Moderator Bios 2019

Moderator bios for HRU 2019 as of January 4, 2019.

Time	Forum	Moderator	Biography
8:30am – 8:50am	Newcomer’s meeting – NEW – an overview of HRU	Diane Ortiz K2DO	Diane Ortiz K2DO is past president of the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club, a member of QCWA, YLRL and President of the Order of Boiled Owls of New York. Diane was the ARRL Hudson Division Grand Ole Ham in 2009. Diane has operated from many countries including the Turks and Caicos Islands, Grenada, the United Nations HQ and recently from the Azores as part of the Azores Nine Island Hunt. Diane wrote the YL news column for the ARRL’s QST Magazine for 10 years and the YL Contesting column in CQ Contest Magazine. Join her as she provides an overview of Ham Radio University. She will talk about what HRU is, what to do and where to go. Diane’s insider “scoop” is certain to make you more comfortable and confident, both on and off the air.
9:00am – 9:50am	Satellite Operations for Beginners	Frank Garofalo WA2NDV	Frank Garofalo WA2NDV had his first QSO on Feb 28th 1970. In the early 90’s, before the internet, he was known, along with N2MH, as the creator of LONNY the AX.25 packet link (wormhole) between NY NBC 30 Rock and NBC News London. NBC Burbank and NBC Moscow were added a short time later. Frank left NBC after 18 years of live TV studio management in 1999 and shut down the links. Frank also had what may have been Long Island’s first Echolink node that was linked to the K2ATT repeater. Frank is a proud member of the Great South Bay ARC and operates a modest 100W and Vertical/dipole HF station. He was bitten by the bug of the new digital modes of JT-65, JT-9 and now FT-8 for which he has received WAS on each mode. He recently retired from Cablevision after 15 years as a Sr. VoIP Systems Engineer and has become interested in Amateur Radio satellite operations. Frank enjoys operating new modes and looks forward to the next shiny thing to come along.
9:00am – 9:50am	Building your first ham station	Phil Lewis N2MUN	Phil Lewis N2MUN is the founder of HRU and its first chairman. Phil is a member and current Vice President of the Order of Boiled Owls of New York contest and DX club. Phil is an avid operator and will walk you through the process of selecting, installing and operating your first ham station.
9:00am – 9:50am	Tips, Tricks and Techniques of the best operators	George Tranos N2GA	George Tranos N2GA is past president of the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club, a member of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and the Order of Boiled Owls of New York. George was past section manager of the ARRL NYC/LI section from 1998 to 2006. He was HRU Chairman from 2003 to 2006. N2GA was winner of the ARRL Herb S. Brier instructor of the year award in 2000 and ARRL Hudson Division Amateur of the Year in 2011. George has operated from many countries including St. Lucia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Grenada, the United Nations HQ and recently from the Azores as part of the Azores Nine Island Hunt. George won first place world single operator low power operating as VP5GA in the 1999 CQ WPX CW contest. George was second place world single operator low power operating as VP5GA in the 2001 and 2002 ARRL DX CW contest. He has participated as a referee in four World Radiosport Team Championships in 2000 from Slovenia, 2006 from Brazil, 2010 from Russia and 2018 from Germany. George wrote the contesting column for CQ Amateur Radio Magazine from March 2011 through July 2015. He is currently the ARRL Hudson Division Contest Advisory Representative. Join him for an informative—and sometimes humorous—journey through the best of his many “Tips, Tricks and Techniques” monthly columns. George’s insider “scoop” is certain to make you more comfortable and confident, both on and off the air.
9:00am – 9:50am	Scanning	Phil Lichtenberger W2LIE	Phil Lichtenberger W2LIE was granted his Technician license as a teenager in 1994 as N2XUT, and is a harmonic of WB2PIV and N2UZI. After being licensed, Phil was active with the LIMARC Junior Operator’s group, and attended a few ARES and SKYWARN activites. His main interest was Packet Radio and 2m voice. As with any teenager, Ham Radio took a back seat to college life, followed by years of radios in storage. After being issued a new call (KC2LPE) when updating his ticket, Phil decided to go for the vanity call of W2LIE. Nothing says Long Island like the L.I.E.! Since receiving the new call, he is active again in SKYWARN and ARES, is the Trustee for W2ATT, and upgraded to General in February 2009. In addition to Ham Radio, Phil enjoys collecting and working with reptiles, and runs his own website – w2lie.net.
