CTRI’ers;
If you are going to be on the air for this weekend’s WPX CW contest, please post a comment under this post with where/when you will be operating AND what call sign you will be using, so the rest of us can 1) know you’re on, 2) who you are, 3) what band you’re on, and thus we can spot you. This will be a big advantage for those of us who are operating.
Thanks, and good luck. Mike, K1DM
Greetings fellow contesters,
I have made an executive decision to move the May meeting to May 16th, 2015. The reason has to do with the planned program and the presentation of the Field Day Proposal. John, W1XX has been our lead on preparing the Field Day proposal. He cannot attend a meeting on May 9th. Mike, KA1RFJ, is supposed to present his take on the YCCC program he attended about “Which Transceiver is best for my station,” and he cannot attend the meeting on the 9th either.
Our hard-working VP has made the necessary arrangements with the North Kingston Public Library so that we can meet at their facility on May 16th, so we should be good to go. Meeting time is our usual time.
The 4-person Field Day Task Force has been working on getting the proposal ready for presentation. We, W1XX, W1PN, W1AN, and K1DM have made several visit to potential FD sites, including RF noise evaluations, so we’re getting more confident in the utility of the two sites we are considering.
Additional information about the proposal will be forthcoming. Keep checking the posts on the Web site!
Mike, K1DM
Greetings all,
I hope you all survived the blizzard. I collected at least two feet of fluffy powder, neatly blown into monster mounds. The front of the house on the stoop is about 3 ft deep. It will take more than one try to get it cleaned off. All the cars in the drive are still buried. Tomorrow is another day!
What items do we need to put on the agenda for Saturday’s meeting? The annual Holiday Luncheon should probably be a priority. Anyone with additional ideas, please add them to this post. As of right now, I am planning on attending the meeting. I think the weather will cooperate.
73, Mike, K1DM
Gang,
I would like to get set up to operate split using RTTY. I wish to monitor my transmit frequency AND the transmit frequency of the station I am trying to work (usually the DX station). To do it, I believe I need two digital interfaces running at the same time, one on the main VFO (my RX freq) and the second on the second VFO (my TX freq) [ I am using a K3 for this experiment].
Can someone give me a clue how I might configure this both hardware wise, and software wise. I currently have MMTTY and MMTTY2 on my RM2 desktop. Do I just start the first one, and then start the second one? Are there instructions in the N1MM Logger documentation that I should be reading?
After I get everything configured, I would like to try some on-air tests while I learn what I am doing. Currently, when I want to grab a W1AW/? station on RTTY, and they are operating split, I keep switching VFOs (A/B) until I get each VFO set to where I think he’s listening, and then I give a call. But, I feel like I am operating blind, since I can’t copy except on the signal that’s on the A VFO.
Help please. Thank you. 73, Mike, K1DM
CTRI Contest Group;
Several of our regular meeting attendees will be out of the country, out of town, or taking care of their wives this weekend. Additionally, I am certain many of us have family visiting over the 4th of July weekend, or are visiting family for the weekend. Thus, getting together would be fun, but lonely.
We have several things going on this month that need our attention anyway, and these things are well underway already. The CQ WW VHF contest is upon us; IARU/WRTC events are coming quickly, the Centennial ARRL convention is happening in Hartford, CT, AND W1AW/1-RI is almost here.
If you need something to do this weekend, try working all thirteen of the original colonies (K2*). They seem to be everywhere. This is a cleaver way to celebrate the 4th of July.
For now, 73, gud DX and Happy holiday. Mike, K1DM
CTRI Members,
As you may have noticed, we are scheduled to meet this coming Saturday at the North Kingstown Public Library. I have a little WARC antenna project I will share with the group. It should spark some lively discussions. I have modeled an antenna from the Antenna Handbook, using some of my past experience from my years of professing to know something about antennas. It should be interesting to see how well the model results compare to the results I get in the real world. For an antenna, the final answer is always how it plays in the real world, not how nice the “model” results come out.
We also should have some other topics – results from the CT-1 W1AW/1 Operation, the RI-1 W1AW/1 Operation, upcoming field day, June VHF contest, etc, etc.
If you are planing on attending, please add a comment to this post. We’ll start at 10:00 AM and get finished before 1:00 PM
Hope to see you there. 73, Mike, K1DM
Topics
Coffee and Drinks by:
Members who will attend: K1DM, NG1G, W1PN, W1XX, K1SD, KB1RFJ, K3IU, W1AN, KS1J(?)
