Wednesday February 9 meeting

      No Comments on Wednesday February 9 meeting

Our Arrow general membership meeting will be this Wednesday, February 9.  We will continue with our virtual meeting format on Zoom.  We will keep our usual timing; informal gathering starting at 6:30 pm, and our program will start at 7:00 pm.

Zoom details for the Arrow meeting:
Wednesday February 9, 2022, 6:30 pm US/Eastern standard time
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/92284436755?pwd=cG1uSlFCbU9xUDJIVjNHZ21YZE1Qdz09
Meeting ID: 922 8443 6755
Passcode (all lowercase): arrow

This month, our featured presenter will be our own Jay Nugent, WB8TKL.

Jay’s title and description:

“Providing the Power needed to run Emergency Communications”
-or-
“When All Else Fails…Or at least until your battery dies”

This presentation will cover station power needs for long-term communication deployments (or Grid down), determining your Power Budget, various battery chemistries, discharge curves, charging profiles, generator backup, and we go in depth into Solar Power, PWM-v-MPPT, PV technology, the myth of “Excess Energy”, how to ‘Rack Up’ some PV, and how to do 12VDC on a more massive scale.

This presentation is being produced for the upcoming DHS/FEMA/MSP Interoperability Conference scheduled for early March, in Traverse City.  You fine folks will be my first victims..err…audience to see this presentation. Your feedback will be used to polish up any rough spots.

ARROW is testing again

      No Comments on ARROW is testing again

ARROW re-started in-person VE testing several months ago after pausing for COVID. We test every second Saturday of the month at Fellowship Bible Church, 2775 Bedford Road, near the intersection of Washtenaw and Stadium Blvd., in Ann Arbor.  This morning, 5 VEs tested 6 candidates. Also  in attendance was one observer and Pastor Matt Postiff, aka W8MAP.

When we got to the church this morning, Pastor Matt had already hung signs directing people to the assigned room. It seems that his job description exceeds the normal range of pastoral care. Thanks, Matt!

The good thing is that all of the candidates were successful and left with either a new license or an upgrade. One of the applicants was a young lad of 10 or 11, whose mother brought him to the test session. He passed the Tech test handily, and seemed to be very happy about this result. In fact, all of the applicants were pleased to have passed. The VEs were happy about this as well, since it is always a bummer to tell somebody they failed.

One of the applicants was ARROW member Steve Bemis, W8AYN, who got 50 correct answers on his Extra element. As he was leaving, I told him that if he had studied harder, he would have done better!

If you have been wanting to get your ham license or upgrade to General or Extra Class, our next exam session will be at 9AM EST on Saturday morning, January 8, 2022 in the Youth Room at the Fellowship Bible Church.  Walk-ins are allowed, but we would prefer pre-registration by e-mailing Mark, W8FSA, at mrkgoodwin@comcast.net, or yours truly, Ralph, AA8RK at aa8rk@arrl.net.

ARROW Elects Officers for 2022

      No Comments on ARROW Elects Officers for 2022

On Wednesday, December 8, the membership elected the following officers:

  • President: James Forgacs, KC8BGJ
  • Secretary: Don Winsor, AC8TO
  • Treasurer: Steve Rogacki, AC8GO
  • Technical Coordinator: Steve Gladden, N8LBV
  • Public Service Officer: Ed Thierbach, AB8OJ
  • Activities Coordinator: John Wasciuk, WA8TON
  • Delegate Trustee: Thom Martin, W8TAM

Ed, AB8OJ, is returning to the board, while James, KC8BGJ, is joining the board for the first time.

Congratulations to all!

General Meeting – June 9, 2021

      No Comments on 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.

W0YK Talks RTTY

      No Comments on W0YK Talks RTTY

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Ed Muns, W0YK, a noted RTTY contester, gave a great presentation via Zoom to ARROW. Below are just the three first slides, which Ed used to give us a feel for the history of RTTY and its current place in ham radio. He went on to explain how RTTY works, how to set your station up to run RTTY, and how to operate RTTY in contests. For more information, download the entire presentation.

Who knew that teletypes were in use before 1850?

Although the popularity of FT8 continues to increase, RTTY continues to hold its own, especially among contesters.

Looking for an exam session?

      No Comments on Looking for an exam session?

Unfortunately, ARROW will not be holding in-person exam sessions for the foreseeable future. Don’t despair, though, you can take the test online. To schedule an online, amateur radio exam go to https://hamstudy.org/sessions.

ARRL Great Lakes Division Vice Director Candidates’ Forum (9/30/2020)

      No Comments on ARRL Great Lakes Division Vice Director Candidates’ Forum (9/30/2020)

On Wednesday, September 30, 2020, ARROW held a special meeting, at which all three candidates for ARRL Great Lakes Vice Director were to speak. This video is a recording of that meeting. On this video, you’ll see Scott, N8SY, and Frank, KI8GW, but, unfortunately, we were unable to connect with Jim, K8JH. Below, you’ll find links to their candidate statements.

Statements:

Corwin Moore, WB8UPM (SK)

      No Comments on Corwin Moore, WB8UPM (SK)

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

ARROW Meeting, Wednesday, September 9 – Michael Kalter, W8CI, candidate for the ARRL Board of Directors

      No Comments on ARROW Meeting, Wednesday, September 9 – Michael Kalter, W8CI, candidate for the ARRL Board of Directors

On Wednesday, September 9, 2020, Michael Kalter, W8CI, spoke to ARROW via Zoom. He spoke about why he’s running for the ARRL Board of Directors and his vision for the ARRL. Here’s the video:

I also invited Dale Williams, WA8EFK, the incumbent, but he was unable to join us.