The March VARC club meeting was on Tuesday the 6th.  Members met at Applebee’s for supper and to enjoy socializing with each other.

A report was made for the Century bike ride which was held the previous Saturday during very dangerous weather conditions.  Amateur radio and VARC really shined during this event.  The severe weather really showed the need for members to have spotter and ARES training and to always be ready.

Other interesting discussions during and after the meeting were related to the new Navy electro-magnetic rail gun that can shoot 100 miles,  J-pole antennas, the Italians experimental work with vorticity radio wave technology, Aircraft navigation technology history, interesting information about Rommel’s 10 meter band tank to tank communications during World War II,  2M/440 Mobile antennas and how to install NMO mounts on vehicles, Physics and the latest developments on photon entanglement experiments and many other interesting subjects related to amateur radio, history and science.

Members were also reminded of the 5 K run coming up Saturday and the Hamcram session coming up in April.

Starting early at 6 AM VARC members met for a hearty breakfast before the 2012 Century Bike Ride.  The Valdosta/Lowndes Parks and Recreation usually puts on this event during the first weekend in March.  Several riders from all over the U.S. come to participate in one of the four routes.  The shorter routes are the 29 mile, 48 mile, and 77 mile.  The longest is of course is just over 100 miles.

VARC members support this yearly event by providing both voice communications and GPS tracking support.  Voice communications are carried out on one of the local repeaters. High tech GPS tracking is provided by APRS configured radios (radio-robots) that are temporary installed in the each of the routes “sag wagon” or the vehicle that follows behind the last rider.  Like some of their human counter parts these “radio-robots” can operate very dependably under various adverse conditions in order to carry out their mission.  A good part of this mission is to transmit GPS location data  to area digi-peaters as the sag wagon moves about. The GPS data is then funneled to a local iGATE station that is connected to the internet.  The data is then farther relayed via the web cloud to the www.APRS.fi website located in Finland.  Net control operators for the bike event can then view the GPS location data on a Google Earth interface which allows them to track the vehicle positions. They can also overlay real time weather information on the same map in order to support the riders and event personal with up to the minute weather data for the various routes.

Due to the severe weather present during this particular ride the weather information was highly important.  Safety of the rider is paramount for these type of events and the actions executed today by VARC members played a very vital role in its assurance.  As tornado watches, warnings, and other severe weather struck the bike route areas several mobile members and radio-robots along with control operators feverishly worked together to ensure voice and data information flowed to the correct locations and event leaders.  As a result of this heroic support effort of VARC team everyone made it through each route safely! The Parks and Recreation leadership once again expressed their appreciation to the VARC for its continued radio communications support and its dedication to the community at large.  Super work VARC team!

Saturday February 11th was the Orlando, FL hamfest or hamcation.  Attendance was fantastic with several traveling a least 6-8 hours to come !  There were several commercial vendors and hams selling in the tailgate area present.  There were no empty spaces left for vendors in any of the buildings.  There was lots of both new and used gear available for reasonable prices.

One of the reps at Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) reported that they were having some the best sales in the last few years.   Orlando is usually on of the better hamfest to attend for the year for hams who are from this area.  One of the others in the Stone Mountain  hamfest in November.  So mark you calendars…

This evening the old times restaurant was just full of hams!  We not talk about the pork variety either…  Being the first Tuesday of the month it was time for hams to gather for the VARC club meeting.  Many said the food was great but the company was even better because everyone got to enjoy what they like most and that is ham radio!   The discussions centered around the up coming bike ride and run,  new repeater room project, D-Star project, upcoming hamcram, emergency communications and many other items that were found to be interesting to those present.   Recent members received their membership certificates, others became members and one ham in particular was honored.  Greg KI4Roo was honored for his work as the VARC net control.  Greg has done and excellent job and the members wanted to thank him.  Remember that the first Tuesday of March will be the next meeting.

Today the technical team finished the electrical upgrades to the new equipment room.  The room now has AC power available for lighting and for the repeater equipment.  There is still more work to be done before it is ready for use.  More work days are to be scheduled.  Thank you to our technical team for their great work!

Again the technical team assembled early this Saturday morning in order to begin work on the new larger equipment room for both the analog and the new digital D-Star repeater systems.  They were able to install most of the AC power conduit, breakers, outlets etc. and other electrical equipment needed in order to operate the repeaters, D-Star and APRS equipment.

