Author Archives: larc-blogger

January 2020 General Meeting

New Hams

From left t right Jim VE, Andy KO4AWN, Michael KE8NRS,
Trenton KO4AWL, and VE Richard. (I believe the piper is a distant relative of bill Paul.)

From left to right VE Glenn, Daniel KO4AWK, Glenn KO4AWJ, VEs Ron and Richard.

Speaker Kathy Drainville

Our speaker for the evening was Kathy Drainville. Kathy did an excellent job  presenting the case for CERT, Community Emergency Response Team. Some of our members, like our VP John Stanford were already members. As A result of her dynamic presentation I know of several others who have signed up for training.For more information on how to sign up, see the Blog entry below.

Field Day Results

Fred went over the numbers for last year’s Field Day exercise. We did about the same as we did in previous years. Where we place is not as important as the fact that we demonstrated that we can communicate when the grid is down, and have a lot of fun in the process.

Attendance

 We had 58 in attendance of which 16 were guests. Guests are always welcome.

CALL FIRST LAST CLASS ARRL ARES SKYWARN
AB1DX Oliver Richards Amateur Extra YES NO NO
AB4KA James Russ Amateur Extra YES NO NO
AG4E Robert Young Amateur Extra NO NO
K0ZD John Stanford Amateur Extra YES NO NO
K1DU Frederick Delaney Amateur Extra YES NO
K1OPQ David Perrin Amateur Extra YES NO NO
K3JAZ Larry Turner General NO NO
KB0QMN George Rezac General NO NO
KB4FHP Joseph Lunsford General YES YES YES
KG4CYY Gary Davis Technician
KI4CRI Charles Gribble Amateur Extra NO NO NO
KI4WRX David Zdanowicz Amateur Extra YES YES YES
KI4ZMV William Johnson Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KJ4UW George Mann Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KK4LYQ William Paul Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KK4OGM Ronald Herring Amateur Extra NO NO NO
KK4TSG Ronald Herring General NO NO NO
KK4VCN Eleanor Marshall General NO NO YES
KM4BAO Robert Doherty General YES NO YES
KM4STU Leon Holzer General NO NO
KM4PYG Warren Coons General
KM4YGW Gary Workman General
KN4FBD John McCullough General YES NO
KN4OTO Charlotte Shaver Technician NO NO NO
KN4OTS Harley Leavitt General NO NO
KN4PIH Richard Lennon Technician NO NO
KN4SAU John Beatty General NO NO
KN4UJI Larry Collins Technician NO NO YES
KN4VII Robert Sanchez Technician NO NO NO
KN4ZOZ Byron Bartlett Technician
KO4ADY Orbin Lopez Technician NO NO NO
KT2T Michael Oliver Amateur Extra LIFE YES YES
N2UTY george Warren General
N4ESS Richard Kennedy Amateur Extra LIFE NO YES
N4FRK Victor Saxe General NO NO
N4HCZ Robert Griggs Amateur Extra NO NO
N4PEG Margaret Kennedy Amateur Extra LIFE NO YES
N6MRS Michael Shreve Amateur Extra YES YES YES
N7CUC Samuel Shaver Amateur Extra NO NO NO
NC8I Robert Berquist Amateur Extra YES NO NO
NJ4Y Matthew Stevens Amateur Extra YES YES YES
W4JFS John Sherwood Technician NO NO YES
W4JGC J. Culler Amateur Extra YES NO YES
W7STR Springer Rush Amateur Extra YES YES YES
W8DUK Richard Grubb Amateur Extra YES NO YES
W8IAO James Kelley General NO NO NO
WA1Q Robert Azanow Extra
WA4MMO Geoffrey Schuck Amateur Extra YES YES NO
WB6ZEQ Herman Smith Amateur Extra YES YES NO
Tom Weeks
Min-he Rezac
Yenmie Santuago
Kathy Grainville
Chris Scott
Andy Bolig
Mike Spanuel
Daniel Cassels
Trenton Roth
Glenn Smith

CERT Training

The schedule for CERT training can be found by clicking on CERT TRAINING

If you would like to become certified,  send your name, phone number, address, email address, and desired class or session to CERT@polk-county.net

You will receive a response by email from Kathy Drainfield with a link to a registration form. Make sure all the *required information is filled out. You can skip all the optional stuff, but be sure to list your first, second, and third choices as Adult CERT training under Polk County BoCC Volunteer Assignment Choice.

Winter Field Day 2020

Winter Field Day Association (WFDA) is a dedicated group of Amateur Radio Operators who believe that emergency communications in a winter environment is just as important as the preparations and practice that is done each summer but with some additional unique operational concerns.

