Schenectady Amateur Radio Association

K2AE Repeaters

General Meeting Monday October 2, 2017 at 7:00PM

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Meeting Location: First United Methodist Church, 603 State Street, Schenectady
Thanks to Rudy Dehn W2JVF and Darrin Nash KD2LCH, this year’s SARA meetings will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church.

Ham Radio Jepperdee!

Speakers: Bob Raffaele, W2XM, and Nathaniel Greenman, KB2HPX

Abstract: How well do you know the amateur radio hobby? Bob Raffaele, assisted by Nathaniel Greenmann, will put you to the test at the October SARA meeting with a challenging series of questions–Jeopardy style (or was that “Jepperdee” style). Come and put your skills to the test. You may be surprised at how much (or how little?) you know about the hobby!! (psst… I hear there may even be prizes for the Jepperdee winners).

Bob Raffaele, W2XM, had a short career as a broadcast engineer. After earning an MS in physics, he taught full-time at HVCC and then did substitute teaching at Niskayuna HS. The former WB2DXM has been a ham for 55 years.

Nathaniel Greenman, KB2HPX, has been licensed since 1988, and is an Electrical Engineer. He is extremely active with AARA, and maintains K2CT/R.

General Meeting Monday September 11, 2017 at 7:00PM

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Meeting Location: First United Methodist Church, 603 State Street, Schenectady
Thanks to Rudy Dehn W2JVF and Darrin Nash KD2LCH, this year’s SARA meetings will be held in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church.

Part 1: Field Day Notables and Drone Footage

Speakers: Tim Long W2UI, James MacMurray N2UZQ, and Dave Bradshaw KD2FVM
Tim, James, and Dave will give highlights of Field Day. Our total score was 5,698, higher than last year, thanks to the Q-Juice!

See the June 2017 SARA News for bio sketches for Tim Long and James MacMurray.

Part 2: Emergency Communications After Twin Tower Attacks

Speaker: Tony Pazzola W2BEJ

Abstract: Tony will give a first-hand, eye witness account of emergency communications in the NYC area in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Buildings. Tony’s talk will include FACTS, STORIES, and ANECDOTES.

Tony is the recipient of the 2015 BROUGHTON AWARD and the ARRL 2013 Grand Ole Ham Award . Tony is a retiree from General Electric and the State of New York. He has been continually licensed since 1963, and currently holds the Extra Class license. He has participated in 14 VE sessions and is qualified as a Field Examiner for an ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course. He has been active in several amateur radio clubs in the Capital District. He has also mentored and supported several hams and prospective hams over years.

Tony has also been active in Air Force MARS as a member, and serves as New York State Emergency Coordinator (EC). Tony has attended 31 consecutive Dayton Hamventions between 1982 and 2012. He has given numerous presentations, usually on good amateur radio operator practices. In 2002, Tony gave a presentation on amateur radio support at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks. Tony is the author of “Tony’s World Famous Hamfest List”.

General Meeting Monday June 5, 2017 at 7:00PM

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Reminder: New Meeting Location!!
Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church
603 State Street, Schenectady

Directions to First United Methodist Church:
Parking lot address is 610 (Google shows it as 650) Chapel Street Schenectady NY 12305.
Chapel St is a One Way street from Nott Terrace to Lafayette Street. If this lot is full, park across the street. Enter the building through double doors, take an immediate right, go through another set of double doors, turn right then left and the Fellowship Hall is on your right (follow signs).

From the East (Colonie, State St Rt 5):
Turn Right onto Nott Terrace then take your first Left onto Chapel Street. Parking lot is on Left.

From the West (Scotia, Glenville, Eire Blvd):
*THERE IS NO LEFT TURN FROM STATE STREET TO NOTT TERRACE*
Take State St (Rt 5) to Lafayette St and turn right then immediately turn Left to continue up State St. At Veeder Ave (Traffic Light) turn Left. Cross over State St (Rt 5) then take the first Left onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

From the South (I-890 Exit 5, Broadway, Rotterdam):
Take Broadway North to Millard St and turn Right, First Traffic Light. Millard St becomes Veeder Ave at Hamilton St (Schenectady FD on Left). Continue over Veeder take first left after State St onto Chapel St. Parking is on left.

From the North (Union Collage, Niskayuna, Union St):
From Union St, take Nott Terrace South and turn Right onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

Cancellations: If Niskayuna High School cancels evening classes and activities the SARA meeting will also be cancelled.  Check www.niskyschools.org for school closing information.

Our regular meeting location (First Reformed Church, Schenectady) will be undergoing a year-long renovation and will not be available to us until later this year—possibly by September.

“Broughton Memorial Field Day 2017”

Speaker:  Tim Long W2UI and James MacMurray N2UZQ

Abstract: SARA and SMARA will again be joining forces for Field Day 2017. Tim and James will present preparations and plans for this unique event. Please read the message from the President to get a flavor of what is in store for us during Field Day!

