Category Archives: Breaking News

Holiday Party – Wednesday 12/14!

Members discussed the planned party at the restaurant “PONZA Italian Kitchen” https://ponzaitaliankitchen.com. [690 Connecticut Ave, Norwalk]. A Sit-down menu with 3 options has been selected. While the meal will cost approximately $50, Members will be charged $35 each and the club will cover the difference. There will be a pay-Bar and Prizes / drawings. Please pay before attending via PayPal. Pay here

March 2022 Meeting Minutes

AttendingOfficer members –Jon Perelstein AI1V, President; Paul LaVorgna W1PPL, Asst Treasurer, Tom Gunther W1TEG, Secretary, Marty K1MGD VP and David N1DPD, Treasurer.  Other members in attendance included:  Steve K1RF, Pete H KC1PWH, Steve W1SMS,

Minutes:  Meeting called to order at 7:40 PM by President Jon AI1V; with members noted in attendance, in-person.

LOCATION: American Legion Post 12, at 60 County St, Norwalk, CT 06851

Order of Business

  • Dues – The president noted our “Dues Holiday” for 2022.  Where Members will not be asked to pay dues for the coming year as a way of saying thank you for your patience during the pandemic.  This will probably change in the next fiscal year.
  • Future Meeting Presentations – For next month Steve K1RF agreed to reach out to Larry Reed who provided a very interesting presentation on his high-altitude balloon launches in the past, for an update on his latest balloon activities.  Other topic possibilities include Solar Energy advances, cable business updates and EVs. 
  • Events –:  Field Day = June 25-26, 2022.  Field Day planning has begun at GNARC.  Considerable discussion occurred on various antenna options such as directional unit, a spider beam with 2 or 3 elements, a hex beam for 20/15/10; etc.  Discussion on height up occurred i.e. 30’ +/- and various mast sizes available; as well as the simplicity of a wire antenna.  Also discussed how many members will come and participate in FD.  Location for FD was discussed such as Vets Park; West Rocks School, Westport Observatory or other potential sites.  Members Jon and PPL will visit the Westport Observatory K1WAS | Westport Astronomical Society (was-ct.org).  It looks like the Astronomical Society location may have a lot of benefits and excellent location for joint FD activities. Stay tuned for updates on this.
  • Treasurer’s Report –– The club finances remain strong.  The Treasurer has filed the appropriate tax forms, paid our insurance, and handled the CT state non-profit fee and trailer registration costs.
  • Education/Testing – We have a VE session on Sat March 26 at 1 pm at The Readiness Collective.  VE’s needed. 
  • Presentation:  No formal presentation was planned for this event.  This meeting was a trial to evaluate the new location at the American Legion Hall.  The club pays $50 to utilize a large hall and have access to the facility Bar in the lower level after the meeting.  Members did indeed go down for some refreshment at 9 PM after the meeting.  All present agreed it was a great success to use this wonderful location complete with ample parking.
  • New Business:  Discussed the need to find a location for Club activities and a radio shack.  Members are encouraged to seek out potential locations such as a town community center, social clubs, senior citizen centers or Senior Residences, a local Fire house, a local high school or other facilities.  Each of these could provide a mutual benefit with GNARC having a presence in their facility.  Members are encouraged to seek out such locations and forward to club officers.

Next meeting will be April 13th at the American Legion Post 12,   60 County St, Norwalk, CT 06851

    Members are encouraged to attend in person!  Social distancing is easy in such a large facility and the bar downstairs is open after the meeting.

Meeting adjourned 9:00 PM

W1TEG, Secretary.

July 2021 Monthly Meeting

Monthly Members Meeting

July 14, 2021 – Meeting Minutes

AttendingOfficer members –Jon Perelstein AI1V, President; Paul LaVorgna W1PPL, Treasurer; Peter Healy KC1GBZ, Vice President; Tom Gunther W1TEG, Secretary.  Other members in attendance included: Dee-N1ZD, Jonathan AB1HI, Jonathan K1RFD, David W1DPW, Jim KC1FB, Hugo AA1XV, Steve N1CF, Steve K1RF; Marty KA1WBN; William; Don.