 We believe as do those entities of ARRL Organizations like ARES & RACES that maintaining your operational skills should not be limited to fair weather scenarios. The addition of Winter Field Day will enhance those already important skills of those that who generously volunteer their time and equipment to these organizations. This is why WFD is open to all licensed amateur radio operators worldwide.

This year, Mike Shreve will be managing the band plan. Your participation is encouraged. Please contact Mike if you are interested in participating.

2019 Tampa Bay Hamfest

This year’s Tampa Bay Hamfest will again be held at the Strawberry Festival facilities in Plant City, Florida. The Hamfest will open to the public at 1 PM on Friday, December 13th and run through Saturday, December 14th, closing at 4 PM.

Again, the Tampa Bay Hamfest will be the West Central Florida Section Convention of the ARRL, American Radio Relay League. ARRL will have a booth and will have representatives available to answer any questions you may have.

The indoor hamfest sales and the FGCARC Service Desk will be in the 21,375 sq. ft. air conditioned Expo Hall  at 2301 West Oak Avenue. The general public parking and the tailgate entrance is at the intersection of Lemon Street and West Palmetto Avenue. The Tailgate area (see below) will be the large grassy field adjacent to the Expo Hall. Forums will again be held in both the Expo Hall meeting room and in the Armory building at the south end of the Tailgate area. All testing and related functions will also be in the Armory building.
Please note that all tailgate vendors should enter and leave via the general parking entrance on Lemon Street.

Click here for directions

Christmas 2019

The Christmas Party for 2019 was a big success. Lots of food, and because of the environment, ample opportunity to chat during the meal. A large part of the credit has to go to David Z, as well as the many others who brought side dishes and desserts.

Two awards were presented during the evening. The club showed its appreciation to Patrick for his four years of service as club Treasurer. Over the years, Patrick has served as every officer the club has, including President. The second award went to our outgoing president, Matthew, who led the club to record high membership over the last two years. His laid back leadership style, and ability to encourage volunteerism was a winning combination.

At the same time we acknowledge club officers past, we recognize the new club officers who now take charge: Mike Shreve, our new club President, John Stanford, our new VP, Todd Rush, our new Treasurer, and Bill Johnson, or new old Secretary. It is up to our officers, board members, and every member in the club to move the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club ever closer to achieving its three objectives: Comradery, Education, and Service.

Click her for pictures taken at the dinner.

Some interesting stats on our Christmas Dinner Meeting
   Expected to attend 69.
   Actual attendees 57.
   Number who paid but did not attend for one reason or another 5.
   This would have brought our attendance to 62, and within 5 of the expected   number.

Last year only call signs were recorded. The count was 32. This year, the number of call signs recorded was 38, or six more than last year.

Attendance at the December Meeting

CALL FIRST LAST LICENSE ARRL ARES SKYWARN
AA4HT Robert Van Winkle Amateur Extra YES NO
AB4XK Chet Carruth Amateur Extra YES NO
AE4RM Roger Meadows Amateur Extra YES NO YES
K0ZD John Stanford Amateur Extra YES NO
K1DU Frederick Delaney Amateur Extra YES NO
K2OU Gary Perkins Amateur Extra NO NO NO
K4EMT Sarah Clark Amateur Extra NO NO NO
K4JZ William Aten Amateur Extra LIFE YES YES
KB4FHP Joseph Lunsford General YES YES
KG2G Bert Onachila Amateur Extra YES NO
KI4CDY Patrick O’Neil Amateur Extra YES YES YES
KI4EFL Donald Jeerings General NO NO NO
KI4WRX David Zdanowicz Amateur Extra YES YES YES
KI4ZMV William Johnson Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KJ4DSQ Roger Land Technician YES YES YES
KJ4UW George Mann Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KK4LYQ William Paul Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KM4STS Liam Holzer General NO NO NO
KM4STT Aimee Holzer Amateur Extra NO NO
KM4STU Leon Holzer General NO NO
KM4UYX Kenneth Kozla General NO NO NO
KN4LEH Danny Dickey Technician NO YES YES
KN4OTS Harley Leavitt General NO NO
KN4PIH Richard Lennon Technician NO NO
KN4UJI Larry Collins Technician NO NO YES
KN4VIH Carolyn Sanchez Technician NO NO NO
KN4VII Robert Sanchez Technician NO NO NO
KT2T Michael Oliver Amateur Extra LIFE YES YES
N4ESS Richard Kennedy Amateur Extra LIFE NO YES
N4HCZ Robert Griggs Amateur Extra NO NO
N4PEG Margaret Kennedy Amateur Extra LIFE NO YES
N6MRS Michael Shreve General YES YES YES
NJ4Y Matthew Stevens Amateur Extra YES YES YES
W4EMT Eric Clark Amateur Extra NO NO NO
W4JGC J. Culler Amateur Extra YES NO YES
W4XDS James Stewart Amateur Extra YES YES YES
WA4MMO Geoffrey Schuck Amateur Extra YES YES NO
WB6ZEQ Herman Smith Amateur Extra YES YES NO







