Our next club activity will be Lecture and Lab, on May 25th, 2019. Our focus will be Anderson PowerPoles, and there will be kits available for you to build. Check out the details, and let us know which kits interest you!

The contest calendar for this week is pretty sparse, but you can always use the time to prepare for Field Day. Have a great week!

Our next club meeting, on April 2nd, 2019 will be Old Timer’s Night! This is always a fun night where our most experienced hams share why they got into the hobby, what’s kept them involved, and tips on mentoring others.

And don’t forget: Texas State Parks on the Air is coming up on April 13th and 14th.

There are several operating events coming up. If you enjoyed the Light Up 2-Meter Simplex event, you might want to try the VHF Spring Sprint on Monday, April 8th. The Italian QRP Club Quarterly Marathon is now in progress, through 4/8/19 UTC. This coming weekend will feature the unusual 31-Flavors PSK contest, Florida State Parks on the Air, and QSO parties in Mississippi and Missouri.

There were also several links mentioned during last Saturday’s tech net. If you’d like to learn more about things that were discussed, see the list below!

Continue reading →

Our next club meeting, on April 2nd, 2019 will be Old Timer’s Night! This is always a fun night where our most experienced hams share why they got into the hobby, what’s kept them involved, and tips on mentoring others.

We do have a swap shop item listed, if you’d like a like-new HF rig.

And don’t forget: Texas State Parks on the Air is coming up on April 13th and 14th.

Sorry I’m running late with the announcements! This is a fairly quiet week, except that our next Lecture and Lab is coming up this weekend. We’ll be discussing the Draws Digital Workstation, a tool for interfacing radios with the Raspberry Pi. Don’t worry if you don’t have one! They’re on back-order, and expensive, to boot. But, they’re also very interesting, which is why we’ll be discussing them.

Even the contest calendar is quiet this week. The only contest I’ve heard mentioned is the NA SSB Sprint, which runs for 4 hours this Saturday.

Our next club meeting, on Tuesday, March 5th, will focus on the most popular of all radio antennas, the dipole. Jim Eatman, KG5WAW, will discuss the electrical characteristics of dipoles and how to use them effectively. The next club Lecture and Lab on Saturday, March 23rd, will focus on the “DRAWS Digital Work Station”. Look for more details in future announcements!

We also have a fun event that’s coming up fast: our club participation in the Wings of Freedom Tour at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas on March 16 and 17th. We don’t provide public service; we don’t work hard. We just show off our radio hobby to the interested visitors at the event while get free admission to the museum so that we can admire the historic aircraft! We need help on both days. A sign-up form will be coming soon. For now, please use the “contact us” form to let us know if you can help.

Finally, don’t forget to check the contest calendar for this week. The Novice Rig Roundup will be going on all week, and this coming weekend will feature QSO parties for Oklahoma, Idaho, and Wisconsin, among others.

The 2019 Irving Hamfest is almost upon us; click here for the latest, updated flyer. Sign up to help by using the “contact us” form here on the site. The hamfest will be taking place this Saturday—March 2nd, 2019—from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Betcha Bingo hall in Irving. Help with set-up, take-down, and security will be needed.

Our next club meeting, on Tuesday, March 5th, will focus on the most popular of all radio antennas, the dipole. Jim Eatman, KG5WAW, will discuss the electrical characteristics of dipoles and how to use them effectively.

We hope to see you at the hamfest or at our meeting!

Please consider signing up to help at the Irving Hamfest by using the “contact us” form here on the site. The hamfest will be taking place on March 2nd, 2019. Help with set-up, take-down, and security will be needed, and all volunteers will get free admission and a free door prize ticket. We also have a Lecture and Lab this month, on Saturday, February 23rd: Bring $15.00, your soldering tools, and your enthusiasm, and you can build your own digital multi-meter. We’ll be in the 3rd-floor community room of the Dallas Medical Center at 10:00 am.

This week’s contests include the ARRL School Club Roundup (during the week) and the CW edition of the ARRL DX Contest, coming up this weekend.

And finally, don’t forget that the Dallas County SKYWARN class—the one in Garland with both basic and advanced classes—is THIS SATURDAY!

This Tuesday, Februrary 5th, Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB, will give a presentation about amateur radio direction finding at the DARC meeting. You can also sign up to help at the Irving Hamfest either at the meeting or by using the “contact us” form here on the site. The hamfest will be taking place on March 2nd, 2019. Help with set-up, take-down, and security will be needed, and all volunteers will get free admission and a free door prize ticket.

Next weekend features several operating events, including Straight Key Century Club’s Weekend Sprintathon and the OMISS QSO Party.

Have a great week, and I hope to year you on the air.

For the club’s February 5th meeting, Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB, will give a presentation about amateur radio direction finding, also known as fox hunting, a skill set useful for finding transmitters, jammers, and sources of interference.

Don’t forget to pay your dues if they’re due! And please consider helping with set-up and take-down for the Irving Hamfest on March 2nd, 2019. The DARC supports this event and it brings a financial benefit to the DARC and IARC.

There are a few contests coming up next weekend (Feb. 1st-3rd): The 10-10 International Winter QSO Party (SSB), and state QSO parties for Vermont, Minnesota, and British Columbia.