March Madness 2013

 

In life there is always good news and bad news. The bad news is that our program had to be postponed for a month. The good news is that we were entertained by the Rockmites, a famous fifties rock group. Just a little fib. 🙂

From left to right Bob N4BVO, Mike KK4PFA, Kent KK4OGN ,Patrick KI4CDY, Roberto KK4PEZ, Al W4ZSC. Bob made Extra, Mike and Roberto Tech, and Kent General. Congratulations to all.

 
As you can see from the picture, the meeting was well attended. Patrick made good use of the time by sharing plans for upcoming events including the “March for Babies,” a picnic, “bring a friend month,” a dinner meeting, and field day. Fred had some words to say about field day as well. Patrick asked how many would be interested in a Simplex Saturday event. Several in the room responded positively and in fact there will be a Simplex event this Saturday, 3/9/2013. The time will be 1500 Hrs. local, frequency 147.47 MHZ. A great opportunity for some of us to try out those Yagi antennas we have been building.
 


Last weekend there was a hamfest held in Zephyrhills which several of our club attended. Peggy N4PEG won a Ham Test online subscription for the Technician license which she is donating to the club. Might be a nice door prize for “bring a friend” night.

 The grand prize winner was Jessie K9GTO. Jessie is a snow bird, and no stranger to the Tuesday morning breakfast get togethers. He is the proud owner of brand new HT. Congratulations Jessie!

Thank You Bob Scott



Many thanks to Bob Scott W9BCN for his generous donation of equipment to the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club. It will be put to good use this coming field day.

It should be noted that Bob’s daughter and her two sons also have amateur radio licenses.

February 2013

Congratulations!
There were three to test this month, and all passed with near perfect if not perfect scores. Shown in the photo below left to right are: Al W4ZSC, Kent Havens now KK4OGN, George KI4NBE, Steven Beckman, Ron Herring now KK4OGM, and Patrick KI4CDY. All passed the Tech, and Steve, went on to pass his General. Good job everyone!
 

 
Happy Birthday Charley
We love you!
 
It was a pleasure to help celebrate Charlie Gribble’s birthday at the meeting
If anyone in our Club deserves recognition, it would be Charlie. He took an
idea last year and started our current, successful daily “Rag Chew”. Many
members, including myself, did not think that our members would be interested
in a weekday net. I was wrong! Thanks to Charlie’s persistence, we do have
a successful net and our repeater is being used more frequently.
Again, thank you for your leadership in making a successful net. Norma and
you are wonderful people and may God continue to bless us with your presence.
And by the way, Happy Birthday!!
 
Patrick

 
 
People are special, and birthdays too. When a very special guy has a birthday, we just have to make a fuss. And yes, there was another reason why this event was so special. For the first time in memory, Charley was speechless. 🙂 (Photo:Peggy KK4KYL)
 
Happy Birthday!!
Bill Kodak
And rounding out the evening,
we had another fine presentation by
Al W4ZSC

(Photo:Peggy KK4KYL)

 

 

You can view Al’s crystal radio presentation
by clicking on the following link 
and then scrolling down the list until you
reach the link with the name:
Crystal Radios
 
Al would like everyone to know that there are plenty of diodes and toilet paper forms for winding coils left. Both free for the taking.

 
 
Finally, there are some things that happen at meetings that defy a really good explanation. In these cases you are welcome to make up your own captions.
 
 
 

 
Please plan to join us for the first picnic of 2013
Circle B Bar Reserve

January 26, 2013

Arrive sevenish, we eat at noon

 
 
If you do, we promise:
1. Only the fox will be hidden
2. The food will be in plain sight,
    but do bring a side to pass
      and something to drink,
3. Bring your HT. Our panel of experts will do their best to help you through its inscrutable instructions.
 
 

Congratulations Kayla!

We have a new tech in the fold.  Kayla is now Kayla KK4NSD. Her reward for passing the test was a very brief trip to Hawaii. Now that you have your call sign Kayla, we expect to hear her on the rag chew, and the Thursday night nets as well. Congratulations on a job well done. Now get cracking on that General license. 🙂
 

But wait, there is more.

We have to honor yet another teen tech this month. Andrew KK4KIC, shown here with his dad,  got his license some months back. Andy is a good-natured kind of guy, and that’s why some of us like to pick on him, not in a bad way, but because we like him. It turns out that Andrew is in the process of furnishing his new shack, and we thought it would be nice if he started with a radio and antenna. No excuses for you now. Like Kayla, we expect to hear you on the radio. We love to hear you check in on the net, and keep in mind, the repeater is open 24/7 if you would like to talk with other hams your age, or ours. J

Other news

The first meeting of the year was well attended. Almost a full house. This is especially noteworthy with all the flue and colds going around. Our best wishes for all those who are sniffling for a speedy recovery.

A big thank you goes out to Kayla’s dad Brian N3WAJ for stepping up and volunteering to be the host for the meetings. It is this kind of spirit that makes the club what it is.

