Roger Roth (K0MPH) was our featured presenter for our March meeting, and presented “Antenna Modeling: Is It Worth It?”. He gave an interesting talk that showed how numerical electromagnetics code (NEC) is used, and applied it to several different antennas he was considering for use with Parks on the Air. Roger has graciously made his antenna modeling slides available.
We are returning to the pre-COVID tradition of not meeting in July and August, and particularly so because the first Tuesday is July 4th. Enjoy the holiday, and we’ll see you on September 5th or at a semi-spontaneous event before then (e.g. W1AW/0 MN week 2)!
With forecast bad weather, the January meeting will be on Zoom only at 7:30 PM CST Tuesday 1/3/2023. Look for details on the email list, or contact Bill (AE0EE) via the info on the contact page.
The Bloomington Amateur Radio Association and the Richfield Amateur Radio Club and will be hosting an
annual ARRL Field Day event on June 25th, 2022 at the Richfield Community Center, 7000 Nicollet
Avenue South, Richfield, MN 55423 on the lower level. Visits from the public are welcome from 1 p.m.
to sunset. Several radio stations will be in operation and you can take the opportunity to talk to people
around the world. For more information about amateur radio, please visit www.arrl.org ,
www.richfieldradio.com , and www.mnhamradio.com
The 147.090 MHz repeater is down due to planned maintenance, and will likely be down for several months. The Sunday night net will meet at 9:00 PM local time on the 443.175 MHz repeater (+5 MHz, DCS code 165).
Due to the election on November 2nd (more info at the Secretary of State’s page), the Bloomington Amateur Radio Association monthly meeting is postponed to Tuesday November 9th at 7:30 PM. This meeting will be virtual and a link will follow on the email list. If you are not on the list and would like an invitation, please contact Bill by email (ae0ee#arrl.net).
Jim, K0QEI, has passed along this information on an upcoming transmitter hunt in the Twin Cities metro area:
The Hams of Insignificant Value will be holding a Fox Hunt on Saturday October 3, 2020. The hunt will begin at 1330 hours.
The meeting point will be at the West Saint Paul City Hall, 1616 Humboldt Avenue (behind the big dome near Robert Street and Wentworth Ave). Gathering will start at 1230, but if you need more time to get set up, you may arrive earlier. There should be ample room in the north lot
There will be 3 Foxes. The frequency of the first fox will be given prior to the start of the hunt and hunters will be given time, if they choose, to position themselves in the area or remain at the meet point. The fox will be then be turned on at 1330 hours. The frequency for Fox 2 will be given at Fox 1 and Fox 3 at Fox 2. Fox 3 will provide details for the finish/meeting point for the end of the hunt.
There will be driving and walking involved as each fox is roughly 1-2 miles apart.
Talk-in and assistance will be on 146.52 simplex.
RSVP to N0EIZ(at)ARRL.net
RSVP is not required, but requested to determine number of hunters.
Although Dayton Hamvention is canceled this year, the Contest University has been moved online and will be free via Zoom. It runs from 1245z to ~2300z Thursday May 14 (7:45 AM to 6:00 PM CDT), and will have a great deal of interesting information from some very experienced operators. This is an incredible opportunity, and at a price that can’t be beat. Check it out if you have the time.
After going through the courses, there will be a contest Saturday that should be a great time to apply your new knowledge: the Hamvention QSO Party. It runs from 1200-2359z Saturday 5/16 (7 AM to 6:59 PM CDT), and the exchange is a signal report (59 on single-sideband voice or 5NN on Morse code) plus the four-digit year you first attended Hamvention or 2020 if you’ve never been.
The December 3 meeting of the Bloomington Amateur Radio Association will take place at 7:30 PM at Davanni’s Pizza at 86th and Lyndale in Bloomington. Note that this is a different location than the rest of our monthly meetings, but is the regular location for our December meetings.
Officer elections are coming up. If you would like to nominate yourself for any of the officer positions (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer), please be in touch with Dan (KE0OR). He can be reached at [his callsign]@arrl.net
Due to the municipal election on Tuesday November 5th (see election info here), the BARA monthly meeting has been rescheduled to the second Tuesday of the month (11/12) at 7:30 PM in the McLeod Conference Room at Bloomington Civic Plaza. Same time, same place, different week.