Event: Booking It Through The Bluff Triathlon & 10K
Net Control Recap
The Hokes Bluff Tawannah Lions Club — (Held on 04/23/22)
Serving Northeast Alabama
and Our Community
This is Amateur Radio Station K4JMC
Whether you are just starting out on your first handheld or a seasoned operator returning to the hobby! The fellowship of the Gadsden ARC have got you covered.
The meeting was called to order by President Robert Evans, W4RLE at 7:03pm with an attendence of 13 members. Invocation by Delton Hartzog, WA4JLQ. Monte Hill, W4MJH described that in his treasurer report that the club managed to break even during the Hamfest with some discussion about ideas on next years Hamfest brought to the table.
Plans about assisting in the Hokes Bluff Bike Race on October 22nd was discussed. Meeting was closed with no additional notions at 8:07pm. Appreciations were given to the following individuals for their contributions during the club Hamfest, including, but not limited to, these folks:
- Gerald Russell, W6GLR, - Monte Hill, W4MJH, - Bill Rogers, K4FSO, - Adam Alterman, W4AMA,- Dave Waits, K4VMV, - Delton Hartzog, WA4JLQ
and
- Will Montgomery, N4WM
VEs who helped out during the Hamfest testing included Kip Williams, KJ4FHF along with Bill Rodgers K4FSO and Karen Smith KN4QNS. Two upgrades (Extra Class) were issued to Monte Hill W4MJH and Harvey Moore KN4QBN on successful exam completion.
Code practice held by Dave Waits, K4VMV, are being held at the First United Methodist Rec Room at 6pm on Club Nights. The next scheduled meeting is for October 10th.
— Original Report by Mick Lindley, KB4UPI. Amended by KO4TEZ
Next Club Meeting
Is scheduled for Monday, January 9th, 2023 at 7PM CST in the First United Methodist Recreational Room
You can join the meeting room by pressing on the button below.
Latest Obtained Club Meeting Information
Public Overview:
Monday, August 8th, 2022 • 7:00PM CST
Club Tower to be sold for $1800 + $250 for HF Antenna and vote carried to buy a end-fed, half-wave, wire antenna for HF operations at the club station. The club voted to make the hamfest free for one more year citing concerns about breaking even on expenses. C.J. KO4TEZ volunteered to make signs for the donation boxes. Dave K4VMV volunteered to make donation boxes for the club. Misc. club costs were addressed.
Following Recap:
Monday, July 11, 2022:
On July 11th, the Gadsden ARC Monthly Meeting was called to order by Robert, W4RLE at 7:03 PM CST, at a count of fourteen members, with no guests in attendance. Charles, K4CEA offered invocation. The previous minutes were read which has been annotated below:
"The previous meeting of June 13, 2022 was called to order by Vice President Harvey, KN4QBN, covering for Robert, W4RLE with a total of 12 attendees. Before the meeting a brief session of CW practice was held with Dave Waits, K4VMV as lead key. The previous matter of discussion was on the placement of a tower. The budget and prizes for our upcoming HamFest was discussed and decided upon along with a discussion of event role fullfillment.
Members Dave Waits, K4VMV and Harvey Moore, KN4QBN stepped up to the call for Tuesday's AENY net operations. The club opted not to host our own Field Day operation and have instead opted to help and participate with the neighboring DeKalb County ARC in their efforts. Additional CW operators for the event was requested by Carlton Floyd, W4CTK."
No presentations were given at this meeting, however, another brief CW practice session was offered prior to the start of the meeting. New business covered updates about radio tower options with the decision of putting up a wire antenna vs a tower installation and discussion about what to do with the tower. Options ranging from posting about its sale on Facebook to selling the tower at the HamFest. Final price decided was $1800 for the 55ft free-standing tower and $250 for the Tri-band 3-element beam antenna.
Hamfest prizes along with event budget were secured and ticketing/parking was discussed. Robert, W4RLE is planned Master of Ceremonies with Charles, K4CEA on standby. VEs for testing were discussed and arrangements made. Meeting adjurned at 7:57 PM CST.
Previous club minutes can be obtained by active club members upon request. See Club Secretary for more information.
Upcoming Events!
The Gadsden Amateur Radio Club Annual Hamfest event has been confirmed for September 10th, 2022 and will be located at the Etowah County Fairgrounds.Our hamfest will be free of charge this year but donations are greatly appreciated to help offset expenses.
