WECA member meeting tonight both on Zoom and at the Westchester County Center

UPCOMING WECA Events 

Interested in joining WECA?

WECA is an Amateur (Ham) Radio club located in Westchester County, NY about 25 miles north of New York City.  Currently the group holds monthly via Zoom (no meetings in July and August).  Please click here to download an information brochure about the club.  If you would like to join WECA, then please click here to download a membership application form and click here to download our Repeater Use Policy. These downloads require that you have Adobe Acrobat Reader (a free download from Adobe) on your computer to read, fill out or print these documents.  Member applications may be sent in electronically to Membership@Weca.Org or via USPS mail for processing.  

If you recently attended a WECA sponsored Amateur (Ham) Radio License preparation class or took a Ham Radio exam with a WECA VE session, please contact the Education Instructor (Larrie / W2UL@weca.org) or VE proctor (Bob / N2WZ@weca.org) about a possible free one- year membership with the club. If you have any questions about the club, then please send email to Membership@Weca.Org.  

If you would like to donate to WECA or pay your membership dues via PayPal, please click here to be directed to the WECA portal within PayPal. 

Upcoming Member meetings for 2026

We will continue to have zoom meetings and "in person" general session meetings via Zoom and sometimes at the Fire Training Center.  WECA Board meetings will be as Zoom meetings only.  The Zoom meeting credentials are sent to WECA members who have WECA email addresses about a day or so in advance of the online meeting. 

The following are the meeting dates which are on Monday nights at 7pm for the general session and  Board meetings are at 7:30pm.

• WECA Board meetings will be on the 4th Monday during July & August.

If you would like to make a presentation to our Amateur (Ham) Radio group, please send email to Membership@Weca.Org.

Our next WECA General Session meeting will be on Monday, May 11, 2026

We will have our next WECA General Session meeting on Monday, May 11, 2026 at 7:00 pm as a Zoom meeting and in-person meeting at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. Our guest speaker will be with Matthew Topoozin / KM6LYE  who will be doing a presentation on the LA Office of Emergency Management. If you have questions in advance of the presentation, Matt can be reached at MTopoozian@ceooem.lacounty.gov.

WECA members are invited to attend either in-person or "Zoom". Zoom credentials will be sent to members within 48 hours in advance of the Zoom meeting.

Upcoming public service events

Please see the Public Service Events calendar for 2026 "in person" public service events.  As always, volunteers are needed to fill the communicator positions at these events.  Please contact Kathy / kc2vct@weca.org with any questions or suggestions.

Free Amateur (Ham) Radio exam preparation classes - the General Class has begun!

All  exam prep classes are currently planned to be offered both in person within the Fire Training Center classroom and virtually using the Zoom app. 

WECA conducts an Amateur Exam preparation classes that begin in early January every year.  Currently for the General Class, it started in late March and will end in mid May 2026, and Technician classes will begin in early September 2026.  The Extra class finished already in March 2026. The preparation classes are held every Tuesday evening from 7 to 9:15 PM via Zoom.  You are invited to attend any or all of WECA’s training classes even if you are not planning on taking the test.  You just may want to learn more about a particular subject from our excellent instructors!  Please join us anytime.  For more details, please see below.

Please contact Larrie:  W2UL@Weca.Org  for access information or send email to membership@weca.org.

VE Testing - now in person at 4 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY

We are pleased to announce that in person Ham Radio (VE) Testing sessions are given at the Fire Training Center.  The Fire Training Center is located at 4 Dana Road in Valhalla, NY.  Future Ham Radio tests will be given IN PERSON on the second Thursday night at 7pm.  Please contact Bob Casino /  N2WZ for more information about future sessions.  Bob can be reached at  N2WZ@Weca.Org.

Check  out  the  Amateur (Ham)  Radio  Equipment  for  Sale!

The family of Stan Rothman WA2NRV (SK) has asked the WECA Board and Simon / KD2DOE to liquidate his Amateur (Ham) Equipment.  Please visit the website https://www.weca.site which catalogs the equipment for sale and the suggested price.  You can purchase the items you want and pay via Stripe using your credit card.  You and Simon (KD2DOE) will then find a time for picking up the equipment.

If you have any questions before the purchase, please contact Simon KD2DOE (at) weca.org.

