Radio Note 12.14.2024

  

 Here it is Saturday December 14th.  Yesterday was a great day for the Club. Over 50 members, their spouses and widows gathered at the Village Grill for a celebration of the Season and 85 years as a group of Ham Radio enthusiasts ... After a great plated meal, Bill KB3KYH, also known as Mr. President, gave an interesting history of those 85 years.  

  A great feeling as I watched people I have not seen in a long time come in.. and those I only knew by voice or call sign...  Isn't that part of the season? 

  To those that could not make it for one reason or another (I almost was not able to go either) We missed you and hope we can get an Eyeball QSO at another event or meeting... 

   Now for a timely request..  We participate in community events.  The Salvation Army has reached out to us for some assistance.. not with our radios, but spending some time ringing the bell at a location.. (not all locations are outdoors)  If you can spend a few moments (Bring a friend or child) to ring the bell, Please contact Bill, KB3KYH, at 920-857-9054. He will be ringing also..  Ringing the bell does increase the donations... Be part of it.

  From Our Shack to Yours.... 

Radio Happenings 11.22.2024

 

 Last week I put up my homebrew EndFed antenna.. hooked to a 9:1 Grey box .. up 25 feet in the Maple.. It was 77 feet long.. I thought it was working well.. In my morning net to our Roundtable Net group,  I mentioned it..    Did not take long for the emails to come rolling in on what I should have done! Today I put up the gray box at 28 feet with a wire 84 feet long.. Yes, there is a splice in it...   I have not tested it yet.. had to come in and put this out today..  stay tuned. I won't mention the counterpoise..

  Here is the article about the length of the wire...  https://www.hamuniverse.com/randomwireantennalengths.html

 The M&K Radio Club voted to have 7 members on the board. There were 8 nominated. The ones elected, met this week and picked the officer positions.. Starting January 1st, 2025, President - Bill Duveneck, KB3KYH |  Vice President - Sam Reid, W9SJR | Treasurer - John Wolfe, WØLFE | Secretary - Todd Clausen, W9GRB.  David Ziesmer, KD9HJJ, Paul Racine, KBØP, and Dave Catalano, N8KQS will be the Members-at-large. 

 * What happens when I sit down... 

One of our elder members needs some assistance with his tower/antenna. I do not have the details but if you and/or  someone are willing to help him out, give WB9TQW, Francis Fournier a call at 920-660-9111.  It fits in with the season 

    The Christmas/Anniversary Party on December 13th is moving along.. at the time of this letter, there were 38 signed up.. The flyer for the event will be attached below..(in email) Because it is in miniature print, please send checks to  KD9HJJ as seen on the bottom of the flyer..  There still is a White Elephant exchange.. If you bring one you will get one.. If you do not want one, do not bring any.. But if you do bring one, be sure it is in good taste... I know that some were opened and then  quickly disposed of... Please do not bring more than one.. it creates a problem...  

 Please take note that there will NOT be a meeting in December. Usually we have the Christmas party on the meeting night, but this year, the facility has been reserved by someone else.. that is why the party is on a Friday Night.. 

    

    Thinking about a tower? But you want something that is not real high, not that visible and easy to work with. .. How about a crank up tube in a tube about 30 feet fully extended.    This item was used on a local government command trailer.. Could have been specially made.. This two piece square tube tower is about 4 inches wide in the lower portion and the upper portion fits inside. There is a cable to a hand crank that lifts the inner part up.. Two of us carried it and  placed it in my van up to the windshield and it hung out the back.  It is now for sale.. It does need some work in the cable area..  If you look in catalogs, you will see the prices are over $180 .. and shipping is three times that... The picture is of a 4 section mast.   So to the knitty gritty.. this item is owned by the Green Bay Mike & Key Club, inc. So any funds go to the club...  The highest  bid over $200 will get it ..   Do not knock at my door to see it... it is not here..  (it is green- powder coat) but you can send your bid to Contact@k9eam.org

   

  Have a great Thanksgiving, and a safe Hunt, and drive safely..  

EXTRA NOTE FOR THE HAPPENINGS.. 11.10.24

 

Veterans Day... Began on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11tth hour  ... at the end of the War.  Up to a couple of years ago, the churches would ring their bells for a minute at that time in remembrance that they did that on that first day.... 

       On Thursday, the 14th, is the Club Meeting.. there will be a Tech Talk at 6:30 with Bob Ronk, W9AP, a leader from the DX Association.. Talking about, of all things, DXing... With the bands as good as they have been reported, this should be of interest to all... remember Techs, that you should be taking advantage of 10 Meters now. Once you start doing that, you will see the benefits of General Class.

          During the meeting, there will be a presentation of a ByLaw Change.. The requested change is to increase the number of members of the Board of Directors. The Board presently consists of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and one Member-at-Large. The change will increase the number of Members at Large from one to three for a total of Seven Board Members as it was prior to 2022. 

        Right after the ByLaw portion of the agenda, the Second Round of Nominations for Members of the Board of Directors.. Then the voting will take place.  Paper ballots will be available to all paid up members... 2024 year.... PS. Dues for 2025 are being solicited now... 

         The month long Special Event commemorating the Club's 85th Anniversary is in mid stride.. be sure to make the connections..

