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  • WRTC Equipment Sale – UPDATED!

    WRTC EQUIPMENT SALE – October Update

    NEWS FLASH – The Honda Generators are *** SOLD OUT ***

    We are only one month into the sale and already half the Honda generators and almost half of the coax have been purchased! How cool is that? Unfortunately this also means if you’re contemplating purchasing a generator or coax time is of the essence. I don’t need to remind you there won’t be any more coming once these are gone, do I?

    An updated inventory list is presented below and an official WRTC purchase agreement can be found elsewhere in this month’s Zero Beat. Don’t delay, put you your deposit down now to ensure you can take advantage of our club purchases, get a good discount and support HCRA/WRTC at the same time!

     

    Qty Item Model Retail HCRA Notes
    12 25G, 10′ section Rohn, 25G  $   135  $     60
    4 25G, 8′ rocket top w/4′ mast and rotor bracket Rohn, 25G  $   309  $    150
    4 Rotator w/125′ cable Yaesu, G-450A  $   404  $    225
    0 2000W Generator w/Berg Extended run tank Honda, EU-2000i  $1,119  $    750 SOLD OUT!
    1 Tent Eureka Cop Canyon 8  $   379  $    100  ONLY ONE LEFT!
    5 150′ Coax w/PL259 Times, LMR-240  $   120  $     50 ONLY FIVE LEFT !
    2 Tri-band Beam Antenna Cycle 24, TX-38  $1,000  $    500
    2 80M dipole Radio Oasis  $     55  $     20
    2 40M dipole Radio Oasis  $     40  $     20
    5 36″ x 36″ Folding Table ?  $     70  $     25
    6 Folding Chairs ?  $     15  $     10
    4 Lamp ?  $     10  $       5
    4 Fan ?  $     15  $       5
    4 Camp Toilet ?  $     40  $     10

    Here are some facts worth considering when making your purchase:

    1. The equipment has between 24 and 72 hours use (in other words it isn’t NEW)
    2. A 20% non-refundable deposit is required for purchase
    3. Your purchase must be paid in full by June 1, 2014
    4. Delivery will be immediately after July 13, 2014
    5. You must be a member of HCRA, this offer is not available to the general public
    6. Quantities are very limited and are on a first come/first served basis

    The sale started at our September 6th meeting and is being administered by Dave/AA1YW and Jim/KK1W. All questions about the equipment, deposits, etc. should go directly to Dave or Jim.

    ’73… and see you at the meeting!

    Dave/AA1YW & Jim/KK1W

  • Next HCRA Meeting–Indoor Tailgate Party

     

    In lieu of a tailgate party in the parking lot, we are going to have a small-scale flea market at our October 4th meeting at the Auxiliary Conference Center at the Holyoke Medical Center. As long as space permits, we will allot up to 12 square feet of table space to each club member that wants to put out a few things for sale — a rig, a reel of wire, books – anything that fits, is ham radio related, and is not totally junk, but NO computers, NO monitors, NO printers, NO TVs! Table space is free–we are asking a least a 10% commission on sales for the club’s treasury. To reserve a space email me at n1fj@arrl.net .

  • Nutmeg Hamfest

    The correct date and time for the Nutmeg Hamfest in Meriden, CT is Sunday, October 13th, 2013 8AM – 2PM. In September and October Zero Beat it was incorrectly shown as October 7. 

    For further information, go to
    http://www.nutmeghamfest.com/
     
    73,
     
    Frandy, N1FJ
    Zero Beat Editor

  • 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!
    [google-map-v3 width=”350″ height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”roadmap” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”true” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”true” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”20 Hospital Dr, Holyoke, MA{}star-3.png{}HCRA Meeting Location” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]

     

  • September HCRA Board Meeting Minutes

    HCRA Board Meeting Minutes- sept

    HCRA Board Meeting Minutes
    September 10, 2013 7:00pm
    Hampden Bank Parking Lot

    Members Present:

    Jim Mullen
    Matt Wilhelm
    Ed Lacombe
    Frandy Johnson
    John Pise
    Dave Cain
    Richard Wheeler
    Dave Scarpa
    Jeffery Bail

    Guests: No Guests Attended

    Agenda Item #1: Vice President (7:10pm)

