July 2025 - Maple Grove Radio Club

MGRC Mission Statement

Maple Grove Radio Club provides education to current and future amateur radio operators, with the goal of serving the public. We are a reliable communications resource for events and emergencies in Maple Grove and surrounding communities.

Thanks to Jerry, NØFWG for sending me the picture of baby Edwin the Eagle. Yes, I named him after Edwin Armstrong. (I take my artistic liberties here) I hope Edwin keeps a watchful eye on the club's repeater and perhaps eat a few rodents.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me for year as the newsletter editor.

President's Message

I want to start things off by saying a very big Thank You! To Chris Silva, Clay Bartholow and Roy Wood for coordinating and cooking and all around keeping everything together for another fantastic Field Day. I’d also like to thank Stu Randall for the setup and Scout help, and helping others during the storm that swept through our campsite overnight. Thank you to Craig Hartman with helping us dispose of all of our damaged gear. And also a big thank you to everyone else who attended and brought different topics and things to show and tell.

You just never know what a Field Day may bring. We got lucky with nice weather during the day, however we weren’t so lucky avoiding damage on Saturday night. We were very fortunate that no one was injured. We lost 5 tents and a canopy, and sustained damage to another tent and canopy. The port-o-potty took a wild ride across the parking lot but managed to stay upright, and aside from the broken tents, everyone was in good spirits and we got back on the air the next morning. The weather had other plans for those tents and shaking things up, but it also goes to show what field day is all about. We got back out there and set up stations again and operated. Just like you would if we were called out to activate in a larger disaster, only this time we had a relaxed structure and we weren’t dealing with any injuries and priority traffic, just back to the fun. I’d also like to thank Craig Hartman for helping with the disposal of the damaged tents.

We have the Rice Lake Fun Run coming up on July 19th. All you need is a handheld and it’s a quick event in the morning. Please contact Phil at kc0oidphil@gmail.com to sign up.

We also have the Antique Car Run coming up August 9th. A sign up genius will be coming out to the alias shortly so keep an eye out. We need sweep vehicles (follow the cars on the route) and net control operators so please help where you can.

There will be a need to inventory the storage unit as well as the shack as we prepare for the move to the new Legion location in September.

Speaking of move to the Legion keep an eye out for a framing event for the new garage at the new Legion location. We will need members to help with this project so when we have more details they will be sent out to the mailing list.

Note our next club meeting will be on Zoom, August 5th, and our presentation will be on working easy satellites, by Clint Bradford, K6CLS.

I hope everyone can get out and volunteer and enjoy the summer ham radio activities and all it has to offer.

73,

Zach KØZTW

Field Day 2025

Connect with Elmers/Mentors

Additionally, please follow the Maple Grove Radio Club Facebook page for frequent updates on club member activities.

Monthly Meeting

TALARC The American Legion Amateur Radio Club

Club Calendar of Events

Speakers Still Wanted At Northstar Radio Conference

Minnesota's North Star Radio Convention, hosting the ARRL Minnesota State Convention is happening on October 11th in Brooklyn Park, is recruiting presenters on all things amateur radio for this year's event.

They are on the lookout for speakers on a diverse range of topics. Whether you have knowledge to share on antenna design, DXing, emergency communications, or any other aspect of amateur radio, they want to hear from you!

They welcome hams of all levels of experience--everyone has something potentially valuable to share! To apply to speak, visit northstarradio.org/speak.

Club Member Spotlight

Starting off this new year of the news letter I wanted to highlight the amazing people we have in this club and get them to talk about themselves and their interests. So we can learn and be inspired by them in this vast hobby of radio. This months member spotlight interview is with Gordon Patenaude, WAØWSR.

Question 1: How did I get started in amateur radio?

I simply do not remember all the details. Back when I was about ten years old, my dad, Bill and I would always be building and fixing things and especially working with old radios, particularly short-wave radios. Short-wave radios were the most fascinating just to get them to work, building antennas and listening to world broadcasts. To be honest, I did spend more time with the repairs and learning the insides more than actual listening time, but it was all part of good learning. In his engineering world, he showed me a lot about testing and how to build a crystal-set radio, which was popular in his youth, back in the teens and 1920’s era. This was about the time Marconi was just getting interested in radio also, LOL. I still have his 1-tube radio which is now 101 years old and in good condition.

