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.
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
Read more: WGARS POTA Weekend
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).
Read more: Summer Field Day 2021
Our fox hunt turned out to be a great success! The forecast was for rain but it remained clear and sunny. WD8LQT, John Playford, arranged the two-stage fox hunt, hiding fox #2 and then he himself acting as fox #1. The challenge was to locate fox #1 mostly by car, and then located fox #2 on foot from that location.
The hunt started at the VFW fairgrounds, with the frequency for fox #1 being given out. It took about a half-hour for Team Veal (Brian & his wife and daughters) to find fox #1 (John), who was doing a very good job of hiding incognito, in glasses and hat in a car.
Read more: August 22nd Fox Hunt!
*** 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.
Read more: Near Space Balloon Launch - RESCHEDULED July 10th.
Do you wait for the "Squelch Tail" or "Courtesy Beep"? Do you regularly get the "Purple Crystal Award" for timing out the repeater? Do you know the "right" way to enter into a repeater discussion (hint: BREAK is not the answer!)?
One of the benefits of ARRL membership is their publications, which provide both fun and useful information, including good operating practices. While most ARRL members are familiar with QST magaine, which shows up in the mailbox regularly, there is also "On The Air" magazine, an online publication. They recently published an article, "Seven Tips For Better Repeater Operating", rules we should all live by. We are providing the article below, with permission of the ARRL and "On The Air" magazine.
Read more: Seven Tips For Better Repeater Operating| Mon Sep 26 @ 8:00PM Club Net on 146.640mhz |
| Thu Sep 29 @ 8:00PM Carroll ARES Net |
| Sat Oct 01 @10:00AM License Testing |
| Mon Oct 03 @ 8:00PM Club Net on 146.640mhz |
| Thu Oct 06 @ 8:00PM Carroll ARES Net |
| Mon Oct 10 @ 8:00PM Club Net on 146.640mhz |
| Thu Oct 13 @ 8:00PM Carroll ARES Net |
| Mon Oct 17 @ 8:00PM Club Net on 146.640mhz |
| Thu Oct 20 @ 8:00PM Carroll ARES Net |
| Mon Oct 24 @ 8:00PM Club Net on 146.640mhz |
| X-Ray: GeoMagnetic: |   |