Are you interested in taking a class to help you study for the Technician Class License Exam? Let us know by filing out the form on this page: Technician Class Survey
If there is enough interest, a class may be scheduled. Check this site for updates!
This month’s program meeting (tomorrow night) will be covering the use of LOTW, the incoming and outgoing ARRL QSL card bureau, and eQSL. John has put together the attached handout for further information and links:
During the July Program Meeting, John Frederick (N8GOU) demonstrated the antenna modelling software EZNEC. This is Windows software that can be used to model all kinds of antennas and then plot the calculated SWR and elevation or azimuth gain for any frequency. There is a free demo available on their website: www.eznec.com.
John modeled a dipole for us and showed the effects of changing the height above ground and the wire diameter, which was very interesting.
Another software that is very similar and compatible is 4NEC2, which is free without the limitations of EZNEC. It can be downloaded here: www.qsl.net/4nec2.
The 2015 Field Day event was a great success for the Joplin Amateur Radio Club. We logged around 1060 contacts on SSB, CW, and PSK31, had many visitors including 2 elected officials, and enjoyed delicious food cooked by our club members. The weather was nice for both days and we put up quite a few wire antennas and a few beams for 2m and 6m. We also got to try out our new generator which worked very well and only used about 2 gallons of fuel.
Photos of the event are being consolidated into an album and will be posted here soon.
The web site theme has been updated to help with navigation on small screens, please let K0JAA know if you have any problems with the new layout.
The meeting minutes from the June Business meeting are now available in the members area, along with a new page listing all of the supplies that the club has in stock to sell to its members.
I have also updated the site with posts and photos from the March, April, and May program meetings, which are in the news feed, or linked on the meetings page.
~K0JAA
The technical committee announced today that the new repeater has been installed at it’s permanent location on Mercy Hospital, just south of Joplin. The repeater is on 145.190(-) MHz with a PL of 91.5 Hz.
Field Day is coming up in just a few short weeks!
June 27th and 28th from 1800Z to 1800Z, Joplin ARC will be set up at Dover Hill on North Main Street in Joplin. The club will operate as Class 3A, using emergency power and will have 3 operators on all HF bands and possibly VHF and UHF.
The club will supply 2 tents, restroom facilities, and will have a cook out. One tent will be for operating and one for socializing. Bring your own chair and bug spray!
We plan on logging using N3FJP software, so if you are supplying a laptop, please install that and contact the club to get a key.
Setup will be Friday afternoon so anyone interested, please come out and get involved.
In April, the club performed a Fox Hunt for the program meeting. A Fox (small, low-power transmitter) was hidden in Joplin, and the members used various techniques to find it. In a previous meeting, the club provided materials and instructions for constructing a 2m loop antenna. This particular antenna has sharp nulls which can be used in finding the direction of the transmitter by turning it until the signal disappears.
Various techniques were used and the winner simply drove around with their HT and listened for the signal to get stronger, then walked around the park until they found David Surgi dressed up like a bum, with the transmitter!
In March the club program meeting was BalUn construction. Jim Scott led the meeting and the club provided materials to construct a 1:1 open air balun by wrapping wire around a PVC core and containing the whole thing in a larger PVC piece. This balun should be able to be used for coax connection to a dipole antenna at lower power levels.
I received this email from Dave Boyt, and wanted to pass the info along:
I’ll be teaching a Tech level class at the Newton County EOC (old Armory building 202 W Brook St—2 blocks north of the square) in Neosho this Saturday (March 14th) and next. We’ll meet from 8:30 to about 4:30 each day. Cost is $24 for the book (optional, but recommended), and $15 for the exam (no charge for the class itself). If you know of anyone interested, please let them know. Anyone who wants to just sit in on the class is welcome. Advance registration is not required. Feel free to email or call if you have any questions.73,Dave BoytKDØKHJ