285 TechConnect Radio Club — NAØTC

The 285 TechConnect Radio Club produces an annual TechFest in November. The TechFest has 5 hours of presentations on technical topics related to amateur radio, plus a “demo corner” where club members show off some of their operating technology.

Techfest 2024 will be held on Saturday, November 2nd.

• Flyer: 2024 TechFest Flyer
• Location:
  • The Bridge Church at Bear Creek. The church has a very nice meeting room, with ample parking, and is conveniently located near Hwy. 285 and Kipling St. The address is 3101 S. Kipling St., in Lakewood.
  • From US 285 and Kipling, go North on Kipling 1/2 mile, then turn right (East) on Dartmouth Ave. Take the next right onto Dartmouth Place – you'll see the church on your right. The immediate next right is Kipling St., and from there you can turn into the church parking lot. Please proceed to the West side of the building for parking. The meeting room entrance is on the West side of the building.
  • Satellite view of the Bridge Church from Google Maps.
• Schedule:
  • 8:00 - Open for checkin
  • 8:45 - Welcome
  • 9:00 - The RMHAM Network: Speaker, Willem Schreuder ACØKQ
  • 10:00 - Choosing an HF Radio and Recommendations: Speaker, Rob Sherwood NCØB
  • 11:00 - Ham radio in an HOA: Speaker, Stan Trout WB2SHR
  • 12:00 - Lunch - Bring your own; visit a local fast-food joint. Also, we'll be making a Jimmy John's group order. You will need to be able to receive e-mail and complete your order using your smartphone.
  • 1:00 - Introduction to SDRs: Speaker, Steve Brightman KI5ENW, of SDRPlay
  • 2:00 - NØCOT - Jim Moravec: Radio Astronomy and Ham Radio Activities at Star Haven Observatory
• Door Prizes:
  • Grand prize: Yaesu FT-4XR HT
  • ARRL Schwag
  • Arrow 52-4s 6M 4 element Yagi
  • More to come
• Admission is $15, payable at the door.
• Coffee, doughnuts, and other refreshments will be available for purchase.
• We'd appreciate it if you'd let us know you're coming, by e-mailing techfest (at) na0tc.org.
• Questions? Please e-mail us at techfest (at) na0tc.org, or ask on the Tuesday Night TechNet.

The Techfest was held on Saturday, November 4th. Many thanks to all the volunteers and presenters who made it happen.

• Flyer: 2023_techfest_flyer.pdf

• KØEHR - Mark Ehr and KC5YCO - Corey McDonald; 3D Printing for Amateur Radio
  • 3D Printing for Amateur Radio
  • 3D Printing for Amateur Radio (Video)
• NØCOB - Rob Sherwood; The ARRL Clean Signal Initiative, & Selection of a New Radio
  • The ARRL Clean Signal Initiative, & Selection of a New Radio
  • Clean Signal Initiative & Selection of a New Radio (Video)
• NØCOT - Jim Moravec; Radio Astronomy and Ham Radio Activities at Star Haven Observatory
  • Radio Astronomy and Ham Radio Activities at Star Haven Observatory
  • Radio Astronomy and Ham Radio Activities at Star Haven Observatory (Video)
• KØLAI - Larry Irons; APRS - The Automatic Packet Reporting System
  • Introduction to APRS
  • Introduction to APRS (Video)
• WBØGAZ - Dave Feldman; The NanoVNA
  • NanoVNA
  • NanoVNA (Video)
• YouTube playlist for 2023 TechFest Presentations

TechFest is an ARRL sponsored event. Our thanks to the ARRL, and the following for their donations of door prizes:

• Bill - K1BP donated an Explorer QRZ-1 HT
• ARRL - 2 $25, and 1 $50 coupons, good for purchases at the ARRL Store
• MFJ - MFJ-1778, G5RV, WIRE ANTENNA
• Quicksilver Radio - 5-pack of 30A Powerpoles
• Gold Medal Ideas - gift certificate for one name/callsign badge
• Fast Track Ham Radio Education
  • The Fast Track to Getting Started in Ham Radio (book)
  • The Fast track (Finally!) Getting on the Air with Ham Radio (book)
• Tower Electronics
  • Soldering Iron, $8 value
  • Soldering Iron Stand, $6 value
  • 24” RG8X coax jumper with PL-259 connectors, $7 value
  • Alligator Cliplead set, 5 peace, $4 value
  • Multimeter, $10 value
• The Wireman
  • 25’ RG8X coax with PL-259 connectors
  • Wirebook V, by by N8UG - Press Jones (SK)
• Ham Radio Deluxe - Swag bag
  • Baseball hat
  • Coozies (2)
  • Travel Mug
  • 2” carabiners, bag of 20
  • Grand Prize: Yaesu FT-65R

No TechFest this year.

No TechFest this year, as we work on how the club will operate, moving forward.

We regret that due to the continued risks and restrictions associated with the coronavirus, the 2020 Techfest has been canceled.

No TechFest this year.

The 2018 TechFest was held at The Bridge Church at Bear Creek, 3101 S. Kipling St. This new location provided a great room, plenty of parking. and easy access from Hwy. 285.

We extend our thanks to the ARRL, and The RF Adapter Guy for providing door prizes.

