RATS members, join us at Rockwood Park in Chesterfield County this weekend for POTA chasing, perhaps a fox hunt, and other ham radio activities.  We'll meet at 11 AM Saturday morning.  Call us on the W4RAT 146.88 repeater for directions and meet-up location.

Update:  This event has been rescheduled for 11 AM Saturday, September 30.

The three AREDN sector radios at W4RAT-MIDL will undergo firmware updates this evening.  There will be periodic outages of RF and IP tunnel connectivity to and from this site for about the next hour.

Update:  This maintenance is complete as of 12:10 AM.  All three radios are now on the latest stable firmware, v3.23.8.0 (Aug 2023).

rocket-m-wx W4RAT-MIDL-W 10.88.41.241 3.23.4.0 -> 3.23.8.0 complete
rocket-m-xw W4RAT-MIDL-SE 10.88.41.218 3.23.4.0 -> 3.23.8.0 complete
rocket-m-xw W4RAT-MIDL-NE 10.88.42.169 3.23.4.0 -> 3.23.8.0 complete

The three AREDN sector radios at W4RAT-MIDL will undergo firmware updates this evening.  There will be periodic outages of RF and IP tunnel connectivity to and from this site for about the next hour.

Update:  This maintenance was completed at 11:50 PM and all three sectors are back on the air.  All radios were updated from firmware v3.19.3.0 (Mar 2019) to v3.23.4.0 (Apr 2023).

rocket-m-xw W4RAT-MIDL-W 10.88.41.241 3.19.3.0 -> 3.22.1.0 -> 3.23.4.0 complete
rocket-m-xw W4RAT-MIDL-SE 10.88.41.218 3.19.3.0 -> 3.22.1.0 -> 3.23.4.0 complete
rocket-m-xw W4RAT-MIDL-NE 10.88.42.169 3.19.3.0 -> 3.22.1.0 -> 3.22.8.0 -> 3.23.4.0 complete

Our monthly Membership Meeting is tonight, Friday 9/15 at 7:30 PM via Zoom.  We will be welcoming back Axel Fisser (K8AXX).  Axel will be following up on his battery building presentation from a couple months ago with a lithium charging presentation.

Additionally, our newly elected directors, secretary, and re-elected treasurer will officially take office during the meeting.

And we'll be seeking a bunch of volunteers to serve on the Frostfest Committee, which is due to meet sometime in the next month or thereabouts, to evaluate the prospects for having a 2025 show.

RATS meetings are currently open to the public -- at this time you do not need to be a RATS member to attend.

Time is running out!  If you need to renew your membership, or if you're thinking of joining RATS, submit your renewal/application and payment through this web site before midnight September 30 to take advantage of the old 2019 pricing.  Dues are $25 Individual, $40 Family through the end of the day 9/30.

Just after midnight the morning of October 1, we'll push the button to raise dues to $35 Individual, $55 Family.

Help support our club and repeater systems, maintain your right to vote on club affairs, take advantage of member discount pricing on future group activities and workshops, and preserve your right to participate in club meetings and activities:  join or renew today!

This Friday September 15th, we will be welcoming back Axel Fisser (K8AXX). Axel will be following up on his battery building presentation from a couple months ago with a lithium charging presentation. Join us on zoom this Friday at 7:30pm eastern time.

The Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society is looking for more people to do presentations for our club meetings. If you have a presentation, or have someone in mind to do a presentation, please email programs@rats.net and our program committee will get back with you to coordinate a schedule and discuss your topics.

At its September 6 meeting, the RATS Board established a Program Committee.  According to our by-laws, the Program Committee "shall be responsible for the coordination and procurement of speakers and/or programs for each meeting."  This will alleviate a burden traditionally taken on almost entirely by the Board of Directors and it should help bring compelling content and new presenters to the monthly membership meetings.

If you would like to give a presentation at a RATS meeting, or if you are interested in serving on the committee (up to four seats are available) contact programs@rats.net.

Update: All maintenance was completed around 2 PM this afternoon and the repeaters are fully restored to normal operation.  Both DR-2X repeaters received firmware updates, a new PoE switch was installed on the AREDN system, and a blown Ethernet surge protector was replaced on one of the three AREDN sectors.

The W4RAT 146.88 and 442.55 MHz repeaters will be off the air periodically for firmware updates, beginning around 10 AM Saturday morning and concluding by noon.

Additionally, a network switch serving the AREDN nodes will be replaced, resulting in a brief period of downtime on this equipment.

The 443.5875 MHz DMR repeater will not be impacted by Saturday's maintenance activity.

The current RATS membership year ends September 30.  Members are encouraged to renew now to avoid a lapse in membership.  Dues will increase on October 1.  Renew before the end of day September 30 to enjoy the current 2019 rate ($25 individual, $40 family) for one more year.

Memberships not renewed will lapse on October 1, resulting in a loss of voting rights and other membership privileges.  Lapsed memberships may be immediately reinstated at the new pricing by paying online no later than December 30, after which a new application must be submitted for approval by the membership.  Don't delay, renew today.