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FARS Winter Banquet - January 20, 2017 [2016] [2017] [2018]


The FARS Winter Banquet was held Friday evening, January 20, 2017. The Foothills Amateur Radio Society (FARS) presented this ham radio event and fete. This annual event was open to anyone who wanted to attend, but reservations were required.

This year we invited the West Valley Amateur Radio Association (WVARA) to join us at our 2017 Winter Banquet. We welcomed West Valley members.

Our program

VKØEK Heard Island 2016: DXing, exploring,
and communicating in the extremes.
Bob Schmieder, KK6EK
January 20th, 2017 - 6:00PM

[QST Cover October 2016]
QST Cover, October 2016

During March/April, 2016, a team of 14 men sailed from Cape Town, South Africa, to Heard Island, in the middle of the Indian Ocean and nearly to Antarctica.

It was the first scientific expedition in more than 15 years, and the first activation for amateur radio in 19 years. During their 3-week stay on the island, the team logged more than 75,000 QSOs, including more than 3200 on 160 m; implemented numerous IT innovations such as real-time online logs (DXA), live internet connection and Skype interviews, help desk, GPS tracking, two websites, and Facebook and Twitter; and were the first to enter and explore a new (10-year-old) lagoon, and collect samples of the rocks, soil, sediment, and water.

The project was much more than a pure radio DXpedition; it was a multidisciplinary exploration into advancing the technology and techniques of 21st Century expeditions to remote and environmentally sensitive sites, sure to be a topic of concern and discussion for future DXpeditions.



Speaker Bio

Robert Schmieder, KK6EK, has been organizing and leading scientific expeditions for 35 years. He is the founder of the nonprofit oceanic research organization Cordell Expeditions, which has to its credit more than 1000 discoveries, including new species, range and depth extensions, and first observations. https://vk0ek.org/

Among his notable DXpeditions are 3Y0PI, XR0X/Y, VK0IR, XR0Z, K7C, TX5K, and VK0EK. He is the author of seven expedition books, is honored by four names species, and is listed in the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame.


Raffle prizes for the Banquet

We had over $1,500 in prizes for the banquet raffle. Here is a list of prizes raffled at the banquet:


[Elecraft KX2 Transceiver]

Elecraft KX2 Transceiver is just 13 ounces, outputs 10W and cover 9 amateur radio bands from 80m to 10m. It's powerful 32-bit DSP offers dual watch, stereo audio, user-programmable filter bandwidths, noise blanking, noise reduction, and auto-notch. RTTY and PSK data modes are built-in. And much more.
Winner: Peri, KI6SLX.
[Kenwood TM-V71A]

TM-V71A - Kenwood 2M/440 Mobile radio with Echolink; 50-Watts on both VHF and UHF; 1,000 Multifunction Memory Channels; Dual Receive on Same Band (VxV, UxU)
Winner: Cliff, K6CLS.
[GP5 SSB]

GP5 SSB - CountyComm GP-5 SSB General Receiver LW/AM/FM/HF(2.5-30MHz)
Winner: Wilko, AG6DK.
[TBJ-1]

TBJ-1 PVC Tri-Band Antenna - 146MHz/220MHz/440MHz J-Pole Antenna by Edison Fong, WB6IQN, donated by Ed himself.
Winner: Scott, N6NXI.
[Bioenno Power BLF-1203W] [Bioenno Power BPC-1502DC]

Bioenno Power BLF-1203W - 12 Volt 3Ah LFP Battery (PVC) - LiFePO4

and

Bioenno Power BPC-1502DC 14.6V, 2A AC-to-DC Charger (DC Plug) for 12V LiFePO4 Batteries
Winner: Kristen, K6WX.
[MFJ-392B Headphones]
MFJ-392B Headphones
Winner: Linda, KK6GZP.
[Lido LM-801EXP]

Lido LM-801EXP Adjustable Cup-holder Mount w/ belt-clip/button mount and AMPS plate
Winner: Bill, K6VWO.
[MFJ-121B Clock]

MFJ-121B Dual Clock - 12/24 Hour LCD Atomic Clock
Winner: John, W1JDS.
[MFJ-1702C Antenna Switch]

MFJ-1702C - 2 Position Coax Switch with Surge Protection - UHF Female SO-239 Connectors
Winner: Steve, K6OIK.
[Maxx Mount AM-LSP]

Maxx Mount AM-LSP - Large Smartphone / Standard GPS - Automobile Mount
Winner: Bob, KK6EK.
[Powerwerx BT-JUNIOR]

Powerwerx BT-JUNIOR - Battery Tender Junior - Charges GelCells and Sealed Cell Batteries (12V)
Winner: Peri, KI6SLX.
[SRH77CA Antenna]
Diamond SRH77CA - SMA 2M/440cm HT antenna (2 prizes)

Winners: Vic, AB6SO and Mikel, KN6QI.
[Power Pole 10 pack]
Anderson 30A Power Poles - 10 pack
Winner: Mark, K6MDH.
[Raffle Prize]

2 Silver Teflon PL-259 connectors

Winners: Mark, K6MDH and Vic AB6SO.


Menu

Dinner included dessert (chocolate mousse) and coffee. There was a no-host bar.

Location

The banquet was held at:

Michael's at Shoreline
2960 No. Shoreline Blvd
Mountain View, CA
650-962-1014


Last updated December 12, 2021