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Posted on

Baofeng… Zero to Hero

So, you got your “ticket" because your friend said it was a good idea and you had nothing better to do that day.  Then, since you didn’t know if you were actually going to like this ham radio stuff, you decided to dip your toe in the water and buy the cheapest radio you could find on Amazon… the Baofeng UV-5R.  Ok, great! Now what? 

Well, I am sure you want to hear some people chat and, eventually, build up the courage to say hello yourself and maybe even have a conversation with others.   Ok, so go outside, punch in the VHF calling frequency, throw out your callsign, let everyone know that you are monitoring and sit back and basque in the glory brought forth by the throngs of people that have been waiting for this particular moment in time. The moment of your arrival on the air waves. Wait… no one came back to you after going hoarse calling CQ on simplex? Ok, ok… maybe you need to expand your possibilities by using a repeater.  

Here we go… punch in the repeater frequency of the nearest repeater, set the offset and PL Tone, throw out your callsign and wait for the comeback.

 Oh, I see. You don’t know half of the things I just told you to do? No worries, that is what we are here for… to help each other out.  

Let’s take it back to the basics.  Get a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage, sit back in your comfortable computer chair and watch Ham Radio Crash Course’s video on everything you need to do with your new Baofeng UV-5R (or whatever your new radio of choice happens to be).  

Josh, KI6NAZ, will show you...

  •  What a Baofeng is (and what it is not)
  •  How to program your radio manually
  • How to download and install CHIRP to program your radio using your computer
  • Fun things to do with your radio like send pictures using SSTV or how to use APRS
Posted on

DRAFT CLUB CONSTITUTION

For Club Member Review.
Send recommended amendments to:
staylor168@yahoo.com

CONSTITUTION

We, the undersigned, wishing to secure for ourselves the pleasures and benefits of an association of persons commonly interested in Amateur Radio, constitute ourselves the:

EVERGLADES AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
of FLORIDA, U.S.A.

and enact this constitution as our governing law. It shall be our purpose to further the exchange of information and cooperation between members, to promote radio knowledge, fraternal-ism and individual operating efficiency, and to so conduct club programs and activities as to advance the general interest and welfare of Amateur Radio in the community.

Article I
Membership

All persons interested in Amateur Radio communications shall be eligible for membership. Membership shall be by application and or election upon such terms as the club shall provide in its By-Laws. Membership may not be denied because of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, marital status or any other reason that would be biased or prejudicial.


Article II
Officers

Section. 1.
Offices

The officers of this club shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section. 2.
Election

The officers of this club shall be elected for a term of one year by ballot of the members present, provided there be a quorum, at the annual meeting or by electronic balloting for certified club members only.

Section 3.
Term limits

An individual may not hold the same office for more than two terms and my not serve more than three consecutive terms as an officer. An individual may not hold more than one office during the same term.

Section. 4.
Vacancies

Vacancies occurring between elections must be filled by special elections at the first regular meeting following the withdrawal or resignation.

Section 5.
Eligibility

In order to hold an office an individual must be a member in good standing for at least one year and hold a valid Amateur Radio license.



Section 6.
Resignation

Any officer may resign his/her position in writing at which time all records and assets of the club will be turned over to the President or Vice President.



Section 7.
Removal of Officers

Officers may be removed from office for cause, upon written petition of six (6) or more members presented to the President or Vice President. After investigation the petition will be presented to the membership at the next regular meeting of the club and a voted on by the membership. Removal of an officer requires a three-fourths vote of the full membership. Voting will be done via electronic ballots by certified members only.





Article III
Duties of Officers

Section. 1.
President

The President shall preside at all meetings, and conduct them according to the rules adopted. He/she shall enforce due observance of this Constitution and By-Laws; decide all questions of order; sign all official documents adopted by the club, and perform all other duties pertaining to the office of President.

Section. 2.
Vice President

The Vice-President shall assume all the duties of the President in his/her absence. In addition, he/she shall assist with the coordination of organized club activities, plan and recommend contests for operating benefits, and advance club interest and activity as approved by the club.
These tasks will always be a collaborative effort of all club officers and or selected members.
He/she shall maintain close liaison with the local ARRL's local ARES ® Emergency Coordinator to further club participation in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.


Section. 3.
Secretary

The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings, keep a roll of members, submit membership applications, carry on all correspondence, read communications at each meeting, and mail written meeting notices to each member. At the expiration of his/her term he/she shall turn over all items belonging to the club to his/her successor.


