Everglades Amateur Radio Club – Page 4 – Mentoring The Next Generation of Hams

November 15, 2021November 18, 2021

Club Antenna Project Update

Well we finally did it! We got an HF antenna engineered, tested and installed thanks to a great team of members.
I will list all involved with the install at the end of this update but special mention to the two members that headed up the effort and coordination to get the job done. Alain K4KKC and Charlie N4CRE .
The plan was to spend the evening (overnight) after the Friday meeting to build the antenna and do the install during daylight on Saturday. The antenna selected was a "Off Center Fed" diploe to hang at peak about 60 feet off the ground at center and about 20 feet at its end. Total length with supports is greater than 1/2 a football field! Tower climbing, tree climbing, rigging and roof running were all skills and tasks tested during the event. And that was during daylight. During the evening until at least 3am, tasks included erecting a 30+ foot mast to support the construction and testing of the antenna. Quality wire, 6to1, 4to1 and 1to1 baluns were tested to produce the best results. A VNA (vector network analyzer) and a Rig Expert analyzer were used to record results as the antenna lengths were adjusted. Once the best combination was tested and approved the system was hardened to survive the harsh elements of the Florida sun and rain.
23 year old rum added cheer to the celebration.
On Saturday a 6 foot aluminum extension was installed at the 60 foot height of the tower to support the pully that will hoist the antenna system in palace and allow easy access for maintenance and experimentation. Tree savers with pullies and weights to allow for wind movement and tension protection were installed at each end. DONE!
Also to add to the list of tasks, the club shack was ridden of "stuff" we have collected over the years via the free flea which unfortunately did not gain much interest in the local amateur radio community. We were the only vendor. Club members had their pick of some pretty cool stuff like high tech testing equipment, beam antennas, mikes, radios, books, and cables.
We also made some space for a new club member to set up a GMRS repeater in the very near future. That will be another update soon, so stay tuned for that and hopefully promising reports on HF contacts with our new antenna.

If you have any let me know and I will add you to the dropbox share list.

Participants:

Luis "Cutter" WD4JKX

Jaime KG4OXO

Logan W0LAB

Charlie N4CRE

Milton KI4AZX

Oscar KN4YHH

Ivan KX4FOX

Chester KM4EAB

Jeff N4ODB

Jose FIU Army Vet

Neil KO4DVG

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021

What’s That Signal?

Have you ever been spinning that VFO and heard something that you did not recognize? Maybe it was something you never heard before or the scope was showing a pattern that puzzled you? Well, chances are you are not the first or last to experience that signal.

The Signal Identification Wiki is a repository of hundreds of signal descriptions, photos and even audio that you can use to reference and, of course, identify almost everything you come across on the airways. Since it is a wiki, you can also expand on existing entries or create a new one that may not be on the site. It is a pretty great place to spend some time expanding your knowledge. Enjoy!

July 10, 2021July 12, 2021

EARC – After Meeting

You may be scratching your head and asking... After meeting? Is that a typo...? Well it is certainly not. Well before the pandemic, EARC club members and club friends would attend the monthly club meeting held on the second Friday of every month at the John D Campbell Agricultural center at 7:30 PM. We go over club business hold testing sessions and talk amongst like minds about Amateur radio, QSO's made, projects in progress and the latest ~~gossip~~..ehem on goings on the local repeaters. At sometime between the adjournment of the meeting and shop talk, a subset of these hams would escape to a local pizza place to partake in libations, good grub and other shenanigan's.

In comes the pandemic, and as some would have guessed it, the meetings alongwith after meetings went stage left. One would think that starting backup old quirky traditions would be slow, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Meetings started up again on May 14th and surprisingly so did all the other activities. Some challenges on the first visit to our favorite "After Meeting" location could not slow us down. Because of Covid, Son of a Pizza, would not allow our large party due to being a bit late on our reservation. Normally that would be the end of that... But not for this group, a few "To Go" orders and a quick visit to the grocery store and we had ourselves a full swing tailgate party in a nearby field outside our favorite venue. A great time was had and since then things have gone back to normalcy.

