Club QSO Party, June 20–21

nv1w On the air

If you’re looking to get in some operating the weekend before Field Day, there will be a Club QSO Party in honor of the ARRL’s having declared 2026 the “Year of the Club”. It runs from 00:00 UTC June 20 through 23:59 UTC on June 21. Anything goes as long as RF is involved: any band (though like any contest, you should avoid the WARC bands) and any mode. Even repeater contacts count!

Rules are here: https://www.clubqsoparty.org. The exchange, for a club member (any club), is “C”. Sounds like a great opportunity to try out CW to me. However, you are also asked to suffix your callsign with the age of the club (in years) you belong to! For BARC members, that would be “/38”.

Long Island CW Club offering free training in June

nv1w Classes, Field Day, On the air

[Thanks to Arne, AC1UT, for drawing my attention to this. —NV1W.]

The Long Island CW Club is offering free Field Day CW training during the month of June, and for the first time this training is open to all amateur radio operators, not just LICW members.

ARRL Field Day 2026 takes place June 27–28. The Field Day operating period begins at 1800 UTC Saturday and runs through 2059 UTC Sunday. This year’s theme is “Amateur Radio: A National Resource.”

LICW will conduct nine Field Day CW training classes each week. These live Zoom sessions will focus on the practical skills needed for Field Day CW operation, including the Field Day exchange, operating rhythm, listening, sending, common abbreviations, recovery, and confidence-building.

This is a great opportunity for anyone who is curious about CW, returning to CW after time away, preparing for a first Field Day CW contact, or simply interested in understanding how CW works during Field Day.

There is no charge to attend.

Schedule and Zoom access information is available on the LICW website: https://longislandcwclub.org.

BARC General Meeting, Thursday, May 21

nv1w Meetings

This month’s club meeting will be held on Thursday, May 21, at 7:30 pm at Artisans Asylum and on Zoom. Our speaker will be Brendan Baldonado NW1S, presenting “HF in a Carry-on Backpack”. We will also be discussing plans for Field Day.

The Zoom meeting room will open at 7:00 pm for a social period, and the meeting will begin at 7:30.

Zoom meeting information:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83666052900?pwd=FOuL5AZb98JUkRNbXRzchlvgpWq86D.1
Meeting chat link: https://us06web.zoom.us/launch/jc/83666052900
Meeting ID: 836 6605 2900
Passcode: BARC

Technician test questions changing July 1

nv1w Exams

The questions used on the Technician test will be changing on July 1, 2026, and we will be using the new ones at BARC’s next volunteer exam session on July 13. This is a regular change that happens every four years.

What this means is you should make sure that study materials and practice exams use the new questions if you plan to take the Technician test after July 1, 2026. While the topics remain the same, and about half the questions will be the same as they were in 2022–2026, you will still want to study the correct ones. Gordon West, WB6NOA, reports that both new ARRL License Manuals and his updated Technician class study guide “will soon be available”.

You can find the new question pool at ncvec.org. As always, for more information on exams, or to make a reservation, contact Joe Chapman, NV1W, at joechapman@alum.mit.edu.

NE QSO PARTY

NW1S Events, On the air, Outdoors

Hello All, 

We appreciate you guys waiting till the last minute for news about the NE QSO party. The weather is looking salvageable possibly similar today cloudy not super warm with a chance of rain but we’ve decided we’re going to operate for a short window in the early afternoon.

Quick details:

Where: Millienium Park

Time: 10 am to 1pm 

Bring: Warm clothes, weather protection. 

We will have a radio for people to use and see but welcome to bring your own. 

Monitor: BARCs .23 Machine

Full Details.

We are going to head to Millienium Park and operate from there around 10am to 1pm. 

I have included a picture of the top parking lot and where we typically operate from. Once parked at the Top Southern lot head west word past the soccer fields to a small clearing with a few trees that has some picnic benches and tables this typically where we operate. 

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In the picture included we typically park somewhere near the blue square and the operate somewhere near the orange square. It’s a bit of a hike as a walk so if you have a lot of equipment prepare to bring something to carry it and transport it with.

I will bring my KX3 and the club’s KX3 as well as a wire antenna and a vertical for use. 

As always all hands young old and almost hams are welcome to join If you want to get on the air we can get you on the air if you just want to come and observe and talk radio we absolutely welcome that as well. There are porta potties but they are also a bit of a walk and plans just warm. 

Looking forward to seeing many of you there. 

BARC General Meeting, Thursday, April 16

nv1w Meetings

This month’s club meeting will be held on Thursday, April 16, at 7:30 pm at Artisans Asylum and on Zoom. It will feature a presentation on “A Technician Bucket List” by Joe Chapman, NV1W, as part of BARC’s “Ham Radio Basics” series. Come and get some ideas for things you can do with your Technician ticket besides talking on the repeater and making a paper plane!

The Zoom meeting room will open at 7:00 pm for a social period, and the meeting will begin at 7:30.

Zoom meeting information:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9991873299?pwd=Ri9CeEU3M0w5M3Iza2JhV1lDV1BXUT09&omn=82799886212
Meeting ID: 999 187 3299
Passcode: BARC

BARC General Meeting, Thursday, March 19

nv1w Meetings

This month’s club meeting will be held on Thursday, March 19, at 7:30 pm at Artisans Asylum and on Zoom. It will feature a presentation on Anatomy of a VHF/UHF Repeater Site by George Sullivan, WB2IKT.

George A. Sullivan WB2IKT is a Life Senior IEEE Member and retired (2016) as an Adjunct Professor at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering where he taught graduate level computer science, electronic engineering, and management courses. George earned his bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University in 1978, and his master’s degree from Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering) in 1988. George worked as Chief Engineer of broadcast station WLIR-FM, RF engineer at Fairchild Space & Defense Systems, Master Control engineer at WLIW/TV21, and Chief Engineer of Telecare, an educational TV station operated by the Diocese of Rockville Centre. His career at Northrop Grumman (NGC) took off in 1981 in network architecture and engineering and culminated in his nomination and acceptance as a Technical Fellow. He retired in 2015. He earned his Technician license in 1968 while attending Chaminade High School; he upgraded to Extra in 2008. He is a Volunteer Examiner for ARRL and W5YI and is an ARRL registered license instructor. His home station uses an ICOM 7300 transceiver with a MFJ tuner feeding a 40/20 meter dipole. An AnyTone 578 and a BTech 5X3 HT provide VHF/UHF and DMR connectivity. George is currently the Vice-President of the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club (LIMARC), a 501c3 organization of 360 members who promote ham radio in the interests of public safety, experimentation, and STEM education. He also serves as a judge for the Long Island Science & Engineering Fair (LISEF), and he is a merit badge counselor for the Theodore Roosevelt Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). George lives in Hicksville, NY where he is married to Carolyn who together have 3 boys and 4 grandchildren. His personal interests include classical and choral music, pipe organs, amateur radio, electronics, computing, travel, and bicycling.

The Zoom meeting room will open at 7:00 pm for a social period, and the meeting will begin at 7:30.

Zoom meeting information:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9991873299?pwd=Ri9CeEU3M0w5M3Iza2JhV1lDV1BXUT09
Meeting ID: 999 187 3299
Passcode: BARC