The Panama City ARC Fall Tailgate is Oct 22nd

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring a tailgate on Saturday Oct 22nd, 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.  Drinks and snacks are available. License testing at 1 PM. 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.

The Panama City ARC participates in the 2016 ARRL Field Day

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club participated in the 2016 ARRL Field Day on June 25/26 at the Bay County Emergency Operations Center in Southport, Florida. Hundreds of contacts were made with other amateur radio stations in the United States and Canada. This demonstrates our capability to communicate without phones or internet should those service be unavailable due to a disaster situation. This was done in coordination with the Bay County Emergency Communication Director, Mr. Joby Smith. We also had a liaison with the local Red Cross.

This is an activity the club members enjoy. We were active on the air for the entire 24 hours of the event. Our radios were setup inside and outside of the EOC. A variety of antennas were outside in the parking lot and behind the building. The outside site station was operated entirely on batteries with the aid of solar panels. Messages were passed via radio with to the National Traffic System. We got some young people on the air. The public and media were invited. The Panama City News Herald did an excellent article on the event. An Amateur Radio Test Session was held and new amateur radio operators got on the air for the first time.

Our hobby offers many of educational, pastime and service opportunities. Contact the Panama City Amateur Radio Club at panamacityarc@gmail.com to learn more.

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Panama City ARC hosts Amateur Radio Field Day on June 25th & 26th

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 on Highway 2300. However Highway 2300 will be closed for construction. Please use the detour using Highway 2302 West at Highway 77 in Southport, Florida and follow the signs to Highway 2300 then head East to the EOC/Gulf Coast State College North Campus.

Wires-X Node is Available in Panama City

Wires-X is up and running on 146.595  simplex.  You must have a Fusion transceiver to use this mode.  Please feel free to use the node.  The Wires-X node is at latitude  30° 11.729'N longitude  85° 40.447'W using a directional antenna pointing at about 45 degrees.  The transmitter is at 50 watts.  It is usually on America Link.  If you encounter any issues or need help accessing the node you can contact Jack at N1HQ@arrl.net. Also information can be found at https://www.yaesu.com/jp/en/wires-x/user/index.php You don’t have to be a registered user to look up nodes and other information.

Panama City ARC 2016 Tailgate was a Fun Event

The Panama City ARC Tailgate was held on April 16 2016. The weather was comfortable. Don KK4DWC headed up the event and sold raffle tickets. Phil N4STC won the FT-1DR Fusion HT. There was equipment for sale in and out of the club house. Sandy KE2F server the BBQ. A Fox Hunt was held on the site and Jack N1HQ found both foxes. There were about five hunters. There were serveral portable setups outside including Jim K4LIX, Cory N4UVR, Bob KK4DIV and Greg N4KGL All the setups had magnetic loop antennas. Jim had a particularly large one. Testing was provided by Gary AJ4KY at the end of the event.

Panama City ARC is having a Tailgate on April 16th

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring a tailgate on Saturday April 16th, 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 for a Yaesu Fusion HT. Lunch is available. License testing at 1 PM. 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.

Registration is Open for April Technician 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 $20.95 And pay the FCC Exam Fee: $14.00  The text book is available on Amazon.

The two day class will be held on April 23rd and April 30th 2016 at the Panama City ARC Club House. Advance registration is required. 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. 

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