JUNE 12, 2018 VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3

Gulf Coast Amateur

Radio Club

PO BOX 595

NEW PORT RICHEY

FLORIDA 34656

Clubhouse QTH

6909 Tierra Verde St

Port Richey, FL

34668

ARRL Field Day 2018 is HERE…

The Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club (GCARC) will be participating in the national

American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day exercise, June 23-24 at the

clubhouse.

Well here we are. The first week of June and that means we are now in the final

days of planning and setting up for Field Day. As I mentioned in earlier newsletters

GCARC will be having Field Day at the club house. Everyone is welcomed to attend.

You do not need to be a member of GCARC or even a Amateur radio operator. We

hope to have a great turnout this year as in previous Field days. This year we will be

jumping right into the digital modes on HF. FT8 has been approved by ARRL to be

used as a Field Day mode. Contacts on this mode will be worth 2 points each, as

opposed to voice which is 1 point. This mode has really taken off in the past year.

Every band (160 to 6 meters) has a specific frequency that operators use to

establish contacts and make the exchange on. Gulf Coast ARC will be operating 2

digital stations and 1 voice/CW station. Anyone who is new to FT8 or wants to learn

more about it is always welcome to stop in.

A big part of our set up is the computers and the logging this year. The Gulf

Coast A.R.C. field day team, AA4CB, KC3CJU, and WA3YFQ have spent many hours

getting the computers to work perfectly for this event. We now have internet set up

at the clubhouse in addition. Radios are also ready to go. Station #1 will be the

Icom IC 718 for Digital. Station #2 is going to be a Yaesu ft-897 for digital and/or

voice. What good are these radios and computers without an antenna? The antenna

system this year will consist of the Tri-band yagi and both dipoles for 40 and 80. We

will also be using the 6M dipole for when that band is active. A mag loop has been

donated to the club a couple of months ago and the club will have that mounted up

along the fence just for this event.

Like most club activities the success of an event is dependent on the people that

participate in supporting it. We can always use help in these areas. Please contact

AA4CB and ask him what you can do to help out.

………..Continued on Page# 10

Club Officers

President

Ralph McCullough

WA3YFQ

Vice President

Steve Coe, KI4LVH

Secretary

Frank Kaleyias

KN4EPU

Treasurer

Maureen Keaveny,

KB2QNK

Board Members

Roy Mitchell, KM4OR

Chris Bloxsom AA4CB

Chris McCullough,

KC3CJU

Bill Hugel, KJ4YYI

Immediate Past

President

Barry Keaveny

N2NVP

Webmaster

Chris Bloxsom AA4CB

Some Links of interest This month I will post a bunch of links to help new Amateur Radio operators.

Welcome to Amateur Radio (ARRL) Guide to Amateur Radio Eham Help for new hams Gary Hoffman Welcome CQ Magazine (Free sample issue) New User Tips for VHF-UHF Operation Down-to-earth repeater tips N5TD Good repeater etiquette N5TD

If you see something on the web that you would likle to share please send an email to webmaster@gulfcoastarc.org

A More concerns about the Amateur Radio Parity Act

Lawmakers are making a multi-pronged push to drive the bipartisan Amateur Radio

Parity Act through Congress and finally bypass objections from top Senate Commerce Democrat Bill Nelson of Florida, whose allegiance to his state’s homeowners’ associations drove his panel to yank the bill from consideration last fall. The legislation, H.R. 555, would direct the

FCC to let amateur radio operators get around private rules, like those imposed by some HOAs, that keep them from putting up radio antennas. The measure cleared the House by voice vote in January 2017 and in the previous Congress. — House appropriators tucked the amateur radio

provisions into the fiscal 2019 Financial Services funding bill that cleared the subcommittee Thursday. It’s also now wrapped into the House’s national defense authorization bill, which passed

the House by a wide margin that same morning. House sponsor Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) “is

hopeful that Senator Nelson will see its value,” said his spokeswoman. “There are more than 750,000 licensed amateur radio operators in the country, including nearly 20,000 in Illinois and nearly 42,000 in Florida. … When disaster strikes and the power goes out, like when Hurricane Irma hit Sen. Nelson’s home state of Florida back in September, amateur radio operators become critical to emergency response efforts.”

— Senators appropriators haven’t signaled any decisions on whether to follow the House’s lead. “It would suit me,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the radio bill’s Senate sponsor, told John. “I think we’ve done enough that Senator Nelson’s concerns should have been answered.” Wicker and Nelson are also both senior members of the Armed Services Committee, which oversees the NDAA.

Gulf Coast ARC Picnic

We are looking for someone to head up that project. Do you have any good ideas on where we can hold a picnic? Bring your ideas to the Tuesday night net for discussion. You can also shoot an email to webmaster@gulfcoastarc.org

ARRL VE test session

Exams are held on the first Wednesday of every month

At the Clubhouse 6909 Tierra Verde St. Port Richey FL 34668

Port Richey, FL 34668

Time: 6:30pm

Tech through Extra Exam’s

Walk-ins are welcome!!!!

