News
Sunday Night Tech Forum from November 22, 2015 – Stealth Antennas – Listen Now!
If you missed the Tech Forum on November 22, you can still benefit from all of the great advice that was shared about how to get on the air with an antenna that can't be seen! Click the player above to hear the entire forum. And as always, join us at 7:30pm on Sunday evenings on the 145.150 W4GSO repeater to ask questions and share knowledge yourself! You can also join via Echolink by joining node N5ODE.
Many thanks to Cameron Conover, AJ4TW, for providing the recording.
November Engineering Report
Engineering report
Jesse Lindley K4AX
Well it’s November and almost the end of 2015, thinking back it’s been a interesting year serving on the GARA board and seeing some things get done that we have been wanting to do for a long time, such as a new website that can be accessed and updated by board members with a user’s forum for club members, the ability to renew and start membership from the website, planning and doing a G.A.R.A. run Field Day, finally getting 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status for G.A.R.A., and getting a new repeater ready to go ...
Sunday Night Tech Forum from November 1, 2015 – Advice for New Hams – Listen Now!
If you missed the Tech Forum on November 1, you can still benefit from all of the great "new ham" advice that was shared! Click the player above to hear the entire forum. And as always, join us at 7:30pm on Sunday evenings on the 145.150 W4GSO repeater to ask questions and share knowledge yourself! You can also join via Echolink by joining node N5ODE.
Sunday Night Tech Forum from October 25, 2015 – Basic Antennas – Listen Now!
If you missed the Tech Forum this past Sunday night, you can still benefit from all of the basic antenna knowledge that was shared! Click the player above to hear the entire forum. And as always, join us at 7:30pm on Sunday evenings on the 145.150 W4GSO repeater to ask questions and share knowledge yourself! You can also join via Echolink by joining node N5ODE.
How to Listen – A Guide for Hams
By C.W. Thompson, K4HC
In working HF contacts, especially DX contacts, one of the first things (and often the second and third thing, as well) people are told to do is to LISTEN. It seems obvious that in order to make a successful two-way radio contact, each person must hear the other, and be able to communicate, if even briefly for a signal report and to exchange call signs. It is repeated often enough – LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN. I think that there is more to it than that – you need to LEARN to listen, and hear, and comprehend what you receive over the air.
I should ...
GARA is Now a 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization
Following a lot of legwork by various Board members, GARA has finally received confirmation of 501(c)(3) status! This means that both dues and donations are now tax-deductible. We hope this helps you, and the club, find ways to continue to make great things happen for the amateur radio community in Greensboro and beyond.
GARA Open House
This Saturday at 1000 hrs GARA’s is holding its Open House at Hinshaw United Methodist Church, 4501 Gate City Boulevard (High Point Rd), Greensboro. Everyone is invited. See the Event page for directions.
This is the time to show off that special project you have been working on.
If you are a new ham or one that has been away from the hobby for a while, this is your chance to get caught up on what is new, and get answers to your questions.
GARA’s is trying something different this year. It’s holding its first members only swap meet during the open house. Bring ...
Audio Basics for Hams, Part 6 – All About EQ
Now that you have a good grasp on audio routing, it's time to move onto a more subjective topic, but one that will probably be one of interest for most people: equalization. Equalization is the ability to change the tonality, or sound, of an audio source by adjusting the relative strength of various frequencies. Before we get into this too deep, there are a couple of things that should be understood first: 1) EQing a sound isn't the only adjustment that can be made to alter how something is perceived by the listener, and 2) there are various ways to adjust EQ without ...
Audio Basics for Hams, Part 5 – A Few Suggestions, and Signal Routing, Part the Second
If you've hung around all of the previous parts of this series, you're probably starting to understand that getting a handle on audio is a little more complicated than plugging things up and hoping for the best. Getting things setup properly and working well takes time and experimentation, but it also takes knowledge and patience. With that in mind, this seems like a good time to take an interlude and make a few suggestions before before we jump into more mixer ideas. As I mentioned previously, these are my opinions, but they come from a decent bit of experience and ...
Audio Basics for Hams, Part 4 – Signal Routing
While it's perfectly fine to read each article a la carte, if you haven't had a chance to look at the previous articles about audio basics, it would probably behoove you to go take a gander at them when you have a chance. :) I'm explaining concepts all the way from the sound you make in the air with your mouth, through the audio mixer, and finally into your radio, so some of the earlier articles will be helpful for you to understand as the ideas progress. If you haven't been to them thus far, here are the links for your reading pleasure:
Audio Basics for Hams, ...