Panama City ARC Transmitter Hunting

The Panama City ARC Transmitter Hunt Committee is seeking to know how many area hams or prospective hams have an interest in learning more about transmitter hunting and possibly participating in transmitter hunts during the course of the year. Some information is provided below. The minimum equipment is a 2 meter HT or scanner. Directional antennas and attenuators can be home-brewed or purchased. If there is enough interest we can have a group build of tape measure yagi antennas. We also can have training, practice hunts and a competitive event in April. So to measure the level of interest please reply to Greg N4KGL at LaneKG@gmail.com. The committee will report back to the club at the February business meeting on how many are interested. 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.

There will be a fox hunt at the Orlando Hamcation see http://www.orlandofoxhunt.com/

For additional info visit these links.

http://homingin.com/equipment.html
http://www.barriearc.com/Fox_Hunt/RDFing.pdf
http://www.orlandofoxhunt.com/equipment.htm
http://theleggios.net/wb2hol/projects/rdf/tape_bm.htm
http://www.qsl.net/na0pw/FoxHunting.htm
http://www.k3dn.org/foxhunt.htm

January 19 Lynn Haven Portable Ops

There was a good gathering of Panama City ARC hams at the park in Lynn Haven, FL. Phil KK4DWI had a nice slinky dipole from a mast off his truck hitch. Bob WB4BLX had a VHF D-Star Capabilty through Vic K4GXV's Hot Spot. Steve N4VSP and Harold KF4YDO had mobiles. Don KK4DWV brought hisYaesu FT 450 to test. Marv KK4DKT brought his power supply because his rig is in the shop. N4KGL brought his KX3.  Also in attendance was Johnnie KK4MHQ. Contacts included Port St Joe, Atlanta, Virginia and Mexico City. Join us for the next one.  See more photos here.

Left to right Johnnie KK4MHQ, Phil KK4DWI, Greg N4KGL, Marv KK4DKT, Gary AJ4KY, Harold Kf4YDO, Photo by Bob WB4BLX

Don KK4DWC, Phil KK4DWI and Johnnie KK4MHQ

A Ham's Night Before Christmas

Panama City ARC 2013 Officers

Congratulations to —the 2013 club officers that were elected at the December business meeting.

President: Addison Marvin "Marv" KK4DKT
Vice President: Bob Dunkin WB4BLX
Treasurer: Don Cornelius KK4DWC
Secretary Bob Leasko WB8PAF

The new Sgt At Arms is John W "Goat" Nienstedt KK4LUZ

Please give them your support and look for a great 2013.

Thanks to Marv KK4DKT VP, Don KK4DWC Treasurer , Greg KG4LFS Secretary for serving in 2013. Also Charlie KF4JR for serving as Sgt At Arms for several years..

It has been a pleasure being your president for the last two years. Thanks for the support. I have had fun. See you at the club and on the net.

Thanks,

Greg Lane N4KGL

Jamboree On The Air 2012

The Panama City ARC supported the scouts in the 2012 Jamboree On The Air or JOTA on October 20th.. JOTA is an annual event in which Scouts and Guides all over the world speak to each other by means of amateur radio contacts. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared, via the radio waves.

This years JOTA had activities at the clubhouse and also included a scout troop at Sparkleberry Lake area just North of Bay County. Chris K4COZ guided his troop in building a VHF two meter antenna. The scouts erected the antenna on a mast and communicated with other scouts at the clubhouse and several hams in the area.

The clubhouse activities included facilitating scout to scout conversations via HF frequencies. The locations reached included Georgia and Texas. In addition to the clubhouse station, four portable stations were setup on the club grounds.

There were several hands on activities for the scouts; setting up an antenna mast, experimenting with solar power and learning some Morse Code.

Thanks to all the scouts, guides and participating ham radio operators and Rick Gutknecht this years JOTA Chairman for the club.

More photos are available at JOTA 2012 Album

September 2012 Technician Class & Portable Ops Demo

Our September two day Technician License class concluded on the 22nd. I am happy to report the entire class passed their test. The students were John Nienstedt, Jacque Carte', Carl Dunkin and Henry Lasher. They are also joining the club. The instructors were Don Cornelius KK4DWC, Greg Morrison KG4LFS, Gary Bills AJ4KY and Greg Lane N4KGL. The VEs were Jerry Rego KE7YG, Don Cornelius KK4DWC, Greg Lane N4KGL and test coordinator Gary Bills AJ4KY.The class also included a portable ops demo near the club house. Bob WB4BLX, Jim K4LIX, Marv KK4DKT and Greg N4KGL setup rigs. Thanks to all participants and looking forward to having four new hams in the club.

 John Nienstedt, Jacque Carte', Carl Dunkin and Henry Lasher pass Tech exam 

Portable ops outside clubhouse

JOTA Scout Event at Panama City ARC October 20 2012

Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) 2012

The JOTA is an annual event in which Scouts and Guides all over the world speak to each other by means of amateur radio contacts. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared, via the radio waves.

When Scouts want to meet young people from another country they usually think of attending a World Jamboree or another international gathering. But few people realize that each year about half-a-million Scouts and Guides "get together" over the airwaves for the annual Jamboree-on-the--Air (JOTA). Modern communication technology offers Scouts the exciting opportunity to make friends in other countries without even leaving home.....

Scouts of any age can participate, from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and Venturers. Once at the ham radio station, the communication typically requires speaking into a microphone and listening on the station speakers. However, many forms of specialized communication can also take place, such as video communication, digital communication using typed words on the computer screen transmitted by radio, communication through a satellite relay or an earth-based relay (called a repeater), and many others. The exchanges include such information as name, location (called QTH in ham speak), Scout rank, age, and hobbies. The stations you’ll be communicating with can be other Scouts across town, across the country, or even around the world! The World Scout Bureau reported that the 2010 JOTA had just over 700,000 Scout participants from nearly 6,000 amateur radio stations! A participant patch is available, as is a certificate/log sheet that can also be used to fulfill a Radio merit badge requirement.

Date:  October 20 2012 9 am - Noon

Location: Panama City Amateur Radio Club 130 N. Church Ave Panama City, FL

Cost: None other than patch $4

More Info:  http://www.scouting.org/jota.aspx

Scheduling:  Scoutmasters, please provide an arrival time and number of scouts.  Expect about an hour per group of 12.

Amateur Radio Contact:  Rick Gutknecht NZ2I     email rick.gutknecht@gmail.com

Amateur Radio Web sites: www.W4RYZ.org and http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio