Radio Happenings bits and pieces 4-20-2025

   Happy Easter!! 

       It is like the official opening of Spring. The daffodils are beginning to show their beauty. The tulips are just showing their leaves, and the hyacinth are coming in second after the crocus.  The ground is soft enough to put in the grounding rod...

        Although we await the 350,000 people to invade the city, we have begun the Draft Special Event. The event runs through the 30th of this month. If you want to participate in  this event, just send an email to : KS9WI@mail.com.  He will send you a link to the sign in form where you can pick the day and times that you want to operate.. There will be a list of the frequencies that are available as well as where to send your logging so the contacts can be validated when they ask for a certificate. As  this is a once in a lifetime event from Green Bay, there should be a lot of possible contacts to be made.  You can do this from your own home station ... you can even invite someone to partner with you..  Thanks in advance.... 🍻

    

 I have found that the memory in my/our Kenwood 570 has faded away.. that is, the list of favorite frequencies. Found the solution to this.. there is a small disc battery in the radio that has been exhausted. It was a simple procedure to replace it. The battery is a common one, the hardest part was taking all the screws out without losing one.. oh, be sure to unplug the radio. This may be common with other radios so that is why I mentioned it.. Seeing that the batteries came in a two pack, I changed the battery in the 570 in the EComm trailer as well. 

        The activity begins..

  ** May 4th.... Fox Hunt.. 5:30PM from your location. 🦊

  **May 10th ... A picnic with the Door County RC- Bay Shore Park, Pavilion has been rented. Bring a dish to pass..from 10-4pm  .. 🍔

 ** .  Brat Barn, our first Fund Raiser.  Coming up on May 24th in W.DePere.. whatever time you have available.. Festival on Main Street DePere. 🌭

 ** Hamfest May 31st.. The Committee meets this week to finalize the schedule and it will be published soon after. Please mark your calendars to be able to help out .. It is fun work..  🍺

  ** Been trying out my new portable antenna .. the PAC-12 vertical .. Pretty easy to set up ... but I have not had much time to try it with the radio.... .📡

  ** FOR SALE ___  For Sale Brand new in the box Baofeng UV5R handheld radios. 2meter/70cm dual bands with chargers. Also, I will program them for you to the frequencies you want in them. $ 25.00 each or 2 for $40.Pickup in Green Bay area only. Contact WØLFE.

John Wolfe wØlfe@sbcglobal.net

     ALSO FOR SALE//// The Club's Yeasu FTDX 3000D ... very very low usage.. less than 5 total hours .. .. Funds go to the Club. Asking $1300...                      Also for sale, a Ubiquiti mesh antenna, 2.4 GHz not used ...  Best Offer.. . buy them now or they are going to the Ozaukee Hamfest on Saturday....  

Just a reminder... we have a calendar link on the right side of the Website..  How do you put a / in a zero to make it look like this Ø.. Press the "alt" button as you key in zero,2, 1, 6  (0216)   

 Do you scroll down to the bottom of the Website and see the ARRL latest pages links? Website? K9EAM.ORG

      Stay Radio Active...         not

        

Radio Happenings 4-6-2025..

It is Sunday morning and as I sat here trying to put something of substance to send out, my Sunday prayers were answered by an email from our friends at Tower Electronics. Although far from here at a Hamfest, they sent a copy of the Ozaukee Radio Club's newsletter. As some may know, they are having a Hamfest on April 26th.. we sent out a copy of their flyer a week or so ago and I have reserved a table hoping to diminish the list of unneeded equipment.

   Getting back to the newsletter... You will find a copy of it attached... Members of their club have submitted articles that you will find of interest .. be sure to look through it ... a couple of things I found ... an article about the upcoming end of Windows 10 and how to avoid having to to purchase a new computer or begin to pay for Windows 11... and a voice activated Morse code key...    But with 30 pages, you are going to find something of interest to you...

   Our pages will begin with a message from the Club President, Bill KB3KYH.. then a short calendar for April.. The minutes of the last meeting, the financial report, the list of sirens to be checked during the Siren Net this Wednesday, and the above-mentioned Newsletter (a must read)  as well as whatever was sent to me before this was sent out..

    A nice picture sent to me from the Amateur Radio Light House Society. (ARLHS https://arlhs.com/ )

    Heard that some folks took advantage of the nice weather and put up some antenna... congrats.. hope everything went well...

    

     Now an update from the Club President...

  

Greetings,

Warm weather is on the way and with it comes plenty of Ham Radio activity. 

Later this month we’ll have our 2025 Football Draft Special Event on HF.  This will be a great opportunity to have some fun putting Green Bay “on the air”.  Keith, KS9WI will go over all the details at the meeting.  The event will run from April 16^th through April 30^th.  If you’re new to HF, this is your chance to make lots of contacts!

