[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] 1.2.2025 Alexandria Radio Club (ARC) 2M Net Night

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Welcome to 2025!  We kicked off this year's 2 meter excitement with a strong showing and a new ham's very first 2M net check-in!

The following amateur radio operators were on the net:

W4HFH/KO2THF - Skip - Net Controller
K4KBK - Sean
KQ4ZCO - Austin
KQ4YGT - Edward
KI4D - Don
N2KFA - Pete
WD4ADF - Bryan
W4JJ - Jack
NH7XJ - Tom
KC3AOO - Bjorn
KJ7DAK - John
KQ4RZQ - Nicole.

Here's the recap:

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Look for announcements/requests for volunteers for upcoming public events.
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Several folks returned from warmer (or colder) places and are settling back in after the holidays.
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Someone is eyeballing the ticking retirement clock. And he likes cigars.
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Comments on the prevalence and range of 70cm usage in Florida. I found it interesting, but it does seem to make sense due to the terrain.
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KC3AAO opened a can of worms asking about what POTA radio is reasonable and best.  Fortunately, some Elmers jumped in to provide some advice and offer offline contact. That kind of discussion had potential to melt the repeater!
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KQ4ZCO mentioned speaker wire for a homebuilt antenna.  The topic is near and dear to my heart considering I use a pretty ugly 2m 1/4 for my shack as net controller and DIY end feds for HF at home.
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All those monitoring got to hear KQ4RZQ (Nicole) make her first 2m net check-in. From an old radio installed in a 1970s Land Rover (or was it a Land Cruiser?) parked in the driveway!  Very cool!

73,

KO2THF, Skip