New !!! Ken KO5Y (“Mr. Trivia”) has announced his latest tailgate. It will be on Saturday, April 27th (6 AM to ~ 11 AM) again at the American Legion Post 13 parking lot. The site is located just north of Lomas Blvd NE between University and I-25. If you drive west on Lomas from University, turn right at the first available street (Legion Rd.), drive north and then west behind some large self-storage units to the end of the road (map attached). However, the American Legion requests that we NOT park against their building. All other spaces are available.
There is no cost for hams to buy or sell radio equipment. Ken says that he will have coffee and “the facility” onsite. There also will be breakfast burritos available for sale as well as free coffee and a donation jar to help offset his rental cost of the parking lot and “the facility”. He also mentioned that this time there will be a drawing for an Icom 7300 radio with tickets at $10.
New!!! Radio Fun in the Park Resumes – The Amateur Radio Caravan Club will be resuming its Radio in the Park activity. Again, it will be held on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays (10 AM to “whenever”) throughout the spring, summer and into the fall…as long as our weather stays nice. In addition to hams getting on the air, club president John Mocho KC5QOC welcomes anyone with a new radio needing programming or instructions on how to use it or just has questions about our hobby to stop by for his help.
To kick off this activity, we will be meeting on Saturdays, May 11th and May 25th at Sister Cities Park (see attached map) located on the corner of McKinney Dr and Harper Dr NE. (we will be meeting on the Harper side of the park). The park is located just northeast of San Mateo Blvd and Academy Road NE. As in any field day environment, in addition to bringing a rig (if you can), please remember to bring your own chair, water, snacks, sunscreen, etc. There are lots of trees at this park so shade should not be a problem. There also are numerous restaurants available at the nearby San Mateo/Academy intersection for your convenience. Visitors are welcome! Hope to see you there!
New !!! National Traffic System Explained – The Amateur Radio Caravan Club enjoyed Gerry Jurrens N2GJ’s presentation on “Amateur Radio Traffic Handling” at its April 12, 2024, meeting. It is a system that still exists but, due to competition with modern electronics, not too many messages are passed locally. There are a couple of clubs in NM that use it. The New Mexico Roadrunner Traffic Net comes to mind. It is used between ham radio operators mostly these days to pass surprise messages such as “Happy Birthday, Mom” to her in a distant city…all by radio. The sender and receiver use paper traffic forms with the receiving ham then delivering the form to “Mom’s” address. Again, this method is little used today but is still practiced in case it is needed in an emergency. Thank you, Gerry, for an interesting and educational evening!
The Club’s business part of the meeting included planning for tomorrow’s NM QSO Party. It will be at the picnic site on the west side of Petroglyph National Monument. Also, Club President John Mocho KC5QOC announced that the club’s Radio Fun in the Park season will resume at Sister Cities Park again this summer beginning on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays in May thru August (or September). Finally, he also mentioned that we again will participate in the ARRL’s Field Day on Saturday, June 22nd at the Oak Flats Group Picnic Area in the Manzano Mountains south of Tijeras, NM (more details to follow).
New !!! NM QSO Party Results – The Caravan Club met at the picnic area on the west side of the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque for the NM QSO Party on April 13, 2024. We had about a dozen members come out but only two set up their rigs. At first, both had trouble in getting their systems fine-tuned but with a little troubleshooting and help from others, both got on the air. Club president John Mocho on 20 meters successfully made one contact and John Gleason K5JVG made 3 contacts (Albuquerque, Washington State, Georgia). Our thanks to our Special Events Director John Gleason for arranging this activity.
Save the Date - The 2024 edition of the Duke City Hamfest and Convention is coming on September 20-22, 2024 at the UNM Continuing Education Center at 1634 University Blvd NE, just south of I-40. This two-and-a-half-day amateur radio get-together returns with full day training classes, seminar tracks, vendors, workshops, indoor and outdoor marketplaces, VE testing and more! Both the Friday night Mixer and Saturday night Banquet will be hosted at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, a 2-minute drive north of the UNM Continuing Education Center. Also, the Crown Plaza Hotel is offering a special room rate of $125 per night if you mention the DCHF. Finally, the Early-bird registration is now open. Please bookmark https://www.dukecityhamfest.org/ and check back often for further details.
As many know, the Duke City Hamfest has not been held since 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Many things have changed in five years, so the 2024 Hamfest Planning Committee is having to view 2024 as a rebuilding year. Attached is a letter from Larry Goga, AE5CZ, president of the Hamfest, that explains our approach to rebuilding this event into what we all have learned to love and expect (Click Here).
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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: 7 April 2024 Copyright © 2024, Caravan Radio Club. All rights reserved.