Welcome to HCRA

Category: Meetings

Posts related to upcoming or past meetings

  • Show & Tell Meeting – March 7th

    There are less than two months left before Hampden County Radio Association’s Annual Show & Tell meeting. During this 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. There is still plenty of time to build that kit you have stashed away or put together photos from the project last summer. We look forward to seeing what you’re up to! If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

    73,
    Matt – W1MSW

  • Antenna Zoning Meeting Tonight

    Through rain, snow and FREEZING COLD tonight’s presentation by Fred/K1VR will go on as planned. Join us this evening for an interesting and informative discussion about the roadblocks you may encounter when installing an antenna or tower and methods to get around those impediments.

    Our guest speaker, Fred/K1VR, is an established author and a lawyer specializing in telecommunications law. Many amateurs have benefited from Fred’s help and writings over the years. Tonight’s meeting could benefit you now or in the future. This is information you will want to know that could make a big difference in the enjoyment of your favorite hobby.

    More info about Fred’s book, Antenna Zoning for the Radio Amateur can be found here. As part of Fred’s visit he will have a few copies available tonight at a 20% discount. This text would make a good addition to your library if you’re considering an antenna/tower project soon.

    So layer up and head out to our meeting tonight. It may be cold outside but the warm greetings from all your friends will make for an outstanding gathering. Don’t forget to purchase some FT-857 raffle tickets too, they’re going fast and the drawing is less than two months away!

    ’73…

    Jim/KK1W

     

  • Next HCRA Meeting Friday, January 3rd

    Next HCRA Meeting Friday, January 3rd

    Guest Speaker Fred Hopengarten – K1VR

    Bundle up and come on out to HCRA’s January meeting where guest speaker Fred
    Hopengarten – K1VR will discuss the legal aspects of antennas and towers. Fred is the author of the book Antenna Zoning published by the ARRL and has been a lawyer handling federal communication law since 1990. His presentations are filled with advice on working with local governments and zoning regulations as well as success stories from his clients who have hit legal roadblocks. We are looking forward to his presentation and hope that you will join us.

    Along with Fred’s presentation, we will be discussing regular club business and future events, selling raffle tickets for the FT-857, taking membership renewals for 2013/2014, and taking deposits for WRTC equipment that the club is selling at a discount to members. Don’t forget to come early for Bob – K1YO’s Tech Corner!

    Meeting starts at 7:30PM (Tech Corner at 7:00pm)

    Holyoke Medical Center Auxiliary Conference Center
    575 Beech St. Holyoke MA, 01040

  • Twitter Is -Not- The Woodpecker Of Old…

    Many of our older, Er, Ah, I mean…more experienced Hams in the club, may recall the “Russian Woodpecker”. Beginning around 1976 till around 1989 when it ceased, this powerful radio signal was heard world wide and when triangulated, the source was found to emanate from inside the Ukraine. Hence the name, the Russian Woodpecker.

    Twitter’s only metonymy with the Russian Woodpecker is the use of the bird metaphor in their names. The Russian Woodpecker wanted to disrupt communications, Twitter wants to facilitate them.

    As Amateur Radio Operators, one of our goals is to communicate with as many good friends, and make as many new friends as possible using our radios. Similarly, as a club the HCRA needs to communicate with as many of its members (and our friends) as it can. By using Twitter, the club has one more item in it’s tool-kit to do just that.

    Twitter is easy to use, accessible via PC as well as any number of mobile devices, and proven itself to be an effective way to share information and ideas. Be it between people who follow other people, or people who follow institutions, such as our club.

    A major plus Twitter has going for it, is that while not everyone has time to log onto the internet, then go to websites browsing text files, most everyone has time to look at a quick message sent to them containing 140 characters…or less! That’s right, in about 30 seconds you can instantly learn what’s happening with your club. These Tweets may include a link that would provide you with more information and content.

    So, it’s with the above in mind, the Hampden County Radio Association created its own Twitter account called “Hampden County RA” or “@HampdenCountyRA” and we encourage all our members to follow us on Twitter. It’s easy to locate, you can find it by simply clicking on this link: https://twitter.com/HampdenCountyRA. We look forward to your follows, and all club members who follow @HampdenCountyRA, will be followed back.

    One last thing, to alleviate any concerns, be assured this is the official and -only- account the Hampden County Radio Association has on Twitter.

