Trip To The ARRL In Newington
Click on the first picture to go through the album. Photos taken by Ray N2ZEM


The story of the Newington Trip as related by Diane K2DO.
The trip to ARRL headquarters in Newington, Connecticut on Friday was terrific. Many thanks to Eddie K2EPM for making the arrangements and keeping our group together!
 
We started out meeting in different places - the bikers, joined by Ray N2ZEM in his 4-wheeled vehicle - met at exit 39 of the LIE. The weather on the South Shore of Long Island was extremely foggy, but north of the Southern State the weather cleared and once we got off the Island the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. We hooked up with Eddie K2EPM in Westchester via ham radio were able to continue on the rest of the trip "caravan-style". We looked a little strange - Eddie K2EPM (with Gail K2RED) in front, George N2GA (Suzuki SV650), myself (Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom) and Jerry WM2V (Kawasaki Vulcan) on our motorcycles in the middle and Ray N2ZEM as the last vehicle. Luckily we all drive about the same speed .. at least most of the time. It was amazing how many people wanted to cut us off or squeeze in between. We were all able to communicate via simplex which made it much easier. All three of us on motorcycles have special headsets and speakers that attach inside the helmets. A PTT switch mounts on the handlebar with Velcro. We all used 2m handitalkies that we put in our pockets .  There is a 3-way interface cable that connects the headset, PTT switch and the radio - with different connectors and adapters available depending on what radio you use (for more info see www.motocomm.com). I had a VX1R and George had a IC-Q7A.

The route through New York and Connecticut took us through some nice turns and wooded areas and by avoiding the interstate we didn't have any of the big trucks to deal with and it was much prettier. By about 10:45 AM we saw the W1AW towers and antennas looming ahead and we were happy to pull into the parking lot. Eddie had arranged for a tour, and there was one other couple there from North Carolina who were going to join us.

The first stop for many of us was the "facilities" and once we were all signed in the tour started. It was the first tour for Gail and Ray - the rest of us have been up many times, but there is always something new. We started in the lobby, where there are some displays of vintage gear and some counters with all kinds of goodies to buy. Of course I couldn't help myself, and bought some ARRL baseball caps (good to cover the "hat head" from the helmets), pins, repeater directories, etc.

Our first stop was the contest branch ... and in each department a different person gave us some info about what they do. As we went around the building, I think the other couple got a big peeved because many of the people there know the group from LIMARC and wanted to stop and chat.
 

My favorite place at ARRL HQ is the library - they have shelves lined with every issue of QST, everything the league has ever published, and all the issues of CQ, other mags, Callbooks, etc. I could spend all day there - they don't mind if you take one off the shelf and look at it either. We saw the HF testing area, QSL bureau, where they put the magazine together and much more. There are two floors, and the upstairs has recently been expanded.

Soon it was time for lunch and we went to a local steakhouse called "99". Jen Hagy N1TDY the ARRL Media Relations Manager joined us. After lunch we went back and operated W1AW on four bands - I was happy on 12m using an Icom 781 with stacked 3-element beams up at 65 ft. Logging was by computer using the program CT (similar to the NA program we use at Field Day). You don't use your own call - everyone uses W1AW. It was amazing how fast I got a response when I called CQ!

After about an hour the wind starting picking up and the people at the League told us there was a weather alert for their area. A very bad storm was on the way with high winds. We packed up our stuff quickly and after a few more photos, we said goodbye to W1AW. Eddie made a quick stop at Lentini's (for a quick look at the new Yaesu VX7R handitalkie - he decided not to buy it) and the rest of us stopped to fill up with gas and head back.
 
We ended up only about 5 miles from each other as we hit a mountain of traffic in southern CT. Luckily by going south and west we avoided the storm and only had a few strong winds. By 6PM we were back on Long Island. Later that evening the big storm hit and we were very glad everyone was already home safe. For the next  trip Eddie suggested that we plan to stay a little later and have dinner somewhere in CT to avoid the traffic - especially if we make the trip on another Friday. Sounds good Eddie - let's plan another one for the Fall!