JRC Radio ClubA few days ago news reached us that our official application for membership in the Italian Amateur Radio Association has been granted.
On a practical level it changes very little. Many of us are already extremely active on “both fronts,” pursuing this engaging and varied hobby.
On behalf of the Club, we would like to thank ARI for this recognition, which motivates us to share, with even more determination, the beauty of this passion of ours.
The JRC Radio Club couldn’t help but participate in an amateur radio contest entitled European Union DX!
The EUDX Contest is a worldwide competition organized to promote radio contacts among radio amateurs in the EU and beyond. This year’s competition took place on February 4-5 and was facilitated by excellent ionospheric propagation on the high-frequency bands, which also allowed many contacts on the high bands (i.e., 21 and 28 MHz).
Michele IZ1POA and Francesco IK2VXT of the JRC Radio Club joined friends from radio station IQ1RF in Chieri to participate in the contest. IQ1RF is a well-equipped station housed at the Civil Defense facility in Chieri (near Turin). The station, operated by Sergio IW1FSQ, has multiple directional antenna systems mounted on steeltowers, while other wire antennas were mounted ad hoc. The Contest rules awarded more points for EU contacts than for an intercontinental contact, so we decided to install low-elevation wired antennas that radiate the signal at a greater angle than top-mounted antennas, with the goal of better coverage of close-range communications.
The competition lasted 24 hours, from 1 p.m. local time on Saturday to 12:59 p.m. on Sunday. We could operate 3 radios at the same time, but since we were competing for the single-transmitter multioperator category, we could only radiate a single signal at a time, so we interlocked the radios to avoid multiple simultaneous transmissions. We started and ended our contest on the high bands, which have better propagation in daylight. During the night we focused on the low bands, 40-80-160m, making sure to contact as many European regions (NUTS2) as possible because each new NUTS2 would work as a multiplier of our score. During the contest contact, we exchanged with the other ham radio operator a signal strength report (usually 59, where readability 5 means perfectly readable, and signal strength 9 means an extremely strong signal), and the NUTS3 code, in our case we would transmit IT14 for Piedmont. During the competition we alternated voice contacts in SSB (sideband) emission and Morse code. We managed to make as many as 933 contacts in all regions of the world, from the Americas to Oceania, scoring a over 9 million points and ranking fourth in the world!
Our setup worked very well…proving once again that it is essential to run well-equipped stations in terms of antenna systems (hear, hear!).
Many of our members will participate in radio support of the“Campo dei Fiori Trail” race, a 50km race with 2000mt of elevation gain… serious stuff. The coordination of the race radio stations is delegated to our member Claudio.
Now instead I say to you, sleepy member: if you would like to help us with assistance (and thus also have an excuse not to run) contact us to be attached to one of the gazebos we are organizing!
Flock to it in large numbers. The more radio amateurs enter, the more runners are saved!
Some of us arranged for a “punitive” expedition to the Radiant fair, with exhibitors in the fields of electronics, technology, computers, hi-tech ..and of course radiant.
The expedition was successful. It was necessary to use the luggage compartment of JM’s pickup truck to put all the junk we got for ourselves….
On Dec. 18, 2022, we mobilized to provide radio assistance to the laudable charity initiative organized by our colleagues from the JRC Joint Running Club: the“I Runfor Purple” run. Braving the inclement weather, as more than 250 people paced the streets of Ispra, we set up a dozen race support and assistance points.
This is also the first time our club has been officially mentioned and thanked, which is always nice. The greatest pleasure remains being available to people, with a hobby that also has a social utility.
I’d say we’re starting to get the hang of it!
On October 16, 2022, tests of the civil defense radio systems of the province of Varese were held. Once again many of us contributed to the successful outcome of the exercises by going out to activate stations in various municipalities around the province. With the occasion, some novice radio amateurs (fresh from a course taught by our valiant Claudio IK2YWN) were introduced to this magical world of emergency communications. The usual gargantuan morning breakfast before rehearsals could not be missed…see you next time!
On October 2, 2022, we provided radio assistance among ARI Varese volunteers for the safety of the “Gran Fondo – Tre Valli Varesine” bicycle race, one of the most prestigious bicycle races. Armed with batteries, antennas and battle radios, we had a good day among crashed cyclists and homemade buns. See you next time!
On June 5, 2022, some of us lent assistance to the “Run with Samia- Lake Comabbio Run” by setting up one of the radio stations along the race route. It was a useful experience to test our mobile equipment and to seriously consider the next purchase of an easy-to-assemble gazebo 🙂
If you would like to help us with upcoming events, you can contact us!
On May 15, we organized a “school field trip” to the Montichiari Electronics and Amateur Radio Fair. In addition to the predictable hoarding of spare parts and numerous episodes of compulsive shopping for various devilry, it all culminated in a delicious lunch at a local trattoria, washed down with some excellent wine. In short, a good day. We will definitely reorganize forMarch 11-12, 2023.
Wednesday 13 April 2022 at 9 pm, at the ARI headquarters in Largo Gigli 2 in Varese, the amateur radio exam course will begin.
The instructor will be our fellow club member, Claudio Bergonzi IK2YWN of the JRC Radio Club.
The course aims to prepare future radio amateurs to pass the ministerial test required by law which will take place in Milan at the regional office of the Ministry for Economic Development. Participants will be provided with a basic knowledge of radioelectric phenomena, of the rules governing radio communications and the radio amateur service, as well as all the basic operational notions that a radio amateur must know. The topics will be explained in a simple and easy way for everyone to understand, in order to allow you to pass the theory exam and become a full-fledged radio amateur.
For more information, you can contact the ARI Varese office directly.
