UPDATED 03/11/2025: Everything is configured, and EchoLink is now back online on the 2-meter repeater!
Many thanks to the club for donations to purchase equipment, to Ed (WD8JVV) for guiding the equipment selection process, to Terry (W8UY) for the donation of the mini-computer, and to John (KD8JSP) for his work in configuring the equipment and lending his space and internet electrons!
Hope to hear all the old EchoLink stations on the repeater again soon!
Though advertised on the air for a short while, I felt it was important to get this news out to the general public, and make it available to those who may not have tuned in while discussion was taking place.
In order to combat some rather troublesome interference, we unfortunately had to change our PL tone on the 2-meter repeater to 123.0 Hz. Everything else remains the same.
Frequency: 147.090 MHz
Offset: +0.600 MHz
PL Tone: 123.0 Hz
Please feel free to share, and if you see the old 107.2 PL tone published on a site or catalog, let us know so we can get it updated.
We recently received the club certificate for participation in the 2025 Winter Field Day event!
The following changes were proposed to the DCARC Constitution and By-Laws during the February meeting, which will be voted on during the regular March 10 meeting, pending any additions or modifications:
Constitution Article III, Sec. 4, adding: “Monthly recurring bills (such as electric bill, post office box fee, and club insurance costs) may be paid without prior notification, then reported at the next meeting.”
Constitution Article VI, changing: “[Regular annual dues of] $15.00 per member or $20.00 per family” to “$50.00 per member”
By-Laws Section 4 – Dues, changing: “[Regular annual dues of] $15.00 per member or $20.00 per family” to “$50.00 per member”
By-Laws Section 6 – Finances, adding: “Monthly recurring bills (such as electric bill, post office box fee, and club insurance costs) may be paid without prior notification, then reported at the next meeting.”
Notes:
The current $50.00 dues fee schedule has already been in place for a few years, but the current constitution and by-laws had not been officially updated.
The change for monthly recurring billing is to simplify the tasks for the treasurer, and (when possible) take advantage of discounts for automatic and/or on-time payment.
It has been cold in NW Ohio. But natural disasters don’t wait for perfect weather, and neither does the Defiance County Amateur Radio Club (DCARC). On Saturday, January 25th the DCARC took part in Winter Field Day (WFD). WFD is an event that aims to help amateur radio operators improve their preparedness for disasters and enhance their operational abilities even in adverse conditions.
The purpose is for participants to go out and setup a temporary station in an effort to improve emergency preparedness skills. This station consists of a few radio transmitters, temporary antennas that span several feet, and coax to connect the two together. Using this system, radio operators use different radio frequencies and modes to make contacts. The operators leverage these contacts to send and receive information worldwide. Different modes consist of regular voice contacts (one operator talking to another operator), digital (computer to computer over RF) and morse code.
Participation in this event also allowed for a lot of fun and conversations off the radio waves. The DCARC enjoyed making contacts with 34 different states and 6 different countries. If you would like to know more, or are interested in amateur radio, we would love to talk to you about it. Check out our Facebook page or email us at dcarc.k8von@gmail.com