Moving to Spring
As we March into Spring it’s great to know our membership is continuing to grow and we are attracting new hams via our robust VE testing program at the Northbrook Public Library every month. We even expect to have the long delayed grand opening sometime later this summer of our ham station in the Collaboratory. Look for details coming soon.
With Spring in the air, it’s time to consider our Field Day activities, which are only 3 months away. This year we are going to be setting up in Clarkson Park, along Willow road in Northfield.
We will have full use of their facilities including the field house, so we will not have to struggle with tents this year. Since we have had a two- year absence from doing a Club collective Field Day, this may be a new experience for some of our members, but it worth reserving the time on your calendar for the last week in June. We will have a large social event on the Saturday afternoon of Field Day so be sure to bring along your spouse or a friend to help enjoy the collective experience, which is the biggest event of our new year, post-Covid. We are actively soliciting volunteers this year to help plan the event and become part of our Field Day committee. Please contact Don Whiteman, KK9H for assignments.
And Spring is a great time to check your outdoor antennas and feed lines to make sure they are in top working condition. If you need help erecting an antenna, or just some information about what kind might work best, we have a mentor program that will help you get this done. Getting some end fed or dipole antennas up in the trees before the leaves get in the way insures you will get great signals. As propagation increases, it will be time well spent.
We continue to solicit ideas for making our club the premier club on the North Shore. We will be holding a Spring donated equipment sale at Heller in late March and are seeking additional donations of gently used and working equipment that you no longer need. Sale of this equipment helps to support our overhead and keeps our membership dues low. So, if you would like to donate anything please contact Art Paton, N9AEP for information on how to donate.
We continue to scout out ideas for our build club. As new kits hit the market, we are constantly reviewing their worth as potential build club activities. Stay tuned for the latest round of Build Club activities.
As many of you know, we will be moving to hybrid meetings (in person/virtual using Zoom) starting in April. Whatever mandates that Heller Nature Center has at the time will apply to in person meetings. I hope to see many of you there or virtually if that is your choice at the time.
Since we haven’t met in person for over two years, it will be good to see familiar and new faces going forward.
73,
Burt KR9T