Be sure to come out to the multi-club picnic on May 10^th at Bayshore Park near Dykesville.  The pot luck picnic starts at 10:00 and goes until 4:00.  The sponsor is Connie, KE9ALV and in addition to the Green Bay Mike & Key Club, the Door County Amateur Radio Club will also be participating.  This will be an excellent opportunity to relax, talk radio, and meet some new friends.

Field Day…always a major event.  Plan to be at Osprey Park on June 28^th and 29^th.  Last year we had some…no a lot of…rain, and still had a good time.  Our Field Day co-chairs Gene, AB9GK and Wes, W9WES, assure me the weather will be perfect this year, so plan to come out and be part of the fun.  We’ll get all the details about Field Day at the June meeting.

Have you operated from the Kewaunee Lighthouse?  This year we’ll have several opportunities to put the Kewaunee Light “on the air”.  If you’ve been out to the light, you know it’s a special place to enjoy some maritime history while making contacts on the radio.  Dave, N8KQS will be keeping us abreast of the dates and details as we go through the Summer.

Have some more fun by doing a Fox Hunt.  Several hunts will take place during the year and Sarah, AD9FA will tell us all about it at the meeting.

I hope you will agree that we have plenty of things to do.  In addition to the operating events, we have the Ham Cram on April 12.  Rick, W9OBB will give us the last-minute update at the meeting.  Don’t forget the Brat Barns.  These are very important to the financial well being of the club and Keith will be looking for volunteers for all three dates. Finally, please volunteer with Todd, W9GRB and Dave, KD9HJJ to help at the Hamfest on May 31. 

We’ve got a busy club and I ask you to join us at the meeting so you can be part of the discussions and decision making that makes the club special.   See you Thursday evening.

73,Bill, KB3KYH                                                                                                                                                                                                kb3kyh@arrl.org           

(302)537-4755  

NOTE: CHECK THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT FOR THE NEW CLUB CALENDAR.

Radio Happenings 3.11.2025

 Todays Happenings, is a presentation from our Club President.

Greetings,

  If you operate D-Star you probably already know that our D-Star repeater is now active from its new location on Scray Hill. Thanks to the efforts of Nick KB9UAE, Todd, W9GRB, and Steve, KB9MWR, the brand new Icom repeater is now on the air and fully functional. As you know, our D-Star situation had been sketchy for a long time and actually off the air for about a year, but now, thanks to the efforts of our Technical Committee, we’re “back in business”. Thank you,

guys! (I guess I’ll have to get a D-Star radio...)

   Our March meeting will cover operating activities like the Fox Hunts, NFL Draft Special Event, and Field Day. We’ll also talk about the dates for the Brat Barns and Keith, KS9WI will be looking for volunteers for this important club fund raising initiative. You’ll hear more about the successful installation of our D-Star Repeater and the progress being made on the ALLSTAR/ECHOLINK project. A big highlight will be the announcement of the Ham of The Year.

      

One other thing... don’t forget...the Ham Cram is coming up on April 12 so let your friends who have talked about becoming a Ham know about it. Rick, K9OBB will provide the latest details. I hope that this action-packed agenda will encourage you to join us, but as an added incentive, the Tech Talk will be on NVIS Antennas presented by Walt, KE9TT. 

   This will be a good meeting, and we need you to be part of it. I hope to see you Thursday evening and please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions about our club.

73,

Bill, KB3KYH

kb3kyh@arrl.org

(302) 537-4755

Please send in your dues soon ... still only $20... 

HamCram. 4.12.25

 

Radio Happenings 2.9.2025

 

This newsletter will start off with words of wisdom from our President, Bill KB3KYH.

   Greetings,

      2025, like most other years, will be a busy one for our club.  We’re already working on the Hamfest set for May 31 and Field Day on the weekend of June 28/29.  Both these big events seem like a long way off, but the planning starts early to make sure we see success.  In fact, we’ll be talking about both these activities at the February meeting.  Also on the agenda will be the Festival Grocery Store Brat Barns, which along with the Hamfest, are very important to our treasury. Other operating events to discuss will be the Foxhunts and the Wisconsin QSO Party.  We’ll also be voting on a new logo for our club and deciding on the apparel items we’d like to have available for purchase. 

Another important agenda item will be the Ham of the Year.  This our annual opportunity to honor a member who has done the most to support and improve Amateur Radio and the Green Bay Mike & Key Club.  Please send your nomination to our Vice President, Sam, W9SJR at w9sjr01@gmail.com  not later than March 6.  As a reminder, your nomination must include a summary of why your nominee should be our Ham of the Year.

As always, this will be a busy meeting, and we need you to be part of it.  I hope to see you Thursday evening and please let me know if you have any suggestions or questions about our club.