    Discussion Item: September Database Issues
    Action Item: To Continue with Current DB until Online is ready

    Discussion Item: Donation to Perry Lane School
    Action Item: Approved by Board

    Agenda Item #2: Financial Report (7:20pm)

    Discussion Item: Current total revenue, 6877.25 total
    Discussion Item: 857 raffle, 62 Sold So Far
    Discussion Item: Status of WRTC Sales, $391 in Deposits so far
    It was discussed whether prices should increase
    After Jan 1st, and it was decided they should not.
    Discussion Item: Paypal Membership renewals, 18 renewals

    Agenda Item #3 Secretary Report (7:30p)

    Discussion Item: Format of Minutes discussed Guidelines given
    Discussion Item: Status of State and federal filings, Both completed
    Discussion Item: Status of online meetings, tabled for now

    Agenda Item #4 Zero Beat Report (7:35pm)

    Discussion Item: Cutoff date for articles next issue 9/24

    Agenda Item #5 Membership Report (7:45pm)

    Discussion Item: Membership Renewals, 47 renewed

    Agenda Item #6 Technical Report (7:50 pm)

    Discussion Item: Bob not present but still plans Techinical corner sessions at meeting
    Discussion Item: Holyoke Hospital Looking for help to track jamming on repeater
    it was decided Jim KK1W would assist them Agenda Item #7

    . Agenda Item #7 Program Report (8:00pm)

    Discussion Item: CW Training class update, class still being worked on for Feb-Mar start
    Discussion Item: Silent Auction go ahead, white elephant table every meeting, 10%
    donation to club.
    Discussion Item: Meeting content for the upcoming 6 months.

    Agenda Item #8 At Large (8:05pm)

    Discussion Item: January License classes plans

    Old Business: No new info on APRS node in chester

    New Business: Clubs ilrp node retired, equipment dispersed
    Holiday Party planning, Meal Price increase
    Discussion of board members roles.

    Meeting Closed: 8:13pm

  • Revised September 2013 Zero Beat

    Due to a “production error” the first copy of September Zero Beat had page 5 and 6 duplicated. The revised copy is now available at

    https://hcra.org/wordpress/zb/sep13.pdf

    73,

    Frandy, N1FJ

  • September 2013 Zero Beat now on line!

    You may see the latest issue of Zero Beat at

    https://hcra.org/wordpress/zb/sep13.pdf

    73,

    Frandy, N1FJ

  • Your *250* Raffle Ticket Is Ready!

    This little poster says a lot about the HCRA’s *250* Raffle…

    250-raffle-smalll-ad_001

    …This link says even more: http://bit.ly/1cQILtO

  • September Is Membership Renewal Month!

    Welcome back. On behalf of myself and the HCRA Board Of Directors, we hope you’ve had good and memorable times since our last meeting. With Labor Day Weekend behind us, fall will soon be upon us, and with that comes all those get-ready-for-winter chores. However, for now we can enjoy September and on Friday, September 6th, our first HCRA meeting of the 2013/2014 season.

    Traditionally, the September meeting is renewal time for club members. As our Club President, Jim-KK1W says “Your dues go toward funding HCRA events like Field Day and the Holiday Party, offset mailing costs for our members without email access, cover our web hosting and liability insurance expenses and IRLP node maintenance and more. We need your continuing support to keep HCRA rolling along in high gear.” That being said, I’ll have the membership table set-up and ready to assist you in keeping your membership in good standing.

    If you’re one of those people who don’t like to wait to the last minute to get things done and/or enjoy new things and new technology, then the HCRA has something you’ll find useful. Membership renewals may now be done online! It’s easy, it’s fast -and- it’s secure. Please click on this link to see for yourself: https://hcra.org/wordpress/membership-payment
    Please note however, at this time only renewals can be processed at this time. New members will still need to submit hard copies of membership applications, as their information is not in our database. If you choose to renew in person at the September 6th (or at any) meeting, if you would please bring a completed application with you, it will make the process quicker for everyone. You can download an application here: https://hcra.org/wordpress/membership

    73, and we look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

  • Successful New England SOTA Day

    Thanks to the efforts of Nick (K1MAZ), the SOTA Jerks (NE1SJ) and all those who participated, we were able to pull off the inaugural New England SOTA Day. We had about 10 activators from around New England and Canada activate SOTA peaks all around the same time on August 10th 2012.

