The 2022 Orlando Hamcation is behind us now. The weather was great (Friday and Saturday, not so much on Sunday), the swaps were plentiful and the forums were informative. Many of our members made the trek, and if you didn’t, here’s just a sample of what you missed:
Kudos to the Orlando Amateur Radio Club for once again putting on a heck of a show! See you next year 
Come to the February LARC meeting tomorrow night, Monday February 14 at 7:00 p.m. You’ll love that we won’t be talking about Valentine’s Day, we’ll be discussing better things like the BikeMS Citrus Tour (March 5 & 6) and Field Day (which will be here before you know it).
But wait…there’s more! The Sun N’ Fun Aerospace Expo is coming up in April, and once again we will have a special event station in operation.
Come to the meeting to learn about all the upcoming events…you never know who’ll you run in to!
After taking a few detours over the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ARRL Field Day rules are being updated on a permanent basis starting this summer. ARRL conducted a Field Day community survey with invitations propagated far and wide, and direct emails sent to more than 15,000 individuals and ARRL-affiliated clubs. After sorting through, reviewing, and discussing the survey results, the ARRL Programs and Services Committee recommended a number of rule changes for ARRL Field Day, which will take place this year over the June 25 – 26 weekend.
Starting this year, the maximum PEP output for a transmitter used by anyone submitting a Field Day log will be 100 W. The power multiplier of 2 will remain in place, and the high-power category will be removed from the rules. Until this year, the maximum low-power limit had been 150 W for most ARRL-sponsored operating events. The power multiplier will remain at 5 for QRP participants running a maximum of 5 W or less. As previously announced, 100 W is now the low-power category limit for all ARRL and IARU HF Contests, effective January 1, 2022.
A couple of changes instituted initially as accommodations for the COVID-19 pandemic will remain. Class D (Home) stations will continue to be able to earn points for contacts with other Class D stations. The club aggregate scoring change initiated in 2020 as a temporary measure will become part of the permanent rules. In the aggregate scoring plan, the scores of individual stations are combined under the score of a single club.
Another change, involving Rule 7.3.2 Media Publicity, has been modified. Rules to date have offered 100 bonus points for attempting to obtain publicity and demonstrating same. With the ease of posting via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and various other media websites, Field Day participants will now be required to obtain publicity, not just try to do so. Any combination of bona fide media hits would qualify for the bonus points. For example, posting the details of your upcoming or ongoing Field Day activity, or your Field Day results, on a club or news media site, on Facebook, or via Twitter and Instagram would meet the bonus criteria. Photos and videos are encouraged as part of media posts.
(courtesy ARRL)
That’s right friends…one week from now the 75th Annual Orlando Hamcation (and ARRL National Convention) will be happening!
There are lots of great things to see, a fabulous swap meet and some excellent forums going on. Go to https://www.hamcation.com/ for more information. See you there!
A Celebration of Life to honor Sam Shaver, who passed away on January 15th, will be held in the social hall of Parkview Baptist Church on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12th from 1:00pm until 3:00pm.
It won’t be a funeral or service, just a casual time for family and friends (including his LARC friends) to gather and mingle, and to share memories and stories about our dear Sam. Light dessert refreshments will be served.
An RSVP is requested a.s.a.p. so that we may plan. Please contact Sam’s wife, Kay (KN4OTO) by Email = akfan45@aol.com or leave a phone message= Ph#863-686-8081. Thanks and hope to see you there.
The 2022 Orlando Hamcation is almost upon us! It actually begins on Thursday, February 10 with some special programs and a luncheon to be held at the Doubletree Orlando near SeaWorld.
The real “meat & potatoes” starts on Friday, February 11 at the Central Florida Fairgrounds with three days of exhibits, forums and a swap area with any equipment you could hope to find!
For more information, go to https://www.hamcation.com/ See you there!
Today was the quarterly meeting of the ARRL West Central Florida section ARES group and it did not disappoint!
It began with lunch at Sonny’s Barbecue for those who wanted to meet, and let’s face it…barbecue and ham radio is always a great combination! There were approximately 13 in attendance and good food & good fellowship was enjoyed by all.
This was followed by the ARES meeting which was held at the Pinellas county EOC, and it is quite a place. Approximately 30 were in attendance in person as well as several more over Zoom. Discussion ranged from FEMA’s ICS training and Auxcomm training to the High & Dry emergency exercise and the NXDN capability of the NI4CE repeater system.
Lastly we were introduced to Pinellas county’s own “Go-Boxes”, and to say they are impressive is an understatement.
If you’re at all interested in emergency communications (after all, even the F.C.C. defines Amateur Radio as a service), it would behoove you to learn more about ARES and to attend the quarterly meetings to really get an idea of ARES in action.
The Winter 2022 Section ARES Luncheon will be held on Saturday January 22nd at 1100 EST, at the Sonny’s BBQ located at 2250 Seminole Blvd. in Largo. The Winter 2022 Section ARES Meeting will follow the luncheon at 1300 EST, and will be held at the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center, 10750 Ulmerton Road, Building 1, Suite 267, in Largo.
The Section ARES Luncheon and Meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend. The meeting will be available on the Section Zoom account as well. The Zoom meeting information is available on the Section ARES page which is located at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-section-programs/ares/.
The Lakeland Amateur Radio Club is a “League Affiiliated” club. The Amateur Radio Relay League has been around for over 100 years, and if it weren’t for the league, amateur radio as we know it today wouldn’t exist.
That being said, there are many benefits to being a league member. Just a few of them are…
If you’re a League member, thank you! If you’re not, won’t you consider joining?
Check out our shack photos page, and if you’d like to add yours please send a photo to blogmaster@lakelandarc.org