Volunteers will be needed for setting up on the 9th. During this event, the local First United Methodist Church in Attalla, AL will be housing Licensing Exams on location provided by members of the WCARS VEC and Gadsden ARC group. Please contact Kip Williams, KJ4FHF (VE Lead) at [email protected] for inquiries.
Raffle Prizes for Gadsden Hamfest 2022:
1st Place
• IC-718 100 Watt, All Band, Starter HF Transceiver
2nd Place
• MFJ-259D Portable Multipurpose Antenna Analyzer for HF/VHF
3rd Place
• MFJ-4230MV Adjustable 4-16V and Compact Power Supply (Rated 30A)
Operators who currently already possess a callsign, are licensed, and/or simply upgrading your license class will not be charged the additional $35 as this counts as a license modification only. If you have let your call sign lapse after the 2-year renewal grace period; you may be subject to the $35 fee and forced to retake the exams.
For those wishing to take your exam! — Please also remember to bring your Photo ID, #2 Pencil, and testing fee funds.
A, minimal, dollar store calculator is recommended for the math portions of the test. The use of cellphones are disallowed for the duration of the exams. You may also test towards each of the three classes during the same test session provided you pass each pre-requisite and time allotted.
A talk-in for this event will be held on the K4RBC Repeater at 146.670 MHz with a frequency offset of -0.600 and a CTCSS / PL Tone of 100 Hz. Those wishing to buy raffle tickets for the drawing will be $1 for single tickets or $5 for 6 tickets.
The Hokes Bluff Library Foundation and its co-sponsors, the Hokes Bluff Lions Club and Tawannah Lions Club, hosted the "BOOKING IT" THROUGH THE BLUFF event on April 23, 2022. The race included a 10K Run Only which began at 8:00 AM and Triathlon at 8:30 AM.
We host annual examination sessions to help obtain your radio license during our Hamfest events. Sessions are generally held at the First United Methodist Church in Attalla, AL; Please contact Kip Williams, KJ4FHF, our Club VE Coordinator, at [email protected] for additional information.
Learning Resources
Want to learn how to Build your Own QRP Go-Kit? Find information about Satcom Operation? How about some ideas to try out with that latest SDR dongle? Check out our Library section!
Analog and Digital Repeaters
Through K4RBC (Reflector 58B) at 145.490 MHz, you can connect nationwide with supported D*Star radios. For more traditional use, we offer 12.5kHz FM on 146.670MHz (Offset -0.6 / PL Tone 100Hz)
Community Events
We host several opportunities throughout the year for many different occassions such as Club Activations, Foxhunting, Triathlons, and of course, Field Day. More information located on our public Club Calendar.
Our club gathers every second Monday of each month for meetings, starting from 7:00 PM CST, at the First United Methodist Church in Downtown Attalla. We'd love to make your acquaintance!
Have you made a contact with us during Field Day? Want to have your QSL Card placed on display. Interested in checking out our Club Logbook? Well come on in!
At the Gadsden Amateur Radio Club, we strive to promote and educate from beginner level courses to more advanced fields of radio communications at no charge. It's our way of giving thanks back to our community!
Challenging the new frontier head first. Follow along as Bill Rodgers, K4FSO, explores the many options of modern drone technology and its various radio applications.
Come on out to one of our community luncheons and make all sorts of new connections! There's also something new waiting to be explored with good company!
To join, simply press the purple button above. We also offer practice license exams to help refresh your radio familiarity in a seperate section located on this service.
W1AM Audio News
Courtesy: ARRL
Current Board Members
for 2023-2024 Session
Dave Waits, K4VMV • Club President
Harvey Moore, KN4QBN • Club VP
Karen Smith, KN4QNS • Club Secretary
Gerald Russell, W6GLR • Net Manager
Monte Hill, W4MJH • Club Treasurer
Cody Johnson, KO4TEZ • Webmaster
Club Information
The Gadsden Amateur Radio Club, a ARRL-affiliated club, was established on Fri, March 23, 1923. Since then we have devoted ourselves towards the promotion and education of the amateur radio craft by serving, the Northeast Alabama Area, along with the surrounding inhabitants of Etowah County.
Membership to the Gadsden Amateur Radio Club is $20 per year and per person. We offer discounts which are vaild for youth operators up to 18 years of age. This small contribution helps to fund club activities and also help cover maintenance expenses of the club repeaters. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact one of the club officers.