All posts by Ted Uyeno

The VARC held the first ham cram of 2016 on Saturday February 20th and the Department of Health conference room on Savannah avenue.  It was a long day but several folks passed the exam and received their technician class license!  Congratulations everyone on a job well done!

Out of the 22 folks that signed up for the session 15 passed the exam.  This is a pretty good number of new hams for the South Georgia region.  Please take time to welcome them in person and on the air!

Valdosta Amateur Radio Club (VARC) – Ham Cram 2016

 DATE: Saturday February 20, 2016

LOCATION: Department of Health – 325 W Savannah Ave. Valdosta

 TIME: 8:00 am- 5:30 pm – Be on time!

 Program Description: HAM CRAM is a no Morse code AMATEUR RADIO TECHNICIAN LICENSE cram session. The cram session will assist participants with their ability to pass the FCC Technician license exam.

The cram session is a guided self-study review of the test questions and answers that will take about 6 hours. Students will be allowed 1 hour for lunch and 1 hour for the exam.  Participants may study the material on their own before the session to help increase the odds of passing the exam.

Participants will be able to take the FCC Technician license exam on the same day at the end of the class time. Most people are able to finish the exam in about 30 minutes or less. Exam passing rate is typically 90%.

 Prerequisites/Study Material: Question & Answer bank will be sent to you via e-mail upon registration. Bring a printed copy with you to the session!

Registration/Cancellation: No walk-ins. All participates must be pre-registered! Email the contact below so you can register. Cancellation requests should be received at least 72-hours prior to the course if possible. This course is open to the public.

Study Session Fees: No Charge.  Question/answer bank available for $5.00 each (Cash).  It is advised that the student print and bring their own question/answer bank to study in order to avoid this cost.

FCC Exam – ID & Fees: REQURED! Bring Photo ID & a check made out to “ARRL VEC” for $15.00 for the FCC Technician License Exam Fee. No cash or credit cards can be used to pay for exam. You will fill out a FCC application on site.

Its that time of year!  Cooler weather, good food and Hamfests!  Talking about Hamfests… The Stone Mountain Hamfest was the first weekend of November and it was real blast! The Tampa Hamfest is coming up just around the corner in December.  Probably the best Hamfest in the south is the Orlando Hamfest coming up in February.  So get with your Ham Radio buddies and plan a Hamfest road trip!!!  The more who ride together the cheaper and more FUN the Hamfest road trip is!

Talking about the Holidays… Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is right on its heels.  The VARC membership wishes Happy Holidays!

Don’t forget to ask Santa for that Ham gear you have been eyeing all year.  Also make sure to make the New Year resolution to be more RADIO ACTIVE!

73 from the crew at W4VLD…

W4VLD would like to wish all Americans a fun and safe July 4th!

HamWAN is a “by hams, for hams” wide area high speed digital network which is now being deployed in the Lowndes county and the South Georgia area.  Networking technology has now progressed enough that Amateur Radio operators are able to integrate their analog and digital emergency communications networks with low cost HamWAN wireless technology in order to achieve superior communication stability in the face of emergency communication situations.

HamWAN provides advanced internet protocol routing techniques in order to provide a seamless networking experience for Amateur Radio operators and by offering network services such as weather cameras, repeater access, VoIP PBX, ADS-B and SDR receivers. When systems are properly configured, software applications will keep on functioning just as if nothing had happened, and the all-important mission of emergency communication can carry on.

HamWAN, when not being used for non-emergency situations, provides networking capability for individual hams using our allocated 44Net IP space for day to day communications requirements.  Presently several area repeaters have been linked together using Ubiquiti microwave radios & Mikrotik routers and switches.  To experience this new and exciting technology tune your station to the VARC 146.760 repeater system today.

The Georgia ARES statewide meeting is coming up on Saturday January 24th.  This yearly event will be located at the following address:

Happy Holidays!

The VARC wishes all a happy and safe holiday season.   Make sure to try out APRS, D-Star, HF, or any other mode that might interest you in the coming year.  Be radio active!

The VARC would like to inform local D-Star users that it has received the new D-Star VHF module and 1.2 GHz duplexer for the existing 1.2 GHz voice and data modules.  The VARC technical team is in the process of installing the new equipment at the clubs repeater site.  The equipment was provided via a grant administered by the Department of Health.  The VARC has been asked to sponsor the equipment for local amateurs so they can use the equipment to provide communications during emergency situations.  The club is providing the antenna and power systems for the new equipment.  If you are interested in supporting the D-Star effort please use this website to join the club.

It is time to prepare for field day 2014!  The VARC had a great year last year by making one of the highest scores ever.  It almost time to do it again and VARC members are starting to gear up. If you are interest in participating this year go to the “Help Me” on the home page and send a message for more information.

Please have a wonderful and safe thanksgiving with your friends and family this year.  Don’t forget to wish your amateur radio friends who keep amateur radio going in your area a happy thanksgiving.  Most of all let us remember those who can’t be home for the holidays because they serving our country both domestically and aboard.  God Bless those who serve others…