9:00am – 9:50am	Transmitter Hunting	Larry Berger WA2SUH	Larry Berger WA2SUH was first licensed in 1961 and has been involved with transmitter hunting for many years, first on 10 meters and later on 2 meters. He is a member of the Plaza Repeater Group and for many years participated in Nassau County RACES activities. He serves as the Vice-President of the 10-10 International Net and is their Scholarship Manager. His sons are Matt K2MSB and Michael KC2YPO. Larry recently retired from the Nassau County Planning Commission where he worked for 42 years. The presentation will focus on what transmitter hunting is, why hams hunt, different types of hunts, hunting strategies, different types of hunting equipment and how to get involved. A demonstration of some of the equipment used on local hunts will be part of the presentation.
9:00am – 9:50am	Transmitter Hunting	Andy Kirschenbaum WA2CDL	Andy Kirschenbaum, WA2CDL, will co-moderate the Hidden Transmitter Hunting forum with Larry Berger, WA2SUH. Andy has been licensed since 1970 and holds an Extra class license. His involvement in amateur radio has included everything from public service thru RACES, to building and experimenting. Many people know Andy from his radio repair activities. He has conducted “tune up clinics” at various hamfests in the NYC area since 1985. Andy is a member of LIMARC and the Plaza Repeater Group. Andy works in the field of radio communications systems.
9:00am – 9:50am	Introductory guide to VHF/UHF operating – NEW	Bill Fastenau WB2QGZ	Bill Fastenau, WB2QGZ, was first licensed in the late 1970s with patient guidance and encouragement from Chuck Laufman, K2JLD and Dr. Bruce P. Hellmann, K5FY (SK). A member of the ARRL and Great South Bay ARC, Bill also serves the NLI section as an ARRL Technical Specialist for RFI and is an ARRL and W5YI VE, participating in VE sessions with GSBARC and the Grumman ARC. With more than 35 years in RF Bill has worked around the world in two-way radio, paging, TV broadcast, terrestrial microwave, satellite, and cellular. Bill is currently employed by a cellular carrier where he maintains the Radio Access Network and Outdoor DAS, and mitigates interference and PIM throughout the NY/metro market. Bill will talk about VHF/UHF operating.
9:00am – 9:50am	Military Auxiliary Radio System (M.A.R.S.)	Bob Jordan KD2BQM	Bob Jordan KD2BQM has been around radio for as long as he can remember. His dad was a Short Wave radio enthusiast so it seemed natural for him to join his High School Amateur Radio club when the opportunity presented itself. In 1968, he joined the U.S. Navy as a Communications Technician and served in Morocco and Japan where radio once again played a major role. Bob holds an Extra Class license and is a VE examiner, Field Instructor and Examiner as well as a certified ARRL instructor trained in ARRL Emergency Communication Courses. He is presently the New York City District ARES Emergency Coordinator and continues to support our military as the Civil Affairs Officer For the Army Military Auxiliary Radio System, (MARS) here in the New York State and New Jersey area.
10:00am – 10:50am	ARRL Forum	Jim_Mezey W2KFV	Jim Mezey W2KFV, is the Section Manager for NLI. With over 45 years of experience in Emergency Communications, Jim most recently served as ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator for Nassau County. He holds an Extra Class license and is a member or officer of LIMARC, Nassau Amateur Radio Club, Nassau County Police Amateur Radio Club, QCWA, and IPARC. A VE examiner, Field Instructor and Examiner, Jim is well versed in public service communications. He is a member of the ARRL Emergency Communications Advisory Committee and is also a certified ARRL instructor who is trained in ARRL Emergency Communication Courses as well as ICS and NIMS. He has been honored in receiving LIMARC’s N2MEI Award for Outstanding Public Service and the 2009 Hudson Division Amateur of The Year Award.
