QCWA Chapter 149 Winter Luncheon .....
will be held February 13th 2010 at Serafino's Restaurant in Wallingford Connecticut. The restaurant is located across the street from the Chevrolet Theater which was formally known as the Oakdale Theater.  Since we have had nothing but good reports since we were there in August,  we decided to pay them another visit. 

The social hour begins at 11:30 AM, and our Buffet Luncheon and Meeting will begin around 12:00 Noon

BUFFET MENU:
  Baked Salmon; Sliced Roast Beef and Gravy;  Ziti with Tomato Sauce;
  Roasted Potatoes;   String Beans;   Cheese cake;   Coffee and Soda
  Cash Bar available for those who are interested.

Business for the meeting is the election of the 2010 officers.
The nominated slate stands as:

• President - Mike Schindler, K1AMS
• Vice President - Mark Mokoski, K1PU
• Secretary - Steve Ewald, WV1X
• Treasurer - Gary Awsiukiewicz, K1MQ

Nominations from the floor are welcome.

We are also making arrangements for an interesting after-lunch program.
Al W1FXQ always seems to come up with an interesting speaker for these occasions, and we expect this time Al will not disappoint!

For more information, go to the QCWA Chapter 149 web site.

73, Mark K1PU

The 2009 ARRL CW Sweepstakes results are in!

With a shorter deadline for log submissions, the folks in the ARRL contest branch got the results done in 74 days!
A big effort, but Sean KX9X and crew deserve a big ”thank you” from all participants.
I’m sure more expanded commentary will appear in QST and on the ARRL contesting web page, but we all know it’s the scores that count!

Click this Link to view the final tally.

Based on this result, looks like the scores for the SSB Sweepstakes will be ready about the third week in February, given the larger number (a record!) of SSB logs.
The real delay in scoring the CW test was the manual entry of the paper logs.
That’s just one more reason to get on the computer log band wagon, faster (and more accurate) scoring.

Check back in February for the SSB Sweepstakes score posting when they become available.



73, Mark K1PU

The 2010 running of the CQ World Wide 160 Meter CW contest is this weekend from 2200Z January 29th until 2200Z January 31st.
(For the UTC challenged, 2200Z is 5 PM Eastern Time!)
Solar conditions are still at a low point with conditions predicted to be quiet on January 29-30, with unsettled conditions on January 31st.
Solar flux for the weekend are estimated to be in the low 80’s and sun spot number in the mid 30’s.

So get ready for some good Top Band activity!

Official contest rules can be found here

The SSB edition of CQ WW 160 is 2200Z February 26th to 2200Z February 28th 2010.

73, Mark K1PU

The Middlesex Amateur Radio Society had elected new officers for the 2010 term.
The following lucky individuals where elected:

• President - Mac Harper,  W1FYM
• Vice President - Bob Stielau, N2XN
• Treasurer - Leo Zieller, WB1ENI
• Secretary - Don Bohman,  N1XTJ
• Procurement Officer -Vacant
• Statutory Agent - Don Gouin,   K1CMM
• Trustee - Don Gouin,   K1CMM
• VEC Coordinator - Paul Lux,    K1PL

 
And along with various committee appointments, it’s going to be an active year at the Middlesex ARS.

Congratulations to all new and reelected officers and committee chairs.

73, Mark K1PU

There will be a Castle Craig Chapter Net on Friday, February 5th, 2010  on the club net frequency of 28.375.  The purpose of this net is to kick off the 10-10 Winter QSO Party.  I hope that all club members will join in.  Even if you do not have a 10-10 number you are worth 1 point to the rest of us who do and are submitting logs.  The QSO party runs from 0000 UTC February 6th, 2009 to 2359:59 February 7th, 2009.

Because of my high noise level issues I would like to ask everyone to listen for stations that I may not be able to hear.

If you are a paid up 10-10 member your support of the club, and our chapter would be appreciated.  Please make as many contacts as you can, and submit your log for credit.  Remember to mention that you would like to credit Castle Craig Chapter of 10-10 with your score.

We will start taking check-in’s at 6:45 PM local time, (23:45 UTC), and I will be the Net Control.  I would like a station to help with relays if needed.  The procedure is simple.  At 7 PM local time, (0000 UTC Feb. 6th), we will start from the top of the list, (myself), and I will give my 10-10 information, that is Call, Name, QTH (state), and 10-10 number.  The next station will be called and that person will give their information and then stand by.  We will proceed to the bottom of the list.

The procedure is then repeated from the top to bottom of the list, except you will call all stations that you heard and QSL their information.  If you need a repeat on any information this is the time to ask for it.

Once the last station is called they should have no calls to make because everyone has called them.

I expect that this net should last no more than about 20 minutes.

Even though we seem to be a low for sunspot activity and 10-10 participation you can never tell what 10 meters will do and there may be some surprises in store, but you have to be around to catch them, so I encourage everyone to check 10 meters during the weekend.

Please plan to attend and get the winter 10-10 QSO party off to a rousing start!

-73-   Al  N1API
Castle Craig Chapter Certificate Manager

Al Cohen, W1FXQ, a “well known” personality for more reasons than just Ham Radio, celebrates his 92nd Birthday today January 16th, 2010.

Happy Birthday Al !

Mark, K1PU

Well, if you have visited this site in the past, you will notice a big change in style and organization.
As my web skills have improved, so has the look of the sites I manage.
As of this posting I have not yet completed the job of moving over all the content, but please return and check the News.

Mark, K1PU