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President's LetterJonathan Pearce, WB2MNFMarch 2023 |
March 2023
February is the shortest month of the year, but it certainly wasn't short of challenges and successes for the Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club. We started out the month by finding with only a few hours notice that our normal monthly meeting spot at the Pfeiffer Community Center was closed, necessitating a quick reversion to a Zoom-based meeting. Fortunately most members were able to make the switch, and Zoom attendance was almost equal to the usual in-person attendance. The management team met at the Clubhouse for the meeting, and that group's attendance was about the same as the usual Zoom attendance, so overall attendance at the meeting was almost at the usual level. For the March 1, 2023 meeting Len Rust W2LJR arranged for us to use the Mantua Masonic Lodge so we'll be able to meet in person once again.
Tech Saturday was its usual success with more than 20 attendees signed into the Clubhouse for a session on the use of the new Flex 3000 radio in the HF room. Following that discussion Jim N2GXJ initiated an impromptu work group session to design and implement a 160 meter antenna for the Clubhouse, to be ready in time for the CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest to be held the weekend of February 24th. That effort, described in this March 2023 CrossTalk issue, has resulted in a functional antenna, and although at this point requiring some further tuning it should be usable for the 160 meter contest. A great example of Club teamwork in action!
The weekend of February 18th, saw several other projects completed. The aging and massive EchoLink® computer was replaced by a compact PC, and a 220 MHz port was added to the WinLink® station. Both of these projects were team efforts, utilizing the skills and efforts of members who frequent the Clubhouse on Saturdays.
We also had our first “HelpNet” in February, occurring on Monday night February 27 at 7:30 PM. HelpNets are unstructured Q&A sessions for members who would like assistance on a particular issue or project. In this case Mike KG4JYA was looking for some assistance in getting SDR Console to recognize his SDR radio, and while he has solved that problem we’re still going to meet to talk about various SDR issues. All members are invited to initiate HelpNet discussions and to participate in them. They’ll be announced through email and on the Club website.
Finally, to any members who haven't renewed their membership - please do so either at the March meeting or through the Pay Dues Here page on the website. We only have a little more than half of the renewals necessary to meet our budget and will shortly be reaching out to contact individual members who haven't renewed. To avoid an e-mail or phone call on this issue please renew soon.
This month we welcome the following new members :
73 de Jon WB2MNF
President, GCARC
February is the shortest month of the year, but it certainly wasn't short of challenges and successes for the Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club. We started out the month by finding with only a few hours notice that our normal monthly meeting spot at the Pfeiffer Community Center was closed, necessitating a quick reversion to a Zoom-based meeting. Fortunately most members were able to make the switch, and Zoom attendance was almost equal to the usual in-person attendance. The management team met at the Clubhouse for the meeting, and that group's attendance was about the same as the usual Zoom attendance, so overall attendance at the meeting was almost at the usual level. For the March 1, 2023 meeting Len Rust W2LJR arranged for us to use the Mantua Masonic Lodge so we'll be able to meet in person once again.
Tech Saturday was its usual success with more than 20 attendees signed into the Clubhouse for a session on the use of the new Flex 3000 radio in the HF room. Following that discussion Jim N2GXJ initiated an impromptu work group session to design and implement a 160 meter antenna for the Clubhouse, to be ready in time for the CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest to be held the weekend of February 24th. That effort, described in this March 2023 CrossTalk issue, has resulted in a functional antenna, and although at this point requiring some further tuning it should be usable for the 160 meter contest. A great example of Club teamwork in action!
The weekend of February 18th, saw several other projects completed. The aging and massive EchoLink® computer was replaced by a compact PC, and a 220 MHz port was added to the WinLink® station. Both of these projects were team efforts, utilizing the skills and efforts of members who frequent the Clubhouse on Saturdays.
We also had our first “HelpNet” in February, occurring on Monday night February 27 at 7:30 PM. HelpNets are unstructured Q&A sessions for members who would like assistance on a particular issue or project. In this case Mike KG4JYA was looking for some assistance in getting SDR Console to recognize his SDR radio, and while he has solved that problem we’re still going to meet to talk about various SDR issues. All members are invited to initiate HelpNet discussions and to participate in them. They’ll be announced through email and on the Club website.
Finally, to any members who haven't renewed their membership - please do so either at the March meeting or through the Pay Dues Here page on the website. We only have a little more than half of the renewals necessary to meet our budget and will shortly be reaching out to contact individual members who haven't renewed. To avoid an e-mail or phone call on this issue please renew soon.
This month we welcome the following new members :
- Norman Coltri, WA2UUP from Swedesboro.
- Michael Covaleski, N2MMC from Sewell (Returning Member).
- Susan Frank, W6SKT from Swedesboro.
- Joseph Gadoury, KE2AKT from Tabernacle.
- Todd Woodward, KD2ESH from Turnersville.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
President, GCARC
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Sunday, March 12, 2023 @ 0200 Hours
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Happy Birthday, Albert : March 14, 1879
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Happy Pi Day
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Monday, March 20, 2023 @ 1724 Hours
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National Doctors Day : Thursday, March 30, 2023
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Full Worm Moon - March 7, 2023 @ 0742 Hours :
This name is traditionally thought to refer to the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring. Alternatively, during his travels in the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver wrote that this Moon name refers to a different sort of “worm” - larvae - which emerge from the bark of trees and other winter hideouts.
Although some Cree groups used the term Eagle Moon to describe the time around February, others used this term for the Moon cycle closer to spring. The Northern Ojibwe called this Crow Comes Back Moon. The term Goose Moon was used among Algonquin and Cree peoples. Snow Crust Moon was an Anishinaabe term. Sore Eyes Moon is a Dakota, Lakota, and Assiniboine term referring to the blinding rays of the sun on snow. Sugar Moon (Ojibwe) is the time when maple sap runs. Wind Strong Moon (Pueblo) refers to the strong windy days that come at this time of year. Old Farmer’s Almanac - www.almanac.com