New Section of the Website -- "Suggestions for New HAMs"

A number of club members have mentioned to me that it would be helpful if there was a section on the website just for newly licensed Amateur Radio Operators.  It was first suggested that we should come up with a tips article so a new HAM would understand what they can and should do next.  As you may guess this is harder to come up with then you think.  We all have our own individual ideas of what we should and could do in the hobby and coming up with only one article to cover things would be difficult.  So to accomplish our goal of being a resource for each other we have created a new section in the website under the menu item Learn the Hobby called Suggestions for New HAMs.  

Now for the fun part.  This area is open for all Registered Members of the Davis County Amateur Radio Club to submit information for the public to read.  Once you log into the website you will see a new option under User Options entitled Submit an Article.  From this link you will be able to submit information to this category and have it appear for all to see!

A couple of quick suggestions.  When submitting an article to this area of the website please be specific with your comments.  Remember this is for new operators (or even us veterans) who may not understand what you are saying.  Keep it Simple.  Also, keep it legal.  Just like in school plagiarism is NOT OK.  If there is a web article you think we should read post the link and then summarize it.  Also remember to keep the comments specific to our Hobby -- Amateur Radio.  THIS isn't the place to tell everyone that the neighbor kids are selling stuff for school and we should all go and get it.   Finally Keep it Clean. 

If you are a member with rights to add articles to other categories please be sure to select the right category for your article before saving it. 

If you have any questions please send an e-mail to me through the webmaster e-mail address.

May 14, 2016 - Club Meeting

Arduino, Banana Pi, Beagle Bone Black, Odroid, Raspberry Pi. You may have heard of them, but what do they have to do with Amateur Radio? The May 14th meeting, will be presented by Chuck Killian, WB6YOK, to show you why you need to know about them.  For under a hundred dollars in most cases, the world of radio and computers may combine into the most interesting uses.

The single board computer has fermented a revolution. Some of the possible uses in amateur radio: An APRS iGate, SDR transceiver, MDSR Spectrum Analyzer, TNC, JNOS, DAVP, AX.25, WSPR, and the list can go on and on; you get the picture.

So come to the meeting and see some of the uses that Chuck has put together. WB6YOK's presentation will focus on some of his personal projects and may show you the melding of RF with CPU power. What's the weather like? Come and find out.

2016 Field Day Information

Field Day 2016

This year Field Day will occur on June 24th - 26th.  We will be at our regular site on Monte Cristo.  Setup will start on Friday, June 24th at noon.  This is a great opportunity to get on the air.

Field Day Directions

Monte Cristo - From Lagoon I-15 northbound, merge on to Highway 89 North, Drive 10.3 miles, turn right onto I-84, drive 4.2 miles turn off exit to Mountain Green, drive approx. 2 miles on Highway 167, turn left at Sinclair gas station onto Trapper Loop 9.3 miles, turn right onto Highway 39 drive 1.9 miles turn right to continue on Hwy 39 towards Monte Cristo and Randolph, Drive 26.1 miles to .6 mile past Mile Marker 45.  The location is on the left.  Coordinates: 41.4362N -111.5042W

Google Maps Directions

This is a great opportunity to get on the air.

About Field Day

Before I describe more about Field Day, you must mark your calendars for the VERY IMPORTANT and FUN field day 2016 event which will be June 24th - 26th.

So what in blazes is "Field Day"?  Some of you are key contributors to the club's annual field event.  Others know what it is but have chosen not to participate.  Others, maybe haven't ever attended one or don't even have a clue as to what it is really all about.  Well, in short, the annual ARRL Field Day event combines emergency in the field setup of communications equipment with heavy duty contesting and a lot of FUN!  The idea is to create an exercise that gets amateurs to take their grab-n-go kits, antennas, generators, rigs, camping equipment, etc., to either local or remote locations for worldwide operations. Some people do field day in their own homes or backyards, some go to local parks or EOC facilities and others head for remote areas in the mountains.  This year the DCARC has chosen to go back up to Monte Cristo.

