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President's LetterJonathan Pearce, WB2MNFAugust 2026 |
After the whirlwind of Field Day in June followed by the July 4 holiday GCARC activities continued actively into July. Chris Prioli AD2CS ran two highly-successful workshop sessions building the end-fed half-wave antenna transformer that’s used for these popular antennas. More than 25 members attended the two Saturday sessions that were necessary to accommodate the large number of participants. Many of these devices may end up being used with the WSPR transmitters that were constructed in May. Notably many of the participants were newer Club members, and it’s gratifying to see these members immediately getting involved in Club activities. We’re always looking for interesting and useful construction projects that capitalize on our Club’s unique capabilities - the Clubhouse workspace and Chris’ ability to organize and lead these sessions - and hopefully we’ll have one more such session before the end of the year.
August Is For Meteors!
The Perseids Meteor Shower appears overhead in August, peaking on the 12th and 13th so we’ll be at the Clubhouse early - VERY early - on August 13th to bounce some radio signals off meteors as they flash through the sky. Meteor scatter operation uses the MSK144 protocol from the WSJT-X suite of programs and successfully bounces tiny signals off of fleeting meteor bursts by hammering them with repeated packets of data less than 100 milliseconds long. Operators can watch the signals being decoded - a long decoded transmission indicates a local signal being heard over ground-wave while a quick burst, particular from a distant callsign, indicates a transmission reflected from a tiny flash of a meteor. Seeing a decode from a W8 station in the Midwest is a sign of success.
Fair warning - watching meteor scatter isn’t the most exciting activity that you’ll find in ham radio! Over a two-hour operating period we may only make a half-dozen QSOs, so most of the time we’re staring at a screen hoping for something to happen. But when it works it’s pretty cool, so satisfaction has to result from achieving success at something difficult. Those who require instant gratification should stay home in bed. Hopefully we’ll have a small group of intrepid experimenters who will show up at the Clubhouse at the 4 AM for a couple of hours of cutting-edge ham radio activity that only occurs a few times each year. The Tech Saturday Forum session on August 8th will be a planning session for this event.
Working Meteor Scatter At W2MMD Guide On The Skunkworks Website
A beginner’s on-line field guide to working the Perseids meteor shower on 6 meters from the W2MMD Clubhouse using WSJT-X MSK144 - how it works, the exact software settings, the QSO process, where to point the beam, and a step-by-step plan for the Flex 6400 / 500 W station. Go to : https://wp.w2mmd.org/wp/projects-and-activities/working-meteor-scatter-at-w2mmd-msk144-on-6-meters-perseids-guide
Combining POTA And American History
Thanks to the efforts of Stan Slachetka WA2JRZ, GCARC members will have several opportunities to operate POTA with some of the most experienced POTA operators in the Club, and will do it in settings steeped in Revolutionary War history. The activation at the Hancock House is imminent on August 1st with John Zaruba K2ZA leading several other active POTA operators, followed up in September by a larger operation at Fort Mott. More detailed announcements of these events are on the Revolutionary War POTA page, but POTA operating is one activity that appears to have consistently created interest among members, so this is the perfect opportunity to get outside and combine learning best POTA practices with the most experienced operators along with participating in a celebration of American history. Check out the announcements and sign up!
New Remote HF Station Radio!
Users of the remote HF station can rejoice in the significant upgrade made to the transceiver on that station. After consistent technical issues with the previous Kenwood TS-2000 and a temporary switch to a borrowed FT-991a the Board approved purchasing a new Icom IC-7300, which will be partially financed by selling the Kenwood. Chris Prioli AD2CS installed the Icom on Saturday 7/18. Hopefully this update will eliminate many of the technical issues and lessen the hassle for both the users and the maintainers of that station.
On a personal note, I announced at the July General Membership Meeting that I’m not a candidate for Club President for 2027. Most GCARC presidents have served one or two years and several have served three years, but only one before me has served four and none have exceeded that term. I didn’t want to be the first, and when an exceedingly well qualified candidate told me of his interest in the office it made the decision quite easy (see his announcement on Page 6 in the August 2026 CrossTalk). I expect to continue as Tech Committee chair, which allows me to continue to manage Tech Saturday Forum sessions and support experimental projects. I’m also a candidate for Recording Secretary which will keep me as part of the Club leadership, so I’ll still be around and active after my term as president concludes at the end of 2026.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
August Is For Meteors!
