Category: Club News

The January 8th club meeting brought new energy to the challenges waiting in 2026. The meeting opened with introductions and the question, “What is one radio goal you have for 2026.” Responses varied from license upgrades to new antennas to learning CW. The topics covered in the old and new business were also varied. Among the noteworthy items was the election of club officers for 2026: John KQ1P returns as President, Marion W1GRL begins a term as Vice President, Joan W1DLC returns as Secretary/Treasurer, and Matt KC1VLH joins Stan W1BOY and Greg KC1RID as a Director of the Board. President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer are one year terms. The additional directors are elected for staggered three year terms. The club would like to thank Chuck AC1BS for his many years serving as the club Vice President, and Evie KA1BRA for serving on the Board.

On a different note, Barbara KC1SSY, EAWA member and Hancock County Emergency Coordinator, encouraged members to use some winter downtime to take two important FEMA courses: ICS 100, Introduction to the Incident Command System and ICS 800, Introduction to the National Response Framework. These are the beginning courses for anyone interested in moving forward in Emergency Communications.

There were numerous announcements, including a friendly reminder that yearly dues should be paid soon ($15 per person, $20 per family), at the Weekend Session this coming Sunday Jeff KA1DBE is holding a planning session for our Annual Ham Symposium in April, and new equipment has been installed for the W1TU repeater. There was also discussion of the various awards associated with ARRL’s American250 WAS program, and lastly, Marion W1GRL announced that at least 8 EAWA members participated in the 2025 DX Marathon.

The title of program, presented by Marion W1GRL, was “The EAWA Website is 2 years old! How are we doing?” The presentation began with many statistics, provided by our website host, WordPress. Combining 2024 and 2025, we have had 3,150 visitors, and 13,028 pages viewed. Focusing on 2025, we published 42 blog posts, and averaged 641 views per month. The most views came in June and October, and our most viewed story was Hamming It Up In the Summertime. Most visitors are reaching us through search engines, however a significant number found us through Facebook. We did have visitors from the ARRL’s club page and from QRZ.

Following a review of the stats, Marion shifted to discuss the ARRL Website Competition that is part of the 2026 Year of the Club. The competition requires a club to state the goals for their website and describe how they are meeting those goals. We have two simple yet powerful goals for the website: To strengthen the sense of community within the club, and share our thriving community with others in an accessible and approachable way. One indicator that we are meeting our goals is that in 2025 we had 1,924 visitors to our website, with most viewing our Homepage (with the calendar and most recent blog posts), Regular Events, and Club Information and History. A second indicator, using data provided by Joan, the EAWA Secretary. Our membership had been declining, reaching 36 in 2023, and since the launch of our website in January of 2024, our membership grew to 43 in 2024 and 54 in 2025. At the time of this writing our website entry has been submitted. Winners will be announced in May. Whether we win something the ARRL competition or not, we are achieving bigger and better things by growing the EAWA and sharing our passion for this great hobby with all who visit our website.
Written by Marion W1GRL

As is the tradition, the EAWA combined the December Club Meeting with a Holiday Pot Luck Luncheon. It’s the quickest meeting of the year! Among the business items, the Nominating Committee presented the slate of candidates up for a vote in January:
President, John KQ1P
Vice President, Marion W1GRL
Secretary/Treasurer, Joan W1DLC
Board of Directors, Matt KC1VLH
Also, in the announcements, if you have any interest in operating Winter Field Day, January 24-25, as W1TU from the club community room, please contact John KQ1P.

It was a particularly touching moment in the club meeting when Joan W1DLC presented Evie KA1BRA with a special gift from the club. Evie has been a backbone of the club for over 30 years. As an active member she has welcomed many hams into the club. As a special gift, members of the EAWA wrote of fond memories of interactions with Evie and special thanks to her on cards, which Joan collected and placed in a decorative box. It was a pleasure to have her presence at the party!

Soon the business faded into raffle drawings. Thanks so all who brought raffle gifts and other items for the ‘give away’ table. It was a festive time, with anticipation and cheers. Earlier, the opening question to the meeting was, “Do you ask Santa for ham radio items?” Everyone in the room answered, “no,” with many adding, “I don’t trust Santa to get the right thing.” And yet for the raffle, all surprises were perfect in their own way.

The end of the raffles signaled the beginning of the feast! It didn’t take long for friends to gather in clusters, sharing ham radio moments. Here are some random photos.