Last meeting was no exception, a group of us met at Son of a Pizza after our club meeting and had a grand old time. Good friends, good food and great times!! Definitely looking forward to the next one! Come and JOIN US!!

July 10, 2021July 15, 2021

Everglades Radio Club Minutes – July 9, 2021

President’s Report: Steven Taylor, W1HQL
Secretary Report: Secretary, Bill, KG2CS
Vice-President: Robert, W4THM
Treasurer: Pete WB4DB

Introductions/New Business:
Meeting opened @ 2015 hours.
Apologies for starting late due to special testing circumstances.
Meetings will be on schedule at 7:30 PM moving forward.

Introductions:
Minutes from previous meeting and Treasurers Report read.
Motion to accept and read and second by membership. Reminder to sign in.
Any logs from Field Day that have not been forwarded to Pete WB4DB please do so ASAP.

Current stats from Field Day: 281 contacts Across 76 Sections
Additional Points: Safety Officer, Town Official present, Public Information Station
Also send in any photos you may have. Discussion regarding having another Special Event for the 74th anniversary of Everglades National Park.
Brief discussion to think about the idea. Steve Taylor W1HQL will reach out to the Park department to see if entry fees can be waived for the event. (They have been waived in the past Ed.)
Alternate locations can be considered. Discussion regarding getting the HF station up and running at the club. Membership was encouraged to come up with ideas to get an antenna up that does not require maintenance and can remain in position so that the station can operate without any setup and preparation. Discuss more at the next meeting.
Show and tell by Alain K4KKC demonstrating the use of a product???(name) to mitigate corrosion on antenna parts especially when two dissimilar metals are in contact with each other.

20:45 Meeting adjourned. Testing: A new General Leonardo, KN4OIP. Congratulations!

Thank you Steve W1HQL for wearing all the Hats!!

Respectfully submitted,
Bill, KG2CS

Don’t forget SouthCARS 7.251. 8 am to 1 PM every day of the year.
ARES: 8:00 Saturday 3.940. Or Maritime Mobile Net 14.300. They take general check-ins. Also, both Tuesday night nets are 444.800.
And check in on the local 2 meter and 440 nets.

June 21, 2021June 21, 2021

ARRL Field Day 2021

Come out and join the Everglades Amateur Radio Club, W4SVI, for our annual ARRL Field Day. We will be meeting at the John D. Campbell Agricultural Center on Saturday, June 26th and Sunday, June 27th. Although ARRL Field Day officially starts June 26th at 2 PM local time, come early and take advantage of our popular Flea Market starting at 8 AM.

June 11, 2021July 15, 2021

Everglades Radio Club Minutes – June 11, 2021

President’s Report: Steven Taylor, W1HQL
Secretary Report: Secretary, Bill, KG2CS
Vice-President: Robert, W4THM
Treasurer: Pete WB4DB

Treasurer’s Report: $3475.20 petty cash $35 $65 renewals. $265. $35 petty cash. Reports Motioned and passed.

Introductions/New Business:

Discussion of Field Day. The location is the Agricultural Center. We have the 444.700 repeater is working. (94.8). And is working as far North 152 Street. As far south as mile marker 101.

Field Day and Flea Market. 8:00AM-1:00 PM.

Hybird model for Field Day. 2 home operators. 8 operators. 8 operators overnight.
Alain in charge of food. We will cater this year. Motion to $300 for food.
Steve in charge of WinLink, make sure he has your email. 144.925 simplex talk in.

Testing was completed successful. 1 new Technician and one General upgrade. Motioned and seconded to adjourn at 8:29 PM.

Testing update: our club now has an Exam Tools account. Going forward the plan is to be able to offer testing in Spanish. However, for this month it is not available. Maybe next month, it is time intensive. I will keep the club posted.

