January 2022 Virtual Monthly Meeting: Solar Power for HAMs and Understanding NVIS
Solar Power for Hams presented by Tim, AD4CJ
Understanding NVIS from Paul Denisowski, KO4LZ of Rohde & Schwarz
September 2021 Monthly Meeting at the EOC: What is Emergency Management?
During the September 18th WCARES monthly meeting, Todd Horton (Director of the Williamson County EMA) gave a fantastic presentation.
His PowerPoint title slide asked, “What is Emergency Management?”
Todd provided a thorough answer and went well beyond this to include the structure of the Williamson County EMA, their vision, their capabilities, facilities, and much more.
August 2021 Monthly Meeting at the EOC: Mobile HF Contesting
The August 2021 WCARES Monthly Meeting was in-person at the EOC.
Mobile HF Contesting: Jim Hall (AD4EB) shows how much planning, preparation, and dedication is required to participate at a world-class level of performance.
July 2021 – Monthly Meeting at the EOC: RF Safety
Tim Kreth, AD4CJ presented an ARRL video on RF Exposure and how to do the calculations and previewed a new ARRL calculation web page that should make the process easier.
Here are some related links:
ARRL Now Provides Free RF Exposure Calculator
RF Exposure Rules – ARRL video
ARRL RF Exposure information and resources page
June 2021 Monthly Meeting at the EOC: Field Day Plan and Shack Tour #12 – WCARES EOC
The June 2021 WCARES Monthly Meeting was in-person at the EOC.
Cliff Batson (N4CCB) gave a presentation on the final plan for the WCARES Field Day 2021 event:
and Jack Cox (KA4OTB) gave a tour of the Auxiliary Communications room inside the Williamson County Public Safety Center:
May 2021 Virtual Monthly Meeting: Field Day, WSPR antenna experiments, Shack Tour!
Field Day initial discussion
With six weeks until Field Day 2021, it’s too soon to have a comprehensive presentation… but it’s not too early to begin making Field Day plans. This video gives viewers an overview of Field Day and presents a list of things to consider when planning their Field Day event. A more thorough presentation will be made during the June 2021 WCARES monthly meeting.
WSPR Experiment
In this video, Rob, KN4RHI experiments with WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter) with his HCLW-20* antenna.
*Highly Compromised Long Wire antenna is Rob’s tongue-in-cheek designation of this makeshift antenna located only 10′ off the ground.
Virtual Shack Tour
Paul, KM4PT takes us on a virtual tour of his ham shack and also shares his love of portable ops.
April 2021 Virtual Monthly Meeting: Puerto Rico deployment for Hurricane Maria, Identifying Severe Weather Features, Shack Tour!
Presentations & Shack Tour!
ARES & Public Service: Father Raphael Ortiz (W4RAO), Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator for Eastern Tennessee, talked about the ARES response to the Puerto Rico deployment for Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Tech Topic: Krissy Hurley (Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS) gave a presentation on Identifying Severe Weather Features.
Virtual Shack Tour: Dave Matthews (KI4PSR)
March 2021 Virtual Monthly Meeting: Grounding/Bonding, ARES Public Service, Shack Tour!
Presentations & Shack Tour!
N0AX – Grounding and Bonding
Ward Silver (N0AX)
(Note that this is a link to his presentation on another channel… not the WCARES Media YouTube channel)
ARES and Public Service: Boston Marathon
Jeff Schwartz (KC1DWP)
Virtual Ham Shack Tour
Tim Kreth (AD4CJ)
(Updated) Feb. 2021 Virtual Monthly Meeting: Powerpoles, DMR and Shack Tour!
This month RJ, KC4LRR has a presentation on Anderson Powerpoles, Andrew, AK4FA gives a Technical Presentation on DMR and Scott, KD4VVC takes us on a tour of his radio shack including a look at the tower, antenna switching, lightning protection and grounding!
Update: PDFs of RJ KC4LRR’s Powerpoles and Andrew, AK4FA’s DMR presentations have been added under:
Library & Special Interests --> Presentations
Videos
Anderson Powerpoles: RJ (KC4LRR)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbhEZSsD568
Digital Mobile Radio (DMR): Andrew Gossett (AK4FA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zgms8Ko-pg
Virtual Shack Tour: Scott Gray (KD4VVC)
Jan 2021 Virtual Monthly Meeting: Hospital Net, Winter Field Day and Vacation Shack Tour!
Our EC, Ed WB4RHQ dropped in briefly before travelling to the all-day ARRL Board Meeting – virtually on the other computer.
Presentations & Shack Tour!
Today Trey, KI4ZIN gave a presentation on the Hospital Net, discussing the organizations and people involved along with how and when the net is conducted. The net takes place primarily on the MTEARS UHF linked repeater system and provides backup communications options for facilities and primary communications in the event of an emergency. Trey also mentioned they are always looking for new volunteers to help out. Get in touch with Trey or use the Contact form on the website if you are interested in getting involved.
Cliff, N4CCB ran through a more detailed overview of Winter Field Day this year – expect to hear more from Cliff in future WCARES Notes e-mails and keep an eye on the Event Calender:
https://wcares.org/events/event/winter-field-day-2021/
Garry, W9WHF gave us a Virtual Shack Tour of his vacation setup and discussed the antennas, the radio gear and the challenge of salt coating pretty much everything. As this is a temporary spot he needed to be sure to leave it better than he found it which required some creative solutions, particularly with 4 radios and 4 antennas! The discussion about low power supply voltage at the radio due to corrosion will be of interest to anyone, even without the salt air.
Hospital Net – Trey Spain, KI4ZIN
Winter Field Day 2021 – Cliff Batson, N4CCB
Virtual Ham Shack Tour # 7 – Garry Decker, W9WHF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK1MFQR81mI
These and other presentations will now always be listed under the new:
Library & Special Interests --> Presentations
section of the website.