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:
I had written another article earlier this month but when I realized how close Field Day (FD) was I decided to try to eke out another article.
Yes, Field Day is nearing! You still have time to deplete the ARRL supply of Tshirts, ball caps, mugs and other labeled items if that is your thing. This year LCARC has been fortunate to have a real dynamo working to put FD together, Michelle Pelky. It is always difficult to find members who will work on a project so the entire club benefits, but Michelle has stuck with it and I think we have a really great FD before us!
This year’s FD will be held in the parking lot of the Oregon Coast Community College (OCCC). Yes, I know, located in central Lincoln County again. We looked for sites throughout the county and this worked out to be the best. If we had found sites either in the north or south county it would be a long trip for those in the opposite end of the county. This is a really good site and OCCC has been very welcoming. We will see how propagation works out for us.
Setup will begin Friday 23 June at noon. Setup and tear down can sometimes be shorthanded, so if you can help please do. Hopefully we can set up on the email so members can volunteer just like we do for the Barrel to Key and other activities. Operation will begin Saturday and end Sunday with tear down following. Things always come down faster than they go up. Please let us know when you can participate and help. We normally operate two stations so if you want to spend some time on the air let us know! Or maybe you just like to talk to interested people who show up to see what amateur radio is all about. We always have food, fun and companionship at our Field Day sites.
One thing we always encourage is if you have a rig or antenna you would like to try bring it to FD and the members will help you get it on the air and evaluate its performance. Another aspect is help in using your radio. It is amazing how often one of our members can help another member learn their radio. I know I had used my Icom IC 746pro for a year or two and N7TEE Dave Sanford taught me a lot of nuances and what some of those buttons actually do!
If you have not operated High Frequency (HF) because you don’t have a HF radio or you don’t have the license; this is your opportunity! Yes, you can opperate HF as long as a control operator is with you! That is how Michelle Pelky got hooked on working the HF station during Field Day a few years ago. She had so much fun working the 20 meter band that we had to “pull the plug” to get her off the radio so we could tear down. LOL
Put the weekend of June 24th – 25th on your calendars! Car pool or check to bring your RV if there is still space. Field Day has something for everyone. It is fun, informative and interesting! Plan to join us in the OCCC parking lot!
