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ARRL Club News

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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October 17, 2023

Editor: Michael Walters, W8ZY <clubs@arrl.org>

IN THIS ISSUE

- Mentorship through An Antenna Build
- ARRL Foundation Grant Money in Action
- W3BN Special Event Station
- Seasonal Club Updates
- Submitting Info for this Newsletter
- How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention
- Important Links

==> MENTORSHIP THROUGH AN ANTENNA BUILD

After Field Day 2023, the Candlewood Amateur Radio Association (CARA)
determined that it would be best to use a dedicated 80/75-meter dipole,
rather than the multiband off-center-fed antenna that had been used
previously. This would give the club dedicated antennas for 80, 40, 20,
15, and 10 meters. Dan Fegley, W1QK, suggested that the antenna be
built with a single pole knife switch so it would be shorter for the
SSB section of the band. It was decided to have the switch around 3.9
MHz, as well as 3.55 MHz (the desired CW portion of the band) for the
full length of the antenna when the switch is closed. Working
measurements were calculated, and a preliminary sketch was made for the
antenna. The antenna will be used for ARRL Field Day and Winter Field
Day and be put up as an inverted v.

A while back, ARRL Connecticut Section Technical Coordinator Steve
Simons, W1SMS, shared that he would like to host some sort of technical
hands-on activity at his house. John Ahle, W1JMA, suggested having a
build project for this antenna on August 12 from 1 to 3 PM. Invitations
were sent to CARA club members and other hams from surrounding clubs
that had expressed an interest in antenna building. Materials for the
project were obtained, and prior to the event, John and Steve shot
lines over trees to evaluate the antenna and settled on how the knife
switch would be employed in the construction.

About a dozen CARA members and other local hams arrived at Steve's
for the build. After an hour delay from the rain, the project began.
The first steps were to explain the concept of the antenna, as well as
the working calculations and design. Wire was measured and cut for each
leg of the dipole for the 3.9 and 3.55 MHz sections. The wire was
soldered to the center insulator, and the end insulators were
temporarily put on the antenna so we could evaluate the SWR for the SSB
section.

Steve had several instruments that could be used for SWR measurements,
including an MFJ-269 antenna analyzer, an Array Solutions AIM-UHF
vector network analyzer, and a newly purchased NanoVNA. Most
measurements were conducted using the AIM-UHF, as its control software
enabled an immediate scan and display of critical parameters over a
defined frequency range. The antenna was hoisted as an inverted v and
measurements were taken.

The antenna was too long! The first of many lessons learned was that
when a dipole is in an inverted-v formation, the calculations will be 2
- 5% less than the standard flat top calculations. After several cuts
were made, we were satisfied with the lowest SWR at 3.86 MHz. The knife
switch and remaining wire were soldered, measurements were taken, and
the wire was cut to get the CW portion to 3.5 MHz.

The antenna was completed by around 4 PM, and contacts were made with
stations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. All who participated
were happy with the results; the work areas were cleaned up and then
many participants stayed for a BBQ.

By Dan Fegley, W1QK

==> ARRL FOUNDATION GRANT MONEY IN ACTION

In the fall of 2022, the Gainesville Amateur Radio Society (GARS)
applied for one of the generous ARRL grants that exist to promote the
expansion of amateur radio. GARS has existed for 68 years, serving the
North Florida area through many community events, but it was a club
without a home station. The ARRL Foundation grant program has
transformed a mediocre, cumbersome club space into a thriving
communications center. It will also be used as an Emergency
Communications Center (EOC) for the city of Waldo and backup/assist the
Alachua County EOC, to increase the operating skills of club members
and local hams, and allow community members who may not be able to
afford equipment to have access to radio equipment.

For a number of years, the Waldo city government had been generous
enough to allow club activities in their city square buildings, and in
return, GARS assisted with maintaining the space. In early 2023, a new
shared vision became a reality. In a former school building that was
handcrafted by masons at the turn of the last century, GARS was allowed
use of a room that has become their radio room. Prior to receiving the
grant, the room was staffed by club volunteers operating as the
communication center for any emergency operations in Waldo. It was
equipped with old radios and no permanent antenna. Every time the club
needed to get on the air, it was cumbersome at best.

