Activities

It is June already and Field Day is just weeks away.  Our club will be participating in the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) 2013 Field Day event on the 22nd and 23rd of June.  Field Day is an annual amateur radio exercise, encouraging emergency communications preparedness among amateur radio operators.  It is typically the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country, with over 35,000 operators participating each year.  Field Day is part educational event, part operating event, part public relations event.  But most of all, we have a fun and enjoyable time operating the radios.  Anyone can attend and participate, licensed or not, club member or not.  You can operate a radio (with a control operator present) in making contacts to other amateur radio operators.  If you want to listen and not operate, you can help with logging the radio contacts on a computer.  We use this opportunity to let everyone try HF.   We will have several radios setup, including one radio for digital mode (PSK) and one for Morse Code (CW).

Our location for Field Day will be the same place as last year, a half mile up the Swan Flat Road.  Swan Flat Road is about 30 miles up Logan Canyon on Highway 89 just past the State Maintenance station and after mile marker 490.  We will be in an area that is west of the Swan Flat Road (GPS coordinates are 41.9580 -111.4884).  Swan Flat Road is suitable for automobile travel.  The area is open camping so there will be a few of us that will go up early in the week to claim a spot.  Others are welcome who would like to arrive early for some radio camping.  There will be pllenty of space for camping so bring your camper or tent.  We should have a radio set up to use so we can enjoy the airwaves with less man made interference that in the valley.

So here is the Field Day schedule:

Friday, June 21 

Noon  -  Those that can, arrive at site to help set up antennas until about 6 PM.  It takes about 4 to 6 people to set up the antennas.

Saturday, June 22 

Morning  -  Setup remaining antennas and radios.  Check everything; radios, antennas, computers, etc.

Noon  -  Contest starts.  Anybody who wants to can get on the air or help with logging contacts.  Contest lasts for 24 hours.

1 PM until 3:30 PM – The BARC Ladies' Project — UHF Patch Cables and Emergency Communication Book.  Those ladies who wish may bring their multi-meters to   have some hands on practice (optional).

3:30 PM -  Bunny Hunt.  We will have a short class and demonstration.  Later, the bunny will be hidden and anyone who would like to can try to find it.  Hunters don’t even need a license to participate, just listening to the radio. 

6 PM to 7 PM - Pot Luck Dinner.  The Club will provide Barbecue Pulled Chicken, hotdogs, and drinks.  Please bring a large pot luck food item to share (make sure to bring plenty to share--there are lots of mouths to feed), and your own chair and plates/cups/cutlery.

Sunday, June 23 

Noon  -  Contest ends.  Start taking down antennas, put stuff away, and clean up the camp site.

Come on up and bring your family, camp chair, mosquito repellant, water (no water at the site), and wood for campfire (if campfires are allowed).  Stay as long as you can, and enjoy the good food and the fun of Field Day.  Talk in frequency 146.720 BARC Mt. Logan Repeater while in Logan Canyon.  Once you get close to the site, switch to simplex 147.520.  

Hope to see you there -- the Field Day committee is working hard to make it an enjoyable weekend for all ages!  We encourage anyone to come up anytime.  Try to come at least for the Saturday activities & potluck dinner -- you won't regret it.

Cordell
KE7IK

7QP - 7th Call Area QSO Party

Date:   May 4, 2013
Time:   7 AM to after Midnight
Location:   Club Ham Shack, USU Engineering Lab Building

Our club will be participating in the 7th Call Area QSO Party (7QP) contest on May 4th from 7 AM to after midnight.  This is a state QSO party involving the 7th call area states.  We will be at the club ham shack in the Engineering Lab Building, room EL224, on the USU campus.  Directions to the club ham shack are in the attachment below this message.

The 7QP contest is where 7th call area stations work everyone, others work 7th area stations only.  Stations that are in the 7th call area give a signal report and a 5-letter state/county code.  There are 259 counties in the 7th call area and each county may be active with a fixed, portable and/or a mobile station.  Non 7th area stations give a signal report with their state/province/DX two-letter code.  Last year, our club took third place in the multi-operator/single-radio/low-power category.  More information on 7QP is at 7QP.org.  Also Indiana QSO Party and New England QSO Party are happening the same weekend, and those stations will be giving their appropriate exchange.