        Interesting earful recently.. that Australia is not issuing Ham Licenses anymore ... Does that mean no one eventually will be able to use the existing Ham bands or that anyone can use them..? hemmm.. 

 The Attachments today are:  The Newsletter "Ground Wave" -Siren Test Net list... This coming Wednesday.  11:45. Siren Test Net .. hope to hear you check in.. 

         Not attached: Minutes of the last meeting, the Treasurer's report and a notice of the upcoming Christmas/Anny party..  These were sent out last weekend attached to the Happenings   More on the party will be mentioned at the meeting 

RADIO HAPPENINGS 11.3.24

 

 This all comes prior to the End of the Great War of Words.. in two days.. We hope..  But WE on the other hand, have a Great Year behind us and a bright future ahead…

   If you have been wondering when you can start to use this hobby of radio, you have not been reading the newsletters and taking advantage of the events that were scheduled.  It is understandable for those out there that need transportation..  Perhaps we need to find more things to do using VHF & UHF… eh/   

   The Lighthouse activity has ended for the year.. but we are about to under take (at my age, undertake is not a happy word) a new event.. the Special Event Celebration of the club’s 85^th Anniversary !. Starting with The month long Special Event.. all bands, all modes.. you have received the email with the rules and what you need to do… with questions… the names and email addresses of the event leaders are in there…   \Be sure to sign up for a time slot…

   The celebration continues with the Anniversary/Christmas party… Flyers will be sent out with more information..  **There might be one as an attachment to this newsletter. 

  NEXT MEETING: NOV. 14^TH..  The Corporation Annual  Meeting.  There will be the final additional Nominations.. So far, the list of nominees are: Bill KB3KYH, Sam R. W9SJR, Dave KD9HJJ, Todd W9GRB, John WØLFE, Paul KBØP, Dave N8KQS,  Wes W9WES.. If you know of someone that you feel should be an officer of the Club, you can nominate them at the next meeting but they should be at that meeting and you are sure that they will accept the nomination. ..  Then we vote… The top 5 number of votes will be the winners..        

R to L N8KQS,W9MWP,KS9WI,KB3KYH,K9IQ, KD9UIA

 

 Jamboree On The Air: There was a good turnout for the event at Troops 1041 and 6041 near Luxemburg. This year the main contact was with a camp in Canada. Great Scout to Scout communication.  We had two stations. One was inside the troop building being coordinated by Keith KS9WI and Mike W9MWP. The other radio was in the Shelter portion of the facility. The Control operators were Larry, K9IQ and Bill KB3KYH. Keith’s radio was connected to a 132 ft OCF Dipole running North to South and got good DX contacts.. the other station was using a Icom 706 on a 66 ft OCF dipole that was running East to West. …..   Just to note: that Tim Feldhausen N4GBP, held a Radio Merit Badge session that requires the candidates to speak using the radio for 5- 10 minutes …  Josh Hemstreet KD9UIA and Dave N8KQS were the coordinators between the troops and the radio operators..   A big THANK YOU to the Scout Masters. And  Josh for the Lunch - pizzas.

Message from the Club President's desk:::::    "Greetings,                                        If you have a chance, get in on the next Fox Hunt!  Several of us “hunted” on October 24 and had a great time trying to find John, W0LFE.  He was well hidden, and it was a little bit of a challenge locating him, but eventually, everybody did.  Finding him first, was Ben, KE9AEK who was declared the winner.  It took me around an hour…(I think he kept moving…Hi Hi.) As the hunt drew to a close, John put out a delicious spread of snacks and drinks and all the hunters enjoyed a nice “eyeball QSO”.  The date for the next Fox Hunt will be announced soon.  Plan to participate...it's fun!

As Dave, N8KQS announced in the newsletter, we're celebrating our club's 85th anniversary with a month-long operating event. Please refer to previous emails that provide all the details on how you can be part of this event. If you have any questions, get in touch with Walt, KE9TT fdpiper@comcast.net or Gene, AB9GK garad50@aol.com  These gentlemen have done a lot of hard work in planning the event and they will be happy to provide whatever information you need to get involved in this celebration..

Please make every effort to attend the November meeting and exercise your right to vote for our 2025 Board.  As an additional highlight our Tech Talk will feature Bob Ronk, W9AP, President of the Northeast Wisconsin DX Association who will be discussing the topic of DXing.  This is sure to be an educational and interesting Tech Talk that you won’t want to miss!

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions about our club.                              Hope to see you at the meeting and 73,

Bill, KB3KYH     (302) 537-4755"

Submarine: The USS Cobia will have their special event station up on Nov. 9 -10^th Some of our members will be operating… be sure to look for them on the air.. 

   Ham Cram: + VE Testing: Nov.16th Testing will be for all classes of licenses at 3PM.. Be sure you have brought ALL required items... See the bottom of the Flyer (K9eam.org site) 

     Request : The Intercontinental Amateur Traffic Net [INTERCON] is seeking more Net Control Operators.

      We were formed in 1960 and monitoring 14.300 MHz. from 0700-12Noon EST every day for priority or Emergency traffic. While doing that, we take general check ins.
      Net Control Stations change every hour at the top of the hour. Please feel free to check in and request signal and/or audio checks.
      Please spread the word to your fellow hams. Any and all support is appreciated.
Thank you.  --- Holger, K2HES, Net Manager     http://interconnet.org