Tim Long first got his start in amateur radio in 1961 when he passed his Novice exam given by his scoutmaster WA2FFJ and received call WN2KHQ. That callsign became WB2KHQ, then WA4DXR, then WB2SPN, and now W2UI. Tim has served SARA in various positions including many years as Secretary, two stints as Vice President, two tours as President, and countless years as Treasurer (dues cheerfully accepted). Tim holds BSEE and MSCS degrees and is employed by Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corp. in West Milton. Besides ham radio antenna work and Field Day, Tim enjoys golf.

James MacMurray was born in 1972 and grew up in Scotia. Licensed in 1993 and received his Extra while going to college for Data Communications. Currently the President of SARA, Radio Room Officer for SMARA, and Emergency Coordinator for Schenectady County ARES. He has served as a Director for SARA for the previous 2 years and served SMARA as a past President, Vice President, and Treasurer. Currently working full time as an Employee Retirement Examiner 3 for the State of New York Office of the State Comptroller. James has interests in VHF/UHF weak signal, HF phone, and HF Digital contesting.

psst…Please feel free to bring your SARA dues with you to this meeting or Field Day!!

The June meeting is also our annual business meeting, including our annual election of Board Members and Officers.

Officers and Board of Directors Nominations for 2017–2018 are as follows:
President: James MacMurray N2UZQ
Vice President: Jim Silva KC2ZVK
Secretary: Jim Stewart K2PK
Treasurer: Tim Long W2UI
Board Member: Paul Siemers WY2F
Board Member: Bob Saltzman WB2ARK
Board Member: Dave Bradshaw KD2FVM
Board Member: JR Hotaling K2PEQ

Please plan to attend this meeting.

General Meeting Monday May 1, 2017 at 7PM

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Reminder: New Meeting Location!!
Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church
603 State Street, Schenectady

Directions to First United Methodist Church:
Parking lot address is 610 (Google shows it as 650) Chapel Street Schenectady NY 12305.
Chapel St is a One Way street from Nott Terrace to Lafayette Street. If this lot is full, park across the street. Enter the building through double doors, take an immediate right, go through another set of double doors, turn right then left and the Fellowship Hall is on your right (follow signs).

From the East (Colonie, State St Rt 5):
Turn Right onto Nott Terrace then take your first Left onto Chapel Street. Parking lot is on Left.

From the West (Scotia, Glenville, Eire Blvd):
*THERE IS NO LEFT TURN FROM STATE STREET TO NOTT TERRACE*
Take State St (Rt 5) to Lafayette St and turn right then immediately turn Left to continue up State St. At Veeder Ave (Traffic Light) turn Left. Cross over State St (Rt 5) then take the first Left onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

From the South (I-890 Exit 5, Broadway, Rotterdam):
Take Broadway North to Millard St and turn Right, First Traffic Light. Millard St becomes Veeder Ave at Hamilton St (Schenectady FD on Left). Continue over Veeder take first left after State St onto Chapel St. Parking is on left.

From the North (Union Collage, Niskayuna, Union St):
From Union St, take Nott Terrace South and turn Right onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

Cancellations: If Niskayuna High School cancels evening classes and activities the SARA meeting will also be cancelled.  Check www.niskyschools.org for school closing information.

Our regular meeting location (First Reformed Church, Schenectady) will be undergoing a year-long renovation and will not be available to us until later this year—possibly by September.

“VHF Contesting”

Speaker:  Dick Frey, WA2AAU

Abstract: VHF Contesting – What is it? What and when are the contests? Why do it? What is interesting about it? How do I participate? What technology is appropriate? How is scoring done? What are the key categories of participation? What about fixed stations, portable stations, mobile stations, “Rover Stations”? How far can I talk anyway? This talk will touch on anything and everything about VHF contesting, and will include lots of photos of the W2SZ Mount Greylock VHF contest operations, as well as what’s new in VHF, UHF (and up) contesting.

Dick Frey was born in 1946 and grew up in the Catskill Mountains of NYS. He became a ham in high school. His first QSOs were with a borrowed DX-20 transmitter, and a Hallicrafters S-38E receiver. He built his own transmitter with a 6DQ6 in the output stage and a 6AG7 as a crystal oscillator. He modified a Zenith multi-band short wave radio to work as a receiver on the ham bands by adding a BFO and a QMultiplier.
At RPI, Dick became interested in VHF. He worked some VHF contests from W2SZ in Troy, and did his first portable effort in 1969 from Slide Mountain in the Catskills with DISASTEROUS results. Walk, Hike, Rain, RAIN, WALK, HIKE, HIKE,… Tired! Moved to Mt. Greylock in the Fall of 1969… been there ever since.
Dick worked for RCA near Boston, and for Motorola 2-way in Illinois. After earning a Masters degree from RPI, he worked for GE Global Research, retiring after 33 years. Dick continues to lead the W2SZ RPI radio club VHF contest efforts since the start in 1969, always on Mt. Greylock. My personal interest is primarily in the bands above 2 GHz. One of his most notable memories is an opening on 1296 MHz between Mt. Greylock and Northern Florida that lasted for 2 days straight. Another was a contact on 2304 MHz from Mt. Greylock to central Michigan where the Michigan op had his equipment and “looper” antenna on a picnic table in the back yard!!!
 