    Activators Include

    [table]
    Callsign,Name,Summit,Designation,Location
    NE1SJ,Frandy (N1FJ),Pocumtuck Rock,W1/MB-015,Deerfield MA
    KK1W,Jim,Webb Hill,W1/CR-011,Hardwick MA
    K1MAZ,Nick,Quabbin Hill,W1/CR-013,Ware MA
    NT1K,Jeff,Mt. Tom,W1/MB-006,Holyoke MA
    WN1E,Dave,Mt. Norwottuck,W1/CR-004,Amherst MA
    KB1RMA,Chris,Fort Mountain,W1/MV-002,Epson NH
    N1EU,Barry,Misery Mountain,W1/MB-021,Williamstown MA,
    N1AW,Al,Bald Mountain,W1/MB-014,Bernardston MA
    W1PNS,Peter,Putney Mtn.,W1/GM-114,Putney VT
    VA2SG,Jean,Mt Brassard,VE2/LR-052,Quebec CA
    [/table]
    * – Bold Callsigns are members of HCRA

    Soap Box

    NT1K's NE SOTA Setup

    Jeff (NT1K) Mt. Tom
    Climb was easier than I recall. It only took little over 1/2 hour to make the hike. Forgot some equipment which limited my G5RV Jr. height to about 12ft. I thought it was going to cause some issues but I managed to make a decent amount of contacts including a hand full of summit to summit contacts.

     

     

     

    KK1W SOTA Aug 10 - Webb Jim (KK1W), Webb Hill
    This was my second time on Webb Hill. If you read the trip log from our first activation you know the story of the huge ant hills on the trail. They are still there. I drove up Hill road until I didn’t want to scratch my truck any more, parked and walked to the trail head. Once there I followed the trail until the ant hills came into view, then I used the ‘go to’ function in Back Country Navigator to bushwhack from there to the summit. Too many ants for me! The hike is about .3 miles with maybe 200′ elevation gain.

    During setup there was no breeze and the mosquitoes were unbelievable. I literally bathed myself in Deet, it helped but it was still miserable. I mentally decided I was ‘outa-there’ ASAP once I made a few contacts. Thankfully a breeze came up and it was fine from that point on. There’s no suitable rocks up there for setup but I kluged an operating desk out of my backpack and hung it off a tree. All in all I was QRV for about two hours and made lots of contacts on 40 and 20 meters, both CW and phone, and a few on 2 meter FM. By the time I broke down the station around 2:00 PM there were 41 QSO’s in the log including 10 S2S contacts. Very cool!

    I used an EFHW wire antenna with one end suspended 25′ up in a nearby tree. the antenna tuned well on 40, 20, 17 and 15 but I didn’t see any skimmer spots on 15 so I’m not sure how well it was working on that band.

    All in all a fun time on a beautiful day.

    KK1W

    AL (N1AW), Bald Mtn

    My activation of Bald Mountain W1/MB-014 was frustrated by the SOTA database which said “object reference not set to an instance of an object” when I clicked Submit. I’m supposed to be a computer professional (retired) but that wasn’t helpful.
    Other than that, and not getting on the air on 146.52 until 1705Z and on HF until 1759Z (poor planning and misplaced antenna parts). I had a good time, my first solo activation and a previously unactivated summit. Results: 11 QSOs (3 on 2m, 3 on 40m, 4 on 20m, and 1 on 15m), 3 S2Ss, VT and CA, (but the two in VT were two different ops on different bands on the same summit). Sorry I didn’t work any of you guys, I heard someone talking to NE1SJ once on 2m but did not hear Frandy and I was on 20 cw at the time anyway.
    I sent a message to the SOTA database manager, I presume eventually my log will be accepted.

    Chris (KB1RMA), Fort Mountain1082352_10200632696682945_79513529_o 963820_10200632696722946_1906873779_o

     

    Dave (WN1E), Mt. Norwottuck

    WN1E

    Nick (K1MAZ), Quabbin Hill 

    K1MAZ

    Pete (W1PNS) w/ Charles (N1CAI), Putney Mountain:

    Please read pete’s write up on his blog!

    Any additional information please contact us!