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2023 WGARS Officers

Thanks to all who participated in nominations and voting for WGARS 2023 Officers. Your officers for 2023 are - Board Member KO4DKS Wayne, Board Member KF4DVW Joshua, Secretary Treasurer KM4UPX Brian, Vice President KM4WQC Matt, and President WD8LQT John. Thanks to all who have served in 2022 and to our outgoing Vice President KM4BYH Wayne.

Bike Ride and POTA

October 15 and 16 2022 - A Ham Radio Filled Weekend!

What a weekend! Need I say more? The WGARS ended up with two events on the same day this past weekend. The first was the Toys for Tots Semper Fi Century Ride. The club signed up to perform communications at the event which turned into much more. We ended up being comms and logistics, and in some cases, volunteer transportation. Hats off to all who participated. Net control was located at Printers Ale, and 4 rest stations were manned by other operators. We were very blessed in that we had enough volunteers that no one had to work along. We went over and above, and I truly believe if it had not been for the hard work of the amateur radio volunteers there would not have been a ride. We transported food to the rest stops, set up the rest stops, in many cases served the food at the rest stops, broke down and delivered the leftover items back to their proper place. Much more than was bargained for, but everyone should be proud of the job well done. We also had an opportunity to try out some portable APRS digipeaters/i-gates to see how well they worked in the field. I am proud to say that they too were a success.

Volunteers included - KO4BVB, KF4DVW, KO4DKS, KJ4SAD, WD8LQT, WX4BK, N4BWR, K4SYL, KM4UPX, KK4Z, N4KGO, KM4BYH, and KJ4AWY (my apologies if I missed anyone).

Weekend Part 2 - Parks on the Air campout. While some of us were chasing bicyclists, some others were setting up in the Talladega National Forest to work the Parks on the Air weekend. KK4OHF and W7KAP started operations on Saturday. Post bike race, KK4Z, N4KGO, WX4BK, WD8LQT, and KF4DVW went to join them. This was a well needed reprieve for those that worked the race. There was more food involved at this event, but rather than feeding bicyclists we got to feed ourselves. The bands were in great shape with lots of parks on the air as well as lots of chasers. The campfire was a great place where we did a hotwash of the day’s events and then proceeded to work on loftier political issues. Later that night it was back to operating. Just about all the bases were covered as far as operating modes. Modes that I know of included FT-8, CW, SSB, FM and I think there was even an attempt at SSTV. If you would like to see a short video by Scott, KK4Z of the operation, check out the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAdCNevQUMY&t=2s

We broke camp Sunday afternoon after sharing breakfast, making some more contacts, and then lunch. Food seems to be a central theme here.

I hope WGARS can continue to support many events like this past weekend. We lifted up our local community as well as lifted up ourselves.
Additional Bike Race and POTA PhotosJohn, WD8LQT

WGARS POTA Weekend

Saturday October 30, 2021 was not only the CQ DX World Wide Sideband contest, it was also a day that many WGARS members gathered in the rain in the Talladega National Forest - Big Oak Hunt Camp - to play Parks on the Air. Many flavors of Rigs, antennas, power sources, as well as many flavors of good were all present. Despite the rain and cold weather, a good time was had by all. The bands were in great shape and even with the crowded conditions due to the contest many contacts were made.

Those present included KK4Z (Scott), KK4OHF (Marshall and Sandy), KO4BVB (Tony and Robin), K4ATQ (Mark), K4JMG (Marty), KF4DVW (Joshua and Allison), KN4FRP (Richard), Kenneth (KI4FMV), and myself (WD8LQT). Six hearty souls spent the night hoping for the rain to stop

WGARS August 2022 Balloon Launch

The West Georgia Amateur Radio Society launched a high altitude weather balloon on Saturday August the 6th. The launch was from the club shack at the VFW fairgrounds in Carrollton, Georgia. It turned out to be a beautiful day for such an activity. Clear skies and a nice breeze in the morning getting ready for a 10:15 a.m. launch.

The predicted track put together by Blake, N4BWR, had the balloon coming down somewhere off Hwy 431 in the Oxford/Anniston Alabama area. The payload on the balloon included APRS, a Crossband repeater, video camera, as well as a multitude of sensors (Outside Temperature, Ascent Rate, Descent Rate, etc) This was put together by Brian, WX4BK. (Insert Photo 2022 WGARS Weather Balloon Payload)

The balloon launching was definitely a group effort. Once in the air, we began tracking its ascent immediately on APRS. Assembling in the club shack with our resident meteorologist Bryant, WX4EVR was Richard, KN4FRP (who was actually the first to find the payload after landing), several of us watched the movement. (Insert photos "Balloon Ready to Go" and "Off into the wild blue yonder") Once the chase was on, a rather large group began to make their way down Interstate 20 at rates of speed which we don't discuss here.

Thankfully, the APRS transmitter stayed on the air and going strong until recovery. Joshua, KF4DVW, had assembed a mobile digipeater and I-Gate due to the lack of such stations in the area where the balloon was predicted to come down. This wonderful mobile I-Gate kept even those with just cell phones using APRS.FI up to date on the progress of W4FWD-11. (Insert photo -"Mission Control").

The payload came down in a residential area. Fortunately for us, the homeowner was as excited about it as we were. When we told here why all of these vehicles were crowding around her front yard she wanted a run-down on the balloon, ham radio, etc. We were very fortunate it came down in her yard. (Insert Photo - "Balloon Chase").

If you would like to see video footage of the launch and the recovery, they are both available at our facebook site facebook.com\WGARS.

Summer Field Day 2021

WGARS will have a conventional Field Day operation this year at the VFW Fairgrounds in Carrollton, GA. We will begin congregating around 9:30AM Saturday, June 26th and begin setup operations at 10:00AM. We anticipate operating from 14:00L Saturday until 13:00L, and will then begin breaking down the equipment. Operators are welcome to continue operating during breakdown until we are tearing the microphone from your hands, however! Talk-in is the W4FWD repeater operating on Oak Mountain (146.640^-131.8). WGARS will be operating Class 4, which allows four HF stations + 1 HF GOTA, along with a VHF station (simplex contacts only).

Ham Of The Year 2021

2021 Ham Of The Year

Congratulations to KO4BVB on being chosen as the West Georgia Amateur Radio Society's Ham Of The Year 2021! Tony has been an active member of the club for a few years now and has been active in a variety of activities ranging from Field Day to Fox Hunts to Balloon Chases.

Near Space Balloon Launch - RESCHEDULED July 10th.

*** Due to weather and a potentially hazardous trajectory, the launch has been rescheduled from June 19th to July 10th. *** WGARS will be launching,. conditions permitting, its first Near Space balloon of 2021. The payload will include video cameras to record the flight, a cross-band repeater (experimental), and an APRS transmitter to aid in tracking and retrieval. The current plan is to meet at the VFW Fairgrounds in Carrollton, GA on July 10th at 9:00AM to begin launch preparations, with a planned launch at 10:00AM.