MAY MEETING PRESENTATION:

FCC ULS system

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Our May 19th Meeting featureed an in-person presentation by fellow OVARC member Joe Silvasi-KC2J

 

The FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) - How to exploit it for your club’s benefit!

 

All hams - new and old timers alike - get an opportunity to use the Universal Licensing System or ULS. It's required! If you are a new ham you will need to get an FRN and make application for your initial license grant. If you've had your license for some time and need to renew or change your address, this is the place to take care of all that business. But what most hams don’t know is that like many other "federal databases", the general public has access to most of these data assets. You can download the data directly from the FCC and slice and dice it just about any way your little heart desires.

 

Wanna find out how many extra class licensees are in your zip code? ULS data to the rescue.  Wanna find out how many hams died last year by license class? ULS data to the rescue. Wanna find out how many "technician" class licensees are still on the rolls? Yep - ULS data to the rescue. But wait, it's not all peaches and cream - you still have to figure out how to actually use the data because the answers to these and other questions don’t just jump out at you. This short presentation showed some of the techniques used over the years by some Hams to exploit FREE government data from the FCC, FAA, National Flight Data Center (NFDC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and others.

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APRIL MEETING PRESENTATION:

All About APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System)

 

by Marnee Dearman - KG7SIO

 

Do you know what APRS is and what it can do? 

 

Marnee presented the basics of APRS, its uses, and the equipment required to get started. She discussed the various types of data that can be transmitted via APRS, such as GPS coordinates, weather data, messages, and how this data can be displayed on maps or other visualization tools. The presentation was geared towards beginners, and included examples of how APRS has been used in emergency situations, public events, and other applications. This was a great opportunity for hams to learn more about this powerful technology and how it can enhance their amateur radio experience.

 

About our Speaker...

Marnee Dearman - KG7SIO is a passionate ham radio enthusiast with a particular interest in Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS). She has been involved in the ham radio community since 2015 and has made numerous contributions to the field of APRS, including developing new software and sharing her knowledge through presentations and articles. She is also an active member of her local ham radio club, where she enjoys mentoring new hams and participating in operating events.

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MARCH 2023 MEETING PRESENTATION:

Antennas 101

Presented by Eric Webner K4FAN

 

This presentation was an overview of antennas commonly used in amateur practice across frequency bands from 160 meters to UHF, including ham antennas for portable, base and mobile use. This was geared towards the new ham, but useful to all hams. Primarily, he answered the (BIG) question of, “Now that I’ve got my license and I bought this Super Whiz-Bang radio, how do I get this thing on the air?

 

Well, it depends on a lot of things. Hopefully, you took some of the things he taught and came up with some ideas to set up the best antennae (yes, that’s the plural of ‘antenna’) for your hamshack, whether it is at home, in your car or at a portable location. Since this was very basic, he did not dive into the mathematics, transmission line theory, grounding nor construction techniques (wait for Antennas 102).

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73, Eric Webner K4FAN

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FEBRUARY 27, 2023

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Meeting Topic:

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VarAC - HF and VHF P2P real-time chatting application

DO YOU SEND TEXT MESSAGES WITH YOUR PHONE? . . . HOW ABOUT TEXTING OVER AMATEUR RADIO?  . . .  HAVE YOU TRIED THAT YET?

 

VarAC is a FREE, modern HF and VHF P2P real-time chatting application for the amateur radio operator that leverages the glorious VARA modem. Like phone texts, you can send emoji’s, pictures, images and other message formats. You can also “ping” other stations for signal reports.

 

Join us on February 17, 2023 for an in-person presentation that will describe all that is necessary to use this interesting protocol.

 

Our Presenter:

Our presenter is Walt-AL7KE, a long-time member of OVARC. He has been so helpful to the club and to many members that have reached out for some assistance.

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January 20, 2023

 

Meeting Topic:

 

Radio Amateur's guide to Space Weather
What is space weather? Why do I care? What are Ap, Kp, F10.7, and X1? Answers to these and other questions were addressed by amateur radio operator and space scientist, Rob Steenburgh (ADØIU).

 

Rob's Bio

Rob has been a licensed radio amateur since 1980 (KA8JBY until 2014). He is currently the acting lead of the Space Weather Prediction Center's (SWPCs) Forecast Office and has been associated with the organization since 2007. In addition to SWPC, Rob has worked for the United States Air Force (23 years) and NASA. He was the Radiation Mission Manager for one of the last flights of the space shuttle, STS-130. He enjoys QRP operating, home-brewing, and repairing radios.

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To download a PDF from Rob's presentation, click HERE.

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