The topic for the October meeting was "The New Top Bands" with Mitch Powell as speaker.
Daves Note from the Meeting are here.
Mitch's presentation is here
A brief profile of our guest speaker
Mitch Powell, VE3OT, is well known by Canadian Hams. I first met him at Fanshawe College in late 1972, where he was teaching electronics and running the Fanshawe club station VE3LFC. He was also teaching the evening beginner ham radio classes back then and I enrolled. My code was not up to par that first year, and several trips to the DOC downtown just resulted in jangled nerves and sweaty palms. A year later Mitch told me that the course was going to test in a few weeks and why didn't I come out for the code practice and then write the exam with the others. After two or three weeks of daily practice I amazed myself by passing the code with just a few errors and the theory and regs portions too. Back then we had to wait what seemed like forever before our precious call arrived in the mail. I know that Mitch has been responsible for getting a lot of London hams on the air, and we're all appreciative.
Mitch went on to found and be president of the Canadian Radio Relay League, and he put a lot of effort into providing real benefits to Canadian Hams. I think I still have some letterhead and envelopes with the CRRL logo on them around here somewhere. I know I have great memories.
Eventually the College, in its wisdom, determined that evening courses should not be taught by day faculty, and Mitch was forced to stop teaching the beginners ham course. He has continued to greatly enjoy the hobby, working fast CW with uncanny ease, and explaining difficult concepts to other hams in an approachable and fun way.
When the 137kHz band was first opened on a trial basis, Mitch was one of the very first to apply for special permission and get on the air with completely home brew equipment. His QRSS signal has been heard across North America and even in Europe. Not bad for a band where typical amateur antenna efficiencies are hovering around one percent. We are so fortunate to have Mitch as our Guest of Honour for our October meeting, to tell us all about “The New Top Bands: 2200 meters and 600 meters".
Dave
VE3GSO
