Thursday, December 24, 2015

A Ham Night Before Christmas

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


Monday, November 9, 2015

The KK4IQW D-Star Hot Spot is Elevated and Operational

The 144.905 MHz KK4IQW HOT SPOT is back on the air at a new location. It is still in Panama City but the antenna is now at 160 feet. It is available to everyone with D-Star capability and allows you to connect to reflectors and repeaters via the internet. This is not a repeater! It is simplex so you will only hear one side of a conversation from the hotspot (if the local ham is close you may hear him
direct and thereby hear the entire qso).

Remember we have D-Star repeaters on 2m and 440 so use them for conversations with local hams until we get them connected to the internet (soon, I hope).

To talk on the hot spot your radio should have “CQCQCQ” in the UR field, “KK4IQW C” in RPT1, and “KK4IQW G” in RPT2. The hot spot also supports the Status and Echo commands (status requires “I” and Echo requires “E” in the 8th position of the UR field).

I will conduct the North Florida D-Star ARES Net at 0800 on Wednesday using the
Hot Spot linked to reflector REF046C. There is also a D-Star training net on REF046C Thursday nights at 2000 and you can check in to that net using the hot spot.

Remember the Hot Spot is simplex. You will not hear another local station unless you can hear them direct.

Please use it and enjoy. If you have any questions/comments or need help with programming your D-Star radio, please contact me.
Victor B. Johnson, Jr., K4GXV

Email: vixsal@comcast.net

Monday, August 31, 2015

A Young Lady Joins Our Ranks

Congratulations to Marie Drinkwater for passing her Technician Class exam at the Panama City ARC. Her call is KM4LZW. 


Friday, August 21, 2015

St. George Island Expedition

The Panama City ARC will participate in the US Islands W/VE QSO Party 1200z 29 August – 0300z 30 August, 2015. 15 Hours. The our operating frequencies are 14.250-14.260 (main) 7.250, 21.350,and 28.450 mHz phone. Our club callsign will be W4RYZ. The US islands designator is FL007S. Our headquarters will be at the St. George Island Lighthouse. Additional stations may operate around the Island including at the State Park. Club members and all area hams are welcome to come by to visit or operate. More information is at http://www.usislands.org/ Questions may be directed to Greg N4KGL email LaneKG at gmail.com Information on the Lighthouse is at http://www.stgeorgelight.org/ and the State Park at https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/St-George-Island We will packup at the light house about 6 PM local.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Photos from Panama City ARC 2015 Field Day

Here is a link to the album
Our Field Day was at the Bay County Florida Emergency Operations Center this year.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Panama City ARC hosts Field Day on June 27/28 2015

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club will participate in ARRL Field Day on June 27/28 at the Bay County Emergency Operations Center 700 Highway 2300 Southport, FL. We will be having fun contacting as many Hams as possible operating with similar setups around the United States. However, this will also demonstrate a capability to support emergency communications should normal systems be unavailable. The operating hours are 1 PM Saturday to 1 PM Sunday. A good time for visitors is between 2PM and 6PM Saturday but you can come at anytime. We will have various radios and antennas to operate voice, digital and morse code. The general public is welcome and youth groups are encouraged to attend.

The Bay County Emergency Operations Center is 4.9 miles North on Highway 77 from the intersection of  Highway 77 and 390 and then West on Highway 2300 2.3 miles.




Red Cross Hurricane Preparedness Day Event

The Panama City ARC participated in the 2015 Red Cross Hurricane Preparedness Day at the Panama City Mall. The club had a booth inside the mall and a live amateur radio setup in the parking area. Ron KK4DWE amd Melissa KK4SWL headed up the inside booth and Greg N4KGL headed up the outside station. We had many visitors including Gwen Graham our Congressional Representative. Thanks to all the other helpers and visitors from the Club.



See more photos at this link.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Hex Beam on Trailer/Tower Checkout for Field Day

The Panama City ARC did a test of assembling their NA4RR Hex Beam and mounting it on N4STC's Trailer/Tower on May 2nd 2015. All went well. The SWR checks were good and some contacts were made. This is in preparation for the June 27/28 Field Day at the Bay County Florida EOC. Thanks to all volunteers that came out.



Sunday, April 26, 2015

Registration open for May Technician License Class

The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio   
  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
  • Multiple-choice exam, *No Morse Code Required*
  • Live equipment demonstrations
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Florida
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications
  • Find out how to communicate with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS)
There is no cost for the class (donations accepted) However, students must have the required study guide: Gordon West Technician Class 2014-2018 guide, 7th Edition $29.95 And pay the FCC Exam Fee: $14.00  The text book is available on Amazon.