Growing up in Elk River, what was then a small town having very limited resources in this area. I continued on for a couple more years. Over that time, I discovered that there were a couple of ham radio operators in the area that my dad knew well and he got me in touch with one of them. This ham’s name was Wayne WØUGG (SK) who lived right in town next to the Handke School, so it was okay to venture out and visit him. At that young age, unfortunately, I did not pursue the other operators in the area. In Wayne’s basement, he had a beautiful Hallicrafters HT-37 transmitter and a Hammarlund HQ-110 receiver, and a large tri-band beam mounted atop of his garage, not up very high, though. He made some contacts on 10 meters with me listening by his side. It was quite fascinating. After some visits with him, and some guidance, I was able to pass my first theory and novice code test at 5 words per minute using an old military J-38 straight key in early 1968.

My first transmitter was a Knight-Kit brand T-60 transmitter and a Heathkit receiver. With the help of my dad, I was able to locate and purchase a Hallicrafters HT-37 transmitter. This was long before the days of internet searching. Also out shopping with the family one day when we stopped at a store in Fridley called Allied Radio. The store has been long since gone. The salesclerk was a young ham and owned a Hammarlund HQ-110 receiver which he was willing to sell. Of course, I purchased it from him. Now I had an identical station to Wayne, and I was on my way. The ham-radio bug had bitten me hard and continued to this day. I have still possess all this equipment and they are still in great shape.

Question 2: What is your most favorite part of amateur radio?

My favorite aspect may be a little different than the typical operator. I am so fascinated with the technology that goes into the operation of the radio and its overall periphery. As I commonly like to claim, electronics are the foundation of radio all the way up to the antenna that we all use. So much of this is a mystery to most, including myself. I do spend much more time with theory and technology than actual talking on the air. Having to admit that I am still in my infancy of learning and do have a much longer way to go. As our Elmer Gordy Hanson states, amateur radio is a license to learn, and it will continue forever. It will be with me and hopefully with you all.

Question 3: What is your most proud accomplishment in amateur radio?

To me, it is technology, its peripheral aspects of this hobby such as SkyWarn, emergency communications and public services that it represents. Getting something to run on the air.

Question 4: Did amateur radio influence your choice of profession?

Yes, very strongly. My first interest was in electronics, mostly theory and amateur radio or radios in general and staying with that profession my whole adult life. In summary, it is coming up to nearly sixty years of school, working and learning and I am still quite excited to still be in it!

Twin Cities FM Silent Key Ham Radio Listing

Big thank you to Will, KFØADU. He informed me that the Twin Cites FM Club has a swap page where the families/friends of Silent Keys are selling their various equipment.

Interesting Media and Links

Tim, K3LR runs Contest University on the Thursday before Dayton Hamvention. This is a live stream from room one. So you can get a taste of the kind of things you can learn at this event. I found it really interesting.

QRP Amateur Radio Club International holds the Four Days In May conference/hamfest held by during Dayton Hamvention. They have quite a few interesting presenters with topics centering on of course QRP and home brew radio. There was a presentation specifically on the history of the conference/hamfest that was fun to listen to. I hope you enjoy this playlist.

If you are into contesting look no further than Q5 World Wide Ham Radio. Kevin, W1DED brings out excellent contesting content. This video is not the typical contesting content but talks about the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications. Which is a ARDC funded project to archive all this cool historical amateur radio media. Check it out.

ARRL NEWS

ARRL Announces Logbook of The World® Systems Upgrade

ARRL’s Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) is the 2nd most popular benefit among members. It is also an extremely popular service internationally for non-members, as it is the primary means for providing confirmations for ARRL Awards, such as DXCC and Worked All States.

As a part of the ongoing modernization of the ARRL systems infrastructure, LoTW will be receiving major upgrades to the operating system it is running on, the relational database system it uses to store and access logbook and awards data, and server hosting, where it will be fully migrated to the cloud. These changes will, among other improvements, ensure LoTW performance needs can be better met based on user demand.

