New !!! Packet Workshop - The East Mountain amateurs are hosting a packet radio workshop 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM June 8th at the Tijeras Public Library. This workshop is targeted for new users and will result in a functional packet station upon completion. Attendance is limited to thirty-five participants. Reserve your place by notifying Grace, KJ5JMK, via email to Mt.HavenNM@outlook.com or calling her at (505) 819-8322.  Participants will need to bring their radio along with the programming cable for the radio, a Digirig with the cables to connect it to the radio and a laptop Windows computer. Software will be installed at the workshop. A Digirig and cables for it can be ordered from https://digirig.net/store. This will be a hybrid event using Microsoft Teams. If you plan to attend using Teams, a link will be provided prior to the event. Technical questions may be addressed by emailing Jon, KI5UIT, at jeeht@hotmail.com.

New !!! Have you ever heard "So what can the ARRL do for me?"  At the Caravan Club’s June 13th meeting, Bill Mader, K8TE, New Mexico's ARRL Section Manager, will tell us much of what the ARRL can and does do for us.  From helping with RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) mitigation to grants for local teachers and clubs to training and education that can motivate folks to pursue careers in electronics, to say nothing of the publications and books it sells plus the wealth of information available free on its web site, ARRL offers those and more to its members.  Always entertaining, Bill will join us for an informative hour about The National Association for Amateur Radio®.

 We meet at the Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8600 Academy Rd NE (SE corner of Academy & Moon).  We start gathering about 6:30 PM, start the meeting at 7 and must be out of there by 8:30ish so the night watchman can lock up the church.  If you have never attended before, please park in the rear of the church, enter through the single door back there, walk all the way down the hallway and you will hear us. We hope to see you there!

New!!! Radio Fun in the Park - The Amateur Radio Caravan Club has announced that its Radio Fun in the Park activities for 2025 are again being held at Sister Cities Park. We will continue to meet under the trees on the Harper St. (north) side of the park on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays (9 AM to ~1 PM) of each month through to about September or whenever the weather gets too cold.  We look forward to being “radio active” in this beautiful park. Come join us! For directions to Sister Cities Park Click Here.

New!!! 2025 Duke City Hamfest - Registrations are now open for the 2025 Duke City Hamfest. Go to www.dukecityhamfest.org to purchase registrations, meals, prize tickets, etc. Also, the Hamfest is calling for presentations at https://www.dukecityhamfest.org/call-for-presentations/ and for community sponsors please email treasurer@dukecityhamfest.org.

New!!! General Licensing In-Class Summary in November - Larry Goga AE5CZ, lead instructor of the Frank Warren Instructor Group, has announced that their next 32-hour in-class General licensing summary will be over two weekends in November. [It is called a summary as the instructors expect that the students will have already read the manual and taken a few practice exams]. If you are interested in taking the class, please contact Larry at AE5CZ@arrl.com and ask to be placed on his list. There is no charge for the class. For more details, Click Here.

Spring Tailgate Also Very Well Attended - Ken KO5Y (“Mr. Trivia”) hosted his latest tailgate.  It was on Saturday, April 26th (6 AM to ~ 11 AM) at the American Legion Post 13 parking lot. Attendance was outstanding and maybe a record number of vendors selling a wide variety of wares, including Sweet Jerky.

New Mexico QSO Party Well Attended – The Amateur Radio Caravan Club gathered at the Petroglyph National Monument’s picnic area on its west side to participate in the New Mexico QSO Party. This is the activity where us hams in Bernalillo County, NM, try to contact as many other NM counties as possible (and vice versa) and hams in other states try to contact us. It’s a lot of fun. I counted 7 rigs spread out in the parking lot plus plenty of kibitzers. Propagation was reported to be pretty good from 8 – 9 AM when Tom KD7YUR collected 11 POTA contacts, mostly from Florida, and then the propagation died after that.

Getting Started in Ham Radio - A page has been added to the Become a Ham tab titled Getting Started in Ham Radio.  Thanks to Pete Stine for this write up to help those interested in becoming a licensed Amateur Radio Operator.

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Website Committee:  Pete KE5WTM; Larry K5LRY, Mark W5MHG Site Last Updated:   May 30, 2025 Copyright © 2025, Caravan Radio Club.  All rights reserved.