Please take note that the new GNARC 2M repeater is now installed and operating.
A few facts to keep in mind:
- The operating frequencies and split is the same as the original repeater – 146.475MHz transmit & 147.475MHz receive – 1MHz split.
- The PL tone is different – 162.2Hz
- Both old and new repeaters will remain operational for the near future as we understand more about the new repeater’s operation; coverage area, etc.
- The new repeater will broadcast the 162.2Hz PL tone.
- To set your rig to access the new repeater, set its receive frequency to 146.475MHz and the transmit frequency to 147.475MHz and the PL tone to 162.2Hz.
- If you want to hear/receive both old and new repeaters, do not set the receive PL tone to ON. This means that you will hear any station being repeated through either repeater.
The new repeater is a Yaesu Model DR2-X running 50 watts of power into the duplexer. It is currently connected to the original antenna.
There is more work to do going forward including changing the old for the new antenna, adding battery backup power and, remote (via internet) power switching.
Please make a few QSOs on the new repeater and let us know how it’s doing.
As always, we expect to have our annual picnic the 3rd or 4th Sunday of August. Stay tuned for details.
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 7/8/26
Present In Person (12): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve W1SMS (Vice President), Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary) , Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Rich K1CYW, Daniel KC1WSE, Peter KC1YMJ, Peter KC1TMT, Paul W1PPL, Paul W1IP, Tom KB1FBN, Michael W1XJ,
Present Virtually (3): Steve K1RF, Jon AI1V, Gary WE1M
Preamble
Tom KB1FBN brought in an old Heathkit radio that has a noise problem when tuning, the verdict was maybe capacitor troubles. As frequently happens, the radio sounded good when he fired it up, and did not exhibit the problem for us!
Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:29
- Longtime member Paul W1IP, lately returned from Florida, was re-introduced, and everyone introduced themselves to him.
- Minutes from last meeting were approved.
Old Business:
- 2M repeater is ready to deploy at Norwalk Hospital.
- Meshcore is old biz but new biz. The system needs other repeaters to repeat, there are several in the greater Norwalk area. Rich K1CYW has a mesh core repeater running at his house, very active. David N1DPD brought his to show, reported lots of recent activity.
- Steve W1SMS will deploy one at Norwalk Hospital.
President’s Report: by Hugo AA1XV: Join the Thursday night HF net on around 7290
Treasurer’s Report: by Dave N1DPD: Club financial statement distributed, we have a paid membership of 63.
- Income: from sale of donated buddipole,
- Expenses: donation to WAS for Field Day, paid property tax on trailer.
- We will look into receiving dues via Venmo, need a phone number for this.
Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C: Newsletter has been streamlined, hopefully better viewed on phones. I will investigate recommended (free) web-based apps that remove backgrounds in photos.
New Business:
- August non-meeting is the annual club picnic. Should be in the same location as last year, date TBD
- Field Day participation was extensive by a hardy few…there were 3 stations: voice, CW, digital. WAS accommodations were very comfortable and all equipment worked well. A good time was had by all! [Note: More details can be found in the July newsletter]
- N1ZD’s home shack has a lot of equipment to be sold or otherwise disposed of. A list of what’s available will be distributed to local clubs. Steve W1SMS (and a few recruited volunteers) will take down the tower in his back yard, and haul it away at a date TBD.
- Steve W1SMS will be setting up a DMR repeater. The club’s DMR repeater is still working.
- Sussex Hamfest is this Sunday in NJ
- Paul W1IP has become a POTA aficionado/expert, with over 700 parks logged. He is happy to take out anyone interested in this experience.
A motion to close the meeting passed, and we adjourned at 8:21
Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Recording Secretary
Present in Person (20): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve W1SMS (Vice President), Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Jon AI1V (Recorder), Steve K1RF, Martin K1MGD, Chuck K1CWT, Joe KC1AUH, Dan N3DAW, Rich K1CYW, Peter KC1JGY, Daniel KC1WSE, Elliott K1MF, Paul W1PPL, Bill KC1WJR, MJ (guest), Carl KR1STF, Susie KC1QVE, Peter KC1TMT, Peter KC1YMJ
Peter K1PCN (CT ARES, Guest speaker)
Present Virtually (6): Peter KC1PWH, Richard M (guest), Steve N1CM, Steven M (guest), Tom M (guest), John W1JGM
Business Meeting called to order by AA1XV at 7pm
Guest attendees welcomed (both ham and non-ham).
May minutes accepted, no correction.
Treasurer’s report by N1DPD:
- Donation from Sound Cyclists
- 58 members
- No significant expenses coming up except summer party
Old Business
Our support for the Bloomin Metric bicycle ride went well. Sound Cyclists made a donation to GNARC for our work in providing them with communications.
Club standby repeater operational at W1SMS home in Danbury. Range limited due to low mounted antenna. Being tested. No date for deployment at hospital.
People have been reading the newsletter. Good content but file size is too large for some browsers, especially on phones. Photo files too big. One newsletter was over 134 Meg in size.
