Registration is open for 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 2010-2014 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 February 22nd and March 1st 2013 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

Happy New Year to Hams

We look forward to a great turnout for 2014 Panama City Amateur Radio Club meetings and events. Remember there will be no club meetings on 12/25/2013 and 1/1/2014. The first business meeting of 2014 will be 7 PM Wednesday 1/8/2014 at the clubhouse.

Also get on the air for Straight Key Night  held every January 1 from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC. See details at this link.
This 24-hour event is not a contest; rather it is a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs. The use of straight keys or bugs to send CW is preferred. There are no points scored and all who participate are winners.

A Ham Night Before Christmas

PCARC 2014 Club Officers Elected

Congratulations to —the 2014 club officers that were elected at the December business meeting.

President: Addison Marvin "Marv" KK4DKT
Vice President: Greg Lane N4KGL
Treasurer: Don Cornelius KK4DWC
Secretary Bob Leasko WB8PAF

Sgt At Arms Phil Radford N4STC

Please give them your support and look for a great 2014

Club Installs a New Beam Antenna for W4RYZ

The club now has a new directional antenna at the top of a their 50 foot tower, It is a hexagonal beam. The beam works on six bands 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6 meters. This particular antenna is made by NA4RR in Pensacola, Florida. It is the equivalent of a two element yagi. Each loop of wire is actually a driven element and a reflector. It was a team effort to get it installed. The team was headed up by Mr. Grumpy KK4DWC. We had two climbers of the tower Bob Noakes and Gene Cornelius who did an outstanding job. Assembly is easy. We had the most trouble with a premade coax connector that was not soldered properly. The Standing Wave Ratio was right on the mark for all bands. It is broad banded so it does not need a tuner. This antenna is capable of DX or distance contacts. So we hope to have lots activity from the club station. There is some remodeling of the operating area inside the clubhouse planned. W4RYZ is the club callsign. More photos are here.

Registration Open for Technician Class August 10/17 2013

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 2010-2014 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 August 10th and August 17th 2013 at the Panama City ARC Club House. Advance registration is required (no later than September 1st, 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

Amateur Radio Field Day coming June 22/23 2013

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club will participate in Field Day on June 22/23 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.

We thank Mark Bowen and Joby Smith of the EOC for giving us an opportunity to operate at this venue. 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.