We began with guest Tom Shaffer, NY4I, who is running for ARRL Southeastern Division Director. You can learn more about his candidacy at ny4i.com.

Our main speaker, Pat Connelly, AA4O, shared his experiences with CW and introduced a wide range of helpful learning tools and operating resources. If you didn’t copy them down during the meeting, here’s the full list:

CW Training & Clubs

• CW Ops
• CW Academy
• Learn CW Online
• Long Island CW Club
• Morse Code Ninja

Operating Resources

• KPH
• CW Waveform by Richard Harris G3OTK (PDF)
• Jean Shepard Code School Story (YouTube)
• Reverse Beacon Network
• DX Summit

Hardware & Software (as used by AA4O)

• Hermes Lite 2 SDR
• CW Skimmer
• RX Audite T/R Switch (also available at DX Engineering)
• HL2 with CW Skimmer Instructions
• CWSL_Tee and CWSL_DIGI for FT8/WSPR

Contests

• Florida Contest Group
• Florida QSO Party
• CWT Weekly Tests
• CQ Worldwide
• ARRL Sweepstakes

Next LARC Club Meeting: Monday, October 13th — stay tuned for more details on our program! Be sure to be there! You might even get a charge out of it!

Have you ever thought about learning Morse code but just haven’t taken that first step? CW is alive and well, and this month’s meeting is your chance to explore it!

Pat Connelly, AA0O

We’re excited to welcome Pat Connelly, AA0O from the St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club, who will be presenting “An Evening with CW.” Pat is an experienced CW operator, and his presentation will cover:

• The world of CW operating
• CW resources such as the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) and CW skimmers
• Insights from his article “Surprise CW Skimmer” published in the SPARC newsletter (page 6)

Pat brings a wealth of experience to the table:

• Past President of the St. Petersburg Amateur Radio Club
• POTA activator and member of the Florida Contest Group
• CWOps member and CW Academy graduate
• ARRL VE Liaison and Laurel VEC Team Lead

CW may not get much airtime in our regular meetings, but it continues to thrive with a strong global community of dedicated operators. If you’ve ever been curious about Morse code, this is the perfect opportunity to get inspired.

Join us for “An Evening with CW”

Monday, September 8, 2025
7:00pm (Ham testing at 5:30pm)
Parkview Baptist Church (across from LRH)

–… …– …-.- (73, SK)

Instead–come to the LARC TableGate!

Our next LARC monthly meeting is just around the corner–Monday, August 11th at Parkview Baptist Church, right across the street from LRH.

• Ham testing starts at 5:30 PM
• Meeting starts at 7:00 PM

This month’s meeting features two great events:

1. Presentation by Jimmy Russ, AB4KA, our ARRL WCF Section Manager.
2. TableGate! Bring along any ham gear you want to sell or trade, and some cash for that “must-have” item you didn’t know you needed. It’s a perfect time to score a deal–or turn your old gear into something new.

Don’t forget VISTE!

When you come, please bring a non-perishable food item to help support Volunteers In Service To The Elderly (VISTE). Your donation will help local seniors in need.

1. Field Day Success!

Fred (K1DU) brought fantastic news–this year’s Field Day wasn’t just good, it was our best ever with a whopping 5734 points! That puts us in a great position when results are published in the December issue of QST. If you helped with planning, setup, operations, or teardown, give yourself a big pat on the back!

Sadly, this was likely our last year at the Kathleen Area Historical Society due to a significant rent increase–but we ended on a very high note!

2. Working the Birds

Matt (NJ4Y) gave a hands-on presentation about making ham radio contacts via satellite. It was a great session, and we’ve included a few pictures below.

Thanks, Matt!

3. VISTE Food Drive Continues

We collected some canned goods for VISTE (Volunteers in Service to the Elderly), but the turnout was light. So we’ll be doing it again at the August meeting–don’t forget to bring something to donate!

Coming Up: Table Gate — Monday, August 11th

Mark your calendar! Our next meeting is Monday, August 11th, and it’s time for the annual Table Gate. Bring cash and hm gear –whether you’re buying, selling, or swapping, this is the night to score great deals on ham radio equipment.

Here’s the 2025 broadcast radio PSA that aired on several local radio stations.

We have a lot to look forward to at the July LARC meeting on Monday, July 14th. Fred (K1DU) will give us a full rundown on how we did during Field Day–but the early buzz says this may have been our BEST year EVER! Here’s how it actually looked.

Things are Looking UP

When you come to the meeting, don’t forget to bring some canned food. LARC is helping to restock the pantry at VISTE of Polk County, supporting their mission to assist local seniors.

Then, get ready to reach for the stars! Former LARC President Matt Stevens (NJ4Y) will show us just how easy (and fun) it is to make satellite contacts. If you’ve never tried it, this is a presentation you don’t want to miss.

LARC July Meeting Details
Date: Monday, July 14, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Parkview Baptist Church (across from LRH)
Ham testing starts at 5:30 p.m.****

In Case You Missed It:

We still have a real opportunity to serve our community through Skywarn training. Check out the previous blog post for details on the in-person session later this month!

