Athens County ARA

The ARRL 10-Meter Contest is the weekend of  December 12-13, 2020. Full rules for the ARRL 10-Meter Contest can be found at http://www.arrl.org/10-meter. The ARRL 10-Meter Contest is important to Athens County Amateur Radio Association (ACARA) members for two reasons: The club participates in the ARRL 10-Meter Contest as a club, in the Affiliated Club Competition. When you prepare your 10-Meter Contest entry, simply list “Athens County ARA” in the “Club Name” field and your score will count toward the . . .

Members of the ACARA met at the Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio on Saturday, October 26, 2020 to build 2m/70cm collapsible copper J-Pole antennas. The group-build was led by Jeff Slattery, N8SUZ, who also gathered and prepared all the supplies necessary to construct the antennas. Several ACARA members took advantage of the group build:Michael Baxla, KE8ICPMarc Richards, KC8MCWNick Arnold, KD8FKBJoe Weber, KE8LRZ In addition, Kirk Groeneveld, KC8JRV, brought the copper J-Pole he had previously built at home for assistance in . . .

On Saturday, September 12, 2020, members of the ACARA participated in the 13th annual PCARS “Ohio State Parks on the Air” (link), activating Strouds Run State Park at the Bulldog Picnic Shelter, and operating under the club’s callsign, W8UKE. Participants:Stephanie ArcherNick Arnold, KD8FKBTiffany ArnoldJohn McCutcheon, N8XWODrew McDaniel, W8MHVEric McFadden, WD8RIFBob Moore, KC8KSMBrynn Riordan, KB8JDHRobert Riordan, KA4VNKEdie PostRich Post, KB8TADJeff Slattery, N8SUZBob WeberJoe Weber, KE8LRZAndy Young, KD8WVX Because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the ODNR is not allowing reservations of group . . .

2020-11-20: Scroll to bottom for update. The ACARA’s big operating event of the year, ARRL’s Field Day, is to be held this year on the weekend of June 27 and 28. Unfortunately, this year, due to the continuing coronavirus situation, the ACARA will not be participating in ARRL Field Day as a group. Instead, ACARA members are encouraged to perform their own, individual, Field Day operations, either at home or in the field. I’ve prepared a document which, I hope, . . .

While the ACARA is again meeting in-person at the Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio, a Zoom option will be available for those unable to attend the meetings in-person. Here is the information you need to join the ACARA meeting teleconference:Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/82643842702?pwd=MUFZOEE0eVJmbDR4VTltWWVIOHIydz09 Meeting ID: 826 4384 2702Passcode: 620771One tap mobile+16465588656,,82643842702#,,,,,,0#,,620771# US (New York)+13017158592,,82643842702#,,,,,,0#,,620771# US (Washington D.C) Dial by your location+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)+1 669 900 9128 . . .

The ACARA’s 145.15 MHz repeater has been moved from the ATC-owned tower to the 9-1-1 Center’s tower co-located at the same site. The antenna is lower on the new tower than it had been on the old tower and is “shadowed” by the tower differently than it had been, so it’s likely the repeater’s coverage has changed a bit. As you use the repeater, try to be aware of where you’re able to successfully hit the repeater. Keep in mind . . .

On Saturday, February 25, 2020, members of the ACARA participated in the 2020 running of the Winter Field Day Association’s Winter Field Day (link) in the Jim Crouse Memorial Radio Station at the Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio. While the Winter Field Day event ran for 24 hours starting at 2pm local time on Saturday, the ACARA limited their participation to about six hours on Saturday. The ACARA competed in class 1I (“One India”), meaning “one transmitter, indoors”, and operated . . .

The ACARA’s annual February Potluck will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio, 100 South May Avenue, Athens. We’ll gather at 5pm and eat at 5:30pm. All ACARA members, their families, and their guests are cordially invited! Members, their families, and guests are asked to bring a dish to share and their own beverage and table service. For entertainment, John McCutcheon, N8XWO, will bring two animated shorts on 16mm film and I will . . .

Winter Field Day takes place this weekend, Saturday-Sunday, January 25-26, 2020. Visit https://www.winterfieldday.com/ to learn more about Winter Field Day and to read the full rules. The ACARA will be participating in Winter Field Day on Saturday, indoors, in the Jim Crouse Memorial Radio Station at the Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio, 100 South May Avenue, Athens. Operations will start at 1900 UTC (2pm local) on Saturday and will continue as long as operators are available. Operations will take place . . .

With the installation of the new Yaesu DR-2X repeater, the ACARA’s W8UKE/R 2-meter (145.15 MHz) repeater is now a System Fusion Repeater.

Please read the article at http://www.ac-ara.org/?page_id=966 for more information.