10:00am – 10:50am	ARRL Forum	Ria Jairam N2RJ	Ria Jairam, N2RJ was recently elected to serve as the ARRL Hudson Division Director, with her first term being effective from January 1, 2019. She has been licensed since 1997 in her native Trinidad and Tobago and in the US since 2001. First becoming interested in radio at age 5 from her dad who was an avid SWL, she started in Amateur Radio in secondary school under the mentorship of a teacher, Mr. Tony Lee-Mack, 9Y4AL (SK). Ria is especially interested in radiosport (contesting) and DXing, as well as homebrewing, kit building, DMR, DSTAR and digital weak signal modes. She has earned several DXCC awards including DXCC on all 3 modes and 9 bands including 160 meters along with DXCC challenge. She has also won several contest plaques including regional, national and North American titles in various DX contests. A keen SDR enthusiast, she has won a “Top Elmer” award in 2016 for her work with VPN remote access for Flex radios. She has also won two FlexRadio “Top Tester” awards for her work in testing and debugging SmartSDR 2.0 and the Power Genius XL solid state amplifier. Ria is a QSL card sorter with the W2 QSL bureau, run by the North Jersey DX Association (NJDXA) and is the Northern NJ section manager for the Frankford Radio Club (FRC). She is also the District 2 chair of the Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL) and a member of the British Young Ladies Amateur Radio Association (BYLARA). Ria is an alumnus of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, where she studied Electrical Engineering. Look for her in the DX pileups, often operating remotely, or operating WSJT digital modes to snag a new one. She blogs about these activities at her website: n2rj.com
10:00am – 10:50am	Basics of HF operating – NEW	Phil Lewis N2MUN	Phil Lewis N2MUN is the founder of HRU and its first chairman. Phil is a member and current Vice President of the Order of Boiled Owls of New York contest and DX club. Phil, along with Mel KS2G, are two seasoned DX and contest operators and will guide you through the HF bands, modes, propagation, on-air procedures, and using rig controls to get the most out of your HF transceiver.
10:00am – 10:50am	Basics of HF operating – NEW	Mel_Granick KS2G	First licensed in 1977 as a Novice, Mel Granick upgraded to Technician, General and Advanced class licenses within six months and has been an Amateur Extra since 1981. He’s been active in numerous aspects of Amateur Radio ranging from traffic handling to the early use of packet radio. With a modest station consisting of a 100 watt transceiver, 3-element tribander and 40/80 dipole up just 35 feet, he’s been successful as a DX’er (DXCC-250+), awards chaser (5BWAS) and one of the leading contesters in the 2nd Call Area, repeatedly placing in the top ten among U.S. low-power single operators in the CQ World Wide DX, CQ World Wide WPX and ARRL 10-Meter contests. Mel, along with Phil N2MUN, are two seasoned DX and contest operators and will guide you through the HF bands, modes, propagation, on-air procedures, and using rig controls to get the most out of your HF transceiver.
10:00am – 10:50am	All things Digital VHF and above including DMR and D-Star	Preston Waterman W2PW	Pres Waterman W2PW has been licensed since 1977. Interested in many phases of Ham Radio and has been building and operating repeaters since the ’80′s in Patchogue, Manorville and Hauppauge. Early on his first repeaters had HF remote bases on them. With the popularity of cell phones, normal local repeater traffic has been dwindling but the advent of Internet linking has seen a resurgence of activity lately. Any one repeater may be very quiet, but 30 quiet repeaters makes a very nice mix. An open IRLP node 4700 on WR2UHF 444.700 (Hauppauge) begat a portable node 7373 in a briefcase, which spawned a home node … well, the addiction spreads. 4 or 5 nodes is not enough! Currently, the portable node in a briefcase features BOTH analog IRLP and also Digital D-Star, and will be demonstrated at the various talks being presented. Pres is “in charge” of over 10 IRLP nodes and is considered a local expert on nodes and VOIP linking.
