End of Field Day

Deon, K6WH ZS1ACP  has this great shot of what the band (14.0-14.1) looked like at the moment that Field Day ended. Check out Deon’s blog:
http://capesafari.com/hamradio/SDR/SoftRockLite.html

 

from SolderSmoke News by Bill N2CQR CU2JL M0HBR

WC7SO/R Relocated

Wednesday July 8th the WC7SO  repeater was relocated to its new home on the roof of the Bellingham Tower Building.  There will be no Gateway services on the repeater until Internet access is installed at the site in the future.

20A on Field Day

Ever been to a 20A field day site? The Potomac Valley RC and Columbia ARA teamed up for the largest Field Day operation in the country. How do they get 21 antennas in a 1000′ circle? How do they mix competitive effort with lots of fun and excellent public relations? 

What would it be like to have all that equipment at our disposal?  View presentation

RadioReference.com

This site has a lot of frequency data for scanner listeners.  They also recently added a number (900+) of  live audio feeds of public safety frequencies around the world.  Most information is free, with a paid option for down-loadable frequency lists.  There are also public forums accessible from the main RadioReference.com website.

Soldering Contest

Did you know there is a NYC Soldering Championship?  Who’s going to enter next year? 

Connector Data

Allpinouts.org is a Web-based project to collect and list all known connector pinouts.  If you need pin numbers for cable connections you may find this makes it quick and easy.  It’s a Wiki , so if you don’t find what you need, you can add it.

MUSH!

Blaine ACS demonstrates excellence in all things QRP during their Field Day 2009 demonstrations.  Photo by W7MDH.

Windows 7 Upgrade for $50

If you are a Windows user and want the latest and greatest, it might be worth doing some early shopping.  The new Windows OS (version 7) will release on October 22 but will still be nearly as overpriced as Vista.  From June 26 through July 11th however, you can pre-purchase an upgrade version of Windows 7 premium for $50 or Windows 7 Professional for $100.  Check here for a rundown on the differences- “Home Premium” should suit most users.

Here is a link to the Microsoft announcement.  As with past  OS upgrades Micro$oft is allowing free v.7 upgrades to Vista owners for PCs purchased on or after June 26.  Note: Vista users can do a direct upgrade but XP users will need to do a clean install.

DG Meeting Notes 6/16/09

Digital Group Meeting Notes

6/16/09

Meeting called to order at 1900

Treasury: $1419.76

Nominees for officers 09-10 term AC7KY-Chair, KN0N-Vice Chair,  KB7PKL- Sec/Treas.  Nominations closed.  All nominees elected with no dissenting votes.

KN0N reported that the MFJ-259 PRO antenna analyzer which was approved at the last meeting was purchased from HRO for $360 and that that amount has been reimbursed to KN0N.  The analyzer was in use by KA0WFI and given to KK7LK on 6/17.  KN0N will be tracking the device’s whereabouts so that is who you should contact to find the current location of the device.  BE SURE TO NOTIFY KN0N WHEN THE UNIT CHANGES HANDS!

KN0N informed the members that the MBARC board of directors is accepting suggestions for a re-write of the club constitution and bylaws.  It was the unanimous feeling of the present DG members that our group should be as autonomous as possible in its relationship to the main MBARC club.

Field Day plans were discussed.  KK7LK is leading the organizational effort for the MBARC FD site west of Berthusen park.  KA0WFI will be bringing his portable station gear for digital operations and GOTA voice use.  Set up is Friday noon-6 on the 26^th and tear-down will be the evening of the 27^th.  FD activities at Blaine Airport by Blaine ACS and at the Sudden Valley Marina by SVARC are also open to all visitors.

KC7OAS demonstrated the WWW interface for his Davis Instruments weather station and KN0N showed of the pneumatic “spud-gun” from the March ’09 QST.  KN0N also reported on the status of the DAM (Digital Activity Month) “contest” that will run for the month of November.  The web site for info is under the PAGES section at http://groups.google.com/group/nwwdigi

SUMMER HIATUS!  No meetings in July or August.  We meet again on Tuesday September 15^th (that’s an ‘early’ third Tuesday so don’t forget).

Ham Radio Growth Rate

George K3UD writes about the growth in U.S amateur licenses over the last year: we have gained 9,092 Techs, 4,427 Generals and 3,090 Extras. 

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