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President's LetterJonathan Pearce, WB2MNFMay 2024 |
Activity at the GCARC generally starts heating up in the summer, but April was an especially active month for the Club. Despite bad weather and some technical difficulties, the General Membership Meeting was well attended and successful, and the Tech Saturday Forum that followed was one of the best attended in recent history. Many projects are underway, the VHF towers are ready to be installed, and there's an exciting agenda on the antennas planned for the May and June Club activity sessions.
A Record-Breaking Tech Saturday!
Tech Saturday Forum events are generally well attended, but the April 6th event probably broke new records with almost two dozen attendees. After his General Membership Meeting presentation on Parks on the Air (POTA), John Zaruba Jr K2ZA brought his entire kit of POTA equipment down to the W2MMD Clubhouse for a fascinating presentation on how he successfully works this activity under a variety of circumstances. Many members seem eager to try out this relatively new aspect of ham radio.
After John's presentation several small groups got together to work on various projects. In particular, Mike Thompson KG4JYA dug into the GOES satellite image station, cleaning up some of the programming and fixing some issues that had inhibited production of the videos developed from those models. Other members worked with Chris Prioli AD2CS solving individual problems. Tech Saturday always provides an opportunity for learning, cooperation, and working together to find new ways to enjoy amateur radio.
GCARC Teamwork On The Woodruff School Balloon Project
Last month the GCARC was approached by Club member Joseph Lee N2BNJ, who is also a member of the Upper Deerfield Township School Board, to assist in developing a STEM-related set of activities and curricula for one of the middle schools in the district. After meeting with their superintendent, administrator, and a science teacher, we collectively agreed on a project that involves launching a high altitude balloon carrying a 20m WSPR transmitter designed to circumnavigate the earth and allowing it to be tracked by the WSPR receiving network. Along with the balloon project we’ll also work with the science teacher team to create a curriculum around the physics of the balloon itself and also the radio communication used in tracking it.
This project will be an after-school activity commencing in the fall; however many activities are already underway. Our team quickly recognized that the school balloon launch could not be the first such activity for the Club; we needed to gain experience before creating any public activity. So a small team of Club members including Mike Thompson KG4JYA, Len Rust W2LJR, and Doug Dersch KD2VQA with lots of assistance from Marc Federici WM2Y have already begun identifying the WSPR radios needed for the balloon as well as various opportunities for tracking it as it circumnavigates the earth. We expect that it'll take about a month to pull everything together and hope to launch from the Clubhouse sometime in June. If successful we'll be able to track this balloon and will have also gained the experience necessary to launch what may be the first of several balloons working with school students. As a Club with more than 200 members it's incumbent upon us to have a significant educational outreach activity, so it's quite satisfying to be able to work on this project.
VHF Towers Project Moves Forward
The upcoming warmer weather creates an opportunity to install the two VHF towers behind the Clubhouse, so preparations are beginning to schedule excavation, delivery of reinforcing bars, concrete, and the other activities needed for this project. Progress will be dependent on weather and availability of resources, but optimistically these towers will be in place by mid-summer.
May and June Meetings Focus On Antennas
In response to requests from a number of Club members, the Club’s group educational activities for May and June will be focused on antenna theory, construction and use. At the May 1, 2024 General Membership Meeting the speaker will be Spencer Webb W2SW, an expert on antenna design at www.antennasys.com.
The May 4, 2024 Tech Saturday Forum will involve learning to use a Nano VNA test instrument to tune a simple 70cm ground plane antenna as well as several other VNA topics. Participants at the June 8, 2024 Tech Saturday Forum will construct a more useful antenna, the Ed Fong DBJ-2 VHF/UHF collinear antenna. Made from twinlead with a coax tuning stub and encased in a PVC pipe. This antenna is functional on 2 meters and 70cm and will cost about $25 in components. Prior enrollment in each of these sessions is necessary to assure that enough materials and assembly tools are available, so please email [email protected] to reserve your place at these sessions.
Finally, the May 6, 2024 GCARC TechNet ZOOM Forum will focus on antenna modeling software starting with the 70cm antenna and moving on to different variations of that antenna and potentially different antenna designs. The objective of this session is to allow participants at home to install and use their own copies of the software, collaborating with others for assistance.
Field Day Opportunities For All
The ARRL Field Day event over the weekend of June 22nd and 23rd provides opportunities for all Club members to participate in one of the major ham radio events of the year. On Field Day, Club members set up temporary antennas, stations, and operating quarters on the Clubhouse site that operate using emergency power over the weekend to make as many contacts as possible. This year we hope to operate as class “8A”, meaning that we have eight different stations operating. This provides a great opportunity for experienced hams to help out raising the Club score, and for newer hams to become familiar with operating techniques, especially in a contest. We hope many Club members from the local area will sign up to operate one of the stations or visit the site over that weekend. So mark your calendar for that weekend and plan to come to one of the major events of the year.
Rowan Rocket Project Radio Check
As previously described, a team of Rowan University students are building a large solid-fuel rocket for launch at an event in June and asked the GCARC for some assistance with the radios used for tracking, telemetry and management of the parachutes. Several radios had been used in previous efforts but none were functioning correctly. Chris Prioli AD2CS worked through them in detail finding several issues that he corrected. He then tested their range at the Clubhouse using an attenuator and found them to be quite functional at the distances over which they would be used. They’re now ready to be installed in the rocket.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
A Record-Breaking Tech Saturday!
