Panama City ARC Clubhouse Holiday Schedule

PCARC,

I want to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your families.

In addition, I want to let you know the clubhouse schedule for the next two weeks for the CW classes and club meetings.

There will Not be a CW class and the clubhouse will Not be open on the next two Tuesdays (Dec 24, 2019 and Dec 31, 2019).  The next CW class will be on Tuesday Jan 07, 2020.

  

There will Not be a club meeting and the clubhouse will Not be open on the next two Wednesdays (Dec 25, 2019 and Jan 01, 2020).  The next business meeting will be on Wednesday Jan 08, 2020.

Have a safe and joyous holiday season.

Bob

WB8PAF

President PCARC

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Panama City Amateur Radio Club!

Amateur Radio Beginner's Academy

Panama City ARC will present talks for beginning hams during the year 2020. Our goal is to get you started in a great hobby. 

Dates: January 22nd and 29th 2020 at 6 PM after that the 
2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 6 PM. 

Location: Panama City ARC Clubhouse, 130 N Church Ave, 
Panama City, FL 

See updates on W4RYZ.org  
Send questions to panamacityarc@gmail.com 

December 7th Tail Gate at the Clubhouse

PCARC,

We are having a Tailgate on Saturday, 7 December 2019.  Come on down to the clubhouse and join the fun.  You can bring your gently used gear to sell, trade, barter, swap, give away, get advice on, or whatever else. It should be a good time for all. Come see the improvements to the clubhouse.

Starts at 9:00 AM
Hamburgers or Hotdogs with Chips for a small donation
License Testing in the PM

130 N. Church Ave
Panama City, FL
www.w4ryz.org
Club repeater 145.210 100Hz tone

Bob Leasko

WB8PAF
President PCARC

Local 10 Meter Round-table Resurgence

A group of hams around Panama City is meeting on 28.4 MHz at the conclusion of the PCARC Monday night 145.210 FM net that starts at 7 PM. All hams are welcome to join in. This is a great opportunity to test out your HF rigs. Technicians have privileges on 10 meters for up to 200 watts of power. Corey N4UVR has a nice signal on 10 meters using a MicroBITX available for $129 at http://www.hfsignals.com/ and also from Gigaparts.com.

The local propagation mode seems to be line-of-sight, so you may not copy everyone. Vertical antennas do well. There will be a polarization mismatch between vertical and horizontal antennas. In any case, try what antenna you have. See a plan for a 10 meter J Pole here.

At this point in the 11-year solar cycle, ten meters is mostly closed for distance, particularly at night. But you never know. Phil N4STC reports success with FT8 on 10 meters lately. Over the years there have been similar nets locally and we occasionally get calls from out of town stations when the band happens to open up.

73,

Greg N4KGL

MicroBITX HF Transceiver

The PCARC Clubhouse has a Shiny New Tower

Jamboree On The Air 2019 is a Success

Jamboree on the Air!  This event at the Panama City ARC Clubhouse was a great success to those scouts who participated, learning their name in Morse Code, built an antenna, then talked on it, and ate lots of pizza.

Thank you to the hams who provided contacts on HF and the local repeaters.

These scouts made contacts from Arizona to New York.  They heard pile-ups and used Q-codes.

The club thanks Mark Cantrell KD4IMA and his crew for hosting the event.

Ham Radio Technician License Class at Gulf Coast State College

HAM RADIO TECHNICIAN LICENSE  REGISTER!

During emergencies when other communication methods may fail, Amateur Radio communication is still viable. This course introduces the student to the many facets of Amateur Radio (also known as HAM Radio) hobby. The entry-level license is the Technician License and grants access to the Amateur radio frequencies used to communicate locally. The class will review the question and answer pool that makes up the Technician License test and will prepare the student to take the Technician test at the end of the class. Morse Code is no longer a requirement for the Technician License.