New Business
We will be doing Field Day with HARC and GFARA at the Westport Astronomical Society.
——
The business meeting was adjourned at about 7:30.
Peter K1PCN gave a informative and directly useful presentation on MeshCore, which seems to be replacing MeshTastic. MeshCore is growing rapidly in this area and is being adopted by emergency responders in some of the towns within Region One based on MeshCore repeaters being put up by amateur operators in the area.
Respectfully submitted by Jon AI1V
Present In Person (10): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve W1SMS (Vice President),Dave N1DPD ,(Treasurer), Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary), Steve K1RF, Rich K1CYW, Peter KC1TMT, Chuck K1CWT, Peter KC1YMJ, Michael KC1WXK
Present Virtually: Difficulty starting the Zoom meeting prevented virtual attendance
Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:11
New attendees welcomed: Peter KC1YMJ, Peter KC1TMT
April minutes were accepted, no corrections.
Treasurer’s Report: by Dave N1DPD:
We are at 58 paid members.
Recent expenses for Bloomin Metric – Club banner was purchased last month
Our next expenses will be related to Field Day, including a donation to WAS
Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C:
Recent positive feedback included “complaints” that the newsletter is too long…rather that than the opposite! Members are urged to send suggestions/corrections/content to Jeff
General:
Rich K1CYW is planning to put up a repeater to add to a Mesh network. There was some discussion of issues with the club’s doing this at our Norwalk Hospital, a major difficulty being that maintenance is not remote capable. Steve W1SMS will look into it.
This upcoming Sunday 5/17 is the Bloomin Metric bike ride. GNARC Event chair Dave N1DPD has some help already lined up from club members; setup will be at Sherwood Island Park 6:15-6:30AM, with first riders going out at 7
New Business:
New GNARC member Michael Powers from Wilton was introduced, just upgraded to his Extra ticket last week. Charles N1LLL helped him get started, and in the process of getting his shack set up.
Longtime club member W1PPL is recovering at home from some health issues…we wish him well!
Goshen Hamfest is this upcoming weekend, as is the much larger Dayton Hamvention in Ohio.
The club will be looking to liquidate old/donated equipment. Hugo floated the idea of a silent auction of some kind to generate interest and activate the process. Nothing was decided…in the meantime he needs someone to store the club’s surplus equipment, about 1 cubic yard of space would help immensely! Contact him if you can do this!
Some members will be keeping and using (auditioning? babysitting?) radios, tuners,etc. subject to club recall when needed. Watch the reflector and the newsletter for lists of what’s available. Any member can borrow (try out) available surplus equipment under these terms. Contact Hugo for more info.
The weekly Thursday HF nets are averaging 5-7 participants. All are welcome.
Show and Tell: Steve K1RF brought 2 tiny 5 W transceivers, “small but mighty”. The smaller unit, the QMX , covers options for 80-20m, 60-15m,or 20-10m The newest unit, the QMX+ (larger unit), covers 160-6m. Both can be built from a kit (recommend experienced kit builders only!) or purchased assembled. The units are very efficient and competitively priced. Steve has contributed to helping the company design/improve their equipment. For more info or to purchase a new radio, go to QRPLabs.com.
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The meeting was adjourned at 8:23PM
Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Recording Secretary
Greater Norwalk Amateur Radio Club (GNARC)
Meeting Minutes 4/8/26
Present In Person (5): Hugo AA1XV (President), Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary) , Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Rusty K4SAA, Steve K1RF
Present Virtually (5): Rich K1CYW, Steve N1CM, Jon AI1V, Bill KC1TX, Peter KC1PWH
Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:07
We had some struggles with audio in room 216, making it difficult for those present in person to hear virtual attendees. This room will be our meeting location for a few more months, and the tech deficiency belongs to the Westport library, so we will need to find a workaround.
There was no presentation scheduled for the meeting. March minutes were accepted.
Old Business: Dave N1DPD reported not many signups to help with the Bloomin Metric thus far; there’s still a bit of time until the event. All volunteers are needed!
President’s Report: by Hugo AA1XV: Hugo shared an old PowerPoint on QRP radios with many slides outdated, though containing useful information. It will be uploaded to the GNARC website.
Treasurer’s Report: by Dave N1DPD: Dave showed off a new display banner with the club’s Logo, to be hung at public events. Total cost was $61.
As of today, paid membershipship is at 46, including our two newest members: Michael KC1WXK, and John KF6CHT. Welcome!
We will publish a list of paid members, as a way of reminding those who may have forgotten. We encourage everyone to get on that list if they aren’t already.
Dave also showed off new QR codes, one as a graphic link to the GNARC website, and one to use PayPal to pay club dues.
Club finances remain in good shape, all current bills paid. Next anticipated expenses will be related to Field day.
Webmaster Report: by Jon AI1V
Jon can publish equipment you want to sell on the website; we can also list it in the newsletter—send item list to Jeff KB1C.
There was some discussion of the club Facebook page, but ongoing social media abuses complicate this.
Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C: I received a pleasant email from Ed K3EIN, along with his copy of the March puzzle dutifully filled in with all answers perfect!
Please consider contributing content if there’s anything you think club members might be interested in: announcements, items for sale, suggestions, and especially corrections, etc. Your ideas are welcome! The April issue contains a new different kind of puzzle,and some other surprises.
New Business:
VP Steve W1SMS has acquired as a donation a set of Duplexers in fine condition, including 4 “cans”, to be incorporated into our backup repeater system. To be determined: some gift for the donor, who does not wish to be paid.
GNARC antenna guru Steve K1RF reported on his testing of the club’s EFHW 8010 end-fed antenna, including how to properly tune an end fed dipole.
Rich K1CYW recommended and shared a link to the East Coast network : https://www.eastcoastreflector.com/ . The repeater system can also be accessed on Echo Link at ECR9050.
President Hugo reminded us that for the next few months our meeting location will be room 216 here in the Westport Library.
A motion to close the meeting passed, and we adjourned at 7:49PM
Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Recording Secretary
Present In Person (6): Hugo AA1XV (President), Steve K1RF, Jeff KB1C (Recording Secretary) , Dave N1DPD (Treasurer), Steve W1SMS (Vice President), Rusty K4SAA
Present Virtually (6): Toy K1WYQ, Rich K1CYW, Steve N1CM, Tom WB2HTJ, Jess ND1L, Andre W2ART
Business Meeting: called to order by President Hugo AA1XV at 7:11
Hugo welcomed Steve N1CM, president of SARA, and Tom WB2HTJ, now in North Carolina.
Minutes of the February meeting as previously distributed were approved, with the modification that the summer party should be changed to summer picnic.
Old Business:
President’s Report: by Hugo AA1XV: We were reminded of the loss of N1ZD last month, and all the memories we have of him, particularly pictures.
He related that no one joined the HF Net last Thursday night, noting band conditions were noisy and hoping this week’s is more active. We have not had a lot of feedback on presentations about antennas in the past, perhaps tonight’s session will help. The more general question is: how many are operating HF with any regularity?
Treasurer’s Report: by Dave N1DPD: Last month, a paid expense was flowers for N1ZD’s calling hours. A goodwill donation to the Westport Astronomical Society to maintain a future relationship is in the works. We may consider selling some equipment to generate revenue. As of today, paid membershipship is at 44.
Secretary’s Report: by Jeff KB1C: Not much feedback of any kind has been received on the newsletter, it’s impossible to determine the extent of readership. Please consider contributing content if there’s anything you think club members might be interested in: announcements, items for sale, suggestions, and especially corrections, etc. Your ideas are welcome! Watch for the April issue…a new puzzle, and a new feature – “Ask Elmer!”
New Business:
Newsletter issues will be archived on the club website.
Steve N1CM will be attending the upcoming Southington Hamfest on 3/22, he may be selling equipment there; he will check with other SARA members. If they do have a table there, he has offered to include GNARC equipment. He was asked if any VE sessions are in the works; as of now testing is on demand, exams are generated using an online tool, and no requests are pending.
Dave N1DPD is running the upcoming Bloomin Metric event in May, for which we offer radio support services. He will be looking for helpers for this, stay tuned!
Rich K1CYW has some equipment to donate to the club, which is much appreciated.
Main Event: Presentation:
Steve K1RF’s talk “End Connected-Off Center Fed Dipole Antennas” (EC-OCFD) was loaded with technical detail on history, construction, testing, and comparison with other types of antennas for various bands. To achieve his goal of building low-cost, easy to build, efficient, hi-power multiband antennas, Steve has extensively researched many different wire models. Accompanied by the origination and evolution of each model, we learned who designed each, what materials are involved, and what works well on various bands.
The precursor models to the EC-OCFD included the City Windom, sleeve dipole, end-fed monocord, banana half wave end fed choked coax model, and single band end fed and center fed portable antennas. Each antenna was presented in detail, including construction and effectiveness. Charts and graphs showing efficiency, and lists of parts needed and where to obtain them were included.
Steve’s highly informative and interesting presentation thoroughly outlined the pros and cons of EC-OCFD vs end fed half wave antennas. Thank you, Steve!
Powerpoint will be available on the club website.
Any questions or more information needed? Contact Steve at K1RF@ARRL.net.
Bonus Presentation: “Operating Opportunities-Get On The Air!”
Rusty K4SAA shared details of some DXpeditions he knows and has participated in. Many stations present uncommon, even rare CW, voice, or digital contact opportunities; details about locations, time frames, and even folks you’ll meet describe terrific goals for Hams to try, some being more challenging than others. Rusty will supply his detailed list for inclusion on the club website. Thank you, Rusty!
Hugo AA1XV informed us that next month’s meeting location will be changing to room 216 here in the Westport Library. The meeting is expected to be on April 8.
The Meeting was adjourned at 8:42.
Respectfully submitted, Jeff KB1C, Secretary
