It seems that for the past few years the authorities always predict an “active” hurricane season, and by the looks of it they could be right this year.

The remnants of Pacific hurricane Agatha have moved into the gulf and by the looks of it will be bringing some heavy weather to parts of Florida this weekend. Even though it’s projected to go south of us, this would be a great opportunity to treat this as a drill…are your hurricane supplies in order? Got plenty of batteries? Radios in good working order? Do you know where you’d go if you had to bug out?

Now’s the time to think about it. If you wait until a storm is bearing down on us, it could be too late.

As we enjoy this Memorial Day weekend, many of us will busy taking road trips, having picnics picnics, extra time off work and time with families…but let’s not forget the reason we have the freedom to enjoy those things, and lets all be sure to pause to remember the sacrifices of those who gave all.

Have a good weekend!

For our newer hams out there, one of the ways that hams can contribute and be of service to our respective communities is through ARES…the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.

ARES volunteers can provide communication at shelters in the case of an evacuation as well as provide other valuable services.

Check out the Polk County ARES website at http://polkares.org/ and learn about ARES in the West Central Florida section of the ARRL by visiting http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-section-programs/ares/

It’s time for the May LARC meeting and you don’t want to miss this one. Fred Delaney will be speaking to us about Field Day as we being to make preparations for the club station (Field Day is next month so it will be here before you know it!), and our special speaker will be ARRL Southeast Division Vice-Director Jim Schilling, KG4JSZ.

The meeting will be tomorrow, Monday May 9th at 7:00 p.m. at our usual spot, Parkview Baptist Church at 509 Parkview Place in Lakeland.

See you there!

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.