by Scot, K9JY
In this series on Club Program ideas, I’m providing possible programs for clubs to use in their meetings. You can find a full explanation of the approach in Club Programs – The Series.
Today’s program idea: have a club fox hunt.
For those not in radio, this is not literally a fox hunt. Instead, a transmitter that produces intermittent signals is hidden and our amateur radio heroes have to find the transmitter. It is a competition and the first person or team that finds the transmitter wins.
Fox hunting is old school; it is also called “transmitter hunting” or “radio direction finding.”
Fox hunting is a true sport within the hobby. In a typical club, most people do not know how to fox hunt — so this is a perfect opportunity for fox hunt enthusiasts to lead others to show them how fox hunting is done. This may mean that there are only 5-6 teams, but twenty some people participating.
Here’s the important thing about a fox hunt: after the hidden transmitter is found by the team, the group savors the hunt at a predesignated watering hole for the “meeting after the meeting.”
Extra credit: it may make some sense to have a meeting program about fox hunting (slides), building fox hunting antennas and how it works through pictures with the next meeting being the actual fox hunt.
Have you ever had this program for your club meetings? Let us know how it went in the comments.
Scot, K9JY
Photo Credit: Diamond Antenna
Receive articles automatically: subscribe through a news reader or via e-mail. Choose in the "Subscribe" box top right or K9JY.com Subscriptions for more info.
by Scot, K9JY
The NEW HTML version of the Contest Rate Sheet is now out — and it is MUCH better than the old text version.
Of course, I’ve been on the web a long time and prefer the look of HTML to text.
Highlights:
- Name change. Was the ARRL Contest Rate Sheet; now is The ARRL Contest Update
- The top summary paragraph will link you directly to the section. No more scrolling.
- Bigger type. Easier reading
- Headlines in red, text in black. Easier to navigate.
- Links in the sections are now typical hyperlinks, not Tiny URL’s or spelled out as in the text version. Improves readability.
- Sub-sections done in bold — easier to read and navigate
- Includes pictures! It was great to see my old neighbor John, K9DX, and fellow SMC’er Jerry, WB9Z, “holding up the wall” at Dayton.
Can you say “exceeded expectations?” Yup. Really nice.
How to get it:
The ARRL Contest Update is published every other Wednesday (26 times each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page as described at http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/.
Well worth it if you contest. And now even better.
Scot, K9JY
by Scot, K9JY
In this series on Club Program ideas, I’m providing possible programs for clubs to use in their meetings. You can find a full explanation of the approach in Club Programs – The Series.
Today’s program idea is to demonstrate a new or existing software program.
Clubs typically have members that specialize in certain areas and have expertise with the software programs in that area. Others in the club would like to know more about the software not just from web sites, but from people they know who have practical experience using the software. This provides the perfect match of need with expert.
The program:
- Purpose of the software program
- Top five features of the program
- Interactions with other programs (are you using other programs while using this one and how do you operate)
- Navigation
Demonstrating software requires a laptop, screen and projector to be effective in a room. But, it is a powerful way to demonstrate how a segment of the hobby manages with the software.
Examples to demonstrate:
- WriteLog contesting software
- Telnet packet software (or web sites)
- Logging programs
- Log of The World (have someone upload to LoTW while at the meeting as the demonstration)
Have you ever had this program for your club meetings? Let us know how it went in the comments.
Scot, K9JY