10:00am – 10:50am	Antenna Modeling – CANCELED	Edward Newman W2EMN	Ed Newman, W2EMN, was an avid radio experimenter in high school, but didn’t become a licensed ham until 1977. After a year as a novice, he quickly upgraded to extra, and later switched to his current vanity call. His primary interests have been HF operation and DXing, as well as building and restoring equipment. Ed worked as an antenna engineer and engineering manager for Hazeltine (now BAE Systems). He headed Hazeltine’s Advanced Development Center for 15 years, and was awarded 6 patents. However, these activities interfered somewhat with his amateur interests so in 2003 he retired to devote full time to his hobbies. In amateur radio, he started collecting and restoring “boatanchor” radios, as well as renewing a pursuit of DX contacts. He also became an active member of the Radio Central Radio Club. He will provide an overview of the antenna design software called EZNEC and show that you don’t need to be a pro to design antennas on the computer.
10:00am – 10:50am	Magnetic Loop Antenna Tuning Strategies	Mike Kozma WY2U	Mike Kozma WY2U has been an amateur radio operator for over 28 years. He has a Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York, and has worked as a Design Engineer, and Engineering Manager in the electronics industry for over 45 years. During his engineering career, he was responsible for the design of Communications and Radar Systems, including Transmitters, Receivers, Antennas, and Signal Processing components, as well as Signal and Communication Components to support the Commuter Railroad Industry. Presently, he is semi-retired, and works as an Adjunct Professor at Queensborough Community College, teaching courses in the Electronic Engineering Technology curriculum. His primary ham radio interests are HF CW operation, and mentoring other ham radio enthusiasts, by teaching seminars and workshops at the local ham radio clubs. He is also a Volunteer Examiner for both the ARRL and W5YI VEC organizations. In addition, he holds an FCC General Radio Telephone Operator License with Radar Endorsement, and has had an Extra Class Ham license since 1990. Other interests include Optical and Radio Astronomy, and experimentation of electronic circuits and antenna systems, using both computer aided design techniques, and construction and testing. He currently lives on Long Island, is married, and has three children and three grandchildren.
10:00am – 11:50am	WORKSHOP – Connectors	Richie Cetron K2KNB	Richie Cetron K2KNB was president of the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club from 2008-2013, and again in 2017 and 2018. Richie is an Official Observer, a Volunteer Examiner, The Affiliated Club Coordinator for New York-Long Island, and an Assistant Director for the Hudson Division. He was the Hudson Division Amateur of the Year for 2012. The workshop will consist of some basic information about the selection of cable and connectors for the best possible results in transmitting RF signals. This hands-on workshop will last up to 2 hours and will include learning to solder and to crimp various connectors. In addition to RF connections, there will also be the opportunity to work with Cat 5 cable and connectors. Material will be supplied to the participants at no charge having been donated from the LIMARC Norm Wesler, K2YEW Memorial Education Fund. Preregistration is required at the gate during the event but prior to the workshop.
10:00am – 11:50am	WORKSHOP – Connectors	Craig Ross KD2CXK	Craig Ross, KD2CXK, has spent more than 30 years in data communications, information technology and security systems. Craig got his start as a computer engineer in 1986 and has been involved in IT ever since. He has designed large corporate data and voice networks, has designed and built data centers upwards of 50,000 square ft. He holds certifications in over 40 companies. Craig is a New York State licensed security systems installer and currently consults on corporate security systems for many of New York City’s largest property management firms. He has a strong interest in astronomy, and is the moderator of a twice monthly astronomy net on the LIMARC repeater.
10:00am – 11:50am	WORKSHOP – Connectors	Robert Batchelor W2OSR	Robert Batchelor W2OSR attended RCA institutes 1959 – 1961 graduated from the V-7 course. Nassau Community College AS in Business Management. Empire State College 1986 BPS in Business Economics. Worked for Republic Aviation as a Radar Mechanic, General Microwave as Bench Technicial, US ARMY 1963 -1965, Grumman Aerospace worked on the LEM and F14 as a Cognizant Support Engineer also trained as an Air Traffic Controller, General Electric Healthcare as a Senior Field Service Engineer specializing in Protein Separations. Earned a Radio Telephone Operators License in 1960 and the Amateur Radio Extra Class License in 2004. Is involved with ARES, Sky Warn, LIMARC, NARC and Boy Scouts. Gordon West Certified Instructor. Numerous business, Boy Scout, and amateur radio awards.
