Just making sure all have this info..
see below..
Thanks
Tom
N7GP
EX Wa8WZG

Microwave Update 2019



Conference registration is now available on line at www.microwaveupdate.org



The North Texas Microwave Society would like to invite you to the annual Microwave Update Conference to be held October 3rd through the 5th 2019 at the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center in Lewisville (Dallas) Texas. Microwave Update is the premier microwave conference of the year and was initially started by Don Hilliard W0PW (sk) back in 1985. This is the ideal conference to meet fellow microwave enthusiasts and share ideas and techniques that will help you conquer your next microwave band.



The latest list of speakers now includes Rex Moncur VK7MO, Tony Emanuele K8ZR, Rick Fogle WA5TNY, Brian Hendryx, Paul Wade W1GHZ, Joe Jurecka N5PYK, Doug Miller K6JEY, Greg McIntire AA5C, Steve Kostro N2CEI, Kent Britain WA5VJB, Bob Stricklin N5BRG, Barry Malowanchuk VE4MA, Tom Williams WA1MBA, Tom Apel K5TRA, Tom McDermott N5EG, Dave Robinson G4FRE, Ben Lowe K4QF, Skip Macaulay VE6BGT, Warren Ferber WF0T and Al Ward W5LUA. Check out the web site for the titles.



Friday morning will be dedicated to antenna gain measuring led by WA5VJB, noise figure testing led by W5LUA and phase noise analysis led by AF8Z and KC4YOE.



We still have several surplus electronics and mechanical places in the DFW area that may still be worth a visit on Thursday. Those would include Tanner Electronics in Carrollton, Altex Electronics in Carrollton, and CDC Surplus in Richardson. Other places that would also handle walk-in business and be worth a visit include Texas Towers, Ham Radio Outlet, Fry's Electronics. A complete list is available on www.ntms.org.



On Thursday afternoon, we plan to have a workshop lead by Tom McDermott N5EG on GNU Radio. GNU Radio is a development and simulation environment used to create and test software design radio applications. This is a powerful learning tool and GNU Radio can be used to implement working radio applications.

Topics to be covered during the workshop will include:

Installation of the GNU Radio package in Windows.
Review of GNU Radio capabilities and core concepts.
Review of important GNU Radio modules, building a project, implementing and running projects involving hardware.
Use of Gnuradio Companion (GRC) graphical environment.
Demonstration of Gnuradio Companion (GRC) application with Ettus radio.

The attendee is encouraged to bring their 64-bit laptop with Windows 10. The focus will be on Windows but GNU radio works well in Linux also. Tom, N5EG has a good deal of experience working with GNU radio and communication systems. He has made presentations on the topic at the ARRL TAPR Digital Communication Conference. Tom will also have other speakers assisting him with the workshop. The workshop is scheduled for Thursday afternoon from 3 PM until 6 PM.



We have also put together an informal family program with local visits to Grapevine and Denton. Please check out the "Family" program on the web site.



Our Saturday night banquet speaker will feature Rex Moncur VK7MO who has activated over 100 grid squares on 10 GHz EME in both Australia and New Zealand. Rex has also set numerous distance records on both EME and terrestrial using the various WSJT modes. Rex will show us some of the beautiful places he has visited and talk about his adventures to some of the more remote places down under. This should be a real treat for hams and spouses.



Kent Britain WA5VJB will coordinate the publishing of the proceedings by the ARRL. We are always looking for additional papers for the proceedings. You don't have to be a presenter to have your paper published in the proceedings. If you have an article on your latest microwave related project that you would like published, please send your article to Kent WA5VJB at wa5vjb@....

Deadline for the proceedings is September 3rd.



Hotel registration has been setup. The hotel link is



https://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/groups/personalized/D/DALLEGI-MICRO-20191003/index.jhtml



I suggest copying and pasting the link into your internet browser for best results. Microsoft Edge gets fussy but Chrome and Mozilla Firefox work well. The conference rate for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night is $104 per night for a King which includes breakfast. The rate on the same days for a Double Queen is $114 per night including breakfast. The rate for Wednesday night is $129 per night for a King including breakfast and $132 for a Double Queen. The hotel charges a higher rate on Wednesday as they have a lot of business travelers. We encourage everyone to register for the hotel as early as possible. If your plans change and you can't attend, you have until September 30th to cancel without any cancellation fee. Special room rate will be available until September 13. If you book without using the link above please mention North Texas Microwave Society so we can get credit for the room nights as this is required for us to keep conference registration rates as low as possible. The Group Code is "MICRO". If you have any problems with booking the hotel rate please contact w5lua@.... Please book your hotel early so we can make sure rooms are available for everyone. Late booking has been an issue at past MUDs and we would like to have everyone at the same hotel. It's more fun for all.



Hope to see you in the Dallas area once again.

73

Al Ward W5LUA Conference Co Chairman

Bob Stricklin N5BRG Conference Co Chairman

July 19, 2019