Section. 4.
Treasurer

The Treasurer shall receive and receipt for all monies paid to the club; keep an accurate account of all monies received and expended; pay no bills without proper authorization (by the club or its officers constituting a business committee). At the end of each quarter he/she shall submit an itemized statement of disbursements and receipts. At the end of his/her term he/she shall turn over everything in his/her possession belonging to the club to his/her successor.



Article IV
Meetings

The By-Laws shall provide for regular and special meetings. At meetings, a minimum of one-third of the membership shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.



Article V
Dues

The club, by majority vote of those present at any regular meeting, may levy upon the general membership such dues or assessments as shall be deemed necessary for the business of the organization. Non-payment of such dues or assessments shall be cause for expulsion from the club within the discretion of the membership.



Article VI
Membership Assistance

The club, through designated interference, Public Relations, and Operating Committees will provide technical advice to members concerning equipment design and operation to assist in frequency observance, clean signals, uniform practice, and absence of spurious radiation's from club member-stations. The club shall also maintain a program to foster and guide public relations.




Article VII
Club Call Sign

The President shall assign trusteeship of the club call sign. The trustee shall: Be a member of the club in good standing Meet FCC requirements. Not had his/her Radio Amateur licensed revoked or sanctioned at any time.



Article VIII
Dissolution of The Club

Section 1.
Termination of Operations

In the event that the Board of Director votes that the Club should be dissolved the motion for dissolution must receive more than two thirds vote of the full membership to pass. Section 2. Disposition of Assets The Board of Directors shall handle the disbursement of all assets of the club. No member or group of members shall receive benefit from the assets. All equipment will be sold and net proceeds donated to a non-profit organisation. All remaining cash will be donated to a non-profit organisation.



Article IX
Amendments

This constitution or By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the total membership. Proposals for amendments shall be submitted in writing at a regular meeting and shall be voted on at the next following regular meeting, provided all members have been noticed by mail of the intent to amend the constitution and/or By-Laws at said meeting.



Posted on

SDR-Control App

Last week, I found myself with a "1st World" problem… I could not hit my local repeater from inside the workplace with my HT. What's a ham to do during lunch time… just sit there and eat? No way! There had to be a way without deploying heftier radios and antennas.

A couple of days later, While eating my spaghetti and meatballs , I sat there wishing I could play radio with the same great performance of my base station gear while not at home, so I began looking around the inter-webs. Then, I came across a software package that provided me with just the solution I was looking for. The app let me connect to my Icom IC-705 remotely, using my laptop or my iPad. It provided me most, if not all, of the functionality I would have if I were sitting in front of my radio at home. It is extremely intuitive and a piece of cake to set up. The audio coming through is clear as day and, as far as I can tell, the audio I am sending out is just as good, with zero to no latency. In fact, a couple of my fellow hams… Tim, KM4DFR and Charlie, N4CRE, have given me great signal reports. Thank you.

The app is called SDR-Control and more information can be found at https://roskosch.de/sdr-control/

With the good, comes the bad. In this case, the possible "bad" for you might be the limited radios the app supports (i.e. Icom IC-705, Icom IC-9700 and the Icom IC-7610) and the price of the app. However, it all depends on your perspective. I am a firm believer of supporting developers if they provide me with quality software. Your opinion may vary.

Lots of YouTubers, including Josh, KI4NAZ, go into more depth in his video below, so make sure you check it out before making your decision.

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Ham Stories

Here at the Everglades Amateur Radio Club, we are always trying new things and pushing the envelope with everything ham radio related. Our newest project is called Ham Stories. This will give us a platform to showcase our fellow hams and get to know them a little better, discuss their current projects, pass on some of their abundant knowledge or just sit and chat for a bit. The sky is the limit.

What better person to kick off the project, than Steve W1HQL, president of the club? Steve graciously spent some time with me and shared his ham story. Keep a look out for that interview to be posted right here.

If you, or someone you know, would like to be showcased, please email me at interview@hamstories.com. Thank you all, in advance, for you support and constructive feedback.

Posted on

ISS Heard Today Over Miami

So there I was driving home after dropping off my daughter at school and as always I am fiddling with my Kenwood TMV-71A VHF/UHF Transceiver. I start scanning the saved memory channels and the radio stops at 146.460MHz. On that frequency I hear chatter through a considerable deluge of static. Right away I discern that the cadence of the chatter is not the norm for regular amateur traffic. Listening closer, I raise the volume turn the squelch all the way down and turn everything else off to focus on the traffic. I suspect it may be the ISS and quickly look up "146.460 ISS" on google. Sure enough I confirm that it is the frequency often used by the ISS. An additional search yields a current map which tracks the ISS and as suspected they are over the Gulf of Mexico.