Contact Roy KM4OR (727) 848-4829 or Kevin W4KJP (727)

842-7732

Documents required:

1) If applicable, an original and a copy of Amateur license held.

2) Positive (Photo) ID

3) A check for $15.00, payable to ARRL/VEC. or cash.

4) Any certificate of successful completion of examinations

(CSCE)

Clubhouse open house

Starting in April The Clubhouse will

be 'manned' on the 2nd and 4th

Saturdays of the month. As a paid

Gulf Coast Amateur Radio member

you always have access to the

clubhouse 7 days a week. Whether

you want to go up and operate

HF/VHF/UHF the new stations set up

in the radio room or watch TV , or

just get away from it all. It is there

for you.

There is also a new “Workbench area” assembled in the main room so you can

solder up some of those projects you have always wanted to build.

Gulf Coast ARC is on Social Media

Come find us on Social media. Twitter Youtube Facebook Keep up to date with the latest activities. Post your comments. Start some conversations. Ham radio Videos?? We have them. You can add your own to our Youtube page.

Get your ARRL Field Day Gear The most popular on-the-air operating event in Amateur Radio — is June 23-24, and

official gear and supplies are now available from ARRL. Shirts, pins, patches,

stickers, and — of course — coffee mugs are a great way to acknowledge — and

commemorate — your participation in this annual event.

Encourage club members, family, friends, and prospective

hams to take part using ARRL Field Day with recruitment

posters and attractive “Get on the Air” (GOTA) pins for

those newcomers.

Clubs are encouraged to order early. Place a group order

and pay just $12.50 shipping for all orders over $50

(while supplies last). Get your 2018 ARRL Field Day

supplies from the ARRL online store.

The complete 2018 ARRL Field Day packet is online. ARRL

encourages participants to register their Field Day

operations using the FD Site Locator.

Upcoming Local Hamfests

08/18/2018

Start Date: 08/18/2018 End Date: 08/18/2018 Location: Tampa Amateur Radio Club 7801 North 22nd Street Tampa, FL 33601 Website: http://www.hamclub.org Sponsor: Tampa Amateur Radio Club Type: ARRL Hamfest Talk-In: 147.105 (PL 146.2) Public Contact: Bill Bode , N4WEB 14302 Capitol Drive Tampa, FL 33613 Phone: 813-382-9262 Email: n4web@hamclub.org

07/21/2018

Start Date: 07/21/2018 End Date: 07/21/2018 Location: U.A.W. Union Hall Local 788 1825 West Oak Ridge Road Orlando, FL 32801 Sponsor: Jack Moyer, K4KDI Type: ARRL Hamfest Talk-In: 145.130 - (PL 103.5) Public Contact: Jack Moyer , K4KDI 12026 Florida Woods Lane Orlando, FL 32824 Phone: 407-443-1963 Email: k4kdi@hotmail.com

Southeastern Division Convention (Huntsville Hamfest)

08/18/2018

Start Date: 08/18/2018 End Date: 08/19/2018 Location: Von Braun Civic Center 700 Monroe Street Huntsville, AL 35801 Website: http://www.hamfest.org Sponsor: Huntsville Hamfest Association Type: ARRL Convention Talk-In: 146.94 (PL 100) Public Contact: Dave Givens , K5RSI 10000 Ramsbeck Circle Huntsville, AL 35803 Phone: 256-883-2760 Email: dagivens@yahoo.com

When anyone first gets into a hobby, they have questions,

lots of questions. Some of the answers can be found in books or online, but like any hobby, ham radio has a lingo all its own. For the

newcomer, the lingo can be very intimidating. Being in a club allows one to absorb some of the language just by hearing it in context.

Most hams are only too happy to explain

it to someone else as well. Most ham operators

have more interests than just Amateur Radio. They may be expert gardeners, woodworkers or collectors. By joining a club and

participating actively in it, you can avail yourself of the friendships and

social contacts that the club provides. Who knows, you

likely bring a skill or an experience level to the club that others will see as valuable too.

Another area where belonging to a club brings benefits is in the area of what I call "the big project.” If there is a need for

a tower to be

erected, or some other large job, club members can be counted on to band together to get it done, whether for the club as a group,

or for the benefit of an individual member. Just remember to reciprocate on the next "big project" for

someone else.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Its June and time for another Field Day weekend. Planning is well underway for this year’s event. The GCARC will again be setting

up at our club house and are planning for a full weekend of participation on June 23 & 24. Final “tweaking” of radio’s and antennas will happen on Saturday the 16th and we are hoping to

keep the ever present “Murphy’s Law” at bay.

