GARA Meetings are Moving!
It's been a while since GARA changed meeting locations, but considering the challenges we faced at our old location, the Board decided it was time for a fresh start. A number of GARA members, as well as some Board members, suggested trying Sarah's Kabob Shop taking into consideration the way food is ordered, the available meeting space, the restaurant's location, and other factors. After talking to the owner and getting the meeting times on their schedule, we're happy to announce the new location. Meeting times and format will remain the same. Thanks for helping us to ...
Field Day is Almost Here!
Field Day 2019 is just under a week away. We hope you can participate this year. Setup will start Friday afternoon at 1300, June 21, with operations starting 1400, Saturday, June 22 and ending 1400, Sunday, June 23. We will be running completely off of solar power this year, so if you have any interest in solar setups, batteries, charging and other equipment, this is a perfect opportunity for you to learn a lot!
Tell your friends! There will be a Get On The Air (GOTA) station available for new- and non-hams to try their hand at making HF contacts. You'll want ...
Blue Ridge Microwave Society
There is a new local ham organization dedicated to microwave work: the Blue Ridge Microwave Society (BRMS). This group is to promote VHF/UHF and Microwave activity with emphasis on frequencies above 1 Ghz. This group is new so there's not too much on the site yet, but there are a number of ham currently active on 23 cm, 6 cm, and 10 ghz who would like to promote more activity on the microwave bands. The BRMS just recently put together a group page located here:
Contact Stan Dillon, K4RCA, with interest or questions. You can reach him at k4rca@aol.com.
April GARA Meeting: Field Day Planning
It's time to start firm up our plans for Field Day. For this month's presentation, I will cover what has already been done, this year's rules, and what we need to do to get ready. I hope you will be able to participate in this year's Field Day.
At last month's meeting, I mentioned a few possibilities for other club activities throughout the year, and I would like your feedback or suggestions so we can start planning.
I hope to see you at the meeting.
Dave
March GARA Meeting: HF Nets
Our speaker this month will be Donnie Hurst (KG4ZOD). Donnie will talk about HF nets and how to participate in them. Donnie is a member of and frequent contributor to several HF nets and has a lot of information to share.
As I noted in our last meeting, Field Day is fast approaching. I am still looking for a volunteer to run the Field Day preparations. Please let me know if you are interested.
Finally, I will be presenting a few ideas for other club activities during the year. Field Day is obviously a big one, but there are many other possibilities. Hopefully we ...
W4GSO UHF Digital Dashboard
Last November (2018), GARA installed its newest repeater: a Yaesu DR-1X modified to run digital modes using an MMDVM modem and running the now-ubiquitous PiStar operating system. This new setup, recently designated the "Steve Blackford, K4SQI Memorial Digital Repeater" by the GARA board of directors, replaced the aging D-star-only repeater that served Greensboro for ten years. While the repeater setup, which runs both D-star and Fusion/C4FM, has been working very well, until now there hasn't been a way to see to which reflectors the repeater is linked or tell who has ...
Solar Power for Amateurs
You won't want to miss this month's presentation at the GARA general meeting. Our own Carl Fenske, KC4WGA will describe his solar-charged battery power supplies. We will be using it during Winter Field Day (WFD), Jan 26 and 27, for some extra points. This is a great opportunity for you to learn about solar panel basics, what to avoid, and how to put together your own system for operating or other purposes. We hope to see you there!
Prepare to Cast Your Ballots
November is election month for GARA, and this month's meeting is an important one. Here is the list of candidates and positions, so please be sure to attend the meeting so that we can go into the new year strong with a full board. We also need one more to run for Operations Chair, so if you're interested, please let George McCormick, KN4JPB or Patrick Moore, K2CPR know at the meeting. The meeting location and time is listed below.
FOR THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT Scott Toth, ND4L
FOR THE OFFICE OF VICE-PRESIDENT David McLin, AC4A
FOR THE OFFICE OF ...
October GARA Meeting
This month, Nathan Jackson (K4NWJ) will be giving a presentation on the Greensboro and NC public service communications infrastructure. Nathan is a lifelong resident of Sophia NC, just south of Greensboro, near the “tall towers.” He has been married to his wife Amy for 12 years and has a daughter ( Abby / 6) and a son (Davis / 2.5). Nathan has been involved in amateur radio since March of 2000 and currently holds a General Class License. His amateur radio interests range from long distance DX to local repeater and simplex contacts, all by using various emission modes ...
September GARA Meeting
With the proliferation of cheaper digital handheld radios, it has become much more affordable for hams to connect through the internet to others around the world. However, the repeaters that used to be required to do this haven't gotten cheaper. With the advent of "digital hotspots," amateurs are now able to talk with other hams worldwide without needing to rely on a repeater at all. In this month's GARA presentation by Scott Toth, ND4L, you'll learn what to buy and how to build an inexpensive hotspot that will put all of your digital radios to use even when you're not ...
