Author Archives: Bill Mitchell (AEØEE)

Meeting Date Change: Next Meeting Tuesday Feb. 13

By Club Meetings

Because of a conflict with precinct caucuses on Tuesday Feb. 6th, the BARA meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday Feb. 13th. We will still meet in the Haeg conference room at Bloomington Civic Plaza at 7:30 PM, and our program will be on Logbook of the World.

As a reminder, if you haven’t already downloaded the TQSL program and submitted your request for a certificate, you should do that soon. To get your certificate you will need to receive a postcard the ARRL sends through the postal system, which can take a while. Instructions on how to do all this can be found here.

Similarly, the November meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday November 13th, 2018, to avoid conflict with the general election. See the Secretary of State’s website for information on voter registration, early/absentee voting, sample ballots, polling places, and other elections-related information.

VHF+ Rover Slides from Dave, W0ZF/R

By Club Meetings, , , ,

Dave, W0ZF, has made his slides on VHF+ Rover operations that he presented at our September meeting available. It was great to hear a lot of activity on the air this weekend for the September VHF contest, and it’s not too early to start planning your rover adventures for June. You could make plans for January, too, but that often involves extra challenges here in Minnesota.

ARRL 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest

By Other Events, , ,

This coming weekend is the ARRL 222 MHz and Up Distance Contest. Taking place on the VHF, UHF, and microwave bands, all licensed US amateurs have full privileges for frequencies in this contest. Most of the action will take place on weak-signal modes (single sideband, Morse code, and various digital modes), but there is still room to play on FM!

All it takes to get started is a dual-band FM handheld. Under the rules of the contest, you can coordinate contacts (i.e. plan frequency, mode, and time with another station) via internet, cell phone, or other amateur band. For FM on 70 cm, set your radio to 446.000 MHz and make sure that the radio is set to simplex (no repeater offset). You will also need to know your 6-digit gridsquare.

If you’re interested in getting into VHF/UHF contesting, there are two guides under the Membership | Resources tab. One is a two-page quick-start guide to VHF/UHF contests, and the other is a more comprehensive introduction to the subject.

With FM contesting, it helps to target a specific time to get on. I’d encourage everyone to try to be on from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM local (2100-2130z) on Saturday, and 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM local (1700-1730z) on Sunday. I hope to hear you on the air, and don’t forget to submit your log after the contest!