How to renew your expiring Amateur (Ham) radio license with the FCC

The ARRL VE Team has created a helpful document on how to renew your Amateur (Ham) Radio license. It can be found at this ARRL license link. In summary before one starts the renewal process you will need to know your FRN number which can be found at the FCC's ULS page for licenses at Look up your license's FRN number Next click on the  FCC Licensing Manager and enter your signon credentials. Please see the document and  determine if you have already setup an FCC "CORES" username account. If not, the ARRL document explains how to create that a username account and associate your license to your FRN number.  The next step is go to the FCC license Manager, and renew the license, and submit your payment. Once all completed and have paid ($35 for ten years), the next business day you can check to see that your license has been extended by ten years by looking at FCC's Call Sign search for your call sign. Look on the right side of the page.

Peter / N2TFC

Upcoming Free AMATEUR (Ham) Radio License Preparation Classes

All classes are currently planned to be offered both in the Fire Training Center classroom and virtually using the Zoom app. 

The dates may change slightly from the dates posted below.

Have you ever thought about becoming an Amateur Radio “Ham” operator?  Here are some great opportunities to learn about Ham radio and to study for your FCC license with seasoned Ham radio operators as your teachers and mentors!

The Westchester Emergency Communications Association (WECA: www.weca.org) is proud to sponsor free Ham Radio License courses. Come take your first steps and join the exciting world of Amateur Radio. Enjoy talking to other Amateur Radio Operators, near and far!  Want to experiment with new technologies that utilize computers interfaced with radios?  Would you like to join forces with county government and local volunteer organizations as Amateur Radio Operators for Emergency Communications assistance and Public Service events? Take your first steps by joining us for this interactive course taught by a team of knowledgeable Amateur Radio Operators with a passion for their subjects.

• WECA's Amateur (Ham) Radio Test Preparation class for the Extra Class Ticket began on January 6, 2026 until the second week in March.  The class ran for 10 weeks every Tuesday evening from 7 to 9:15 PM eastern.  On Thursday of the 10th week an FCC license testing session was conducted at the Fire Training Center, 4 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY.  

• WECA's Ham Radio Test Preparation class for the General Class Ticket began in March 2026.  The class will run for 9 weeks every Tuesday evening from 7 to 9:15 PM eastern.  On Thursday of the 9th week an FCC license testing session will be conducted at the Fire Training Center, 4 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY.  

• The Technician prep class will begin in early September 2026 for nine weeks.  On Thursday of the 9th week an FCC license testing session will be conducted. The class will be in-person at the Fire Training Center in Valhalla and also available remotely on Zoom.  The credential for Zoom access is available at education@weca.org. 

• If you have any other questions, please send email to our Education Director Larrie Sutliff / W2UL at education@weca.org.

• VE sessions are normally held on the second Thursday of each month at the Fire Training Center in Valhalla.  Please contact Bob Casino:  N2WZ@Weca.Org with any VE questions you may have.

• Please click here to go to the WECA.APP site for further details about the classes.

What you missed at a previous WECA GENERAL meeting

• For the April general meeting, we had a really nice in-person presentation from Daniel Garcia about Meshtastic , which is an application for off-grid communications using your iPhone and Android devices. This application demonstrated how to have short range communications where cell phones and repeaters might not work. Please click here Meshtastic for more details about this application. 

• Our March 9 meeting was at the Fire Training Center and on Zoom. Our guest presenter was Ed Wilson / N2XDD who updated us on the latest ARRL news. 

• Our February 9 meeting was "Marconi night" with a review of Guglielmo Marconi's history on his trans Atlantic transmission communication history with Andrew Schmidt / W2BOS. Lots of slides and information learned about Marconi's exploits!

• At our January 12, 2026 General Meeting our guest speaker was Deborah Kerr / KC2GPV who has been the NYC Marathon Amateur Radio Communications Director for many years as well as other marathons from United Airlines, the Brooklyn Half Marathon, and NYCRUNS half marathon. She showed a very nice Powerpoint presentation and mention of former and current volunteers from WECA.

• Our December 8, 2025 meeting was held in person at the Fire Training Center at 4 Dana Road in Valhalla, NY. Our presenters were Dr. Simon Rosenberg / KD2DOE and Steve Pendzuk / KD2OFD who discussed the Winter Field Day event coming up on January 24th & 25th, 2026. 

• Our November 10, 2025 meeting was with  Craig / KM6LYW who presented Raspberry PI applications for Amateur (Ham) Radio.

