We have a new Extra!

 

Darrell Davis on the Raspberry Pi

Darrell always does a fine job presenting topics of interest to ham radio operators. The Pi is no exception. It is a historical fact that most of the first to experimenters with home computers before Apple and Microsoft were ham radio operators.

 We had an quite a showing for Darrell’s presentation. 

 Other speakers

Matthew, making the opening remarks to the meeting.

Bob gave an update to his presentation the month before on the Outernet.

Fred showed off a new, inexpensive HT that he picked up.

Kevin made a pitch for the Club Logo Stickers. See Kevin if you wish to purchase one.

Coming up on Saturday February 24, 2018, will be the 4th Annual TECHCON,
the West Central Florida Section Technical Conference.  The conference
will be held at the Polk County Emergency Operations Center, 1890 Jim
Keene Boulevard in Winter Haven, FL.  The location is actually between
Winter Haven and Lakeland in Polk County just off of State Road 540. 
The doors will open at 8:00 A.M., and the conference will begin at 8:45
A.M., with the first presentations beginning at 9:00 A.M.  For more
information go to the TECHCON page on the Section website at
http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.  If you are
planning on attending, please register so we will know about how many
will be in attendance.  Registration and attendance at TECHCON is free.

There will be a Friday Evening Social, the evening before TECHCON, on
February 23, 2018, from 6:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M., at the Sonny's BBQ
restaurant, 4600 Recker Highway, in Winter Haven, FL., a few miles from
the Polk County Emergency Operations Center.

Our special guest speaker from ARRL HQ will be Bob Allison WB1GCM, the
Assistant ARRL Lab Manager.  Bob does many of the product reviews in QST
Magazine.

Flyers for the conference and a list of nearby restaurants and lodging
has just been uploaded to the TECHCON page on the Section website:
http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.

73 de Darrell KT4WX

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL West Central Florida Section
Section Manager: Darrell Davis, KT4WX
kt4wx@arrl.org

CAROLYN VAN WINKLE, 80 LAKELAND – Carolyn Van Winkle, 80, of Lakeland, FL passed away on December 8, 2017. She was born in Laurel, MS on May 22, 1937. She worked as a school teacher for special needs students in Alabama. She moved to Lakeland in 2005 and was an active member of the First Baptist Church at the Mall. Carolyn was preceded in death by parents Clarence and Mada Walters, sister Alma Walters Hinton and grandson Brad Bass. Carolyn is survived by husband Robert Van Winkle, sister Elizabeth Walters Nichols, her daughters Lori Bass, Stephanie McLelland, Jennifer Lang and Cindy Hargrove; sons Randall McLelland and Scott Van Winkle; grandchildren Derek, Jessica, Kerry, Colin, Brittney, Jordyn, Amanda, Austin, Madeline and Kathryn and great grandchildren Kane, Virginia and Arabella.

The LARC Christmas Party was a great success. Unfortunately, some of our comrades were not able to attend because they were either hospitalized or recovering from an illness or procedure. These include Bert KG2G, Jim KG4PWF, Al W4ZSC, Bob K2EUH, and someone very special to all of us, Carolyn Van Winkle. Please keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers, along with their loved ones who cannot help but be affected as well.

 They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but some pictures defy explanation.

Most of the usual suspects attended the Christmas Party, but the even better news is that there were several new faces among us. LARC welcomes the new members.

Click here for more photos

It is that time of year again. Christmas dinner will be held at the Golden Corral, 98 North on December 4th, starting at 6:00 PM.

Prices are the same as last time:
8 years old and younger, $6.41
Adults $15.28
Seniors 60+ $14.75
All prices include a drink
As in the past, the club will handle the tip for the waitresses.

Election Results
Officers:
   President Matthew Stevens, NJ4Y
   Vice President Bob Doherty, KM4BAO
   Secretary Bill Johnson, KI4ZMV
   Treasurer Patrick O’Neal, KI4CDY

Board of Directors: 
James Stewart W4XDS, Mike Oliver KT2T, David Zdanowicz KI4WRX, Richard Kennedy N4ESS, Stephanie Hildreth KK4RAH, Geoff Schuck WA4MMO, Al Sheppard W4ZSC, and Kevin Rought N4KWR

Presentation – The Outernet
Our presenter for the evening was Bob Doherty who spoke about the Outernet. The Outernet as apposed  to the Internet is satellite based rather than land based, and serves the millions of people in the world who do not have access to the Internet because they live in remote areas, or third world countries. You can view Bob’s presentation on our Yahoo Website. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/LakelandARC/files/General%20Meeting%20Presentations Alternately, you can click on the LARC Web Site tab above, and then select General Meeting Presentations. Bob’s presentation will be on top, with earlier presentations following in chronological order.

Attendance

Matthew, Rich, Bill, and John were guests at Buddy Morgan’s Weak Signal Society Meeting. The meeting was held Saturday, November 11. All toll, there were 21 members and guests present.

Weak signal as I understand it is a subset of amateur radio that deals with signal transmission on frequencies VHF and higher over large distances. Large distances may be 400 miles. Weak signal differs from QRP which may reach another station thousands of miles away using 5 watts power compared to a thousand watt signal at higher frequencies reaching another station only about a quarter of that distance. The difference is in the transmission frequency, not the power used to transmit. For sure, both signals may be weak when they arrive, but only the VHF and higher frequencies qualify as weak signal contacts.

 Attendees discuss radio before the meeting. Left to right, Buddy, Matthew, John, and Rich. Bill, not shown, was taking the picture.

 Twenty-one in all attended.This is a very specialized group.

After the meeting attendees relax by the pool, and enjoy lunch, complements of the Morgans.

The overflow lunch crowd in the dinning room, including our hostess Lydia Morgan. Lydia is left of center. (This is not intended to be a political statement. 🙂 )

After the meeting, Buddy gave us a tour of his shop. Some of his assemblies are over 20 feet in length and contain several dozen elements. Buddy’s shop is large enough to easily hold two Greyhound Buses. In fact, that’s what the previous owner built it for.

Towers are very important for this type of radio, and Buddy has two.

Left to right, Bob Doherty, LARC VP,  Police Chief Larry Giddens, and Jim Stewart LARC Board

Liam KM4STS with the mike, and brother Aiden demonstrate radio technique to the  young visitor to the booth in the blue shirt, while dad, Leon KM4STU, looks on.