Yes, it’s official: the Grand Prize at this year’s DMRAA Hamfest will bring you into the newest mode hitting the airwaves in the amateur radio community: D-Star. This year’s Grand Prize is an ICOM IC-91AD which features D-Star Digital Voice, dual-band capability (2m and 70cm) and over 1300 memory channels. It comes complete with the […]

Can’t tell a wall cloud from a rain cloud? Don’t worry, the National Weather Service will be providing its annual Severe Weather Spotter training at the 2/24 meeting. The meeting is open to the general public (as always) and would be a great meeting for your friends and family members to attend. One note: the […]

DMRAA member KC4VG is part of the “Buddies in the Caribbean” Dxpedition to FS/Saint Martin and PJ7/Sint Maarten Feb. 4-11, and should have just returned from a side trip to PJ6/Saba Island, which should be of interest to most IOTA chasers since it carries the designation IOTA NA145. If you’re wondering what it’s like to […]

KC9NXM has forwarded us a response he received from Rep. Abdul-Samad’s office (he’s the sponsor of H.F. 9 and chair of the subcommittee overseeing the mobile communications bill). It appears that there has been a modification to the bill limiting it solely to cellular telephones: On behalf of Representative Abdul-Samad, thank you for voicing your […]

So the bug has bit, eh? The digital bug. The D-Star bug. All you need now is a ID-800H and that only takes….money. But the Christmas credit card bills have arrived (did you really need that Snuggie?), the economy sucks and the taxman is on his way. Our advice is that you not ask the […]

In an earlier post we told you about H.F. 9 which will make it a crime for ham radio operators to use their mobile rigs or handhelds while operating their car. H.F. 9 is not the only bill concerning the use of wireless devices while driving. H.F. 17, for instance, is limited to those under […]

Once upon a time there were ham radio operators known as Elmers. These were the hams that seemed to know everything or at a minimum knew someone who knew the answer. Nowadays it seems that Elmers are few and far between. For whatever reason we’re more likely to google an answer than ask a fellow […]

Tuesday’s meeting went well with 31 members in attendance. Among these were 5 new members, including 2 new licensees. In addition to learning about NVIS antennas, members were given an update as the status of the new ARES trailer and the upcoming Hamfest. The post-presentation “meet and greet” lasted well into the evening and was […]

So, you think you know everything about ham radio, eh? Well have you ever heard about Near Vertical Incidence Skywave? Our own Dan Miller, KCØFRL has, and he’s going to be teaching us all about NVIS and NVIS antennas at this month’s general meeting. 7:00 pm is when it all starts, at the usual location: […]

The January/February 2009 issue of the Static Sheet is now available for downloading. If you want to view it now, simply click here with your left mouse button (or right click and select “save target as” to download). This issue contains: What really happened at the DMRAA Christmas Party and Chili Feed (with photos!) What’s […]