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KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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CVARC Uses ARDC Grant to Serve the Community, Promote Amateur Radio

Posted: 26 May 2021 07:12 AM PDT
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email


The Chippewa Valley Amateur Radio Club (CVARC) used an Amateur Radio
Digital Communications (ARDC) grant to update its repeater system and
purchase a trailer that they will be outfitting with gear to allow them to
provide emergency communications and promote amateur radio. This is a great
example of how ARCD can possibly help your club promote amateur radio and
provide community service. Read the case study that I just wrote for the
ARDC website.

The post CVARC Uses ARDC Grant to Serve the Community, Promote Amateur
Radio appeared first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.


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Operating Notes: Activation scrubbed, Amazon not always the cheapest,
photos on QRZ.Com

Posted: 25 May 2021 07:31 PM PDT
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email


Last weekend, on the spur of the moment, my wife and I decided to head up
north as we say here in Michigan. In this case, up north meant visiting
Port Austin, MI, which is at the very tip of of Michigans Thumb. (If you
dont know where the Thumb is, take a quick look at a Michigan map, and
youll get the picture.) Part of the plan was to do a short activation of
the Pointe aux Barque Lighthouse.

We checked the weather, and I knew it was going to be dicey on Sunday, but
we decided to go anyway. Well, we got way more than we bargained for. It
was almost 80 degrees here in Ann Arbor when we left just before 10:00 am,
and that made me hopeful, but when we arrived at the lighthouse, the
temperature was hovering around 50 degrees, and there was a very stiff wind
coming off the lake. Call me a fair-weather activator if you like, but
setting up under those conditions would have been no fun. We ate our lunch
in our car and then headed to the motel.

Even though the activation was scrubbed, we still had a nice time up there.
The weather was much nicer on Monday, and although I didnt have time to
operate on Monday, we enjoyed some time down by the beach.
Its not always cheaper on Amazon

Every year, our club does a white elephant gift exchange. Basically, you
bring some junk from your shack and exchange it for some junk from another
members shack. We didnt do this in 2020, but at the December 2019 meeting,
I selected a Wouxoun KG-UV8D. Now, I certainly didnt need another handheld,
but after trying it out a couple of times, I found that I really liked
using it. So, I was a little disappointed when the battery decided it didnt
want to hold much of a charge anymore.

The first thing I did was to check for a replacement battery on Amazon.
There were some listed, but the cheapest one was $27. I like the radio, but
wasnt sure about spending 27 bucks on it.

So, I widened my search and found a replacement battery on the Main Trading
Co. website for only nine bucks! I dont know why its so cheap, but I
ordered one right away. Even with a shipping charge of $8, it was still
much cheaper than the battery from Amazon.Â*It arrived yesterday, and it
appears to be the real deal. It charged up, and I took it with me on my
walk downtown this afternoon.

The moral of the story is to check around. Sometimes, the cheapest price
isnt on Amazon.
I want faces, not radios

Finally, just a quick note. If youre going to put a picture on your QRZ.Com
page, post a picture of you, not your equipment. I dont really care what
your rig looks like. I want to see the person Im having a contact with on
the air.



The post Operating Notes: Activation scrubbed, Amazon not always the
cheapest, photos on QRZ.Com appeared first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.