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HCRA Ham Radio Film Festival???

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I would like to throw out an idea for a possible meeting topic next year and would like to hear other members’ opinions on it.

The meeting would be a ham radio film festival and we would screen ham radio related film shorts produced by our members as well as a few from other sources.   Now the first thing that might come to mind is a video tour of your QTH where technical details about the shack and antennas are documented.  While making that type of movie is a GREAT idea, it would probably be better for screening at our annual show and tell meeting. What I’m thinking are short films that capture, discuss, and/or document your, another ham’s, or a group of ham’s experience in amateur radio.  Maybe a SOTA activation, a portable operation, a special event, your experience at field day or some other emcomm training event.  How about creating a documentary about your favorite ham friend who buys lots of kits, but rarely builds them.  Or maybe you have an elmer who you would like to make a short film about.  Better yet a film about your own experience in ham radio or a film that captures what you feel are the most important aspects of the hobby. And of course, there would be popcorn, hot dogs and soda available in the lobby before the show and during the intermission.

For this to be successful, we need a few brave hams to step forward and decide that making a ham radio short is something they would like to do.  If there are enough 1) members interested in making a ham radio film short and 2)  members interested in screening ham radio film shorts, then we’ll come up with some more specific guidelines like length restrictions and format.  Whether you think it’s a good or bad idea, please share your thoughts on this idea for a meeting.  And if you have any interest in making a film, please let me know as well.  It won’t work if we’re just sitting there staring at a blank screen.  You can post comments here or contact me directly w1msw@arrl.net

If you have other ham radio related topics or ideas for a meeting, please share those as well.  We want to put together a program that our members will find interesting and engaging and we can’t do that if you don’t tell us topics that interest you!

I need articles and photos for Zero Beat!

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Anyone for dropping me an email with photos or articles of interest to HCRA members? If you are tired of seeing SOTA articles you should submit something to me for upcoming issues of Zero Beat — I would like material by early next week. (Sorry, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any more SOTA items!) An article doesn’t have to be fancy — I will take care of formatting, font selection and so on. Send text or .doc to n1fj@arrl.net

73, Frandy, N1FJFrandy, N1FJ

Can you help your fellow members? – Yes you can!

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Did you know YOU can increase the value of HCRA to all its members? How can you do this you may ask? The answer is simple. Sharing of knowledge, especially local knowledge, is how we all learn and expand our appreciation of amateur radio.

If you’ve done something, built something, installed some software, raised an antenna, took photographs of a local event, bought a new rig, attended a hamfest, made a great DX contact or solved a sticky interference problem wouldn’t it be nice if you could share that with the members? Well you can, and very easily too. Why not take a few moments to gather the information, put it in an email and send if off to Frandy/N1FJ along with any photos. Format is not important, Frandy has the skills to make a great article out of it. Besides publishing in Zero Beat or on the website you’ll become an additional source of knowledge for our members.

It’s one thing to read an article in QST but if you have a question are you going to meet the author at the next meeting? Probably not, but there’s a good chance you’ll be able to talk to the ham that organized the foxhunt or built an automatic rotor controller, in person, at one of our meetings.

Let’s do what hams do best, talk about what we’ve done and share information with your fellow hams. If just one or two members a month sent something to Frandy imagine how thick Zero Beat will in a few months!

If you’ve read this far I hope I’ve piqued your interest. We all become better hams when we start sharing our hard earned information with the local community.

Jim/KK1W

Learn more about HCRA’s past.

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Thanks to the efforts of John/AC1T and Jeff/NT1K you can take a time travel trip to the 1970′s without leaving your chair.

John scanned Zero Beats from his collection and sent them to Jeff for inclusion in our Zero Beat Archives page. Click the link and check out HCRA activities from 1976 through 1981. I think you’ll find many things of interest. Not only will you become acquainted with HCRA’s leaders from the 1970′s but you’ll get a glimpse of what ham radio was like thirty five years ago! It’s pretty cool stuff that’s fun to read.

In fact, I saw the want ad  below in the 1978 November edition, Larry/WB1DBY – is this you?

Take a look at the archive list. If you have, or know of someone who has other issues please contact Jeff to get them added to the archive. We can accept them as a .pdf or can scan and return to you if you like.

Have fun perusing the newest ‘oldies’ and hope to see you at tonight’s meeting,

Jim/KK1W

HCRA 10M Contest Challenge!

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Yep, it’s back again this year – the HCRA Challenge. Last year we offered a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card to any member scoring over 77,000 points. Many members blew past the 77K goal and scored well over 100K! So, what’s the goal for 2012 you ask?

Using the same formula as last year (total club score/participants) that would work out to 73,626 points. I don’t know about you but a goal, especially considering present solar conditions, shouldn’t be less than last year’s, do you? Therefore I’m proposing the following:

Challenge Score: 100,000 points

If you score 100K points or higher in the 2012 ARRL 10 meter contest you will win a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card courtesy of HCRA for your efforts. In order to qualify for your ‘prize’ you have to notify me via email with your entry category and claimed score AND submit your log to ARRL for processing. When submitting your log don’t forget to put “Hampden County Radio Association” in the affiliated club line of your entry. The 10M Challenge is open to members HCRA, if you’re not a member you can’t submit a club entry, sorry.

