Serving the Big Bend area of West Texas…
News & Events
Congrats to Bill, KE5OG, on his fine performance in the 2016 ARRL RTTY Roundup. He finished first in the West Gulf Division with 1,293 QSOs and has his photo and a write up in the Full Results for the RTTY Roundup here…
Congratulations to Denese Jones, Rocky Grounds, and Nancy Rooney who passed their Technician Class test at the BBARC field day site!
A large inventory of equipment is available from the estate of Houston area SK, Hugh Davis. You may view a pdf the list of available items here…
Interested parties may contact Rusty KB5R or Jerry Reasner for details.
Contact: Bill Brooks
432-244-8863
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Amateur Radio “Field Day” June 25 – 26 Demonstrates Science, Skill, and Service
Members of the Big Bend Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 25 – 26 at the Double Diamond Ranch south of Alpine.
Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of Amateur Radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.
For over 100 years, Amateur Radio — sometimes called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet.
Field Day demonstrates ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network. Over 35,000 people from thousands of locations participated in Field Day in 2015.
“It’s easy for anyone to pick up a computer or smartphone, connect to the Internet and communicate, with no knowledge of how the devices function or connect to each other,” said Chuck Dobbins, KA5PVB, Club President.
“But if there’s an interruption of service or you’re out of range of a cell tower, you have no way to communicate. Ham radio functions completely independent of the Internet or cell phone infrastructure, can interface with tablets or smartphones, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. That’s the beauty of Amateur Radio during a communications outage.”
“Hams can literally throw a wire in a tree for an antenna, connect it to a battery-powered transmitter and communicate halfway around the world,” Dobbins added. “Hams do this by using a layer of Earth’s atmosphere as a sort of mirror for radio waves. In today’s electronic do-it-yourself (DIY) environment, ham radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology, and numerous other scientific disciplines, and is a huge asset to any community during disasters if the standard communication infrastructure goes down.”
Anyone may become a licensed Amateur Radio operator. There are over 725,000 licensed hams in the United States, as young as 5 and as old as 100. And with clubs such as the Big Bend ARC, it’s easy for anybody to get involved right here in the Big Bend area.
For more information about Field Day, contact Bob Ward at 432-837-2061 or visit www.bigbendarc.com.
~73~
Come join our new group on Facebook and keep up to date with all the latest on Field Day and more!
During Field Day 2016 we are please to announce that we will offer VE testing at the Field Day site at 9am on June 25th. All applicants are welcome.
Please bring your ID as well as the required $15 test fee if you would like to participate in this session.
More details email Rusty …
Don’t miss the June 14 meeting for all the plans and details of Field Day 2016…
Field Day 2016 will be held again at the Double Diamond Pavilion about 5 miles south of Alpine on State Highway 118. This year Field Day operations will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 25 and end at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 26. See the location here in the calendar…
We begin setting up the station before the start of the operating period. The ARRL announced a new rule last year which we have taken advantage of:
No class A or B station may begin its set-up earlier than 0000 UTC on the Friday (Thursday afternoon or evening local time) preceding the Field Day period. Cumulative set-up time shall not exceed a total of 24 hours.
So we can start with the antenna work on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. – a much cooler time of day. And we could work on Friday morning, Friday evening, and Saturday morning, all during cooler times, as long as the total amount of time erecting antennas and setting up stations does not total more than 24 hours. So plan on showing up Thursday evening, June 26, at 7 p.m. to start the process!
Chief cook Bob Ward, WA5ROE, will serve hot dogs for everyone who is there Thursday evening to help us get started. Meals are always a high point of Field Day. We will have the same meal charges as last year (and for the past eight years): $30, plus one twelve pack of soft drinks or water, per person for the weekend. Any 807s are your own responsibility. The $30 will pay for 6 meals: Friday evening, Saturday breakfast, lunch, and supper, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. There is a special rate for families: $45 for a family.
For individuals who would like to eat a meal with us but not spend the entire weekend, there is a special rate of $10. The Friday evening meal will be steaks, baked potatoes, salads, and other assorted goodies. The meal Saturday evening will be brisket, cabrito, and chicken along with beans, salad, and additional delicacies.
For newcomers, Field Day is the perfect way to get your feet wet by immersing yourself into ham radio. We will have four stations operating: an SSB station, a CW station, a VHF (6 meter) station, and a GOTA station. The GOTA station (Get On The Air) is designed for newly licensed hams, unlicensed individuals, and old-timers who have not been on the air for some time.
The GOTA station will be operating on the hf bands, using mostly SSB. A GOTA mentor will be present to assist you in using the radio, making contacts, and logging contacts. We will have at least two CW operators present: Dave, N5DO and Mike,WA5POK (from Tennessee, by way of Texas). We are always looking for additional CW operators – we hope to help Allen, N5NYM, make the plunge into the CW melee during FD.
Club members should notice the updated web site. Your comments and suggestions are welcome! They’re is still a lot of work to be done; but, please take a good look around and let us know what you think. Come back often as it is still evolving.
Feedback via email is welcome as well!
Hope you enjoy the new site.
p.s., if you miss the old site, you can find it via the link at the bottom right labeled Archival Site