Roaming around the room various topics were heard, such as “Let’s plan a POTA, “I got Hawaii,” “How’s the software set-up going?”, “Did your new radio come yet?”, “Did moving your antenna help”, “Did you work any of the ARRL 10 meter Contest?” and more.

Lastly, because it was hard to get everyone in a photo (and because the photographer wanted to enjoy the good food and conversation too), here are a few photos of the meeting to document all who attended.

As we leave 2025, the EAWA members and friends have much to be thankful for. While the discussions of the day were casual and light, the community is strong and passionate about this great hobby. The human connection we feel is the real gift of the season. Speaking of connection, even though our next meeting is January 8, we hope to see you at the weekly Clandestine Coffee gatherings and hear you on the weekly Nets. Happy Holidays!
Written by Marion W1GRL

This fast-paced meeting reminded us of the many things we’ve been up to, and introduced some enticing events coming up in the near future. Since the last club meeting we have had a Club POTA (see story), served as EmComms for the MDI Marathon (see story), and participated in the Maine Simulated Emergency Test Exercise (see story). Early in the meeting we took a few minutes to discuss the successes and areas of improvement for each event.

Looking ahead, we have several events on the horizon. The next Weekend Session, November 23 at noon, will have an added feature: soldering demonstrations. Hams come to weekend sessions with all sorts of equipment and computers to get advice and assistance with set-ups, repairs, software, etc. Along with the open invitation to join in, we are encouraging people to set up a small soldering station and guide others through the soldering process. There are several members and friends who have never soldered before, and the weekend sessions are the perfect space to share soldering skills.

In December we are combining our monthly meeting with our annual Holiday Pot Luck Celebration, moving the meeting to Sunday, December 14 at noon. Families are welcomed! It’s “pot luck” so bring any food items you like to eat. We plan to take a group photo of all the EAWA members for the ARRL’s Year of the Club Program. A club will be featured each month in the ARRL publication QST, and perhaps one month it will be us!

Another important agenda item was the creation of the Nominating Committee for next year’s officer positions. The positions are President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer (all one year terms) and one Board of Directors position, a three year term. If you are interested or have any questions please contact Barbara KC1SSY, chair of the Nominating Committee, via QRZ or the “Contact Us” form on this webpage. The slate will be announced at the December Meeting/Holiday Celebration, and the vote will be taken at the January club meeting.

For the evening program, the EAWA President, John KQ1P, gave an enlightening presentation on “How Antennas Emit Radio Waves: What happens when you transmit that makes it possible for another station to receive your signal?” He began by discussing four key ingredients: Electrons, Oscillations in voltage and current, Fields (magnetic and electric), and Conductors. Using demonstrations, such as with a magnet and metal shavings, and a piece of plexiglass with a static charge, he illustrated how these ingredients gain force and form wave lengths. Throughout the presentation he focused on these key points:
*Antennas work because electric and magnetic fields are formed by motion (oscillation)
*Electric and magnetic fields interact to have a net force that moves in a perpendicular direction
*The force moves off the physical antenna into space at the speed of light

There was a lot to take in during this meeting – very productive and inspiring! Mark your calendars for the upcoming events, particularly the December Club Meeting and Pot Luck Celebration, Sunday, December 14th at noon, at our usual location at Meadow View (see map here). The EAWA wouldn’t be the strong, active organization that it is without all our members and friends. We’re all in this together.
Written by Marion W1GRL

The October club meeting started, as they always do, with a question: Is anyone else in your family a ham? The responses showed that about 1/3 of those attending had hams in their family. Following a brief business meeting, the heart of the club meeting focused on several upcoming events:
**Club POTA, Saturday the 11th (details here)
**Weekend Session, Sunday the 12th (details here)
**Em Comms for the MDI Marathon, Sunday the 19th (details below)
**Maine Simulated Emergency Test, Saturday the 25th (details below)

Barbara KC1SSY is not only an active member of the EAWA, she is also the Emergency Coordinator for Hancock County. She shared details of the Maine Simulated Emergency Test scheduled for October 25th. There are two major components: the VHF/UHF/Voice Test and the WinLink Test. The first component involves both within and across county nets, guided by EMA administrators. The WinLink component involves messages sent out and returned by hams to test the emergency response network. The incoming message will ask a question, and hams will return their responses. Barbara is looking for volunteers who have, or will install, WinLink to participate. She has instructions for installing WinLink. If you are interested, contact Barbara KC1SSY (see QRZ) or respond to the Contact Us on this website.

