The Richardson Wireless Klub > General Meetings

General Meetings

The General meetings occur on the second Monday each month at the St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church in Richardson. The meeting officially starts at 7:00pm but there is a mentoring round table ready to go by 6:00pm.

  • General Meeting – June 2021 – High Altitude Ballooning with Amateur Radio

    General Meeting – June 2021 – High Altitude Ballooning with Amateur Radio

    It’s that time again! Summer is almost here, and it’s time for our June Richardson Wireless Klub general meeting!

    As previously announced (unless you don’t read your RWK email), the meeting will be In-Person at the church and simulcast on Zoom. Please read below for specifics if you want to attend In-Person.

    General Meeting Monday June 14th – 7pm – High Altitude Ballooning with Amateur Radio

    This month’s program is from our own Doug Kilgore KD5OUG.  Doug will provide a pictorial look at past high altitude balloon flights over North Texas containing Amateur radio…and maybe a challenge for the future. We will also have an update on Field Day and other current RWK activities.

    We know that many of you are happy to be meeting in-person again and we look forward to having you there!  If you don’t want to attend in person, we will still have the Zoom option so you can see and hear all the action.  It will be more of a regular meeting format so you can see and talk to your fellow zoom attendees prior to the meeting.  Please be patient with us – NBC wasn’t built in a week and we may have some technical issues the first time doing this “live from the church”. If you attend on Zoom, please know that you will be able to see and hear the other zoom attendees, but those of us at the church will not be able to hear you.  If you have questions, you can use the Zoom Chat function and we will try to answer them.

    If you want to attend via Zoom, here’s the link:

    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82582593779?pwd=a1pEbGh3OGkzKzlKck1Sc1lwL1VmQT09

    Meeting ID: 825 8259 3779
    Passcode: 171841

    And since RWK monthly general meetings are open to all, please feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested.

    Beau’s Korner Mentoring/Roundtable – 6pm
     
    Please join us for the Beau’s Korner Mentoring/Roundtable session at 6pm before the meeting.  Bring your questions and we’ll do our best to get you answers. If you’re not coming in person and still have questions, please show up for our RWK Tuesday Night on Zoom on the 3rd Tuesday night.

    A Note on Specifics for Meeting In-Person:

    I want to stress the following:  We cannot (and will not) require “proof” of you having been vaccinated to attend in person.  However, we heavily encourage it, for your sake and for the sake of your fellow club members.  We hope that you will respect your fellow members, some of which may have health issues, and not put them at unnecessary risk.  For those of you that do have health issues, please realize that we cannot guarantee that the meeting will be risk-free.  You must be the best judge of whether you choose to attend in person, or stay home and attend via Zoom.  We’re happy to give you the choice, but you must decide what is best for you.

    The church kitchen is still not open so we will not have the normal coffee and cookies.  However, you may bring your own. 

    Masks are not required but you may wear one if you want.  Sanitizers will be available at the door, and the chairs will be set up with some separation.

    If you have any additional questions about meeting in person, please send me a direct message (remember the $5 fine for reply to the list!) We look forward to “seeing” you on Monday, either live or via zoom!

  • General Meeting – May 2021 – HF Power Losses

    General Meeting – May 2021 – HF Power Losses

    Join us for the May 10th general meeting of the Richardson Wireless Klub. Don’t miss your opportunity to join this virtual RWK meeting from the comfort of your living room, office or ham shack.

    This month’s presentation will be delivered by Jim Eatman, KG5WAW. Jim has delivered several great talks at recent meetings – most recently a great presentation on HF dipoles (June 2019). This month he will be discussing power losses in HF radio links. This presentation is meant for hams of all skill levels, and will delve into sources of power loss (coax, tuners, baluns, antennas, etc.), along with some steps you can take to help reduce them.

    As with recent meetings, we are meeting via Zoom and registration is required (name, email, callsign).  Please use this registration link: https://bit.ly/33eX0Xr

    We look forward to having you there!  And since RWK monthly general meetings are open to all, please feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested.

    Beau’s Korner Mentoring/Roundtable – 6pm
     
    Please join us for the (dare I say popular?) Beau’s Korner Mentoring/Roundtable session at 6pm before the meeting.  We’ve been averaging 20 or so on video (and a few more that are just audio only).  It’s the closest thing to an informal gathering before the meeting at the church that we have, so join us on video (most laptops and phones have a built-in webcam) if you dare or just watch us have fun before the meeting.  Bring your questions and show pics of your shack and/or antennas.