Venue: North Kingstown Free Library, at 10:00AM
Those of us who work at HQ have a RED BADGE. We received this yesterday: (K1DM – I’m worth 50 points!)
Sunday, June 1 will be the first round of “Red Badges On The Air,” a day when HQ is encouraging any ARRL officer, elected official, HQ staff or HQ volunteer to get on the air and hand out points in the Centennial QSO Party.
The event will run from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC (Saturday evening through Sunday evening local time). Operate as much or as little as you like, on whatever bands you enjoy. Call “CQ Centennial QSO Party” on phone, “CQ CENT” on CW or digital modes.
The Centennial QSO Party is a runaway success; members are overwhelmingly enthusiastic about this ARRL operating event and activity on the bands has noticeably increased as a result. As people with red badges have high point values in the Centennial QSO Party, getting on the air June 1 and working our members will improve their scores in our event (as well as yours) and give more visibility to your ARRL department, division or section.
If you are not able to participate on June 1, we are planning on holding this event at least one other day this year. We encourage everybody to participate in the Centennial QSO Party as much as possible, not just on this day.
We hope to hear you on the bands on Sunday, June 1.
If you need more info on the Centennial QSO Party, visit http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party
73,
Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Media and Public Relations Manager
Gang,
Would anyone happen to have a trap from a HyGain TH-6DXX tri-band beam that I could talk you out of? I need one of the “clear” plastic spacers inside the trap. Each trap contains 4 of these spacers, and I have managed to lose one for the antenna I am rehabilitating. Since this antenna is no longer in production, it may be difficult to purchase a replacement.
The TH-7 DX may have the identical spacers, but I haven’t taken apart a trap for that antenna to check.
If you have one, please let me know, or you can bring it to the meeting on Saturday, and we can negotiate.
Thanks, 73, Mike, K1DM
Dear CTRI Members;
As you know, W1AN and I are managing the CT part of the W1AW/1-CT Centennial Operation the 7 days starting April 30 through 6 May (UTC). You also know that the NEQP along with the INQP and 7th Area QP happens the weekend inside this time period. We would like to continue the club tradition of submitting BIG scores for the club during the NEQP, so John, W1AN has opened his station to all club members during the contest period. With W1AW/1 as the call sign we should be able to have some amazing runs.
The challenge will be keeping 5 bands with both SSB and CW active through the contest period. We will have 3 chairs at W1AN available and have offers from other stations who have agreed to host guests. Being near impossible to fill all possible slots from three chairs with CTRIers, we are going to eventually open up the offer to the entire W1AW/1-CT team and host stations and see if we can fill the slots that way. But, I think you all would agree we would prefer to give first choice to our own club members.
Time is getting short for our planning, so please contact John W1AN with your preferred operating times. Please respond very soon.
Thank you for the support. 73, Mike, K1DM
Please remember for the entire W1AW/1-CT week, John will have his station available to CTRI members. Please access the schedule at w1aw.dxusa.net and select your time slots. If you need a password contact K1DM and cc. W1AN.
CTRI CG members;
I went up to HQ in Newington this morning to archive some more QSL cards. I didn’t have lots today, and I finished before 11:00 AM, so I decided to walk across the parking lot and give W1AW a try.
Joe set me up on 10-meter phone and turned me loose. I spent about 30 minutes practicing managing a pile-up. I started by calling CQ about 3 times, and that’s all it took, I had a good pile of operators calling me, and it was difficult to grab a call-sign.
At any rate, after about 30 minutes, I had about 30 stations in the log. For my first attempt, that felt pretty good.
Now, here’s an opportunity to get some practice: If you would like to operate W100AW, just show up. It’s first-come, first-served, but the league would very much like to keep the station on the air as much as possible this year. The rules they are using are just the same as the regular guest operations; mornings from 10:00 to 12:00, and afternoons from 13:00 to (I think) 15:30. Joe will patch you from the transceiver of your choice to the appropriate antenna, show you how to turn the rotor, and then let you go to town. They are using N1MM as the logging program, which most of us are familiar with.
I didn’t work anything exotic, but I sure had fun. I plan on operating at least once per week between now and our time for the W1AW/1 event. I might even figure out how to handle a phone pile-up by the end of April!
Give it a try. You might just enjoy yourself! 73, Mike, K1DM (if you want to share a ride – let me know, maybe we can work something).
CTRI’ers,
I want to contribute to the effort this weekend @ John’s, but I have some commitments that are going to force me to operate only at certain times. I’d like to coordinate those times if at all possible so that we spread the operators out over the entire weekend, instead of us having a lump of ops all at the same time (sitting around rag-chewing instead of operating).
