Category Archives: Meeting

April 2016 Program Meeting – APRS

I presented information to the club last night on APRS – Automatic Packet Reporting System, and demonstrated some hardware and software to the club. The presentation is available here in a few formats, for compatibility:

Feel free to use or edit these, and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks everyone who came and for all the great questions, I had fun presenting and I’m glad to see such interest in this aspect of amateur radio – hope to see more packets on the air in our area!

July Program Meeting

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.

June Program Meeting

This is a reminder that there is no program meeting this month – the June 23rd meeting is cancelled since Field Day is the same week. Hope to see you all at Field Day!

May 2015 Program Meeting / Field Day

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.

April 2015 Program Meeting

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!

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March 2015 Program Meeting

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.

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February 2015 Program Meeting

ares-sJasper Co ARES leadership made a presentation to the club at the Program Meeting on Feb 24th, covering the basics of ARES, such as the organizational structure, what they do, how to get involved, and the SMLRS repeater network.

The presentation that was given can be viewed online here: ARRL – ARES Presentation.

An announcement was also made that the final day to order vests is March 4. If you want the name and call sign embroidered, it is $32.00. Not embroidered $29.00. Vests only $17.00. Please get your money to Tom Zeller by the meeting on Tuesday, March 3 if you would like to order a vest.

Thanks to Andy, KAØTUD, and the rest of the ARES leadership on a very informative presentation!

January 2015 Program Meeting

On Jan 20th, the program meeting was held for “Ham Shack Show & Tell.”  Club members sent in photographs and descriptions of their shacks, then we took turns describing our setup and what activities we liked to participate in.

It was great to learn how many different things our club members are involved in, such as contesting, PSK31, DX, QRP, and local repeaters, and the variety of equipment.  It was also noted that everyone who shared used a wire antenna of some kind – no beams!  I’m sure new hams were interested in seeing what can be done with varying levels of expenditure as well.

As a result of this meeting, an idea for a future “List of Elmers” was conceived and may be available in the Members Area of the website soon.  Thank you to all who participated, it was a fun evening of sharing!