The Lakeland Amateur Radio Club held it’s April meeting last night, April 12. The meeting was well attended with 41 present. The keynote speaker for the meeting was Mike Lunsford, KB4FHP, Public Information Coordinator for the ARRL West Central Florida Section. Mike did an informative presentation on the Digital Voice Modes of Amateur Radio, including DMR, D-Star, Fusion and more. Thanks, Mike for an excellent presentation!
The next meeting will take place on Monday, May 10.
It’s the second Monday of the month, which means it’s time for the LARC monthly club meeting. It’s at 7:00 p.m. at Parkview Baptist Church, 501 Parkview Pl, Lakeland FL 33805. As previously posted, there will be no exams tonight.
The Lakeland Amateur Radio Club is pleased to announce that we have been selected as the host amateur radio station club for the 2021 Sun ‘N Fun Aerospace Expo.
W4S will be in operation April 13-18. The event will be headed up by Geoff Schuck, WA4MMO and Todd Rush, W7STR. The station will be set up by the education building, west of the museum and will have both HF and VHF/UHF radio stations. Please note that due to COVID restrictions, only those operating will be able to access the station. Visitors will not be permitted.
Have fun!
While we will be having our next regularly scheduled LARC club meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 12, please be advised that there will be no amateur radio license exams that night. See you at the meeting!
Herman “Top” Smith, WB6ZEQ became a Silent Key on Friday, April 2, 2021. “Top” was retired from the United States Marine Corps. He was active in his church as well as the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club, most recently serving as the club’s vice president.
Also, Wilbur “Chet” Carruth, AB4XK became a Silent Key on Monday, March 29, 2021. “Chet” served in the United States Navy, and was also active in his church as well as he was a member of the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club.
Both of these gentlemen will be missed.
This coming weekend is the Florida State Parks On The Air (FLSPOTA) event featuring stations operating portable from our Florida State Parks. Please check out the website at http://flspota.org
As this event is sponsored by LARC, this is our time to shine!
The CQ WPX SSB weekend is upon us, and it’s an easy contest…the object is to work as many different prefixes as you can, both stateside and DX. Essentially, work everyone! The exchange is easy as it’s the signal report and the sequential serial number starting with 001.
For complete rules and to learn more about it, go to https://cqwpx.com/index.htm
Happy hunting!
The LARC Picnic which was to take place on Saturday, March 27 has been postponed.
According to the ARRL, even though the document has an effective date of March 19, the Amateur Radio fees will not yet be required.
The fee changes outlined in this order will not take effect until the requisite notice has been provided to Congress, the FCC’s information technology systems and internal procedures have been updated, and the Commission publishes notice(s) in the Federal Register announcing the effective date. This will most likely be in the summer.
So, if you are considering upgrading your license, changing your callsign or renewing your license (which can be done within 90 days of expiration), now is the time!
LARC will be having a picnic at Lake Parker Park on Saturday, March 27 at the pavilion. The club will provide burgers, hot dogs, buns and condiments, slaw, potato salad, chips, soft drinks and paper goods. Due to current protocols individuals are permitted to bring food for their own consumption, but it is not to be shared with anyone else.
Come as early as you like (the park opens at daylight and there will be folks there and there will be coffee) to visit and operate, and we’ll eat around noon.
See you there!