Our General Class is well under way, and we’ve had our first in-person “lab” session at Chester Bird. We set up a couple HF stations and were able to make a few contacts. The outdoor seating turned out to be a great place to do it, since it has a canopy to protect our radio gear. Thanks to everybody who showed up to work on the shack while we taught the class. The shack now has a fresh coat of paint, that helps a lot. Our next in-person lab will be on November 14th, also at 12:30. Just like last time, we’ll have a work party working on the shack during the class.
We’re hoping to have the shack operational before the ARRL November Sweeps contest on Nov 20th-21st. There’s a lot of work to do, so the work session on the 14th will not be the only one. If you’d like to work on the shack, contact Tim Arimond and let him know your schedule.
The TALARC Squadron is now able to appoint honorary members, who will have full access to the shack. Anybody who is a member in good standing of Maple Grove Radio Club is eligible. Contact Stephen Cullen if you’d like to be appointed, his email is scoobamg@gmail.com.
MN ARES is trying out a new paradigm in cooperation with MNVOAD. There are a lot of jurisdictions where amateur radio does not have a relationship with local emergency management. If there is a disaster in one of these jurisdictions, amateur radio will not be able to play a part. But it is likely one of the Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), such as the Red Cross or the Salvation Army, will likely play a role. These organizations will need communications support, and MNVOAD has agreed to call on ARES when that happens. Our exercise on Sept 23rd was the first exercise in this paradigm. See the After-Action Report elsewhere in this newsletter. Sorry I couldn’t involve more members of MGRC, but we needed to keep it small for this first go around. Hopefully our spring SET will involve a lot more hams.
73
Benton Jackson, K0BHJ