General Meeting Monday April 3, 2017 at 7:00PM

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Another New Meeting Location!!
Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church
603 State Street, Schenectady

Directions to First United Methodist Church:
Parking lot address is 610 (Google shows it as 650) Chapel Street Schenectady NY 12305.
Chapel St is a One Way street from Nott Terrace to Lafayette Street. If this lot is full, park across the street. Enter the building through double doors, take an immediate right, go through another set of double doors, turn right then left and the Fellowship Hall is on your right (follow signs).

From the East (Colonie, State St Rt 5):
Turn Right onto Nott Terrace then take your first Left onto Chapel Street. Parking lot is on Left.

From the West (Scotia, Glenville, Eire Blvd):
*THERE IS NO LEFT TURN FROM STATE STREET TO NOTT TERRACE*
Take State St (Rt 5) to Lafayette St and turn right then immediately turn Left to continue up State St. At Veeder Ave (Traffic Light) turn Left. Cross over State St (Rt 5) then take the first Left onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

From the South (I-890 Exit 5, Broadway, Rotterdam):
Take Broadway North to Millard St and turn Right, First Traffic Light. Millard St becomes Veeder Ave at Hamilton St (Schenectady FD on Left). Continue over Veeder take first left after State St onto Chapel St. Parking is on left.

From the North (Union Collage, Niskayuna, Union St):
From Union St, take Nott Terrace South and turn Right onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

Cancellations: If Niskayuna High School cancels evening classes and activities the SARA meeting will also be cancelled.  Check www.niskyschools.org for school closing information.

Our regular meeting location (First Reformed Church, Schenectady) will be undergoing a year-long renovation and will not be available to us until later this year—possibly by September.

“The Magic of Mixers:
From Tuner Radio Frequency Receivers to Superheterodyne Receivers”

Speaker:  James Hedrick, WB2LKZ

Abstract: The first RF receivers used chained-tuned RF amplifiers all operating at the same frequency. These receivers were difficult to design and even harder to tune. A mixer is a three port circuit that is used to modulate, or demodulate, an RF signal. In this talk we will be exploring how mixers work and how they led to the superhererodyne receivers we use today.

James Hedrick has always been interested radio communications and has been an amateur radio operator for about fifty years. He got his FCC commercial radio license as a teenager and designed, installed and repaired public safety radios and marine electronics. He spent eleven years with the New York State Thruway Authority designing a new toll collection system to replace the aging electromechanical system, and adding E-ZPass. For the last twenty+ years Jim has been a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty at Union College, specializing in radio communications, digital design, data communications and networking, and embedded systems.

 

General Meeting Monday March 6, 2017 at 7:00PM

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Another New Meeting Location!!
First United Methodist Church

Directions to First United Methodist Church:
Parking lot address is 610 (Google shows it as 650) Chapel Street Schenectady NY 12305.
Chapel St is a One Way street from Nott Terrace to Lafayette Street. If this lot is full, park across the street. Enter the building through double doors, take an immediate right, go through another set of double doors, turn right then left and the Fellowship Hall is on your right (follow signs).

From the East (Colonie, State St Rt 5):
Turn Right onto Nott Terrace then take your first Left onto Chapel Street. Parking lot is on Left.

From the West (Scotia, Glenville, Eire Blvd):
*THERE IS NO LEFT TURN FROM STATE STREET TO NOTT TERRACE*
Take State St (Rt 5) to Lafayette St and turn right then immediately turn Left to continue up State St. At Veeder Ave (Traffic Light) turn Left. Cross over State St (Rt 5) then take the first Left onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

From the South (I-890 Exit 5, Broadway, Rotterdam):
Take Broadway North to Millard St and turn Right, First Traffic Light. Millard St becomes Veeder Ave at Hamilton St (Schenectady FD on Left). Continue over Veeder take first left after State St onto Chapel St. Parking is on left.

From the North (Union Collage, Niskayuna, Union St):
From Union St, take Nott Terrace South and turn Right onto Chapel St. Parking lot is on Left.

Cancellations: If Niskayuna High School cancels evening classes and activities the SARA meeting will also be cancelled.  Check www.niskyschools.org for school closing information.