Please post what times you can be there, and what times you absolutely can’t be there, and perhaps we can “force fit” ops to the entire weekend without too many problems. I will work with John on Thursday and Friday during the day to assist with final preparations, like making sure the F-key labels are ready, the computer files are up-to-date, etc.
I CANNOT operate early Friday evening, nor Sunday morning through mid afternoon. I guess that means I could be available most of Saturday. I would like to get some sleep Saturday night since I have a busy Sunday morning/afternoon.
Thanks for posting your options. I am looking forward to sitting behind the stack on 15-meters (5 over 5). We should have good propagation – it should be a blast.
73, Mike, K1DM
Gang,
I just found something you might find interesting, and want to participate in.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/hijuno/
This URL has the details. We, the Amateur Radio Community, are being asked to assist NASA with an experiment when their JUNO space craft does a fly-by of Earth on Wednesday (Tomorrow).
The details are on the web site I have given above. We are being asked to transmit on 10-meters according to a VERY SLOW CW schedule all explained. It’s an opportunity to be part of the history of a space-craft traveling to Jupiter.
If you’re available, give it a try.
73, Mike, K1DM, CTRI CG President
Club members,
At our September 2013 meeting at the Crandall House, we held electrons as required by the club bylaws. Here are your new officers:
President: Mike, K1DM
VP: James, K1SD
Secretary: Ed, W1PN
Treasurer: Chuck, KA1CQR
Contest Manager: Pat, NG1G
In addition, the Executive Committee includes all club officers AND the past president, who is John, W1AN.
We look forward to serving all club members as best we can for this coming year. Also, Ken, K3IU, will continue to maintain the club contest competition spread sheet.
Also, we’d like to thank Bill, W1WBB and Ken, K3IU for their service these past two years as Contest Manager and VP respectively.
73, Mike, K1DM
ARRL Centenial Celebration – W1AW/? QSP Party
Our request to HQ about operating during the IARU Contest in July with a special “HQ” callsign got us a reply that we’d have to wait several years to get on the list, but that there would be a chance for our club to participate during the ARRL Centenial Celebration in 2014.
John, W1AN, and I received an invitation from Dave Patton, NN1N, to represent Connecticut during the upcoming celebration. I have included some information from the League web link that Dave sent to us.
John and I have decided that the NEQP weekend would be an amazing weekend to be operating W1AW/1, so we have reserved the week which includes that contest (April 30, 2014 – May 6, 2014).
We are going to need operators so that we can keep the station on-air as much of that week, in as many modes and bands, as possible. Please put this in your plans for the coming year. We will probably mount a big effort from John’s QTH, since it is set up for M2, and perhaps more.
Here’s what I stoled from the ARRL link.
“In 2014 ARRL and its volunteers will activate W1AW/x in each of the 50 states, territories and possessions. The goal is for the W1AW/ operations to be as active as possible during the Tuesday night local to Wednesday time frames (00Z Weds to 2359Z Tuesday). All bands and modes may be used. ARRL will offer Worked All States Awards for QSOs made with the W1AW/ portable operations and incentives to work each activation, even if the state has already been worked. There will also be a points-gathering activity, during which W1AW/ portable stations will be worth points.”
“Each week there can be up to two W1AW/ operations from the states and one from a territory.”
“Please use the calendar below to find an open week to operate as W1AW/. It is OK to share the operation with other stations in the state, but try to keep the complexity down — sharing logs over a large network isn’t necessary unless you want to experiment. HQ will need ADIF files from each county from where an operation occurred.”
“Contest weekends: We’re not sure yet of the effect on logging programs or log checking if three or four W1AW/ variations are active. We might have to agree on which activation can use the call during a contest if there are multiple station which want to be on for the contest. More later.”
I have also reserved the week that will include the WAE DX RTTY contest, which our club seems to enjoy operating. We could again mount a substantial effort for this one (November 5, 2014 – November 11, 2014).
Let’s make this effort a winner for CTRI Contest Group. Comments are welcome.
73, Mike, K1DM
The league is currently looking for a “Tour Guide” volunteer for the month of July. I can’t do it since my wife will be going through Chemo-therapy. The immediate need is for Wednesday mornings 0900 – 1200 for the month of July.
If you are interested, please contact me, and I will make arrangements to get you trained quickly.
The fringe benefits are pretty neat.
73, Mike, K1DM
