Author Archives: Matt Holden (KØBBC)

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May and June License Exams Cancelled

By License Exams

The amateur radio exams scheduled for May 23 and June 20, 2020 have been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. The exam teams hope to resume testing in the fall. Monitor http://bloomington-ve.org/ for updates.

Bloomington VE exam session dates for 2020 are as follows:

May 23 – Cancelled
June 20 – Cancelled
July – no exams
August – no exams
September 26
October 24
November – no exams
December – no exams

All Exams will be held at Civic Plaza in Bloomington in the Haeg Conference Room.  All sessions will start at 8:45am. 

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2020 Summer Fete and River Rendezvous Cancelled

By Other Events, , , , ,

The 2020 River Rendezvous (held in the fall) has been cancelled.
2020 Summer Fete, at Normandale Lake Park,
July event canceled; event may rescheduled to September

April 21, 2020 – The City of Bloomington has initiated changes to Parks and Recreation operations and programming in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City continues to base decisions on data, guidelines and orders from Governor Walz and the Minnesota Department of Health.

Metro Skywarn

NWS Twin Cities Online Skywarn Training

By Skywarn, , , ,

NWS Twin Cities presents the Spring 2020 Skywarn Spotter Training. Sign up for a free class. Classes will last approximately one hour and include information about severe weather safety, storm structure, intensity and tornado development, and how you can help the NWS in severe weather. Content is appropriate for all ages – invite the whole family!

You will have to sign up to attend the GoToWebinar sessions.
Click the following link to sign up: https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/7049938121727200524

You do not need to sign up for the Facebook live classes. Just follow us on Facebook and you should get a notification when we go live.

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APRS Overview – Virtual Presentation

By Other Events

Aaron, AG7GK, will be hosting a presentation on April 21st. This will be a casual overview of APRS on 2 Meters, equipment, tips and tricks, fun stuff, etc. This will be a video conference but you can just call and/or video conference via phone, tablet, or PC. Here are the details:

Topic: APRS Overview
Time: Apr 21, 2020 08:00 PM Arizona
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://asu.zoom.us/j/2875395168

Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 346 248 7799  or +1 669 900 6833  or +1 253 215 8782  or +1 301 715 8592  or +1 312 626 6799  or +1 646 876 9923
Meeting ID: 287 539 5168
International numbers available: https://asu.zoom.us/u/as9cABC7Y
Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll):  +13462487799,,2875395168# or +16699006833,,2875395168#
https://www.ag7gk.org/
www.queencreekarc.org
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EastValleyAmateurRadio/

Metro Skywarn

Metro Skywarn classes cancelled, picnic postponed

By Skywarn,

Skywarn Training Classes – We are now cancelling all Skywarn training for the year. The NWS is working on their online training session and we will post it when it’s available. You’re welcome to review Milwaukee’s training in the meantime. Our training slide set and other tools are also available on our website > Spotter Resources.

Picnic – Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we will be cancelling the picnic for this year. We will be re-evaluating later to see if we can have some sort of event this fall or winter.
Social Distancing While Spotting – We’d like to remind everyone to follow current social distancing guidelines when spotting this summer. Safety First!

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Amateur Radio RF Exposure Calculator

By Uncategorized,

I found this link very useful for those of us operating a radio with an indoor antenna or in close proximity to any antenna and high power output. High power stations are required to perform these calculations. I recommend all amateurs review their exposure. Its quick to calculate with the link below. For example, In my apartment, 14W is maximum recommended output power (on 144 and 444 MHz) when I’m 6 feet away from my indoor vertical antenna.

http://hintlink.com/power_density.htm

ARRL RF Exposure page has more detail about FCC station testing requirements and suggested steps to protect yourself and others from the RF emitted from your station.