Skywarn spotters are the eyes and ears of the National Weather Service (NWS) and NOAA, providing real-time, ground-level reports during severe weather. These reports save lives.

Becoming a Skywarn spotter is easy, but training is required so you’ll know what to look for and how to report it properly. And now’s your chance to get trained–in person!

Location:
1890 Jim Keene Blvd
Winter Haven, FL

Date:
Thursday, July 24, 2025

Session Times:

• 4:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
• 6:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.

No sign-up required — just pick a session and show up.

This is a fantastic opportunity to support our community, hone your skills, and demonstrate the value of amateur radio in emergency communication.

Let’s show up, get trained, and stay ready!

We still need volunteers for:

Setup
Operations (operating or logging)
Take-down and Cleanup

Call Fred at 781-854-1150

If he doesn’t answer, leave a voicemail with your name and number–he’ll get back to you.

Let’s make Field Day a success–your help makes it happen!

Field Day is one of the biggest events in amateur radio–and once again, LARC is all in!

We’ll kick things off on Friday, June 27, when we gain access to the Kathleen Area Historical Society facility. Setup begins at 3:00 p.m., starting with antennas. If you’re interested in learning more about antennas or just want to lend a hand, this is a great opportunity to get involved.

On Saturday, June 28, we’ll be back on-site by 6:00 a.m. to complete antenna setup and finalize the power generator that will run our stations. We aim to complete station checkout by noon, just in time for the official start of Field Day at 2:00 p.m.

The operating event runs continuously until 2:00 p.m. Sunday, June 29. To stay ahead of the inevitable Florida thunderstorms, we’ll begin antenna takedown around noon on Sunday. We’ll also need help cleaning up and restoring the facility–please plan to stick around if you can.

Need a job? Check in with Fred (K1DU) for setup, operations, or cleanup assignments. We need all hams on deck–whether you’re an experienced operator or just want to pitch in. If you have no experience at all, that’s OK! The best way to learn is to jump in!

Location:
Kathleen Area Historical Society
8950 North Campbell Road
Lakeland, FL

Help Earn 100 Points for LARC!

One of the easiest ways to score points for the club is to copy the ARRL Field Day Bulletin from W1AW. It’s worth 100 points!

Even if you only get part of it, every bit helps–we can piece it together as a team. Here’s the full schedule, including modes, frequencies, and times:

W1AW will operate on the regularly published frequencies.

CW frequencies are 1.8025, 3.5815, 7.0475, 14.0475, 18.0775, 21.0675, 28.0675, 50.350 and 147.555 MHz.

Digital frequencies are 3.5975, 7.095, 14.095, 18.1025, 21.095, 28.095, 50.350 and 147.555 MHz.

During Field Day weekend, W1AW will transmit the Field Day Bulletin using 45.45 baud Baudot, PSK31 (BPSK Mode), and MFSK16 in this mode order. NOTE: On Friday local, the digital version of the Field Day bulletin sent from W1AW at 9 PM EDT will be transmitted using BPSK31, Baudot, and MFSK16 in this order.

Phone frequencies are 1.855, 3.990, 7.290, 14.290, 18.160, 21.390, 28.590, 50.350 and 147.555 MHz.

The Lakeland Amateur Radio Club was proud to assist with communications support for this year’s March for Babies event on Saturday, May 31st. Despite the earlier rain, spirits were high as about 175 walkers made their way around Lake Hollingsworth.

Here’s the team that helped keep everything running smoothly:

Net Control: Bill — KK4LYQ

Station #1: Bill — K4JZ

Station #2: Kenny — KM4UYX & Howard — K4THC

Station #3: Ringo — N4SI & Stacy — N4SDB

Station #4: Bob — NC8I

Rover: Jim — W4XDS

Tail-End Charlie: Eric — W4EMT

Big thanks to everyone who turned out and represented amateur radio in action! Here are some photos from the event:

Next LARC Club Meeting

Monday, June 9th
Parkview Baptist Church (across from Lakeland Regional Health)
Ham Testing: 5:30 p.m.
Meeting Begins: 7:00 p.m.

This will be our final meeting before Field Day, so Fred — K1DU will be giving us an update and collecting any last-minute signups. We’ll also hear from VISTE (Volunteers in Service to the Elderly)–a community organization LARC supports.

And don’t forget: our annual Tablegate meeting is coming up in August. Now’s a good time to go through your gear and see if you have anything to sell or trade!

Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland

This Saturday, May 31

Meet at 7:45 AM | Done by ~11:30 AM

The Lakeland Amateur Radio Club has once again been invited to provide communications support for the March for Babies walk around Lake Hollingsworth. This is a great public service opportunity and a fun way to show the power of ham radio in action and assist in this fun-raising event.

We’ll meet at First Presbyterian Church parking lot at 7:45 AM this Saturday, May 31. Walkers begin check-in at 8:00 AM, and we’ll be setting up stations around the lake with Net Control operating from the church parking lot. We expect to wrap up between 11:00 and 11:30 AM–so you’ll still have most of your Saturday free.

If you’re available to help, please reach out to Jim Stewart (W4XDS) at w4xds@outlook.com.

This is a great way to give back and help demonstrate how amateur radio supports our community. We hope to see you there!

***