We’re finally getting back into the swing of things with two great ham radio events this month, and more coming up. First off is the BikeMS-150. Normally, this is a two-day event from Duluth to White Bear Lake. This year it’s shortened to just one day, on June 12th. We are still looking for a…
I just spent a pleasant day working in the garden, something I really enjoy doing in the spring. Seeing everything come alive after a long winter is inspiring. And it seems Maple Grove Radio Club, ham radio, and our whole community is coming alive after a very long winter of Covid. If people continue to…
Skywarn season has started, and we’ve had one week on call as Net Control Station (NCS) without event. We can always use more volunteers, contact Roy, his email address is earlier in this newsletter. Metro Skywarn will have an NCS training session soon, and they have several spotter training sessions on the calendar. Spotters provide…
We had a great time at the Beargrease Sled Dog race last month. See Barb Hanson’s article in our club newsletter. Thanks everybody who volunteered!The TALARC squadron is off the ground. We have 16 members so far, and a board of directors. If you’d like to join, we have a new email address- talarc@chesterbird.org. Members…
As I write this, I’m getting ready to head up to Bluefin Bay Resort, where I’ll be on net control for the Beargrease Sled Dog race. Many of us are also going up to help with net control, road crossings, or checkpoints. With Covid, there haven’t been a lot of volunteer opportunities this year, so…
With two vaccines approved and vaccinations underway, things are finally starting to look up. Maybe by the end of the summer we’ll be able to finally get back to what we do best, serving the public. There’s a possibility we’ll have an outdoor hamfest in the parking lot of the Golden Valley American Legion sometime…
I hope everybody is staying safe during this surge in the pandemic. By now we all know people who have had it, so it’s really starting to get close to home. I’m hoping that the vaccines that are in trial are as good as early results seem to indicate, and that they can produce them…
Maple Grove Radio Club is all about public service, and the most important public service is to make sure your voice is heard. Get out and vote Tuesday if you haven’t already. Do it early so you can make it to our club meeting. Last week, we got a message on the club voice mail.…
This pandemic is a different kind of emergency than we’ve been training for. It’s a slow burn, and there’s going to be no need for backup communications. But just because we’re in one kind of emergency, doesn’t mean that other emergencies won’t happen. Hurricane Laura didn’t wait her turn, and Amateur Radio operators along the…
It is hard to stay enthusiastic about public service amateur radio in a time when everything we do is cancelled. We all must find ways to overcome this. One thing we can do is training. If you haven’t taken the basic FEMA classes, ICS-100, 700, 800, and 200, get that out of the way, so…