DELARANEWS
Club News
Boot Camp! Improvise, Adapt, Overcome!
The first-ever Delara Boot Camp was held this past Saturday and the consensus is that it was a huge success. We improvised: Picnic tables make great soldering stations, as do pick-up tail gates. We adapted: When the radio room gets too crowded, you use two rooms. We overcame: When your 10-meter dipole is twice as long as it should be, you cut it in half and make TWO ten-meter dipoles. Students were able to build an antenna for the band of their choice and were introduced to the Inner Sanctum: Our radio room at the Red Cross. It’s a place where I myself tremble with fear when needing to connect a particular antenna to a particular rig. Delara Generosity was on full display: Guy treated everyone to coax, Larry treated everyone to crimp-on PL-259s, and I’m sure I’m leaving others out. Several members donated antenna supplies and we now have an excess. There’s a spool of a couple hundred feet of 16-gauge Copperweld. There’s also a spool or two of THHN-style wire. Both types make great antennas. A special mention goes out to Larry, AC8YE. He had a blood sugar emergency early Saturday morning and still came out to teach. The expertise of our instructors, their willingness to teach, the student’s eagerness to learn, and Shawn’s grub are what made the day a success. (I still have some beans left and I’m having some for lunch today) Some of the mysteries of antennas and radio operation were dispelled. Now everyone knows we wise guys ain’t as wise as they thought. As someone, (Jeff, I think) said on Saturday, “This ain’t rocket science”. If you know the formula(s), which are simple, and know how to use a measuring tape, you can build an HF antenna that works. Rocket Science and Magic do play a part when you want to make an antenna for UHF and on up. It’s a whole new ball game when trying to fine tune an antenna and the thickness of your saw blade is more than you need to trim. Maybe someone will cover that in a future teaching session. But we can’t call it Boot Camp anymore because you’re all seasoned vets. Welcome to the greatest hobby in the world.
First meeting in person a success
Last month’s May meeting of DELARA was held in person at the ARC building- and was a great success. We Zoom-ed the meeting as well, and there were several people watching so it was a win either way. One of the traditions of our monthly meetings has been the “pre-meeting gathering” usually held at a local restaurant. Shawn sent a shot of that group with smiles all around. It’s good to be back.Wanted / For Sale
Looking (to buy or donation) for a smaller inexpensive B&W laser printer, compatible with Windows 10. Printer in Canned Ham died, I need to replace it. -Stan, N8BHL
DELARANews
Club News
Boot Camp! Improvise, Adapt, Overcome!
The first-ever Delara Boot Camp was held this past Saturday and the consensus is that it was a huge success. We improvised: Picnic tables make great soldering stations, as do pick-up tail gates. We adapted: When the radio room gets too crowded, you use two rooms. We overcame: When your 10-meter dipole is twice as long as it should be, you cut it in half and make TWO ten-meter dipoles. Students were able to build an antenna for the band of their choice and were introduced to the Inner Sanctum: Our radio room at the Red Cross. It’s a place where I myself tremble with fear when needing to connect a particular antenna to a particular rig. Delara Generosity was on full display: Guy treated everyone to coax, Larry treated everyone to crimp- on PL-259s, and I’m sure I’m leaving others out. Several members donated antenna supplies and we now have an excess. There’s a spool of a couple hundred feet of 16-gauge Copperweld. There’s also a spool or two of THHN-style wire. Both types make great antennas. A special mention goes out to Larry, AC8YE. He had a blood sugar emergency early Saturday morning and still came out to teach. The expertise of our instructors, their willingness to teach, the student’s eagerness to learn, and Shawn’s grub are what made the day a success. (I still have some beans left and I’m having some for lunch today) Some of the mysteries of antennas and radio operation were dispelled. Now everyone knows we wise guys ain’t as wise as they thought. As someone, (Jeff, I think) said on Saturday, “This ain’t rocket science”. If you know the formula(s), which are simple, and know how to use a measuring tape, you can build an HF antenna that works. Rocket Science and Magic do play a part when you want to make an antenna for UHF and on up. It’s a whole new ball game when trying to fine tune an antenna and the thickness of your saw blade is more than you need to trim. Maybe someone will cover that in a future teaching session. But we can’t call it Boot Camp anymore because you’re all seasoned vets. Welcome to the greatest hobby in the world.
Holiday Party 2019
(Click picture for larger view)