    Beau’s Korner Link: 

    https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89618532653?pwd=RzRPZDdlWW1NTzNxanlOUFZCZksrZz09
     

  • General Meeting – April 2021 – RWK Foxhunt Basics

    General Meeting – April 2021 – RWK Foxhunt Basics

    This month our main presentation is all about foxhunts.  The RWK has now been doing weekly (with a few exceptions) foxhunts for almost two years, and it’s time for a refresher course.  Andrew KE5GDB is going to explain how to hunt, the tools that you need, and techniques that you can use to find the fox.  We’ll show you the two resident RWK foxes, how they work, and things to listen for. If you haven’t yet hunted our foxes and didn’t know where to start, you should hopefully be prepared and all you will need is some practice to become an expert.  It’s great weather for a hunt so lets get lots of new calls in the log!

    Click the image to view the recording of the April 2021 Meeting

    View the recording of the April 2021 General Meeting

  • General Meeting – March 2021 – AmateurLogic.TV and HamCollege.TV

    General Meeting – March 2021 – AmateurLogic.TV and HamCollege.TV

    Our guest speaker will be Tommy Martin N5ZNO.  Tommy is a co-host of the long running AmateurLogic.tv and HamCollege.tv video blogs. During one of his work related visits to the Dallas area, Tommy visited RWK when we were having in-person meetings at the church.  We’ll get a view of the latest amateur radio through the eyes of a podcaster.

    Click the image to watch the recording

    View the recording of the March 2021 General Meeting

    AmateurLogic.TV is the first and longest running Internet television program dedicated to Amateur Radio and Technology. AmateurLogic episodes are shot around the 15th of each month. Ham College episodes are shot around the end of each month. Announcements of the times and dates are posted to their social media communities.

  • General Meeting – February 2021 – VHF Contesting and Roving

    General Meeting – February 2021 – VHF Contesting and Roving

    Upon recommendation from Andrew, the February General Meeting presentation will be by Jim Wilson K5ND on the Aspects of VHF Contesting and Roving.  Jim has lots of experience in VHF contesting while “roving” (basically operating from fixed mobile and portable setups) to overcome the limitations of North Texas (no mountains and far apart stations).  Even if you don’t want to get out in the field, you will likely learn some things about VHF antennas and operating.

    Click the image to view the February 2021 General Meeting

    View the recording of the February 2021 General Meeting

    Jim has lots of resources on his website: K5ND Guide to VHF Contesting
    K5ND Article in Jan/Feb 2020 QST – K5ND’s VHF Limited Rover Experience
    K5ND Article in Nov/Dec NCJ – An In-Depth Look at the K5ND VHF Rover Setup – Part 2

  • General Meeting – January 2021 – Special Yearend Wrapup

    General Meeting – January 2021 – Special Yearend Wrapup

    The format this month will include a review of 2020 club activities and projects, the Bruene Award presentation, introductions to 2021 club leadership, and a short presentation from our very own Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB (topic TBA). We will also be drawing for some terrific prizes!

    Click the image to view the recording of the January General Meeting

    View the recording of the January General Meeting

    Since RWK monthly general meetings are open to all, please feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested in experiencing one of our meetings.

    Congrats to the following winners of tonight’s prizes:

    Grand Prize – ICOM ID-51A H/T with D-STAR – Mike Starnes, AA5WX
    Second Prize – Comet SBB5 Dual-Band Mobile Antenna – Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB
    Third Prize – Plantronics Blackwire 325 Headset – Mike Vinocur, W2HLD and Ken Hansen, N2VIP
    Fourth Prize – Custom Ham Desk Sign from Brady Pamplin, W5LH – Bill Reed, NX5R and Jay Crutti, K5JCJ
    Fifth Prize – Local Honey Combo Packs from Bryan Zumbar, KG5HDE – Robert Umpleby, AA5AH and Bob Coelln, KG5JL

    Shameless Club Member Promotion – Brady will custom print a Desk Sign for $10 for RWK Members in your choice of colors so contact Brady (brady_pamplin ‘at’ hotmail.com) if you want one of these unique and personalized signs.

Our Meeting Location

St. Barnabas Church
1220 West Belt Line Road
Richardson TX 75080

Meeting is in the church’s assembly room (Providence Hall). Park in the rear parking lot and enter from the rear.

Click this LINK for the map. 

Beau’s Korner Mentoring

Before the meetings (usually starting shortly after 6:00), we have informal sessions where you can pose questions to seasoned operators or “Elmers” who have plenty of experience and expertise in amateur radio equipment and on-the-air operations. Feel free to come by early and ask questions, or be an Elmer for somebody else.

Upcoming Events

Past Meetings

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