• Our October 13th meeting was with  Steve Pendzuk/ KD2OFD who gave a brief refresher presentation about ARES/RACES.

• September 8th meeting General meeting session with Steve Pendzuk/ KD2OFD and Fred Halley from the ARRL discussing FEMA and the ARRL. Steve was presented with a certificate for becoming the ARES Westchester County Emergency Coordinator! .

• The June 9th meeting was the annual Field Day preparation discussion, plans, and officer elections.

• The May 12th meeting was both a Zoom and in-person meeting at the County Center in White Plains. Our member Bill / KA2OFM made a presentation regarding remote operation of a ham station and gave a live demo that was very impressive using phone on 20 meters using the Internet.  For more details please send email to Bill at his call sign at weca.org.

• April was the APRS / Winlink meeting hosted by Simon / KD2DOE.  A very nice interactive meeting with a Powerpoint presentation explaining the many features that APRS can offer. There was some discussion about Winlink as well.

• Our March 10, 2025 general meeting was with our ARRL Hudson Division Director Ed Wilson / N2XDD.  Ed discussed many ARRL topics with the attendees and we had a good Q & A session about how to improve our efforts of promoting the Ham Radio hobby.

•  The February 10, 2025 meeting was with Deborah Kerr / KC2GPV who is the Amateur Radio Communications Director from the Event Hams Group.  She spoke about the events such as the NYC Marathon, the Brooklyn Half Run, and various other public service events that Event Hams has provided communications. Deborah can be reached at eventhams.org.

• Our January 13, 2025 meeting was a Winter Field Day presentation by Steve / KD2OFD that included setup information and past history of WFD's.  Please send email to KD2OFD@Weca.Org for more details. We will be a "4I" site operating on 80 through 6 meters with CW for two positions and phone for two positions.  Want to learn more about equipment setup and contesting, then please come to this event on Jan 25th and 26th at the Mamaroneck Harbor Island Park beginning at 10am on Saturday!

• Our December 9, 2024 General meeting was a presentation from member Bob Wilson / N2DVQ showing the group via Zoom "The Shack" at the Grasslands Radio Tower site for all of the WECA Repeater equipment from 2 meters to 900 MHz. It was about an hour long with a few videos of the equipment that keeps the WECA repeaters running.

• At the November 11, 2024 general meeting we had a presentation from Josh / W2BRA about the Southern District Net.  He gave a Power Point presentation that showed how message traffic is passed from beginning to end and the various forms that are used.  Although under construction, the WECA "Repeater Nets" page is being updated with lists of local and area nets that might be of interest to you.  

• There is also a new email address for Health & Welfare items.  Email sent to health&welfare@weca.org will be monitored by Josh / W2BRA for processing.

• On October 21, 2024 at 7pm at the County Center and on Zoom we had an ARES / RACES roundtable meeting led by WECA member Steve Pendzuk / KD2OFD who is the local ARES/RACES Coordinator. With plenty of slides and pictures via a Power point presentation, Steve discussed the many events that WECA members who are also ARES / RACES members have been or want to be involved that run through out the year.  About 20% of the club attended the meeting via Zoom and in person at the County Center. For more information please send email to Steve at kd2ofd@weca.org. 

 Membership Director Peter Johnson / N2TFC reported that 92% of the membership has responded and renewed. Please contact membership@weca.org with any questions or comments.

• The September meeting is our "kick-off" for 2024-2025.  Our opening presenter was Ed Wilson / N2XDD who is the Hudson Division Director whose "fill-in" term ends on 12/31/2024.  The Hudson Division covers from Westchester up to Sarasota and includes Long Island, and Northern New Jersey. Ed was recently elected for the Hudson Division Director's office for 2025-2028. He  discussed many items which included his vita accomplishments, digital technologies, a revamping of VE sessions, the return of local Hamfests, Spectrum protection, and many more items.
  Our second presenter was Henry Heine / ND2W who introduced the participants to FREEData which is an HF messaging platform that is in alpha development. The program offers many features that can be viewed at their FreeData.App website. It is an open source program where many features might be added by the developers and users. This is another "tool" in the "Toolbox" for communications.  The program operates under Windows, Apple, and Linux that can be a store and forward application or direct mode.
  The officers and directors reported of upcoming meetings, Public Service events, drills, and education classes for Ham Radio test preparation that are listed elsewhere on this site. The Membership Director Peter / N2TFC reported that the 2024-2025 membership cycle began in mid August and as of September 9 about 65% of the members have renewed so far. The club dues are expected by 09/18/2024. 

