-### Upcoming Meetings
+#Upcoming Meetings
-**Thursday, April 14, 7:30 PM** George Lemaster, WB5OYP, will show equipment pictures from Bletchley Park. This meeting will be at the [Thomas Jefferson Library, 7415 Arlington Boulevard (U.S. Rte 50), Falls Church, VA.](http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/tj/)
+**Thursday, June 13, 7:30 PM, <a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/dm/">Dolley Madison Library, McLean, VA.</a>
+AMRAD hosts a doubleheader for slow modes: DFCW and JT65.**
-### Recent Meetings
+The first presentation will be by **André N4ICK** titled **<i>An Arduino-based DFCW Beacon for the 479 KHz Band.</i>** André will discuss Dual Frequency CW (DFCW) and will update us on the ARRL petition to the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology regarding the new band. He will demonstrate his design of an Arduino-based 479kHz beacon, and will expand on the eventual possibility of "crossing the Pond" to communicate with British Hams who have been experimenting for a while with this new allocation.
-**Thursday, March 10, 7:30 PM** Greg LeSage, N6LYU, will talk on his Beverage antenna system. This meeting was held at the [Oakton Library](http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/ok/).
+Dual Frequency CW, or DFCW, is a technique where a CW signal is transmitted at a very slow symbol rate, typically at speeds from 1 to 80 seconds per dot. This allows reception in very narrow bandwidths.
-**Thursday, February 10, 7:30 PM** Mike Toia, K3MT, will talk on antenna modeliing and antenna theory. This meeting will be at the [City of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North Street, Fairfax, VA](http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/fx/). Meeting entrance is in the parking garage, other doors are closed at meeting time.
+**Terry McCarty, WA5NTI,** will make a presentation on **<i>The JT65 Weak Signal Digital Soundcard Mode.</i>** JT65 can decode signals many decibels below the noise floor making an exception to the old rule “if you can’t hear them, you can’t work them.” Terry has racked up an impressive list of contacts on nearly every band. The mode was developed by Joe Taylor, K1JT as an offshoot to his WSJT weak signal mode widely used in moonbounce contacts. Although JT65 was originally intended for troposcatter and Earth-Moon-Earth paths, Terry is one of the pioneers in using it for low power HF contacts. Terry will tell us where to get the free software, how to configure it, and what you can expect in a contact.
-**Thursday, January 13, 7:30 PM** Frank Gentges, KØBRA, will make a presentation on the latest do-it-yourself surface mount techniques.
+<img src="DFCW_Arduino-based_beacon_for_479kHz.jpg" height="300" width="400">
-**Tuesday, December 14** At this Annual Meeting, we elected the following Directors and Alternates.
+Arduino-based beacon for 479kHz by André, N4ICK
- Directors: Terry Fox, WB4JFI and George Lemaster, WB5OYP (2011-2012)
+#Recent Meetings
+May 9, Karl Berger, W4KRL, shared his adventure exploring the possibilities for using the Arduino microcontroller in amateur radio projects. Karl set out a few months ago to make a stand-alone touch screen display for a portable antenna analyzer. He broadened his objective to include a flexible graphic display system that a ham can adapt to station control, test instruments and data logging. Along the way, he overcame challenges in converting his program from “in line” coding to the “object oriented” style and solving unexpected problems with hardware control.
- Alternates: Paul Mooney, K4KRE and Rob Seastrom, AI4UC (2011)
+April 11, Ron Payne, WA6YOU, demonstrated how to build UHF Yagi antennas for receiving off-air DTV stations, or, for any UHF band application. Ron demonstrated his method of building antennas using spun copper wire for the antenna elements and how to get great results with low cost construction.
+
+#Upcoming Events
-The meeting approved a project proposed by Bill Fenn, W4TS, for a special event commemorating the First Battle of Manassas in July 2011, details to be developed. See minutes of this meeting in the Jan-Feb 2011 issue of the AMRAD Newsletter.
+**June 9, Manassas Hamfest** Prince William County Fairgrounds, Manassas, VA
+<a href="http://manassashamfest.org/"> http://manassashamfest.org</a> Ole Virginia Hams Amateur Radio Club.
-**Wednesday, November 10** This meeting was a briefing by Doug Lindsey, KB3HER, on SHARES, MARS and emergency communications related to continuity of government.
+**July 7, Maryland Hamfest and Computer Fest**, West Friendship, MD, <a href="http://bratsatv.org/hamfest/"> http://bratsatv.org/hamfest/</a>
-### Upcoming Events
+**August 4, Berryville Hamfest** Berryville, VA, <a href="http://w4krc.org/hamfest"> http://w4krc.org/hamfest,</a> Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club.
-**April 23.** The Raleigh Hamfest, see: [http://rars.org/](http://rars.org/)
+**August 8, Carroll County Tailgate Fest**, Westminster, MD, <a href="http://www.qis.net/~k3pzn"> http://www.qis.net/~k3pzn</a>
-----
+**September 6, Maryland State Convention (CARAFest)**, West Friendship, MD, <a href="http://carafest.org"> http://carafest.org</a>
+
+**October 27, Mason-Dixon Hamfest**, Westminster, MD, <a href="http://www.qis.net/~k3pzn">http://www.qis.net/~k3pzn</a>
+
+----
[[amradwiki]]
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projects / amrad.git / blobdiff