Piglet News

May 26, 2024

Hamvention 2024 in Xenia, Ohio was a success, with nearly 20 Piglets in attendance. Last year we were quite visible with our pink shirts, but for 2024 we upped our game by adding pink hats and safety vests!

Caesar Creek State Park (POTA# US-1940) served as home base for the third year, with Piggies split between tents, RVs, and nearby hotels. We had some rain, but nothing a Piggy can't handle!

Some arrived early on Wednesday night to attend events on Thursday, such as the QRP-ACRI seminars or Contest University.

We again volunteered to help with parking in the Vendor Lot. We earned free entry tickets (and the gratitude of event organizers.) Side perk: Be the first people inside the exhibit halls when the gates open!

Vendor booths and seminars were popular but the flea market was the highlight for most Piglets, as well as networking with old friends, business owners, company engineers, and Internet ham "celebrities".

We were invited to visit the DARA clubhouse, the organization which hosts Hamvention. W8BI has an amazing facility in Dayton, with multiple towers, beams & wire antennas, three HF contesting stations, a VHF/UHF room, a large classroom/workshop, and a nice lounge!

We returned to the State Park every night to experiment with newly acquired gear and various antennas as Piglets put multiple POTA stations on the air, logging several hundred QSOs over the weekend.

If you missed Hamvention this year, we hope you can join us in 2025!

April 11, 2024

We have pink ballcaps, customized with your callsign, just in time for Hamvention! Just $20.  Visit our new Members Merch Shop page for ordering details.

Sat. May 4, 2024 (11:00 AM - 11:00 PM)
Boone County Fairgrounds, Lebanon IN

Join the Piglets for a fun day on the air during the Indiana QSO Party. It's an all-day casual HF contest where Indiana is the focus! The goal is for everyone outside Indiana to work as many Indiana stations as they can, while Indiana stations focus on working as many states, Canadian provinces and Indiana counties we can.  It's a great opportunity for members (and guests!) who are new to HF or contesting to learn how to get on the air and help us kick off outdoor radio season!  We score extra points for activating "rare" counties with few past participants (like Boone Co.), so that's where we'll be!

Learn more on our INQP 2024 page. If you're interested in running a radio, logging, helping set up, or simply observing, let us know on our Discord #inqp-planning channel or via email.

Rescheduled to Sunday May 5, 2024... ¡¡CINCO DE MAYO!!
2:00-4:30 PM
*** CANCELLED FOR MARCH 3RD! ***

Starting Location: TBD
Usually held on first Sundays of the month

Get your 2 meter Yagis, handheld radios, attenuators and mapping apps ready... spring is almost here... and that means FOXHUNTS!! If you've never done a "fox" radio transmitter hunt before, no problem... Come out to the park and pair up with a seasoned fox hunting member to learn how!

Learn more...

Sat. March 2, 2024 (9:00 - 11:30 AM)
Riverside Junior High School Auditorium, Fishers

[This event is not organized by Piglet Radio.]

Live storm spotter training from the National Weather Service is crucial to reporting severe weather accurately and efficiently during storm monitoring nets as a SkyWarn Spotter.

Event is open to the public, ages 10+, ham license not needed. This event is being hosted by Hamilton County Emergency Management (HCEM).  

Learn more and sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4AABAF2CA2F4C25-44690379-03022024#/

Other live and virtual training dates at https://www.weather.gov/ind/spotter_talks.

Feb. 9-10, 2024

At home!

Piglets celebrated Chinese New Year by grabbing their favorite Chinese-made transceiver (or two!) to see how many contacts they could made within a two hour window. HF, VHF/UHF, and even IRLP/Echolink contacts were all fair game!  

Learn More...

Saturday, February 03, 2024
1-3pm, Carmel-Clay Library, Community Room A

Many Piglets use 3D printers to enhance our hobby or solve problems around the house. This workshop introduces creating and modifying 3D designs with Autodesk Fusion 360 software using sketches, dimensions, parameters, and constraints to allow for easy design changes. [Workshop video archived on Past Workshops page.]

Jan. 27-28, 2024
Sat/Sun 2pm-2pm (24 hrs)
Osprey Pointe Pavilion, Morse Park, Noblesville IN

Winter Field Day is a 24 hour radio contest and cold weather portable station deployment event, with some fun and learning tossed in! 

Learn More...

Piglet Radio made the cover of Current In Carmel Magazine! 

The feature article [PDF] in the January 9th edition highlighted what aspects of amateur radio excite our members and explored the unique aspects of our growing club.