Course tuition includes exam fee. 2018-2022 Technician Class textbook required and available online using ISBN-10: 0945053908 or ISBN-13: 978-0945053903

Sat., Oct. 19 & 26, 9:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. (30 break for lunch)
Student Union East (SUE) 246
CRN: 98158 | Course:  XCE 0373 | Fee: $24

Fall Tailgate on Saturday, 14 Sept 2019

PCARC,

We are planning on having our Fall Tailgate on Saturday, 14 Sept 2019.  Come on down to the clubhouse and join the fun.  You can bring your gently used gear to sell, trade, barter, swap, give away, get advice on, or whatever else. There may also be a Fox Hunt event held.  It should be a good time for all.  I hope to see you there.

Starts at 9:00 AM
Hamburgers or Hotdogs with Chips for a small donation
Foxhunt at 1 PM
License Testing in the PM

130 N. Church Ave
Panama City, FL
www.w4ryz.org
Club repeater 145.210 100Hz tone

Bob Leasko

WB8PAF
President PCARC

Amateur Radio in Bay County After Hurricane Michael

The local interest in amateur radio has greatly increased after Hurricane Michael. The Panama City Amateur Radio Club is working with the City of Panama City, Gulf Coast State College, and Gulf Coast Medical Center to increase our local capability to maintain communications after a disaster. A local Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) group works with the Bay County Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

The City of Panama City has repaired the hurricane damage to the PCARC clubhouse and it has reopened. There are meetings at the clubhouse at 130 N. Church Ave, Panama City on Wednesdays at 7 PM. License tests are given on the third Wednesday of the month at 6 PM You can contact the club at panamacityarc@gmail.com. Our club president is Bob Leasko. His callsign is WB8PAF.

Amateur radio is a outstanding hobby for all ages as well as a help for emergencies. A license from the FCC is required to transmit on amateur frequencies. Amateur Radio license classes at GCSC will be announced soon.

The national organization for amateur radio is the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). Visit this link for an introduction to amateur radio.

Bay County ARES has a new web site baycountyares.org

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.

The Bay County ARES has meetings every second Thursday 1830-2000 Central Time at the Bay County EOC, 700 Florida Highway 2300, Panama City, Florida 32409, United States.

There is a Bay County ARES net on the AC4QB Repeater, 145.330 pl 100 Hz, at 7 PM on Thursdays except for the second Thursday.


For more information visit https://baycountyares.org/

Status of PCARC Clubhouse

PCARC,

The air conditioner is fully operational.

After Wednesday (July 10th) the club will go back to its original monthly schedule:

1st Wednesday of the Month - Business Meeting

2nd & 4th Wednesday of the Month - Rag Chew Meetings

3rd Wednesday of the Month - Testing & Presentation   

The CW Class will again be on Tuesdays and will resume on Tuesday (July 16th) at 1800. 

I will again try to have the clubhouse open at least one Saturday a month from 1200 - 1600.

It has been a long time, but we are back! 

73,

Bob, WB8PAF

President PCARC  

QSO Today Podcasts

The QSO Today Podcast hosted by Eric Guth 4Z1UG has over two hundred sixty episodes. That is quite a feat producing a weekly podcast consistently for five years. The secret is that Eric enjoys doing the interviews as much as his listeners enjoy hearing them. The fact is that Eric and I learn something new in each episode. Eric says the guests are the movers and shakers of amateur radio. He is right, and there is an endless list in this hobby. Eric starts with how each guest began in ham radio. From there, Eric explores the unique talents and accomplishments of each guest. The guest list is deep and wide. They include QRPers, DXers, contesters, homebrewers and more.

The QSO Today web site is www.qsotoday.com. Episodes are released weekly. The podcast is available on iTunes, YouTube, STITCHER, Libsyn, TuneIn, and others.



N4KGL's recommends these episodes to start listening. I find that every episode is a home run.