Our regular meeting location (First Reformed Church, Schenectady) will be undergoing a year-long renovation and will not be available to us until later this year—possibly by September.

“Power Conversion”

Speaker:  Ben Sheron, KC2OTS

Abstract: This presentation will include an overview of power electronics and will cover DC-DC and DC-AC conversion, including various circuit topologies and how to control them.  Ben will also discuss different applications and discuss practical considerations.

Ben Sheron has been a licensed general-class amateur radio operator (KC2OTS) since 2005, when he joined the amateur radio club at RIT (K2GXT) as an undergrad.  His main interests are in power electronics and controls, and their application in renewable energy and the smart grid.

 

General Meeting February 6, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.

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Please note the new meeting location:
Piracci Board Room, Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library, 475 Moe Road, Clifton Park

Directions: Head south on Moe Road from Route 146. The library is on your left. As you enter the building, the meeting room is the first door on your right (“Piracci Board Room”). The room is handicapped accessible.

Cancellations: If Niskayuna High School cancels evening classes and activities the SARA meeting will also be cancelled.  Check www.niskyschools.org for school closing information.

Our regular meeting location (First Reformed Church, Schenectady) will be undergoing a year-long renovation and will not be available to us until later this year—possibly by September.

“The Capital District Commuter Net”

Speakers: Jock Elliott, KB2GOM, with technical support by Fred Halley, W2EMS.

Jock Elliott, KB2GOM, has been a licensed ham for nearly 3 decades. As a freelance writer, he has written regular columns for Popular Communications and Monitoring Times and contributed to QST and Passport to World Band Radio. Jock has run the Capital District Commuter Assistance Network for 20 years.

Fred Halley Jr., W2EMS, has been involved in Amateur Radio since 2000. He currently holds an Extra class license and his vanity call sign comes from his 33 years of volunteer and paid ambulance work, first as an NYS EMT (1977) and then as a NYS Paramedic (1982). Fred retired from EMS is 2012 and now works as the Director of IT services for the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). Fred is currently the ARRL ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC) for Saratoga County. Fred is an active member of the Saratoga County Amateur Radio Association in Saratoga County.

General Meeting January 9, 2017 at 7:00PM

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2015 Navassa Island DXpedition

Jim Stewart K2PK will be presenting a DVD video of the 2015 Navassa Island DXpedition.

It took 13 years to get permission to visit Navassa Island because Navassa has been declared a National Wildlife Refuge. The DXpedition was approved for February, 2015.

This DVD shows the logistical challenge of moving fifteen operators and tons of gear to this small uninhabited, helicopter (only) accessible island in the Caribbean. The two-week effort paid off with 140,000 Qs!

k1n-dxpedition

 

General Meeting December 5, 2016 at 7:00PM

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December Social Event

December’s meeting will be held at the United Buffet, 2320 Watt Street, Schenectady NY.

Get out of the “Shack” for a night and come join us for an all you can eat buffet and great company!

Place: United Buffet, 2320 Watt Street, Schenectady (we have reserved the “back room”)
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Cost: $14.75 (without soft drink), $16.59 (with soft drink). Prices include tax + tip. Please pay at the front desk, and hang on to your receipt.

Since the dinner format is a buffet, members are welcome to arrive any time after 6:00 p.m., and stay as long they they want. No speeches, but plenty of time to share your latest stories with your amateur radio friends.

Happy Holidays from SARA

santa radio

General Meeting November 7, 2016 at 7:00PM

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“Fun with GNURadio”

Speaker: Tom Early, AC2IE

GNURadio is a powerful and extensible software defined radio (SDR) development platform. GNURadio already supports a number of hardware devices that should be very interesting to any ham radio operator. There will be very little (probably no) “canned” presentation for this discussion. Instead, a low cost, receive-only device will be shown and a more expensive transceiver device will be DEMONSTRATED. My efforts to develop GNURadio modules that support AMBE vocoder hardware (like those used in DStar, DMR and System Fusion radios) will, hopefully, also be demonstrated.

Tom Early, AC2IE, is a relatively new ham, licensed in early 2011 and enjoys public service activities. He is especially interested in all digital areas of ham radio and tends to gravitate to the software end of this area. Tom has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. Tom is a recent retiree from GE Global Research after a 33 year career at GE. Tom’s speciality was nuclear magnetic resonance, an RF-based tool used for chemical and material analysis.

Meeting Location

First Reformed Church, North Church Street, Schenectady (in the Poling Chapel)

Directions: The church parking lot is on North Church Street, on your left as you head north from Union Street. Cross North Church Street and find the walkway between number 10 and 12 North Church. Go to the end of the walkway and enter the building. Turn left and go through the double doors. Turn right and walk past the rest rooms. The Poling Chapel is just down the hall.