West Georgia Amateur Radio Society

2015 Field Day Results

It's that time of year again, where we all start looking for the annual Field Day results - and the wait is over! ARRL posted the results and WGARS has a lot to be proud of!

WGARS Participated in class 3AC this year, logging 199 contacts, scoring 1158 points, and placing 1398 out of 2720 participating groups.  This year's Field Day setup went very well and participation was fair, however a Solar CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) began degrading band conditions Saturday night and by Sunday morning conditions had degraded to the point all bands were closed.

Despite losing about a third of our operating hours we still logged about the same number of contacts the previous year, scoring 284 MORE points (1158 this year vs. 874 last year) as a result of our additional operating modes & GOTA participants. We also placed higher in the rankings - at the 48 percentile this year vs. 38 percentile last year.

Field Day Wrap Up

Although Field Day officially started on Saturday at 2:00PM, preparation started much earlier and really hit high gear Friday evening. First, thanks to John (WD8LQT) who spent considerable time ahead of the event helping to get a lot of the advanced preparation done.

We had a fantastic turnout Friday, and THANKS to those who came out to help: Club President Charles Surginer (KK4CTV), Wayne (KM4BYH) and his wife, Debbie, Dennis (KM4FQI), Blake (N4BWR), Tom (N4FWD), Mike (KE4OBE), Brian (WX4BK), Andrew (KM4KRG), and Nick (KE4NIA), If I missed anyone, please let me know, as everyone's participation helped make this event successful.

Despite our hoisting ropes being removed from the usual spots, we managed to get new ones thrown pretty easily, maybe even better than the originals, thanks to Wayne's "Pocket Fisherman" and Dennis' skill at sending the lead weight over high tree limbs! After about two hours on site we had three tested antennas and one experimental ready to get put to work Saturday afternoon!

WGARS March 28th Fox Hunt

WGARS members had a great time at our recent Fox Hunt at McIntosh Nature Preserve on March 28th! No, we didn't unleash the hounds! Fox Hunting is a fun activity where members hunt down a hidden transmitter using radio direction finding techniques. It's also great practice for assisting in finding emergency beacons and Emergency Locater Beacons from marine and aircraft.

About a dozen members showed up on the chilly Saturday morning to participate in the hunt. John Playford (WD8LQT) hid the fox, while other members participated in the hunt.

About WGARS

The West Georgia Amateur Radio Society serves Carroll, Haralson, Douglas, Heard, and Paulding Counties, but welcome members from anywhere.

WGARS, through the generosity of Tim Jones, operates on a standard FM repeater on 146.640mhz with a negative offset and a 131.8hz sub-audible tone.

We have a D-Star repeater operating on 145.400 with a negative offset.  Its call sign is KN4PLO, and operates on Module A (often 2 meters is on "C", but will be "A" in our case).

We also operate a 440mhz repeater on 444.075^+131.8.

The WGARS holds monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of each month. Click for details.

The club may be reached by emailing the club at , contact the officers of the club directly via our contact portal, or by postal mail: POB 102, Bowdon Junction, GA 30109.

WGARS holds monthly testing sessions. Click HERE for more information.

The club hosts a weekly net on 146.640 repeater on Monday nights at 8:00pm. All amateur radio operators are welcome to participate.

The Carroll County ARES group conducts a weekly net on Thursdays at 8:00pm. All amateur radio operators we welcome to participate.

WGARS Nets

The WGARS hosts a weekly Monday night net at 8:00pm on the 146.640mhz repeater with a negative offset and a 131.8hz sub-audible tone.  All amateur radio operators are invited and encouraged to participate. The net encourages stations checking in to share everything from an interesting bit of knowledge to how their week has gone.

A Monthly HF exercise precedes the Monday net on the fourth Monday of each month. Stations attempt to make local contact on the HF bands, starting on 28.425mhz at 7:30PM on the fourth Monday of the month.  If the band is not open stations will move to 7.258 at 7:45PM.

Although not a WGARS net, WGARS supports the local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) net, which takes place at 8:00PM on Thursdays on the same repeater. This is a more formal net with a training session and round-table discussion. This net is also open to all amateur radio operators.

Resource: Our Repeaters / About Us
Resource: Net Log - View recent net participation.
Resource: WGARS List of area nets     Suggest or Update a Net
Resource: WGARS Net Script        
Resource: Carroll ARES Net Script
Resource: Carroll ARES Severe Weather Protocol       
Resource: Sign Up For Net Control!
Net Manager: Tony Altman KO4BVB (KO4BVB at gmail.com)

Lee Studdard - KI4QLV

  It is with great regret we mourn the loss of KI4QLV, Lee Studdard, who passed away on Sunday, December 3, 2017.

  For those that did not know it, Lee Studdard (KI4QLV) passed away Sunday.  Visitation will be at the Almon Chapel in Carrollton on December 6th (Wednesday) from 10AM-11AM.  The funeral service will be on the same day at 11:00AM.

   Lee is known among most of us as that voice calling nets on the Carrollton repeater, usually with the assistance of KK4CTV (Charles).  Although blind, Lee did his best to participate as much as possible, even being net control for actual weather nets and simulated emergency tests.  As recently as last year he participated in a fox hunt, being one of two foxes we set out, during a downed aircraft simulation!

   Lee was a resident at Brookdale Living for the past 8 years in Carrollton, Georgia and an active member of the For the People’s Blind Community, as well as amateur radio, and was a member of Carrollton First Baptist Church.

   Lee was predeceased by his mother Eleanor Acree Studdard and his father, James L. (Jimmy) Studdard, Sr., both of Atlanta, Georgia.

   He is survived by several cousins living in Conyers, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia and Orlando, Florida.

March 25, 2023 Foxhunt