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President's LetterJonathan Pearce, WB2MNFNovember 2025 |
October was likely a record month for GCARC member activity, with high event attendance and exciting activities that underscore our Club's vitality. As we move into the cooler months, let’s recap the highlights and look ahead to the events on the horizon.
October 1, 2025 General Membership Meeting
Our October 1st General Membership Meeting likely set a new attendance record, with 35 members in the room and 24 joining via Zoom - a total of 59 participants! Credit goes to Ron Block NR2B for securing speaker Spencer Webb W2SW, who delivered a fascinating presentation on transmission lines. Frank Romeo N3PUU and Chris Prioli AD2CS deserve equal praise for managing the Zoom setup, ensuring seamless remote access for participants each month. This hybrid approach continues to broaden our reach and foster collaboration across the Club, especially as our Club’s new member outreach is extending further from the meeting areas.
October 4, 2025 Tech Saturday Forum - APRS
John Zaruba K2ZA’s October Tech Saturday on “Introduction to APRS” drew what was likely a record crowd, filling every available Clubhouse seat and reflecting the growing enthusiasm for this messaging mode. He delved into the history of APRS and highlighted many underutilized features, such as messaging and status reporting, sparking interest in its broader potential. Subsequent discussions have highlighted additional opportunities to implement APRS in support of EmComm activities so additional collaboration and group activities are likely as we identify many of the uses of this mode.
We’re also making steady progress reassembling the Clubhouse APRS station to transmit weather data from our on-site weather station and creating a gateway for APRS packets to the aprs.fi site and for other reporting methods, along with combining APRS and other forms of external data for depiction of emergency situations. If there’s interest we may also create future sessions on setting up personal APRS home stations with Direwolf software.
CPR Courses
Josh Boylan KE2FSC led two successful CPR and First Aid sessions on the morning and afternoon of Sunday, October 5th, with about 9 members and guests attending each session. All participants earned certification in CPR and AED use and were introduced to the Clubhouse first aid kit, stocked by Josh for on-site needs. This skill set is important given the age of many of our members, as having trained CPR rescuers may be critical at some point. Josh’s extensive actual experience as an EMT combined with his “day job” training skills showed, and we were fortunate to have his expertise as an instructor and as a member of the Club.
EME Contest Success
The EME team - Al Arrison KB2AYU, Frank Romeo N3PUU, and John O'Connell K2QA - shone during the October ARRL EME Contest, setting up the 2.4-meter dish to secure five contacts by bouncing signals off the moon. This session used a new equipment configuration, mounting the dish in the pipe sunk into the ground in front of the VHF room window and a new relay-driven switching network to combine TX and RX functions at the feedhorn to use a single length of hardline run under the trailer to the opposite side of the VHF room where the 1296 MHz equipment is installed. This made setup and teardown much easier. Unfortunately rain prevented operating on Saturday night and Sunday morning, but the contest continues on November 8th and 9th and we’re already planning for that operation as well.
November 8, 2025 Tech Saturday Forum - DigiPi on Raspberry Pi
John Zaruba K2ZA returns on November 8th for a Tech Saturday presentation on the DigiPi suite of programs for Raspberry Pi computers - perfect for digital modes, APRS gateways, and packet setups. He’ll guide us through installation and configuration, with practical tips for all skill levels. We’re compiling a list of affordable Pi hardware for pre-purchase; watch your email for details if you’d like to set up your own rig. This session promises to spark some creative tinkering.
Holiday Dinner
Save the date for our Holiday Dinner on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM at the Lamp Post Diner in Clementon. Expect a delightful evening of food, conversation, and camaraderie. Sign-up here : https://registration.w2mmd.org/wpregp/gcarc-holiday-dinner
The Clubhouse remains a hub of activity most Saturdays, so stop by for operating time, project help, or a chat. Your participation keeps GCARC moving as we head into the winter months.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
October 1, 2025 General Membership Meeting
Our October 1st General Membership Meeting likely set a new attendance record, with 35 members in the room and 24 joining via Zoom - a total of 59 participants! Credit goes to Ron Block NR2B for securing speaker Spencer Webb W2SW, who delivered a fascinating presentation on transmission lines. Frank Romeo N3PUU and Chris Prioli AD2CS deserve equal praise for managing the Zoom setup, ensuring seamless remote access for participants each month. This hybrid approach continues to broaden our reach and foster collaboration across the Club, especially as our Club’s new member outreach is extending further from the meeting areas.
