Author Archives: larc-blogger

Weak Signal Presentation, February 2015


We were very fortunate to have Buddy Morgan deliver an outstanding presentation on Weak Signal Propagation.  Buddy’s presentation has been added to our Yahoo Groups site and can be downloaded from there. Alternately, you can get a copy by clicking on the following link.
Most of us came to the meeting thinking that there was little more to 2 meters and 70 cm other than repeaters and Simplex. Those who attended, now know better. This is an area that needs some exploration. In addition to Buddy’s excellent presentation, here are some links that you might find helpful:
Florida Weak Signal Society website http://flwss.net/
Your Grid Square Locator calculator http://www.levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php
For those who want to give a listen:
  Weekly FLWSS SSB Net
*  432.090MHz SSB Net every Thursday evening at 8:30pm EST, Rotating NCS Monthly
* East Coast 70cm Net every Wed. 9pm 432.090 W4DEX NCS

 

Cool formula to remember- Line of sight

Buddy covered many topics, but this is one we all can appreciate, the formula for determining the line of sight distance between two antennas, given you can find the height above sea level for each. Google Earth can be of great help here. 

 

Theory is fine, but does it work? Let’s see. Peggy makes the Thursday Net easily from her home outside of Tampa which I happen to know from a good source is 37.17 miles from our repeater. Her antenna is is 23 feet tall, but you have to take into account the elevation of the ground at her home which is 37 feet above sea level. That puts her antenna at 60’ relative to sea level. The Lakeland Repeater’s antenna is 350 feet above sea level. OK, lets do the math.
d1 = 1.41 * SQRT 60  = 10.80 miles
d2 = 1.41 * SQRT 350 = 26.38 miles
Total distance = 10.8 +26.38 or 37.18 miles! Excellent agreement with the formula!
So download the slideshow and have some fun with something that has been there all along, but for most of us, unnoticed. 

 

Pre-meeting Hands On 

Bill KI4ZMV  assists Buddy Morgan WB4OMG with some last minute antenna adjustments while Glenn looks on. 

Introductory Remarks By Rich

  Buddy’s Presentation Drew A Record Crowd

There were 63 attendees, not counting a mysterious one armed man who joined us for coffee and cake. 

Click Here For Images

Looking Forward To The February 2015 Meeting

February’s speaker will be Buddy WB4OMG. He will both demonstrate and speak on the subject of weak signal propagation.

To get the most out of this event requires a little extra effort on your part. A demo is scheduled twenty minutes before the meeting, so come twenty to thirty minutes or so early so that you can participate. Bring your dual band HT’s.

Buddy WB4OMG will park his car outside the entrance. It will be configured with his Contest “Rover” setup, consisting of a Jetta with a IC 7100. This configuration has a drive over mount, that supports a 12 foot mast. On this mast are a dipole for 6M and yagis for 2m and 70 cm.

Don, WA3RGQ, of Winter Haven, a very experienced Weak Signal Op, has agreed to attend the meeting. He will be available to answer questions before and after the meeting.

The superiority of SSB vs FM will be demonstrated prior to the meeting. Radios used in the demo will be equipped with special loop antennas. Before the meeting, Dave will drive far enough away that he can not communicate using FM. Buddy and Dave will then switch to SSB and have a QSO. LARC members are encouraged to bring their 2m/70cm dual band H/Ts so that they can participate in at least the FM portion of the demo.

Lastly, Buddy will demonstrate a 5.7 GHz station during his presentation.

So plan to come early, and bring your HT’s. Make this meeting a hands on event.

Memorial Service for Keith Collins January 29, 2015

Some of the music played at Keith’s Service.

The memorial service for Keith Collins, WB1GGJ/SK was held on Thursday, January 29, at 10:00 AM in the Victory Church, 1401 Griffin Rd. Lakeland, Florida. Burial at the Bushnell National Cemetery followed. Keith’s remains were interred with full military honors.
Keith was a longtime member of the club, a regular on the Thursday night net, and an avid QRP operator.