Countdown to the April 6th, 2024 RaDAR Rally

RaDAR is Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio. The next RaDAR Rally is April 6th, 2024. See the details at www.radarrally.info. All ham radio operators are welcome to participate.

PCARC Spring Tailgate April 13th, 2024

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club Spring Tailgate is coming on April 13th. Mark your calendars and come out to the club. The start time will be 9 am and should go through lunchtime. Bring that old radio gear sitting around collecting dust to sell, or look for that item that will fill out your ham shack. 

The PCARC clubhouse is located at:
130 N Church Ave
Panama City, FL 32404

W4RYZ DMR Repeater Update

 W4RYZ DMR Repeater

147.210 MHz +600 offset

Color Code: 1

Connected to TGIF DMR network

Timeslot(TS) 1: For linked talk groups. 

Timeslot (TS) 2: TG9 local-only traffic (TG 9 is not passed to the network)

Please keep all networked traffic on TS1 so we can keep TS2 for local traffic (TG9) for those who do not want to talk on the linked network.

On Timeslot 1, check out TG850 for our local group. We have a net Mondays at 7:30pm central time on TG850, feel free to join us.

Another popular talk group is TG31665, the TGIF talk group. The Friday net is on TG31665 at 7:30 pm central time.  

info via KK4DIV

Amateur Radio Nets Beginner's Guide

This was the topic of our Beginner's Academy, March 18th Zoom. There are nets on ham radio for almost every interest.

A New Bay County Repeater is On-The-Air

Bay County has a new two-meter repeater on the EOC tower at 637 Hwy 2300, Southport, FL 32409

• Downlink: 146.94000
• Uplink: 146.34000
• Offset: -0.600 MHz
• Uplink Tone: 100.0
• Downlink Tone: 100.0
• County: Bay
• Grid: EM70EH
• Call: W4RYZ
• Use: OPEN
• Op Status: On-Air
• FM: Yes, analog capable and Fusion

The Bay County 145.210 repeater is on the Bennet tower at 7300 FL-20, Youngstown, FL 32466

• Downlink: 145.21000
• Uplink: 144.61000
• Offset: -0.600 MHz
• Uplink Tone: 100.0
• Downlink Tone: 100.0
• County: Bay
• Grid: EM70FK
• Call: W4RYZ
• Use: OPEN
• Op Status: On-Air 
• FM: Yes, analog capable and Fusion

Get Ready for the Spring 2024 RaDAR Rally

RaDAR is Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio. Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE in South Africa conceived the RaDAR concept. The RaDAR Rally adds movement to portable operating with a time constraint. The objective: Use your ham radio knowledge, portable equipment, and physical skills to challenge yourself during an unforgettable four-hour experience. The four-hour duration creates an urgency that demands optimized equipment and operating strategies. When: The first Saturday of April and November. Choose four hours during the UTC day. The following Sunday is a backup date if Saturday doesn't work for you. The next RaDAR Rally is April 6th, 2024. Register at www.radarrally.info.

Portable Antenna Shootout with WSPR

We compared some portable antennas using Zachtek WSPR transmitters, including a 1/4 wave vertical, dipole, and magnetic loop. This talk was recorded at our Feb 5th, 2024 Beginner's Academy Zoom.