11:00am – 11:50am	EMCOMM in NLI	Jim_Mezey W2KFV	Jim Mezey W2KFV, is the Section Manager for NLI. With over 45 years of experience in Emergency Communications, Jim most recently served as ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator for Nassau County. He holds an Extra Class license and is a member or officer of LIMARC, Nassau Amateur Radio Club, Nassau County Police Amateur Radio Club, QCWA, and IPARC. A VE examiner, Field Instructor and Examiner, Jim is well versed in public service communications. He is a member of the ARRL Emergency Communications Advisory Committee and is also a certified ARRL instructor who is trained in ARRL Emergency Communication Courses as well as ICS and NIMS. He has been honored in receiving LIMARC’s N2MEI Award for Outstanding Public Service and the 2009 Hudson Division Amateur of The Year Award.
11:00am – 11:50am	Contesting: All Your Questions Answered	Mel_Granick KS2G	First licensed in 1977 as a Novice, Mel Granick upgraded to Technician, General and Advanced class licenses within six months and has been an Amateur Extra since 1981. He’s been active in numerous aspects of Amateur Radio ranging from traffic handling to the early use of packet radio. With a modest station consisting of a 100 watt transceiver, 3-element tribander and 40/80 dipole up just 35 feet, he’s been successful as a DX’er (DXCC-250+), awards chaser (5BWAS) and one of the leading contesters in the 2nd Call Area, repeatedly placing in the top ten among U.S. low-power single operators in the CQ World Wide DX, CQ World Wide WPX and ARRL 10-Meter contests.
11:00am – 11:50am	Remote Station Operation	Rick Bressler K2RB	Rick Bressler K2RB has been licensed since 1957 and is very active in various clubs. He is past president and a current life member of LIMARC and a member of the order of Boiled Owls of New York Contest Club. With his current QTH in Glen Cove, New York, Rick is very active on the low bands. His current operating conditions are an Elecraft K-3 and the Flex Radio 6500 with SPE 1.3 amplifier. He uses antennas ranging from Steppir 3 element up 35 feet to various dipoles covering the other bands. When he had his business a few years ago, Rick always wanted to see what was going on the ham bands. He started with the OMNI VII which had a very early way to connect over the internet to the radio at home. Then when a company called remote rig developed a pair of interfaces that allowed many radios to be used remotely, a whole new part of ham radio was developed to operate a station from a remote location. In his forum, Rick will explore the history of remote operating and how very recent developments have changed so much in this area of our hobby. This will include operating superstations from our deed restricted QTH’s and how to have a 100 foot tower and high end antennas to compete for DX or contesting. He will review the use of an ipad, iphone or laptop to operate when not in front of your station. Rick intends to review how one can control various station activities such as antenna switching, turning of a beam and turning the station on and off for safety reasons. All of this can now be done with advances of technology which has taken place.
11:00am – 11:50am	Receivers – Spark to State-of-the-Art	Ed Gellender WB2EAV	Ed Gellender WB2EAV has been licensed since 1962 and has an amateur extra class license. Ed is the President and the contact VE for the Grumman Amateur Radio Club and has been a member of LIMARC for 45 years. Ed likes to work 2M from the mobile, especially 146.85, and ever since he first got his license, Ed has always loved to sit down at his old J-38 key and work 40 CW. Professionally, Ed is a licensed professional electrical engineer, mostly working on a lot of RF gear, mostly for the military. That includes a lot of radios and radars, and Ed just loves it when he is asked about secondary radar (IFF), used for air traffic control and military combat control.
11:00am – 11:50am	QRP low power fun	John Meade W2XS	John Meade W2XS started ham radio in the mid sixties as WB2SLI. The QRP bug hit him when Heathkit came out with the HW-8. Since that time, he has used many of the QRP rigs out there including Ten Tec, Small Wonders Labs, MFJ, OHR, NorCal, and Elecraft. There have been many successful outings with the Long Island QRP club with QSOs far and wide with simple (but effective) equipment and antennas. His career has been in the Electronics Management industry as well as teaching Electrical Technology at Nassau Community College.
