Good attendance at our July meeting.  We were back in the USDA meeting and had good discussions of club business, lots of fun conversation, and a great presentation from Matthew Barry about the basis of digital signal processing.  We  missed you if you couldn’t make it but, we’ll look forward to seeing you in August!

FOOD! FUN! RAFFLES! RADIOS! PEOPLE! Come see what is happening in your Community with Amateur Radio!
Saturday, June 23th 1pm thru Sunday 1pm June 24th at Brian Bachmann Park in College Station is the location for the W5BCS ARRL Field Day!
What is Field Day? Basically put it is a chance for hams to setup and demo at public locations under simulated emergency (no power) conditions & communicate with other hams around the country & world — ALL WITH NO INTERNET REQUIRED!
So come out and see many things that Amateur Radio has to offer. Talk to amateur operators from the Brazos Valley and listen to radio communications from around the United States and beyond!
Have a question you have always wanted to know or are just curious about how to obtain your Amateur Radio License? Then this is a great time to come and check it out!
HAVE YOU BEEN STUDYING FOR YOUR FIRST LICENSE EXAM, OR WANT TO TEST FOR AN UPGRADE? Come on down then at 3:00 pm in the Pavilion area and test at our VE TEST SESSION.
Various handouts will be available about Amateur Radio as well as radio brochures and catalogs.
SWAPFEST TABLES will be avail if you want to bring something for sale or to buy, as well as a Silent Auction section.
THERE IS A BBQ DINNER AT 6PM (tickets are $10 available at the event). You do not want to miss out on all the fantastic food that will be available!

THERE WILL ALSO BE A RAFFLE WITH LOTS OF PRIZES!
Tickets are $5 for 1 ticket, $25 for 7 tickets, $50 for 15 tickets, and $100 for 30 tickets plus W5BCS membership (or next year membership if current member).
Prizes for this raffle will include:
-1st Place – Yaesu FT-450D HF Transceiver
-2nd Place – Comet CAA-500 MKII Antenna Analyzer
-3rd Place – TYT MD-2017 Dual Band DMR Handie Talkie
-4th Place – $50 Gift Card to Academy Sports & Outdoors
-5th Place — $50 Gift Card to Sam’s Club
(Drawings for major prizes to start after bbq dinner)
PLUS!!! Lots of door prizes drawn before and during BBQ dinner. (raffle ticket required-must be present for door prizes)

Radio Operators: Yes we need your help to man the radios, especially during late night hours. Whether you’re an OM or a new ham wanting some experience come on out.
CW Operators: Yes we can always use cw or digital operators. Bring your own keyer or device. Iambic keyer will be avail.
Show & Tell: Got a new radio or other item you wanna show, demonstrate or tell about? Bring it! We’d all like to see it!

On 16 June, we’ll meet at Peace Lutheran Church.  Here is the address:  2201 Rio Grande
College Station, TX 77845.    Here is a link to the location on Google Maps:  https://goo.gl/maps/xrmzrFmv5vs

The parking lot entrance is actually at the intersection of Airline DR and Shenandoah DR.

Click on the photo to enlarge.

I’ll look forward to seeing you there!

I got my amateur radio cards.  Do you have yours?  What is your “elevator speech” when someone asks you about that handie talkie you are carrying?  What will you say about all the fun you are having with your hobby?  These cards are easy to get from local printers or, order from an online source like, Cheap  QSLs  or, Sam’s Club.   A card like this lets you leave a tangible reminder with people you meet.

We enjoyed a great presentation after our 19 May business meeting.  Paul, KF5WGJ introduced us to modern microcontrollers, gave a demonstration, showed some examples, and handed out a few samples as prizes.  We also got to see the µBITX HF transceiver kit thanks to John, K5ZY.

The club will be having its Spring time Radio In The Park event April the 14th (Sat). Start time is at approx 10:30am and event runs until approx 3pm or when everyone is ready to pack it in. Bring your portable radio gear & antennas and come out and operate and have some fun doing so. Power (120v ac) will be made available. Bring your own food & drink if desired. You may wish to bring a chair. Everyone is are invited to come out, members, non members, guests, families and those just curious about amateur radio and want to learn more or see communications in action and/or portable radio setups.

We tend to setup on the south east end of park closest to East 29th but table availability may vary.

See map in event calendar section on right side of webpage for location of park.

If weather is not favorable for this outdoor event then the next Sat the 21st after the club meeting is the make up day..

W5BCS will be having a breakfast social gathering at the Bryan IHOP on Saturday March 24 at 8am. All is invited to come. So stop on by and say hi and socialize while dining on some pancakes and such. See calendar to right and click on the 24th for location.