| Club of the Year | Meeting Minutes | Fiendish Plan Worked |
| Editor's Notes |
Our October 8th meeting will feature a video talk by Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC from
the Nashua Amateur Radio Club (NARC). Like many large clubs, NARC was losing
members for a number of years. Over the last few years, NARC has had a
resurgence, with a growing and very active membership. This club received an
award from the ARRL and was featured at this year's Dayton Hamvention. Fred
will detail a number of the steps they took to interest young people, grow the
membership and include many varied activities. We can certainly benefit from
some new ideas on how to come up with new activities and more members. Fred
will be joining us live from his shack in Southern New Hampshire. Be sure to
join us Tuesday night!
There were about 16 in attendance. Club president, Bob KB1FRW called meeting to order at 7:05 PM. The meeting ended at 8:55 PM.
Presentation
This month's presentation was a group discussion. The topic was, if you had
unlimited money and time, what would you want to do with your amateur radio
hobby. The following are some of the ideas that were tossed out (I did my
best to capture all ideas). Get a K4, a 1500 watt amplifier, a giant mast
antenna, and a generator on a freighter and go to an island in the Pacific for
a dxpedition lasting one month. Since money is no object, everyone is
invited. Talk to friends on ships, explore solar power. Bring back Heathkit
(and consider having a meeting devoted to building a kit). Build a vintage AM
station, possibly with an old radio on hand. Put up a great antenna for
crystal radio and see how much you can get out of it. Learn about TV and
radar. Build an antenna-powered digital watch, getting the power right off
the antenna. Build up code speed. Build a basis for a new antenna tower.
Move to where a big antenna farm could be installed. Figure out how to
control propagation. Go to Mt. Athos, an enclave in Greece, become a monk
there, and set up a super station. Do more on 220 meters. Get involved in
ongoing discussions with other clubs, look around for new people and give
every new licensee a radio. Launch a satellite station. Explore the
possibility of a time machine.
I thought our September meeting was quite enjoyable. It was fun to get to
hear from everyone in attendance about their dreams for amateur radio. People
seemed interested and some delightful chit-chat was intermixed with the free
flow of ideas. We got to know each other a little better. But I confess I
had an ulterior motive when I proposed this as a meeting topic. I was hoping
that one person considered a far-off dream, another person would have specific
advice for how to carry that dream to fruition. Well, that happened at least
once. I expressed an interest in learning and using Morse code. Dave, KC1APK
told me I should sign up for CW Academy, an online training program that
teaches what you need to know for using Morse code in the real-world. Thanks
to David's recommendation, I checked out their website, and now am signed up
for their class in January and February. That's perfect time for me because
the sailboat will not be tempting me away from learning and practice. Thank
you, David, for that excellent recommendation.
KC1KUV David Ewell Essex Jct. upgrade to General KC1LXX Nathan Tremmel Colchester Tech KC1LXY Brennen Schaefer Essex Jct. Tech
Currently 39 members receive the RANV Newsletter electronically. To enroll,
just send me an email gmayvt1@gmail.com. You'll get fast delivery, the club
saves a dollar each month, AND the pictures look GREAT!