PRC mtg May 20

Hamvention 2019 Wrap Up If you attended the 2019 Hamvention in Xenia we want to hear your report on this growing national ham event. What did you find most exciting? Most memorable? Did you attend any forums? Which forums were most helpful? Did you see any celebrities? Did you enjoy the flea market? What did … Continue reading “PRC mtg May 20”

Hamvention 2019 Wrap Up

If you attended the 2019 Hamvention in Xenia we want to hear your report on this growing national ham event. What did you find most exciting? Most memorable? Did you attend any forums? Which forums were most helpful? Did you see any celebrities? Did you enjoy the flea market? What did you buy? What do you think will be your most memorable moments?

Laptop spacebar issue — resolved!

If you’ve been following these posts, you might recall my report of a unique problem I began to experience with my laptop, my computer of choice for writing this post. Literally, out of nowhere, my Asus laptop spacebar developed a fluky problem. It did not work! Imagine writing without a spacebar. I scoured the internet for a solution. Nothing but false leads. Finally, I discovered that the spacebar would work IF I held one of the shift keys while I clicked the spacebar. It was a step in the right direction, but still not very convenient.

I got lucky! At a recent family gathering I mentioned to Dan, my son-in-law, my Asus’ very odd spacebar issue. Dan, who is an IT professional, eats and breathes computers and is really motivated to resolve issues like this. After a thorough trouble-shooting session, Dan made a tremendously discovery and was able to correct the aggravating problem. Since this could easily happen to you on any computer, I’ll share Dan’s very helpful discovery at our next meeting.

Morse Code is alive and well

At our last meeting, following a demo of my new steak knife key, we had a short CW session. It was fun. Let’s do it again.

In these days of poor HF propagation, many hams worldwide have taken to learning and practicing CW. If you’d like to pick up this wonderful skill, join us for some no stress fun. We’re only three letters in and you’ll catch up in a hurry.

Those who know me well, are aware that I can become emotionally attached to things, especially things I toiled on for a while, like the Steak Knife Key. But, in her best interest, I’m saying good bye to my little key. Earlier this year, ARRL’s QST magazine issued a call for submissions to their 2019 CW Key Competition. It was an extremely difficult decision, but I finally decided to send her to ARRL Headquarters in Hartford, CT. Of course, they promise to return the paddle after judging. But still there’s the anxiety of sending your little one off on a worldly adventure. Hopefully the trip will be safe and she will have many good stories to share about QSO’ing with numerous bright and shiny keys. And, certainly, she’ll have developed life long friends. So, I’ll give her your 73 and 88.

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Hal Rogers, K8CMD President, Communications Director