Based on the members' vast professional skills and amateur radio
experiences, they laid out a blueprint in the grant proposal, which was
approved. To establish four stations within the radio room, we would
purchase three Icom IC-7300s and each would have a computer with dual
monitors for logging. To serve these stations, establishing permanent
antennas was critical to provide a variety of ways to maintain contact
during emergencies and training new operators. The two-story building's
roof had a prime spot for a hex beam with a powered rotator, and a
dipole was raised using the ball field light poles. Purchasing a
triplexer would allow maximum flexibility to communicate during
emergencies and regular club activities. The request included all the
infrastructure wiring needed for radio and antenna connectivity. Heil
Sound headsets for each spot would support teaching people how to
operate, while minimizing room noise during operating times.

GARS members donated equipment and labor, and the city of Waldo donated
unused classroom furniture for the stations. Hours were spent on the
roof in Florida's boiling humidity to install antennas. There is still
some work to be completed, but we are open for operating. Cleaning,
organizing, and testing produced a fully functioning radio room.

After a couple of dress rehearsals, September 23, 2023, marked our
first formal Get on the Air day at the GARS radio room. Promoted
through social media, emails, and word of mouth, the public was invited
to come and immerse themselves in a few hours of amateur radio. The day
was summarized in an email from GARS President Terry Gordon, K4TMG:

"We had a nice turn out at the Waldo EOC/GARS radio room today for the
[club's] Get on the Air event. Everyone had a fun time. We had at least
two people [who were] interested in ham radio [but] do not have their
license yet that made a contact with supervision under the club call
sign, and a couple of others that just wanted to watch. This included a
young man who is a freshman in high school working on his Technician
license, and a couple of others made their first HF contact. We had a
couple of DX contacts to Canada. There were several contacts to POTA
stations and to the Main QSO Party. The CW bunch made a few Europe DX
contacts also, including [with] the Vatican.

The event was a great opportunity to check out new equipment and
software. We have three new Icom 7300s. Not only did we help folks make
some contacts, but we also demonstrated how to use the IC-7300 and how
to use Log4OM logging software. All the contacts made with the club
call sign were logged onto Log4OM and sent to www.qrz.com. The
operators that used their personal call signs used a paper log and will
enter them manually later. We are already starting to get confirmations
on QRZ. The IC-7300 radio is an SDR and can be connected directly to a
computer. This makes logging and operating digital modes a breeze".

By GARS Public Information Officer Barbara Matthews, KO4TWZ

==> W3BN SPECIAL EVENT STATION

The Reading Radio Club's W3BN special event station drew a wide
assortment of calls from hams throughout the country and around the
world during a 12-hour period on Saturday, September 23. A committed
group of Reading Radio Club operators put their skills to the test,
managing pileups on the three HF stations throughout the day and making
more than 1,097 SSB contacts from the contest location of Steve Dobbs,
NE3F. The stations promoted the 275th anniversary of the founding of
the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, by the sons of Pennsylvania's
founder, William Penn. Thomas, Richard, and John Penn laid out the
streets of colonial Reading. An extract of a map of their work appears
on the personalized color certificate for any licensed ham who
contacted W3BN that day.

The W3BN www.qrz.com page got high praise from several stations who
made contact with them for the detailed information. Many told the W3BN
operators they planned to apply for the attractive certificate - a
sample of which was posted on the page. Josh Abramowicz, KK4WDP, helped
design the page and post it. Ron Waszk, K3RJW, added 32 VHF contacts to
the final total of 1,129 contacts recorded by the W3BN special event
station operation. Ron braved the rainy conditions atop Mount Penn that
day to activate W3BN on 146.550 MHz Simplex. He was on VHF for an hour
to give those in the region who did not have HF capability a chance to
work the event and earn a certificate.