12 noon – 1:00pm	Keynote Speaker	Howard Michel WB2ITX	Howard E. Michel, WB2ITX, of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, started as ARRL’s new Chief Executive Officer on October 15. Prior to joining ARRL, Michel (his name rhymes with “nickel”) served as Chief Technology Officer at UBTECH Education, and Senior Vice President of UBTECH Robotics, a $5 billion Shenzhen, China, artificial intelligence and robotics company. As the Chief Technology Officer at UBTECH Education, Michel helped build this company from a startup in China to $100 million in valuation. Michel was first licensed as WN2ITX when he was about 16 years old and upgraded to General and Advanced within a year. He earned his Amateur Extra-class license in 2000. He notes that he has always had a strong interest in building and repairing radio equipment. “I’ve operated CW/AM/FM/SSB/digital on 80/40/20/15/10/2 on equipment that I have either built, repaired, or modified.” In 2015, Michel was the volunteer president and CEO of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a volunteer-led IRS 501(c)(3) association advancing technology. Michel is a retired US Air Force officer, having served as a pilot, satellite launch director, engineer, and engineering manager, including a tour in the People’s Republic of China where he served as a senior US government technical representative enforcing technology-transfer control plans and procedures during two satellite launch operations. He notes that during his time in the military, wherever he could set up an antenna, he took the opportunity to operate. Michel earned his bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in electronic and computer engineering from the University of Massachusetts, and a master’s degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. He holds a PhD in computer science and engineering from Wright State University. His noteworthy academic background further includes current service as a visiting professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. Previously, he was on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and of the University of Dayton. Michel says that some of his favorite activities include attending hamfests to find old stuff to repair or repurpose, contest operating, and DXing, especially on 80/40 meters. He adds that he is a Life Member of the Southeastern Massachusetts Amateur Radio Association.
1:30pm – 2:20pm	Operating 6 meters – the path forward	Ken Neubeck WB2AMU	Ken Neubeck, WB2AMU, has an extra class license and has been a ham since 1971. He writes regularly on VHF propagation for CQ VHF and Worldradio. He has written the book, SIX METERS, A GUIDE TO THE MAGIC BAND put out by Worldradio books and it is now in its fourth edition. He is co-author with Gordon West of the book, VHF PROPAGATION, A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RADIO AMATEURS, put out by CQ Magazine.
1:30pm – 2:20pm	DXing	Long Island DX Association	Join members of the LIDXA discuss the why and how of DXing. This forum is for you whether you are new to DXing or a seasoned pro. Discussed will be DXing techniques, QSLing, HF propagation and upcoming DXpeditions.
1:30pm – 2:20pm	DXing (propagation, history, techniques)	John Reiser W2GW	John Reiser, W2GW, was first licensed in 1958 and upgraded to Amateur Extra twenty years later. His primary ham radio activity is HF Dxing, and his preferred modes are CW and RTTY. He also enjoys building electronic gear, restoring vintage equipment, and operating QRP portable outdoors. John serves as the official ARRL DXCC field checker of QSL cards for the New York – Long Island Section. He makes himself available in that capacity at several hamfests in the area. You can also contact John for an appointment to have your QSL cards checked at his home in West Hempstead or another agreeable venue [w2gw@arrl.net]. John is currently President of the Long Island DX Association which meets at the Town of Oyster Bay-Ice Skating Center in Bethpage, Community Room 1, on the third Tuesday of the month at 8:00 PM (all are welcome). John is also active in LIMARC and QCWA Chapter 81, where he serves as Secretary.
1:30pm – 2:20pm	DXing	Bill Hudzik W2UDT	Bill Hudzik W2UDT has been continuously licensed since 1961. He has operated from KP2, KR6, and V2 over the years. Bill has served as NNJ SM for 4 terms, NNJ Assistant Director for 3 years and is on his second elected term as Vice Director for the Hudson Division. He has been active with the North Jersey DX Association (NJDXA) for over 25 years serving as Secretary, Vice President and President of the organization and continues to serve as a volunteer letter manager. Bill is also an ARRL Life Member as well as a Diamond Club Member. He is an active contester and DXer.
