Archives July 2012

The club met this evening at Steak N Shake for fellowship and to enjoy food, ice cream or a cool drink on this very hot of a day.  The turn out was surprisingly good for the summer months as many are out of town traveling.  It was very nice to see two familiar faces -Gina W4GNA and Larry K3LB present to join in the fun.  At the meeting many ham radio topics were discussed which ranged from antennas, the latest Apple technology, updates from what the various other clubs are doing in the South Georgia and North Florida area etc.  One of the biggest topics discussed was the upcoming ham cram that will hopefully be scheduled for the end of August if a meeting place can be located.  So if anyone knows of anyone interested in becoming a ham to please contact him as soon as possible. Gina W4GNA who is from the Madison Florida area indicated that she would like to help the VARC with the their ham crams.  It was everyone’s opinion that if we want to see ham radio grow in the area then Hamcrams are going to be a important part of the effort.  Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting and to those who have been checking in to the VARC Monday night net.

The repeater team met today to install the cable tray in the new equipment room.   The tray itself  was custom built from materials purchased from Home Depot.  It took most of the day to mount everything but the project is coming together as the various work projects are completed.  Some the last major items to be done is to now finish the grounding and bonding of the equipment and custom building of the RF cables from the repeater equipment to the polyphaser or lightning protection rack.  The team really appreciates everyone’s financial support and those who have given their time to the project.   If you would like to help out or would like a project tour please contact the repeater committee.

In today’s economy everyone is looking to pinch a penny.  Hams are notorious for being penny pinchers when it comes to equipment.  As everyone knows there are deals to be found on ebay for used equipment but here is a deal on brand new ham radio equipment.

So if your a ham and your in the market for a new HT for use on the club VHF and UHF repeaters then consider the Baofeng UV-5 dual band VHF/UHF  handheld radio.  Where are these radios manufactured for such a low price? Well in China of course!

This brand new unit comes fully loaded with features that were considered luxurious only until recently.  The best part is that this radio can be purchased for less than $50 including shipping off ebay right now!

If you are a new ham or you have a friend or family member who is getting their license you might consider one of these as present for their efforts.  This radio would be a great low cost way for anyone to get started!