• There were no meetings in July & August. See you in September!

• We had our June 2024 meeting that began with an excellent Field Day Powerpoint presentation by Steve Pendzuk / KD2OFD who described all the items needed and used at Field Day including a component breakdown of the typical phone position.  WECA will be operating on 80 through 6 meters on phone and CW with 4 transmitters plus a GOTA station using two towers and dipoles.  We also had our 2024-2025 elections. Most of the incumbents ran for office again and a few Board members resigned with new people people filling those positions.  Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC was the Emergency Services Director who nominated  Steve / KD2OFD to replace Tom who has  retired.  Due to other personal commitments Kevin Duffelmeyer / KD2PDL resigned, and Henry Heine / ND2W is now the Digital Modes Director. See you in September!

• The May 2024 General Session was on Monday, May 13.  The presentation was about APRS, its use in the past, and now messaging via APRS. Jason Oleham / KM4ACK gave a very nice presentation.  Please click on his call sign above to see more information about APRS applications and usage.

• Our April 1, 2024 our General Session meeting took place at the County Center and via Zoom.  Our guest speaker was Deborah Kerr / KC2GPV who is the Amateur Radio Communications Director and Founder of Eventhams along with being the NYC Marathon Amateur Radio Communications Director.  Deborah discussed the many projects that Eventhams has been involved with and gave a Power point presentation describing their accomplishments.

• The March 11, 2024 meeting was a presentation about Discord which is a bulletin board (blog) to share information. Our presenter was Henry / ND2W.  If you have questions about this application, Henry can be reached at ND2W@Weca.Org.

• On February 12 at The Fire Training Center Fire Fighter Chris Johnson from the Westchester Dept. of Emergency Services gave an excellent presentation about Lithium Ion batteries and the dangers they can pose to the user and fire fighters. He showed examples of failed battery systems and a Power Point presentation with many details. He also discussed how to use and maintain these power packs safely.

• Our January 8, 2024 meeting included another great presentation by Steve / KD2OFD with "Apps for Deployment, Events, & Everyday".  We also discussed the upcoming Winter Field Day event to be held at the Mamaroneck Harbor Island Park on January 27th & 28th. Please click here to view Steve's presentation.

• The November 13th meeting included a PowerPoint presentation with links to supporting documents by Noah / KC2DVT and the use of unsecure communications being used in the Ukraine war.  There was mention of analog amateur radios such as inexpensive handhelds that sell on the Internet for less than $100 and even the use of analog AM CB radios!  

• Our October 16, 2023 meeting included a presentation from the ARRL on how to renew your Ham Radio license as the procedure has changed.  Details of how to navigate the FCC's "ULS" pages, what details are needed to known in advance of the upgrade, and other ways to renew your license through organizations like the ARRL. Our next public service event will be the Mamaroneck Turkey Trot Race to be held on Sunday, November 19, 2023. Please contact Kathy / KC2VCT if you would like to be a communications volunteer for this event.  She can be reached at KC2VCT@Weca.Org.

• For our September 18, 2023 General meeting we had a presentation from Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC. This was the "kick-off" for the 2023/2024 WECA events season. Tom discussed using "directed Net" communications and proper “Net” etiquette. . 

• The June 12, 2023 meeting was our Field Day 2023 presentation with a Power Point by Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC with plenty of pictures from previous Field Days at the Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck.  We also conducted elections for our 2023-2024 Officers and Directors.

•  Our General membership presentation for the May 8, 2023 meeting was with Mark / WC3W who discussed CQ Magazine's DX Marathon.

• On April 10, 2023 was our Chirp-Next meeting with Steve / KD2OFD as the presenter.  He explained the differences between Chirp and Chirp-Next and the many new features that Chirp-Next that allows better programming control of almost 500 Amateur radios that are supported. To receive a copy of the Power point presentation and code plug file for "WECA" frequencies, please Click here 

• At our March 13, 2023 general membership meeting we had a presentation from Bioenno Power and their batteries for Ham Radio and commercial systems.  These are long term and deep discharge units.  Please click here for more information about their batteries for Amateur Radio applications.

