It is with the heaviest of hearts that we report on the passing of one of BRATS' founders, Heru W3WVV.
Visiting hours at Singleton's Funeral Home, Glen Burnie, Tuesday, Oct 25, 3-5 and 7-9 PM. Memorial service Wednesday at 1:00 PM.
The Baltimore Radio Amateur Television society hosted its 4th annual Ernie L. Walker Memorial Jamboree on the Air, introducing over 200 Scouts and family members to amateur radio.
The BRATS would like to offer our sincere thanks to Erhard Koehler and the crew of the Savannah for allowing us to host our event aboard during Fleet Week. We'd also like to thank Chris Gutberlet and the rest of the Scouting volunteers for organizing the event, and radio volunteers Ted WA3AER, Steve KA3ZMN, Ed N3GXH, Jim KB3SKN, Shane K2GZL, Brent K2AGR, Liam K3DKN, Oryx K0RYX, Brad K5KNK, and especially first time HFer Jason KC3CAC for his tireless efforts finding other Scouts to chat with.
Panoramic shot from atop the NS Savannah
The BRATS activated Ft. McHenry for National Parks on the air, setting up two stations and making contacts throughout the continent.
Thanks to WA3AER, K0RYX, K9FXY, and KB3SKN for their attendance and equipment to help us bring this station on the air, and a very special thanks to Mark W3MSR for all his efforts securing permission to operate and making this event happen!
Please join us for the April meeting of the BRATS at Liberty Road Volunteer Fire Company as we welcome Stephen Hamilton KJ5HY. The meeting begins at 7 pm.
In 2011, the United States Military Academy began a Balloon Satellite program where cadets would build a payload and attach it to a weather balloon and send it to heights exceeding 100,000 feet. The payload always includes an APRS tracker with the West Point Amateur Radio club callsign W2KGY. Stephen Hamilton (KJ5HY) has advised the cadets and helped with all 6 launches, to include the last one on 17 April, 2016. Stephen will discuss various issues with balloon satellite building,
launching, and recovery.
The BRATS family has suffered another loss with the passing of KA3IDB, Bill Self. Bill was a long-time member of BRATS and another frequent contributor to our public service events. I had the pleasure of riding with Bill to the MS 150 this past June and learned a lot about the history of our club and how we grew to be what we are today.
There will be a funeral service at the Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home (410-889-3735) at 3631 Falls Rd (between 36th and 37th Streets), Baltimore, MD 21211, on Friday 20th November from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will be time for remembrances from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
73 KA3IDB from WB3DZO and the Baltimore Radio ATV Society
The BRATS wish to thank BRATS/CATS member Fred K3TAZ for his presentation on the state of the art in digital amateur TV.
Fred's presentation pulled from several groups across the country, with a focus on how this would apply to the BRATS, and Fred has let us share the Powerpoint here.
It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of long time member N3DGY, Father "Skip" Koritzer. Father Skip dedicated his life in service to God and the community, and his appearance at BRATS public service events brought smiles and joy to everyone.
Services will be held at the Ambrose Funeral Home, 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus, MD 21227, on Monday, November 9 at 10am with burial to follow in Lorraine Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made in Skip’s memory to the American Legion #137, 1508 Desoto Rd, Baltimore, MD 21230.
73 N3DGY de WB3DZO and the Baltimore Radio Amateur Television Society
The BRATS hosted the Third Annual Ernie L Walker Memorial JOTA, carrying on Ernie's legacy of public service and sharing our hobby with the next generation, with 73 Scouts and many more siblings and parents aboard the Nuclear Ship Savannah in Baltimore Harbor.
The BRATS wish to thank Chris Gutberlet and Marc Huete for bringing this event to life, and the BRATS members that worked tirelessly make this a successful event, Steve KA3ZMN, Shane K2GZL, Jim KB3SKN, Ed N3GXH, Ted WA3AER, Mark W3MSR, and Oryx K0RYX.
Steve arranges a contact while Scouts await the opportunity to get on the air
Scouts interact with their counterparts in other countries in the Jamboree on the Internet station
The BRATS successfully deployed our first Yaesu DR-1X digital for our 443.350 standalone repeater. The DR-1X supports traditional FM voice, as well as Yaesu's new digital C4FM mode. The 443.350 repeater will operate in "full auto" mode, transmitting digital out when a user transmits it, and analog out otherwise.
Additionally, we upgraded the battery for both the standalone machine, and our linked repeater receive equipment, providing several more hours of backup.
Thank you very much to K0RYX and KB3SKN for their time and efforts in helping bring digital voice to Baltimore!
The BRATS have setup a webcam of the Baltimore city skyline as a demonstration of new approaches to digital ATV. Using a $35 Raspberry Pi, a $20 camera module, and an $80 dish into the BRATS' data network, we can stream high-def video across the region. This is currently updated every 10 minutes during the day, twice an hour overnight. We're working on optimizing a live streaming video. Be sure to attend the next BRATS meeting to see how you can be a part of the future of ham radio in Baltimore!