Minutes:  Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM by President Jon AI1V;

Order of Business

  • Reminder Bloomin Metric is moved to Sept 19th  Bloomin’ Metric (bloominmetric.com)  Members will be needed to support this event.
  • The GNARC picnic at Lyz Richards is scheduled for SUNDAY August 29th.  Save the date.
  • Tower/Trailer – has been scrapped
  • Field Day was a success with 6054 points recorded.
  • VE Session is Saturday 7/31 at SoNO mall – Readiness Collective at 1:00 pm
  • Jon is preparing to offer a Tech License class in the spring and a GENERAL class in September.
  • FD Outreach – no response as yet but will be followed up.
  • Future meetings at Shop Rite?  Zig N1ICL is the contact to follow up with.  Also the Coast Guard Aux building at Calf Pasture Beech is also available as an alternative.
  • Meeting Presentations – Jonathan K1RFD “What’s New in EchoLink”  to discuss Internet Connectivity – EchoLink updates. Jonathan is the creator of Echo Link.  Latest version is V2.3 for PCs; V2.16 for IOS devices.  See www.echolink.org for more info.
  • Treasurer’s Report –– $16K+ remains in our accounts with little or no spend occurring other than for Field Day.  Once all invoices are processed an updated report will follow.  The club finances remain strong. 
  • Activities – Discussed a summer show & tell focused on “mobile radios”.  More discussion to follow.

Next meeting will be August 29th … at the GNARC Picnic.  Stay tuned for details to follow. 

Meeting adjourned 8:25 PM

W1TEG, Secretary.

April 2021 Meeting Minutes

Attending: Officer members –Jon Perelstein AI1V, President; Paul LaVorgna W1PPL, Treasurer; Peter Healy KC1GBZ, Vice President; Tom Gunther W1TEG, Secretary. Other members in attendance included: Dee-N1ZD, Jonathan AB1HI, Steve K1RFD, David W1DPW, Jess ND1L, Toy K1WYQ, Jim KC1FB, Pete KC1PWH, Hugo AA1XV, Jonathan K1RFD, Steve KC1MDK, Steve N1CF, Beth Morgan, Ray WB1U.

Minutes: Meeting called to order at 7:39 PM by President Jon AI1V;

Order of Business
Trailer – Discussed the need to have the tower trailer disposed of as scrap ASAP. Hugo indicated he may have a person to take it.


Future Meeting Presentations – Next month (May 12th) Jonathan K1RFD to discuss Internet Connectivity – EchoLink updates.

Treasurer’s Report — $16,260.94 remains in our accounts with little or no spend occurring. With no holiday party expenses, the club finances remain strong. We have 69 paid members – down from our usual ~120.


Education/Testing – The class for new Tech license is concluded yesterday with Jon. The recent testing produced 6 new licensed Tech’s – mostly from the Wilton CERT class taught by W1IP. A few more are expected to take the test on 4/17.

Field Day Planning – We expect a “lite” version this year and focused on discussing a portable antenna i.e. BYOA as an approach. AARL will have some new rules this year including BYORadio.


Activities – Discussed a summer show & tell focused on “mobile radios”. More discussion to follow.


Presentation: Grounding a Station by Jon P. Some key points covered: A/C, RF and Lightning protection; Chasis to building grounds; RF ground approaches; see “The Wireman.com and Radio Works for more info .

New Business: Should there be a picnic in the summer? Pandemic rules will probably rule.


Bloomin Metric: tentative date is Sunday August 29th, Sherwood Island to Fairfield. Save the date to attend and support this event. For more info see:
https://www.bloominmetric.com

Next meeting will be May 12th. Preso to be made by Jonathan K1RFD on Internet Connectivity and “EchoLink updates”.

Meeting adjourned 8:46 PM
W1TEG, Secretary.

ND1L’s Presentation on Hot Spots

The powerpoint presentation recently given by Jess ND1L is HERE. Clicking the link will download the file. You must have powerpoint or a powerpoint viewer to read.

2020 February Meeting Minutes

Minutes from February 12, 2020 Monthly Meeting


Attendance: see list at the bottom (16 MEMBERS)
Call to Order: 19:35 EST by President Jon Pearlstein


Prior meeting minutes: Will be posted shortly by Jon, for member review and approval at next meeting.

Membership Renewal: Members were reminded to pay their dues to update their membership.

Financial Report: The Treasurer was away at Hamcation. No official report at this meeting, but a reminder to pay dues was delivered.

Saturday Mornings at Comm Center: Members were reminded to stop in at the Comm Center (Fire House on Fairfield Ave, Norwalk) on Saturday mornings (9-12) for some radio related time. Recently members were on RTTY making 30 contacts globally and the prior week on FT8 also making lots of global contacts. Some may say the bands are quiet but the data modes can still be quite active for DX. Come by and give it a try.

Hamcation: Several members recently attended the Feb 7-9 Orlando Hamcation event. Notes from the field indicated a nice review of new equipment including radios and antenna.

Field Day: Time to start thinking about the upcoming June Field Day. Discussion on possible locations included, Vets Park, West Rocks School, Cranberry Park, Norwalk Niki site and Sherwood Island Park. No decision was made on next location.

Other planned activities: No immediate public service events are scheduled. The following are on the horizon: Bloomin Metric (End of May); MS Ride (will probably not occur in 2020 in Norwalk); Fairfield ½ Marathon (1st Sun in June).

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2019 Holiday Party Photos

Here are a few photos from our annual gathering!

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