While many, especially younger, people are flittering (and "twittering") around the Internet on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linked-In, etc and IM (instant messaging), keeping up with their buddies and meeting new people with common interests, we hams (as well as many other adults) tend to do things the "old-fashioned way", with e-mail. Many remember the old "Reflectors" (I guess some are still in use, but I haven't found any lately, except old posting through Google searches) and Newsgroups.  My experience has been that I try to keep up with "what's going on" or seeking info through website forums and "on-line communities", particularly those on YahooGroups.

Besides well known forums on websites like eHam.net and QRZ.com, there are many great e-mail groups. Yahoo makes it especially easy to set up such groups and provides additional services for free, including member directories, on-line document sharing, archiving of messages, moderating by the group "owner" and designated moderators, limiting membership to bonafide parties (not spammers), and many more.  I belong to and even own several non-ham groups, including genealogy, job search, and others. For Hams there are specialized groups for radio owners and special interests. For example, I belong to the VX-2R owner group and HF Pack, a group interested in mobile (especially foot and bicycle) and portable HF operations, including QRP, backpacking, even picnic table portable ops, contesting, ragchewing, and em-comm.

I especially enjoy HF Pack.  Many members have created videos of their portable and mobile ops. One guy hikes up mountains with his QRP rig and his two pet goats, Rooster and Peanut (Very funny stuff!). Others are experts at portable power supplies including batteries, and solar power, offering tips. Many others have great portable and mobile HF antenna ideas they share. Many share opinions on gear they have used and some even offer gear for sale.Some are owners og "Green" (military, not eco-friendly) man-pack HF rigs, military gear being especially rugged and/or lightweight for better portable ops.

So, what "ham communities" do you belong to?

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Club president Matt Anderson, N0MSA reports on the status of the St. Charles Amateur Radio Club's main repeater - 146.670.

What is going on:
Whether you were at the last meeting, heard it on email, or listened on the repeater itself….. The 146.670 Main repeater site it going to be down or roughly 4-5 weeks. Right now, as occupants of the repeater, we have to vacate all equipment from the water tower itself, so that they can proceed with
stripping the old paint and re-painting it. All renters of the tower have to be off by April 6th, as a deadline.