1:30pm – 2:20pm	Software Defined Radios for HF	Ria Jairam N2RJ	Ria Jairam, N2RJ was recently elected to serve as the ARRL Hudson Division Director, with her first term being effective from January 1, 2019. She has been licensed since 1997 in her native Trinidad and Tobago and in the US since 2001. First becoming interested in radio at age 5 from her dad who was an avid SWL, she started in Amateur Radio in secondary school under the mentorship of a teacher, Mr. Tony Lee-Mack, 9Y4AL (SK). Ria is especially interested in radiosport (contesting) and DXing, as well as homebrewing, kit building, DMR, DSTAR and digital weak signal modes. She has earned several DXCC awards including DXCC on all 3 modes and 9 bands including 160 meters along with DXCC challenge. She has also won several contest plaques including regional, national and North American titles in various DX contests. A keen SDR enthusiast, she has won a “Top Elmer” award in 2016 for her work with VPN remote access for Flex radios. She has also won two FlexRadio “Top Tester” awards for her work in testing and debugging SmartSDR 2.0 and the Power Genius XL solid state amplifier. Ria is a QSL card sorter with the W2 QSL bureau, run by the North Jersey DX Association (NJDXA) and is the Northern NJ section manager for the Frankford Radio Club (FRC). She is also the District 2 chair of the Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL) and a member of the British Young Ladies Amateur Radio Association (BYLARA). Ria is an alumnus of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, where she studied Electrical Engineering. Look for her in the DX pileups, often operating remotely, or operating WSJT digital modes to snag a new one. She blogs about these activities at her website: n2rj.com
1:30pm – 2:20pm	Grounding for the Amateur Radio Station	Donald Kane WB2BEZ	Donald W. Kane, WB2BEZ, has been a licensed HAM for over 45 years (ARRL Life Member) and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of New York with over 40 years of engineering experience including: Product Safety Evaluation; Electric Utility Substation and Plant engineering; Design and Manufacture of Diesel powered generators, including controls and switchgear; rail transit rolling stock and infrastructure engineering and electrical construction and HVAC. This seminar will present an overview of grounding and bonding, as applied to the typical amateur radio installation, with regard to power, lightning protection and RF (antenna) grounding.
1:30pm – 2:20pm	VE Session	Bob Myers K2TV	Bob Myers K2TV has been licensed since January 1960. His interest in Amateur Radio led to a 42 year career in radio and Television Broadcasting, of which almost 40 years had been with the CBS Television Network. Operating modes include PSK, Pactor, RTTY, CW and SSB all bands 160 through 6 meters and 10, 6, 2, 1.25 and 70 CM FM voice and packet. Over the years Bob has been involved in all facets of Ham Radio including DX’ing, contesting, ragchewing, homebrewing, satellite, packet, digital, public service, television and traffic handling. He never stopped finding new and interesting things to do which kept my interest in Ham Radio through the years. His wife, Marge is licensed as KA2NIE and while not very active on the air, she enjoys watching him operate and is his logger when operating from his HF mobile station. He a life member of the ARRL and belongs to the following Ham Radio Organizations: Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club (Vice President), Broadcast Center Amateur Radio Society, Metropolitan Coordination Association, Inc (Director), The Villages Amateur Radio Club (Florida); Fists CW Club and AMSAT. He is an assistant ARRL Section Manager (digital) for the New York City – Long Island ARRL section. He is also active on the various FM Satellites. You might find him on SO50 or one of the other FM satellites. You can also find him on Dstar reflector 20A most times. DXCC Honor Roll- 8 Band DXCC – 5 Band Worked all States – WAZ
2:30pm – 3:20pm	HF Digital Modes including FT8 – NEW	Neil Goldstein W2NDG	Neil Goldstein W2NDG has been tinkering with radios since the early seventies when he used to hang out in his uncle’s ham shack in CT (W1PVC sk). These days he can be found hanging out in Long Island parks with a QRP radio, or sitting at his workbench amidst a cloud of solder smoke. After first getting licensed in 2011 as KD2APZ, he started looking for all of the ways to merge his two hobbies: computers and radio. Now, a holder of an Extra Class license, he experiments with SDR, rig control, digital modes, and has a well-used soldering iron. Neil is active in the LIMARC and Larkfield clubs, has written for AmateurRadio.com as well as The Spectrum Monitor, and frequently presents at LIMARC and LARC meetings on computer-related subjects. Neil maintains radiokitguide.com, the complete list of radio kit sources on the Internet.
