If you’ve never operated in a contest before and are saying to yourself “What’s all this contest business?”, the Florida
QSO Party is a great way to introduce yourself to the world of contesting.

It runs in two 10 hour increments…from noon until 10pm Saturday and from 8am until 6pm Sunday. For stations outside of Florida, the goal is to work as many Florida stations as you can (including all 67 counties), and for Florida stations the goal is to work as many different states, provinces and countries as possible.

What’s nice about this contest is that everyone wants to work YOU! This especially fun for those who operate mobile or portable as they can go to one of the “rarer” Florida counties and have pile-ups without even trying!

Even if you’re not a “contester” per se, this weekend is a great time to gather additional states and countries because everyone is looking for Florida.

Check out the website for rules and information at https://floridaqsoparty.org/

See you on the air!

April 18, 2022 is World Amateur Radio Day! So get on the air and get radioactive!

https://www.iaru.org/on-the-air/world-amateur-radio-day/

The Lakeland Amateur Radio Club Special Event Station W4S is featured in this Youtube video put together by the Florida Aviation Network. Check it out!

Many thanks to everyone who was involved, and a special thanks to Club President Mike Shreve N6MRS and Vice President Geoff Schuck WA4MMO whose many hours behind the scenes making this happen are much appreciated.

The weather is quickly warming up and the snowbirds are leaving, which can only mean that summer is upon us (I know, it officially starts in 3 months but lets face it…we really only have two seasons in Florida, summer and maybe two weeks of winter).

But, we’ve got more than enough coming up to keep us busy!

April 30: March for Babies at Lake Hollingsworth (see blog post of April 6)

April 30-May 1: Florida QSO Party (https://floridaqsoparty.org/)

May 28: EPARS tailgate in Dade City (disregard the published date, it is confirmed at May 28 http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/epars-tailgate-2)

May 28: Wormfest (which has to be the greatest name for a hamfest ever) in St Pete (http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/wormfest-4)

June 11: The 3rd Annual Dade City Pre-Field Day Tailgate (http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/3rd-annual-pre-field-day-tailgate-gathering)

June 25-26: FIELD DAY!

March of Dimes – March for Babies 2022 – Lakeland March – Saturday, April 30 at Lake Hollingsworth

LARC has, once again this year, been chosen to provide communication support for the Lakeland portion of this national event. Volunteer Radio Operators are needed from 7:30 AM until approximately 10:30 AM.

Please bring your HT. We will be using the LARC repeater at 146.685 PL 127.3. The event will once again be held at the First Presbyterian Church  175 Lake Hollingsworth Dr, Lakeland, FL 33801

We need a minimum of 10 volunteers to fulfill the needs of the event. All LARC club members are welcome. 

Please email Bob Doherty ( KM4BAO) at KM4BAO@yahoo.com to sign up. A detailed email will then be sent to all volunteers about 10 days prior to the event. 

Thank you in advance for volunteering! 

In response to a request from the ARRL. the FCC has clarified that the $35 license fee will NOT apply to license upgrades. The license fee will still apply to new license applications, renewals, vanity callsign requests and rule waivers. It will not apply to upgrades and administrative requests such as changes to mailing or email addresses.

The LARC Spring Picnic is going to be held on Saturday, March 26 at Lake Parker Park, 910 Granada St, Lakeland FL 33801. Come early! There will be portable HF stations set up and operating.

Lunch will start around 11:00 – 11:30. Meat will be provided by the club, bring a side or drinks for you and a friend and there will be plenty of food for everyone.

See you there!

The day we all knew was coming is here.

Today it was announced that the FCC will begin collecting license fees for amateur radio licenses on April 19. If you’re within your 90 renewal window, you want to change your callsign or upgrade your license, you have until April 18 to do it at no cost. Beginning April 19, it will cost $35 to do any of those things.

We knew this day was coming so no one should be surprised, and quite honestly, at $3.50/year, an amateur radio license is a bargain!

The FCC plans to start collecting the fees within the ULS system. More details will be shared as they come available.

For those who aren’t interested in communicating via social media (or maybe you’re just looking for something different), we have an email discussion list, too!

If you look at the top of this page you’ll see a tab called “LARC Mailing List”. Now this isn’t just any old mailing list. If you click on that tab and sign up, not only will you get the latest and greatest news about the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club (and no spam!), but it’s a great way to communicate with your fellow hams, exchange ideas, talk about radios, talk about antennas, talk about hamfests, talk about pretty much anything you can think of (but please, as in any polite form of communication, keep the politics and religion off of it).

The LARC mailing list isn’t just for dissemination of information…think of it as an open forum where you can express your ideas too (because that’s exactly what it is). Try it out!