December
Tis the season for cold weather, hot cocoa and fellowship. Pictured below is the last big club gathering at Slate Branch Baptist Church in Somerset, KY. Everyone enjoyed a nice fish fry that we put on every year. Your ideal time with friends may be inside playing a game of Hearts, Spades, some other card game, or watching sports with an array of snacks. Although the season focuses more on gathering together during November and December, it's important to spend time with others year round. The club meets at Big Boy in Somerset, KY every Wednesday to visit, eat, or just have something to drink. For some reason a lot of our events involve food!
For some of us decorating really brings out the spirit of the season which makes this season different from the others. Walk into any major store to find all sorts of options to brighten your living space. The rest of the year just isn't the same, and we would be looked at like we were crazy if we kept the decorations up year round... although not all who wander are lost. Below is a previous setup by Wanda (WM4LM)
ARRL is having a 10 meter contest December 13-14. They also have a Rookie Roundup CW contest on the 21st. See their contest calendar page for more info.
This year has been a busy one for LCARA, with a lot of time spent at the repeater sites updating networking equipment complete with a new internet connection. There is a lot that happens behind the scenes to make everything work. Unfortunately, most people only notice something when things are not working. We do our best to keep that to a minimum, with a trip to each repeater once a month unless something fails. I would encourage everyone to make it to at least one work or maintenance day with your local club. If your club doesn't have one, it's a great thing to start and a great way to learn what it takes to keep a repeater going that you use.
Winter field day is coming up in January! I'm not much of one for the cold, but food and friends does help get me out in it. Field day is practice in case of an emergency, it is not officially a contest. What the contest does is give people something to do other than just be set up somewhere hanging out without anything radio related to do. Winter field day challenges us to overcome an environment that we could be in if an emergency happened requiring emergency communication. We do not get to pick the time of year or the type of weather we will have. The club has used field day to test a different setup, finding what will work and what may need to be improved on.
Happy Holidays from LCARA. Stay safe, travel safe, and get to your destination safely.
Thank you Cincinnati Hamfest