• Our February general membership meeting was presented by Simon / KD2DOE who discussed how to use your Android phone for APRS, Winlink, and other related topics.

• January was our annual Winter Field Day preparation meeting.  Our presenter was Simon / KD2DOE who discussed the details of the upcoming event on January 28 & 29, 2023 at Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck, NY.  This year we will have two phone and one CW operating position.  As always many helpers are needed to setup, operate, and take down the three stations (3I) for the event.  For details, please contact Steve Pendzuk / KD2OFD by sending email to him at KD2OFD@Weca.Org or send email to Bill / KA2OFM@Weca.Org.

• For our Dec  12, 2002 - General member meeting - our guest presentation was with with Ria Jiram / N2RJ who is the ARRL Hudson Division Director.  She gave a presentation of "Happenings at the ARRL"

• Our November 14, 2022 meeting was with WECA member Steve / KD2OFD who discussed "Operating DMR and Weekly Nets - Tips for operating on DMR".  There was a short review of previous DMR presentations, and then he went into the many digital nets that Steve has found.  These are not just local nets, they are nets from across the US, ARES/RACES, NTS, and foreign English language nets.  Steve also demonstrated how to find active talk groups, and how to connect to them.  Click here for a copy of Steve's presentation.

• Our October 10, 2022 presentation was with Wayne Smith / WB2ONZ who with a slide show discussed the Civil Air Patrol  and their missions.

• Our September 12, 2022 meeting was a "kick-off" for the 2022/2023 WECA events season.  The presentation was with Tom / WB2NHC who discussed repeater usage, and proper 2 meter repeater etiquette.  Peter / N2TFC gave an update regarding the membership renewal drive that is currently in motion. About 55% of the club has renewed, so please renew today.  If you did not receive your renewal notice via email on or around August 28, please send email to Membership@Weca.Org.  Bill / KA2OFM told us about the upcoming member meeting presentations, and Kathy / KC2VCT spoke of the upcoming Public Service events that will begin on September 24.  Bob Wilson / N2DVQ reported on the repeater systems which are all fully operational including EchoLink which was offline due to a failed drive that Bob was able to restore.  Finally Bob "Radar" Casino / N2GDY talked about the past and upcoming VE test sessions.  The 2022 Technician exam preparation class begins on Tuesday, 9/13/2022 at 7pm at the Fire Training session in Valhalla, NY.

• The June 13, 2022 meeting was a Field Day 2022 presentation with Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC with plenty of pictures from previous Field Days at the Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck.  We also conducted elections for our 2022-2023 Officers and Directors.

• Our guest presenter for the May 9, 2022 meeting was the ARRL Hudson Director - N2RJ / Ria Jiram who discussed ARRL / Hudson Division happenings & News.

• On April 11, 2022 our  General member meeting was with Ron Tomo / KE2UK who discussed the MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio System).

• At the March 14, 2022 meeting we had a great presentation about contesting by Tim Duffy / K3LR.  He showed the group his contesting station which was AMAZING!  Tim also gave the group a short presentation on DX Engineering's new Amateur Radio products. 

• Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC gave a presentation at our February 14, 2022 general meeting on the use of Winlink for Amateur Radio.

• Our January 2022 meeting was a presentation about radio wave propagation with Rich Kautz / KC2HZW. 

• Our November 8 meeting was a DMR / Digital Radio presentation by Steve / KD2OFD.  His Power Point may be viewed here.

• At the October 11, 2021 meeting our guest presenter was Ria Jiram / N2RJ who is the ARRL Hudson Division Director.

• For our September 13, 2021 meeting we had two presenters.  Tom / WB2NHC who discussed "Ham 101", and how to operate at public service events, and on the Ham bands.  Our second guest was Deborah Kerr / KC2GPV who gave a presentation on the 50th Anniversary of the NYC Marathon and its Ham Radio volunteers.

• There were no member meetings in July and August 2021.  There were however Board meetings on the forth Monday in July and August 2021.

• The June 14, 2021 meeting was a Field Day 2021 presentation with Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC and plenty of pictures of previous Field Days at the Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck.  We also conducted elections for our 2021-2022 Officers and Directors.

• Our May 10 meeting was presented by Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC who discussed WECA's relationship with RACES / ARES complete with a Power Point slide show. 