Guests






Glenn Smith



KGB3VTY Mark Wagner



KM4PYG Warren Coons



 
Attendance Summary 
The following is a summary of the attendance by member prior to the December meeting, and taking into account that we missed a meeting due to a hurricane warning. Data for nine of those months are recorded below. Data is ranked by number of meetings attended.

CALL N FIRST LAST CLASS OFF BOARD ARRL ARES SKYW
K4EMT 9 Sarah Clark AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO NO
KB0QMN 9 George Rezac General NO NO NO NO
KI4ZMV 9 William Johnson AmateurExtra SECR NO YES NO YES
KN4FRA 9 Susan Pugh General NO NO YES YES
KN4PIH 9 Richard Lennon Technician NO NO NO NO
N4ESS 9 Richard Kennedy AmateurExtra NO YES LIFE NO YES
N4HCZ 9 Robert Griggs AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
N4PEG 9 Margaret Kennedy AmateurExtra NO NO LIFE NO YES
NJ4Y 9 Matthew Stevens AmateurExtra PRES NO YES YES YES
W4EMT 9 Eric Clark AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO NO
WB6ZEQ 9 Herman Smith AmateurExtra NO NO YES YES NO
K0ZD 8 John Stanford AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
K1DU 8 Frederick Delaney AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
K4JZ 8 William Aten AmateurExtra NO NO LIFE YES YES
KI4CDY 8 Patrick O’Neil AmateurExtra TREA NO YES YES YES
KI4WRX 8 David Zdanowi AmateurExtra NO YES YES YES YES
KJ4UW 8 George Mann AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO YES
N6MRS 8 Michael Shreve General VP NO YES NO YES
WA4MMO 8 Geoffrey Schuck AmateurExtra NO YES YES NO
AA4HT 7 Robert Van Wink AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
KB4FHP 7 Joseph Lunsford General NO NO YES YES
KJ4DSQ 7 Roger Land Technician NO NO YES YES YES
KK4LYQ 7 William Paul AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO YES
KM4STT 7 Aimee Holzer AmateurExtra NO YES NO NO
KM4STU 7 Leon Holzer General NO NO NO NO
KN4OTS 7 Harley Leavitt General NO NO NO NO
KN4SAU 7 John Beatty General NO NO NO NO
N4FRK 7 Victor Saxe General NO NO NO NO
N7CUC 7 Samuel Shaver AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
W4XDS 7 James Stewart AmateurExtra NO YES YES YES
W8DUK 7 Richard Grubb AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO YES
KM4STS 6 Liam Holzer General NO NO NO NO NO
KN4OTO 6 Charlotte Shaver Technician NO NO NO NO
KT2T 6 Michael Oliver AmateurExtra NO YES LIFE YES YES
WX4AMS 6 Andrew Stevens AmateurExtra NO NO YES YES YES
AB1DX 5 Oliver Richards AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO NO
AB4KA 5 James Russ AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
AB4XK 5 Chet Carruth AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
AG4E 5 Robert Young AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
K2OU 5 Gary Perkins AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO NO
KF4Q 5 William Busbin AmateurExtra NO NO YES YES
KJ4WFS 5 Tom Evans AmateurExtra NO NO YES YES
KK4BMI 5 David LaFave General NO YES LIFE YES
KK4ITX 5 John Leahy AmateurExtra NO NO YES YES YES
KK4OGM 5 Ronald Herring AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
KK4VCN 5 Eleanor Marshall Technician NO NO NO NO YES
KM4DMD 5 John Laurent AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO YES
