Saturday, December 21, 2013

Happy New Year to Hams

We look forward to a great turnout for 2014 Panama City Amateur Radio Club meetings and events. Remember there will be no club meetings on 12/25/2013 and 1/1/2014. The first business meeting of 2014 will be 7 PM Wednesday 1/8/2014 at the clubhouse.

Also get on the air for Straight Key Night  held every January 1 from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC. See details at this link.
This 24-hour event is not a contest; rather it is a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs. The use of straight keys or bugs to send CW is preferred. There are no points scored and all who participate are winners.



A Ham Night Before Christmas

PCARC 2014 Club Officers Elected

Congratulations to —the 2014 club officers that were elected at the December business meeting.

President: Addison Marvin "Marv" KK4DKT
Vice President: Greg Lane N4KGL
Treasurer: Don Cornelius KK4DWC
Secretary Bob Leasko WB8PAF
Sgt At Arms Phil Radford N4STC

Please give them your support and look for a great 2014


Friday, August 9, 2013

Club Installs a New Beam Antenna for W4RYZ

The club now has a new directional antenna at the top of a their 50 foot tower, It is a hexagonal beam. The beam works on six bands 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6 meters. This particular antenna is made by NA4RR in Pensacola, Florida. It is the equivalent of a two element yagi. Each loop of wire is actually a driven element and a reflector. It was a team effort to get it installed. The team was headed up by Mr. Grumpy KK4DWC. We had two climbers of the tower Bob Noakes and Gene Cornelius who did an outstanding job. Assembly is easy. We had the most trouble with a premade coax connector that was not soldered properly. The Standing Wave Ratio was right on the mark for all bands. It is broad banded so it does not need a tuner. This antenna is capable of DX or distance contacts. So we hope to have lots activity from the club station. There is some remodeling of the operating area inside the clubhouse planned. W4RYZ is the club callsign. More photos are here.




Monday, July 22, 2013

Registration Open for Technician Class August 10/17 2013


The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio    
  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
  • Multiple-choice exam, *No Morse Code Required*
  • Live equipment demonstrations
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Florida
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications
  • Find out how to communicate with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS)
There is no cost for the class (donations accepted) However, students must have the required study guide: Gordon West Technician Class 2010-2014 guide, 7th Edition $20.95 And pay the FCC Exam Fee: $14.00  The text book is available on Amazon.

The two day class will be held on August 10th and August 17th 2013 at the Panama City ARC Club House. Advance registration is required (no later than September 1st, earlier is better!) To register for the class, contact: Gary Bills at panamacityarc@gmail.com  

Class Location: Panama City ARC Club House 130 N. Church Ave Panama City, FL. 

Preparation for first class: Read pages 1 through 125 of the Gordon West Technician Class Book Optional: Read the entire book and start taking online practice exams Bring a sack lunch to class

For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.w4ryz.org,  www.arrl.org or www.wedothat-radio.org

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Amateur Radio Field Day coming June 22/23 2013

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club will participate in Field Day on June 22/23 at the Bay County Emergency Operations Center 700 Highway 2300 Southport, FL. We will be having fun contacting as many Hams as possible operating with similar setups around the United States. However, this will also demonstrate a capability to support emergency communications should normal systems be unavailable. The operating hours are 1 PM Saturday to 1 PM Sunday. A good time for visitors is between 2PM and 6PM Saturday but you can come at anytime. We will have various radios and antennas to operate voice, digital and morse code. The general public is welcome and youth groups are encouraged to attend.

We thank Mark Bowen and Joby Smith of the EOC for giving us an opportunity to operate at this venue. The Bay County Emergency Operations Center is 4.9 miles North on Highway 77 from the intersection of  Highway 77 and 390 and then West on Highway 2300 2.3 miles.




Monday, May 20, 2013

Fox Hunt Report from Mr Grumpy Crooked Fence Ranch

The May 18th Fox Hunt yielded lots of fun for participants John WB4MAK, Greg N4KGL, Cody KK4NAJ, Rick NZ2I, Phil KK4DWI, Bob KK4DIV, Bob WB8PAF. Mr. Grumpy and his son Gene hid the three foxes or was it bunnies out on the acreage. Bob KK4DIV found two bunnies. Greg N4KGL was so close if it was a snake it would have bit him. But no cigar. Rick NZ2I was the dark horse entry as he was only using an HT and he scored a bunny. Excuse the cliches! This cadre of hunters are looking forward to future fox hunting events with the club. We hope to involve the scouts this year.

The gathering was also an opportunity to do a pre-test of the Hex Beam for Field Day See the details at N4KGL.info Blog

gathering for instructions

John WB4MAK, Greg N4KGL, Cody KK4NAJ, Rick NZ2I, Phil KK4DWI, Bob KK4DIV, Bob WB8PAF, Marv KK4DKT

Friday, May 10, 2013

Fox Hunt at Mr. Grumpy's Crooked Fence Ranch May 18 10 AM

This will be an on foot affair rather than on vehicles. Three foxes will be on 146.580.  Each fox will have a distinctive tone pattern. They will identify in code as W4RYZ/1, W4RYX/2 and W4RYZ/3.  The foxes will transmit in different time slots we hope but the cycle time is the same for all. Teams are allowed but only one person can hold the hunt equipment at a time. Gather in front of the trailer with your gear at 10:00 for final instructions and to register your team. The hunt will start at 10:10 and will end when all foxes are found or noon whichever comes first. Spectators are allowed but cannot aid in hunting. Please be aware of horses and electric fences on the site. GOOD LUCK. All are welcome to come out and may bring a portable radio set up if they like.