Are there any folks interested in opening up their station for a multi-operator effort? Please post a comment either here or on facebook if you can, it is a fantastic way to get new folks excited about HF operating.

’73…,
Jim/KK1W

ARRL 10 Meter Contest Tutorial

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Adapted from Jim – KK1W’s tutorial from the original HCRA website

The ARRL Ten Meter Contest starts Friday, December 7th at 7:00PM local time. If you have a chance to get on I hope you make a few contacts.

The fun part of this contest is you can play and send in your own personal score as well as participate as a club. All you need to do is put ‘Hampden County Radio Association’ in the club line on your entry form. You get your score and the club score is the combination of everyone that sends in a log with HCRA identified.

Are you new to contesting and want to give it a try? This is the perfect contest for starting out. The band is not crowded, the pace is relatively slow and it’s unlikely the band will be open for more than 10 to 12 hours out of the possible 48 hours. So now we know it won’t be stressful, let’s see how easy it is.

First off, it is worth a glance at the rules.  Click here for the latest rules and take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with them.  It’s not complicated, but can be a bit daunting when you first look at them.

Now that you’ve read them, lets see how easy it actually is. The whole idea is to work (talk to) as many different stations as possible on the 10 meter band. You get points for each station, each state (or country) and each mode (CW or phone). When all is said and done you add up all your QSO points (1 for phone contacts, 2 for CW), add up your states & countries and multiply them. That’s your score. There are additional QSO points for different power levels and station types. I’m guessing most of us will be operating low power (up to 100 watts), and as a single operator. The contest runs for 48 hours, starting at 7:00 PM Friday evening and ending at 7:00 PM Sunday evening.

Where to operate? Most of the activity will be on phone, between 28.300 and 28.500 MHz. If the band gets really busy and crowded activity will creep higher than 28.500. If you want to take a stab at CW then look between 28.000 and 28.060.

Who do you talk to and what to you say? The best way to start is to tune your rig to 28.300 and start tuning slowly upward. You will probably come across some loud stations calling CQ. These are the dedicated contesters and the best ones to make your first contacts as they have good stations and are competent operators. Here’s an example of what your first QSO might sound like:

Sending station: CQ CQ CQ, this is K1KI calling CQ contest, CQ CQ CQ contest, QRZ

You transmit your call: KK1W

Sending station: KK1W you are 59, CT (charlie tango)

You transmit: K1KI you are 59, MA (mike alpha).

Sending station: Thanks!, QRZ contest…

And then the next station calls K1KI

That is the exchange. Signal strength (always 59!) and your state (DX stations will send a serial number). If you’re not sure of the state be sure you ask the station to repeat so you don’t make a mistake. That’s all there is to it, write it down in your log and start tuning for the next station. Remember as you go up in the band if you are a Technician you can only go as high as 28.500!

As you log more contacts, especially if the band is busy, it gets more difficult to remember if you have worked a station before.  You can manually keep a ‘dupe sheet’ or resort to using a logging program on your computer.  There are many out there, but a really good one (and free too) is N1MM logger.  Take a look at: www.n1mm.com. Using a logging program makes the contest fun and easy, and really takes the sting out of submitting your log when the contest is over.  you can export your log to a ‘Cabrillo’ file and simply email it to ARRL when you’re done.  For some people using a contest logger can be addictive, kind of like a video game.

So that’s it – not hard, lots of fun and a good way to spend time this weekend. You really didn’t want to go out and shovel snow or go to the mall, did you?

So have fun, send in your log when you’re done and don’t forget to put ‘Hampden County Radio Association’ in the club field when you’re done.  Oh, and please send Matt – W1MSW a copy of your score so we can post it on the HCRA website too.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop an email to Matt – w1msw (at) arrl (dot) net.

Don’t forget, its all about the fun!

Fred Hopengarten, K1VR to speak on antenna zoning at FCARC meeting Monday night

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Antenna Zoning for the Radio Amateur

Is there a tower and antenna in your future? Applying for a Permit? On November 19 the Franklin County Amateur Radio Club (FCARC) speaker will be Fred Hopengarten, K1VR, telecommunications lawyer. Fred is author of the definitive book,Antenna Zoning for the Radio Amateur. Fred has represented many amateurs in conflicts with local zoning authorities about antennas and towers, including in Franklin County. His book is published in cooperation with the ARRL and he will probably have a few copies on hand.

This is a not-to-be-missed meeting ! 

The meeting will be at the usual time and place, Greenfield High School, Lenox Ave (off Silver St.) at 7:15 p.m. (coffee at 7:00).

Directions to Greenfield High School: From the center of Greenfield go north on Federal St. (Rtes 5 and 10) about 1.5 miles, at Silver St. (stop light) turn left. From North or South on I-91, take Exit 27, Route 2 East, then the first exit, Bernardston Rd (Routes 5 and 10 South). The Silver St. intersection is about 0.3 mile south of Rte 2, turn right at the stop light. On Silver St. look for a sign for the High School on the left, about 0.3 mile from Federal St. (Click here for a Google map.)