Fred K1DU volunteered to coordinate the club’s Elmers. He will be notified of all new members, and after contacting each of them, ask someone who signed up with a specialty to follow up with support on any questions the new member may have in that Elmer’s area of expertise. This is not a new concept, but one we would like to emphasize this year. Please note, Goto People on the blog has been changed to Elmer Group, and Fred has been listed as coordinator. If you would like to help out, contact Fred.

There will be a picnic January 26, 2013 at the Circle B Bar Reserve. Directions and more information to follow. For those not familiar with the location you can get more information at http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/areas/circlebbarreserve.html

Because of other obligations, Gary Lee had to step down from position as Vice President. He did an excellent job last year, setting a new standard for club programs. His time and expertise in this capacity will be sorely missed. Ernie KG4YNI volunteered to fill this position for the remainder of the year.

Upcoming events
Central Florida Tailgate and Luncheon
Saturday of January, Jan. 19, 2013
The Golden Corral
4705 U.S 98 North, North Lakeland, Fla, 33809

TARCFest XXVIII.V Snowbird Edition
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Set up for tailgaters begins at 7:00am
runs to around 1:00 PM

For more information please contact
Bill Bode, N4WEB
14302 Capitol Drive
Tampa, FL 33613
Phone: (813) 382-9262
Fax: (813) 878-7954tarcfest@hamclub.org

Christmas Party 2012

Christmas Party 2012 was extra special. Good food, great company, and an excellent “Year in Review Presentation by our president Patrick were the highlights of the evening. 

There was a surprise raffle this year. The prize was a beautiful Christmas quilt, complements of Joan Haynes, and the lucky winner was Gabby Monllor.

Among the guests I counted two little angels, two does with antlers, (all reindeer does have them), and an elf who crashed the party. I think the elf is a friend of Rich Kennedy.

Last but not least, a special thanks to Peggy KK4KYL for helping out with the picture taking.

Click Here For Pictures

Christmas Wishes 2012

It is time to dust off the wreath and hang it on the blog once more.

Christmas Party
December 18
6:00 PM
at the regular meeting place
bring a desert.
See you there!

Mann Appointed To Water Board

Article by: Tom Palmer, The Ledger

Lakeland Polk City resident George Mann has been named to the Southwest Florida Water Management Districts Governing Board.

Man, 62, will succeed Neil Combee, who resigned from the board in May to run for the Florida Legislature. Combee was elected Tuesday.

Mann is a retired business development manager at Treatt USA, which processes citrus products.

His appointment is to fill the remainder of Combee’s term, which will expire March 1. Man is eligible for reappointment.

The seat is one of two on the 13-member board reserved for Polk County residents. Paul Senft of Haines City, the current chairman, is the other Polk member.

Mann is currently serving as a board member of Anchor House Ministry. Previously, he served on the Florida Citrus processors Association Committee and the Editorial Advisory Board of Citrus & Vegetable magazine. He is a graduate of Florida Southern College.

Board members, who set policy for the 16-county district, receive no pay. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Lets all congratulate one of our own on his new position.

Mike Sinclair from Microsoft Addresses LARC

The club was very fortunate to have Mike Sinclair from Microsoft speak on his area of expertise, MEMS. MEMS is an acronym that stands for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. Anyone who has played with a relay knows what a macro electromechanical system is. Shrink this functionality down to a size less than the thickness of a human hair and you are talking MEMS. During his presentation, Mike showed several fascinating examples of MEMS. The good news is that they are available on the Internet for you to watch over and over. You can find them at: http://www.mmnt.net/db/0/0/ftp.research.microsoft.com/Users/sinclair/MEMS/MUMP%20UserGroup

Complementing his work as a research scientist for Microsoft, Mike is an avid hobbyist, who likes to work hands on. One of his projects, of considerable interest to some of us, is his work with the Silhouette Cameo, a device used by scrap bookers and fabric artists. Mike has re purposed this device to create circuit boards. This is a work in progress, and for those interested, there is a Yahoo Group dedicated to this topic. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/message/30642

Mike’s site:
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/papercutterpcbs/default.aspx

 
Mike’s presentation:
 
Mike’s email address:
 

During his presentation Mike showed videos of the Cameo in action cutting traces and even drilling holes. You can watch this video on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRN1_i0vJU

 We owe a special thanks to Al W4ZSC for arranging to have his old friend and former student join us.

There is more good news to report. Bill Paul KK4LYQ is now General, Kevin Murdoch KF5OIK Extra, and Kelly Reese also Extra. Kelly came within a point or two of scoring 100% on all three tests, which he took at one sitting. Clearly he was prepared. Make sure you congratulate Bill and Bob, new club members, and don’t forget to say hello to his wife Virginia KF5ORO.

Last but not least, we need to thank Gary KS4JI for doing such a great job on the programs this year. I think you will agree that he has set a new standard in this regard. It is easy to take for granted the work that goes on behind the scenes. Be sure you let him know that you appreciate his efforts, past and in the year to come.