Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society
News
July 26, 2021
Mentorfest Seeks Presenters
Mentorfest is October 9 at the Hella Shrine Center in Garland. Do you have a topic you would like to present? Please go here to sign-up:
Kit Building—A Dying Breed?
A K2 Comes to Life Part IV
David Duke, KM5YQ, wraps up his series about his Elecraft® K2 build.
Please go here to read all about it. [PDF]
You can download and read Parts I through III by visiting the Archives.
Next Regular Meeting
Thursday, August 12, 2021
Amateur Testing 6:00 PM; Meeting 7:00 PM
Carrollton Fire Rescue Administration (Gravley Center), 1111 W. Belt Line Rd suite #100
Speaker/program is TBD. Watch your email and check back often.
Health & Welfare Net
is Now on Thursday
Every Thursday at 7:00 PM CT, on the 145.210 repeater. See more info on the EVENTS page.
Play Day Returns
July 17, 2021
MARS hams enjoyed their first Radio Play Day in over a year at the Carrollton Josey Ranch Library. Winlink Global Email® was the theme of the day as we got our rigs set up to send email to the world.
Duane Baade W5PNM/SK
MARS was saddened to hear of the passing of Duane Baade, W5PNM, back in January of COVID. Duane was a member of the Plano Amateur Radio Klub (PARK) and was employed by NASA, Tektronix, and TWU.
His family is hosting an estate sale on August 7. Please go to the FORUM page for the details. All proceeds go to the family.
Random QRM from the President’s Shack
July 2021
Sometimes life throws you a lot of curveballs. While we are now slowly coming out of our pandemic haze, I’ve had a lot going on at home and work. Even though I planned on doing a casual Field Day at home, my mother-in-law was readmitted to the hospital Friday night before Field Day. I seriously wondered if I’d get to participate at all.
Things did work out—mother-in-law was doing OK—and I was able to do Field Day at home part time. I had planned to do all FT8. It took a little while to get the laptop sorted—Windows updates, WSJT-X new version, etc.—I finally got the rig fired up... and got a nice surprise!
20 meters was jammed, of course. but so was 15 meters! And the bandscope on 10 was filled! WSJT-X includes CAT control of your radio so it’s quite easy to jump bands quickly. I was able to make contacts on those bands with my non-resonant 34-foot vertical with typically 25 watts as shown on my LDG tuner.
Just for curiosity I tried 6 meters and got another surprise! ...
Field Day Expedition
Working under the special event call, W5N, Kevin Grantham, N5KRG, Andy Parcel, KE5KOF, David Duke, KM5YQ, Ron Reeves, NN5R, Tom Yenny, K5LOL, and Fred Lusen, W5CWO, set up for an unofficial Field Day at Carrollton’s McInnish Sports Complex. Kevin and Andy’s Mobile Command Center (MCC) provided air conditioning and computer support for the group. The group logged as 3A, NTX (North Texas), but due to the adjacent dog park, the team dubbed themselves the “Dog Park Dodgers.”
Kevin deployed his Icom® IC-7000 go box with a Chameleon™ inverted delta loop. Ron was on a 20-meter dipole with his Icom IC-718. Andy was busy Sunday morning on 6 meters. Tom worked phone and CW and Fred worked CW with his Icom IC-756 using a shared 20/40 fan dipole. David had his kit-built Elecraft® K2 with a 15-meter Buddipole™ vertical.
Kevin said, “Apparently we are mostly ‘old school’ as all of our contacts were CW or Phone.” He notes, “Weather was warm but not unbearable. Light breeze most of the time. Mosquitos were generally light. We went through gallons of bottled water.”
The group set out the Club and ARRL banners that attracted some curious members of the public. ARRL North Texas Section Manager, Steven Smith, KG5VK, came by just after midnight. Thanks go to Steve Darrah, KD5YPB, for securing the Veterans Pavilion at the park, and to Ron for handling the Field Day submission.
Click the gallery to enlarge and see more information.
Play Day is Back!
August 21, 2021 • 10:00 AM–2:00 PM CT
Carrollton Josey Ranch Lake Library, 1700 Keller Springs Road
Large room near the entrance.
Go to the EVENTS page to get more details.
Carrollton
Farmers Branch
Addison
ARES/RACES
Next scheduled nets
ARES® Training
8 August 2021, 8:00 PM CDT
145.210 Tone 110.9
RACES Training
15 August 2021, 7:45 PM CDT
145.210 Tone 110.9
Extra License Study Group
Now on Thursday
The group will meet by Zoom each Thursday at 8:00 PM CT.
If you wish to join, send your name, call sign, and your club name (if applicable), to ke5kof450@gmail.com. Beat the FCC license fee—get your Extra soon! Good luck to the new candidates!
This scientist was born. He predicted the smart phone at the beginning of the 20th century.
W1HRX was born and later started a company known for its high-quality gear.
Support the Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society
Amazon Smile
Shop AmazonSmile at no extra cost to you. A portion of your eligible purchases will be donated to the Club.
On your phone simply follow the instructions below to select “Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society Inc” as your charity and activate AmazonSmile in the app.
1. Download the Amazon app to your phone
2. Open the app, select the main menu (=) and tap on “AmazonSmile” within Programs & Features
3. Select “Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society Inc” as your charity
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to activate AmazonSmile in the mobile app
Tom Thumb’s Good Neighbor Program
Use your Tom Thumb Reward Card to benefit MARS. Here’s how:
1. Download and print the registration form here: https://www.tomthumb.com/content/dam/store/good-neighbor/GOOD_NEIGHBOR_CHARITY_TT.pdf
2. Fill out the form with your Reward Card number, the MARS charity number 14223, your name and phone number.
3. Sign, date and take the form to your store’s courtesy booth.
Kroger Community Rewards Program
MARS is registered with the Kroger Community Rewards Program. To set up your card, log in to your Kroger account,
http://www.kroger.com. Search for Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society, Inc. – or – RD792 and click Enroll. New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a Rewards card.
“ARES®” and “Amateur Radio Emergency Service®” are registered service marks of the American Radio Relay League, Incorporated and are used by permission.