Longmont Amateur Radio Club-LARC

Serving the Longmont Colorado Community!

“The mission of the Longmont Amateur Radio Club is to promote, support, and lead amateur radio activities in a manner that honors and exemplifies the radio amateur’s code, builds camaraderie within our membership, and serves our community’s needs.”

Club Events

BARCFest Ham Fest – Sunday, October 2

BARCfest is happening this Sunday, October 2 – doors open at 8am!

Jim Andrews, KH6HTV, will be providing free radio testing (see supplement doc below).

Mona’s Hot Dogs will be there with a food truck offering breakfast sandwiches, pastries, lunch items and beverages (yes, including coffee, lots of coffee!)

We have MB Engraving again so you can purchase a new nametag in case you need one.

The door prizes are a bit different this year – we have premium prizes on the hour and standard prizes every 15 minutes (15,30 and 45 past the hour).  Premium prizes are valued at $115 to $370.(grand prize), while standard prizes are $20 to $80 values.  We have had donations of prizes from Arrow Antennas, Bioenno Power, Heil Sound, The Wireman, and Denver HRO managers Mike (KB6VHF) & Laura Spraker, Gerry Leary, Mike Derr, Debbie & Pete Goldman and of course BARC.  All prizes will be listed on the sign by the announcer table.  Since they are gift bags (yes, you get swag along with all the prize drawings) there are too many details to provide here.  However, the grand prize is: 

GRAND PRIZE –  A Gift tote with a $370+ value !!!  The prize includes an ARROW II Model 146/437-10WBP Hand-held PORTABLE Satellite Antenna ($170 value) AND a YAESU FTM-3100R/E VHF Transceiver ($150 value) AND a Wireman $50 gift certificate.  Plus ham SWAG in a Heil Sound Tote Bag.

So sign up today and we’ll see you there!

-Debbie 

wb2dvt

2022 ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Oct 7-9

The 2022 ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention will be held on October 7th through 9th in Cheyenne Wyoming.  Jointly hosted by the Shy-Wy and Sweetwater County Amateur Radio Clubs in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Rick Roderick, ARRL President is the featured speaker this year.  The main convention day will be Saturday, October 8th with vendors, a swap meet, forums, activities, a VE test session, banquet and special event station W7Y.  For more information, see their web site: https://wyhamcon.org/site/

Click on the “PROGRAM” menu item at the top of the page for an event schedule – they’re got a lot of interesting presenters this year (including our own Club president, Chuck Poch, K0ITP)!

Next Fox Hunt Sept 10 at 9:30AM

Come Out & Join Fox Hunt Saturday Sept 10 at 9:30AM

We haven’t had a Fox Hunt in several months. So, get your gear ready and plan your strategy to win this Fox Hunt on Sept 10!

In a fox hunt we search for a hidden transmitter using 2 meter hand held radios and directional antennas (typically a small yagi). The transmitter is typically hidden in a park, typically on the west side of Longmont.

It sounds simple, but use the next couple weeks to build or check your antenna and refine your strategy. Its more fun if you team up with another operator, or better yet, a friend interested in learning about ham radio.

The hunt usually breaks into 2 parts. Part 1 is getting close. Part 2 is the last 100 yards.

In part 1, you typically drive in the direction indicated by the strongest signal when you turn your yagi antenna. But, be aware that most small yagis have poor front to back ratio – so you may be mislead 180 degrees in the wrong direction. Front to side ratio is better, so you are less likely to be sent 90 degrees in the wrong direction.  If you work with a 2nd team  that starts at the opposite end of the search area, you can triangulate and get close, quicker.

Toward the end or part 1, the signal is so strong that you can drive in any direction and still have a very strong signal. That is the time to switch to a very poor antenna (or no antenna) and drive in different directions, noting what direction gets the strongest signal.

You would think Part 2 would be quick and fast. But, it can be slow and frustrating. Even with no antenna, the signal is so strong that you can’t sense a direction to walk. I thought an attenuator would solve this. But, unless you have a very well shielded attenuator, it acts like an antenna and makes the problem worse. The best strategy I know is to shift the frequency on your radio up or down 5 or 10 KHz. By doing that, you will get a much weaker signal and have a better chance of walking in the right direction.

