DDXG Special Presentation this Saturday - and other RATS news

[RATS General Mailbox]

Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society
General Announcement

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DDXG Special Presentation this Saturday:  Bernie McClenny W3UR  (You're invited!)

Tom at the Dominion DX Group (DDXG) has invited RATS members to join them for a special presentation this Saturday morning at 9 AM.  Physical meeting location and a Zoom link are included below:

The guest speaker at our upcoming Dominion DX Group meeting may be of interest to the DX chasers among your members.  Bernie McClenny, W3UR, will be joining our meeting via Zoom this Saturday, 10/28/23, at 9:00 AM to present on "The 25 Most Wanted DXCC Entities".

Bernie is well known in the DX world.  For more than two decades, Bernie has been providing DX chasers with current, in-depth information as to what’s going on in the DX world.  He is editor and publisher of The Daily DX and The Weekly DX email newsletters, and is also the editor of the monthly “How’s DX” column in QST magazine.  Bernie got an early start in DX, achieving ARRL DXCC Honor Roll at the age of 27, and he has gone on to earn a long and impressive list of operating awards.  Bernie is experienced on the DX side of the QSO’s as well, having been a participant in numerous DXpeditions.  This is a great opportunity for us to hear directly from, and ask our questions of one of the top DX experts in the world.

Anyone interested is welcome to join us in person at 9:00 AM at Deep Run Recreation Center, 9900 Ridgefield Pkwy, Richmond, VA  23233, or via Zoom at the following meeting ID:

Topic: DDXG October Meeting via Zoom
Time: Oct 28, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89105152216?pwd=Q3dOY0U0blJWZjgyM1M2NTFrcWlGQT09
Meeting ID: 891 0515 2216
Passcode: 296394.

You can learn more about the Dominion DX Group at their web site, https://www.ddxg.net/.  Thanks, Tom!

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Our New Elmers Program Needs You

RATS Director Nathaniel Wooley W1OLE is still recruiting some volunteers to help form the club's new Elmers Program.  This program aims to provide a number of resources for new and inexperienced hams, including proactive outreach to new licensees, pointers to online resources and "people who know stuff" in our local area, basic technical assistance, and occasional 1:1 mentoring.  If you're one of those people who know stuff and you would like to help the new folks, please send an email to w1...@rats.net.

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RATS net to QSY to 442.55 for the November 8 net

The RATS net will move to the 442.55 repeater for the November 8 net.  We're just curious how it performs, if we hear anyone new, and whether it's noticeably easier or more difficult for certain regulars on our net.  This move is intended to last only a single week, but that could change at the discretion of the RATS net controls.

The 442.55 repeater normally operates as a primarily-digital system, linked 24/7 to several other Yaesu System Fusion (C4FM) repeaters in Virginia over the WIRES-X network.  The WIRES-X system will be disabled during the RATS net and the repeater will be handling local traffic only.  Stations wishing to participate in the net should use regular FM with a PL/CTCSS tone of 74.4 Hz.  The RATS UHF repeater uses a positive offset.

This net normally meets on the 146.88 repeater Wednesdays at 7 PM.

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Sept/Oct 2022 Minutes & video posted

As discussed at the October Board and Membership meetings, the Membership meeting minutes from September and October 2022 still require the review and approval of the membership.  Draft minutes and links to download the corresponding meeting videos have been posted for member access here.  Given the amount of time that has elapsed since these meetings, members are encouraged to review the video and minutes for accuracy.  The membership will be asked to approve these two sets of minutes at the November 17, 2023 meeting.  If you have edits or other concerns please contact secr...@rats.net.

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Frostfest 2025 Meeting Update

Also discussed at last week's membership meeting:  The Frostfest 2025 planning meeting has been canceled and there are no plans to move forward with the 2025 show.  Outside of the core RATS leadership team, we had only one member come forward to volunteer on the committee, and it takes many more people to put together a hamfest.

RATS hosted Frostfest from 1978 to 2020.  It started as a small show at the Bon Air Community Center and grew to become the Mid-Atlantic's largest winter hamfest, bringing over 2000 ticket-holders through the door to see ham radio equipment and accessory dealers from all over the country, as well as manufacturers' sales reps, various presenters, VE testing, ARRL representatives and QSL card checkers, flea market tables, and more.  Most important for us, it was a major revenue generator for the club, bringing in several thousand dollars annually.  This let us buy lots of cool toys while keeping dues low, without relying heavily on donations.

Without Frostfest, we are more dependent on the generosity of our members and our community.  Our donation bucket is at rats.net/donate.  The Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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Next Meetings

Board Meeting - Wednesday, November 1 at 6:30 PM

Membership Meeting - Friday, November 17 at 7:30 PM

Meetings are held via Zoom.  Access codes and meeting links were recently changed.  See rats.net/meetings for current details.

You can find video and minutes from recent meetings at rats.net/minutes.

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Questions and general comments about RATS may be directed to the club's General Mailbox, in...@rats.net

Membership questions or news to share with the club?  secr...@rats.net

Questions about dues or other financial matters?  trea...@rats.net

Want to give a presentation at a RATS meeting?  prog...@rats.net