Good Monday !
Well, it’s QRP week! We are working to make this a great time in Fort Meade on Saturday. We are still planning on three amateur Fox and one GMRS Fox. The frequencies will be listed below. You can buddy up if you do not have a directional antenna, I am working on a few interesting tips revealing a little of the rich history of Fort Meade and the potential location of those pesky FOX. Just a sample, Fort Meade was where phosphate was discovered in Florida. The Peace River has surface exposed spots that turned out to be phosphate. Some of the original mining is still evident, more to come about that at the QRP. The town was also the first in Florida to have organized transit services. Using a mule drawn streetcar! Anyway, you get the picture, some of these may give clues to Fox, some may not. Don’t forget the ‘Big Dogs on the Porch Café’ with the world-famous, or at least club famous chefs. I will have the donation jar to help with the cost. BRING YOUR OWN DRINK! It will be HOT so stay hydrated! HOT so stay hydrated!
If you want to see how easy it is to build a directional antenna here is a great link. https://youtu.be/BmHoQrDfw-0?si=5dH2G8ag0LmBmj07 This is a low cost directional that is made from a measuring tape and PVC pipe. (a cheap tape from anywhere like Scotty’s (just kidding I used to work there) or a reason to go to Rural King or Harbor Freight. More information and a flyer at https://www.lwra.us/qrp .
Frequencies
146.565MHz HAM Carrier Sq
146.535MHz Ham Carrier Sq
147.525Mhz Ham Carrier Sq
462.7125Mhz GMRS Carrier Sq
In other club news we have several members who are ill; if you are so inclined your prayers and thoughts for these folks’ recovery are welcomed. This includes, but is not limited to, Don KN4WGD, who was in Bay Care Winter Haven over the weekend; others, who will remain nameless at this point have been diagnosed with or have had recent cancer surgeries.
Back to Ham stuff for a minute. John W4JFS has been doing a daily Repeater Challenge. Not who but what repeaters you have made contact on today. I know that with a county with 14 repeaters one can get lost in the traffic. Multi modes are great tools but can spread active users thin. If you exercise any of the repeaters and feel like letting us know the active ones here is what we a listing on SIGNAL.
PEM2, LWRA3, DMR VCO 1, DSTAR1 you get the idea. You do not need to let us know who, just which repeaters are active during your day.
The LWRA meeting next month will be a classroom presentation so stay tuned for more information.
A great tool for Hurricane preparation would be to have LWRA SIGNAL on your phone for questions and or updates. See Russ or John W4JFS for more information. Welcome to the several new folks who have joined us this week on SIGNAL.
We will return to the American Red Cross ( unless other notified) to our very capable VE Team testing. This will be on the first Saturday of August. Pre-registration is required, and walk-in testing is not available. www.lwra.us then go to the License Exams tab for additional information.
A REMINDER EXTRA CLASS TESING IS NOW USING THE NEW QUESTION POOL!
· *SHOULD LWFD HAVE TO ACTIVATE THEIR CITY EOC (WHICH IS OUR MEETING ROOM) A MEETING CANCELATION WILL BE SENT OUT. PLEASE CHECK EMAILS THE DAY OF THE MEETINGS UNTIL THE HURRICANE SEASON IS ENDED.
·
NET INFORMATION
Don’t forget the nets:
Monday: We have the Hardee County ARES Net, KT4WX will be NC on the WC4PEM repeater network at 7PM https://polkares.org for frequencies and repeater locations.
WCF ARRL ARES NET with KN4WXX on the NI4CE repeater network www.ni4ce.org for frequencies and repeater locations.
Local ‘Polie Bottom” NXDN net with Jimmy KJ4KJG as host on the W4CLL NXDN South Lakeland repeater at 8PM on 442.025 RAN 45 NXDN ICOM Or Kenwood radio required.
Tuesday Net opportunities are:
GMRS Net 462.725 141.3 +5 CTCSS 7 PM. I NEED one MORE NET CONTROL OPERATOR; it is fun and a great way to practice. This week it is Mike from Lake Wales WRCP675.
LWRA TACO TUESDAY NET
The LWRA Net will be at 730PM on the 442.425MHz repeater + 5MHz using CTCSS Tone squelch 127.3 The net controller will be Jim N4JPC. He will announce the location of the informal that follows the regular net with a great topical question.
We have GREAT NETS with LWRA, if you are a SNOWBIRD on the way or already back up there; don’t forget we have SIGNAL. This is for you to let us know you ‘would if you could’ be a part of the net. Check in on SIGNAL just to let us know you are OK.
(of course, you can ‘would if you could’ check in even if you are here.)
Wednesday net opportunities:
Polk County ARES net on the WC4PEM linked repeater systems. The net begins at 7PM with WX4NEX Norm. Always a great net. More information can be found at https://polkares.org
W4PSR Polk Schools Radio Society radio net. This is aa great chance to encourage youth. It is operated by youth under the supervision of Ham clubs in the schools. They operate on various modes to let students become aware of the types of systems available. We will announce the mode on our net on Tuesday as well as on Signal Chat for the LWRA. The net begins at 2:15PM each Wednesday during the regular school year.
NET OFF FOR SUMMER VACATION WILL RETURN EARLY SEPTEMBER
Wednesday Continued
NI4CE NXDN net on the NI4CE NXDN radio network. This net requires a NXDN radio, and more information can be found on the www.ni4ce.org/nxdn. This net is hosted by NB9X Paul and starts at 730PM.Thursday net opportunities:
LARC Fusion with Bob on the 146.685MHz -.6 Mhz C4FM. This requires a Fusion radio to participate.
LARC Traders net at 730PM on the LARC repeater 146.685Mhz -.6 Mhz 127.3 Tone Squelch.
WCF TECH Net. Listen- Learn-Inquire and Inspire. The wealth of knowledge out there is usually only a question away. ON the NI4CE network is the TECH NET. This net allows questions to our WCF Technical Specialist on a variety of subjects and or problems. Join in at 9PM every Thursday evening. www.ni4ce.org /nets for more information and frequencies. www.wcfarrl.org . www.ni4ce.org for more information. We have several Tech Specialist from our area on the net frequently.
And of course, daily 365 days a year at 830 PM we have the Eagle Net the WCF ARRL Traffic Net on the NI4CE radio network. www.ni4ce.org for more information.
THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, IF SEVERE WEATHER OCCURS A SKYWARN NET MAY BE ACTIVATED. WC4PEM OR NI4CE FOR INFORMATION OR REPORTING IF NEEDED.
One last thing.
Check out the WINLINK Monday with Gary today, you can find more information on the
www.polkares.org/WINLINK
73 and I hope to ‘see ya on the air.’
Mike
KB4FHP