KDØCL
West Bloomington 147.090+ Tone: None Central Bloomington Analog/Fusion 443.175+ DCS: 165
Rush City Radio Rendezvous Hamfest
09/08/2018
Start Date: 09/08/2018
End Date: 09/08/2018
Location: Rush City High School
51001 Fairfield Avenue
Rush City, MN 55069
Website: http://www.magicrepeater.net/ecmarc.htm
Sponsor: East Central Minnesota Amateur Radio Club (ECMARC)
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Talk-In: 145.330 -600 (PL 146.2)
Public Contact: Larry Jilek , KAØMEN
51835 Belle Isle Drive Rush City, MN 55069
Phone: 320-358-4205
Email: lj@ecenet.com
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/rush-city-radio-rendezvous-2
ARRL Dakota Division Update
The ARRL July 2018 Board of Directors meeting minutes have been published on the league’s website. I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the meeting.
The Volunteer Monitoring (VM) program was announced to replace the official observer program. The VM program was developed in response to the now smaller FCC enforcement department in an effort to identify situations that need addressing, gather suitable evidence and present the findings in a way that will potentially result in swifter responses from the FCC. More information can be found at http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-board-adopts-volunteer-monitoring-program-official-observer-program-to-be-retired
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) is getting an overhaul. New membership levels, training materials, and ARES Connect, an online membership database are a few of the changes. Our three Section Emergency Coordinators have been given a copy of ARES Strategic Plan and asked to submit comments to ARRL HQ. More information can be found at http://www.arrl.org/news/ares-continues-move-toward-enhanced-training-paperless-reporting
The ARRL Articles of Incorporation were updated to include volunteer indemnification, add “the national association for Amateur Radio” to the front page and update the Board of Directors election schedule. The details are contained in the meeting minutes and the arrl.org website will happen soon.
The meeting agenda and minutes are on-line at http://www.arrl.org/board-meetings
The various committee reports are on-line at http://www.arrl.org/committee-reports
The Dakota Division is looking for a new Contest Advisory Committee member. The Contest Advisory Committee was tasked with studying aspects of digital mode contests and the November ARRL Sweepstakes. If you have an interest, please contact me directly.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer. I look forward to visiting South Dakota members in Sioux Falls and Rapid City later this month. The fall hamfest season is near and the Dakota Division calendar has been updated at www.arrldakota.org. Vice Director Nelson is planning to attend the RRRA hamfest and ARRL North Dakota State Convention, September 29th, in West Fargo.
73 Matt Holden, KØBBC, ARRL Dakota Division Director
k0bbc@arrl.org
Brainerd Tailgate Hamfest
HAMFEST/CONVENTION
08/25/2018
Start Date: 08/25/2018
End Date: 08/25/2018
Location: Crow Wing County Fairgrounds
2000 13th Street SE
Brainerd, MN 56401
Website: http://brainerdham.org
Sponsor: Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Talk-In: 147.225
Public Contact: Lyle Amundson , KØLFV
12972 Morningside Drive Merrifield, MN 56465
Phone: 218-765-3100
Email: lmamundson@gmail.com
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/brainerd-tailgate-hamfest-3
Northern Plains Regional Radio Council Hamfest Brewster, MN
08/18/2018
Start Date: 08/18/2018
End Date: 08/18/2018
Location: American Legion Post 464
825 3rd Avenue
Brewster, MN 56119
Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NPRRC/
Sponsor: Northern Plains Regional Radio Council
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Talk-In: 146.67- (PL 141.3)
Public Contact: Randy Donahue , WBØZSO
PO Box 336 Fulda, MN 56131
Phone: 507-360-2660
Email: wb0zso@arrl.net
http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/northern-plains-regional-radio-council-hamfest-2
Radios in the Park: ANTENNA SHOOTOUT July 26!
SARA’s “Radios in the Park: The Antenna Shootout” is Thursday July 26 at Valley View Park in Oak Park Heights. Setup begins about 5:30 and we’ll get the first antenna up and on the air shortly after.