Another close-in technique is to use a harmonic of the fox’s frequency.  Say the fox is at 146.400 MHz. The third harmonic is 146.400 MHz * 3 = 439.2 MHz, which is in the amateur 70 cm band. If your HT is capable of receiving that band, then setting your VFO to 439.2 MHz should give you an attenuated signal.

You might choose to join the 8AM breakfast at the Hidden Café and then move directly to the hunt.

Hope to see you Sept 10!

Ed

WA7EM

Fox Hunt antenna

Denver Radio Club’s Hamfest

The Longmont Amateur Radio club had some tables at the Denver Radio Club’s Hamfest where we sold off some equipment for a family of a recent Silent Key.

Here’s the video on YouTube:

The ham fest was held indoors in the air conditioning at the Adams County Fairgrounds while it was over 90 degrees. There were many good vendors selling great equipment. LARC was able to sell quite a bit of equipment to hams new and old.

It was a fun crowd and friends new and old gathered for fellowship amongst the friendliest bunch of hams around.

73,

Raman, KV0N

Big Brother/Big Sister Club Repeater Work

One of the great things that we do at LARC is to help other amateur radio clubs. Through our relationship with them, I helped the Indian Peaks Radio Club, one of our Big Brother/Big Sister clubs with some repeater work.

They are going to move their repeater up to higher elevations for greater and more focused coverage in the canyons west of Boulder.

Here’s a video of the event:

If you’re interested in seeing what their club is about, contact me or our club President – Chuck.

73,

KV0N

Club Inverted V Antenna Seminar – Wed, July 27th 7:30am

On 27 July 2022 at 07:30am Don Lewis (KE0EE) and Gary Hampton (AD0WU) will be testing, tuning and documenting the Club’s Orthogonal Inverted “V” antenna.

This has been useful as part of the last two Field Days… but, it needs better documentation, a little “tweeking” and a few more experienced erectors. So, we will have a working seminar on the Sunset Middle School’s track/football field this coming Wed. morning… hopefully, in the cool-of-the-day.

The school is located on the East side of Sunset, South of CO119 (1300 S, Sunset Street) between Kansas Ave. and Left Hand Drive. There is parking behind the school.

Anyone with an interest and a morning is welcome.
I’ll bet we go to lunch after.

AD0WU

Build or Repair Your own Cables LARC Activity – Sat. July 23rd from 9:30am to 12:30 pm 

Location:  950 South Sherman St in Longmont, in the rear of the building with parking lot entrance off Iowa Ave.
Time:  Sat July 23rd from 9:30am to 12:30 pm
Beginner and Expert DIY cable builders — Please join your fellow Ham operators for a hands-on session of building or repairing any power and communications cables you desire for your station, mobile, or Go Box.    If you’ve ever wanted to learn how or experiment with building your own cables, this is your chance to have special tools and experienced mentors to assist!
We will provide a few soldering stations, wide variety of power and communications wire, the club’s specialized cable crimpers & terminations for Anderson Power Pole connectors, various coax terminals, RJ-45 (8P8C) plugs/sockets, DB-9 M/F connectors, heat shrink wrap, fuse holders, ring and spade terminals, wire cutters/strippers, a label printer, free advice on cable design, and lots more.  Experienced builders are encouraged to bring their own collection of spare cabling parts, tools, and wire to share and trade with their neighbors.
For more information or to inquire about special parts needs or ideas contact Will at KF0FEC+byoc@outlook.com

Pile-Of-Cables.jpg

LARC PVET Exam Session Sunday 7/17

LARC is sponsoring a FREE Patriot VE Exam Session this coming Sunday, July 17th, at 9:00 am.

If you would like to join us, please pre-register at:

www.hamstudy.org/sessions/w0pct

This session is being held at the Professional Building in Longmont, at 350 Terry Street, 80501, UPSTAIRS in the Onyx Room. You may take this exam on your tablet or your laptop, in-person with us.

Ned Gravel Race Ham Radio Support Video

Our big brother/big sister club, the Indian Peaks Radio Club, put a call out for help for amateur radio support for the Ned Gravel Race. As usual, it was a great time and I’m thankful they let me help. I made a short video which is on YouTube at:

LARC ARRL Field Day Video

While everyone else was playing radio, I was walking around with my GoPro recording the sights and sounds of a wonderful 2 days of ham radio. Here is the video from YouTube.