Field Day this weekend!!!!!!
Yup…its that time of the year again when all us ARROWheads start thinking of raising all that pristine stranded wire and brightly polished aluminium way above the Earthly soil and dream of making that ultimate contact(s) across the country and World on cw, SSB, and Digital modes.
The ARROW Communication Association proudly announces that we will be a 5A class station again this year for the annual ARRL Field Day weekend. The ARROW will be setting up at Domino’s Petting Farm out on Earhart Rd.
We’ll be setting up on Friday at 3pm until dark local time. This will continue Saturday until 2pm when Field Day starts until 2pm Sunday. At 2pm Sunday tear down starts until done and we have the area cleaned up and looking better than we started with.
So come on out and give a helping hand setting up, enjoy the camaraderie, tell TALL tales of that elusive DX that got away, share a covered dish on Saturday at the Pot luck dinner, or get on the air for the first time or in a while at the GOTA tent.
Monroe Hamfest – Sunday June 19th
The Monroe County Radio Communications Association hosts it’s annual hamfest every year in June on Father’s Day. The Monroe Hamfest is held at the Monroe County Fairgrounds which is located at the corner of M-50 and South Raisinville Roads at the county fairgrounds. Doors open at 07:30 and the swap runs through 1pm.
For more information, see: http://nic-nac-project.org/~bcspro/hamfest/index.php
One Helluva Ride is Coming!
The Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society’s annual One Helluva Ride is fast approaching. This is Arrow’s PREMIERE Public Service activity for the year.
For anyone not familiar with this event, check out the AABTS website here.
In brief, the event is a tour (NOT a race, no matter what some participants think) through about 400 square miles of Michigan countryside, generally in the area of the Pinckney Recreation Area. Usually, over 1500 riders show up for the event. Obviously, a lot of them are going to need help somewhere along the line. That’s where Arrow comes in.
We provide communications between ride headquarters (Chelsea Fairgrounds), rest stops and SAG wagons. What SAG stands for depends on who you listen to. The bicycle club says it stands for “Support Assistance Group”. Everybody else says it just means riders who have sagged. Whatever. The important thing is, when someone needs help, we get it to them.
This is day-long affair, technically lasting from 6 am to 6 pm. Obviously, no one needs to put in a twelve hour shift (unless they really want to). Any amount of time anyone can spare is greatly appreciated, by Arrow, by AABTS, by your fellow (and gal) volunteers, and especially by that rider who just can’t make those last few miles.
Besides the half dozen or so Arrowheads who like to drive their own SAG vehicles, we need at least 8 or 10 “portable” operators at any given time (or about 20-25 total). These are to ride shotgun with non-ham SAGs and man the rest areas. Minimum equipment needed is a 25 watt or more 2m transceiver (there are a few locations out there where even 50 watts have trouble) with a cigarette lighter plug (called a 12v power outlet in newer cars) and a 5/8 wave mag-mount antenna. HTs simply will not cut it, EXCEPT in two places. One, believe it or not, is net control. The fair grounds is very near the 145.45 repeater, so 5 w is OK there. The other is for the SAG coordinator’s “shadow”, for the same reason. There is also a “semi-base” station at Portage Lake, which often uses a 3 or 4 element beam to reach back to Chelsea, but 5/8 mobiles have worked as well.
CHELSEA SWAP-n-SWAP this Sunday
33rd ANNUAL June 5, 2011
CHELSEA SWAP
Ham Radio Swap ‘n’ Shop
Chelsea, Michigan
Talk-in: 145.450- WD8IEL Chelsea Repeater
Table Space: $10/8-foot table-$15/8-foot Corner
Trunk Sales: $5/space Handicap Access
Hourly Prizes: ARRL Publications, and more
First Prize: 2M HT coffee / donuts available
Plenty of parking; easy access from I-94
NEW—Overnight camping available—NEW
Gates open at 6AM for sellers; 8AM for Public
Donation: $4 in advance // $5 at door; under 12 free
Webpage/Information/Reservations:
www.wd8iel.net // frank.pohs@gmail.com
Or call: Frank Pohs (Swap Chair) (734)945-1915
3rd Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire – Saturday June 4
The third Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire, is this Saturday June 4, 2011 from 10am till 5pm at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds (aka “Saline Fairgrounds”).
Dave New, N8SBE, is organizing the table for the ARROW this year. Please contact him to arrange to help out with set up, teardown, or to help man the table and answer questions.
ARRL News- One Down, One to Go: The ARRL International DX Contest Gears Up for SSB
- Section Managers Winter Election Results
- Republic of South Sudan Assigned Prefix
- March Qualifying Runs
- Bill Simons, W9BB, Silent Key; Developed Shure Microphones
- Payroll Tax Bill Includes Provision for Amateur Radio Study
- The K7RA Solar Update
- WRC-12 Comes to a Close in Geneva
- Surfin’: Learning Circuits and Electronics Online
- WRC-12 Delegates Place Possible 5 MHz Allocation on Agenda for Next WRC