The Antenna Shootout will compare 4 to 6 different antennas for propagation over the 2 to 2-1/2 hour time span of our Radios in the Park gathering. The WSPR beacon mode of the WSJT-X program will be means of testing, with the results gathered in realtime via WSPRnet.org. The same radio, tuner, and computer will be used for each antenna. All test will be on 40 meters. The planned antenna line-up is as follows:
Home-brew Buddistick vertical (KC0OIO)
Buddipole, commercial version (club’s)
End-fed multiband HFedz (KC0OIO)
Center-fed Multiband Dipole (aka OXB special) (club’s)
Additional candidates include a loop antenna from N0BM, and a horse fence 40-meter dipole (just for the fun of it).
Come on out and enjoy the pleasant evening in the park!
73
Twin City FM Club Picnic
Wednesday July 25th 2018
The TCFMC picnic will be at the Louisiana Oaks Park Pavilion (the Field Day location) 3520 Louisiana Avenue South, St. Louis Park from 6 to 9 pm.
Come see your fellow Twin City FM Club members and friends. The Club will be providing hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks and other fixings. Dishes are welcome to be brought. All are welcome to attend. Bring a friend that may be thinking about becoming a licensed HAM or is looking for a radio club. Talk in will be on the 146.760 repeater starting at 5:30 PM. We would like to have an idea of how much food to bring, so please RSVP for this event by e-mail, phone, text message or the club Facebook event page:
AJ Hirman – N0PVC
n0pvc@arrl.net
763-412-9014
Club Membership Chairperson
Amateur Radio Operators Recognition Days in Minnesota
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has proclaimed June 23 and 24, 2018 as Amateur Radio Operator Recognition Days in the State Of Minnesota
Below is a PDF version suitable for printing
Field Day 2019
The premiere operating activity of the year takes place Saturday June 23 until midday Sunday June 24.
The Bloomington Amateur Radio Association joins the Richfield Radio Club at the Richfield Community Center on Nicollet Avenue for this event.
Please show up around 10 A.M. to help setup. Radio operations begin at 1 P.M. Saturday and conclude at 1 P.M. on Sunday. Help tearing down is most appreciated.
Amateur Radio Exam Session
http://bloomington-ve.org/
The last Bloomington VE session, before their summer break, is Saturday June 23 at Bloomington Civic Plaza (City Hall)
Please click on above link for all the details.
June VHF Club Challenge
On behalf of the Bloomington Amateur Radio Association, I would like to issue a challenge to local clubs around Minnesota (including their membership in surrounding states): can you get more stations on the air and logs submitted for the ARRL June VHF Contest than BARA?
With Field Day on the horizon, the June VHF contest is a good opportunity to get operators on the air and making contacts, even if it’s only on 2m/70cm FM. It would be fun to see if you can put your microphone where your mouth is and make a few contacts during the June VHF contest. The contest runs from 1:00 PM CDT Saturday 6/9 (1800z) to 9:59 PM CDT Sunday 6/10 (0259z Monday 6/11).
To make things a little less intimidating, I suggest three half-hour FM focus times during the contest, 4:00-4:30 PM Saturday 6/9, 8:00-8:30 AM Sunday 6/10, and 9:30-9:59 PM Sunday 6/10, using a frequency of 146.550 MHz (and 446.000 MHz). With these focus times, a casual operator doesn’t need to spend the whole weekend looking for contacts, and there’s even a category exclusively for FM-only operators.
The information exchanged is your four-character grid square, and you will need to log frequency, call, grid square, time (UTC) and mode. In Bloomington and the southern Twin Cities metro the grid square is EN34, but you should check yours before participating in the contest.
If you are interested in a quick overview of how to participate in a VHF+ contest, complete with recommended scripts for contacts, I urge you to take a look at this 2-page guide. For a more detailed discussion of VHF contesting, including modes other than FM, there is a longer guide here. Full rules for the ARRL June VHF contest can be found on the ARRL website.
Make sure that after the contest you submit your log to the ARRL! You can enter the data from paper logs and submit them directly using this web tool.
I hope to hear you on the air!
Bill
AE0EE
President, Bloomington Amateur Radio Association