Apr 03

W6TRW Club Meeting April 8th, 2025

UPDATE: Doug K6JEY is unfortunately feeling ill and  is unable to speak this month. Instead, Mark KD7DTS and Angelina KN6QAT will speak on “Your First SOTA Activation!”

Mark KD7DTS is one of the top Summits on the Air (SOTA) activators in SoCal and has a mountain of experience! Angelina KN6QAT recently achieved both her Tech and General license and has been keen in learning from our membership, including tackling her first SOTA summit and activation with Mark! Come learn about their experiences as first-time and expert SOTA activators!

(Same Zoom links and meeting location details as below)

 

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“Sidewalk Earth-Moon-Earth”

Doug Millar, K6JEY

Doug’s first EME QSO was in 1990 on 2m with W5UN, using two 35’ yagis and 500watts. ”I wanted to work on other bands and with no more roof space, that started the Sidewalk EME idea.” Just like cogs in a machine working together to make it function, he started collecting his gear to develop a practical home station. With a little help from his friends, find out how K6JEY turned the ‘impossible’ to became possible and fun to operate moonbounce on 144 MHz, and microwave amateur radio bands.

Dr. Doug Millar was first licensed in 1957 as KN6JEY. He is the ARRL Technical Advisor in Metrology, having written the 26th chapter in the ARRL Handbook on Test Equipment and Procedures (1995-2014), and keeps a home lab for measuring frequency, resistance, and RF power. K6JEY enjoys HF CW, AM, boat anchors, and microwaves. Doug has radios on bands up to 122 GHz. He holds an EdD in Educational Technology and is a semi-retired professor.

He will be leading a visit to Owens Valley Radio Observatory on the Weekend of June XX. The visit will include a tour of the observatory and nighttime astronomy. You can bring your own scope or look through others. More information is available if you email him at drzarkof56@yahoo.com.

 

When: Tuesday, April 8th at 5:30 PM

Where: Northrop Grumman S-Cafe and Virtual Meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794654895

Meeting ID: 827 9465 4895

Phone dial-in: 1 669 900 6833

 

Mar 03

W6TRW Club Meeting March 11th, 2025

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“High Altitude Balloon Launches”

Joanne Michael, KM6BWB

Joanne Michael, KM6BWB is an educator, wife, mom, space geek, and ham radio operator. While attending Advanced Space Camp in 2012, she was first introduced to the idea of high-altitude balloon launches. After a few more years of thinking about it, an opportunity came up in 2016 to receive a grant from her school district, and Mrs. Michael was awarded the opportunity to send a payload into the stratosphere. Her mentor at the time insisted she get her own ham radio license to be able to track the flight. From that moment on, she was hooked- on radio transmissions, learning more about electromagnetic waves, and most of all, about getting students exposed and fascinated with the wonderful world of radio.

Since then, Mrs. Michael has launched and recovered 4 high-altitude balloon payloads, had a conversation with an astronaut on the International Space Station, launched over 50 pico balloon transmitters, and is planning her next adventures. She was on the CA science board of education as the Upper Elementary Director, the 2017 Teacher of the Year, and spent 4 years as the Science Curriculum coach for Wiseburn Unified. Mrs. Michael is currently on the education board for ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), and is a member of the Limitless Space Institute’s educator program. She is now teaching 4-6th grade inSTED (Innovation, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Design) at The John Thomas Dye School in Los Angeles.

When: Tuesday, March 11th at 5:30 PM

Where: Northrop Grumman S-Cafe and Virtual Meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794654895

Meeting ID: 827 9465 4895

Phone dial-in: 1 669 900 6833

 

Feb 07

W6TRW Club Meeting February 11th, 2025

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“Portable Antenna/ Shack Night”

Bill Shanney, W6QR

W6TRW welcomes one of its own, longtime members, Bill Shanney, W6QR. A ham operator since 1961, Bill has written many technical articles and talks for W6TRW and stays current with ham radio items of interest for beginners to the most advanced operators.

