News & Blog

While on-site at WEARC Field Day 2024, please take advantage of the temporary remote input for the NE2S repeater in Livingston, NJ which will be available throughout Field Day weekend.  Using the remote input frequency will allow your signal to be full quieting into the repeater while using a HT on low power from our Field Day site.  We will use this repeater to create awareness of our Field Day location and offer talk-in directions and site availability details…

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 Over the last month the West Essex Amateur Radio Club and the ARC ² Clubs have been on site at the American Red Cross doing site surveys on where they will set up stations, antennas, and the ever friendly Guests on the Air (GOTA) for field day 2024.  The WEARC and ARC² will be operating from the American Red Cross Building for 2024 ARRL Field Day in Fairfield NJ – 209 Fairfield Rd.  For more information about field day…

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West Essex Amateur Radio Club – Arc² ARRL Field Day Event Saturday June 22, 2024 – Sunday June 23, 2024209 Fairfield Rd, Fairfield, NJ (Essex County) Come out and visit the West Essex Amateur Radio Club along with Arc² at the American Red Cross building in Fairfield, NJ (Essex County) when our amateur radio operators participate in the most popular on-the-air even held annually in the U.S and Canada. Field Day is a time where many aspects of amateur…

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During a recent emergency drill, Bill, NB1LL, realized the existing Red Cross Ham Operation Radio Room would not be functional during a crisis; it was too small to accommodate the personnel and equipment needed.  As Regional Lead of the American Red Cross New Jersey Region, Ham Operations, he set out to find a more suitable space in the Fairfield, NJ Red Cross Building.   Bill found a new office; then he just needed a few hands to help move furniture, radios and wire.  Ed K2BED, Henry KC2WRQ, Jerry…

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Let’s build my version of the LoRa Meshtastic ESP32 device. What do we want to achieve:  1. As waterproof as it can be. 2. No 3D Printed needed. 3. Battery that can run for a couple days. 4. Easy USB waterproof connector that can be used for charging.   5. ON/OFF switch WITH LED ON/OFF indicator  6. High gain antenna. Tools needed below (just look at the picture below): Parts that you will need:  ALL AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!  915MHz ESP32 LoRa 0.96…

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I got into using FT8 this summer when camping. In 2023 now post COVID I had to adapt to having other campers close by which made it embarrassing to be talking to myself late at night and possibly annoying my fellow campers. I was lucky and able to download all the software and get it running on my laptop during a wet day and then spend the night exchanging contacts using a variant of WSJT-X, JTDX. I improved things…

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I believe most hams have the same question as I did. Does it pay to spend a lot of money on a high quality microphone? This question bugged me for quite some time so I decided to do something about it. I came up with the idea of doing a blind mic test with several different mics on the air. I used the following mics in the test (with their approximate retail value):  1 – Electro Voice RE-320 Broadcast…

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As many people that commute daily to work, I take all the complex systems that support me for granted. I start my day in the suburbs of New Jersey driving my car to the train station, get there 5 mins earlier and check my phone to see how the line is operating. The train is almost always on time, I get a seat and enjoy my 5G connection to read the news to know what is going on, I…

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We have a new project!!!! Tuning a J-pole antenna is a crucial step in optimizing its performance for a specific frequency or frequency range. The tuning process involves adjusting the lengths of the antenna elements to resonate at the desired frequency, which ensures maximum efficiency and a low standing wave ratio (SWR). Here’s a guide on how to tune a J-pole antenna: 1. Prepare Necessary Tools: SWR Meter or Antenna Analyzer: This tool is essential for measuring the standing…

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