• Our April 12, 2021 meeting was with Valerie Hotzfeld / NV9L.  Valerie has been a guest presenter at WECA before when she gave a lecture about the Puerto Rico Hurricane response in 2018 of which she was a Ham Radio volunteer.  Although she has created many presentations, this meeting was about about contesting and a film clip about the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. .

• Our March 8, 2021 virtual meeting was a presentation by Alan / W2AEW who discussed the use of basic test equipment usage, meters and oscilloscopes. This was a great presentation to new Hams as well as experienced license holders.  The Power Point slide presentation in PDF format may be downloaded here.

• The February 8, 2021 virtual Zoom meeting had two presentations.  The first presentation was by  Joe Eisenberg / K0NER discussing kit building .  Joe presented a very in depth tour of kit building, sources, and best practices for building all types of kits.  The second presenter was  Rob Calouri / KD2QLQ discussing WinLink - the Amateur radio email application.  Rob gave a step by step presentation of getting started with Winlink on 145.07 (WB2ZII-10 [WECA]).  He also discussed  modems, speed,  protocols, file attachments, and clear text (non-secure) exchange of messages.

• The January 11, 2021 virtual Zoom meeting was a presentation by Steve / KD2OFD concerning APRS.  Please click here for Steve's presentation.

• The December 2020 virtual meeting featured a series of short presentations by WECA Members.  The presenters included a digital presentation by Kevin / KD2PDL.  Richard / KC2HZW discussed his home station.  Stan / WA2NRV gave a presentation about the long lost art of soldering and Kathleen / KC2VCT gave a Holiday Culinary presentation.

• The November 2020 virtual meeting was all about CW.  Our guest presenters were from the Long Island CW Club. Howard WB2UZE and Jim W6JIM did a great job discussing the art to learning CW.  They have a Very Successful Program on how you can Learn CW.

• The October 2020 "Zoom" meeting featured Rich Kautz / KC2HZW who discussed propagation on the six and ten meter bands.  He will also discussed using FT8 for long distance contacts on 80 to 6 meters.  We are sorry that you missed a very informative set of presentations!

• Our September 2020 virtual meeting had a presentation by John Lembke from the Westchester Department of Emergency Services and radiological training for Indian Point . Deborah Kerr / KC2GPV who is the Amateur Radio Communications Director at eventhams@gmail.com discussed Ham Radio's participation in the various foot races hosted by the New York City Road Runners.  Such races include the New York City Marathon usually held the first Sunday in November which is cancelled for 2020.  Other races include the half Marathon and NYC Triathlon. 

• Our June 2020 meeting was about Field Day 2020 and how the club was going to participate in this yearly event as stations at home and not at Mamaroneck's Harbor Island Park.  Please click here to see details about how WECA participated in this unusual Field Day event.

• Our May 2020 virtual meeting using Zoom was led by Ria Jiram / N2RJ- the Hudson Division Director.  She discussed many topics about the ARRL including how to handle Field Day 2020 and VE testing.

• The April 2020 meeting was our second virtual meeting using Zoom.  Our presenter was Adrian Ciuperca /  KO8SCA who discussed his DXPeditions to Tokelau and Bhutan.

• The March 2020 WECA Meeting was our first "Virtual Meeting" using "Zoom" the live presentation sharing website with Steve Pendzuk discussing DMR radio and its programming.  Please click here to see Steve's excellent Power Point presentation in PDF format.

• The February 2020 meeting was a Web presentation by Jason Oldham / KM4ACK and the use of Raspberry PI computers for Ham Radio Applications. Jason has published many YouTube videos about Raspberry Pi usage in Ham Radio.

• Our January 2020 meeting with Bill KA2OFM and Simon KD2DOE discussed the upcoming Winter Field Day event in Mamaroneck.

• At our December 2019 meeting member Rob Calouri / KD2QLQ gave a factual presentation about Internet Security.  Many members learned about some of the fallacies that exist about Internet security and how one can better protect themselves and their information.

• The November 2019 meeting featured a presentation about Echolink by Steve Pendzuk / KD2OFD.  A Power point presentation was shown and is available as an Acrobat file by clicking here.

• Our October 2019 meeting presenter was John Lemke from the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services (DES) who discussed the use of dosimeters and the correct protocols that are in place should a radiological event occur.  WECA member Kai Chen / K2TRW gave a presentation explaining what DMR is, described and provided history regarding the various flavors of DMR, and had a question and answer session while showing DMR products from Anytone.  It was a busy night!