Most of the meeting was focused on finalizing details for the race communications for the upcoming MDI Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, October 19. Whereas most EAWA events are open to anyone to join in, the race communications take a great deal of preparation and planning. While the race team is primarily EAWA members, we also have members of other clubs in the area joining us. Barbara reviewed the locations along the route where each of 25 hams will be stationed.

It’s important for everyone involved to make sure they know their location, have checked their equipment, have redundancy plans in place for equipment, have food and drinks, and are prepared for any weather (both for themselves and their equipment). There was discussions of net protocol, plans for emergencies of varying levels, and navigating particularly difficult sections of the race route.

October is a busy month for EAWA activities! It was great to have members of area clubs join us. It was a lively meeting with productive discussions. The next meeting is Thursday, November 13th. Perhaps we’ll see you then?
Written by Marion W1GRL

As the EAWA grows in membership and energy, the list of fun opportunities and activities grows as well. While every EAWA member has their favorite radio activities, as a club we tend to focus on ways to share our own radio skills with the others in the club and the wider community. At the September meeting we had both important announcements of ways to share with the community and examples of ways we mentor each other. 

First, here are some opportunities you may want to join in:

Tremont First Responders Day, Saturday, September 13, 9am-1pm
Listed among the many presentations and demonstrations (click here) is “On the Air: Amateur Radio with Hancock County Emergency Management.” That’s us! EAWA members and friends will be on hand to share the world of amateur radio to all who stop by. In addition to go-kits and an information table, the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency trailer and tables will be set up with radios and antennas to use in the way a special events station would operate, using W1TU. There are several ways you can participate.
**If you would like to join several EAWA members as part of the demonstration team, please arrive at 7am for set-up and a brief organizational meeting. 
**Stop by, encourage those working the station, perhaps get on the air, and maybe chat with visitors who want to know more about ham radio.
**Bring a go-kit for display.
**If you are not on site, you can help by checking in on the 146.91 repeater at 10am for a net demonstration, or any other time to show activity.
**If you are not on site, send a WinLink message to the server that will be set up on site.
**Stop by at 1pm to help folks who have been there since 7am pack things up.

Weekend Sessions, Sundays Sept 14 and 28, Noon-2pm, at Meadow View Apts (map here)
Bring your gear to show off, learn to use new gear, or repair equipment. Bring your laptop for help with software, such as setting up WinLink, programming your handheld, or logging software. Come hang out to see what everyone else is doing. Weekend sessions are free-flowing, hands-on, radio workshop events.

Amateur Radio Demonstration, Sunday October 5, Camp Beech Cliff
Matt W1HRM asked for volunteers to present amateur radio to a group during the Camp’s Fall Outdoor Skills Day. Please contact Matt W1MRH (contact via QRZ) if you are interested.

Race Communications for the MDI Marathon, October club meeting, Thursday October 9
Unlike other EAWA activities, race communications requires participation in planning meetings. If you would like to participate but cannot attend the next club meeting, please contact Barbara KC1SSY (contact via QRZ).

EAWA Parks on the Air (POTA), Saturday October 11, 10am-1pm, Lamoine State Park
You can participate in this as you like. Bring your equipment and operate, check out the many radios and antennas, listen to others operate and get to know POTA better, or just hang out with some really cool people!

Simulated Emergency Test, October 25, 8am-noon
Barbara asked for volunteers to participate in a networking exercise, using standard equipment most of us have. Basically volunteers need to be available to receive a message and send back a response to it. Although it sounds simple, it is critical that lines of communication are practiced, reliable, and working smoothly. Contact Barbara KC1SSY if you would like to volunteer.

Second, after the brief business meeting, Jeff KA1DBE shared an informative presentation on Introduction to WinLink 2000. While WinLink started back in the 1980s as a way for sailors to send email to the mainland, today it’s also used extensively as a way to send data via the airwaves. It was first used widely in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, sending data out from devastated areas. Jeff shared how WinLink has developed to support many standard templates and forms used in emergency situations. For those not familiar with the process, it resembles sending email or filling out a digital form. He also showed how easy it is to set up an account, fill out a message, and select the routing path for that message. In an emergency, when there is no internet or cell service, operators can send precise information, such as someone’s medication needs, through a portable WinLink set-up.

We packed a tremendous amount of information, announcements, useful knowledge, and sharing via the Lend & Learn Library in that 90 minute meeting! If you are a not a regular attender, perhaps you will join us at our next club meeting, Thursday, October 9, at 7pm. If you are newly licensed, your club membership is free for the first year! That said, you don’t need to be a club member to attend. We hope to see you at some of these many events.
Written by Marion W1GRL