The ranch is home of Don Cornelius KK4DWC and is located just North of Southport, Florida on Hwy 388 East. You head north on Hwy 77 and turn right on Hwy 388 just 7 miles north of the Baily Bridge in Lynn Haven. We are about 1.2 miles down on the left. Look for the sign. Click here for a map.  There are horses on the ranch and if you are interested in horses contact Don's Son Gene Corneilus at Lazy-C-Ranch


There many options for fox hunting. The minimum equipment is a 2 meter HT or scanner. Directional antennas and attenuators can be home-brewed or purchased. Your committee is Greg N4KGL, Don KK4DWC, Phil KK4DWI and Bob KK4DIV.Transmitter hunting (also known as T-hunting, fox hunting, bunny hunting, and bunny chasing), is an activity wherein participants use radio direction finding techniques to locate one or more radio transmitters hidden within a designated search area. This activity is most popular among amateur radio enthusiasts, and one organized sport variation is known as amateur radio direction finding.

Friday, March 15, 2013

PCARC Tailgate coming April 13, 2013

The Panama City Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring a tailgate on Saturday April 13th, 9 AM until 1 PM. Buy, sell or swap ham radio gear. Limited tables are available for $5 on a first come first serve basis. There will be raffle prizes and food is available. License testing at 2PM. Bring $14, picture ID and copy of license if upgrading. The location is the Panama City Amateur Radio Club, 130 N. Church Ave Panama City, FL. The talk-in repeater is W4RYZ 145.210 minus no tone. Questions about this event can be sent to panamacityarc@gmail.com.

A fox hunt will be held on site. Gather in the clubhouse at 10:50 for instructions. The hunt begins at 11:00. The fox frequency is 146.580. There may be multiple foxes. The winners will be rewarded with raffle tickets.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Falling Waters Picnic 2013

The Falling Waters Picnic is sponsored by the Holmes County FL club on the first Saturday in March. The park is located near Chipley, FL.This year the weather was brisk but bearable. The food was chicken from the club and the rest of us brought the sides. Hams attending from Panama City included Marv KK4DKT and his wife Melissa, Harold KF4YDO, Don KK4DWC, John WB4MAK and Greg N4KGL. Jim W4RVF from Bonifay attended. He tested in Panama City. Paul Eakin KJ4G the North Florida Section Manager attended with Donna W4QM. Apologies to others not mentioned.

There was some portable operations. Marv setup his Ham Box 1000 and did some WinLink and worked some DX. Greg setup his KX3 and used a 88 foot doublet and the Alex Loop. Dwayne AK4P from De Funiack Springs brought his QRP rig in a Spam can. There was also a display of vintage radios and a 50/50 drawing. This was an enjoyable event please attend in 2014.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Panama City ARC Transmitter Hunting

The Panama City ARC Transmitter Hunt Committee is seeking to know how many area hams or prospective hams have an interest in learning more about transmitter hunting and possibly participating in transmitter hunts during the course of the year. Some information is provided below. The minimum equipment is a 2 meter HT or scanner. Directional antennas and attenuators can be home-brewed or purchased. If there is enough interest we can have a group build of tape measure yagi antennas. We also can have training, practice hunts and a competitive event in April. So to measure the level of interest please reply to Greg N4KGL at LaneKG@gmail.com. The committee will report back to the club at the February business meeting on how many are interested. Your committee is Greg N4KGL, Don KK4DWC, Phil KK4DWI and Bob KK4DIV.

Transmitter hunting (also known as T-hunting, fox hunting, bunny hunting, and bunny chasing), is an activity wherein participants use radio direction finding techniques to locate one or more radio transmitters hidden within a designated search area. This activity is most popular among amateur radio enthusiasts, and one organized sport variation is known as amateur radio direction finding.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

January 19 Lynn Haven Portable Ops

There was a good gathering of Panama City ARC hams at the park in Lynn Haven, FL. Phil KK4DWI had a nice slinky dipole from a mast off his truck hitch. Bob WB4BLX had a VHF D-Star Capabilty through Vic K4GXV's Hot Spot. Steve N4VSP and Harold KF4YDO had mobiles. Don KK4DWV brought hisYaesu FT 450 to test. Marv KK4DKT brought his power supply because his rig is in the shop. N4KGL brought his KX3.  Also in attendance was Johnnie KK4MHQ. Contacts included Port St Joe, Atlanta, Virginia and Mexico City. Join us for the next one.  See more photos here.

Left to right Johnnie KK4MHQ, Phil KK4DWI, Greg N4KGL, Marv KK4DKT, Gary AJ4KY, Harold Kf4YDO, Photo by Bob WB4BLX

Don KK4DWC, Phil KK4DWI and Johnnie KK4MHQ