October 4, 2025 Tech Saturday Forum - APRS
John Zaruba K2ZA’s October Tech Saturday on “Introduction to APRS” drew what was likely a record crowd, filling every available Clubhouse seat and reflecting the growing enthusiasm for this messaging mode. He delved into the history of APRS and highlighted many underutilized features, such as messaging and status reporting, sparking interest in its broader potential. Subsequent discussions have highlighted additional opportunities to implement APRS in support of EmComm activities so additional collaboration and group activities are likely as we identify many of the uses of this mode.
We’re also making steady progress reassembling the Clubhouse APRS station to transmit weather data from our on-site weather station and creating a gateway for APRS packets to the aprs.fi site and for other reporting methods, along with combining APRS and other forms of external data for depiction of emergency situations. If there’s interest we may also create future sessions on setting up personal APRS home stations with Direwolf software.
CPR Courses
Josh Boylan KE2FSC led two successful CPR and First Aid sessions on the morning and afternoon of Sunday, October 5th, with about 9 members and guests attending each session. All participants earned certification in CPR and AED use and were introduced to the Clubhouse first aid kit, stocked by Josh for on-site needs. This skill set is important given the age of many of our members, as having trained CPR rescuers may be critical at some point. Josh’s extensive actual experience as an EMT combined with his “day job” training skills showed, and we were fortunate to have his expertise as an instructor and as a member of the Club.
EME Contest Success
The EME team - Al Arrison KB2AYU, Frank Romeo N3PUU, and John O'Connell K2QA - shone during the October ARRL EME Contest, setting up the 2.4-meter dish to secure five contacts by bouncing signals off the moon. This session used a new equipment configuration, mounting the dish in the pipe sunk into the ground in front of the VHF room window and a new relay-driven switching network to combine TX and RX functions at the feedhorn to use a single length of hardline run under the trailer to the opposite side of the VHF room where the 1296 MHz equipment is installed. This made setup and teardown much easier. Unfortunately rain prevented operating on Saturday night and Sunday morning, but the contest continues on November 8th and 9th and we’re already planning for that operation as well.
November 8, 2025 Tech Saturday Forum - DigiPi on Raspberry Pi
John Zaruba K2ZA returns on November 8th for a Tech Saturday presentation on the DigiPi suite of programs for Raspberry Pi computers - perfect for digital modes, APRS gateways, and packet setups. He’ll guide us through installation and configuration, with practical tips for all skill levels. We’re compiling a list of affordable Pi hardware for pre-purchase; watch your email for details if you’d like to set up your own rig. This session promises to spark some creative tinkering.
Holiday Dinner
Save the date for our Holiday Dinner on Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM at the Lamp Post Diner in Clementon. Expect a delightful evening of food, conversation, and camaraderie. Sign-up here : https://registration.w2mmd.org/wpregp/gcarc-holiday-dinner
The Clubhouse remains a hub of activity most Saturdays, so stop by for operating time, project help, or a chat. Your participation keeps GCARC moving as we head into the winter months.
73 de Jon WB2MNF
Sunday, November 2, 2025 @ 0200 Hours
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Tuesday, November 4, 2025
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November 10, 1775
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Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Thursday, November 27, 2025
Full Beaver Moon : Wednesday, November 5, 2025 @ 0819 Hours
This was the time when beavers finished preparations for winter and retreated into their lodges. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver heard this Native American term during his travels. Also in the realm of animals, Deer Rutting Moon (Dakota, Lakota) refers to the mating season. Digging/Scratching Moon is a Tlingit term for when bears dig their winter dens. Whitefish Moon (Algonquin) describes the spawning time for this fish. As cold temperatures deepen, the terms Frost Moon (Cree, Assiniboine) and Freezing Moon (Anishinaabe) were also used.
Old Farmer’s Almanac - www.almanac.com