I don’t have any major club announcements today. Be sure to watch this website and the club Facebook page for updates about upcoming activities.

And unfortunately, I goofed up this morning and missed the Lecture and Lab. But, if you participated, please share what you did and learned. Have you tried a new digital mode today?

The contest calendar is offering plenty of was to have fun while you stay at home this weekend. In fact, did you know there’s an award for contacting “stay home” amateur stations? The RSGB Hope QSO party is still going on, and the 10-10 International Spring Digital QSO Party is trying to add excitement to the 10-meter band. The Florida QSO Party is also this weekend, and it offers a unique bonus opportunity: the chance to spell LOVEBUG with special event callsigns.

Continue reading →

The next Lecture and Lab will take place one week from today, and it isn’t cancelled—it will be a virtual event, focusing on using digital modes like FT8 and FT4. The Lab will take place at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 25th. Please see our post about virtual meeting information for instructions on how to participate.

Today is World Amateur Radio Day. I’ve hope you’ve been on the air having fun!

The contest calendar has quite a few entries for this week and this weekend, but please not that Texas State Parks on the Air has been cancelled. Instead, you could try your hand at the RSGB Hope QSO Party, still ongoing, or the Michigan or Ontario QSO Parties. If you’re a new ham or you’ve never made an SSB contact before, the ARRL SSB Rookie Roundup will be taking place tomorrow. Please note that in-person mentoring is strongly discouraged.

Continue reading →

Remember, the next Lecture and Lab isn’t cancelled—it will be a virtual event, focusing on using digital modes like FT8 and FT4. The L & L will take place at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 25th. Please see our post about virtual meeting information for instructions on how to participate.

If you didn’t have time last weekend, be sure to check out our latest club newsletter for some cool stuff in the spirit of Old Timer’s Night.

And don’t forget that all our club nets are still going on, including a 10:00 am stuck-at-home net Monday through Friday on the 146.88 repeater. Remember, if Tom can’t make it, you’re welcome to take a turn as net control…and you’re always welcome to bring announcements, real or funny.

The contest calendar is full of events this weekend, with QSO parties in New Mexico, North Dakota,  and Georgia, as well as the ongoing RSGB Hope QSO Party for those stuck at home. In honor of Yuri’s Night, we also have the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest available.

Continue reading →

Remember that the next DARC club meeting—the famous April Old Timers’ Night—and our next board meeting, on April 7th, 2020, will be held on-line and over the air. The board meeting will use Google Meet; details about the apps for Android and IOS can be found in our March 21st news.

Future programs like the April Lecture and Lab are still in a very uncertain state, so please keep an eye on this website and on our Facebook page for the latest news.

As long as Tom’s voice holds out, we’ll continue to have our 10 O’Clock Weekday Net.  Meet us on the 146.88 repeater every weekday at 10:00 am for the latest news and humor, as well as warnings about what not to eat in the employee cafeteria. Remember, if Tom can’t make it, you’re free to call the net yourself…and Tom wouldn’t mind some extra help. You can contact the club to volunteer.

For activities you can do from home, the contest calendar has some fun in store, including a new, ongoing series of short contests, the Hope QSO Party from the RSGB. We’ve also got QSO parties in Nebraska, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri, but NOT the Florida State Parks on the Air or International Marconi Day events—those have been cancelled. Also, please check the rules for your favorite contests, because many have been changed so that operators no longer have to gather in the same location.

Continue reading →

Remember that the next DARC board meeting and club meeting, on April 7th, 2020, will be held on-line and over the air. The board meeting will use Google Meet; details about the apps for Android and IOS can be found in last week’s news.

The April Old-Timers’ Night program will be held on our 146.88 MHz repeater at 7:00 pm local time on April 7th, 2020. Please charge up your batteries and get ready to participate on this unique meeting over the air!

Future programs like the April Lecture and Lab are still in a very uncertain state, so please keep an eye on this website and on our Facebook page for the latest news.

And finally, don’t forget our 10 O’Clock Coffee Break! Meet us on the 146.88 repeater every weekday at 10:00 am for the latest news and humor.

Continue reading →

UPDATED: The next DARC board meeting and club meeting, on April 7th, 2020, will be held on-line and over the air. If you’ve never used Google Meet before, and you’d like to attend our on-line board meeting,  you’ll want to make sure you have a working microphone and speaker on your computer, or get the proper app for your mobile device:

Our popular Old-Timers’ Night general meeting will be held on our 146.88 MHz repeater at 7:00 pm local time on April 7th, 2020. Our club president, Bill Brady KF5ZBL, will get things started and our program will be lead by Tom General, KE5ICX. Old-Timers’ Night is all about participation from our members, so we’ll need your contributions. Please charge up your batteries and get ready to participate on this unique meeting over the air!

The fate of the April Lecture and Lab is still uncertain. Currently, public health regulations prohibit non-essential visitors to hospital facilities, and so we’re not sure where or when the the Lecture and Lab will take place.

Our club has added a new net: the 10 O’Clock Coffee Break. Tom, KE5ICX, and others have been meeting up on the 88 machine at 10:00 am local time each morning, Monday through Friday, to say hello and fight cabin fever. If you’re spending weekdays at home, you should check in and say hello to your fellow hams.

And from all of us in the DARC to all of our fellow hams in and out of the club: whether you’re staying home for safety, or out and struggling to find toilet paper, you have our sympathies and best wishes.

Continue reading →

It’s Pi day! I hope you’ve calculated the circumference of at least one circle today. If you’re arriving late to the party, NASA has a page of Pi trivia and math challenges you can use to get started with, including one about how many digits of Pi you really need. Hint: it’s not just 3.14!

It’s less fun to talk about this next bit, but: There are a lot of concerns about travel and public gatherings lately, thanks to the community spread of SARS-CoV-2. Please check this page and the club’s Facebook page for information about our activities, including any schedule changes.

The North Texas Mentorfest is still on the calendar, at least for now; it’s scheduled for April 18th, 2020.  If you’d like to help out at the DARC table, please contact us or get in touch with Randy Patterson, KE5JIT. For more information, including how to volunteer as a mentor, please check the ARRL NTX Newsletter.

The contest calendar for the next few days is very busy with lots of lesser-known events you can try out; the Tesla Memorial HF Contest is only one of many. There are also QSO parties going on in Oklahoma, Idaho, Wisconsin, and for many clubs.

UPDATE: are you looking for new friends? Have extra time on your hands? If you’re a member of the ARRL NTX section groups.io group, there’s now an on-line database of nets in our area. Have fun!

UPDATE: Don reminded us that radio astronomers have recently discovered the biggest bang since the big one, and that multi-frequency observations have been critical in understanding what happened.

Continue reading →