So who says we have to rough it?  We have generator power; many bring motor homes, trailers (trawlers), tents, etc.  You are on your own for food except for Saturday dinner and Sunday morning breakfast.  Here is the deal.  We ask you bring something potluck, such as, chips, a salad, beans, a dessert and a good breakfast on Sunday morning.  You can't beat that deal.  It doesn't stop there.  We have my world famous popcorn on Saturday night.  And talk about high tech.  We have an outdoor movie, digital (DVD) projected on screen with a large sound system on both nights.  There are plenty of assignments to go around.  so come on get off your soft sofa and volunteer to help out.  If you don't plan on camping the entire weekend, we can still use lots of people to help on any of the days, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.  Type of help needed includes: transportation of equipment, setup, operating, take-down, help with meals and entertainment for kids and other non-ham adults.  We look forward to your participation.  This is one of the most fun summer activities that our family looks forward to each year.  So lock-in your calendar for the dates of June 24th - 26th.  Please contact either Rich Scheese or myself with any questions or the willingness to volunteer.  801-541-0862 -  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

See you there!

73, Roy - KF4USN

Schedule - Field Day - June 24-26, 2016

Thursday - Optional - Early arrivals - You are on your own.

June 23rd - Meals on your own.

Friday - Arrive on-site - setup camp on your own.

June 24th - 12:00 Noon

Saturday - Breakfast/Lunch on your own.

June 25th - 8:00 - 12:00 - Finish final preparations

• Test power source
• Logging computers on-line and ready
• final calibration of antennas all stations
• final coordination of operating schedules
• 12:00 noon - Start Contesting
• 6:00 - 7:00 pm - potluck/everyone's famous Dutch Oven barbecue
• 7:00 - 8:00 pm - special projects for points (video/satellites, etc.)
• 7:00 - 8:30 pm - family friendly movie on TV.
• 9:00 or when dark enough - outdoor movie

Sunday - 8:00 - 9:00 am - breakfast - provided by the club

June 26th - contesting continues

• 12:00 - cleanup - take down project
• take down tower with beam
• take down PSK31 and other stations
• Police Camp for trash, etc
• Depart in convoy.

MESH at Antelope Island!

I got some exciting news yesterday that I want to share with everyone. Here's an email I got from Bill Moyes yesterday regarding an addition to Antelope Island:

Chad,

Just to let you know, as club president, there is now an operational 3.4 GHz mesh node at the Antelope Island repeater site.  Yesterday, 4-16-16, Alan Malan KB7YSP, Trevor Paskett K7FPV and BIll Moyes N7IE installed the node, which had been designed by Trevor.  (As you recall, Trevor did a presentation on mesh at the March club meeting.)  

It was a cold and very windy day on the island, and especially for Trevor as he installed the radio and antenna on the tower!

Thanks to Brad Wilcox, KJ7NO, Davis County Sheriff's Department, for permission to use the site, Alan for securing access to the site and helping with equipment installation, and Trevor for his extensive design and integration of the equipment and bringing this to fruition. 

Putting a node on the Island has been a dream of mine since we were first introduced to the mesh concept by Chuck Killian WB6YOK and Gerald Hasty AD7QF a few years ago.

I believe Alan is going to have the webmaster get in touch with Trevor to do an article for the club web site.  I think an article in the newsletter would be appropriate, also.

There are some deliberate limitations on coverage in the south end of the county, which we hope will be overcome with time.  But, from my perspective, the complaint of the mesh not being accessible is a thing of the past!

The AREDN node (SSID=AREDN) is on AREDN Channel 98 (3.490 GHz) with a 20 MHz bandwidth.  Several 3.4 GHz nodes in Layton have excellent connectivity with the Island node.  (Find more info on AREDN at aredn.org.)  The node name is "K7DAV-Antelope-M3.local.mesh".


73,

bill n7ie .. .