opened

20:00

closed

20:55

Check-ins (34)

• Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)
• Brandon Bartlett (KG5LYN)
• Matt Robinson (W5XMR)
• Brad Snyder (W5BLS)
• Jared Cleere (KJ5KGD)
• Mark Zimmerman (N5NBD)
• Blake Hearen (K5BAH)
• Richard Taylor (KJ5LXI)
• Bill Rose (K5WTR)
• Don Ling (WB5CKO)
• Kevin Walton (N4RMF)
• Dick Zimmer (W5DZ)
• Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)
• Jim Hanks Jr. (W5CYN)
• Mike Wisby (KA5HIA)
• David Bailey (K5DKB)
• John Graesser (KC5DWD)
• Roseanne Cunningham (KC5FGG)
• Elizabeth Shutt (KJ5IDP)
• Mike Streiff (KJ5EEV)
• Harold Turbyfill (KG5SDG)
• Michael Bobinski (N5NYL)
• Ron Hambric (N5SBN)
• Mike Mertes (KZ5M)
• Nathan Wood (KN4TTV)
• Pierre Catala (WA1UAT)
• Travis Scott (KI5TMS)
• Phil Gates (N5ZKF)
• Tom Johnson (KI5ZPG)
• Ron Estes (KJ5EFO)
• Jason Shutt (KI5LGO)
• Matthew Cadman (KJ5IIF)
• Jeff McDowell (KI5CES)
• Rich Rychetsky (W5SON)

Opening Remarks

• Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 🌈🍀🎩

Officer Reports

President

David Bailey (K5DKB)

• Club meeting this Saturday, 2026-03-21 09:30
• American Legion Post 159, 101 Waco St, Bryan [Google Maps]
• Didn’t get the chance to present TinyGS (“tiny ground station”) last week, so I plan to do so this week
  • Tracking CubeSat satellites

Vice-President

Tom Johnson (KI5ZPG)

• Sprang so far forward that we went all the way to Winter!
  • Recent cold snap, but beautiful weather all around!

Secretary

Matthew Barry (KG5LYE)

• Apologies for absence from net last week.
• Minutes will be sent out after the net.
• Will also include last week’s net minutes.
• Trying out a new color palette for the minutes with improved contrast and a little more variety

Treasurer

Lorna Flansburg (KI5FIZ)

• 68 members
• Bank balance: $12,339.84
• License Exam this Saturday, 2026-03-21 11:00
  • If you’re taking the Technician Class exam, be sure to bring your FCC Registration Number (FRN)

Announcements / Comments

Question #267 for conversation: What method would you recommend for learning Morse Code?

(If interested in submitting a weekly question, email n5zkf@arrl.net)

Ron Hambric (N5SBN)

• CEOC visit this Friday, 2026-03-20
  • Meet on Sidewalk at 09:30
  • If you’re late, call 146.680 MHz FM (W5BCS) repeater

Matthew Cadman (KJ5IIF)

• W5AC will be having a meeting in ZACH 315 tomorrow at usual time
  • 2026-03-18 19:00
  • License testing starting 18:00
• Next Wed, 2026-03-25 19:00 Zoom meeting to approve constitution revisions
  • Link will be sent via Discord and Listserv later this week
  • Fixes some issues that came up over the last year
• Mar 27 18:00-21:00 “Night at the ZACH”
  • A sort of science fair for middle school students science fair
  • We’ll be showcasing amateur radio and putting people on the air
  • Please monitor the 146.820 MHz FM (W5AC) repeater
• Update on the Hermes-Lite project:
  • Working quite well installed as remote radio
  • Hooked up to a kind of “fan dipole”
  • 4-7 W output depending on band
  • FT8 and digital modes
  • Had to power cycle occasionally
  • Decent transmit quality
  • Adaptive predistortion to compensate for non-linearity in amplifier

Michael Bobinski (N5NYL)

• I started with casette tapes to learn Morse Code:
  • 5 WPM, 15 WPM, then 20 WPM
  • Might still have them around
• Haven’t done any CW ops in a long time

Bill Rose (K5WTR)

• I used a little program that gave memorable sayings and pictures that went along with letters.
  • D = -.. = “dog did it”
  • L = .-.. = “to ’ell with it”
• ARRL CW bulletin with transcribed text in QST magazine

Jim Hanks Jr. (W5CYN)

• CW is close to my heart
• Long Island CW Club - Lots of classes you can take
• CW Ops - more structured classes
• My advice: Listen to the characters at 25-30 WPM
  • Learn to recognize full characters, not just counting “dits” and “dahs”
• iPhone app: Morse-It

Travis Scott (KI5TMS)

• Everything W5CYN just said, especially learning the full characters at full speed
• Morse Code Ninja has a huge library (weeks-worth) of MP3s

Rich Rychetsky (W5SON)

• I’ve learned CW with KI5TMS
  • Having a friend to learn it with makes it much easier!
• POTA makes it a lot easier and fun to get comfortable with it
  • short and predictable script
  • Similarly, contesting has a predictable exchange

Kevin Walton (N4RMF)

• How not to do Morse Code:
  • Originally learned it from a book
  • Mental gymnastics to visualize the letter and then write it down
  • “Get it from your ear to your hand as quickly as possible”
  • Some of the really good folks in the Air Force could do upwards of 40 WPM

Mark Zimmerman (N5NBD)

• I didn’t learn with Farnsworth spacing, so I’m still at 5 PM
  • Farnsworth: long pause between characters, but characters are sent at full speed
• Learn CW Online (LCWO)

Mike Mertes (KZ5M)

• It takes patience and time
• Develop reflex / muscle memory for writing or typing
  • Write in cursive because it’s faster

Phil Gates (N5ZKF)

• I just tinker with Morse Code
• Definitely learn the full speed
  • 35-40 WPM
• Another plug for CWops: training academy
• Morse Code World - free trainer

Buy / Sell

Jeff McDowell (KI5CES)

• Selling a 2018 Chevrolet Traverse Premiere
  • Asking $18,500

Mark Zimmerman (N5NBD)

• Looking to sell a handheld AnyTone AT-D878 DMR radio
  • Haven’t really used it
  • I’ll bring it to the meeting

Closing Remarks

• Visit us online at w5bcs.radio.