Category: TARC News

ARRL Field Day 2024

ARRL Field Day will be June 22-23 2024. The Tyler Amateur Radio Club will host field day this year at CAMP TYLER.

Setup will begin 4pm Friday, June 21st.

Operations to begin 1PM Saturday.

Meals

The club will be providing food to all members and their guests for the following meals

Saturday Lunch (Noonish) – Burgers, Dogs and Fixins

Saturday Dinner (6:00pm) – BBQ Sandwiches (Pulled Pork and Beef), Coleslaw and Potato Salad.

Saturday Latenight (11pm) – Whataburger or Pizza

Sunday Breakfast (8am ish) – Breakfast Tacos and Donuts

If you plan on eating with us, let us know by filling out the survey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y3YRBZC

Talkin

Talkin will be on the TARC repeater system. An onsite repeater on 441.350/446.350 (136.5pl) will be available with a link to the TARC system.

Live Stats

Learn more about ARRL Field Day at: Field Day (arrl.org)

ARRL Field Day Objective:

To contact as many stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-,15- and 10-Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions.

Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, but are not eligible to submit entries.

Each claimed contact must include contemporaneous direct initiation by the operator on both sides of the contact. Initiation of a contact may be either locally or by remote.

Dates:

Field Day is always the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and running through 2059 UTC Sunday.

SKYWARN net protocol education:

We have had a few Skywarn nets lately, and it looks like a few more to come possibly throughout the week. Here are a few friendly reminders of the net protocols…

We no longer ask for check-ins as this ties up the repeater for those who might need to report or have emergency traffic. There may, however, be times when net control specifically asks for operators in certain areas.

Skywarn net control only needs radio traffic that meets reportable criteria. Please remember that the net operator only wants visual reports. Police/Fire/EMS/News media reports to NWS Shreveport through their channels. Any other radio traffic could potentially prevent another operator from priority use.

Reportable criteria include:
Tornado or funnel cloud, any visual rotation
Hail of any size
Wind gusts greater than 38 mph
Severe wind damage
Flooding or rising water
Measurable snowfall
Impacts of frozen precipitation

NOT reportable:
Power outages, unless it affects a priority facility like a hospital, etc. (priority facilities usually have a backup generator)
Rain, unless flash flooding occurs
Reports from the news, weather person, and other media
Wind less than 38 mph
Reports from NWS, net control already has access to this.

When you report, slowly and clearly report WHAT-WHEN-and WHERE using the location of the nearest major road intersection

For wind speed estimation, winds greater than 38 mph can break off small branches
Trees may start breaking around 55 mph and higher.

If you are able to measure hail in inches, please do so. If unable to measure, please correspond accordingly to money, inches, or sporting balls. Please do not estimate using fruits or vegetables. I promise my tomatoes are bigger than yours.

Please help us keep the nets efficient and controlled as life-threatening weather can happen in seconds. Your local Skywarn team and NWS appreciates all operators who take part and assist with reportable criteria as the NWS radars sometimes do not see all on or around Smith County at lower altitudes. Skywarn nets and participation are very important to the NWS team and emergency response affiliates.

Roman Parish (W5RCP),

Club Members,

I hope this email finds you well. I’m writing to remind you about the upcoming National Weather Service (NWS) Shreveport Skywarn training session, which will be held on March 21st, starting at 6:30pm. The session will take place at the Shiloh Road Church of Christ, coinciding with our normal club meeting hour.

This Skywarn training session is an excellent opportunity to deepen your understanding of weather patterns and improve your ability to recognize and report severe weather occurrences. Whether you’re a seasoned weather enthusiast or just starting to delve into the subject, this session promises valuable insights and information.

It’s worth noting that this meeting is open to the public, so feel free to invite friends, family, or anyone else who might be interested. Additionally, if you’d like to access additional information and training materials ahead of the session, you can visit the NWS Shreveport website at the following link: https://www.weather.gov/shv/skywarn

Your participation in this training not only enhances your own knowledge but also contributes to the broader community’s safety and preparedness in the face of severe weather events.

Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to seeing you all at the training session.

Best regards,

Roman (W5RCP)

WINTER FIELD DAY 2024

** SEE ATTACHMENT FOR DETAILS **

Howdy TARC Members and Non-Members,

Winter Field Day 2024 is right around the corner! Make sure to mark your calendars and come out and participate!

Come out and join the experience, play on the radio, and spend some time with some great people full of amateur radio knowledge!

YOU DO NOT have to be a licensed amateur radio operator to participate. We will have members standing by at a stations to assist anyone wanting to experience time on an amateur radio station.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Thank You, Roman (W5RCP)

TARC President

(903) 521-3437

Connect with other club members via discord. To join the server go to

https://discord.gg/T6s4xKxG6V