quoted from the ARRL Website.
““Amateur Radio: Your Gateway to Wireless Communication” is the theme for World Amateur Radio Day 2014, Friday, April 18. Radio amateurs celebrate World Amateur Radio Day each year on April 18 to recognize the anniversary of the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) in Paris in 1925. ARRL Co-Founder Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW, was its first president. The primary purpose of World Amateur Radio Day is to highlight Amateur Radio and its benefits to countries and communities. This year the IARU and its more than 150 member-societies are marking the organization’s 89th anniversary.”
All HCRA board members would like to extend a big “Thank You” to everyone that turned out for last night’s meeting and volunteered your skills and time to keep HCRA rolling along both now and in the future.
It was refreshing to see long time and new members willing to add their skills to the mix and fill the open slots to produce a strong board of directors for the upcoming 2014/2015 season.
Here’s our Election Slate:
OFFICERS
President: Ed/KB1NWH – Ed’s been VP for years, it’s a natural, right? Vice President: Eric/W1MOR – thanks for stepping forward Eric! Secretary: Dave/WM1B – Dave also volunteered to fill in this year too! Treasurer: Dave/AA1YW – Dave’s staying with us ‘one more year, thanks!
DIRECTORS
Zero Beat: Gary/WA1MOW – Thanks Gary, I’m sure you’ll do well! Program: Larry/W1AST – Back from the past an in his old position! Technical: Bob/K1YO – Bob’s the guy for tech and everything else too. Membership: Rich/N1KXR – Master of social media, raffles and more At Large: Jeff/NT1K – Our Webmaster joins the ranks adding a fresh view.
There you have it, a great assemblage of energetic,engaged and forward thinking hams in place to keep HCRA strong. If you’ve ever wondered how HCRA has been around for over 50 years, this is a fine example why.
It’s spring cleaning time in the HCRA Field Day trailer. We need to make room for the new equipment coming our way from the WRTC stations later this year. So…..
Offered to HCRA members only at an unbelievable price are two (yes two!) 15 meter mono-band HF Yagi antennas. Both antennas are used but in good condition, nothing badly bent or broken and are 99% complete. We purchased these a few years back prior to using tri-plexers, they are now surplus to our needs. We paid $75 each for them but can be yours for $35 each. I’ll have them with me at this Friday’s meeting. Seems like a good item to sell considering the meeting is all about Yagi antennas, eh?
One antenna is similar to a Cushcraft 15-3CD and may well indeed be an older version of that antenna. It features three elements on a 12′, 2″ boom. Feed point is a gamma match. All hardware, boom to mast bracket, U-bolts and clamps are included. Some of the hardware is SS. Take a look at this beauty!
Three elements on a 12′, 2″ boom. Matching section is a gamma match.
Next up is another three element 15 meter yagi on a longer 16′ x 2″ boom. Once again in fine condition but it’s heritage is unknown. All hardware, some SS, no bends or breaks and includes a pigtail attached to the beta or hairpin match. Feast your eyes on this one!
Price for either beam, if you’re an HCRA member, is $35. What can you do with these antennas?
1. Put them up. 15 meters is HOT!
2. Turn them into a different antenna. At this price you could build almost anything.
3. Use the parts to repair/modify a current antenna.
4. Build some 1/4 wave verticals, or perhaps a vertical array.
5. Keep the hardware and sell the aluminum as scrap. At almost .50 cents/pound you’ll get most of your money back and you’ll still have lots of hardware!
I’ll have them in the back of my truck Friday evening, all packed and wrapped and ready to go. The Cushcraft? is a package about 12′ long, the ‘unknown’ one is about 14′ long. Easily carried on a cars luggage rack. I also have a reprint of the Cushcraft 15-3CD manual.
Please don’t call or email, the only way you can get these antennas, at this price, is to attend Friday’s meeting! While you’re there stay for the Yagi seminar by Bob/K1YO, see your friends and grab a coffee or snack from Bruce’s donut bar.
A fun day at the hamfest. Thanks to everyone that stopped by to say hello, purchase some raffle tickets, join the club, pick up a few bargains and more. It was nice seeing many faces we had not seen since last year too!
Congratulations to Frandy/N1FJ – winner of the Yeasu FT-857. I checked, it does have CW on it so he ‘may’ actually turn it on! Also congrats to Laurie who went home with a new VHF radio thanks to the MTARA raffle. Our table was the place to be!
A special thank you to everyone that volunteered to help cover the table throughout the morning. Laurie/KB1WQK, Jeff/NT1K, George/KC1V, Dave/AA1YW, Steve/N1SR and Rich/N1KXR. What a crew and they did a fantastic job!
HCRA will have a club table at this Saturday’s MTARA Hamfest in Chicopee, MA
If you have an item or two you would like to donate please contact Jim/KK1W to make arrangements. Just like our old auction there are a few simple rules.
1. These are ‘donations’ – if you want to sell stuff you should get your own table 🙂
2. Please put your callsign on the items (tape, label) so we can return them to you if they don’t sell (no, we are not a disposal company)
At the close of the hamfest we will return any unsold items to you. Thanks as always for your support of HCRA and we hope to see you at the MTARA Hamfest
Don’t forget to stop by and say “hello” while you’re browsing the aisles!
This request went out in the February issue of Zero Beat. To date I’ve only had one person ask, and he hasn’t been able to confirm his schedule. Time is getting short and the offer still holds. First person to commit to helping out this coming Saturday gets in free. It would really be nice if a few of our members stepped up and offered to help out. It’s a good time, you’ll get time to walk the aisle and maybe even sell the winning FT-857 raffle ticket!
Yes, that’s correct, this Saturday will also be your last chance to buy a ticket. There’s still some left, hope to see you there!
Jim/KK1W
Visit the HCRA table at the MTARA Hamfest on March 1st The FT-857 drawing will be held at noon!
Once again we will have a table at this fun event. While you’re browsing the aisles for that ‘have to have’ item please stop by the HCRA table and say hello. While you’re there you can pick up a raffle ticket for a Yaesu FT-857 transceiver. There are only 250 tickets being sold AND the drawing will be held at noon the day of the hamfest. You could leave a real WINNER – how cool is that?
Volunteer(s) are needed to staff our table at the hamfest. If you would like to help out contact me directly and I’ll get you scheduled. I have one free entry to the hamfest going to the first person to volunteer!
HCRA’s Show & Tell Meeting is less than TWO weeks away! What are you bringing to Show and Tell?
At HCRA’s annual show and tell meeting, members bring in projects they have either completed or have made progress on over the last year and give a short presentation to the membership. This is a great opportunity to show others what you’ve been up to and for fellow club members to get ideas on projects they might want to try. Past projects have ranged from the simple to the complex and from very small to very large and everywhere in between. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to share and we look forward to seeing what you’re up to! If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
