Tag: meeting
October 2020 Meeting – How to begin contesting by Matt, W1PY
May 2019 – DMR Presentation
SHOW & TELL 2017 – there’s still time!
As of this writing (March 16th) it’s three weeks until HCRA’s Annual Show & Tell on April 7th. That also means it’s only three weeks to finish your project, put together documentation and perhaps win a nice prize for your efforts. No time you say? Well, twenty two days is over three weeks the last time I checked. I’m sure you can rustle up something to show off to the crowd, get their creative juices flowing for 2017 and maybe win a nice prize! But… you really need to get started pretty soon!
BONUS SNOW STORM!
I don’t know if you noticed but the “super storm” of March 14th has effectively pushed back any yard work for at least a few weeks. Now you’ve time for a project and a prize!
What exactly is Show & Tell you ask? Well, it’s a chance to show the members something cool you’ve done in your shack, antenna farm, secret laboratory, etc. over the last year. Maybe it’s a new antenna that works like a signal magnet, or a neat way to mount a radio in today’s ‘too small’ vehicles, or a tesla coil (yes, we’ve had one), or a KW amplifier (had those too), or a trick piece of software, or…. You get the picture. Speaking of pictures here’s a few photos from past events to whet your appetite.
And of course there’s the prizes. This year the three winners get to choose from a hundred dollars worth of prizes that include an ARRL Operating Manual, a Raspberry Pi 3 and a TC-1 Multi-function tester.
The audience votes for the best project, the votes are tallied and three winners are picked at the end of the evening. It’s easy to do and it’s fun. Of course everyone is a winner here because we all benefit by seeing what our fellow HCRA members created. Everyone in the audience and the presenters takes home a big dose of enthusiasm for 2017!
So there you go. Time to stop surfing, head to the shop and warm up the soldering iron. You too can be a winner at HCRA’s 2017 Show & Tell!
HCRA March Meeting (Mar 3rd, 2017) – VHF/UHF Weak Signal Communications
HCRA March Meeting 2017
Friday March 3rd 2017 at 7:30pm. Holyoke Medical Center Auxiliary Conference Center
This month HCRA is proud to have Dick Frey (WA2AAU), president of the North East Weak Signal group. He will be discussing working long distance on VHF and UHF. With the solar cycle heading into a null, this would be an excllent meeting for those wishing to try out other aspects of amateur radio.
This will also be the last chance to purchase KX2 Raffle tickets at the general meeting. If you are interested in becoming an HCRA member, there will be applications available at the meeting. You can also download an application from our website. If you are a member and haven’t renewed yet, we’ve made it easy. You can securely renew online using either your credit card or paypal.
All members and the general public are invited
Click Here for directions to the HMC Aux conf center
“Make a cheap ham HAPPY” night at HCRA!
Returning Friday, September 9, is HCRA’s Swap & Sell Table. A sight guaranteed to brings smiles of joy to any frugal hams’s face.
Take a look at the photos, it gives you an idea of just some of this month’s offerings. That’s correct, you see a 1.3G frequency counter, project boxes, transformers, and more. There’s even a LARGE box of assorted wire and cable, dig through, pick what you want and make your donation. No reasonable offer refused.
Make the table even better by bringing along your own items for sale. The more we have, the more exciting for everyone!
NEWS FLASH! Rumor has it N1FJ may have a Mosley Tri-Bander to contribute to the cause. Watch for more info and and bring your roof rack for an HF antenna bargain
Yes, Swap & Sell will be at Show & Tell!
Here’s a chance to make money on your project. After you win one of the prizes put your hand crafted watchamcallit’ on the swap table and go home with to cash along with your prize 🙂 Or maybe find something on the table for your next creation?
Once again the Swap & Sell table will be there, how exciting it is falls entirely on the shoulders of you, our members. We know everyone has at least ONE thing they probably should ‘recycle’ and the HCRA swap table is the perfect place. No shipping, no eBay fees, supports the club, makes meetings more interesting and is fun. Need I say more?
Before coming to our April 1st meeting why not take a look around the shack and find an item or fifteen worthy of creating excitement in someone else’s shack and bring it to the meeting.
No foolin, see you April 1st!
Jim/KK1W
HCRA BOD meeting notes for January 20th, 2016
HCRA BOD meeting notes for 20-Jan-2016
Attendees:
President: NT1K
Vice President: N1FTP
Treasurer: NV1Q
Membership: K1VOI
Program Dir: W1AST
ZB Editor: WA1MOW
Tech Dir: K1YO
Absent:
At-Large: W1MOR
Secretary: WM1B
President Report:
– Jim Mullen has volunteered to help out with updating our Website.