The Perseids Meteor Shower appears overhead in August, peaking on the 12th and 13th so we’ll be at the Clubhouse early - VERY early - on August 13th to bounce some radio signals off meteors as they flash through the sky. Meteor scatter operation uses the MSK144 protocol from the WSJT-X suite of programs and successfully bounces tiny signals off of fleeting meteor bursts by hammering them with repeated packets of data less than 100 milliseconds long. Operators can watch the signals being decoded - a long decoded transmission indicates a local signal being heard over ground-wave while a quick burst, particular from a distant callsign, indicates a transmission reflected from a tiny flash of a meteor. Seeing a decode from a W8 station in the Midwest is a sign of success.
Fair warning - watching meteor scatter isn’t the most exciting activity that you’ll find in ham radio! Over a two-hour operating period we may only make a half-dozen QSOs, so most of the time we’re staring at a screen hoping for something to happen. But when it works it’s pretty cool, so satisfaction has to result from achieving success at something difficult. Those who require instant gratification should stay home in bed. Hopefully we’ll have a small group of intrepid experimenters who will show up at the Clubhouse at the 4 AM for a couple of hours of cutting-edge ham radio activity that only occurs a few times each year. The Tech Saturday Forum session on August 8th will be a planning session for this event.
Working Meteor Scatter At W2MMD Guide On The Skunkworks Website
A beginner’s on-line field guide to working the Perseids meteor shower on 6 meters from the W2MMD Clubhouse using WSJT-X MSK144 - how it works, the exact software settings, the QSO process, where to point the beam, and a step-by-step plan for the Flex 6400 / 500 W station. Go to : https://wp.w2mmd.org/wp/projects-and-activities/working-meteor-scatter-at-w2mmd-msk144-on-6-meters-perseids-guide
Combining POTA And American History
Thanks to the efforts of Stan Slachetka WA2JRZ, GCARC members will have several opportunities to operate POTA with some of the most experienced POTA operators in the Club, and will do it in settings steeped in Revolutionary War history. The activation at the Hancock House is imminent on August 1st with John Zaruba K2ZA leading several other active POTA operators, followed up in September by a larger operation at Fort Mott. More detailed announcements of these events are on the Revolutionary War POTA page, but POTA operating is one activity that appears to have consistently created interest among members, so this is the perfect opportunity to get outside and combine learning best POTA practices with the most experienced operators along with participating in a celebration of American history. Check out the announcements and sign up!
New Remote HF Station Radio!
Users of the remote HF station can rejoice in the significant upgrade made to the transceiver on that station. After consistent technical issues with the previous Kenwood TS-2000 and a temporary switch to a borrowed FT-991a the Board approved purchasing a new Icom IC-7300, which will be partially financed by selling the Kenwood. Chris Prioli AD2CS installed the Icom on Saturday 7/18. Hopefully this update will eliminate many of the technical issues and lessen the hassle for both the users and the maintainers of that station.
On a personal note, I announced at the July General Membership Meeting that I’m not a candidate for Club President for 2027. Most GCARC presidents have served one or two years and several have served three years, but only one before me has served four and none have exceeded that term. I didn’t want to be the first, and when an exceedingly well qualified candidate told me of his interest in the office it made the decision quite easy (see his announcement on Page 6 in the August 2026 CrossTalk). I expect to continue as Tech Committee chair, which allows me to continue to manage Tech Saturday Forum sessions and support experimental projects. I’m also a candidate for Recording Secretary which will keep me as part of the Club leadership, so I’ll still be around and active after my term as president concludes at the end of 2026.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
Tuesday, August 4, 2026
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Happy Birthday : August 4, 1790
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Thursday, August 6, 2026
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Friday, August 7, 2026
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Full Sturgeon Moon : August 28, 2026 @ 1219 Hours.
Lake sturgeon, found in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, as well as in several rivers, were once much more abundant. These large (some more than 6 feet long!) migratory fish were an important staple for Native American peoples living in the area. Captain Jonathan Carver came across this term for the lunar month during his travels in the 1760s. Flying Up Moon is a Cree term describing the time when young birds are ready to fly. Corn Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe), Harvest Moon (Dakota), and Ricing Moon (Anishinaabe) signify the time to gather mature crops. The Assiniboine people named this period Black Cherries Moon, referring to when chokecherries were ripe. The Tlingit called this time of season the Mountain Shadows Moon. |
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Old Farmer’s Almanac - www.almanac.com