Author Archives: Matthew Stevens

LARC Field Day 2020 – Something Different

We can safely say 2020 has NOT gone as anyone expected… and this year’s LARC Field Day is no exception. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be slacking off, the LARC board feels it still would not be prudent to hold a large scale event with many people in close quarters, sharing food and microphones etc.

So, instead of our usual group operation at the Kathleen Historical Society, we are encouraging people to operate at home. The ARRL has tweaked the rules for this year, to allow all stations to work each other. Normally, Class D home stations are not allowed to work other home stations – however, this year you can.

They have also added a feature to the log submission system to allow for “aggregate scoring.” This is similar to many other contests, where members from the same club can count their scores together for a club competition. This way, even though we will be operating from home, we can still be scored as a club.

  • Operate from home, or in small groups with people you’re comfortable with
  • Submit your log and mark your club as “Lakeland ARC”
  • Send in photos of your own mini-field day operation! You can send them to photos@lakelandarc.org

Check out the full list of 2020 rules variations at http://www.arrl.org/temporary-rule-waivers-for-arrl-field-day-2020

Have fun, and stay safe.

FLSPOTA Postponed

Unfortunately, Florida DEP is closing all State Parks effective tomorrow, March 23. It is not known when they will reopen.

As a result, Florida State Parks on the Air 2020 will be postponed until later in the year. The new weekend is TBD, but will be announced on the FLSPOTA Facebook page and https://groups.io/g/flspota

Beatrice F. Johnson

[excerpt from The Ledger, 2014-03-06]

BEATRICE F. JOHNSON, 81

LAKELAND – Beatrice F. Johnson, age 81, born 3/6/32 in Rochester NY, passed 2/11/14 at the Lakeland Regional Medical Center from heart failure.

Bea was an accomplished quilter and active in both The Feather Princes and the Ladies of the Lakes Quilt Guilds. She was a loving wife to William over the past, all too short, thirty-seven years. Once asked about her goal in life, she replied “to leave this world a little better than she found it.” This she did! She will be sorely missed.

Survivors include husband William [Bill, KI4ZMV], sons Stephen and Michael, stepson William H. Johnson, III, and sister Margery.

A celebration of life service will be held Saturday March 22 for family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please perform some unselfish random act of kindness with Bea in mind. She would love that.

[end excerpt]

Please join me in offering condolences and prayers to ease the grieving of those who are struggling with the void left by Bea’s passing.

Mike, KT2T

BEATRICE F.
JOHNSON, 81

LAKELAND – Beatrice F. Johnson, age 81, born 3/6/32 in Rochester NY, passed 2/11/14 at the Lakeland Regional Medical Center from heart failure.
Bea was an accomplished quilter and active in both The Feather Princes and the Ladies of the Lakes Quilt Guilds. She was a loving wife to William over the past, all too short, thirty-seven years. Once asked about her goal in life, she replied “to leave this world a little better than she found it.” This she did! She will be sorely missed.
Survivors include husband William, sons Stephen and Michael, stepson William H. Johnson, III, and sister Margery.
A celebration of life service will be held Saturday March 22 for family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please perform some unselfish random act of kindness with Bea in mind. She would love that. – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theledger/obituary.aspx?n=beatrice-f-johnson&pid=170031620#sthash.u0SX0nJL.dpuf

BEATRICE F.
JOHNSON, 81

LAKELAND – Beatrice F. Johnson, age 81, born 3/6/32 in Rochester NY, passed 2/11/14 at the Lakeland Regional Medical Center from heart failure.
Bea was an accomplished quilter and active in both The Feather Princes and the Ladies of the Lakes Quilt Guilds. She was a loving wife to William over the past, all too short, thirty-seven years. Once asked about her goal in life, she replied “to leave this world a little better than she found it.” This she did! She will be sorely missed.
Survivors include husband William, sons Stephen and Michael, stepson William H. Johnson, III, and sister Margery.
A celebration of life service will be held Saturday March 22 for family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please perform some unselfish random act of kindness with Bea in mind. She would love that. – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theledger/obituary.aspx?n=beatrice-f-johnson&pid=170031620#sthash.u0SX0nJL.dpuf

BEATRICE F.
JOHNSON, 81

LAKELAND – Beatrice F. Johnson, age 81, born 3/6/32 in Rochester NY, passed 2/11/14 at the Lakeland Regional Medical Center from heart failure.
Bea was an accomplished quilter and active in both The Feather Princes and the Ladies of the Lakes Quilt Guilds. She was a loving wife to William over the past, all too short, thirty-seven years. Once asked about her goal in life, she replied “to leave this world a little better than she found it.” This she did! She will be sorely missed.
Survivors include husband William, sons Stephen and Michael, stepson William H. Johnson, III, and sister Margery.
A celebration of life service will be held Saturday March 22 for family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please perform some unselfish random act of kindness with Bea in mind. She would love that. – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theledger/obituary.aspx?n=beatrice-f-johnson&pid=170031620#sthash.u0SX0nJL.dpuf

Dear Friends,

Please join the LARC leadership in offering condolences to Bill Johnson on the passing of his wife Beatrice. More detail will be forthcoming so please stay tuned and keep Bill in your prayers during this difficult time.

Thank you.

Rust Remover For Morse Code

So you want to sharpen those rusty Morse code skills. Short of humming dits and dahs you might want to generate some sounds using a key. We all remember those buzzers we used as kids. They were basically door bells with the hammer removed, and didn’t produce a very realistic sound. Today, by replacing the old door buzzer with a piezo buzzer we can utilize the same simple series circuit to produce a much more pleasant tone. Piezo buzzers are found in things like microwave ovens that signal when you coffee is warm, and can be purchased for as little as a dollar. If you have a HF radio, and don’t mind being tied down to it, most of these allow you to send code to your speaker only, and make good code practice oscillators. Or, you might want to build a code oscillator utilizing one of the oldest, and still very popular integrated circuits the 555 timer.

Don Jeerings was kind enough to supply the following circuit and parts list. It is certainly a more complicated approach than an electro magnet or piezo buzzer in series with a key and battery, but if you are interested in learning more about the 555 timer, and dusting off those soldering skills the extra effort is justified.

Here is the parts list:

1, 9 volt battery connector
2. Resistor, 689 ohm (in stock
3, Resistor 1 K (in stock)
4. Resistor 10 K 5, pot
5. 25 K (pitch control)
6. pot 500 ohm (volume control)
7. Condenser 0.22 Mfd
8. Condenser 10 Mfd
9. Speaker 8 ohm $1.29 (Jameco)
10 IC chip 555 timer
11 8 pin dip socket
12 Key jack
13 Substrate of some sort to mount the above equipment