  • November Zero Beat has “hit the streets“

    This month’s meeting is only a few days away. Take a look at the latest  Zero Beat so you can be up to date on what our members our doing.

    Be sure to come early to the meeting for Tech Corner with Bob/K1YO. This month’s subject is magnetic loop antennas. Don’t know what they are? That’s why you should come early 🙂

    Tech Corner will be followed by this month’s feature; all about POTA presented by Dave/N1MFL and Dan/KB1VEQ.

    Coffee and donuts (there might even be cider) by Bruce/KB1TLX.

    See you there!

     

    Jim/KK1W

     

  • A message about our “Annual Auction“

    The former HCRA auction, usually held the first Friday of November at the Feeding Hills Congregational Church is NO LONGER BRING HELD.

    A combination of change of meeting location and the shrinking of vendors/buyers has led us to this decision

    Many thanks to all the vendors and buyers who had fun over the years.

    Jim/KK1W

  • Next Meeting: October 4th – Hamsource and New Tech Corner.

    Now that October is near, it means we have another HCRA meeting to look forward to attending.

    hsource

    We’ll have John (N1OLO) from Hamsource.com. He will be giving a presentation on some of his new products like the Ezgate 80 and EX Power Strip as well as other solutions.

    K1YO

    Also starting with our October meeting, Bob – K1YO, HCRA’s technical director, will be holding a regular pre-meeting technical demonstration called Tech Corner. During this
    time, Bob will give a technical demonstration on a particular aspect of the hobby. This month Bob will show us how to test ferrite chokes using an MFJ259B analyzer. Tech Corner is a very welcome addition to our regular meetings and I encourage everyone to come a little early to learn something new. This would also be a good time to bring technical questions for Bob and ideas for future Tech Corners.

    250-raffle-smalll-ad_001

    We will also be accepting membership renewals and we’ll have tickets for the FT-857D Raffle.

    Hope to see you there!
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  • HCRA is accepting renewals online!

    That’s right! You can now renew your HCRA membership online using either your credit card or PayPal account.

    You can get there two ways. One is by clicking here and the other is by going to the membership menu and clicking on “Online Renewal”. Once at the new page, all you have to do is enter in your callsign and your current e-mail address you would like to be contacted at and then press the “Pay Now” button. You will be then taken to a secure payment page where you can use your PayPal account or If you don’t have one, please click on “Pay with a debit or credit card”. Fill out the required information and the HCRA will be notified.

    Please note: This is a payment option in addition to the others. So if you prefer to mail in your membership or pay at a meeting then that is fine. This is just another option for those who asked.

    At the current time, Online payment is for renewals only! New members please
    go HERE.

    Thank you,
    Jeff – NT1K

    PayPal Acceptance Mark

  • 2013/2014 Election Results

    Say hello to your new board of directors! At the June 7th meeting our club elected (or re-elected) a new board. This new board holds their first meeting on June 11th and their term will expire in June 2014.

    With regret we say goodbye to Marty/W1MJB. Marty has served HCRA for many years and in many positions, most recently holding the “At Large” position. We all wish Marty the best (and good DX) and thank him for his hard work and dedication to make HCRA a great radio club over the years.

    We also welcome a new member to the board, Bob/K1YO. Bob is joining us as our “Technical Director”. Bob is certainly qualified for the job and we’re looking forward to his presence on the board.

    For those of you that weren’t at the meeting here are the election results:

    HCRA Officers/Directors for 2014

    Directors:
    At large: John/Kx1x
    Membership: Rich/N1KXR
    Technical: Bob/K1YO
    Program: Matt/W1MSW
    Zero Beat Editor: Frandy/N1FJ

    Officers:
    Secretary: Dave/N1MFL
    Treasurer: Dave/AA1YW
    Vice President: Ed/KB1NWH
    President: Jim/KK1W

    The board wishes everyone a safe and fun filled summer, our next regular meeting will be September 6th.

    And of course, don’t forget about Field Day, June 21, 22 & 23 – you wouldn’t want to miss that!

    Jim/KK1W

  • Indoor Tailgate Party Tonight!

    Aren’t you glad we decided to hold it INDOORS this year!

    Table space is free, bring your stuff and have fun. Please, no PC’s, monitors, printers – you get the idea. First come gets the best spots!

    Suggested donation to HCRA for helping you sell your stuff – 10%

    Raffle tickets go on sale for the FT-857 tonight, don’t forget to get yours.

    See you at the meeting,

    Jim/KK1W