{"id":2424,"date":"2013-02-24T22:18:55","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T03:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecngx342.inmotionhosting.com\/~hcraor5\/\/?p=2424"},"modified":"2013-02-24T22:18:55","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T03:18:55","slug":"from-the-shack-march-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hcra.org\/?p=2424","title":{"rendered":"From the Shack – March 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Next Meeting March 1st<\/sup><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 –\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Our annual Show & Tell night!<\/i><\/p>\n

It is March Madness again at HCRA with our annual Show & Tell event. I\u2019ve heard a lot of members are putting the finishing touches on their projects and expect we will see a grand assortment of ham radio, or not so ham radio, contraptions that will strike fear in your hearts when they reach for the on\/off switch!<\/p>\n

All kidding aside Show & Tell brings out the best of our member\u2019s creative juices. The spectrum of projects is wide and has touched most areas of amateur radio and beyond over the years. Matt\/W1MSW and Frandy\/N1FJ have conjured up neat prizes for tonight along with refreshments and maybe a few other things too? Only way to find out is to be there!<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still time for YOU to wrap up your project and get it to this Friday\u2019s meeting. But finish reading this month\u2019s Zero Beat first, OK?<\/p>\n

KX3 Raffle drawing<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>–\u00a0<\/strong>Time is running short!<\/i>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The drawing will be held March 2nd<\/sup> at the MTARA Hamfest<\/a>. Tickets are almost gone, if you haven\u2019t purchased yours yet there\u2019s only two opportunities left; tonight\u2019s HCRA meeting or at the hamfest the following day. Be sure to visit the HCRA table, say hello, join or renew your membership AND get a ticket \u2013 how cool is that? The drawing will be held at the hamfest around noon. Who knows, you could go home with a brand spanking new KX3<\/a> worth $1000 and get on the air that afternoon!<\/p>\n

Foxhunting Coming Soon?<\/span><\/strong> –\u00a0<\/b>Are you ready for some warm weather fun?<\/i><\/p>\n

February\u2019s Foxhunting\/Build-a-Beam meeting was very successful. Fifteen folks went home with a three element beam and we have a dozen people on a potential fox hunting list. There was a lot of interest in the presentation, including building an Arduino controlled Doppler system. (I wonder if one will show up at Show & Tell) The question remains, \u201cwhere do we go from here?\u201d<\/p>\n

First: We will have the sign-up sheet at tonight\u2019s meeting. If you either missed February\u2019s meeting or were too busy to sign up here\u2019s another opportunity to put your name on the list.<\/p>\n

Second: I\u2019m hoping a few people will \u2018raise their hands\u2019 to spearhead the first few foxhunts. A perfect combination would be an experienced hunter and a novice. They could get their heads together, plan an opening hunt or hunts and really get the ball rolling. Once started, and with the enthusiasm shown at the last meeting I\u2019ll bet it will roll merrily along gaining momentum every month. Please, see if YOU<\/i> can find an hour or two in a month to help get this started.<\/p>\n

Third: HCRA resources such as our Facebook page, Zero Beat, the website and the HCRA mailing list are open and available for use in promoting and coordinating foxhunting. There may be other ways we can help as well, but first we need some folks to step forward, put a little \u2018sweat equity\u2019 into the project and create fun for our entire community.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk after tonight\u2019s meeting and see what we can come up with, OK?<\/p>\n

HCRA Zero Beat Archives<\/strong><\/span> –\u00a0<\/b>W200NY \u2013 what was that?<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t know, check out the March 1988<\/a> issue of Zero Beat in the archives. You never know what you\u2019ll come across in our long and varied history. We\u2019re still looking to \u2018fill the gaps\u2019 in our Zero Beat collection so I\u2019ll repeat last month\u2019s request.<\/p>\n

Special request.<\/b> Please take a look at the archive list. If you have, or know of someone who has other issues please get in contact Jeff so they can be added to the archive. We can accept them as a .pdf or can scan and return to you. We know there are folks out there with additional issues, here\u2019s a chance to get them preserved and easily accessible for everyone\u2019s enjoyment.<\/p>\n

Spots from the cluster:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Paypal<\/strong> \u2013 <\/b>Jeff is working toward a PayPal interface on our website. Our expectations are soon members wishing to join, renew or donate from the convenience of their couch will be able to click \u2018send\u2019. The question rose at the February meeting (thanks Norm), \u201cwill we still be able to send a check\u201d and the answer is \u201cyes\u201d. Nothing is changing except we are adding an additional method of payment; we\u2019re not taking anything away with the change.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Meeting Refreshments \u2013<\/strong> It is apparent our members enjoy having coffee and sweets at the meetings. The rub is nobody seems to feel it should be \u2018their job\u2019<\/i> to procure them! What\u2019s up with that? Counting family members our club membership is over one hundred people! As I\u2019ve mentioned in the past do you really think all club duties should fall on the nine board members? I don\u2019t believe it should, that\u2019s why I\u2019m tossing out this request once again.<\/p>\n

We are looking for one or two folks to pick up coffee & donuts for the meeting. Do you feel you, maybe with a friend, could spend fifteen to thirty minutes and benefits all the folks attending the meeting? If so please see me at the end of the meeting. I\u2019ll fill you in on how easy it is to put smiles on the faces of forty or so people.<\/p>\n

New England QSO Party<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/b>May 4th<\/sup> and 5th<\/sup>, 2013<\/i><\/p>\n

Mark your calendars now for a fun weekend of ham radio, New England style. During this weekend YOU become the DX with stations from all over the US looking to work you for fun, glory and the chance to win a lobster dinner.<\/p>\n

HCRA sponsors a beautiful plaque for this contest. How do you win it? Easy, it\u2019s given to the highest single operator score submitted from HampdenCounty. Sometimes it doesn\u2019t take many QSO\u2019s to win, it all depends on who is QRV in HampdenCounty for the contest. The contest starts at 4:00 PM Saturday afternoon and after taking a break between 1AM and 9AM Sunday morning goes on to end at 8PM Sunday evening. Usually both our club calls (W1NY and WB1Z) are active in the contest. If you would like to operate under either one get your request in now!<\/p>\n

\u201873 and don\u2019t forget to pick up your winning KX3 ticket at the meeting,<\/i><\/p>\n

Jim\/KK1W<\/strong><\/p>\n

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