The September 2023 issue of Allen County HamNews, the official newsletter of the Fort Wayne Radio Club, is available for download using the link below or the “Newsletters” menu item above.
The Fort Wayne Radio Club tailgate hamfest is scheduled for Friday, August 11 in parking structure P3 on the Purdue University Fort Wayne campus.
The hamfest is free to buyers and sellers! Setup begins at 6:30 p.m. and selling starts at 7 p.m. See what’s for sale, bring your treasures to sell, or just hang out and talk to everyone. Everyone is welcome, regardless of club membership or licensure.
The tailgate hamfest will be on the second level of the parking structure to protect participants from rain, sun, mosquitoes, etc. It’s a nice location! Limited 120-volt power is available to check out purchases.
The best way to get to the parking structure is to use the “St. Joe Entrance” to enter campus on Dean Drive from St. Joe Road, just north of Stellhorn Road (see map, above). Follow Dean Drive to parking structure P3.
Plans for a special event station connected with an International Harvester truck homecoming event have changed, according to Steve Nardin, W9SAN.
The FWRC no longer plans to operate at the event itself on Meyer Road, as announced earlier. Instead, all K9H operations will be from the homes of FWRC members. Members may register to use the special call sign from their home stations through August 8. To register a time to operate as K9H, contact Nardin at w9san@arrl.net.
Members may operate on any band and multiple stations may operate simultaneously on different bands (which is why registration is necessary). Members may also use the special event call sign on Echolink, D-STAR, or other ‘internet’ modes. And because K9H will not be participating in a contest, the “WARC bands” (12, 17, and 30 meters) are also OK.
K9H operators must keep a log of all stations they contact, including the date, time, band and call sign of the other station. Operators should mention that a special certificate for contacting K9H is available via email. Stations may request the certificate by sending an email message with contact information to Josh Long, drjoshlong@gmail.com. Stations may contact K9H on as many bands as they wish, but the club will send only one certificate per station. K9H operators will also receive a certificate.
The August 2023 issue of Allen County HamNews, the official newsletter of the Fort Wayne Radio Club, is available for download from this website using the link below or the “Newsletters” menu item above.
The Fort Wayne Radio Club plans to conduct its monthly general meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 14, at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 4700 Vance Avenue, Fort Wayne.
Enter the church building using door number 2. Late arrivals might need to call or text Steve Nardin for assistance. Once inside, proceed to Raasch Hall.
Our meeting will focus on our performance at this year’s Field Day event and discuss what went right and what could be righter in the future! Positive and negative comments are welcome as we always look to improve.
Also, we will be talking about the upcoming special event station, K9H, which we want to run during the Harvester Homecoming on the first Saturday in August. We need operators and people to help with set up and take down. Our operation will only be on Saturday, August 4th from roughly 10 am to 3 pm at the former engineering center at 2911 Meyer Road.
The July 2023 issue of Allen County HamNews is available for download using the link below or the “Newsletters” menu item above.
The Fort Wayne Radio Club has reserved three tables at the Auburn hamfest, scheduled for July 29 at the Auburn Cord Dusenberg Museum. FWRC members may place items for sale on one of the club’s three tables, in exchange for help staffing the table for at least an hour.
The club encourages members who have many items to sell to purchase their own tables.
The hamfest is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the museum, 1600 South Wayne Street, Auburn. Admission and parking are free and hamfest attendees receive free admission to the museum’s antique car exhibits. See the flyer below for more information about the hamfest.
The Fort Wayne Radio Club will host a member dinner Saturday, June 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the site of our Field Day operation on the Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) campus. This meal will also serve as the club’s spring/summer banquet.
The Field Day site will be near Ginsberg Hall on Baker Drive of the PFW north campus. It’s the same building that houses Fort Wayne Philharmonic PFW physical plant offices. The easiest access is from the intersection of St. Joe Road and Dean Drive. Drive northeast to the first intersection, turn left and drive to Ginsburg Hall.
The club, with the help of “Master Chef” Charles Ward, KC9MUT will provide hot dogs and hamburgers. It will also provide all necessary dinnerware, cutlery and condiments, as well as coffee and lemonade. The club asks all who attend to bring a carry-in dish (e.g., meatballs or deviled eggs) or a dessert to share.
All FWRC members are invited and need not operate during Field Day to attend the dinner. Diners should, however, bring a chair and, if possible, a table.
RSVP! We need a head count to know how many hot dogs and hamburgers to buy, so please contact Charles Ward at kc9mut@gmail.com or 260-312-6338 no later than June 22 if you plan to attend the dinner.
In preparation for ARRL Field Day, the FWRC will hold several on the air planning meetings. These are open to anyone who wants to participate in the event on June 24 and 25 at Ginsberg Hall at PFW northeast campus.
The club plans on-air meetings on the 146.91 MHz repeater (or Echolink node 519521) at 7 p.m. ET on the following dates:
- Wednesday, June 14
- Monday June 19
- Wednesday, June 21
If you plan to join the club on Field Day, please let a club officer know, even if you can’t attend any of the above meetings.
Non-hams are invited to come out for Field Day, learn about the event, and even get on the air with licensed hams at the controls. The on-air meetings can be heard with a scanner by tuning 46.91 MHz FM.
The 2023 Field Day site will be near Ginsburg Hall, on the grounds of the Purdue Fort Wayne north campus (outlined in red on the graphic below). All stations will be outdoors (tentatively marked a star (club trailer) and diamonds (tents)), but we will have access to restrooms in Ginsburg Hall and can take shelter there in the event of severe weather.
The typical Field Day schedule is as follows:
- Setup starts around 8-9 a.m. Saturday with stations complete and tested.
- Operators meeting at 1:30 p.m. to review category, etc.
- Field Day operation begins at 2 p.m.
- Food usually planned for 5:30 p.m.
- Operations continues through the night.
- Field Day operation ends at 2 p.m. Sunday, tear down begins.
- Ready to leave by 4 p.m. (typically).
The June 2023 issue of Allen County HamNews, the official newsletter of the Fort Wayne Radio Club, is available for download using the link below or the “Newsletters” menu item above.