Tech Saturday Forum events are generally well attended, but the April 6th event probably broke new records with almost two dozen attendees. After his General Membership Meeting presentation on Parks on the Air (POTA), John Zaruba Jr K2ZA brought his entire kit of POTA equipment down to the W2MMD Clubhouse for a fascinating presentation on how he successfully works this activity under a variety of circumstances. Many members seem eager to try out this relatively new aspect of ham radio.
After John's presentation several small groups got together to work on various projects. In particular, Mike Thompson KG4JYA dug into the GOES satellite image station, cleaning up some of the programming and fixing some issues that had inhibited production of the videos developed from those models. Other members worked with Chris Prioli AD2CS solving individual problems. Tech Saturday always provides an opportunity for learning, cooperation, and working together to find new ways to enjoy amateur radio.
GCARC Teamwork On The Woodruff School Balloon Project
Last month the GCARC was approached by Club member Joseph Lee N2BNJ, who is also a member of the Upper Deerfield Township School Board, to assist in developing a STEM-related set of activities and curricula for one of the middle schools in the district. After meeting with their superintendent, administrator, and a science teacher, we collectively agreed on a project that involves launching a high altitude balloon carrying a 20m WSPR transmitter designed to circumnavigate the earth and allowing it to be tracked by the WSPR receiving network. Along with the balloon project we’ll also work with the science teacher team to create a curriculum around the physics of the balloon itself and also the radio communication used in tracking it.
This project will be an after-school activity commencing in the fall; however many activities are already underway. Our team quickly recognized that the school balloon launch could not be the first such activity for the Club; we needed to gain experience before creating any public activity. So a small team of Club members including Mike Thompson KG4JYA, Len Rust W2LJR, and Doug Dersch KD2VQA with lots of assistance from Marc Federici WM2Y have already begun identifying the WSPR radios needed for the balloon as well as various opportunities for tracking it as it circumnavigates the earth. We expect that it'll take about a month to pull everything together and hope to launch from the Clubhouse sometime in June. If successful we'll be able to track this balloon and will have also gained the experience necessary to launch what may be the first of several balloons working with school students. As a Club with more than 200 members it's incumbent upon us to have a significant educational outreach activity, so it's quite satisfying to be able to work on this project.
VHF Towers Project Moves Forward
The upcoming warmer weather creates an opportunity to install the two VHF towers behind the Clubhouse, so preparations are beginning to schedule excavation, delivery of reinforcing bars, concrete, and the other activities needed for this project. Progress will be dependent on weather and availability of resources, but optimistically these towers will be in place by mid-summer.
May and June Meetings Focus On Antennas
In response to requests from a number of Club members, the Club’s group educational activities for May and June will be focused on antenna theory, construction and use. At the May 1, 2024 General Membership Meeting the speaker will be Spencer Webb W2SW, an expert on antenna design at www.antennasys.com.
The May 4, 2024 Tech Saturday Forum will involve learning to use a Nano VNA test instrument to tune a simple 70cm ground plane antenna as well as several other VNA topics. Participants at the June 8, 2024 Tech Saturday Forum will construct a more useful antenna, the Ed Fong DBJ-2 VHF/UHF collinear antenna. Made from twinlead with a coax tuning stub and encased in a PVC pipe. This antenna is functional on 2 meters and 70cm and will cost about $25 in components. Prior enrollment in each of these sessions is necessary to assure that enough materials and assembly tools are available, so please email [email protected] to reserve your place at these sessions.
Finally, the May 6, 2024 GCARC TechNet ZOOM Forum will focus on antenna modeling software starting with the 70cm antenna and moving on to different variations of that antenna and potentially different antenna designs. The objective of this session is to allow participants at home to install and use their own copies of the software, collaborating with others for assistance.
Field Day Opportunities For All
The ARRL Field Day event over the weekend of June 22nd and 23rd provides opportunities for all Club members to participate in one of the major ham radio events of the year. On Field Day, Club members set up temporary antennas, stations, and operating quarters on the Clubhouse site that operate using emergency power over the weekend to make as many contacts as possible. This year we hope to operate as class “8A”, meaning that we have eight different stations operating. This provides a great opportunity for experienced hams to help out raising the Club score, and for newer hams to become familiar with operating techniques, especially in a contest. We hope many Club members from the local area will sign up to operate one of the stations or visit the site over that weekend. So mark your calendar for that weekend and plan to come to one of the major events of the year.
Rowan Rocket Project Radio Check
As previously described, a team of Rowan University students are building a large solid-fuel rocket for launch at an event in June and asked the GCARC for some assistance with the radios used for tracking, telemetry and management of the parachutes. Several radios had been used in previous efforts but none were functioning correctly. Chris Prioli AD2CS worked through them in detail finding several issues that he corrected. He then tested their range at the Clubhouse using an attenuator and found them to be quite functional at the distances over which they would be used. They’re now ready to be installed in the rocket.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
Saturday, May 4, 2024
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Full Flower Moon - Thursday, May 23, 2024 @ 0955 Hours
May’s Flower Moon name should be no surprise; flowers spring forth across North America in abundance this month! “Flower Moon” has been attributed to Algonquin peoples, as confirmed by Christina Ruddy of The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre in Pikwakanagan, Ontario. May’s Moon was also referred to as the “Month of Flowers” by Jonathan Carver in his 1798 publication, Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America: 1766, 1767, 1768 (pp. 250-252), as a likely Dakota name. Carver stayed with the Naudowessie (Dakota) over a period of time; his expedition covered the Great Lakes region, including Wisconsin and Minnesota areas. Henry David Thoreau sparked the Native American Moon names as well, referencing the Flower Moon and Carver when he wrote about Native Americans.
Old Farmer’s Almanac - www.almanac.com
Sunday, May 26, 2024
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