If you haven’t been to our club house lately you are really missing out. There are 4 HF stations

operational and can cover all the modes available on the HF bands,

be it Voice (SSB), CW, or any of the digital modes, i.e. PSK, RTTY, CONTESTIA, MFSK, JT-65, and

especially FT-8. There is also a 2M / 70 CM station up and running.

The club has just put a Wires – X node on the air on the 146.67 MHZ New Port Richey repeater and will soon have Echolink running on the

145.33 MHZ Land O’ Lakes repeater enabling the linking of these two repeaters along with the 146.88 MHZ EPARS East Pasco Amateur

Radio Society) repeater in Dade City if emergencies should occur. If you have been a HAM for a long time or are just newly licensed

come out and learn or even try out one of these modes. Its surprising the contacts that can be made using low power and the digital technology.

The club house is there for all our members in good standing to enjoy. Come on out and use the equipment, experiment with new

modes or use the old standby’s. There is an area set up for building projects or repairing your own equipment. You can get answers to questions you may have or just hang out and chat. It is a fun place

to be at and enjoy. Hope to see everyone there not only on Field Day weekend but anytime.

73’s

Ralph McCullough WA3YFQ

PayPal now available

Next Club meeting

Our next club meeting is on June 25th at the clubhouse. Time is 7pm. We will be

discussing Field day and everything that happened that weekend as well as some

club activities. Meetings are always open to the public.

If you missed last month’s meeting it is not too late. Most meetings are available on

the Club’s Youtube channel.

Last month’s meeting is available at https://youtu.be/aXUCdCz1hXw

http://gulfcoastarc.org

Club nets

The Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club’s Tuesday Night Net is held on the WA4GDN club

repeater On 146.670 Mhz at 7:30 PM. This is a Trader’s Net and General Information

Net. If you have an amateur radio related item to buy, sell, trade, or want, you may

list it here. All brief amateur related announcements may be made here.

Young Florida Ham invited to YOTA

Faith Hannah (AE4FH) is a thirteen year old amateur radio operator who has just been invited to represent the United States at the 2018 Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) Summer

Event in South Africa!

This young lady, who holds the highest class amateur radio license available in the US, was first licensed at age 10, and she is very active on the airwaves and in promoting amateur

radio through a YouTube channel she has with her siblings and personal appearances at amateur radio Hamfests around the eastern part of the US. The YOTA Summer Event will host about 80 young amateur radio operators from 34 countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as Faith Hannah–the first youth amateur radio operator to represent the United States at a YOTA event There

is more information about the YOTA Summer Event at www.zs9yota.co.za . One of the reasons that Faith Hannah was chosen to attend the event is to help bring YOTA into the IARU Region 2, which comprises of North and South America. It is the hope of the YOTA organizers to start YOTA groups in IARU Region 2. Faith

Hannah's outreach through the YouTube channel and in speaking at hamfests can

help bring this vision to reality. Faith Hannah will be traveling to South Africa from Florida in early August, 2018. South African immigration laws require that she travel with a parent, so her father James (WX4TV) will be traveling with her. Plane tickets are about $3,500 and there

will be expenses for international evacuation and health insurance, passport renewals, and lodging while on layovers on the trip to and from South Africa. Plane tickets need to be purchased quickly in order to secure the best pricing. There is a GoFundMe page setup to help out on expenses. Please donate.

Wires-X node is now On-the-Air

There is a Wires-X node on the 146.670 repeater. It is accessible from any Yaesu Digital radio. Users can now connect to ‘rooms’ or connect to other repeaters around the world. For more info on Wires-X please contact Chris AA4CB.

WIRES (Wide-coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System) is an Internet communication system which expands the range of amateur radio communication. For WIRES-X, an amateur node station connecting to the Internet is used as the access point and connects the wireless communication to the Internet. Users’

stations can communicate with other amateur stations all over the world using a node within the radio wave range.

WIRES-X supports the C4FM digital and the clear and crisp voice technology enables high sound quality. By repeating C4FM digital data as it is via the Internet, users can enjoy clear voice communications even if they are thousands of miles away each

other. Utilizing the digital communication, the WIRES-X operation is simple, easy and user friendly. Varieties of the new functions as well as voice communications expands opportunities for enjoyment of ham station operation.

……More on Field Day

It is not just about making contacts. It is also about socializing with other

members and people that are interested in radio. GCARC will be firing up the BBQ Saturday with burgers and dogs. Saturday

evening it will be pot luck so we ask everyone to bring a dish. We do ask that you let AA4CB know what you are bringing so he can coordinate the food activities better. Sunday is going to be breakfast in the morning. There are some items that we will need people to bring. Please visit http://gulfcoastarc.org and click on Field Day

food list for a DAILY updated list of who is bringing what.

