Serving Radio Amateurs in Michigan's Washtenaw & Wayne Counties

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General Meeting – June 9, 2021

I don’t know about you, but I’m really tired of Zoom meetings. So, instead of cramming into a University of Michigan classroom—which we haven’t yet gotten permission to do anyway—I decided that meeting in one of Ann Arbor’s lovely parks would be just the ticket. I’m not a big planner, so my original thought would be for everyone to just show up, maybe bring a radio, and a bag lunch.

Nick, W8XM (L) with Mo, KE8BZJ.

Nick, W8XM, wasn’t having any of that, though. He volunteered to head over to Costco and purchase what we needed for a real cookout. He bought burgers, brats, cheese, onions, lettuce, buns, and a cooler full of Coke (both regular and diet) and water. He even brought his pop-up canopy. Dinesh AB3DC brought a pop-up gas grill, Jack N8PMG brought some snacks, Don AC8TO also brought some beverages, and 18 of us had a real feast.

Some guys brought radios. Dave N8SBE brought his KX2 and worked some FT4. Ed AB8OJ brought his AREDN node, and Thom W8TAM showed up in what he calls his “POTA pursuit vehicle,” a former cop car, with an IC-7300 and screwdriver antenna installed. I brought my KX-3, but never did get around to setting it up.

The weather cooperated, too. At 4 pm, it started pouring, and it looked like it was going to be a wet evening, but the rain cleared out by 5 pm, and stayed nice, if a little humid, throughout the rest of the evening.

This event turned out a lot better than I had planned. It was great seeing everyone face-to-face again. We may just have to do this again next month.

18 ARROWheads showed up last night to enjoy the sunshine and some burgers and brats.

Our next event is going to be a small gathering at the same park for Field Day in a couple of weeks. Instead of our usual 4A + GOTA operation, we’ll be either 1A or 2A, and probably only operate from 2pm until 10pm on Saturday, when we’re supposed to be out of the park. Stay tuned for details.

ARROW Event Cancellations for March & April 2020

We would like to inform you know that the following ARROW Events and Meetings have been canceled due to COVID-19.

ARROW VE Session – March 14 & April 11

ARROW Egg Chew – March 21 & April 18

ARROW Monthly General Meeting – April 8

ARROW Hamvention Bus Trip – May 16

We are currently evaluating the Hamvention Bus Trip and are waiting to hear from the Hamvention organizers. Hamvention has been canceled. We will work on issuing a refund to all our registered bus riders ASAP. We have processed all Hamvention bus trip refunds as of March 16, 2020 if you paid using PayPal. Checks will be in the mail soon.

The ARROW Board meeting will be held via a conference call in April at which time we will decide the future of the meetings.

73, ARROW Board

UMARC/ARROW ARRL Field Day 2019 (June 22 – 23)

The University of Michigan Amateur Radio Club and the ARROW Radio Club invite the public to attend the National Amateur Radio Field Day at the Ann Arbor Airport.

When: June 22, 2 p.m. to June 23, 2 p.m. (24 hours)
Where: Ann Arbor Airport Soccer Field, 801 Airport Dr, Ann Arbor, MI (W. Ellsworth and Airport Blvd.; Across from Costco)

This annual 24-hour national open-house event gives the public an overview of amateur radio and also helps amateur radio operators prepare for emergencies and develop radio communication skills. You will get a chance to meet experts, ask questions, learn how radio operators help local governments in times of need, and even operate the station, under supervision.

Free and open to all ages, amateur radio or ham radio is a hobby where licensed operators use radios to communicate with people all over the world and even with astronauts in space. Please do drop by and experience the amazing world of ham radio and don’t forget to bring along your kids as Amateur Radio might be a stepping stone for them to get involved in STEM-related activities and careers.

More information about Field Day can be found here: http://www.arrl.org/field-day

#ARRLFD #ARRLFD2019

ARROW works the MI QSO Party at the Red Cross

We participated in the MI QSO Party this past Saturday from the Red Cross Station and we ran the station for the full 12 hours of the contest period and we made 328 QSOs and scored 47234 points.

A special thanks to Thom W8TAM for the IC-7300 station and for manning the station for the full 12 hour period and for also donating a Windows machine and a monitor for the Red Cross station. Also, thanks to the following operators: Garry W8GMD, Julie K8VOX, Mark W8FSA and Dan KB6NU and to Jay WB8TKL and Jon KD8MKE and his wife for visiting us.

Dan KB6NU (left), Dinesh AB3DC (right), Thom W8TAM (bottom) piling up the points in the 2019 MI QSO Party
Photos: Thom, W8TAM and Dinesh AB3DC

Thanks to Dave N8SBE (35728 points) and Russ KB8U (55880 points) for submitting their logs on behalf of the ARROW. We are currently leading the Combined Club category with a score of 138,842. If you have not submitted your logs please remember to give credit to ARROW or if you forgot to give credit please resubmit you log and select ARROW COMMUNICATIONS ASSN as the Club.

Also, while at the Red Cross Station, Thom and I also did a lot of clean up work. We have more to do and we plan to discuss this at the next Board and General meetings.  

October General Meeting: FT8

This month, we will hear from Russ Dwarshuis, KB8U about FT8. FT8 is the hottest new digital mode in amateur radio world and is developed by Nobel laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT. It is a fast mode and very easy to setup and is a lot of fun. Learn more about it from Russ.

Date/Time: Wednesday, October 10 at 6:45 pm.

Location: Rm #2424 Space Research Building
University of Michigan
2455 Hayward St
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

The doors at UM automatically close at 7:00 pm. So please plan to arrive 5-10 minutes early. If you are locked out please give a call on the 146.96 (-ve) repeater frequency.

Maps and Parking info: https://w8rp.org/news/change-in-generalmeetinglocation-for-march-2017/

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

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