top of page

News

President’s Corner

January 2020

  Happy New Year! We are halfway through the current “club year” and it’s been fun. Coming up are Winter Field Day this month, then Texas State Parks On The Air (TSPOTA), and finally ARRL Field Day in June. In between are several hamfests including Cowtown Hamfest this month, Irving and then the big Ham-Com in Plano in June. Plan to participate in as many as you can; it’s a great way to sharpen your operating skills and contribute to the club.

  This month, Tom Yenny, K5LOL, will be doing a presentation on HTs and you are part of the presentation! Bring your oldest HT to the meeting. Do you have an old military backpack radio? Bring it! Do you have a tube-type HT from the 1950s or 1960s? Bring it! Do you have a rock-bound (crystal channel) HT? Bring it! It will be a fun meeting, so be there!

  Between Software Defined Receivers (SDR) and the WSJT suite, the bands are hopping. We’ve now seen two sunspots from the new cycle, so even phone modes will be improving soon. There have been some fun 2m ducts over the past few weeks, and 6m and 10m have had short but fun openings as well. Learn to use the “spotter” networks to see when a particular band is open.

  Working on your Extra! Time’s a wastin’, as Snuffy Smith used to say. The question pool changes this year, so review those final chapters and take your test at 6pm right before a club meeting and knock it out. Fame, fortune, the adulation and respect of your peers, access to a few slivers of bandwidth, the ability to be a Volunteer Examiner for General and Extra class applicants, all await your new license class!

See you at the meeting!

73 Kevin, N5KRG

bottom of page