ARRL’s Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) is the 2nd most popular benefit among members. It is also an extremely popular service internationally for non-members, as it is the primary means for providing confirmations for ARRL Awards, such as DXCC and Worked All States.

LoTW will be unavailable from June 27 to July 2, 2025, to complete these upgrades. We will bring LoTW back online if it is available sooner than July 2.

Logbook of The World can be found at lotw.arrl.org. More information about the popular service is available at www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world.

If you are a user of LoTW and not an ARRL member, please become a supporter of LoTW by making a $20 (or more) donation to the ARRL LoTW Fund or visit www.arrl.org/donate.

Very 73, and see you on the air!

ARRL CEO

Amateur Radio in the News

“Young radio operators in Colorado get out of this world experience” / KUSA - TV (Colorado) June 19, 2025 -- Youth on the Air (YOTA) Camp Denver, Colorado.

“Ham radio Field Day is this weekend” / Sparta Independent (New Jersey) June 20, 2025 -- The Sussex County Amateur Radio Club.

“National Amateur Radio Field Day exercise to be held in Huntsburg Township” / The News-Hearld (Ohio) June 21, 2025 -- The Not Case Amateur Radio Club.

“Amateur radio enthusiasts gather for 92nd festival” / WHAM (New York) June 21, 2025 --The Rochester Amateur Radio Association.

“Springvale Amateur Radio Club holding ARRL field day June 28-29” / The Messenger (Iowa) June 21, 2025 -- The Springvale Amateur Radio Club.

“Alachua County ham radio heroes launch high school robotics teams into orbit with Space Station connection” / Alachua Chronicle (Florida) June 22, 2025 -- The North Florida Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

“Wichita Amateur Radio Society hosts field day in Kiwanis Park”/ KFTX/KJTL (Texas) June 25, 2025 -- The Wichita Amateur Radio Society is an ARRL Affiliate Club.

“On the air: Amateur radio buffs will hold ham radio field day in Big Flats” / Star Gazette (New York) June 25, 2025 -- The Amateur Radio Association of the Southern Tier is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

“Radio ‘hams’ from Turlock join in national event” / Turlock Journal (California) June 25, 2025 -- The Turlock Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL Affiliated Club.

Upcoming State, Section, and Division Conventions

• July 12 | Souris Valley Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, hosting the ARRL North Dakota Section Convention

• July 13 | Sussex NJ Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Hudson Division Convention

• July 26 | ARRL West Virginia State Convention and Ham Fest, Sutton, West Virginia

• August 2 | ARRL Maine State Convention and Hamfest, Augusta, Maine

• August 3 | SVARC Berryville Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Roanoke Division Convention, Berryville, Virginia

• August 9 | ARRL Idaho State Convention, Post Falls, Idaho

• August 16 – 17 | Huntsville Hamfest, hosting the ARRL Alabama State Convention, Huntsville, Alabama

• August 21-24 | Northeast HamXposition, hosting the ARRL New England Division Convention, Marlborough, Massachusetts

• August 30 - September 1 | Shelby Hamfest, hosting the ARRL North Carolina Section Convention, Shelby, North Carolina

Upcoming Contests

• June 27 -- Weekly RTTY Test (digital)

• June 28 - 29 -- ARRL Field Day (CW, phone, digital)

• July 1 -- RAC Canada Day Contest (CW, phone)

• July 2 -- Phone Weekly Test (phone)

• July 3 -- NRAU 10-Meter Activity Contest (CW, phone, digital)

• July 5 - 6 -- CQ Worldwide VHF SSB/CW Contest

  (CW, phone)

• July 5 - 6 -- Marconi Memorial HF Contest (CW)

• July 7 -- RSGB 80m Club Championship (CW)

• July 8 -- DARC RTTY Sprint (digital)

• July 9 -- A1Club AWT (CW)

• July 11 -- QRP Fox Hunt (CW)

• July 11 -- NCCC FT4 Sprint (digital)

Board Members