The excitement sets in and I get on the KD4LZA 444.800 repeater to sound the alarm and get more ears on this. I get confirmations from Steve W1HQL and Charlie N4CRE that they too are hearing it. Steve confirmed, but the signal was so low that it was too difficult to hear. The signal fading, and life rushing back to remind me that I had other responsibilities than playing radio and trying to listen to Astronauts traveling 254 miles over head at 4.76 miles per second or roughly 17,400 MPH.

Now, I am going about my daily responsibilities and that pesky thing called work, when I get a call from Charlie with news that he had kept on listening, but instead of those buckets of static and QRM, of course Charlie had full quieting on the ISS! I mean have you seen his station? Anyways, I digress, he was kind enough to send me a video with the the crystal clear audio from the ISS.

As it turns out, the International Space Station Expedition Team 66 was doing it's Space Walk number 79 to install the IROSA 3A power channel to expand the power of their solar array. With an expected mission time of 6 hours 30 minutes and open on all channels we were bound to be showered with these radio waves.

Posted on

EARC Needs Your Help!!

We have found a photo while cleaning up a bit in our clubhouse shack and we came across this picture. In this picture we have four possible hams, which were probably members of our beloved club. We need your help in identifying these four gentlemen. Please email us if you know the Name , callsign or any other information that could help us determine who they were. The picture was taken between Jun 1978 and Jun 1979. This bit of information was obtained by zooming into the picture with electronic magnifiers. Unfortunately we could not get anything from the patches or name tag on the shirt and jacket of the men two the left of the picture. Now it's up to you to help us find more information. Please email us using the contact us page if you have anything to share that might help us.

Posted on

WINTER FIELD DAY 2022

JANUARY 29 TO 30, 2022

BAYFRONT PARK IN THE, BISCAYNE NATIIONAL PARK, HOMESTEAD, FL

SUNRISE SATURDAY TO SUNDAY 2PM

I need to be sure that we are all safe and prepared for the Winter Field Day Event this weekend.

On the top of the list is WEATHER.......
Temps are reported to be in the upper 30's overnight.
We are close to the water so we may experience some moderation to those temperatures due to convection since the water is much warmer.
However we will be coping with a slight Windchill.
With that said, I just want to be sure you are prepared to cope with those chilly temperatures.
Remember this is WINTER Field Day!

For those that wish to operate from home can do so. Below are the rules for home operation with the instructions on how to credit the club with the points gathered during your home ops....

Talk in frequency will be 444.800 and local intercom will be on 144.925 simplex.

As a side project, I would like to record the time it took for each operation set up to compare efficiency.
Basically I would like you to honestly track the time it took you to set up and become operations with Comms only.
If you are experimenting with a first time set up, track that also since it will make for great discussion on how to improve on expediting and simplifying a set up.

Finally,

If you intend to show up at WFD let me know if you are a :
1: visitor
2: day ops only participant
3: for the full 24 hours
4: Home Ops

You can email me at staylor168@yahoo.com to let me know

HOME OPS R&R's
These changes apply ONLY to groups who, due to the Pandemic and possible local restrictions, won’t/can’t be congregating to compete this year.
If your group wishes, you may have a “group/club” score tallied by having individual members fill in the “CLUB:” line in their Cabrillo log file (above). Individual members will operate USING THEIR OWN CALL SIGN (operating under their own privileges), using a class & category exchange that reflects their individual situation.
They will send in their log under their own callsign with the name or callsign of the group/club noted on the “CLUB:” line.
If a callsign is used in the “club” line, it cannot be one used in the contest or on another member’s entry log (it’ll confuse the scoring software). If your group uses a club name, be sure to advise everyone in your group to use the exact same unique name.
Choose wisely! There are dozens of clubs with the same abbreviation (as in LARC, PARC, etc), but it’s unlikely there’s more than one Livonia ARC, or Lincoln ARC. “Club” scores will be the aggregate of the individual members’ scores, regardless of how they operated and will be posted as distinct “Club/Group” scores once tallied.
Your individual members’ logs and scores will be tallied and posted as well (each under their own call), the same as any other entrant.
IMPORTANT.....READ THE FOLLOWING.....WILL UPDATE YOU ON WHO TO SEND THE LOGS TO.....
It might be a good idea to have someone in your club/group collect members’ logs and check them to ensure 2022 WFD Rules 7 the logs are correct before sending them in. It’ll save us time and you aggravation. “Club/Group” scores will likely be the last to be posted as all logs won’t be in till the actual log deadline.