KN4BOE 5 Thomas Conner General NO NO YES NO
KN4FBD 5 John McCullou General NO NO YES NO
KN4PVO 5 Jesus Perez Technician NO NO YES NO
KQ4KX 5 Richard Sharp AmateurExtra NO YES LIFE NO YES
NC8I 5 Robert Berquist AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
W4JGC 5 J. Culler AmateurExtra NO YES YES NO YES
W7STR 5 Springer Rush AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
WB4OMG 5 Harmon Morgan AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
K3JAZ 4 Larry Turner General NO NO NO NO
KB4BDQ 4 Judith Bukoski General NO NO LIFE NO NO
KF4TPW 4 Lydia Morgan AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
KI4EFL 4 Donald Jeerings General NO NO NO NO NO
KK4YXR 4 Franklin Fitzgerald Technician NO NO YES YES YES
KN4LEH 4 Danny Dickey Technician NO NO NO YES YES
N2TE 4 R. Marchese AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
WB8QQR 4 Norman Nissen Advanced NO NO YES NO NO
WX4NEX 4 Norman Xanders Technician NO NO NO YES YES
KG4YNI 3 Ernest Haynes AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO YES
KM4QBT 3 John Rogers Technician NO NO NO NO
AE4RM 2 Roger Meadows AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO YES
K1OPQ 2 David Perrin AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
K1TZD 2 Gregory Burton AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
K4QW 2 Chris LeBlanc AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
KI4CRI 2 Charles Gribble AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO NO
KK4TSG 2 Ronald Herring General NO NO NO NO NO
KM4UYX 2 Kenneth Kozla General NO NO NO NO NO
KN4PII 2 Sharon Kirkland Technician NO NO NO NO
KN4SAV 2 Edward Schairer AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
KN4UJI 2 Larry Collins Technician NO NO NO NO YES
N1GPD 2 Susan Perrin General NO NO YES NO
W4MAG 2 Michael Girard AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO NO
K2TDR 1 Ringo Breton AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
KG2G 1 Bert Onachila AmateurExtra NO NO YES NO
KM4BAO 1 Robert Doherty General NO NO YES NO YES
KM4CUG 1 Debra Leahy Technician NO NO YES NO
KM4CUI 1 Christy Evans Technician NO NO YES NO
WZ1P 1 Daniel Gagnon AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO NO
K1TDR 0 Stacy Breton General NO NO NO NO
K4CBN 0 Gregory George General NO NO NO NO
K4LKM 0 David Robinson General NO NO YES NO
K4NR 0 Mark Lytle AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO
KA9AHB 0 Frances Roncone General NO NO YES NO
KE4IPE 0 Russell Gunter General NO NO NO NO
KG4BAS 0 Nestor Monllor Technician NO NO NO YES
KI4DNO 0 Larry Walker General NO NO YES YES YES
KI4HIM 0 Norma Gribble AmateurExtra NO NO NO NO NO
KI4OFV 0 Trudy Oliver Technician NO NO LIFE NO NO
KJ4AYU 0 Victoria Walker Technician NO NO YES NO NO
KJ4ZRU 0 Ansel Monllor Technician NO NO NO NO NO
KK4ASD 0 Gabrielle Monllor Technician NO NO NO NO NO
KK4RAH 0 Stephanie Hildreth Technician NO YES NO NO
KN3ABC 0 William Herren General NO NO YES NO
KN4RMO 0 Daniel Sharp Technician NO NO NO NO
N4HES 0 Arthur Hess General NO NO YES NO
N7HUQ 0 Steven Schultz General NO NO NO NO YES
WA4YFN 0 Robert Siegel General NO NO YES NO
WA9POQ 0 Edwin Cox General NO NO YES NO
WD4DGC 0 John Halley General NO NO NO NO