• Our September 2019 presenter was Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC who gave a presentation and slide show about good Ham Radio operating procedures.

• Our June 2019 presenter was Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC who gave a presentation and slide show about previous Field Day events.

• Our presenters at the May 2019 meeting was Deborah M. Kerr / K2GPV and Mike Hoeft / K2MPH who are the 2019 Verizon NYC Triathlon and TCS NYC Marathon Amateur Radio Communications Directors.

• The April 15 meeting was an ARES presentation by Dave Galletly / KM2O from the Hudson Division and Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC.

• Our March 2019 meeting was a Skype connection with Bob Heil.

• If you missed Kevin & Rob's Raspberry Pi  presentation in February 2019, click here to view it.

WECA instituteD a Repeater Acceptable Use Policy

Over the past few months there have been some Hams using the WB2ZII repeater systems in an inappropriate manner.  As a result, our Board of Directors have created the "WECA Repeater Acceptable Use Policy" which illustrates how all our repeater systems shall be used by all.  Please click here to download this document.

Please review the policy and if you have any questions, comments or hear users that do not comply with this policy, please send email to TWIT@Weca.Org.

Please welcome our newest WECA members

WB2NHC is on YouTube!

 Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC and the involvement of Ham Radio Operators helping the Red Cross was featured in a YouTube video.

To view this video, please click here.

Want to learn about RFI, Ferrites, Baluns and Audio interfacing but don't have time for a class?

Dwight Smith / N2FMC has found an interesting and downloadable publication that is continuously updated by the author Jim Brown/K9YC.

Click here to view or download this treasure trove of information about RFI, Ferrites, Baluns and Audio interfacing.

Want to learn about "Return Loss"?

OK, so what is return loss? Click here for Wikipedia's answer. So how good is that feed line and much power is really getting out of the cable to the antenna? Any faults with the cable or connectors? Is there really an antenna connected? Finally, what is being reflected back down the line as loss?

Dwight / N2FMC has found a few URLs that discusses and calculates Return Loss.

Here is a link that discusses the math, please click here.

This link compares SWR to Return loss in a chart, please click here.

Another SWR chart link, please click here.

And finally an online Return Loss calculator, please click here.

Traveling abroad and want to use your US Ham license during your trip abroad?

Please read this document created by the FCC DA-11-211 to help explain the process of using your Ham callsign in "CEPT" countries in Europe.

Having troubles using the WECA Repeater system?

Sometimes due to summer band conditions, distance repeaters can be heard on our 2 meter repeater frequency of 147.060 MHz. Once someone in greater Westchester County keys up on the input using a PL of 114.8 Hz, the distant repeater interference subsides. This is normal (especially in the summer) and many times you may hear a Connecticut repeater located in the northeast corner of the state or sometimes a Philadelphia repeater can be heard as well.

But, if you have been having troubles using the repeater system or are hearing interference, please send email to Repeaters@Weca.Org detailing the trouble or interference that you are experiencing. Our Repeater and Technical Directors will quickly look into the problem.

Please welcome our 2026 Officers & Directors

At the 6/10/2024 virtual and in person meeting at the County Center, the following Officers & Directors were elected into office. 

President - Simon Rosenberg / KD2DOE

Executive Vice President - Bill Bohnenberger / KA2OFM

Vice President / General Counsel - Michael Weitzner / N2EJI

Treasurer - Andy Farber / N4OOX

Secretary - Mike Kassel / N2NI

Director at Large - Josh Klempner  / W2BRA 

Digital Modes - Henry Heine / ND2W

Education Director - Larrie Sutliff / W2UL

Emergency Services Director - Steve Pendzuk / KD2OFD

Engineering Director - Bob Wilson / N2DVQ

Membership Director - Peter Johnson / N2TFC

Newsletter Editor -  Very much needed!

Public Service Director - Kathleen O'Keefe / KC2VCT

Publicity Director - Noah Levine / KC2DVT

Repeater Operations Director - Dwight Smith / N2FMC

Social Activities Director -  Steve Pendzuk / KD2OFD

Directors and honorariums appointed by the board

Trustees - Tom Raffaelli / WB2NHC for (RACES) WE2EOC & N2SF,
Bob Wilson / N2DVQ for WB2ZII, and Kevin Duffelmeyer / KD2PDL for W2ECA

 County Liaison - Michael Volk / W2MKV

President Emeritus - Bill Bohnenberger / KA2OFM

Webmaster / CIO - Peter Johnson / N2TFC

 If you have any questions for the Officers & Directors, please email them with your questions by sending email to their call sign @weca dot org email address.

