Elmer

This year, Field Day is going to be quite different for the members of the SVRC.  Since the Covid virus has restricted our movements and social distancing is the new normal, the SVRC is not going to assemble a team to conduct Field Day as it has in the past.  Instead, we are recommending that our members run their own Field Day exercise on their own.  As long as you follow the health guidelines, we hope you can work from home or from some personal outdoor area and make as many contacts as you can.

Binary Theory 101: A Really Basic Explanation

Modern Amateur radio incorporates digital computing systems like never before. The word “Binary” is tossed about freely with sometimes little understanding of what a binary numbering system is or how binary mathematics actually works.  This elementary video helps explain how a group of solid state elements can apply basic binary math to perform a function.  We hope this five-minute video helps remove some of the mystery from digital electronics.

During the week of April 7 to the 14th, 2020, the Sangamon Valley Radio Club sponsored a special event amateur radio station. The station is issued a special call-sign by the FCC which is only good for the time of the event. World-wide, amateur stations enjoy making contacts with stations that are only on the air for short periods of time. This spring, K9L was formed and tasked with remembering the assassination of Abraham Lincoln 155 years ago.

Thanks in large part to Ben Kiningham, a massive collection of over 2,100 historical photos of the SVRC and related projects is now available to anyone!  These photos are of club activities, private ham shacks, hamfests, radios, tours, sponsored events, faces, faces, and more faces!  These photos have been sitting in a file collecting dust for a long, long time and have now been digitized and compiled on a single DVD.

Who knows - maybe you'll see a younger version of yourself. I did!

Here’s how you can get yours for a small donation!

FOXHUNTING / ARDF 101

We've all heard about parametric equalizers and have even had a recent program by Bob Heil concerning this subject. But, what exactly is a parametric equalizer, what can it do for me, and why should I care?
Well, Mitch Hopper, K9ZXO, produced a very short four-minute video that will explain it all in simple language and terms.
See it here: https://youtu.be/Kb2dZKQs2qw

The Hex Beam is in place and operational!  After months of planning and organizing, the Hex Beam was pressed into service for the VHF contest on Saturday, June 8, 2019.  The official antenna crew under the direction of senior club members, hauled heavy steel, concrete, and antenna  components up to the Red Cross building roof in several stages.  We now have extra directional capability for HF 20 meters and up – including 6 meters.  This unique antenna certainly gives our club location a distinctive visual footprint with the upside-down umbrella design.

Memorial day provided a perfect time to complete phase 2 of the SVRC Hex Beam Project.  A large volunteer crew assembled on Monday morning, May 27, to help with the ongoing plan to erect a Rohn tower on the roof of the Red Cross building – home of the SVRC club station.  Thirty donated concrete blocks were taken from the parking lot to the roof where they were installed on the tower base that had been constructed a week earlier.  Then the single section of Rohn tower and rotor were installed on the base.  Only one step remains; installing the Hex Beam on the tower.