LARC Christmas Dinner 2019

Time to dust off the LARC Christmas wreath and get ready for the annual Christmas Dinner. We are doing things a little different this year, so be sure to read what follows carefully.

 
The LARC Christmas Dinner will be held 
December 2. (First Monday)
6:00 PM
The Parkview Baptist Church
Admission $10 per adult. No charge for children.
The menu includes Mission BBQ
Members are encourage to bring a dessert to share
There will be door prizes 
You can purchase your tickets at the November Meeting, or pay at the door. However, if you choose to pay at the door, please let us know by filling out the form you will receive in the mail. We need this information to plan for the number of guests. 

November 2019 Meeting

Taking the test was like a walk in the park

Dr. Louis, KN4ZPC,  Byron, KN4ZOZ, Glenn, W4JGC VE

We had an exceptionally busy testing night. 
Here are four more.
Jimmy, AB4KA VE, Vlad, KX4TH, Bob, KN4ZPB, Jose, KN4ZPD, Javier, KN4ZPA,      Adalberto, KN4ZPL, Richard, W8DUK VE

Congratulations to all. Each candidate passed the Technician Exam. Val, second from the left, is an Extra, and President of the Polytechnic Radio Club.

For some insight into how the present generation relates to Amateur Radio, Click Here

Election Results

President: Mike Shreve
Vice President: John Standford
Secretrary: Bill Johnson 
Treasurer: Todd Rush

Board members:
Jim Stewart, Eleanor Marshall, Glenn Culler, Rich Kennedy, Geoff Schuck, Matthew Stevens, Mike Oliver, Dave Zdanowicz

This Evening’s Presentation

Our presenter for the meeting was Mike Shreve. His presentation Easy HF Antennas can be found on our website. 
Click here for copy of Mike’s presentation
Mike demonstrated how one offset center dipole can be made to work several bands.The secret is finding the best overall length and side to side ratio.  

For less of a challenge, you might try a center fed dipole tuned for one frequency. Get some wire at the home center and experiment. Calculating the length is as easy as (1)234, or (2)468. To find the length of one (1) side of a dipole in feet, divide 234 by the frequency in MHz. To find the length in feet of both sides (2) divide 468 by the frequency. Add a little extra and then put it to the test. Helps if you have a friend with an antenna analyzer. This makes tweaking so much easier, and working with a friend is much more fun.

CALL FIRST LAST LICENSE ARRL ARES SKYWARN
AA4HT Robert Van Winkle Amateur Extra YES NO
AB1DX Oliver Richards Amateur Extra YES NO NO
AB4KA James Russ Amateur Extra YES NO
AB4XK Chet Carruth Amateur Extra YES NO
AE4RM Roger Meadows Amateur Extra YES NO YES
AG4E Robert Young Amateur Extra NO NO
K0ZD John Stanford Amateur Extra YES NO
K1DU Frederick Delaney Amateur Extra YES NO
K1TZD Gregory Burton Amateur Extra NO NO
K2OU Gary Perkins Amateur Extra NO NO NO
K3JAZ Larry Turner General NO NO
K4EMT Sarah Clark Amateur Extra NO NO NO
K4JZ William Aten Amateur Extra LIFE YES YES
KB0QMN George Rezac General NO NO
KB4BDQ Judith Bukoski General LIFE NO NO
KB4FHP Joseph Lunsford General YES YES
KF4TPW Lydia Morgan Amateur Extra NO NO
KI4CDY Patrick O’Neil Amateur Extra YES YES YES
KI4CRI Charles Gribble Amateur Extra NO NO NO
KI4EFL Donald Jeerings General NO NO NO
KI4WRX David Zdanowicz Amateur Extra YES YES YES
KI4ZMV William Johnson Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KJ4DSQ Roger Land Technician YES YES YES
KJ4UW George Mann Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KJ4WFS Tom Evans Amateur Extra YES YES
KK4LYQ William Paul Amateur Extra YES NO YES
KK4OGM Ronald Herring Amateur Extra NO NO
KK4VCN Eleanor Marshall Technician NO NO YES
KM4STS Liam Holzer General NO NO NO
KM4STT Aimee Holzer Amateur Extra NO NO
KM4STU Leon Holzer General NO NO
KM4UYX Kenneth Kozla General NO NO NO
KN4FBD John McCullough General YES NO
KN4FRA Susan Pugh General YES YES
KN4LEH Danny Dickey Technician NO YES YES
KN4OTS Harley Leavitt General NO NO
KN4PIH Richard Lennon Technician NO NO
KN4UJI Larry Collins Technician NO NO YES
KT2T Michael Oliver Amateur Extra LIFE YES YES
N4ESS Richard Kennedy Amateur Extra LIFE NO YES
N4FRK Victor Saxe General NO NO
N4HCZ Robert Griggs Amateur Extra NO NO
N4PEG Margaret Kennedy Amateur Extra LIFE NO YES
N6MRS Michael Shreve General YES NO YES
N7CUC Samuel Shaver Amateur Extra NO NO
NC8I Robert Berquist Amateur Extra YES NO
NJ4Y Matthew Stevens Amateur Extra YES YES YES
W4EMT Eric Clark Amateur Extra NO NO NO
W4JGC J. Culler Amateur Extra YES NO YES
W4XDS James Stewart Amateur Extra YES YES
W7STR Springer Rush Amateur Extra YES NO
W8DUK Richard Grubb Amateur Extra YES NO YES
WA4MMO Geoffrey Schuck Amateur Extra YES NO
WB4OMG Harmon Morgan Amateur Extra NO NO
WB6ZEQ Herman Smith Amateur Extra YES YES NO
WB8QQR Norman Nissen Advanced YES NO NO
Guests and Relatives
K2OU-XYL Terry Perkins
K7ODK Don Chapman
KB0QMN-YL Min-Hee
KD2CGG Isaac Taylor
KN4LEH Danny Dickey
W7OBA Dan
W8IAO James Kelley

As a reminder:

LARC has two Breakfast Meetings each week. The second is at Fred’s. See the sidebar for more information.