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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).

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.

Testing is back in Session

Did you take the time to study for a new FCC amateur radio license commonly referred to in the hobby as a ticket? Maybe you took some “home” time to do some studying to upgrade to General or Extra? If you answered yes to any of the above, you have likely found that most, if not all, test sessions have been postponed. If you have found yourself in this situation, we have some good news for you.

The novel coronavirus that has taken the world by storm effected all of us in many different ways. Whether it be fear, anxiety, loneliness, or simple frustration, we have all had to adjust our daily lives. In these trying times, social distancing has become the mantra we have been inundated with and encouraged to follow.

August 22nd Fox Hunt!

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!

2019 Summer Balloon Launch

Weather permitting, which is a potential problem right now, we will be launching the weather balloon from the VFW fairgrounds Saturday morning. We'll begin preparations for launch, weather permitting, at 9AM on Saturday, July 13th, 2019 at the VFW fairgrounds in Carrollton and launch as soon as the balloon is filled. We'll be operating the W4FWD repeater, so you can monitor the 146.640 repeater Saturday morning for updates on weather and launch.

Seven Tips For Better Repeater Operating

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.

Pico Balloon Launch

WGARS launched its first Pico Balloon, an activity much different than the previous launches of weather balloons. Pico balloons are basically party balloons carrying a very small and light solar powered transmitter that, in this case, transmitted on 20 meters using the WSPR protocol. They are meant to fly for days, weeks, or months, unlike the large weather balloons that go to near-space, burst, and return to Earth.