The WECAgram Newsletter is always online

WECA's monthly newsletter about Ham Radio events, projects and its local members in the greater Westchester County, NY area located about 20 miles north of New York City.  Newsletter Editor needed.  If interested, please send email to membership@weca.org.

Do you have something for the WECAgram? Please send your article to The WECAgram Editor by sending email to WECAgram@Weca.Org.

Past issues of The WECAgram

Looking for special Ham Radio related websites?

WECA member Dwight Smith / N2FMC has found a bunch of web sites containing ham radio related information. Please click here for a list of "Dwight's Sites". If you have any technical or Ham Radio related sites and would like to share these sites with others, please send email to sites at "weca dot org".

2026 meetings , lists, dates and calendars

Please click here for the 2026 WECA meeting list

Please click here for the 2026 Ham Radio testing dates

Please click here for the 2026 Public Service events calendar

Found - old WECAGRAMS!

Nick / K2ZVI (SK) found some old WECAGRAMS while cleaning one day to share with the newer members. Please click on any date below to view these found treasures!

February 1980                August 1981                  September 1987              January 1988

If you have some old WECAgrams that could be "PDF" scanned, please send email to Peter / N2TFC - webmaster at weca dot org

WB2NHC - Tom Raffaelli was awarded Ham of the year!

Tom was first licensed in 1964. His interests then, as now, were in experimenting and building radio devices. Tom married Jeanne Fyfe in 1966. They moved into a three room apartment in the Bronx. Due to space limitations Tom operated exclusively on the VHF and UHF bands. In 1970, with two children in tow, Tom and Jeanne moved to a home in Thornwood New York. Beam antennas, verticals and wire dipoles soon sprang up on the roof and in the yard. In 1979 Tom joined the New Rochelle Communications Club and soon after that the Westchester Emergency Communications Association (WECA). He was elected Vice President of WECA in 1985 and President in 1987, and served for seven years. WECA doubled its membership under Tom's leadership, strengthened its affiliation with Westchester County's Office of Disaster and Emergency Services and initiated an affiliation with the Westchester chapter of the American Red Cross. He expanded the club's  Field Day event and grew WECAFEST, the club's hamfest event into a major "must attend" event. Tom is now Director of Emergency Services.

Tom served as President of TSARC for several years and resolved several long standing coordination disputes and established a coordination waiting list for all bands. Tom taught many Amateur Radio license classes over the years bringing more than 50 people into the hobby. Tom began volunteering at the New York City Marathon in the mid eighties and is currently the ham radio supervisor at the Family Reunion area.

Tom was instrumental in establishing extremely strong relationships between WECA and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services and the American Red Cross. Both of these organizations are providing funding and support for maintenance of WECA's communications vehicles and equipment as well as providing meeting space and training facilities. Tom recently retired from the County of Westchester as its Director of Radio Systems. Tom continues to build on the strong ties between RACES, WECA and the county government while helping to bring state of  art communications facilities to the county's public safety departments.

Amateur of the Year Award Sponsored jointly by:

 The Peconic Amateur Radio Club

and

 Westchester Emergency Communications Association - WECA

As printed in the Hudson Division Awards Diner pamphlet from November 12, 2005

Don't know what Ham Radio is ?

The Ham Radio hobby has made it ! Well, now there is a "Ham Radio for Dummies" book on the market. Available in many book stores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble for $24.99 or less.

So, where were you in '72 ? When WECA was born !

On the first Friday night in early April 1972, five men met in Tarrytown, NY at William T. Knott's (former W2QGH/ K2AVP-sk) home to form what is now the Westchester Emergency Communications Association (WECA). Fifty two years ago these middle aged "family" men were Ham Radio hobbyists who decided to start this club "for the continuation of the Civil Defense Radio network in Westchester County, NY". Meeting minutes from those early gatherings can be read by clicking here. 

WECA thanks John von Sneidern, Jr. / K2GTY for copies of those notes "from the beginning" of WECA and Efrem Acosta / W2CZ for organizing this historic project.

Comments (good/bad)? Please let us know by sending email to membership@weca.org.