Tag: Amateur radio

Saturday in The Park & Picnic – October 25

Posted on By Michael M
Activities

We’re back! As the dog days of summer are behind us, the cooler weather approaches and we will be kickoffing our Saturday in the Park season by hosting a picnic with it.

Do you have portable gear? Bring it! It’s a picnic and a Run What You Brung, Saturday in the Park!

In addition to the picnic, we’re going to have some portable fun. Don’t have any portable gear? No problem… we share! Come on out, have some fun, and maybe get some ideas if you’re thinking of building your own go box, or share your ideas with others who may be considering building theirs.

This is where we get together for laughs and fun, while we play radio. Come join us!

Set-up starts at 10:00 a.m. and usually wraps up by 2:00. Some folks like to get there a little earlier.

Directions can be found here – Saturday in The Park & Directions – WPBARG Forums

As always, everyone is invited… members, non-members, participants and observers, come one, come all!

Stay up to date with what we’re doing, local community events, and amateur radio related news and events in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

Monthly Meeting – October 22

Posted on By Michael M
Uncategorized

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

We will be kicking off this season’s Saturday in the Park series on Saturday, October 25th. As we always do, we kick it off with the picnic. Look for a post in the next day or so for the details.

To prepare for this, at the meeting we’re doing a go-box show and tell. This is where folks have the opportunity to share their ideas with others, and for others to get ideas of how they might want to build their own go box and/or put together a portable gear kit. The ideas and designs are as varied as the people creating them. During the demonstration of your setup, if you have some related gear you’d like to sell, you are free to offer that and make the sales afterward. It’s always exciting to see all the different ways people put together their gear, and many times the simplest solutions are the best!

Note: We are also going to do something that we haven’t done before, but it is especially important when we’re engaged in outdoor activities, and that’s a first aid kit. So we’re going to have a short presentation on that, and if I can rustle up an expert or two, they will assist. In the future, if people are interested, we can do a more detailed presentation on this.

As always, we welcome everyone to our meetings and activities, members and non-members, whether licensed or not! If you’re a new ham or thinking about getting your license, come on out and meet us! We can help you in all aspects of getting your license and getting started in amateur radio.

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

For the remainder of the year we will be holding our meetings at the STEM Center. That building is on the North East corner of the general parking area. If you’re standing at the Cox Science Center looking out into the parking lot, it is straight ahead to your right. The stem center now has its own parking right in front of the building. 

Stay up to date with what we’re doing, local community events, and amateur radio related news and events in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

We Will Be Testing Saturday, October 4

Posted on By Michael M
Testing

Now is the opportunity to sit for your technician or upgrade your current license. We are excited to announce there is no longer a cost to to sit for the exam. We will be absorbing all costs incurred in administering the FCC Radio Exams.

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. Below are links on what to bring Saturday with an FAQ.

Candidates must have an FRN number before sitting for the exam. See here – https://larc-vec.org/frn.php

More information on the exam is here – https://larc-vec.org/faq.php

Walk-ins are welcome. Any questions, register and post on our forms here – Click here

Contact us directly here – Click here

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

We will be testing at the STEM Center, which is across from the Science Center’s main entrance. The STEM Center now has its own parking lot right in front of the building.

Note: Due to the government shutdown, the FCC has stopped processing  license applications. Our testing will continue, and we encourage candidates not to wait as the FCC will be processing applications on a first come first serve. The sooner you are in the queue the sooner you will be processed. We are testing this Saturday on schedule.

Monthly Meeting – September 24

Posted on By Michael M
Meetings

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

As the weather will soon begin cooling off and we look towards doing more outdoor activities, including ham radio, we will be turning our attention to portable operations. That also includes next month’s annual start of Saturday in the Park, which we will be kicking off with a BBQ. Look for more information coming soon on that. That brings us to this week’s presentation.

This week’s presentation will be on the Delta Loop, what it is, how it works, and how to build and deploy it. The subject matter will focus its application in portable operations. Randy, who is an accomplished orator and educator, will also show us how he uses it in portable operations, including last month’s annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW). If portable operations interest you – whether it’s POTA, contesting, or just getting outdoors and operating – and you’re looking for an antenna project, this presentation is especially for you! And of course, expect the usual fare of fun, friendship, and camaraderie.

As always, we welcome everyone to our meetings and activities, members and non-members, whether licensed or not! If you’re a new ham or thinking about getting your license, come on out and meet us! We can help you in all aspects of getting your license and getting started in amateur radio.

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

For the remainder of the year we will be holding our meetings at the STEM Center. That building is on the North East corner of the general parking area. If you’re standing at the Cox Science Center looking out into the parking lot, it is straight ahead to your right. The stem center now has its own parking right in front of the building. 

