Hampden County Radio Association

Welcome!

See below for the latest blog posts and news about our activites and events. You can also follow the links above for more information about specific aspects of the club. If you’re brand-new at all this, here’s an introduction to what the Hampden County Radio Association is all about.

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Latest Blog Posts

  • Big Spruce Hill Activation

    Last week, a lone Jerk set off for Florida for a second attempt at a SOTA activation.  Now, you must be thinking, “There are no mountains in Florida.”  Well, you’re wrong.  Florida is actually a town in the good ol’ Commonwealth of Massachusetts just east of North Adams.  Having learned from my mistake of attempting…

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    K1MAZ
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  • DX Bulletin 42

    ARLD042 DX news This week’s bulletin was made possible with information provided by NC1L, W3UR, QRZ DX, The Weekly DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites.  Thanks to all. RODRIGUES ISLAND, 3B9.  A group of operators will be…

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    Webmaster
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  • Jamboree on the Air – 2012

    The Hampden County Radio Association sponsors BSA Venture Crew 510 and this Venture Crew specializes in Amateur Radio. Put Boy Scouts and Amateur Radio together and you get not only learning and fun. You get Jamboree on the Air! Held on the third full weekend of October each year, Jamboree on the Air, or JOTA…

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    Webmaster
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  • Ham Radio License Plates

    Looking out over the pool of cars at the local Ham Club’s meeting, or across the ocean of cars at a regional Ham-fest, one can’t help but notice one thing. “Antennas!” you call out. Well yeah, you’re right there. So, let me back up and say there are two things one can’t help but notice…

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    Webmaster
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  • Links From Last Nights Meeting

    These are the links from last nights meeting about RTTY and RTTY Contesting By: Tom Homewood, W1TO www.rttycontesting.com www.aa5au.com/rtty.html www.n1mm.com http://hamsoft.ca www.yccc.org

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    Webmaster
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  • October Silent Auction Items

    As promised, the Silent Auction is returning and will be at the October 5th meeting. We’ve got a few items all set to go and a few ‘possibles’ in the wings. Here’s what we have for sure: 1. Bencher BY-2 Chrome Iambic Paddles – like new condition – starting bid = $20.00 2. Box of…

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    KK1W
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  • Next HCRA Meeting Friday, October 5, 2012

    Tom Homewood, W1TO, will be the featured speaker at Hampden County Radio Association’s monthly meeting this Friday, October 5, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. Learn about RTTY station setup and contesting and have your questions ready!  This will be a joint meeting of the Western Massachusetts Area of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and HCRA where new members will be eligible to…

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    Webmaster
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  • October Zero Beat is live, on the web and in your email box

    This Friday, October 5th! Club meeting featuring Tom Homewood/W1TO, silent auction, KX3 raffle and more. Read all about the meeting, upcoming raffles and more in the October issue of Zero Beat. Once again Frandy has put together an interesting issue of HCRA and local interest. Enjoy!

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    KK1W
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  • From the Shack – October 2012

    What’s that ‘funny noise’ on 14.085 MHz? If you’re tuning around the bands and come across some signals that sound like “beedley, beedley, beedley” you may have stumbled across a radio teletype transmission. Not exactly sure what that “beedley” sound is? Here’s what it sounds like – rtty (hint, click rtty) Usually abbreviated RTTY, it…

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    KK1W
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  • Tablets and Amateur Radio

    This is my first article covering tablet computers and the apps they provide for amateur radio. In this first article I will look at the two main platforms, Apple’s IOS and Google’s Android. Apple’s OS revolves mainly around two devices, the Iphone and Ipad. Both will utilize the same applications. But Apple has many more…

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    Webmaster
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