Hello NLRS Land!

Just a friendly reminder that the Aurora'25 Conference is just around the corner and registration is now open!

When: Saturday, June 7, 2025, 0900-1700 CDT
Where: West Medicine Lake Community Club, 1705 Forestview Lane North, Plymouth, MN 55441

During the morning hours, the club runs an outdoor antenna range from 0900 to 1130 (weather permitting). The morning also allows for socializing, show and tell, and casual demonstrations.

For lunch, it's the return of the on-site Pizza Party Lunch! This was so much fun last 2 years that we’ve decided to do it again this year! Keep all the morning conversations going with your fellow NLRSers by joining us for an on-site, super tasty pizza lunch. For $10, you will get 2 large deep dish pieces of Jet’s pizza, a large cookie for dessert, and a 20 oz bottle of pop/soda or water. It’s optional, of course, but by joining in the fun, you won’t have to rush off-site to lunch at a local restaurant and then race back to make the first talks of the conference. If you want the pizza lunch, you must send payment with your registration form, and your registration form and payment must be received by June 4, 2025 in order for us to order enough food. Sorry, but no walk-up pizza orders the day of the conference!

After lunch, there will be a short NLRS business meeting followed by the technical program. We have some great talks this year! Take a look!....

  • Turning Almost Any Radio Into A Poor Man's Flex Radio via RTL-SDR Dongles, by Lenny Kosinski, K0SHF
  • Fun With WSPR, by Ray Ehrlich, K0RAE
  • Antenna Modeling With 4NEC2, by Rob Janke, K0XL
  • Update on Optical Communications, by Rob Janke, K0XL
  • Ham Radio Ops at the Branched Oak Observatory (in Lincoln, NE), by Doug Buhrman, K0DSP
  • 900 MHz Contesting With Meshtastic, by Bill Mitchell, AE0EE (also ARRL MN Section Manager)
Registration for the conference is now open!  To learn more about the conference and to register for it, go to our club's website at https://www.nlrs.club/  and click on the "Aurora Conference" tab on the left hand side.  Follow the directions there.  Note that registration is again by mail-in form and check only this year. And remember...if you wish to participate in the Pizza Lunch that you must send payment with your registration form, and your registration form and payment must be received by June 4, 2025 in order for us to order enough food. With the pokey delivery times by the USPS, it's best to register soon! Also please note that we have both a reduced Family fee as well as a First-Time Attendee fee (free!) on the registration form.  

Aurora is always a good time to see, learn and to share ideas with like-minded fellow VHFers.  If you know of someone who has a growing interest in this facet of our amazing hobby, invite them along.  Please share this information with others.  

I hope to see you at this year's conference!

73,

Janice, KA9VVQ
NLRS secretary and treasurer