Welcome to the Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club.
ARRL Field Day
Saturday, June 24 – Sunday, June 25, 2023
Come One – Come All
We’re having a party! And calling it ARRL Field Day (FD) 2023!
Come on out for a weekend of fun and frolics. Operate a little radio. Enjoy some fellowship. Have some good EATS! Starting Saturday morning any time after 8AM EDT at Shelter #2 in Chester Frost Park with a bit of exercise (otherwise called putting up antennas and running some coax) and any general site prep we may need to do. Then we break for a short training session on Field Day operations and relax with some BYO lunch.
At 2PM EDT, FD officially starts, and we’re off and running. We plan on setting up a couple of “Quick Field Antennas” for demo purposes, and maybe we’ll see how they play on the air. We might have a solar station too for some bonus points (think of it as extra chocolate sauce on your ice cream!) just to show how it can be done with not too much effort.
Dinner provided by CARC sometime around 5PM, menu is still pending as we need someone to step up as “Chef”.
We will play radio all night, propagation of the bands permitting, and through Sunday morning. A bit of breakfast Sunday and then a “Winding Down” lunch around Noon, again provide by the Club.
CLICK HERE to sign up for ARRL Field Day 2023. Even if you have already made me aware of your desire to participate, please fill in the form so we’ll have a complete list with all your information.
By 4 PM Sunday we should be all cleaned up, wiped down and on the road home.
Please come on out for a bit of outdoor fun! If you have questions, please email me at macthomas@w4am.net.
Thank you.
Barclay (Mac) Thomas, WT4BT
Manager, CARC-ARRL Field Day 2023
Please Note The Following:
Construction at the site of the CARC Lookout Mountain Repeaters has, as of this morning, 2023-05-10, required the temporary shutdown of the following repeaters:
- 145.390 CARC Repeater
- 444.100 CARC Repeater
The 146.610 Repeater remains operational on Signal Mountain. Please note that the 146.610 repeater requires a 107.2 tone on both transmit and receive.
We regret this inconvenience, but this is a circumstance of which we have no control. We have received approval to return these two repeaters to service upon the completion of construction in 90–120 days.
Thank you for your understanding.
Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club
Next Monthly Club Meeting
Thursday, July 6, 2023
5:45 PM EDT FCC Test Session
7:00 PM EDT Club Meeting
Enhanced Skywarn is Here!
Join us as Amateur and GMRS Radio Operators join forces to provide more eyes & ears for severe weather reporting. CLICK HERE for more details.
Have an interest in the weather and public service? Click Here to join our Skywarn Mailing List.
F5Weather Software.
For those of you that are seriously into weather, you might be interested in the latest version of F5Wather Software. It’s incredibly power software that you install on your own computer.
Join Us in Welcoming Our Newest Members:
- Gary Beckstedt, Sr.*
- Scott Bailey*
- Corey & Jennifer Unser
- David Soyak*
- Justin Byerly*
- Ronnie Craig
- Chris Lucas
*Dual License Holders (Ham & GMRS)
Soldering
While soldering methods may have changed over the years, the basics of soldering remain the same. Hams can still learn a “thing or two” about soldering from this 1944 training video.
You Can Be a Helping Ham
Not only are Amateur Radio Operators known for helping each other (Elmering), we help our communities with Public Service even when disasters have not occurred. This great video provides insight as to why we do what we do for the good of our nation, our communities, and our neighbors. This video references a popular event in the Upper Penisula of Michigan.
Hamfest Chattanooga 2023 is On!
Hamfest Chattanooga 2023
East Ridge Community Center
1515 Tombras Ave
East Ridge, TN 37412
- Thursday, October 19, 2023 – Setup Day; Setup Starts at 2pm ET and Concludes by 9pm ET.
- Friday, October 20, 2023 – Event Setup Continues Until Noon; Show Hours 1pm – 7pm ET.
- Saturday, October 21, 2023 – Show Continues; Doors Open at 8am ET; Show Closes at 3pm ET.
All hours shown are tentative for now.
Membership Renewal Are Underway.
Don’t forget to tell us if anything about you has changed such as your callsign, mailing or email address, phone numbers, etc. Membership fees may be paid by cash or check only. Bring a check to a monthly club meeting and give it to our Treasurer or mail to:
Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club
Attn: Earl Griffith, Treasurer
5251-C Highway 153, #127
Hixson, TN 37343
You may wish to use the membership form if much of your information has changed. The membership form and additional information about being a member is AVAILABLE HERE.
If you and question, please contact Earl at treasurer@w4am.net.
New Meeting Venue:
Hixson United Methodist Church
5301 Old Hixson Pike
Hixson, TN 37343
Beginning in May 2022, our meetings will be at Hixson United Methodist Church. It’s a great venue in a welcoming environment. Come join us for our first meeting in our new venue.
The Lone Ranger Wellness Net
The net was created as a daily check-in for members of the amateur radio community, no matter their QTH, who wish to have someone check in on them to make sure they’re OK. So, if you live alone, you are disabled, if you need some help with a chore, or you’re just wanting someone to check in on you, then this net is here for you.
Join us nightly on the Chattanooga TN repeater 146.790 or on Echolink Node 79190.
To learn more, visit their website.
Club members David Dickey, KN4TEM, and Dale Wykoff, N5EIA, gave an excellent presentation on digital modes at our August club meeting.
It was a perfect blend of a digital overview, comparisons between modes, and probably best of all, a successful, working, homebuilt & home-designed Winlink interface between a computer and a Baofeng HT radio.
After the main presentation, David & Dale demonstrated the working Winlink client station by connecting to a Winlink gateway about 12 miles away.
Their presentation is available for viewing here. We hope you enjoy their great presentation.
FCC RF Exposure Guidelines - How To Calculate
After last month’s presentation on the FCC’s RF Exposure Guidelines, Mac Thomas, WT4BT, compiled the following information to assist you in calculating RF exposure for your own station(s).
