June 23, 2012

Amateur Radio ARRL Field Day Food - QSL Quiche

Field day has a long tradition for great amateur radio fun combined with good eats.  It takes a lot of calories to setup a field station, operate for long hours, and talk to friends near and far.  Well maybe not all that many calories but tasty food definitely enhances the fun. 

As much as we do love grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, it is also fun to wow your friends with a dish that looks and tastes great (while also easy).  Here is an easy-to-make recipe that yields results sure to please 4 or 5 hungry hams - QSL Quiche.

6 ounces cooked ham, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
3/4 cup broccoli, cut into bite size
2 ounces Monterrey jack pepper cheese
2 ounces cheddar cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
8 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
A dash of your favorite hot sauce

Step #1 Heat oven to 375°F and grease a 9-inch pie plate.
Step #2 Scatter ham, broccoli and cheeses evenly in pie plate.
Step #3 Whisk remaining ingredients in a bowl until blended.
Step #4 Pour ingredients into the pie plate.
Step #5 Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on the top (lightly).
Step #6 Bake 40 minutes or until firm. Cover top with foil if it starts to get too brown.
Step #8 Serve.

Voila!

Enjoy Field Day, 73
NJ2X

ARRL Field Day - June 23 - 24, 2012

Its that time of year again folks - ARRL Field Day is here June 23-24, 2012!

Field Day is a contest, an emergency preparedness exercise, a public relations demonstration, a great event for clubs, and a great way to get on the air and have some fun.  The spirit of Field Day is to operate away from the shack, commercial power, under field conditions for 24 hours in June.

The objective is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions.   Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2.  DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, but are not eligible to submit entries.    

Checkout the ARRL Field Day website for complete details.  Don't forget the sun screen, bug spray, and plenty of snacks and water.

Hope to hear you all on the air.

NJ2X



Be sure to check out our related article on NJ2X.com:
Amateur Radio Field Day Food - QSL Quiche

June 22, 2012

Visualizing Lightning

NASA maintains a cumulative visualization of global lightning strikes from January 1998 to present day from the NASA/MSFC Lightning Imaging Sensor.  This is a fascinating work and is perhaps compelling enough to motivate a few hams (especially those living in the high strike zones) to improve their station's grounding and lightning protection.



By Michael Maher (NJ2X)

June 15, 2012

Amateur Radio Kids Day - June 16, 2012

Kids Day is an on-air event to encourage young people (licensed or not) to have fun with Amateur Radio. It is designed to give on-the-air experience to youngsters and hopefully foster interest in getting a license of their own. It is also intended to give older hams a chance to share their station and love for Amateur Radio with their children.

The traditional exchange for kids day is: name, age, location, and favorite color. Be sure to work the same station again if an operator has changed.  To draw attention, call “CQ Kids Day.”

  • Saturday, June 16, 2012
Kids Day always runs from 1800 UTC through 2359 UTC. Operate as much or as little as you like.

We have enjoyed operating on kids day in year's past.  It has always been a lot of fun.  99% of the contacts have been very positive.  The best contacts have been with hams who are patient and encouraging to the youngsters (a.k.a Potential Future Hams).

We have encountered one or two not-so-patient and not-so-encouraging contacts.  These hams seemed to have not been aware of the kids day event nor understood the intent.  If you belong to an amateur radio club or net please pass the word about this year's kids day event.

Raritan Valley Radio Club Hamfest June 16, 2012

For New Jersey area hams, the Raritan Valley Radio Club Hamfest is on June 16, 2012.  Hope to see you all there.