Bill’s first call was WV2RDG in NJ. He became WA2RDG when he got his General license in 1961. He operates 99.5% CW on 160-6M. After a long period of inactivity (due to career and family), Bill upgraded his ham license to Extra in 1988 and became very active. That was also the year that Bill joined the TRW ARC. Bill has a BSEE from NJ Institute of Technology and worked for 45 years in RF and microwave design. He retired from NG/TRW in 2007 after 31 years with the company.

In this presentation, Bill will talk about Portable Antennas. There are a wide variety of portable antennas to choose from these days. Bill enjoys going to local parks or the beach and testing different designs. This presentation is an overview of his selection process backed by both experience and analysis.

When: Tuesday, February 11th at 5:30 PM*

Where: Northrop Grumman S-Cafe and Virtual Meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794654895

Meeting ID: 827 9465 4895

Phone dial-in: 1 669 900 6833

*Note: Any folks who are NOT NG badged should come early (5 PM) to get a Visitor Badge before Bill’s talk or you will be unable to access the shack afterward.

Dec 30

W6TRW Club Meeting January 14th, 2025

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“A Woman’s Journey in Ham Radio”

Helen Mahoney, KI6LQV

Helen Mahoney, KI6LQV, will present “A Woman’s Journey in Ham Radio”. Helen will talk about what inspired her to obtain her Ham Radio License in 2009, later achieved General Class and the friends both Helen and her husband, Doug K6JEY, have made through Ham Radio.

Along with Doug K6JEY, Helen has been to several Ham Radio conferences and participated in many contests. Her favorite contests involve Microwave bands. She also has assisted Doug with Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) contacts.

The picture above is on Signal Hill, during a microwave contest.

When: Tuesday, January 14th at 5:30 PM

Where: Northrop Grumman S-Cafe and Virtual Meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794654895

Meeting ID: 827 9465 4895

Phone dial-in: 1 669 900 6833

Nov 25

W6TRW Club Meeting December 10th, 2024

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“Micro Pixie Transceiver”

Adam Kimmerly, K6ARK

Adam describes his Micro Pixie HF transceiver a surface-mount downsized version of the CW Pixie transceiver. He takes this small device to a never-before activated SOTA summit to see what it can really do. Is 2.7 g of radio and 850 mW of output power enough to get the job done? Watch and see. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rKpxAWZ7uM

Adam Kimmerly, K6ARK, is an avid SOTA activator, engineer, and search and rescue member. Adam has been a ham since 2010 and much of his radio activity consists of portable operations. With the goal of continually making his setup more compact, effective, and light, Adam has come up with several antennas and other kits and components that help him achieve his goals. Adam’s website https://k6ark.com and YouTube channel provide him a way to share them with everyone.

When: Tuesday, December 10th at 5:30 PM

Where: Northrop Grumman S-Cafe and Virtual Meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794654895

Meeting ID: 827 9465 4895

Phone dial-in: 1 669 900 6833

Oct 10

W6TRW 56th Annual Awards Banquet – Nov 9, 2024

W6TRW 56th Annual Awards Banquet 2024!

“The James Webb Space Telescope”

Presented by: Dr. Jon Arenberg

Welcome back to our Annual Awards Banquet! This talk will cover the Webb telescopes origins, operating principles and development. We will also discuss some of the exciting early science results from this revolutionary observatory.

Jon Arenberg is the Chief Engineer for Space Science Missions at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, CA. He has over 29 years of experience working on astronomical programs such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory, development of the Starshade, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and other mission concepts.

Join us for a fantastic catered dinner, socialize with other club members and hams, and learn more about our great hobby! Club members also have the opportunity to win door prizes!

When: Saturday, Nov. 9th, 2024, 5:00PM – 8:00PM

Where: The Depot Restaurant – Kimono Room, 1250 Cabrillo Ave., Torrance, CA

Click here for the REGISTRATION FORM

Your RSVP needs to be received by Friday, October 27th

Have you renewed your membership? If not, click Here

NOTE: The Banquet takes the place of the monthly Club Meeting. There will be no regular Club Meeting in November!

