Minutes of the August 2021 general meeting of the Fort Wayne Radio Club are now available on this website, but clicking the link below or via the “Files” menu item above.
The August meeting of the Fort Wayne Radio Club is scheduled for Wednesday, August 18 at 6 p.m. at the main location of the Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza. at 6:00 pm. Paul Prestia, KA3OPZ will speak about D-STAR use and registration.
The annual FWRC tailgate hamfest is scheduled for Friday, August 20, on the Purdue Fort Wayne campus, in parking structure number three. Setup begins and 5:30 and sales begin at 6 p.m.
Admission is free for buyers and sellers.
The August 2021 issue of Allen County HamNews is now available for download from this website, using the link below or the “Newsletters” item on the menu above.
The FWRC board of directors announced a new venue for the club’s annual tailgate hamfest, scheduled for August 20. Rather than the traditional location on the parking lot of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, this year’s event will be in a parking structure on the campus of Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW).
The club has reserved the second level of parking structure number three, in the northern part of the PFW campus, near Rhinehart Music Center. This location offers advantages including:
- Shade
- Protection from rain
- Fewer mosquitos and other insects
- Access to rest rooms
The easiest 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. Follow Dean Drive to the parking structure.
Set up will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the hamfest will begin at 6 p.m. There are no fees.
The FWRC repeater on 146.91 MHz, located on the campus of Purdue Fort Wayne, is temporarily out of service. FWRC secretary Al Burke, WB9SSE advised the FWRC webmaster that the board is aware that the repeater is off the air and that the members will visit the site to diagnose the problem as soon as they are able. Al gave no estimate of when repairs might occur.
The Allen County Skywarn® net has updated its net operations manual to indicate a change in the net’s alternate (backup) frequency to 146.94 MHz.
Effective immediately, any time the ACARTS 146.88 MHz repeater is unavailable (due to repeater failure or other issues), the Skywarn net will operate on the FWRC 146.94 MHz repeater in FM mode. That repeater also supports C4FM, also known as Yaesu Fusion mode, which the Skywarn net will not use. The 146.94 repeater requires user radios to transmit a 141.3 Hz continuous tone-coded squelch system tone. Users who also configure their radios to decode that tone will avoid hearing digital noise when the repeater is being used in C4FM mode.
For detailed information about how the Allen County Skywarn net works and how to participate, use the link below to download the latest version of the net operations manual.
Skywarn® is a registered trademark and program of the U.S. National Weather Service.
The Two-Meter Classic Sprint continued with the July edition held on July 3, 2021, lasting 30 minutes from 1300z to 1330z. Participation for the July sprint was up from June, with 11 submitted score summaries. Several familiar calls from the June sprint returned this month, and several new calls joined in the fun. Submitted score summaries came from the states of Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Kentucky. Stations entered in the base category (both high power and low power), as well as the rover category (low power only). Great to see the activity!
There are a few new items to add to the July sprint results. Starting with the July sprint, the score report will include two sections – a score summary for participants in that month’s sprint, and a score report for year-to-date scores. The next new addition is a “soapbox comment” section. Participants are encouraged to include their “soapbox” comments with their score summaries. “Soapbox” comments typically include such things as descriptions of rig(s) used, antennas used, operating comments, etc.
Continue readingThe Allen County Amateur Radio Technical Society (ACARTS) has invited members of the Fort Wayne Radio Club to the ACARTS Picnic. The picnic will be held August 7 at Jefferson Township Park, 1702 Webster Road, east of New Haven, starting at approximately 5 p.m., with the meal beginning at approximately 6 p.m. ACARTS will supply hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and drinks. Salads, desserts, and other goodies will be a potluck carry-in.
Everyone is welcome, including spouses, grandkids, etc. The ACARTS extends a special invitation to new hams in the area.
The picnic has been a great success in the past and this year’s picnic will be pretty much the same as those of previous years. It is a great opportunity to meet with fellow hams in a casual setting.
The park has a covered pavilion, with seating at picnic tables for approximately 50 people. Attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs, so that they don’t have to spend the entire time on a hard picnic table seat.
The ACARTS needs to know how many people are interested in attending, so it knows how much food to purchase. Please contact Dave Lindquiest at w9lkh@comcast.net and let him know if you plan to attend and how many guests will be with you. Please let him know no later than Monday, August 2.
The ACARTS will send any last-minute updates to the same email address from which attendees send their head counts.
The July, 2021 issue of Allen County HamNews, our club newsletter, is available for download using the link below or the “Newsletters” menu item above. This month’s issue includes coverage of Field Day.
Have you been moldering in your shack ever since the Coronavirus came upon us some eighteen or so months ago? Well, it’s time to get out and shake the dust off your booty and your microphone. Plan to get down to the Old Fort on Saturday, June 26th, (mark it on your calendar) to attend the FWRC Summer Banquet. It starts at 5:30 pm on the Old Fort grounds, inside the walls of the fort.
The FWRC will provide hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hot dogs prepared by our internationally recognized hamburger Chef Charles Ward, KC9MUT. He has a brand new super-duper grill/smoker purchased just for this event.
Carole Burke, WB9RUS is planning to cook up a batch of her famous Sauer-Kraut which has always been a favorite at club banquets, (even though it stinks up the Burke QTH, much to the chagrin of OM Al, WB9SSE).
The club will also provide plates, napkins and table-ware plus salt, pepper and condiments to compliment the hot dogs and hamburgers, and there will also be punch or lemonade, and coffee provided.
Attendees are requested to show up with a dish or dessert to share, the same as we do at all of our banquets. Please note that we will probably not have ac power for slow-cookers or crock pots available. (Special arrangements will be made, however, should meat balls show up).
Deviled eggs work well too.
You should bring a chair (and a table if you want), and bring something to drink (non-alcoholic) if you’re not into coffee or lemonade.
So come on down to the Old Fort on Saturday, June 26th and check out Field Day, or better yet participate in it with a little operator-contesting. And then join us for a nice summer meal.
Al Burke, WB9SSE
Secretary, FWRC (and meat-ball coinsure)