Stay up to date with what we’re doing, local community events, and amateur radio related news and events in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

Monthly Meeting – August 27

Posted on By Michael M
Meetings

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

This is going to be another exciting meeting! We’re going to have a very interesting and enlightening presentation on the NanoVNA. If you have been thinking about getting one, or you already have one and you’d like to get more use out of it, this is the presentation for you! As a bonus, bring your aftermarket HT antennas. It will be one of the things you will learn how to test using the NanoVNA, and if you don’t have a NanoVNA, we can test yours for you. Chances are, you’re going to be very surprised at the results! And of course, expect the usual fare of fun, friendship, and camaraderie… along with no shortage of goodies from our very own Tabletop Titan, the Snack Sorcerer, Jo!

As always, we welcome everyone to our meetings and activities, members and non-members, whether licensed or not! If you’re a new ham or thinking about getting your license, come on out and meet us! We can help you in all aspects of getting your license and getting started in amateur radio.

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

For the remainder of the year we will be holding our meetings at the STEM Center. That building is on the North East corner of the general parking area. If you’re standing at the Cox Science Center looking out into the parking lot, it is straight ahead to your right. The stem center now has its own parking right in front of the building. 

Stay up to date with what we’re doing, local community events, and amateur radio related news and events in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

Monthly Meeting – June 25

Posted on By Michael M
Meetings

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

Marcos will be doing a presentation on logging for Field Day. We use N3FJP, so it will be focused, but not exclusive, on that. If you’re planning on operating at Field Day, this will be very useful. N3FJP is one of the two of the most popular Field Day logging applications. We will also be reviewing our Field Day event, which begins that weekend on the 28th. Even if you’re unable to attend our Field Day event, there will be a lot of useful information.

As always, we welcome everyone to our meetings and activities, members and non-members, whether licensed or not! If you’re a new ham or thinking about getting your license, come on out and meet us! We can help you in all aspects of getting your license and getting started in amateur radio.

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

For the remainder of the year we will be holding our meetings at the STEM Center. That building is on the North East corner of the general parking area. If you’re standing at the Cox Science Center looking out into the parking lot, it is straight ahead to your right. There are privacy walls and the construction is dynamic, so instructions cannot be specific, but the Cox Science Center has always made it easy.

Note: We will host Field Day at the American Legion post 47 in Lake Worth again this year. We had a great turnout last year, and we expect even more this year!

Stay up to date with what we’re doing, local community events, and amateur radio related news and events in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

Monthly Meeting – May 28

Posted on By Michael M
Meetings

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, May 28, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

Randy will be doing a presentation on POTA QRP/QRO at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. As an educator, Randy is a great orator, and he always has just the right amount of visual aids, including photographs and equipment, to accompany him. I don’t know the details, but I’m excited to see what he has in store for us!

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

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

For the remainder of the year we will be holding our meetings at the STEM Center. That building is on the North East corner of the general parking area. If you’re standing at the Cox Science Center looking out into the parking lot, it is straight ahead to your right. There are privacy walls and the construction is dynamic, so instructions cannot be specific, but the Cox Science Center has always made it easy.

Note: Our Saturday in the Park is the Saturday after our monthly meeting. May is our last Saturday in the Park until the cooler weather in the fall. In June we will host Field Day at the American Legion post 47 in Lake Worth again this year. Look for more information on that to follow.

Stay up to date with what we’re doing, local community events, and amateur radio related news and events in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

Monthly Meeting – April 23

Posted on By Michael M
Meetings

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

As always, 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

For the remainder of the year we will be holding our meetings at the STEM Center. That building is on the North East corner of the general parking area. If you’re standing at the Cox Science Center looking out into the parking lot, it is straight ahead to your right. Due to the construction, there’s a lot of privacy walls, but you will see an opening in the North East side of the main parking lot. Just follow that and it’ll take you right to the STEM Center.

Join us in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

Note: Our Saturday in the Park is the Saturday after our monthly meeting. In April we hold one of our two picnics of the year,  and we combine that with our Saturday in the Park Event. More info on that is found here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=100

We Will Be Testing Saturday, April 5

Posted on By Michael M
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. 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
Walk-ins are welcome.

Contact us directly here – Click here

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

We will be testing at the STEM Center, which is across from the Science Center’s main entrance. For more information on the location, please click here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=771

Monthly Meeting & Awards – March 26

Posted on By Michael M
Meetings

Our monthly meeting, held on the fourth Wednesday of the month, is Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

At this month’s meeting we are holding our WFD Awards Ceremony for this year’s Winter Field Day. It was an amazing weekend with a great turnout, and now we will recognize all those who contributed to making this year’s Winter Field Day a huge success!

As always, 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

Join us in our Forums here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/

Note: As our Saturday in the Park is the Saturday after our monthly meeting, we will be having another Saturday in the Park for the month of March, on March 29. More info on that is found here – https://wpbarg.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=100