Sep 24

W6TRW Club Meeting October 8th, 2024

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“HRCC – Ham Radio Crash Course”

Josh Nass, KI6NAZ

HRCC, or Ham Radio Crash Course, originated from Josh Nass’s videos on YouTube but has evolved into a community of hams who are constantly learning, teaching and operating ham radio. The heart of this community is the team that keeps the community running smoothly on Facebook, Discord, YouTube and with the HRCC Net.

Josh Nass, KI6NAZ, is an engineer and a radio amateur who lives in Southern California with his wife and two sons. He created the Ham Radio Crash Course with the mission to get people involved in radio and keep learning!

Visit HRCC website here: https://hamradiocrashcourse.com/

Visit HRCC YouTube Channel here: HRCC Ham Radio Crash Course

When: Tuesday, October 8th at 5:30 PM

Where: Far Field Beer Company, 4471 W Rosecrans Ave, Lawndale, CA 90250

(In-Person Only)

Aug 26

W6TRW Club Meeting September 10th, 2024

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“Extreme but Practical Antennas for Portable Ops”

Adam Kimmerly, K6ARK

One of Adam’s favorite aspects of the amateur radio hobby is antenna design and construction, and over the years, he has come up with several antennas that fall into the category of “extreme” or possibly even “ridiculous” but are also amazingly practical in certain situations. In this presentation, Adam will review a few antenna designs and the process of creating them from concept and design to prototyping, testing, and tuning.

Adam Kimmerly, K6ARK, is an avid SOTA activator, engineer, and search and rescue member. Adam has been a ham since 2010 and much of his radio activity consists of portable operations. With the goal of continually making his setup more compact, effective, and light, Adam has come up with several antennas and other kits and components that help him achieve his goals. Adam’s website https://k6ark.com and YouTube channel provide him a way to share them with everyone.

When: Tuesday, September 10th at 5:30 PM

Where: Northrop Grumman S-Cafe and Virtual Meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794654895

Meeting ID: 827 9465 4895

Phone dial-in: 1 669 900 6833

Jul 31

W6TRW Club Meeting August 13th, 2024

In-Person Meeting

We will be holding the monthly W6TRW general meeting at noon on Tuesday August 13th, in the east patio of the Building S Cafeteria on the Northrop Grumman campus in Redondo Beach.  This lunch meeting takes place of the W6TRW evening Zoom meeting for August; no guest speaker for August.

See the map below if you are not familiar with the Northrop Grumman Space Park Redondo Beach campus.  Look for Building “S” on the map, head North of the building and walk down the stairs. The meeting will take place on the left (east) patio.

When: Tuesday, August 13th at Noon

Where: S Cafeteria East Patio, Northrop Grumman

No Zoom Meeting for August

Jul 02

W6TRW Club Meeting July 9th, 2024

Speaker Topic for this Month:

“SOTA Adventures with X-Band”

Ara Kourchians, N6ARA

Join us for an exciting deep dive into the world of Summits on the Air (SOTA) and the technical challenges of operating X-Band radios atop mountains. In this presentation, Ara will share his unique experiences with miniaturizing field gear while striving for greater capabilities. Discover more about the equipment, signal propagation, and practical tips for achieving a successful activation across the many bands!

Ara Kourchians, N6ARA, is a Robotics Electrical Engineer with an extensive background in circuit design, embedded systems, visual effects, robotics, and space systems. First licensed in 2007, Ara is constantly seeking new ways to enhance his amateur radio skills. He began his ham radio journey by designing, building, and flying custom APRS trackers for high altitude balloons. After a brief hiatus following college, Ara resumed his ham radio activities in 2020, learned CW and explored the world of HF. Today, you can often find him on mountain tops testing new gear, tinkering with various modes, rigs, and antennas. His enduring passion lies in miniaturizing electronics for lightweight portable operations.

When: Tuesday, July 9th at 5:30 PM

Where: Northrop Grumman S-Cafe and Virtual Meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794654895

Meeting ID: 827 9465 4895

Phone dial-in: 1 669 900 6833