Update: The exercise went well. We had more than enough people (but certainly not too many), raised the antenna on the mast successfully, identified critical issues, and possible solutions. We’ll report briefly at the meeting tonight, Oct. 8.
We are planning to practice deploying the Club Buddipole Hexbeam this Saturday, October 5. The goal is to refine and document the process of assembling the antenna and (especially) raising the mast. We will need at least five people to do this properly: one person on each guy line, , one person giving direction, and one person to document everything.
N7ONP will pick up the kit in the morning. We will plan to meet in the field across NE Harney Street from the Fairgrounds (just north of the current location of the Animal Shelter) at 1:30. If there is time we can connect an HF rig and manage some RF, but we will be done and packed up by 4:00.
Contact Mike N7ONP to let us know you want to be part of the fun:
Sign-up link to participate in Field Day with LCARC
The Lincoln County Amateur Radio Club Field Day for 2024 will be held June 22-23 at the Oregon Coast Community College South Beach Campus. Setup will begin Friday afternoon, June 21 at 3 p.m. focusing on the club’s new Buddipole hexbeam antenna deployment.
So far, there are at least two individuals staying overnight both Friday and Saturday night. We are planning on having a setup for the public as well, from 1-3 p.m. Saturday. At this point, there has not been anyone to volunteer to bring a main meal, as we have done in the past, so it’s Pot Luck! Please bring a dish of some type to share with everyone, as well as a chair to sit in.
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help, please contact Michelle Pelkey at (206) 910-9667.
CRITICAL UPDATE – As of June 5th, the Barrel to Keg Relay has approximately 1/2 of the required volunteers to effectively run what our group has agreed to be responsible for. We need 17 more volunteers! Per Doug, “we are close to failing coverage and backing out of the event, which will either cause the promoters to cancel the event or make it that much less safe for participants”. Not all volunteers need to be operators, so please recruit a spouse or friend to help out in this incredibly fun event. For operators it is a chance to use your radio and practice tactical skills in a fun environment.
Barrel to Keg Relay: Saturday July 13. Teams of runners relay from Wren to South Beach.
This is an all-hands-on-deck event for us to remotely pull off our mission. This is a unique and fun event, and has tons of tactical radio experience tied to it. If you are new as an operator or not participated in a public service event like this, please don’t hesitate to volunteer – you will be paired with someone who has experience on this event and there will be exercises we will do before, so you see and experience how it works.
Thank you and I hope to hear from more. Rather than tie up the listserv, please send me any questions or to sign up via my gmail account: dougholbrook05@gmail.com.
Update:KB7KBH reports response has been weak, and he also finds himself busier than expected, so the digital focus on Wednesdays has been suspended. Plenty of good information below, however, and a future event or discussion is always possible.
Greetings all. Michael W7ALX wanted me to do the Wednesday Lunchtime Net to see if there was any interest in folks wanting to expand their knowledge in Digital, and Satellite Opps. I am by no means an expert, but I’m willing to assist those that are interested. We will have the normal net, then after check-ins we can discuss the digital and Sat stuff.
Here are some examples of radio setup for digital modes.
VARA HF is very similar to FT-8 and some of the settings are similar. It again depends on the brand of HF radio you have. I did a lot of trial and error until I got it. YouTube videos are helpful in setup.
Satellite Comminutions
Satellite comminutions can be a challenge. There are a few in the club that work the birds with a HT or two, and a handheld dual band Yagi antenna. You can find tracking software for your cell phones to help with that. Most of the Sats uplink on 2M, and downlink on 440, depends on the satellite. There are Linear sat’s that are SSB, in that case you would need a radio capable of 2M and 440 SSB. The challenge is the Doppler shift. I have a unit called S.A.T from CSN Technologies. It is a standalone unit that can be used on your cell phone (no computer necessary. It will control the antennas, frequency’s and doppler shift. I have the Yaesu G5500 rotor for azimuth and elevation antenna control.
Anybody interested can come over to my QTH, and see how it works.
Winter Field Day for 2024 is rapidly approaching. It will be held on January 27th and 28th. Should anyone have interest in organizing club participation, it’s not too late to speak up. At this juncture, it may just be a short field exercise at a local park to practice setup and make a few contacts. Please contact an officer if you have any ideas or interest.
More information gleaned from a recent [RATPAC] email:
First and foremost: have fun with ShakeOut! ShakeOut is a great opportunity to engage with our communities and get to meet our neighbors.
USGS ShakeOut Scenario Map
Here is OFFICIAL USGS ShakeOut Scenario Map: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/scenarios/eventpage/usshakeout2023_se/map – The map will populate with entries on ShakeOut Day – The map will map Winlink DYFI entries – The map will map web DYFI entries made on the USGS ShakeOut Scenario DYFI. – Use the “Comments” in either the Winlink or the Web DYFI to indicate your call sign, group affiliation(s) and any other information you would like USGS to know about. All information you share is optional. – The USGS map is available to anyone interested and functions exactly like the real DYFI maps after an earthquake.
On the weekend of August 20th, After a few weeks of hurried planning and meeting with Yaquina Head management, LCARC successfully deployed at Yaquina! Weeks ahead of the event, several club members including N7HQR, NJ7OK, N7TEE, KK7LIA, K7MCW, AC7CD, KA7OQQ, KK7KMY, and KE7FTI met onsite and/or online to decide, with park management approval, where to setup. Shortly thereafter a dry run was performed onsite and further tuning of the antenna done at the home of NJ7OK.
Operating on lighthouse property Saturday, we had over 20 contacts on the 20 meter band from Alaska to New Mexico and points in between. As expected, it was a windy and chilly day, but the vertical buddipole and our canopy weathered the conditions from the late morning into the early afternoon.
Further contacts were made Sunday off site venturing to 40 meters after verbally “spotting” on the noon time net. All in all the weekend produced 30 contacts including a very supportive handful of enthusiastic QSO’s from local club members and other friends here in Lincoln County.
A huge thank you goes out to fellow club members who supported in person or in the background. A special thanks to the parks service at Yaquina Head, specifically Chris Papen, who permitted us to have a presence during their 150th anniversary celebration. A good rapport was established and we look forward to working with them in the future!
The Lincoln County Amateur Radio Club will activate the Yaquina Head Lighthouse on August 19 & 20 with a special event station W7Y, in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the activation of the light on August 19th, 1873. The activation coincides with the International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend event that occurs the third weekend in August annually, recognizing lighthouses globally. For more information about that event, go to ILLW.NET. For those wishing to obtain a QSL card recognizing our event, after contact on the event weekend, please send a card request, with SASE, to LCARC, P.O. Box 1375, Newport, Oregon 97365. John Moore KN4RTK is spearheading the activation effort locally, working with several other club members, on behalf of the LCARC in cooperation with the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. For further questions/information, please contact John at john.kn4rtk@gmail.com
We will attempt to have a Zoom feed onsite during our operating hours. The meeting could be down at times for various reasons, including technical issues or changing of hardware or hosts. If it’s down, try coming back later!
There will be a password and no waiting room; if you use the link, the password is embedded:
