ACARA - Addison County Amateur Radio Association

11/02/2026

An interesting new CW practice app:
CWSIGNALS.COM
Browser-based CW flashcard app that tracks your difficult characters and focuses more on them as you learn. I've been trying this app and thing it really helps. The developer suggests setting your code speed 50% higher than usual and have the internal tracking help with your misses.
WWW.CWSIGNALS.COM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQYavi2nEKg
(Watch from 4:18 timeline for an explanation of how the symbol-based learning process works in brains)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/r-wRZkpvFdE

73,
Duane KA1LM

Start by turning up the speed to about 50% of the speed you normall...

10/10/2026

Just a FYI: The ACARA 147.360 KA1LM repeater at Middlebury College is currently down for a hard drive failure. Rebuilding files is being done now, but it will be down for several weeks.
Duane KA1LM

10/04/2026

Join us now for our October meeting!

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

09/06/2026

Today we held our first meeting at the new and improved Ilsley Library! Beginning next month, we should be able to offer Zoom as well as in-person, thanks to the upgrades! Stay tuned for more information.

08/02/2026

A great turnout for our monthly meeting in Middlebury!

07/01/2026

ACARA member Rob, N1TRK, also participated in ARRL Field Day by setting up as 1B VT in a farm field in New Haven, operating entirely from 100% solar-charged battery power. Despite having limited operating time, Rob logged more than 100 contacts from a retired Burlington Fire Department ambulance—now famously known as "The Hambulance!"

Congratulations on a successful Field Day operation, Rob, and thank you for demonstrating another creative and effective example of emergency communications in action. Nice job!

06/29/2026

Another pix from our FD2026 album. Heavy satellite action!

06/29/2026

2026 ARRL Field Day from New Haven!

What a fantastic weekend! The Addison County Amateur Radio Association operated N1FS as 2A Vermont under beautiful blue skies and perfect weather.

Our team made 634 HF contacts using CW, phone, and digital modes. We also enjoyed several satellite passes, making contacts with Alaska and California during one particularly exciting pass.

We came close to a complete ARRL Section Sweep, missing only San Francisco (SF) and Newfoundland/Labrador (NL).

In addition to operating, KE1VT, N1OCI, and WB2BCD conducted an on-site Volunteer Examiner (VE) session, where Jeremy, KR4EKS, visiting from Kentucky, successfully upgraded to General Class. Congratulations, Jeremy!

It truly was a magical Field Day weekend filled with great operating, learning, fellowship, and fun. A huge thank you to everyone who participated, visited, and helped make the event such a success.

We're already looking forward to ARRL Field Day 2027! 📡📻

06/18/2026

This is a general reminder about the 2026 ARRL Field Day, which will be held the weekend of June 27–28. The event will take place at the QTH of Ryan, N1OCI, located at 524 Twitchell Hill Road in New Haven.

Operations and setup will be based inside Ryan's large red barn. Please feel free to park near the barn, and you are encouraged to bring a lawn chair.

Setup will begin around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 27. Please stop by anytime during the weekend to help set up, operate, observe, socialize, or assist with teardown. Everyone is welcome, and this is always one of the most enjoyable events of the year for our club. We typically begin wrapping things up during the early afternoon on Sunday.

Our Field Day site will feature two HF stations and one satellite station. We plan to operate SSB, CW, and FT8 on HF, as well as SSB and, hopefully, some CW on the satellites.

We hope to see you there, and updates will be emailed as necessary. Please feel free to utilize our repeater (147.36) as a talk-in frequency.

73,

Kevin, KE1VT

03/30/2026

ISS SSTV event coming soon:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KZuzqxuHk/

Here's the latest on SSTV Series 31 from the ISS. This 5 day event will start April 10.

More details as we get closer to the start date.