1:30pm – 3:20pm	Test Equipment workshop – NEW	Roy Laufer AC2GS	Roy Laufer, AC2GS, will be assisting Andy WA2CDL with his Test Equipment forum. A relative newcomer to the hobby, Roy has held an Extra Class license since 2011, although he was an SWL and an associate member of the ARRL back in the late 1960s. Roy is the Secretary of the Kings County Radio Club, for which he is the Host for their biweekly Technical Net, as well as Net Control Operator for their weekly 10 Meter Club Net. He also edits and writes the KCRC Newsletter, writes for the LIMARC Newsletter, which he is also a member of, and is involved in KCRC’s bi-monthly VE licensing exam sessions. Roy also runs the ScienceTalk segment of the weekly LIMARC TechNet.
2:30pm – 3:20pm	Kit Building Techniques For Success – NEW	Joe Eisenberg K0NEB	Joe Eisenberg K0NEB has been licensed since January 1969, making his visit to HRU his celebration of 50 years in Amateur Radio! He has built kits since the age of 10, and has always enjoyed the thrill of making QSOs on something he built. Sharing the skills and techniques of kit building at club meetings and hamfests over the years led to his addition to the staff at CQ Magazine as a monthly columnist since November 2009. In addition to writing the monthly Kit Building column in CQ, he also now edits and updates the Construction Techniques chapter in the ARRL Handbook and has been a contributing author since the 2014 issue. K0NEB has served in the past as the Nebraska Repeater Frequency Coordinator and was a co-founder of the Mid-America Coordination Council. Joe often participates in contests as part of multi-op stations as well as solo for the ARRL SSB Sweepstakes. In 2016 and 2017 K0NEB won the Midwest Division plaque in Single Operator Unlimited Low Power and was 8th overall in that category. Joe is a Life Member and Diamond Club Member of ARRL and a life member of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. He is also a member of the Lincoln Amateur Radio Club as well as the Aksarben Amateur Radio Club and the Central Nebraska Amateur Radio Club, 10-10 and QCWA. Joe has twice been awarded the Jerry Cox Award as Ham Of The Year by the Lincoln Amateur Radio Club as well as the Ed Woerner Mentoring Award and the ARRL A-1 Operator Club. In 2015, Joe was awarded the Skip Miller W0KVM Lifetime Achievement Award by the Nebraska ARRL Section Manager. Joe is active on most bands and is glad to work schedules for anyone needing Nebraska on a particular band or mode. Joe is currently employed as an IT Field Technician.
2:30pm – 3:20pm	The National Traffic System in NYC/LI – CANCELED	Gerard Pilate N2WGF	Gerard Pilate N2WGF will speak on Introduction to the National Traffic System. Gerard (Jerry) A. Pilate N2WGF is the Section Traffic Manager for NLI. Jerry has been active in the NTS since he became licensed in 1993. He holds an Extra class license and is a member of WECA, LIMARC and HOSARC. Jerry also serves as a Digital Relay Station and Official Relay station for NLI as well as net manager for the Nassau County VHF Traffic net and acting net manager for the Big Apple NTS Traffic Net.
2:30pm – 3:20pm	Fun with CW	Neil Heft KC2KY	Neil Heft KC2KY received his first ham callsign (WN2UDP) in 1971 when he was a 12 year old lad living in Stony Brook, NY. By 1973, Neil was just about able to copy 13 words per minute and upgrade to Advanced, about a month after his Novice license expired. (In those days, the Novice license was only good for 2 years and was non-renewable.) In the late seventies, Neil began to study Electrical Engineering at Drexel University and Ham radio started taking a back seat. When Neil completed his undergraduate work at Drexel in 1980, his interest in ham radio started to take off again. By then his Advanced call, WA2UDP, had been expired for a year and a half. When Neil renewed his license in 1981, he was issued his present call sign, KC2KY. In 1987 Neil upgraded to Extra Class. Presently, Neil works as an Electrical Engineer at Narda Microwave. Neil is also an active member of Radio Central Amateur Radio Club on Long Island. Over the years, he has held various offices at RCARC, starting as Recording Secretary, then Vice President, and was club President in 1993 and 1994. Today Neil is President of Radio Central and is editor of Radio Central’s club newsletter, Random Oscillations.