As we ramp up for the warmer weather and outdoor activities it is a good thing to mark up the calendar.. My best memory is on paper or in the phone's calendar..
As we had waited on the propagation cycle to get here, now that it is, it has not lived up to the hype .. On the other hand, there are a lot of Parks On The Air (POTA) or State QSO Party calls most days.. Even though you are not joining into the contest, you can still give them points by contacting them.. good way to check on the antenna directivity ... I seem to get more East Coast and for some reason Texas stations and enjoy seeing the difference between my vertical and dipole antennas..
Enough about what is going on in my shack.--- How are you doing on getting your show-and-tell Kit or Homebrew ready for the August Club meeting.. I have heard from a couple of operators that are in the testing stages of their projects ..
Also heard from the Fox Hunt Chairperson, Sarah, AD9FA, that the Hunt on the 19th went well and KC9HAL, Jeff was the best hunter of the night - .being the first one there.. Now we can start planning on the next one which is already scheduled for Sunday May 17th 5:30PM on 147.555 simplex. KC9HAL will be the Fox..
I wonder why there are so many endings to the ditty .."Hooray, hooray, the first of May, ****** " One might be " Brat Barns begin today" Remember the 3rd of May is our first one at the DePere Festival.. Come and help out or bring home some brats for lunch or dinner.. .
Don't forget the combined radio clubs picnic on May 9th at Bay Shore Park.. Starting at 10am til 4pm It was a good time last year and should be again this year.. The County is planning to do a major overhaul of the park this year..
The month begins on a Friday so the Siren Net will be on the Wednesday the 13th and the Club Meeting will be on Thursday the 14th with a Tech Talk before... The information about the Talk will be in the next Radio Happenings Newsletter.....
The Champion repeater, as it is becoming to be called, is moving along. The antenna and hardline has been installed on site.. The repeater is on the bench being checked out before moving to Champion.. With the new amplifier it should do pretty well.. but may need an additional duplexer .. The bench testing went well last week with the Fusion and a couple of operators trying the different modes..
Be sure to check out the attached Newsletter from the M&M ARC.. And here is a fund raiser notice ..
. https://provenwinnersdirect.com/?bg_ref=YYxIpZ78Y2
As some may recall, we have been operating at the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse for a couple of years during their open houses. Besides doing general CQing, we have been providing information to the guests about the radio beaconing system that used to be there. So besides having the light to indicate where they were, the radio beacon would be able to reach out beyond the light on foggy days. Of course we would explain Amateur (Ham) Radio as well and perhaps hand them the microphone to talk to an operator elsewhere... or have young folk spell their names with a Code Key.... The dates this year are: May 30th, July 11th, July 18th, August 8th (National Lighthouse Day / Lighthouses on the Air/ ) and October 3rd. They are open from 10am to 4pm.. come out and join in... sharing the time with others.. ..
If you know of a family that is looking at disposing of a relative's radio gear, please let our Hamfest Chairpersons know so we can add the equipment to be sold at the Fest.... Hope you can help out at the Hamfest.. Set up starts on Friday the 29th at 4PM ...