ARRL to Sponsor 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season Webinar

ARRL will sponsor a 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season webinar on Monday,

June 11, at 8 PM ET (0000 UTC on Tuesday, June 12 UTC in US time zones). The approximately 90-minute session will address the role of Amateur Radio during the 2018 hurricane season. Anyone interested in hurricane preparedness and response is invited to attend this online presentation.

Those planning to attend should register in advance.

Topics will include a meteorological overview from the Canadian Hurricane

Centre of the upcoming season; Amateur Radio station WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center: Who We Are and What We Do; ARRL Media and Public Relations; the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN); the VoIP Hurricane Net, Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), and ARRL coordination and interface. Webinar registration is open to all, but should be

of particular interest to radio amateurs in hurricane-prone areas. The webinar will conclude with a Q&A session.For additional information, contact ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U.

How to Build a 10 Meter dipole Click on picture to start video

The Technician class has access to a part of the 10 meter amateur radio band. They

can operate CW, digital and phone. Antennas for 10 meters are small and easy to build. A dipole antenna is one of the easiest antennas to build. The length of the dipole is 468/ frequency in MHz I made this antenna for 28.3 MHz, which made the antenna 16.5 feet long.

Don’t forget 13 Colonies special event

2018 Event Dates / July 1 (9AM EST) to July 7 (Midnight EST)

(July 1, 2018-1300 UTC to July 8, 2018-0400 UTC) The 13 Colonies Special Event enlisted one dedicated SSB/CW QRP operator for each

state for the 2014 event and beyond. No special station requirements, except the operator must be a General class or higher. We want to give the low power QRP station a chance to get a 13 Colony States "Clean Sweep" endorsement on your certificate. We know the thrill of a QRP station breaking a pile up, but with 200+ QRO/and higher stations in a pile up, well, most of the times +/-5 watts just wont work.

The 13 Colonies Special Event is a not for profit event. All donations are used to fund

the next years event, and to defray any expenses occurred. All donations are used for operating costs, supplies, equipment, and 13 Colony Group initiatives. Donation is voluntary. If you have difficulty with a donation, tell

us on your log sheet, and we will send you the certificate earned-No Questions Asked!.

Rap River Run - Hot off the press

Well the day started off at 5am and headed over to Sims Park to meet up with

the Race Director for the Rap River Run. It is our and there 11th year of having this event. I heard Darrell KT4WX along with Mike W4MDD heading this way to help. Mind you they are 2 hrs away from this event. By 6am the operators start calling in

to net control, Steve KI4LVH, Roy KM4OR, Maureen KB2QNK, Mike W4MDD, Darrell KT4WX, Doug KN4IJP and finally Rodney KI4DBI with Race Director, they are all on location. Myself, Barry N2NVP, was net control. We are all set to go and time is running down to

start the 10k of the RRR. This year we were very helpful as some of the roads were not shut down like they were supposed to be. So Race Director was notified. Well the 10k went off and ended so

now getting ready to do the 5k. Wow there is a lot of people in the 5k race. They had 1200 to 1500 people who signed up for the races. So

after the 5k they had a kid’s fun run. This went off around 8:30. Now mind you they didn't have just one large group running. They did it in waves. I think they had around 100 kids doing it. So by 9:30 all is done

and all went well. Again I want to thank the crew who came out at a early hour to help. What I heard they were really glad that we were there. So to all you get a at-a-boy.

73

Barry N2NVP PS Just a note we are a sponsor of the rap river run. We are listed on the banner that was hanging on the stage. So be proud.

Disaster Expo 2018

The Pasco County Division of Emergency Management is hosted the 2018 Disaster

Expo Saturday, June 9, 2018 at the Land O’Lakes Recreation Complex, in Land O’Lakes. The Disaster Expo will provided property and life-saving information in a fun, upbeat environment designed for the whole family.

“Don’t wait until a disaster happens – prepare now,” said Assistant County Administrator for Public Safety Kevin Guthrie. “From having an evacuation plan – to making sure you have the insurance coverage you need, the Disaster Expo is the perfect opportunity to make sure your family is prepared for any type of disaster.” Representatives from various Pasco County departments and agencies, as well as

local businesses will be available at the 2018 Disaster Expo to help you: * Plan for evacuations

* Protect homes and businesses * Prepare go-kits for people and pets

* Register for special needs assistance * Learn how to get involved * Much more!

Call for Articles

We are always looking for articles to publish in the newsletter. Topics should apply to

Amateur Radio, or other closely-related topics. Submissions may be edited for grammar, content, or length; however, that is usually pretty rare. The deadline for submissions is the 25th of each month; however, submissions received after the deadline will be considered. If a late entry doesn't make it in the current month, it may be used in the following month.

Email you article to webmaster@gulfcoastarc.org

Until next month… ( C :

73 de AA4CB