The room is cooler since it is inside of the water tank but the air will have to be conditioned in order to control the humidity levels.  Because there were large air gaps between the tank wall and the room walls the team had to use spray expansion foam in order to seal the room better from the rest of the tank itself.  The team still needs to finish the electrical, build a better entry door to keep the outside out, paint the concrete floor, and other miscellaneous work tasks.  Once the room is ready then the equipment will have to be moved and installed.  A lot of work has to be done in order to have the room ready before the Century Bike ride in March so the team plans to work the next few Saturdays until the work is done.

The old VARC equipment shelter was built almost 30 years ago and is made of wood materials.  The VARC was going to have to make critical decision in regards to its shelter because even though it is still serviceable it is not large enough to house the new D-Star equipment that the VARC received through a government grant last year.  Because of this the VARC technical team made a request of the city and was able to secure the new equipment room from with the help of one of the clubs emergency communications partners- Ashley Tye who is the director of  EMA.

The VARC is truly grateful to Ashley, the city, and our very own technical team for the help and support with this project.  The VARC also thanks those members and non-members who have contributed to the project financially but more funds are required in order to complete the project.  So please send your check today!

The Valdosta area amateur radio testing team met today to once again to test new hams and to upgrade older ones.  All of the ones testing today came from Florida.  Two of those testing passed their extra class and two passed their technician class license.

We want to congratulate those on their upgrades and new licenses.  We also want thank Larry, Gene and Frank for their great work in providing amateur radio testing for the area.  Keep up the great work!

There is some good news to report in regards to the repeater site. As most everyone one knows by now the site lost its AC power source due to catastrophic event at the site this last summer related to the AC power control and distribution.  It was thought that soon repairs would be made by the site owners and the repeaters would be back online. But due to budget constraints the site owners chose to delay making necessary repairs until financial resources might be available in the future.  So the AC power was and still is not restored.

During the month of December VARC members met with both EMA and Valdosta Utilities leadership to identify a alternative AC power source and ask for permission to relocate repeater equipment into a small shelter that is located inside of the water tank its self.  Immediately the Valdosta Utilities leadership was very responsive and supportive of the VARC by giving permission for requests.  Upon permission approval technical arrangements were made to proceed.

The plans are during the first quarter of 2012 to install  necessary wiring in order to restore AC power to the old VARC repeater shelter.  The next part of the plan is to prepare the area inside the tank for both the analog and D-STAR repeater equipment.  Since gaining approval both VARC members and non-members have rallied to provide either financial resources or their personal time in support of the project.

The Valdosta and Lowndes County radio amateurs are very grateful to both the EMA and the Valdosta Utilities department for their continued support of the VARC and emergency communications for the community.

The VARC wishes you and yours a happy and safe holiday season!  This a great time to remember our families and to also focus special attention upon our creator for all good things that he has blessed has us in our lives.  Ham radio is one of those blessings of which we all should be grateful.  So please take the time to appreciate and enjoy it.  Listen for us on the air next year!

On Saturday November the 12th the Thomasville Amateur Radio Club again held their annual fish fry in Thomasville.  Approximately 72 amateurs and their families gathered at the Morningside Methodist church annex to share in a fantastic meal and fellowship.  The TARC hosts this yearly event to honor our military veterans and invites the whole amateur radio community to come join them in this special time of the year.  The TARC also takes time to honor those of their group and their achievements.  This year several very young and newly licensed folks received awards.

Several from the Valdosta and surrounding areas attended and greatly enjoyed the fellowship with those that they speak to over the air but do not have a chance to see in person too often.  One reported that the Thomasville folks are very friendly, the food was super, and we have the chance to talk about amateur radio… what more can you ask for?

After the event was over this writer had a chance to interview TARC newsletter editor Buddy Peeples WD4CJI about what makes the TARC presently the leading amateur radio club in the region.  Buddy responded by saying its simple we are a family organization and we strive to involve not only individual amateurs but also their families especially the children.  The children are our future to be there to replace us as we grow older and to ensure the sustainability of the hobby.  Buddy also shared that the core members of the club are not only committed to the ham club itself but each and everyone of them are truly good close friends who love to be around each other even outside of normal club activities.

So it sounds like the simple recipe for a truly successful amateur radio organization is number one the family unit and number two taking the time to hang out with and look out after each other.  It sounds like the old saying “If you want friends then try being a friendly yourself” does have some relevance after all.

Make plans to attend the next TARC fish fry in November of 2012…