– A Web Forum has been created at “members.hcra.org”. The site will be
directed and administered by the BOD. It will be a members only site and
integrated with our web site.
VP Report:
– 90 tickets for the TS590SG have been sold to date. The minimum goal is 150
tickets sold. Many tickets will be sold at the MTARA flea market. We should reach
our goal plus some.
Treasurer Report:
– There was quite a bit of discussion on how to divvy up the funds from the Xmas
party. From members to non-members to MTARA members and non-member
spouses as well as member spouses. There may be some double-dipping. This
needs to be revisited.
Financial Statement:
Beginning balance: $6771.95
Dep/Wdr: $1038.68
Ending Balance: $7810.63
Membership Report:
– There are 89 members with 80 paid and 9 family members. Question was
raised, why does it take so long for some individuals to renew? Could there be
some sort of incentive added to renewing? One suggestion was to put all the paid
members in Zero Beat. If your name is not there, you didn’t pay. This also answers
the question “Did I already pay my dues?”. Also discussed was greeting new
members and asking them what their interests are at the monthly meetings.
Program Dir Report:
Here is a tentative list from W1AST
– February 6, 2016: Jon Koltai, Hamsource – Power poles & really cool shack gadgets
– March 2016: First Robotics Competition: Gary, WA1MOW
– April 2016: Mini Presentation: Jeff, AB1WT: Portable IRLP & Echolink Node PLUS
Show and Tell
– May 2016: Jon Perelstein, WB2RYV – How to Report Weather & How to Properly
Read Your Weather App
– June: Field Day planning, Jeff, NT1K
======================================================
– September 9, 2016: Tony Brock-Fisher, K1KP – Solar Power and RFI, what you
need to know
– October 7, 2016: Dennis Markel, N1IMW : The history of WCC and Chatham
Marconi Radio.
– Nov 2016: tbd
– Dec 2016: annual HCRA Holiday Party
Zero Beat Editor:
– Submit your articles by 29th of January. Submit anything, please. Someday there
will be blank pages in Zero Beat…
Technical Director Report:
– 2 requests on interference. Services rendered, none.
————————————————————————————————————-
Old Business
Welcome Package:
A draft of the Welcome Package was handed out. The BOD must read and submit
changes to Jeff or Larry within the next 2 weeks. These Packages will be handed
out to all who pass their exams.A motion was made for HCRA to pay for the printing of the Welcome Package. The front page should be printed in color with printing on both sides. Staples is the preferred vendor for printing.
In Favor – 7
Apposed – 0
A motion was made for HCRA to pay for the printing of the HCRA tri-fold as well.
In Favor -7
Apposed – 0
Stub J-Pole Project:
The material has been purchased and cut. 80% of the project is complete.
License class exams:
Classes will be held on April 27,28, and 30. With Saturday being a full day.
Bob, K1YO has volunteered to help with the Extra Class.
DXLabs Class:
Setup will be on Feb 6th starting at 9am. Looks like 6-7 people will be in the class.
The Club will supply Coffee and donuts.
————————————————————————————————————-
New Business
Field Day:
We need Band captains ! Band captains bring their own radios and computers.
Antennas and antenna accessories are supplied by the Club.
Larry W1AST has volunteered to step up for 40m CW.
Jeff NT1K will be contacting the Parks & Rec dept.
Field Day will be discussed at the next membership meeting.
Open Floor
More special classes and presentations.
– Introduction to digital modes
– Tips and Tricks on Towers
– Contesting in general/Awards chasing
– Member Benefits
EZ-UP with Walls
Gary made a query as to purchasing a good EZ-UP for the Club. In the $300 range.
One with walls. A motion to purchase a EZ-UP with walls and not to exceed $300
was made.
In Favor – 7
Apposed – 0
The Big E’s 100th
The discussion was around HCRA participating for only a weekend. Gary will look
into getting permission and location. Participants will be required to purchase their own entry tickets for each day. To be successful, we need to make this a very
big deal. SDR’s, HF live, Multiple Monitors, tower, large antenna. More will be
discussed at the next BOD meeting .
Next meeting with be in Mid March and be a VOIP meeting.
Jeff will be handling the details with “Google Hangouts”
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!
Win A MFJ-266B Antenna Analyzer!
Win A MFJ-266B Antenna Analyzer From HCRA
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!