New Start Time for Caravan Club Meetings - Begining with the July meeting we will begin our meetings at 6:30 PM. We have the room starting at 6:00, so we can continue to gather ahead of the meeting time to swap lies, conduct eyeball QSOs, watch the coffee brew, etc. We meet at the Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8600 Academy Rd NE (SE corner of Academy & Moon). 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!!! Impromptu Caravan Club Meeting – The Amateur Radio Caravan Club met on Friday, August 8th with Bill Heath AD5UJ ready to give his presentation on “Understanding the Decibel and how it is used in Ham Radio”.  Sadly, John Mocho, KC5QOC, our club president had unexpected out-of-town guests show up at his house just before the meeting, so he and the club’s slide projector missed the meeting.  Without the projector, Bill could not make his presentation.  Hence, we started with the business part of the meeting, where it was announced that we now have 112 members [Thank you all for your support!], our annual Corn Feed potluck will be held at Sister Cities Park at noon August 23rd right after the Radio Fun in the Park. Larry Goga announced that the General licensing class in November has 9 students so far, but they would like more.

After the business part of the meeting, the audience stayed to hear about the status of the upcoming Duke City Hamfest.  Since we had most of its board of directors attending, we discussed the plans for teaching BSA’s Radio Merit Badge at the Hamfest on that Saturday.  Next, I received a call from a lady that heard the Hamfest would be teaching a HF (high frequency) class. It turns out that Hamfest will be offering an all-day HF Academy on its Friday.  She was delighted!

New!!! SSTV Saturday – The Amateur Radio Caravan Club hosted its Saturday, August 9th Radio Fun in the Park by focusing on Slow Scan TV within the park. Using only a handi-talkie and a cellphone, Caravan Master John Mocho KC5QOC and Ed Poccia KC2LM demonstrated how they could send and receive photos recorded from the International Space Station across Sister Cities Park. Several other hams were also present with minimal equipment to see if they too could receive the photos. Our thanks to Ed and John for demonstrating what can be done over the air. This technology has become useful in visually reporting accidents and other situations when needed.    

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.

2025 Duke City Hamfest - The 2025 Duke City Hamfest board of directors has now announced the dates and venue for this year’s Hamfest.  It will be held during September 19 - 21 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton.  This 5-star venue is located at 1000 Woodward Place NE in Albuquerque (immediately west of I-25 and between Mountain Rd and Lomas Blvd). The board also announced that:

1. Registration is now open (https://www.dukecityhamfest.org/registration/).

2. Seeking community sponsors (clubs, businesses, etc.) to help fund the Hamfest. Your organization will be recognized in the Hamfest’ ads. If willing, please contact treasurer@dukecityhamfest.org.

2025 ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention – The HamCon Colorado board of directors has announced that it will be conducting HamCon Colorado in Grand Junction, CO during October 24 -26, 2025.  It will meet at the Double Tree by Hilton Grand Junction at 743 Horizon Drive in Grand Junction. This is only a 7- hour drive from Albuquerque.  Early Bird registration ends on June 30th.  For more information, Click Here.

General Licensing Class Summary Update - Larry Goga AE5CZ, lead instructor of the Frank Warren Instructor Group, has announced that its next General licensing class summary to be over two weekends in November. They are November 15-16 and November 22-23, 2025. Classes will be held in the clubhouse of the Vineyard 55 Plus Community, 6118 Edith Blvd NE (between Montano Blvd and Osuna Rd). Larry calls the class a summary as in preparation to the class(es), students are expected to have read the manual (10th edition), study guide and taken several online practice exams. There is no charge for the class other than the cost of the two books. If you are interested in taking the class, please contact Larry now at AE5CZ@arrl.com and ask to be placed on his list. For more details, Click Here.

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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