Respectfully submitted,
Bill, KG2CS
Notes for tonight:

Don’t forget SouthCARS 7.251. 8 am to 1 PM every day of the year.
ARES: 8:00 Saturday 3.940. Or Maritime Mobile Net 14.300. They take general check-ins. Also both Tuesday night nets are 444.800.
And check in on the local 2 meter and 440 nets.

May 14, 2021June 14, 2021

Everglades Radio Club Minutes – May 14, 2021

President’s Report: Steven Taylor, W1HQL
Secretary Report: Bill, KG2CS
Vice-President: Robert, W4THM
Treasurer: Pete, WB4DB

Treasurer’s Report: $3375.20 petty cash $35 $60 renewals.
Reports Motioned and passed.
Introductions/New Business:

All our Happy that we have returned!

Discussion of Field Day. The location is the Agricultural Center. We have the 440.700 repeater is working. (94.5). And is working as far North 152 Ave.

C Star is gone! The large radio/radar system by 152 Ave is gone. 2 dozen beam antennas were obtained by Steve. An open discussion on what to do with these antennas. Flea market. Other ideas. To sell. There are a couple of others items. There are some other items that have been gathered over the past few months by Steve that are in the radio room. Icom radios. A doctor in the Gables donated the WARC kit For a Mosley TA 33. Membership: Questions. $20. Family membership is still $25 a year.

Joe gave a update on SARNET. Some issues with Islemorada Repeater. FDOT is more difficult to access. it should be noted that currently the entire Sarnet is maintained by the volunteers. Thank you all. State DOT under Homeland Security.

Testing information. Going forward, FRN required for all testing. also there will be the upcoming registration fee with the FCC with an implementation date to be determined. It has to be publicly posted before they can start charging. They reduced the GMRS license from $70.00 to $35. At an amateur radio license well be $35 for a 10 year renewal period.

The 146.835 has been moved to 320 and 204th FP and L tower. it is a hard insight with battery backup power, and the tower is brand new. Great for the South. So far the coverage is decent up to 152nd Ave. Past that it is spotty. I can tell you that at least as far down his mile marker 85 in the Keys there is no problem hitting it with a mobile rig.

Robert “Show and Tell” with receiver. Tiny APRS. That technology has advanced extremely quickly, and Robert always has some of the best SDR, and equipment to show. He also showed the vector analysis tool.

Testing was completed successful. Motioned and seconded to adjourn at 8:43 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Bill, KG2CS
Notes for tonight:

Don’t forget SouthCARS 7.251. 8 am to 1 PM every day of the year. ARES: 8:00 Saturday 3.940. Or Maritime Mobile Net 14.300. They take general check-ins.
And check in on the local 2 meter and 440 nets.

April 17, 2021April 18, 2021

EARC W4SVI WFD 2021

via https://youtu.be/yJMEz6FFdc8

January 31, 2021March 19, 2021

EARC’s Winter Field Day 2021

Winter Field Day 2021 has come and gone. Once again, the EARC gang came together and had an outstanding event with good food, good friends, and good times.
In total, 5 field stations were on the air. Some where fully off grid, some were running amplifiers off a genset. HF SSB and PSK31 were modes of choice. Despite the number of wire antennas scattered around, few mishaps happened. A bright moon along with a conservative approach to ambient lighting kept everybody dark adapted and able to enjoy a beautiful view of the moonlit coastline. The weather couldn’t be better. A constant 70F 10-15mph breeze flowed all night. Bugs were non existent. This did pose a challenge to the tents though as they all had to be staked down. Every tent on the site looked like a balloon! It was a small price to pay though for excellent sleeping weather once it came time to shut off the filaments. Food wise it couldn’t be better. Dinner was churrasco, salad, pork loin, and arroz con gandules (Puerto Rican rice and beans). Plenty of beverages to choose from. If you went to bed hungry, it’s because you wanted to.

A big thanks to Steve Taylor for arranging things with the City of Homestead.