Red River Radio Amateurs

• Meeting called to order by Seth KC0ODE at 19:02
• Introduction of members—36 members present

Net Control Station (NCS) Operators are needed for the 2020 Sunday Night VHF/UHF nets.

NCS operators call the net to order at its designated start time, periodically call for participants to join, listen for check-ins, keep track of the roster of stations for that particular net session, and generally orchestrate the operation of the net.

Serving as an NCS operator is a great way to overcome mic-fright, prepare for Public Service Communication events or deployments, and hone your skills as a radio operator. Your service will be acknowledged on the RRRA NCS Operator Leader Board.

The Doctor discusses a unique “long-wire receiving antenna mainly used in the low frequency and medium frequency radio bands, invented by Harold H. Beverage in 1921,”¹ in the Beverage Antennas episode of the ARRL The Doctor is in podcast.

In episode 220 of the Foundations of Amateur Radio podcast, Onno VK6FLAB, discusses change in the ranks of our hobby.

The hobby of amateur radio has been around for a long time. It was here before I was born and it will be here after I become a silent key. The same is true for you. While there is a recurring discussion about the death of the hobby, the reality is that our community changes continually. People come and go all the time. Reasons for change are as varied as the number of people you care to look at, from interest through to family, from money through to time, from boredom through to excitement, from life through to death.

As our community fluctuates, our skill level varies. We see new people come into the hobby, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for a new adventure, at the same time we have people who are experienced, or jaded, or both, participating in the community and finding themselves answering the same questions over and over again.

The challenge in maintaining a semblance of community coherence is to balance the needs for new and aspiring amateurs with the expectations of those already in the community. How do you answer the same questions while staying fresh and encouraging, when all you really want to do is ignore the noise and get on with the hobby?

The answer is simple … ¹

Listen to a discussion of of a useful antenna building block in the Antenna EnTRAPment! episode of the ARRL The Doctor is in podcast.