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Greetings to all, and I hope that all of you are doing well as springtime finally prevails over what seemed like a long winter, at least to me. Now it is time to get those antenna projects under way and start doing some station maintenance. I am glad to report that we are making great progress with the second phase of our W2MMD Clubhouse station grounding upgrades and re-modeling. The VHF station is currently torn down as those upgrades are being performed. And soon we will be putting up our new tower and HF antenna.
Lots of great things are happening at our Club station, and we can always use some extra help, so if you have a free Saturday, by all means, stop by and lend a hand. In the mean time, our HF station is operational for both remote and local access, with just the temporary antennas, so be sure to check it out, especially if you don't have an HF station at home. Access to our Club station is just one of the great benefits of membership in GCARC.
Our licensing classes, round two, are coming along nicely, under the direction of Education Chairman Chris, AD2CS. A total of 28 students are enrolled in the three classes, which has again resulted in a spike in new member applications, thanks to the active recruiting efforts of Chris. Our membership levels are approaching an all-time high, which is really encouraging. Hopefully this will translate into lots of new participation in our larger events like Field Day and the Hamfest. Speaking of Field Day, as of this writing it is a mere 8 weeks away. FD Chairman Vinnie, N4NYY, has all the planning well at hand, and has made a plea for more operators. You don't need a lot of experience, just the will to get on the air and make contacts. Those of us who are old hands at this will be there to show you what to do and make sure you get off on the right foot. Operating on Field Day is one of the most fun things a ham can do, and anyone who has not experienced it really needs to come out and give it a try.
On the subject of operating, as I write this, the Solar Flux Index is now 160. How is this significant? Well, since getting back on the air in January of 2016, I have not seen it anywhere near this high. In fact, for a couple of years, it rarely went above 80. What this means is that Cycle 25 is off to a great start, and good DX is once again available to work almost on a daily basis. The 15 and 10 meter bands have roared back to life, and are showing good activity once again. If you are a new ham who has come into the hobby via the VHF and UHF bands, as is customary these days, I implore you to get on HF and work some DX. It is a thrill that cannot be described with mere words, one has to experience it. And you don't need to build a big station to do it, modest equipment will work just fine. Or you can just operate from our excellent Club station, in which case you will have no trouble being heard. This solar cycle is already beating the best predictions, so unless it peters out early, the next few years are going to be a fun time to work some good DX on the HF bands.
Our able repeater committee has reported that the primary issue with the 2m machine was due to a bad patch cable, which has been repaired. The 70cm repeater is still off the air and is being worked on. We will let you know when it is back up and running at full strength. And as long as we talking about "repairs", I am happy to report that both Jeff, WB2ZBN; and Ray, W2RM, are back at home recovering nicely after undergoing some procedures themselves. Get well soon guys, we need you both, and we miss seeing you.
That is about all I have for now, but please join me in welcoming the following new members to GCARC :
Welcome all, and glad to have you aboard! I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the meeting on May 4th, but until then, 73 for now.
Lots of great things are happening at our Club station, and we can always use some extra help, so if you have a free Saturday, by all means, stop by and lend a hand. In the mean time, our HF station is operational for both remote and local access, with just the temporary antennas, so be sure to check it out, especially if you don't have an HF station at home. Access to our Club station is just one of the great benefits of membership in GCARC.
Our licensing classes, round two, are coming along nicely, under the direction of Education Chairman Chris, AD2CS. A total of 28 students are enrolled in the three classes, which has again resulted in a spike in new member applications, thanks to the active recruiting efforts of Chris. Our membership levels are approaching an all-time high, which is really encouraging. Hopefully this will translate into lots of new participation in our larger events like Field Day and the Hamfest. Speaking of Field Day, as of this writing it is a mere 8 weeks away. FD Chairman Vinnie, N4NYY, has all the planning well at hand, and has made a plea for more operators. You don't need a lot of experience, just the will to get on the air and make contacts. Those of us who are old hands at this will be there to show you what to do and make sure you get off on the right foot. Operating on Field Day is one of the most fun things a ham can do, and anyone who has not experienced it really needs to come out and give it a try.
On the subject of operating, as I write this, the Solar Flux Index is now 160. How is this significant? Well, since getting back on the air in January of 2016, I have not seen it anywhere near this high. In fact, for a couple of years, it rarely went above 80. What this means is that Cycle 25 is off to a great start, and good DX is once again available to work almost on a daily basis. The 15 and 10 meter bands have roared back to life, and are showing good activity once again. If you are a new ham who has come into the hobby via the VHF and UHF bands, as is customary these days, I implore you to get on HF and work some DX. It is a thrill that cannot be described with mere words, one has to experience it. And you don't need to build a big station to do it, modest equipment will work just fine. Or you can just operate from our excellent Club station, in which case you will have no trouble being heard. This solar cycle is already beating the best predictions, so unless it peters out early, the next few years are going to be a fun time to work some good DX on the HF bands.
Our able repeater committee has reported that the primary issue with the 2m machine was due to a bad patch cable, which has been repaired. The 70cm repeater is still off the air and is being worked on. We will let you know when it is back up and running at full strength. And as long as we talking about "repairs", I am happy to report that both Jeff, WB2ZBN; and Ray, W2RM, are back at home recovering nicely after undergoing some procedures themselves. Get well soon guys, we need you both, and we miss seeing you.
That is about all I have for now, but please join me in welcoming the following new members to GCARC :
- Adam Duncan, KD2ZCM
- Robert Saunders, KC2UYS ( Returning Member)
- Robert Brown, KD2YUG
- Joshua Bradway, (no call)
- Robert Caruso, KC3TZQ
- Charles Lessley, KC3TZR
- Frank Reyes, KD2ZHA
- Thomas Distelcamp, KC2GYC
- Bill Mollenhauer, N2FZ (Returning Member)
Welcome all, and glad to have you aboard! I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the meeting on May 4th, but until then, 73 for now.