23 Dennis Blanchard K1YPP
28 Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE
39 Don Keith N4KC
45 Steve Galchutt WG0AT
57 Gerald Youngblood K5SDR
72 Bob Heil K9EID
80 Mike Rainey AA1TJ
85 Art Bell W6OBB
114 Laurie Margolis G3UML
168 Dennis Vernacchia N6KI

Just put the callsign of the guest in the search box on www.qsotoday.com to find the episode.

73 Greg N4KGL

Panama City ARC Field Day in the Local News

See the story on the WJHG/WECP website.

Panama City ARC will be On-The-Air for ARRL Field Day.

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club is participating in the 2019 ARRL Field Day on June 22/23. This year the club will set up radios and antennas at their clubhouse at 130 N. Church Ave in Panama City, FL. Emergency power will be used.

Field Day demonstrates an emergency communications capability, but it is also lots of fun. The club will contact as many other Field Day stations around the country as possible in 24 hours starting at 1 PM CDT on Saturday. Our club call sign W4RYZ will be used.

The public and media are invited. The best time to visit is on Saturday between 2 and 5 PM. All local amateur radio operators are welcome to get involved. The clubhouse was repaired by the city after Hurricane Michael damage. Panama City officials have been invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday.

Addison Marvin KK4DKT is the club Field Day coordinator. Questions can be sent to panamacityarc@gmail.com.

Return To St. Vincent Island

Panama City ARC had four stations activating St Vincent Island on May 11th using callsign W4RYZ. The operators included Ron KK4DWE, Bob KK4DIV, Phil N4STC, Dennis WA6QKN, and Greg N4KGL. We operated for a little less than three hours and had 120 contacts. This counted as a Parks On The Air (POTA) activation and One Day Getaway for US Island. please see the videos below.

W4RYZ St Vincent Island Expedition Saturday Morning May 11th

The Panama City ARC will be operating with callsign W4RYZ from St Vincent Island, Florida Saturday morning  May 11th from 1230 to 1530 UTC or 8:30 to 11:30 EDT.. We are participating in the US Islands One Day Getaway and Parks On The Air. The Island is USI FL006S and POTA K-057. We will have several stations operating covering 80, 40 and 20 meters with all modes. We will be on 40 SSB for sure. Our time is short due to the island shuttle boat hours. Watch for our spots on the POTA spotting page, https://pota.us/#/  Contact Greg N4KGL at lanekg@gmail.com for more information. Our club website is www.w4ryz.org and the St Vincent Island website is https://www.fws.gov/refuge/st_vincent/

Don Cornelius KK4DWC Silent Key

Don Cornelius, KK4DWC, passed away on April 6th, 2019. Don was an active club member and the Panama City ARC Treasurer for several years. He was always teasing us that the dues he collected were for his truck payments. Don was also a constant voice on the club repeater. Don was everyone's friend and is greatly missed.

New Panama City area DMR talkgroup on TGIF Network!

Primarily based in the Panama City area, FL Panhandle-RC is an informal DMR talk group where local hams in the Florida Panhandle between Tallahassee and Pensacola (area code 850) can gather, hang out, and fellowship. All other hams are welcome, too, of course!

73,

Bob J.
N4RJJ

ARES Group Meeting with DSTAR Presentation on 2/14/19

The ARES group will meet the second Thursday of the month at the Bay County EOC at 7 PM. The February 14th meeting will have a presentation on D-STAR by Bob Dunkin WB4BLX. All hams are welcome to attend.

New Venue and Schedule for Amateur Radio License Testing

Testing will now be at the EOC, in room 101, the first Wednesday of the month from 1800 - 1900 before the club's business meeting until we get back into the clubhouse.  In addition, the ARES meeting will now be at the EOC on the second Thursday of every month starting at 1900 in room 101 for now on.

Those wishing to take an exam should be present by 6:00 PM CT to complete the necessary paperwork. Bring a photo ID and $14 exam fee. Other days and times can be arranged. For more information about testing, contact Gary at aj4ky@arrl.net

Volunteer Examiner (VE) assistance will be greatly appreciated. 

Gary Bills AJ4KY
VE Coordinator