The two day class will be held on May 16th and May 23rd 2015 at the Panama City ARC Club House. Advance registration is required (no later than February 12th, earlier is better!) To register for the class, contact: Gary Bills at panamacityarc@gmail.com  

Class Location: Panama City ARC Club House 130 N. Church Ave Panama City, FL. 

Preparation for first class: Read pages 1 through 125 of the Gordon West Technician Class Book Optional: Read the entire book and start taking online practice exams Bring a sack lunch to class

For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.w4ryz.org,  www.arrl.org or www.wedothat-radio.org

Our new 11 year old Technician License Holder

On 15 April Ryken Colleros became the second 11 year old to pass the Technician Class Amateur Radio Test at the Panama City ARC!

He was awarded the call sign KM4JZN.

All of us at the PCARC and his parents are proud of his accomplishment.

If you need any motivation to get your license, he will be happy to help you!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marv
KK4DKT


Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Panama City ARC Tailgate is Saturday April 11th

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring a tailgate on Saturday April 11th, 9 AM until 1 PM. Buy, sell or swap ham radio gear. Limited tables are available for $5 on a first come first serve basis. There will be raffle prizes including $150 HRO Gift Certificate. Food is available. License testing at 2PM. Bring $14, picture ID and copy of license if upgrading. The location is the Panama City Amateur Radio Club, 130 N. Church Ave Panama City, FL. The talk-in repeater is W4RYZ 145.210 minus no tone. Questions about this event can be sent to panamacityarc@gmail.com.

A fox hunt will be held on site. Gather in the clubhouse at 10:50 for instructions. The hunt begins at 11:00. The fox frequency is 146.580. There may be multiple foxes. The winners will be rewarded with raffle tickets.




Friday, March 6, 2015

Ham Radio at the Home and Garden Expo March 13 -15

The Panama City ARC will have a booth at the Home Show at the Fair Grounds Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will have displays and information for those new to Ham Radio. Club members can volunteer for the booth or come on by to say hello. Contact Marv KK4DKT for more info.

EXPO INFORMATION

LOCATION: Bay County Fair Grounds, 2230 E. 15th Street, Panama City, FL 32405

DATES: March 13-14-15

SHOW HOURS: Friday, March 13 Noon to 5:00 PM
Saturday, March 14 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sunday, March 15 10:00 to 3:00 PM





Sunday, January 18, 2015

January 17th 2015 Portable Ops and Fox Hunt

Don "Mr Grumpy"  KK4DWC was a wonderful host for the January 17th 2015 Portable Ops and Fox Hunt at the Crooked Fence Ranch. There were three portable setups Bob KK4DIV, Marv KK4DKT and Greg N4KGL. The fox or rabbit hunt started a bit early. Jack N1HQ, Phil N4STC, Cory N4UVR, Bob KK4DIV and Greg N4KGL participated.  Jack N1HQ got two of three rabbits and Phil N4STC got the third. The following video by Bob KK4DIV sums up the day.






Thursday, January 8, 2015

Fox Hunt planned on Jan 17th at Mr. Grumpy's Crooked Fence Ranch

This will be an on foot affair rather than on vehicles. Three foxes will be on 146.580.  Each fox will have a distinctive tone pattern. They will identify in code as W4RYZ/1, W4RYX/2 and W4RYZ/3.  The foxes will transmit in different time slots we hope but the cycle time is the same for all. Teams are allowed but only one person can hold the hunt equipment at a time. Gather in front of the trailer with your gear at 1 PM for final instructions and to register your team. The hunt will start at 1:10 and will end when all foxes are found or noon whichever comes first. Spectators are allowed but cannot aid in hunting. Please be aware of horses and electric fences on the site. GOOD LUCK. All are welcome to come out and may bring a portable radio set up if they like.

The ranch is home of Don Cornelius KK4DWC and is located just North of Southport, Florida on Hwy 388 East. You head north on Hwy 77 and turn right on Hwy 388 just 7 miles north of the Baily Bridge in Lynn Haven. We are about 1.2 miles down on the left. Look for the sign. Click here for a map.  There are horses on the ranch and if you are interested in horses contact Don's Son Gene Corneilus at Lazy-C-Ranch


There many options for fox hunting. The minimum equipment is a 2 meter HT or scanner. Directional antennas and attenuators can be home-brewed or purchased. Your committee is Greg N4KGL, Don KK4DWC, Phil KK4DWI and Bob KK4DIV.Transmitter hunting (also known as T-hunting, fox hunting, bunny hunting, and bunny chasing), is an activity wherein participants use radio direction finding techniques to locate one or more radio transmitters hidden within a designated search area. This activity is most popular among amateur radio enthusiasts, and one organized sport variation is known as amateur radio direction finding.