From the Desk of AB9ZI - February 2026 Message
I’m hoping everyone stayed warm in January and keeping my fingers crossed for a warmer than usual and snow free February.
Speaking of the weather, I hope some of you enjoyed Winter Field Day. My plan was to attend but the cruise ship my wife and I were on specifically did not allow ham radios on board. However, I was thinking of you.
Just a reminder, our February 10th meeting will be held via Zoom, not at Heller. Our annual dinner get together planned by Rich Davidson will be at Portillos in Deerfield on Tuesday, February 24th at 7pm. Portillos has a great menu to choose from and we got great reviews from our participants last year. We have always had a good turnout at our dinners and are hoping that the same is true for this year. We will have some saved tables, so get there early, order dinner and enjoy the evening.
While it is cold outside, there are plenty of things to try in our hobby. This is the time to brush up on your CW, or perhaps dig into FT8. The FCC recently expanded our allocations in the 60 meter band. Be cautious as the new 60 meter rules are a bit confusing.
After the club auction in October, our communications director Udo Koch N0LSR started an on line sale of the remaining items. While that has been somewhat successful, we have put so much into the storage locker that it is becoming difficult to locate things as they are been sold. Then, in the past two weeks the club has received donations of a great deal more ham radio gear. So many things that we’ve run out of space to store it all. Even if we were storing it all, there is too much for a one-evening auction. What if we rent a second locker for the donated items and arrange them in an orderly fashion in order to retrieve them as they are sold? What a great idea! That plan has two parts. First is the sorting out, arranging, and cataloging of the merchandise. Second, as items are sold, the team needs to get together with the buyers and collect the payments. Just like Field Day, this is a team effort and the club needs YOU! Please let me know if you can help.
We are still experiencing intermod interference on our 2 meter repeater. Due to the weather progress has been slow on installing a device to hopefully resolve the problem. Should that not resolve it, we are actively seeking possible new locations. Since we now own both a Yeasu Fusion capable repeater, and a Motorola DMR capable repeater, we hope to find workable locations for both and regain Fusion and add DMR to our offerings.
Do you know someone who is interested in ham radio? Would you like to improve your knowledge and upgrade your license from Tech to General or perhaps General to Extra? The opportunity is now! Our Education Director Rich Davidson, K9RD, is inviting you to his award winning North Shore Radio Club Class in Amateur Radio via Zoom on 4 consecutive Thursdays: February 5, 2026 07:00 PM • February 12, 2026 07:00 PM • February 19, 2026 07:00 PM • February 26, 2026 07:00 PM. Zoom Meeting ID: 828 0934 9446. Passcode: 297348.
Remember, the February 10th club meeting is only on Zoom. The NEW log in details can be found on the club website https://ns9rc.org/.
73, Brian Dubin AB9ZI, President