The 2013 Dayton Hamvention will be held on May 17-19. This year’s trip seems to be very popular among club members as all KCRA reserved rooms at the Hawthorne Suites sold out even before I publicized them, even shares are no longer available. Next year I will try to reserve more rooms, 2013’s negotiated rate came in at $52.45 per night for four nights.

You may wonder what the club does with your $35 annual membership dues and other funds we raise. If you haven’t renewed or joined yet, perhaps this will give you some incentive to do so.

As a non-profit corporation, the KCRA uses its funds in various ways, both for the benefit of its members, and for furthering the radio art. By the time 2013 is over the club should have:

Sponsored several FREE licensing classes, helping to bring about 100 new people into the hobby. One class has completed, another is underway with yet a third in the planning stages.

Sponsored two EC-001 Emergency Communications classes, one exclusively for NY Guard soldiers. These classes are free, with a $15.00 test fee for the ARRL certificate.

Sponsored six totally FREE licensing exam sessions, held at the Guild for Exceptional Children every other month. That’s right, with our LARC team, you can upgrade or take the technician exam without any fee whatsoever.

Repeater improvements galore! This extensive, multi-year refurbishment plan to both our 2m analog and 70cm D-Star systems are nearing completion. Once complete, both repeaters will consist of completely new (NOT used) flexible and modern equipment that should last many, many years, at a cost of many thousands of dollars, and much hard work.

Let’s not forget the cost of insuring this equipment, our liability insurance, activates such as Field Day, Light House Weekend, Elmer 101, Hands on Labs, our regular meeting activities, and the donations we make to retain our meeting facility.

Of course this is not a complete list of what the club does, but as you can see, we stretch every dollar as far as possible.

If you’re not already a member, or have not renewed, please consider doing so today!

This year, the Kings County Repeater Association turns 45 years old!

As such, a committee is now forming to plan a celebration. This committee will be driven by members just like you, with minimal interference from the board of directors. Of course there are some basic rules that will have to be followed, and our guidance will be available whenever the committee needs it.

If you are a full member interested in participating, please sign up for the committee email list here:  http://lists.kc2ra.org/listinfo.cgi/45years-kc2ra.org

Remember, this will require member involvement to happen. Please, get involved today!

   For each remaining meeting of 2013 you could win an electronic device from the KC2UHA (SK) collection. We have all sorts of great stuff to give away, one item per meeting. Simply present your KCRA membership card to Don, W2DON (the KCRA Membership Chairperson) at the beginning of every meeting. During the meeting break, Don will pick a winner from the cards presented and award the prize.

   This contest is open only to members of the KCRA physically present at a club meeting who present their current and valid membership card. Didn't get your 2013 membership card? Simply pick one up at the next meeting! Not a member of the KCRA? Click here to join.

Its January, a whole new year has begun, seems like the Mayans were wrong. Of course this also means that it's time to pay your membership dues for 2013. Please do so as soon as you can, we don't like to nag.

Click Here to Pay Online

You may pay your dues for 2013 online using a credit card or PayPal.

If you prefer to pay by mail click here to print a form and mail it to W2DON with your payment.

You may be unaware of the vast quantity of Amateur Radio related videos there are out on the net. Over the next few months, we will explore some of the better offerings.

Gary Pearce, KN4AQ a video editor since the 70's and a ham since the 60's, has been publishing Ham Radio related videos for quite a number of years. In the past ARVN videos were only available by purchasing a low cost DVD. Recently, Gary decided to embrace video streaming and stopped producing new DVD's. The videos are still professionally produced and edited, and are even recorded in HD. Recent videos include an interview with WB2JKJ, AMSAT Going To Mars?, and Grounding For Lightning Protection. ARVN videos are now free to watch, but not free to make, if you see value in what is being done, click the pig to leave the suggested $10 yearly donation.

The KCRA Monday Night Club net returns this (and every) Monday, September 17th at 9:00 PM on the KC2RA repeater 146.430 MHz +1 MHz PL: 136.5. Echolink Node 64300.

The Big Apple Traffic Net can once again be heard on the KC2RA repeater system!

The net is held each Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 8:00 PM. The repeater will automatically join the appropriate IRLP reflector at 7:45PM, and will automatically disconnect at 8:45 PM, the net may also be heard on the following repeaters: KC2LEB (440.550, +5, PL 141.3). KC2GOW (445.125, -5, PL 141.3), K2CJP (145.410, -.6, PL 114.8), and of course KC2RA (146.430, +1, PL 136.5). Echolink access to the net is via node 132967 (KC2LEB/R).

If you would like to participate as a net control operator, or for more information on the Big Apple Traffic Net, please visit WWW.BIGAPPLETRAFFICNET.ORG.

Chances are the mobile radio you are currently using is made in China, it’s just not designed, developed, tested and marketed by a Chinese company. That’s about to change.

Chinese Amateur Radio brands such as Wouxun (however you wish to pronounce it), Baofeng, and TYT have quickly become known brands in the ham community due to the relatively low prices and features of their handheld HT radios and accessories. A good percentage of our club members own and use a radio such as the Wouxun KG-UVD1P, KG-UV6D, or the Baofeng UV-3R. While cost certainly is an influence (you don’t cry as much if you destroy a $50-$100 radio), these HT’s actually have some innovative features not found in the leading Japanese brands. The Wouxun KG-UV series for example, is available in a 2m/1.25cm (144/220) configuration and features a voice synthesizer that reads menus, frequency, and settings aloud to the user in English or Chinese (while some find this vastly annoying, it is invaluable to many visually impaired hams, and those wanting to learn a little Chinese), the Baofeng UV-3R (and UV-3RmkII) features a single chip DSP design and insanely inexpensive batteries.

Will similar innovations be found in their mobile counterparts? As my paws have yet to touch one of these mobiles it’s hard to tell. What follows is several weeks of research in my spare time scrounging various websites aided with Google translate. I gathered specs, pictures, and estimated prices and availability wherever possible. As such while reading the next several pages, please remember things change, some of these radios may never see the light of day, and prices are my best guess. Additionally, remember this website is for a radio club, we do NOT sell radios and will be unable to help you find one! The usual disclaimers apply, this is not an endorsement of any brand or product, use your own judgment if you decide to purchase one, some features or the radios themselves may not even be legal for use in the amateur radio service.

I recently acquired a Baofeng UV-3R dual band sub miniature HT as in import from China for about $50.00. This radio is made by Vero Telcom as a custom label product (watch out for their dual band mobile) and marketed by BaoFeng Electron Co, LTD, it is also available under several other names such as Magiksun. This radio is readily available to purchase from many online retailers, all ship from China (this article will not cover the legalities of importing your own radio or its lack of certification, please seek advice and reach your own conclusion) and will take two to three weeks to arrive.

This review is based on my opinions, observations, and specifications of the radio as I lack the necessary equipment to perform a lab analysis. I will also rely on the work of others by embedding various videos and other references that have already been accomplished. In short, this review is not meant to be gospel, and is not entirely original work.

At first look, this radio may seem like a clone of the Yaesu VX-3R. Remember the adage, never judge a book by its cover, looks can be deceiving.