All posts by Randy Brightman

In today’s economy everyone is looking to pinch a penny.  Hams are notorious for being penny pinchers when it comes to equipment.  As everyone knows there are deals to be found on ebay for used equipment but here is a deal on brand new ham radio equipment.

So if your a ham and your in the market for a new HT for use on the club VHF and UHF repeaters then consider the Baofeng UV-5 dual band VHF/UHF  handheld radio.  Where are these radios manufactured for such a low price? Well in China of course!

This brand new unit comes fully loaded with features that were considered luxurious only until recently.  The best part is that this radio can be purchased for less than $50 including shipping off ebay right now!

If you are a new ham or you have a friend or family member who is getting their license you might consider one of these as present for their efforts.  This radio would be a great low cost way for anyone to get started!

As many of you already know the D-Star project has been under way.  It was last month that the UHF D-Star (443.7125 MHz) repeater was placed on the air for testing.  It has been linked to systems all over the world and many contacts have been made by local stations who are D-Star capable.

After programming and testing VARC members turned up the (1299.200 MHz) data channel.  So now users who have a Icom ID-1 radios can now access the internet via their radio.  The RF connection is not as fast as DSL but it is usable for emergency communications.

The next part of the D-Star project is to bring up the 1.2 GHz voice module.  In order to move forward a special duplexer will have to be purchased for the system.

If you are interested in D-Star please contact KF4GTA.

If you missed Field Day 2012 then you missed one of the best field day ever!  Starting early Saturday morning several members gathered to prepare for field day operations.  For starters KI4ROO brought his military communications truck and generator trailer which is just a awesome sight to behold.  Everyone pitched in to prepare the trucks generators and to install the 50′ military portable mast system.  The group then built and installed a 40/80 meter inverted V antenna on the mast system.  There were some technical and tune issues but they were quickly worked out and KE4HKO’s Alinco HF station was on the air inside of KI4ROO military truck by the 2:00 PM start time.

KF4GTA set up his Yaesu HF station and operated the 20/15/10 bands with the tri-band beam which is mounted on a 65 foot tower. Kenwood HF station equipment was used on the 80 and 40 meter bands using a 80/40 inverted V and 510′ horizontal loop.  Once all of the equipment was setup and operational the stations were pressed into service as 3E Georgia.  As far as the overall results go the VARC team did fairly well by generating just over 400 contacts during the 24 hour event.

3E stands for 3 separate stations operating under E for emergency power.   Even thought gas generators where available to operate the stations there was a far more “greener”power source was available…. solar power!   Yes… 6.6 KW of solar panels to charge batteries and to power the equipment.  There was plenty of power!

The members would like to recognize KK4DBU for his superb skills at the grill…. they were some super tasty burgers!   It was super to see K4VLD and KE4HTH bring both there families.  It seems that they had a great time feeding and catching fish in the pond!  KI4ROO thanks for bringing your awesome mobile radio shack!  It was great to see K4ADY, AB4HQ, KD4ZYP, and the many others that stopped by to say hello, help out and offer moral support.  Thanks to those who either called or emailed to say that they would have loved to come but they had other obligations this weekend.  There is next year… remember field day is the last full weekend in June!

Overall Field Day was lot of fun for everyone who came.  Everyone’s morale or spirits where high with there being a lot of good food, fellowship and laughing going on.  It was great to spend time with friends and family to relax and to just enjoy amateur radio with them.

Yesterday members of the technical team met to work on the repeater project.  Right now all work is focused on the repeater equipment itself.  The D-Star equipment was installed in the new 6 ft cabinet and placed in the new equipment room.  Both the VHF and UHF repeaters were removed from the short cabinets and installed in a new 6 ft cabinet.  The taller cabinets allow for more room in the equipment room.  The team also prepared some high speed data equipment and cabling that will be used for a temporary high speed data link to the tank.  This circuit will be used until the permanent DSL circuit can be installed.

Today team members installed the high speed data equipment.  A Wifi link was established on the 900 MHz band which will allow for the D-Star and Allstar equipment to be brought up for testing.   Progress is being made with the team putting in more than 40 hours each since the beginning of the year.  The team would like to thank those who have generously provided their time, other resources or financial support towards the repeater project.

Memorial Day started as an event to honor Union soldiers, who had died during the American Civil War. It was inspired by the way people in the Southern states honored their dead. After World War I, it was extended to include all men and women, who died in any war or military action.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. The current name for this day did not come into use until after World War II. Decoration Day and then Memorial Day used to be held on May 30, regardless of the day of the week, on which it fell. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed as part of a move to use federal holidays to create three-day weekends. This meant that that, from 1971, Memorial Day holiday has been officially observed on the last Monday in May.

Many VARC members and area amateur radio operators have either served or are serving in one of the branches of the armed service.  Please join with them in the remembrance of those who served with their lives in the defense of our great nation through the display of the stars and strips. Most of all please continue to pray for our nation on this special day of observance…

Today was the second Saturday of the odd month so the testing team met to give amateur radio exams in the greater Valdosta area.  Here are the results of this month’s session.  The total number of people who came t0 the exam session was five.

This morning more progress was made on the new repeater room at the repeater site.  A lightening protection rack was installed in order to terminate the big 1 5/8 hardline into the poly-phaser shelf.  Poly-phasers are a inline protectors that quickly absorb surges on coax or hard-line center conductor.  Lightening protection is very important to any radio system which needs to be operational 24 hours and 7 days a week.  Proper lightening protection is the lowest cost insurance that any amateur radio operator should consider for there station.

There is more work to be scheduled at the repeater site in the coming weeks in order to complete the project.  There will be plenty of opportunity for VARC members to learn more about advanced radio technology.

VARC members and other area hams met this evening to enjoy each others company at “Chow Town” which is a fairly new oriental restaurant located over by the mall.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and the meeting area was very pleasant for socializing about ham radio.   Discussions centered around HF, DX, antennas, HamCram, repeater system upgrades, ways to promote amateur radio to the younger generation, field day in June, social networking tools, etc.   In order to encourage more activity and accessibility for members it was decided to change the meeting time from the first Tuesday of the month to the last Saturday of the month.   All those who are interested in amateur radio are always invited to socialize and to enjoy their favorite interest.

Yesterday members of the technical team assembled in order to move the club’s VHF and UHF repeaters to the new equipment room located inside of the water tank.  Everything went very smooth with the move.  The biggest worry were the heavy hard-lines going to the antennas.  But in the end they proved to be a non-issue.  More work will need to be done later in order to finish up installation,grounding and other cabling.  Now the VARC has enough room in order to install the D-Star repeater and Allstar equipment.

Today the VARC held its first ever HamCram session with five dedicated participants present.  Two hams were prepared for their upgrade to general class while three remaining persons were “craming” to become technicians or new hams.

HamCrams are a excellent way for people wishing to obtain their ham radio license in our fast paced club.  A one day session consists of six question pool modules which take approximately six hours to go over.  Sessions are directed by VARC members but they are self study for each individual.  Each participant is given a copy of the question and answer pool which then they familiarize themselves with the questions which will on the exam and the associated correct answer.  Each module lasts for one hour after which participants are given a fifteen minute break to rest.  It has been found that breaks help provide for a better success rate.

After the HamCram session has been completed then the exam immediately is given.  Since a HamCram session revolves around short term memory then it is important to go ahead and test while the information is fresh in ones mind.

At today session four of the participants took their exams.

The VARC is dedicated to both the promotion and development of Amateur Radio in the South Georgia area.  We encourage all those who are interested in Amateur Radio to attend one of our future sessions.