73, Bill, KB3KYH

    Thanks Bill.... Here is a short calendar for the near future.
  

Tues.  February 11th.. ARES 2M Net 7PM                                          
   Wed, February 12th .. Siren Test Net .. list attached.. 
   Thurs. February 13th..  Club meeting.. If Tech Talk @ 6:30... or meeting @ 7PM St. Norbert, G.M.Science Bldg. 4th floor. 
    Fri. February 14th ,.. Valentine's Day...  Also National Radio Day.. To observe how much Radio has changed our lives.. 
   Tues. February 18th .. CQ Tuesday... 11:15ish.. ordering a little after 11:30 (sometimes) 
   Thurs. February 20th.. ARES Meeting

    Saturday February 22nd.. Kewaunee Historical Society 1PM, "What is Ham Radio?" Guest Speaker, RIck W9OBB ...    and how it combines with Lighthouses .. located at 217 Ellis Street..  you should see the red canopy on the North side of the street. 

   March 6th Deadline for Ham of the Year (HOTY) 

     March 8th   Young Ladies Radio League's International Women's Day YL POTA  https://ylrl.net/

Radio Happenings 1,20.2025

 

 Have you been taking photos of your thermometer ? Just to remind you in the summer how you really don't mind the summer heat.. 

 I have noticed that the SWR slightly changes with the temperature on my wire antenna.. must be the shrinkage factor.

      A couple of new things that I have dialed in on by accident.. ever heard of  Radio Garden.? On the internet, it provides a map of the world with all the locations of commercial radio stations.. You are able to find the stations that you used to listen to back when and listen again... No, it does not go back in time .. but current radio. 

    At least with Tube Radio.. it helped warm up the "shack". 

 On the ham radio side .. Many of us have tried the FT 8 digital program .. well - have you heard of "JS8Call".? It is a derivative of the WSJT-X application. Restructured for keyboard-to-keyboard message passing. IF you see a call sign that you want to "talk" with. you can pick on that call and it is like sending a notice that you are calling. then you both can "talk" via keyboard.   js8call.com 

       On the coldest day..  is CQ Tuesday... the 21st.

Talking about cold.. Winter Field Day is coming up .. January 25th and 26th. As of now, there is not a GBM&K committee setting this up for running with this.. If you are interested, look up Winter Field Day 2025 to see what is required.. Even if it is not a Club event, you can still participate.  https://winterfieldday.org/  

As we  try to ignore Winter, maybe by looking at the seed catalogs or travel guides. (sneak peek at other catalogs) Plans are already being made for the

Club Hamfest (see flyer on the K9EAM.org website or facebook ) and reservations for Field Day are being set ... 

  How good is your design talent?  Suggestions were made to change the Club Logo... you can see it on the Website.. Perhaps simplify it for ease of duplicating it for shirts, jackets and caps.. have an idea? Bring a drawing of it to the Club meeting.. or send it through the Club Email address of contact@K9eam.org .                

  Wisconsin QSO Party is coming on Sunday, March 9th. from 1PM to 8PM.  All the 2025 rules have not been finalized as of this date. I have heard that they are contemplating more award categories.  You can participate  from home, or mobile or set up a station in a different county for a few points more...    Not on HF? Ask someone you know that has indicated they will be participating in this event and ask if you can join in with them/him/her.     

 Talking about March.. it so happens to be the deadline for submitting dues.

         Stay Radio Active...  P.S. The crank up tower has been sold.. Thanks... 

2025 HAMFEST FLYER

Radio Happenings 1.3.2025

 

      

Christmas Party

CALENDAR: 

 January 8th Siren Test Net .. 11:45AM 147.120 see attached list  

 January 9th GBM&K Club meeting.. 7PM  / 6:30PM Tech Talk- Nick              Marto,KB9UAE - Flex Radio.. 

   January 21st  CQ Tuesday .. 

   ****

      Greetings,

I hope you enjoyed the Holidays and had plenty of time to get on the air.  I did a little DXing in early December, but the Christmas “rush” kept me pretty busy with other activities including our club Holiday/Anniversary Party.  We had a lot of fun with a nice group of over fifty members and guests.  Thanks to Dave, KD9HJJ for putting the whole thing together.   

Please attend the January meeting where we’ll be talking about events and activities for 2025.  Topics will include Field Day, the Hamfest, Brat Barns, Ham of the Year, plus others.  This will be an opportunity for you to suggest club activities or initiatives you would like to see in 2025. 

Our January Tech Talk will feature Nick Marto, KB9UAE who will be explaining and demonstrating the operational capabilities of his new Flex radio.   Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about this state-of-the-art software defined Ham radio technology.  

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions about our club.

See you at the meeting…73,

Bill, KB3KYH

(302) 537-4755​