Month: June 2019
Skynet 6-29-19 Mystery Topic & Constellation Virgo 9PM CT
Saturday’s Topic: “Mystery Topic & Constellation Virgo”
Net Control: Chaz KF5JHA
Afterglow Movie 10:30PM:
“Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind” (1977)
2-Meter Repeater W5FC: 146.880MHz, PL 110.9, –
Echolink: W5FC-R, node 37247.
Youtube.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Facebook.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Twitch.tv Search “KE5ICX”
Tech Net News 06-29-2019
Our next meeting program will be “Tips and Tricks for Frugal Ham Radio,” presented by me—Tony Mendina, NT5TM. I’ll share my favorite techniques for ham radio on a budget, but there’s only so much that I know, and you probably know lots that I don’t. Please bring your stories, tips, and even show-and-tell items to the meeting.
The contest calendar has some fun events this weekend! We’ve go the Spirit of ’76 QSO Party coming up on 10 meters, while the famous—and fun—13 Colonies Special Event is about to begin.
July Meeting Program: Share Your Money-Saving Tips!
Next meeting’s program will be “Tips and Tricks for Frugal Ham Radio,” presented by me—Tony Mendina, NT5TM. I’ll share my favorite techniques for ham radio on a budget, like building my own antennas and even test equipment…but your participation will be important! There’s only so much that I know, and you probably know lots that I don’t. Do you assemble your own cables? What tools have saved you a trip to the repair shop? What non-ham things have you substituted for expensive ham gear? Please bring your stories, tips, and even show-and-tell items to the meeting. We’ll all be glad you did.
Updates: Bill, N5BB, and several other folks recommended this great collection of ham and electronic training videos by W2AEW.
Participants also mentioned the free practice exams at https://hamexam.org/. It’s important to get the URL right—put a .com on the end and you go to a commercial site.
And David, W5EBB, mentioned a site full of antenna schematics in the comments below.
And if you need to zoom in on that picture of Bill’s power supply, the full presentation is here, too. Frugal Ham Radio Tips and Tricks
Field Day 2019 Preliminary Statistics
We’ll have more details about our Field Day success in the next newsletter, but for now…here’s a quick report on our contacts. While we still haven’t returned to the glory days of having actual sunspots on a reliable basis, we made 34% more contacts than last year. We got plenty of contacts, including more than 200 at two stations (one VHF, one HF) powered by solar-charged batteries.
We worked all 50 states and every ARRL section! More details are below.
Geek Net Links 06-24-2019
Usually I don’t post links for the Geek Net, but I’m pretty sleepy from Field Day…I might miss something. So, here are some items I might be mentioning during the net! If you have anything you’d like to add, please contact the club or just post a comment for this post.
If you’ve seen a beautiful freezing soap bubble video, here’s the story behind it.
The latest news about methane on Mars is interesting, but not exciting…yet.
The first-ever night launch of a Falcon Heavy is coming up tonight sometime at or after 10:30 pm. There will be lots of payloads on this one, including the remains of 152 dead people and a very interesting atomic clock.
Updates: Calvin, W7KYG, reports that the Raspberry Pi 4 is now out!
Tech Net News 06-22-2019
It’s Field Day! That’s really the only news in the world of ham radio, and the only announcement for tonight. If you can’t come out and visit the DARC, be sure to find a Field Day site near you, or just operate from home. You can use commercial power, or try out your emergency batteries for more points.
Skynet 6-22-19 Pavilion Lake Research Project & Draco the Dragon 9PM CT
SKYNET!!!! 9PM CT – 10:30PM CT
Saturday’s Topic: “The Pavilion Lake Research Project & Draco the Dragon”
Net Control: Billye KF5PDS
Afterglow Watch Party: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 4K Big Screen Field Day Site
2-Meter Repeater W5FC: 146.880MHz, PL 110.9, –
Echolink: W5FC-R, node 37247.
Youtube.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Facebook.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Twitch.tv Search “KE5ICX”
Direct Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCishlh8WmW7OXy9Q6sxsaag
Skynet 6-15-19 “The Moons of Neptune” & Constellation Sagittarius 9PM CT
SKYNET!!!! 9PM CT – 10:30PM CT
Saturday’s Topic: “The Moons of Neptune & Constellation Sagittarius”
Net Control: Brenda WB5OZL
Afterglow Movie 10:30PM: Spaced Invaders (1990)
2-Meter Repeater W5FC: 146.880MHz, PL 110.9, –
Echolink: W5FC-R, node 37247.
Youtube.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Facebook.com Search “DARC Skynet”
Twitch.tv Search “KE5ICX”
Direct Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCishlh8WmW7OXy9Q6sxsaag
Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skynet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening
The Moons of Neptune
Tech Net News 06-15-2019
Get ready: Field Day is coming! Be sure to sign up if you’d like to reserve some time on one of the radios.
There’s no separate Lecture and Lab event this month; we’ll be having an educational event at Field Day instead.
Remember, if you have announcements you’d like to share, just let the club know and one of our members will update this news post—even during the net.
The contest calendar is mostly quiet, but the June edition of the Stew Perry Topband Challenge is in progress; if you like 160-meter CW, now’s the time to get on the air. If you need contacts in West Virginia, their state QSO party is happening this weekend.
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