The Alabama QSO Party is Saturday, June 4th.The contest runs from 11 AM to 11 PM Central time. Modes are SSB and CW. The QSO Party is sponsored by the Alabama Contest Group.
W4HOD will be operating from the home of club member Darrell, K9MUG. Darrell will hold down the CW portion of the contest. Bob, KA4PKB; Cheryl, AA4YL; and Gene, KI4EEY will work SSB. We look forward to seeing other members that might be able to drop by to operate.
Dave Morris, W5UP presented a great program Tuesday evening. He explained the beginnings of EQSL, how the system works, the computers and servers that the system is stored, etc.
After the program, he offered discounts to the members on the Silver membership with EQSL. Dave also had EQSL hats for sale at a discount.
The barbecue supper before the meeting was delicious and everyone enjoyed themselves, many going back for seconds.
We had more visitors than we had seats, which was great to see, but we had to scramble to find chairs for everyone.
Lots of great ham radio talk and fellowship. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Ken, AK4KN joined the club Tuesday evening. It is great to have you with us Ken.
Nathan Hickman, NB4J also dropped by. Nathan was a member at one time, but school has taken most of his time lately. It was great to see him and hope he comes back soon.
John, KC4RSN, a regular at our weekly breakfast at Sarah Jays also joined us. Great to see him at our meeting and hope he joins us often.
Left, front to back:
Ken, W4KDS; Susan, KI4GTK; Cheryl, AA4YL; John, KC4RSN;
Darrell, K9MUG; Bob, KA4PKB; Gene, KI4EEY; Matthew; Spencer, W1SAS
Right, front to back:
John, KI4KUT; Deyla, KD4FD; Stew, K4JOP; Tom, KE4KWE; Reta;
Dave Morris, N5UP; Dick, K4IQJ; Ken, AK4KN
Pre-meeting supper was at Durango’s in Opelika. As usual Jesus and staff did a great job. Food and service were very good.
The April meeting was great. John Laney, K4BAI presented a slide program on the 2006 Radiosport Championship in Florianopolis, Brazil. John gave a very good presentation as well as funny anecdotes on the experience.
John also showed slides on an amateur station and home that is available for rental on Bonaire, in the Caribbean. John has been there multiple times and says it is a great place to operate.
It was great to have Ken, KJ4ZYC with us Tuesday evening. I hope he will continue to join us. He is a great addition to the club.
Congrats to Ken, KJ4ZYC, from Montgomery for passing his Extra class exam Tuesday evening. Not only did he pass, but did not miss a single answer. This VE has not seen many amateurs accomplish that.
After the test, Ken, VE Hal- KJ4TD, Bob- KA4PKB; and VE Cheryl- AA4YL adjourned to Moe’s Southwest Grill for happy hour. Great conversation and fellowship was in abundant supply.
Bob loaned Ken one of our spud guns to test out. We will build Ken one as soon as possible.
Speaking of spud guns, we are hearing of people using propane to fuel their launcher. We have found there is no need for such extreme measures. A simple tire stem and bicycle pump or small air compressor work fine.
Ken, KJ4ZYC in back and Hal, KJ4TD
Cheryl, AA4YL
Bob, KA4PKB
ARRL VE test session will be held Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 6:00 PM CDT.
Location is the Career Center inside the Goodwill Industries store on Pepperell Parkway in Midway Plaza. Map Link is shown here.
We will be giving the Extra Class test to an amateur from Montgomery. Other license tests will be offered to walk-ins. If possible, please contact the Lead VE at email address below to let us know you would like to test.
For further info, contact our VE team or see our VE exam page at http://w4hod.com/ve-testing
One of the goals of this admin is to get my CW speed back to at least Extra level. My code is really bad and I am determined to correct that.
I have found this web site and it is really helping.
John Laney, K4BAI from Columbus, GA, will be presenting the program for HODARS in April. John has promised something interesting for us. With his wealth of contesting and DX experience, I am sure it will be great.
The meeting date is April, 12 at 7 PM. Location is the Health Resource Center across from EAMC.
We will meet for supper at 6 PM before the meeting. Details on that later.
HODARS is up to 20 dues paying members, including family members. Our club philosophy of learning and having fun is spreading. Members enjoy our casual, relaxed atmosphere.
We don’t read minutes or bulletins out loud. We spend that time discussing projects or listening to a program.
The next meeting is April 12, at 7 PM. Location is the Health Resource Center across from the EAMC on Pepperell Parkway.
Working on the 2011-2012 membership directory for HODARS. Tweaking it and getting it ready to mail next week. It is up to date and has the newest members in it.
I did not include the By-Laws and Constitution, as they are archaic and too exclusive. HODARS will vote and amend them soon to create a more open, positive tone. HODARS is not an exclusive club and we do not want our official documents to sound like we are.
Tonight was great fun. Deyl, KD4FD; Tom, KE4TWE; his wife Reta; Darrell, K9MUG; Bob, KA4PKB; and Cheryl, AA4YL met at the HRC to finish up as many Spudniks as we could. We did manage to finish one for Deyl, Darrell, and Tom. We will finish up the rest as soon as we can.
Tom, KE4KWE, Reta, and Bob, KA4PKB
John, KI4KUT dropped by for a few minutes and it was great to see him.
Tom and Reta paid dues and are now official members of HODARS. Great to have them with us.
Tom paid the club a great compliment. He said we know how to have fun. That we do.
After the Spudnik session, we all went to Dairy Queen for ice cream and some great talk.
Tonight is the Spudnik finale at the Health Resource Center. We will meet at 6 PM to finish up the spud gun construction.
We will be meeting in the large room on the left as you come in the front door. This room has a lots of room to spread out.
Eat before you come, or bring a brown bag supper to eat in the meeting room.
2011 club dues are steadily coming in and the Treasurer appreciates that. Thank all of you for your continued support of HODARS. With our new emphasis on the technical and operating principals of amateur radio, we have a very bright future.
Please welcome our newest member, John Klingelhoeffer, WB4LNM. John has paid his dues and is now a member of our club. Welcome John, although you have seemed like a member for a long time.
Wednesday lunch at Firehouse Subs in Auburn today. Tom, KE4KWE and his wife Reta; John, WB4LNM; Ken, W4KDS; Cheryl, AA4YL and Bob, KA4PKB were present.. Great conversation and food, plus a beautiful sunny day.
I changed the theme of the blog and have some tweaking to do on one of the columns. I will have this done in a day or so, as time permits.
Thanks and 73!
