| Antenna Analyzers | VT City Marathon | Essex Memorial Parade |
| Knight Point Activation | Field Day Coming | RANV QSO Party Results | Museum Ships Event | Secretary's Minutes | Congratulations |
The Vermont City Marathon is Sunday, May 26th. Invitations have been sent out to all past communicators for this year's event. However, we always lose a few operators and will be looking for more.
There are 3 requirements to be a Marathon operator: have a license, have or get a two meter HT, and willingness to work between 7AM and 1PM on Marathon Sunday. Most of the jobs will be to provide communications at aid stations along the course. We provide all the training, information and a genuine 2018 Vermont City Marathon T-shirt! If you haven't done the Marathon before and would like to be a communicator, contact Mitch at w1sj@arrl.net. We need to have the team in place by the end of April.
The Marathon is the largest event ham radio supported event in Vermont,
consisting of 8000 runners, 30,000 spectators, 1000 volunteers and 32 ham
operators all compacted into a 6 hour event.
The Essex Memorial Parade is Saturday, May 25th from 7:30 until noon. Hams
are needed to serve as Parade Marshals who line up the participants, report
any changes and march with them to make sure they all behave. This is a
fairly easy, low key event. If interested in helping out, please contact
Mitch at w1sj@arrl.net.
This past Sunday, Bob, Bob, Carl and Mitch (i.e. K1BIF, KB1FRW, AB1DD, W1SJ) activated Knight Point State Park. This activation coincided with the New England QSO Party as we put rare Grand Isle County on the air. Our 20 and 40 meter stations produced 728 QSO's with 239 on CW. After what seemed like a month of rain, we had a picture perfect day on Lake Champlain. Stay tuned to the RANV Reflector as we will announce more activations coming up in the next few months.
To view a video of the activation, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0P0f_HrzGg&t=255s
Field Day is June 22-23. Make sure you mark you calendars correctly as it is NOT the last weekend in June. We have already been discussing plans for how we want to defend our title this year. One of the plans is to use FT8 digital to fill in some of the slow hours. That means you should get familiar with it! Everyone should make an effort to participate in some manner at Field Day. Don't use the silly "I have a wedding" or the "I have an anniversary" excuse. It has been tried before many, many times!
We will discuss Field Day at the upcoming RANV meeting and delve into it in
detail at the planning meeting on June 17 at W1SJ. Setup is Friday, June 21
at 10AM!
The RANV QSO Party was held April 1 through April 7. There were 3 logs submitted, although I know at least 10 people were on the air looking for contacts. The grand winner is Zach K1ZK, who amassed 36 QSO's across 9 counties. I managed second place, although I didn't try very hard! Larry KB1ZEB submitted a log without any frequency listing, so he is credited with one QSO. Bob KB1FRW and Carl AB1DD were active, but no log was submitted, so we can only guess their score.
The results: QSO Pts QSO Mult Score K1ZK 36 37 9 333 W1SJ 24 26 6 156 KB1ZEB 1 1 1 1
On June 1st and 2nd there is an event that puts museum ships and maritime museums on the air. This is similar to other special events, as others make contact with these stations, and can get certificates for those contacts. This is not a contest. There are no awards for most worked, etc., although the top operators are listed on the website.
Some may remember that a group of us operated from the Ticonderoga at the Shelburne Museum. This came to an end a few years back when it became too expensive. We have now found a new home at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes. This has been approved by generous folks at the Museum Ships, and we have secured permission to operate at the LCMM.
The event starts on Friday night at 8:00 PM EDT and runs through Sunday at
8:00 PM. We have permission to operate all night from the Maritime Museum.
Now, in order to do this, we need operators. I would like to schedule slots
of a couple of hours each. You could do more if you wanted, and if space is
available. Please let me know as to what time you would like to operate. Day
or night, doesn't matter. This will be first come, first served, so get your
times in early. License class doesn't matter, because there will be a control
operator present so that Techs can operate on HF. This is a fun event, no
pressure to make hundreds of contacts. For more info, visit:
https://www.qsl.net/w/wa2tvs//museum
There were about 15 in attendance (the sign-in sheet showed 12 names). President Bob Allen (KB1FRW) called meeting to order at 7:51 (presentation was first)
Museum on the Air
Carl AB1DD mentioned we used to set up a special event station on the
Ticonderoga museum ship at Shelburne Farms, but that activity did not continue
due to increased fees. An alternative might be the Maritime Museum. Initial
inquiries were encouraging. They can provide power and other facilities.
Campers would be welcome. If interested, contact Carl so he can schedule time
slots. Setup will take place before sunset on Friday. The event will run
from Saturday June 1st 0000 UTC (Friday evening) through Sunday, June 2nd 2359 UTC.
Contact Carl at ab1dd@arrl.net for more information.
Other Events
Near-Fest on May 3rd and 4th was mentioned, as well as Parks on the Air at
Knight Point State Park on May 5th. Our club will provide communications
support for the Essex Parade May 25th. The Marathon will be on May 26th where
we also provide communications support. Field Day will be on June 22nd and
23rd this year.
Newsletter Editor
Current newsletter editor, David KC1APK, indicated he would continue in that
role for up to two months. George KC1JGM indicated he would be the new
newsletter editor (thank you). The two agreed to work together on upcoming
issues. Other
Duane WL7CVD agreed to bring snacks for the May meeting.
Presentation
The presentation consisted of a tour of the Generator Makerspace on Sears Lane
in Burlington. The tour began at 7:00 and was conducted by a staff member of
that facility. The tour included the electronics lab, laser cutter, vinyl
cutter, 3-D printers, metal shop, wood shop, and flex space. Club members
asked some excellent questions and indicated they enjoyed seeing the facility.
KC1LJD Dirk Marek (South Burlington) TECHNICIAN W1BAP Bruce Parizo (Underhill) GENERAL