Two items this evening... first, Dan (N7XDL) presented a collection of old radio gear, including a number of Heathkit items, that were donated to MARC by a local amateur radio operator.  Second, we watched a RATPAC presentation by Kevin (N7RXE) of the Bridgerland ARC in Logan, UT on Six Amateur Radio Activities You can do With Youth.

First, here's the presentation on the donation:

Slides:  coming soon

And here's the RATPAC presentation:

Slides:  https://www.murrayarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Six-Amateur-Radio-Activities-you-can-do-with-youth.pdf

Slides:  Flashing AREDN Firmware

Links from this presentation:

• Supported Hardware List:​  https://www.arednmesh.org/content/supported-devices-0
• Installation procedures are documented here:​  https://arednmesh.readthedocs.io/en/latest/arednGettingStarted/installing_firmware.html
• Download firmware files here:  https://downloads.arednmesh.org/afs/www/

Jan (KD7ZWV) introduces some common VHF and UHF bands, talks about programming your radio(s), and about making contacts on the air.

Slides:  Basic VHF/UHF Operations

Links from this presentation:

• https://www.repeaterbook.com/index.php/en-us/
• https://utahvhfs.org/rptr.html
• https://www.murrayarc.org/the-standard-load/
• https://www.murrayarc.org/2023/02/03/basic-topics-class-2-february-2023-using-your-ht/
• http://www.utaharc.org/rptr/62rpt.html
• https://utahvhfs.org/snowlink.html
• https://www.murrayarc.org/2023/03/03/slinging-the-lingo-understanding-the-old-men-marc-basic-topics-2-march-2023/
• https://www.murrayarc.org/2023/03/20/slinging-the-lingo-understanding-the-old-men-marc-general-meeting-16-march-2023/
• https://www.murrayarc.org/2021/01/14/marc-advanced-topics-14-january-2021-q-codes-and-prosigns/

This evening, for our 3rd Thursday class, we watched a RATPAC presentation on Winter Field Day (view it here).  Dan asked me to make a special post about RATPAC and what it's about.

RATPAC was started in April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to allow radio amateurs to access training even when clubs were not meeting in person.  A group of dedicated hams got together and recruited others to prepare and present on a variety of amateur radio related topics in several areas including Accessibility, Antennas, ARES, ARRL Issues, Beginners, Boat Anchors, Clubs, Contesting, CW, Digital Modes, DX, Education, EmComm, Field Operations, Fun, History, Innovation, Kits, Licensing, Nets, Networking, Operating, Portable, POTA, Public Relations, Public Service, Repeaters, Software, Space, Technical, Traffic, Winlink, and Youth.  RATPAC typically produces two sessions per week which are available on Zoom.  Sessions are recorded and saved on Youtube and the slides and chat logs are also available for download.

Dan (N7XDL) and Jan (KD7ZWV) have both given presentations to RATPAC, and Dan even served on their board for a time.

If you're interested in checking out RATPAC, their web site is https://www.ratpac.us/ and you can view a complete list of their training (and upcoming training) in the Google spreadsheet here:  RATPAC Schedule.

While some presentations are much better than others, RATPAC is an invaluable resource to amateur radio operators.  We urge you to check it out!

This evening we watched an excellent RATPAC presentation on Winter Field Day by Marvin Turner (W0MET), who is the current president of the Winter Field Day organization.  The video is available here:

The slides are available for download here:  Winter Field Day Slides

And can be viewed inline below.

Jan (KD7ZWV) gives an introduction to AREDN, the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network.  This is the first installment in our AREDN Deep Dive in 2025.

Slides:  Introduction to AREDN - AREDN Deep Dive Session 1

Jeff (KL7KVG) briefs us on the discovery of electromagnetic radiation, radio, and the birth to the current day of amateur radio.

Slides:  History of Ham Radio

Jan (KD7ZWV) discusses the history of MARC's training program and what the plans are for 2025.

Slides:   Revamping the Beginner's Classes

A while back, Dan presented on GMRS communications for SLCo ARES.  After our recent presentation on Tiered Communications Plans, I asked him if I could post it here for reference.  Of course he agreed, so here is the video of his presentation, followed by the slides and some other documents that were mentioned in the presentation.

Slides:  GMRS Communications in the Ham World

• Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Questionaire
• Post Grid Down Survey for Family

Slides:  Tiered Comms Plan

See Also:

• Radio Comms for YOUR Neighborhood - General Meeting - 20 April 2023
• GMRS Communications in the Ham World