Meeting called to order at 7:34, 16 members in attendance, 1 guest
Old Business:
Lisa KC1YL and Paul WB2JVB, along with eight other club hams there, brought the IC 718 and Paul’s portable rig to Ambler Farms in Wilton last Saturday. They put two antennas up in the air, one OFC and one G5RV, got Denmark and Lithuania among other contacts, got to interact with kids in the apprentice program at the farm who seemed very interested in ham radio.
New Business:
The reason for the recent comm center closure: City of Norwalk was concerned about us going in and out of the comms center at all hours and making modifications to the building that they weren’t necessarily enthused about. Paul and Charles N1LLL met with the Emergency Management Director and came to the following agreement: we can operate one night a week plus Saturday during the day, and if we want to operate overnight, we have to let the City know in advance. Everything is fine, we just need to have a clear line of communication between all involved. Paul is now the city liaison for the club, so if you want to do something special, get in touch with him. In order for us to keep our space, it is very important that we provide service to the City of Norwalk at volunteer events such as the MS Ride, Bikes 4 Bikes, Tree Festival, etc. Let’s show the City how useful hams can be!
Charles has resigned as VP due to professional and personal commitments. He has recommended Paul to serve in his stead for the remainder of the year. 10 votes approved Paul, none opposed. We need a new nominating committee for the officers next year.
Jamboree on the Air is coming up this Saturday at Hoyt Reservation. If you can work it, we would love for you to help and provide extra voices and hands from 10 – 2 on Saturday. Contact George AB1QK for details.
Stamford is going to do Buddipoles on the Beach from 11 to 4 on Oct. 22 at Halloween yacht club. Join for fun, contacts, and conversation!
Yankee Clipper Contest Club (which operates within 175 miles’ radius of Worcester, MA) is having its next meeting on Nov. 11 held jointly with CARA, email Emily Clarke for meeting details (or go to CARA’s site) if you want to attend.
Presentation: Buddipoles on Steroids by Emily Clarke (N1DID)
Emily showed off his buddipole system, which is a portable, all band HF/VHF antenna.
You can configure them to be horizontal and vertical dipoles, pure ground mount vertical, inverted V, half-quad and delta loop, or a 2 element VHF Yagi.
It’s good from 20M to 2M, though it is advertised for 40M. The system is two five and a half foot whips, two adjustable loading coils, and a screw mount onto 1″ PVC (though you can use a metal coupling too). It was originally a DIY project, but now you can buy them ready made.
Emily includes a parts list of what he bought, how his Buddipole is configured, and why he likes it. There’s a lot to like about the Buddipole system, including portability, ease of takedown (great for HOAs!), directionality, and it normally doesn’t need a tuner. It’s also easy to maintain, and it’s not overly expensive (about $249 for the whole package new).
When you buy a Buddipole, you get a handy band chart, telling you where to tap the coils for what band. The coils are color coded for easy changing, and the chart also tells you how many whip sections to extend. An antenna analyser is always suggested, however. The heart of the system is the Versa-Tee, which in a homebrew is simply a PVC Tee. It differs from the original Tee by having space for a vertical element.
Meeting adjourned at 9:02 pm.
