ARROW Communication Association

Serving Radio Amateurs in Michigan's Washtenaw & Wayne Counties

ARROW Communication Association

Category: Member News

2023 Field Day Logo

ARROW 2023 Field Day Activities

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On June 19, 2023

In Club News, Events, Member News

2:00 PM Saturday June 24 – 2:00 PM Sunday June 25 on the soccer field just north of Ann Arbor Airport

Local ham radio operators participate in this annual, national event, first done in 1933. Temporary amateur radio stations are set up in public locations to showcase Amateur Radio technology and practice. Radios are operated from tents and RVs, using temporary antennas, with emergency power (generators, batteries, solar). Field Day is an emergency exercise, a contest, and a 24-hour nerd party. Operations will continue throughout the night.

  • Get on the air with us!
  • Information about amateur radio
  • Displays and demonstrations
  • “Elmering” (mentoring)
  • Talk about all things radio and technology
  • Sit back, relax, and have fun!

Corwin Moore, WB8UPM (SK)

By

On September 10, 2020

In Member News

Corwin D. Moore, Jr. WB8UPM (age 77), one of the founders of the “Amateur Radio Repeaters Of Washtenaw” (ARROW), a spin-off of the HVARA (Huron Valley Amateur Radio Assn.), passed away Sunday, September 6th, according to his wife Kathy.

Corwin was a cornerstone of the ARROW for many decades, and held a Life Membership in the organization. He supported many projects by providing space on his 200-foot tower on Scio Church Road near Zeeb, some of the highest ground in Washtenaw county. Projects such as an Amateur TV repeater, UHF to 10-Meter cross-band repeater, 220MHz Packet radio digipeater, 6-meter repeater, and many others. Corwin’s primary use of the tower was in the 1970’s when he ran a GMRS repeater from there that covered much of Southeastern Michigan. Currently his 146.74 (100PL) and a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) are the current occupants.

Corwin enjoyed everything about the technology and was a valuable resource and Elmer for anyone wanting to learn more. He was always willing to share his knowledge. One of his favorite things was keeping up with radio related trends in government and as a consultant often would travel to Washington D.C. to represent his customers before the F.C.C. He certainly knew his stuff!

Corwin had a big heart and always a willingness to help out. When the ARROW lost the Tower Plaza site, Corwin put together and operated a replacement repeater on 146.96 running from his tower. And he was very helpfull in the transition from his site to the MSR2000 now running at the Wolverine Tower site. His help in getting audio levels trimmed and deviation set correctly was much appreciated.

Health issues relegated Corwin to a wheelchair which made it difficult to continue to live in the house at the base of the tower. And in November two years ago, a lightning strike came in on the DTE power lines and took out the 146.74 repeater and much of the WISP. I am proud to report that through assistance from the ARROW we have rebuilt his repeater and will be returning into full operation later this afternoon. Sad that he did not live long enough to hear and use his old repeater.

–Jay, WB8TKL

A different kind of Field Day

By

On June 30, 2020

In Member News

We didn’t haul generators out to the airport this year, nor did we have to deal with a porta-potty, but we still had fun. Here’s how some ARROW members participated in Field Day.

Russ KB8U

KB8U combined his two hobbies on field day by operating bicycle mobile on 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter QRP CW, and 2m and 70cm with a hand-held FM transceiver.  Most contacts were made while in motion.  He made contacts and rode at a leisurely pace, logging 118 contacts and about 53 miles over the weekend.

John WA8TON

Got 195 CW QSO’s, including 8 on 6 meters! All using a Cushcraft R8 at 30 feet. Amazing how much brass pounding there was at around 50.095 MHz! Getting a lot easier to copy than last year! Next year, I’ll run ’em!

It sure was harder to stay awake all night than it was in 1966! Found myself nodding off at 2 AM.

Lots of fun, but it sure does not beat all the eyeball QSO’s. Hope we can do it all in person next time! (And there is Winter Field Day, too!)

Dave N8SBE

Dave, N8SBE, is all set to try out WSJT-X FT4 within the N1MM+ logger from his home station in the 2020 ARRL FD.  His laptop integrates seamlessly for both audio and CAT with his USB Codec-equipped Elecraft K3S/P3.  His antenna complement includes a homebrew 20M-6M six-band, two-element spider-boom quad up about 40 ft, and a ZS6BKW window-line fed dipole covering 80M-40M, up about 35 ft.  Just because he’s working FD from home (class 1D), doesn’t mean he can’t dress the part — note the official 2020 ARRL FD shirt, cap and pin (and mug, not pictured)!”

Jay WB8TKL

Operating 1E with 850 Amp/Hours of deep-cycle battery and nearly 500 watts of Solar power, we kept the rigs powered, the fan blowing cool air, and the lights on, for the duration of the event. We discovered a few technical items that will need further improvement, but this “Operating Event” went VERY well. Even the Hamgate.Washtenaw.AMPR.Org JNOS Packet node was running off Solar for others to post their NTS messages through.

Three is two, two is one, and one is none…so we had an OMNI-VI Plus on standby should a backup HF rig be needed. But the primary rig (TS-430S) performed flawlessly.

The special circumstances of Field Day this year taught all of us the PRIMARY meaning of the event – to practice the skills needed to set up and operate for an extended length of time. No one just showed up at the FD site, sat themselves down in front of a K3 inside an air-conditioned 5th Wheel. This year we were EACH required to manage antennas, rigs, power, fuel, extension cables, logging software (or paper logs), and ultimately the filing of our official Log to the ARRL. It was a learning experiance for many! We all now appreciate more the hard work done by our FD Captain, the various Stations Captains, and all the volunteer work and supplies provided by our fellow club members 🙂

Dan KB6NU

With his battery-powered KX3, Dan KB6NU, managed 225 CW contacts, mostly on 40-meter CW.

I operated from my front deck, using a solar-charged, battery-powered KX3. I managed 225 CW contacts, mostly on 40-meter CW. I did pretty well with bonus points, too. I copied the bulletin, sent our Section Manager some traffic, sent out a press release, and Tweeted throughout Field Day for the social media bonus. I even had a public-information table (see below).

Join the ARROW “Shut In” Net

By

On March 18, 2020

In Member News, Repeaters

This really has nothing to do with this post. I found it while Googling for an “amateur radio roundtable” image and thought it would be amusing. 🙂

You may be sheltering in place or self-quarantining, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be out of touch with your fellow hams. For the foreseeable future, ARROW members will be congregating at 10 am and 7 pm on our 2 m repeater (146.96 MHz), and at 2 pm on the Brandmeister MI Talk Group (TG 3126).

Please feel free to  join us, even if you’re not an ARROW member. The nets are conducted in a roundtable format, with one of the participants (often Jay, WB8TKL) acting as the ringleader. We babble on about how we’re coping with this situation, including what projects we’re working on and what bands and modes we’re operating.

STAY SAFE AND JOIN US!

WB8TKL Addresses TAPR Conference

By

On November 22, 2019

In Member News

At this fall’s TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC), held here in the Detroit area, our own Jay Nugent, WB8TKL, talked about packet radio. His talk was titled “The Homogenous AMPRnet Data Network.”

 

 

Jason, KC5HWB, of Ham Radio 2.0, has taken over the video taping of the TAPR DCCs. Click here to see all of the videos he recorded this year.

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