• W5WCA - Cris Alexander: Ground Conductivity in the Rocky Mountain Region
• W1DN - Lee Snook: Unique Features of a 40/20 Meter Homebrew Receiver
• WTØDX - William Thomas: Introduction to FT8
• FT8 QSO party – bring your laptop and make in-room audio contacts during the lunch break. Requirements:
  • Laptop or notebook computer with working speakers and microphone
  • WSJT-X (version 1.91. or later): WSJT-X
  • Time sync software (examples):
    • Dimension 4
    • Chrony
• KØNGA - Michael Lozano: DMR Basics for Amateur Radio, DMR Basics for Amateur Radio
• KDØVBR - Tom Pouliot: Successful Communications Below The Broadcast Band
• TechFest Flyer
• 2018 Photos

• KØNA - Larry Weinstein: Practical Tricks with Transformers
• NØCU - Bill Leonard: Transmission Lines as Impedance Transformers, Transmission Lines as Impedance Transformers
• W6OAV - Bill Rinker: Small Magnetic Transmitting Loops Demystified
• ACØKQ - Willem Schreüder: Raspberry Pi Software Defined Radio
• ABØCD - Richard Schneider: QRP 101
• 2017 TechFest Flyer

• 2016 Fall TechFest Flyer
• James Schatzman - ACØXU: Low Noise Antennas Comparison
• Shel Radin - KFØUR: Contesting Rules & Techniques
• Larry Weinstein - KØNA: HF Propagation
• Jim Moravec - NØCOT: Starhaven Observatory
• Steve Manion - KDØMFT: Intro to Instrumentation
• Presenter Bios
• 2016 Photos

We had 113 hams and soon-to-be hams at our 2015 Fall TechFest.

• Douglas Tabor - N6UA: Things in Space
• Bob Witte - K0NR: Basic Ham Radio Test Equipment and Techniques
• Skyler Fennel - KD0WHB: AllStar Link
• Bryan Bibeau - N0BCB: Summits on the Air (SOTA)
• Shel Radin - KF0UR: Digital Modes
• Presenter Bios
• 2015 Photos

• FT-60R dual band hand held with programing software - K0LPR
• Diamond SX-200 SWR & POWER METER 1.8 mhz-200mhz bands - K0FYI
• RigBlaster Nomic 58008-959 sound card interface - KE0GDS
• Palstar DL1500 Dummy Load - N0BCB
• Arrow Antenna 52-4S 6meter Beam - KD0YMG
• Baofeng UV-5R Pro (for hams <17 yrs , new or studying for license hams) - KE0GDS
• ARRL Gift Certificates - WB0IXV, KB0LMQ, K0LJW

Our 2014 Fall TechFest was held November 1, 2014. 101 hams and soon-to-be hams attended. Check out our photos.

• 2014 Fall TechFest Flyer
• Bill Leonard - NØCU: MFJ-259 - Operation and Calibration
• Pete Fountain - WD4IXD: DXpedition Dry Tortugas; YouTube Video
• Shel Radin - KFØUR: Go Take a Hike (Portable QRP)
• Dave Bowers - WØDAB: Estes Park CO Flood Communications; QST article
• Brian Mileshosky - N5ZGT: Amateur Radio Mesh Networking
• Presenter Bios
• 2014 Photos

• 2013 Fall TechFest Flyer
• Joe Lanzoni: Lightning Protection for Radio Operators
• Bob Nuttelman - KØFYI: Working DX with Low Power and Restrictions
• Paul Veal - NØAH: Low-Band Operations with Suburban-Style Antennas
• Larry Weinstein - KØNA: Using Free Software to Improve a Station
• Brian Mileshosky - N5ZGT, and Ed James - KA8JMW: Raspberry PI & Amateur Radio Applications
• 2013 Photos

• Bill Leonard - NØCU: Homebrewing an HF Software Defined Radio
• Anna Veal - WØANT: Doing a Lot With a Little (Low Power Contesting)
• Brian Mileshosky - N5ZGT: Yagi Antennas and Antenna Design
• Wayne Heinen - NØPOH: Using WSJT FSK441 For VHF Meteor Scatter; WSJT presentation with audio (download from Rocky Mountain VHF+ - under Tech Topics and Operating, Digital Meteor Scatter WSJT
• Colin Whitmore - ACØS: Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES); Know Before You Go (KBUG) Form
• 2012 Photos

• Glenn Adams - NØGNR: Amateur Digital TV
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
  • Part 4
• Roger Krautkremer - KØYY: DX-pedition Zimbabwe, DXing Tools
• Bob Witte - KØNR: VHF Contesting
• Frank Ivan - KØFEI: SDRs as Panadapters
• Bill Leonard - NØCU: Got Match - Intro Info for Antenna Tuners
• Larry Benko - WØQE: Antenna Tuners

• Bill Leonard - NØCU: Audio Processing - Make that Difficult Contact
• Jim Pope - KGØPP: Classic Radios
• Jay Schwisow - KT5E: Contesting Using Wire Antennas
• Larry Weinstein - KØNA: DXing Using Wire Antennas 100 w Rigs
• Dick Schneider - ABØCD: QRP - Make Contacts Like the Big Boys
• Bob Witte - KØNR: VHF/UHF - Beyond FM

• Steve Finch - AIØW: Block Diagrams and Schematics
• Bob Witte - KØNR: Electronic Test Equipment
• Jim Stitt - KAØNZZ: HF Digital Communications (digital modes)
• Jim Stitt - KAØNZZ: HF Digital communications (digital modes) with sound
• Larry Weinstein - KØNA: Ohm's and Kirchoff's Laws
• Larry Weinstein - KØNA: Propagation of Radio Waves
• Bill Rinker - W6OAV: Taking the Mystery out of SWR

• Larry Weinstein - KØNA: Antenna Modeling Using 4NEC2
• Steve Finch - AIØW: Antenna Tuner Performance Testing
• Mike Higgins - A6AER: Dissipation of Lightning Energy on Antennas and Towers
• Steve Finch - AIØW: Emergency Antennas
• Steve Finch - AIØW: The Fabulous Dipole
• Larry Weinstein - KØNA: Small Antennas