Monthly Meeting – September 27

Posted on By Michael M
Announcements, Meetings
Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.

We will be getting a first look at our spark gap transmitter project that Dave and Jim have been working diligently on. Dave’s talent and passion is far reaching. Combine that with Jim’s experience serving with the elite Seabees, and these two guys can build anything!

The spark gap transmitter will be available for the Science Center’s Titanic display and other projects we have in the hopper, including with Palm Beach County schools. 

Last Friday, at our Youth Outreach meeting, we got a look at a PowerPoint presentation of the curriculum created by Cindy and Randy that we will be using in Palm Beach County schools, and it is fantastic! We will be talking more about that. 

As the Jamboree On The Air Camporee 2023 approaches, we will be providing a quick review of those dates and activities for next month. 

We have been so busy with these upcoming projects that we didn’t have time for presentations at our meetings. We are getting back to our presentations, which this month will be hosted by Marcos. Marcos has put together a presentation on Winlink Global Radio Email, and personally, I’m really looking forward to that!

We welcome everyone to our meetings and activities, members and non-members, whether licensed or not!

Location:
Cox Science Center and Aquarium
4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach, FL 33405
https://www.coxsciencecenter.org

Bob Hagans Service & Military Honors 09/28/22

Posted on By Michael M
Announcements

Robert Lee Hagans
November 16, 1927 — August 20, 2023
Lake Worth, Florida

Robert Lee (Bob) Hagans was born November 16, 1927, in Bonifay, Florida. Both of Bob’s parents died when Bob was very young. He was raised by his paternal grand parents J.V and Mattie Ross of Bonifay. In December of 1947 Bob enlisted in the US Air Force and achieved the rank of S/Sgt. before being honorably discharged in May 1956. After the AirForce, Bob served for 37 years with Defense Logistics Agency, a Federal Defense Contracting agency. Bob was a true patriot and was honored to be invited on the Honor Flight in 2022. He was also a member of the local amateur radio club.

Bob is survived by his daughter Linda of Jacksonville, FL and cousins Donald Ross, Ross McSwain and Sarah McSwain of Tallahassee, Florida, Victor Stokes of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida and Ray Stokes of Girley, Alabama.

Bob was fortunate to have an adopted family in the Lake Worth area including the love of his life and companion, Marilyn I. Fuschetti; daughters, Marilyn A. (Bud) Evans and Carolyn Stevens; granddaughters, Marilyn D. (Jeff) Cousins and Robertta L. (DJ) Manger; great grandchildren, Alexander A. Pimentel, Cadden J. Cousins, Cambelle M. Cousins, Blake Manger and Kendall Manger. His adopted family loved and cared for him for many years and especially during his final days. From the surviving blood relatives, we extend our eternal gratitude to them.

The family will receive friends from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Thursday, September 28, 2023 at Tillman Funeral Home & Crematory, West Palm Beach. The US Air Force will render Military Honors at 11:00 AM at the funeral home on Thursday.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Robert Lee Hagans, please visit our flower store.

https://www.tillmanfuneralhome.com/obituaries/robert-hagans

https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=297

Swains Island W8S DXpedition

Posted on By Michael M
Events, News

It takes several years to plan an expedition like this, and this one was originally scheduled in 2020, but postponed because of COVID.

The site states operations will be from October 4, 2023 until October 17, 2023, with 10 operators. The island is privately owned by the Jennings family who is assisting with the logistics. 

Of the 340 DXCC locations, Swains Island ranks 27 as the most wanted. The last time this island was activated was in 2002, 21 years ago. 

If you’re looking for this DXCC, start getting ready!

For more information – https://swains2020.lldxt.eu/

Additional discussion may be found here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=323

Silent Key – Bob Hagans W4SOG

Posted on By Michael M
Announcements

It is with a solemn heart that I announce the passing of one of our own. Yesterday, Bob Hagans W4SOG passed away peacefully in Hospice. 

Today, I spoke with his granddaughter and she shared some wonderful stories with me that I will share with all of you at our meeting this Wednesday, where we will also honor Bob for his service to this country and our community. 

Last year, Bob was an Honor Flight recipient, an award given to distinguish members of our community who served our country in the armed forces. 

Bob’s inurnment will be in Bonifay Florida, but a service will be held here locally. When that is known, we will announce it here.

We will open a topic for discussion and future information here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=862

Monthly Meeting – August 23

Posted on By Michael M
Announcements, Meetings
Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.

We will be accepting orders for the WPBARG shirts, covering our two upcoming projects for October, and more! Lots of exciting stuff on the horizon!

We welcome all to our meetings and activities, whether licensed or not!

Location:
Cox Science Center and Aquarium
4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach, FL 33405
https://www.coxsciencecenter.org

Hawaii Fires and HF Frequencies

Posted on By Michael M
News

As the news of fires in Hawaii continues to develop and the death toll is approaching one hundred, with property damage currently over five billion, the people in Hawaii are in our thoughts and prayers. Below are some frequencies you can monitor (see note below).

7.088 SSB – Nets
3.880 SSB
7.080 SSB
7.095 SSB

More information on the Nets are here – https://www.konaweb.com/net/

Note: FCC rules permit SSB operation below 7100 (7.075 – 7.100) outside of the continental US (ITU 1,3 and FCC Region 2 West of 130° West or below 20° North).* Here, we are permitted a portion of frequencies (7.025 – 7.125) for CW, but please leave them open and do not transmit on them for now. 

*See Sections 97.305(c), 97.307(f)(11) and 97.301(e).

For folks considering financial donations, I would encourage you to vet the organization before donating. My go-to organization for many years continues to be Direct Relief. If you’ve not heard of Direct Relief, that’s likely because none of their donations are spent on fundraising. – https://www.directrelief.org/

We have created a topic in our Forum for further discussion here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=822

We Will Be Testing Saturday August 5th

Posted on By Michael M
Announcements, Testing

Now is the opportunity to sit for your technician or upgrade your current license.

We are accredited to administer all elements of the FCC Amateur Radio exams, and we do so every OTHER month, on the first Saturday of the month, at the Cox Science Center in West Palm Beach.

Testing begins at 10:00 a.m. When you get to the front door let them know you are here for the amateur radio exam and they will get you to our room. Below is an ARRL link on what to bring Saturday.

What to Bring – Click here

Any questions, register and post on our forms here – Click here

Contact us here – Click here

Cox Science Center
4801 Dreher Trail N, West Palm Beach, FL 33405

Monthly Meeting – July 26

Posted on By Michael M
Announcements, Meetings
Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

We will be having our monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. We will have a more detailed recap of this past Field Day with a forward look at next year. We have several other activities in the hopper that we will be discussing. Exciting stuff is on the horizon!

We welcome all to our meetings and activities, whether licensed or not!

Location:
Cox Science Center and Aquarium
4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach, FL 33405
https://www.coxsciencecenter.org