This is a good time to learn about working a contest.  There will be Elmer’s there to help those who are new to contesting in providing exchange information specific to the contest, to learn how to use contest logging software, or you can just watch and listen to the contest.  Drop by and we will get you involved with whatever you would like to do.

Those who would like to meet for breakfast; we will be at Angie’s at 5:45 AM.

Little Red Riding Hood 2013

Event date: Jun 1st, 2013 07:00 - 17:00

About LRRH

Little Red Riding Hood is an annual ride featuring 3,500 all-female cyclists and is a fully supported, non-competitive, women only cycling event in beautiful Cache Valley, Utah. With 18, 36, 50, 80 and 100 mile distances, there is a ride for everyone.

The Bonneville Cycling Club (BCC) is proud to present the 26th Little Red Riding Hood Bicycle Ride dedicated to raising money in the fight against cancer in women. BCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education and riding opportunities for everyone from novice recreational riders to riders training for LOTOJA. Read more about the event here - http://www.4littlered2013.blogspot.com/ - and here - http://www.bccutah.org/lrrh.

Volunteer Opportunities

This ride requires a significant volunteer effort to make it safe and successful. Please consider helping out if you can, and plan to have a buddy with you. We need BARC club members and other amateur radio volunteers for the following jobs:

Aid Station Communications

• Provides communications support for the aid station volunteer teams

SAG (Support and Gear) drivers and communications

• Patrols routes assisting with minor bicycle repair
• Shuttles cyclists to Aid Stations
• Provides on-course communications

Medical

• Provides medical support on-course and at aid-stations
• Must provide proof of current medical certification (MD, EMT, Ski Patrol, etc.) for liability purposes
• This job does not require an Amateur Radio license but is preferred for quick dispatching

Partial fuel reimbursement may be provided by BCC for driving volunteers.

How to volunteer

1. Complete the Little Red Riding Hood Volunteer form - http://www.bccutah.org/lrrh/volunteer/
   • This form is required of all volunteers.
   • On the Volunteer Sign Up page, Select BARC for Saturday, June 1st 
2. If you have not done so, complete (or update) the BARC 2013 Activities Sign up form.
   • This is important so that we know what radio equipment you will be using and if you are working on your ARES certifications.
3. Join the LRRH-BARC Google group to receive email updates and the latest information from BARC about Little Red 2013.
   • Volunteer and event communications will happen primarily through this discussion group.

4. Attend the training breifing on Saturday, May 25th at 10:00 am. All volunteers are strongly urged to attend. This briefing is to provide both novice and veteran volunteers of this event with the latest information regarding course changes, areas of concern, volunteer deployment, etc. Being present to receive this information can be critical to being successful at your assignment. The training will be held at:

   Cache County Sheriff's Office, 3rd Floor Room 2

   1225 Valley View Dr # 200

   Logan, UT 84321

   Map: http://g.co/maps/t9sz8

Volunteer Perks

• Friday Night Dinner and live entertainment
• Continental Breakfast
• Lunch
• After ride refreshments
• The appreciation and gratitude of 3,500 women cyclists
• Limited Edition Volunteer Shirt – super comfortable

Date:  March 27, 2013
Time:  6:30 PM
Location:  Cache County Sheriff's Complex 3rd floor, 1225 W 200 N, Logan
 
This is an opportunity for those who need assistance in programming and/or operating their radio, have questions, or want to know more about amateur radio can get some help from an Elmer.  For those new hams, we will have a VHF/UHF mobile radio, some VHF/UHF handheld radios, and an HF radio setup that you can look at.  Be sure to bring your instruction manual for your radio.
For those Elmers out there, put this on your calendar to help out.  This is a way to help new hams gain more interest and stay interested in this wonderful and varied hobby.

Date:  January 30, 2013
Time:  6:30 PM
Location:  Cache County Sheriff's Complex 3rd floor, 1225 W 200 N, Logan
 
This is an opportunity for those who need assistance in programming and/or operating their radio, have questions, or want to know more about amateur radio can get some help from an Elmer.  For those new hams, we will have a VHF/UHF mobile radio, some VHF/UHF handheld radios, and an HF radio setup that you can look at.  Be sure to bring your instruction manual for your radio.
For those Elmers out there, put this on your calendar to help out.  This is a way to help new hams gain more interest and stay interested in this wonderful and varied hobby