Holland Amateur Radio Club Meeting ~ Tuesday, April 9, 2024

The next meeting of the Holland ARC will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.  Location Is The Chick-Owa Club, 9279 Ottagon Rd.  The Time is 7:00pm.  Join us for the regular meeting, this time we will have the presentation first, as it will be delivered remotely.  The presentation? It is from HamSci, and will talk about radio propagation during a solar eclipse. Some of our members are, and all hams are invited to, report propagation/contacts during the eclipse on the 8th. See https://hamsci.org/eclipse for more information.

You don’t have to be a club member or a licensed operator to attend – all hams and everyone interested in amateur radio are welcome to join us!

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Skywarn Training ~ Thursday, March 28, 2024

Kent / Ottawa Severe Weather Spotter Training 2023The Ottawa and Kent County SKYWARN groups are proud to once again offer this training to the residents of the counties surrounding the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids. 

This year, SKYWARN training will be held on Thursday, March 28 from 6:30-9:30pm at Hudsonville High School located at 5155 32nd Avenue, Hudsonville.  The lobby and auditorium doors will open at 6:00 p.m.   Please feel free to arrive early to take a look around, check out the tables manned by various local organizations, and select your seats before the session begins at 6:30 p.m.

There is no charge to attend this event, but you must have tickets which can be obtained herehttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/ottawakent-county-skywarn-2024-tickets-838948657017?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Ham License in a Day ~ Saturday, April 13, 2024

“Ham in a Day”  will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2024.  This is an opportunity for anyone wishing to get their amateur radio technician license to study and take the exam all in one afternoon.  Directed study begins at 1:00PM and continues till 6:00PM, when the test will be given.  

The testing location is the Chick-Owa Sportsman’s Club located at 9279 E. Ottogan St., Holland, MI 49423.  Again, the “Ham in a Day” study hall begins at 1:00 PM, and the test session begins at 6:00 PM.

For registration and more information, go to:  http://tinyurl.com/holo-hiad-ve.  Cost for the Ham in a Day study session is $15.  After you pass your Technician exam, the results will be sent to the FCC, who will in turn send you an email with instructions on how to pay their $35 application fee to receive your license.  (The FCC charges $35 only for new licenses, renewals, and vanity call requests – not upgrades.  The Holland Amateur Radio Club does not charge for any paperwork whatsoever.)

Note:  This is a federal exam and the FCC requires you to have a Federal Registration Number (FRN.)  You can obtain your FRN before the test by going to this website:   https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do .  The FCC FRN process is simple and quite fast. 

In addition to the Ham in a Day students, anyone can arrive at 6:00 and take the technician, general, or extra class exam.  Please see the post above for additional testing requirements.

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Obtain, Upgrade, or Renew your License ~April 13, 2024

On Saturday, April 13, the Holland Amateur Radio Club will be holding licensing exams for anyone wishing to obtain or upgrade their amateur radio license.  The testing session will begin at 6:00 p.m.  The Holland ARC has no charge for any testing; however, the FCC does charge a $35 application fee for new licenses.  Upon passing your Technician exam, the FCC will email you instructions for payment.  (This $35 fee also applies to license renewals and vanity call requests, but not upgrades.)  No Morse code is required for any grade license. 

The testing location is the Chick-Owa Sportman’s Club, located at 9279 E. Ottogan St., Holland, MI 49423.  Again, the test session begins at 6:00 p.m.

What to bring with you:  If available, bring a legal photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport.  If no legal photo ID is available, bring 2 pieces of legal ID.  Anyone 18 years old or younger must have a parent or legal guardian present for the entire testing session.  IMPORTANT… If you currently hold a ham radio license, bring the license and a copy of the license to the test session.  (Copy will be sent in with the testing results.)   

Note:  This is a federal exam and the FCC requires you to have a Federal Registration Number (FRN.)  You can obtain your FRN before the test by going to this website:   https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do .  The FCC FRN process is simple and quite fast. 

For further information on license testing, please email Bob Broene, K8RJB, at k8rjb[dot]ham[at]gmail.com

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E.A.T. Meeting ~ April 23, 2024

The next HARC Education And Training (E.A.T.) meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 6:30pm.  It will be held at the Herrick Library, 300 S River Ave, Holland, in the Groundworks room.  Groundworks is on the west side of the Main Library’s first floor.

Understanding Modern Electronics:  Amplifier Circuits Using Op-Amps

Now that the versatility of negative feedback has been demonstrated, adjust the strength of negative feedback in op-amp circuits to build amplifiers with whatever gain you choose. Create an amplifier that sums two or more inputs, see a circuit that converts current to voltage, and explore the design and operation of an op-amp-based light meter.

…Understanding Modern Electronics…   For those not familiar with the “Understanding Modern Electronics” course, it is a series of video lectures presented by Professor Richard Wolfson of Middlebury College. The course consists of 24 lectures that provide a conceptual explanation of the principles of how electrical circuits work and are used to control everyday devices in our modern world. Components and topics that are covered include transformers, transistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, semiconductors, Ohm’s Law, and analog and digital levels.

The Herrick District Library is asking that individuals register for this event.  Event registration is available on the Herrick Library website.  https://herrickdl.bibliocommons.com/events/65bbd1c0f797a6fee5737b23

HARC education and training sessions are open to the public and you do not need to be a HARC member or have an amateur radio license to attend; however, all attendees under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  If you have questions about amateur radio equipment, operating practices, licensing, test and measurement, or anything remotely related to amateur radio, this is the place to be.

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Fox Hunt! ~ Saturday, April 27, 2024

We’ve done this in the past, now put April  27, 2024  on your calendar.

A “Tune-Up In the Park” Fox Hunting exercise will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2024.  Whether you are just beginning to be interested in fox hunting or you are a seasoned veteran, plan on being at Douglas Walker Park from 9 am to 12 noon.  There will be at least five micro-transmitters hidden in the park for you to take your time locating, practicing your skills, and debugging your equipment.  At noon, the park activity will stop, and a live “fox” will go on the air, located within eight miles of the start.  The hunt will end at 2pm.

There will be experienced fox hunters to help with your equipment and techniques.  If you have a fox box or a micro/mini fox and would like to bring it to the park to be used, please contact the event coordinator, Tom Bosscher, K8TB at k8tb@arrl.net.  Douglas Walker Park is on 84th Street, 1.5 miles west of US-131 exit 74, Byron Center.

Please note that the park grounds can be very wet from the spring rains and rather sloppy.  Use appropriate footwear accordingly.  Talk-in and information regarding uncertain weather conditions will be held at 147.16 on the IRA repeater.

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Tulip Time Volunteers Needed! ~ May 9 & 11

We are looking for volunteers to help out with medical communications for the 2024 Tulip Time parades. This is perhaps our best opportunity each year to represent HARC and amateur radio within our community, and we are providing a critical service to local residents and visitors. It’s also a great time!

Radio operators are paired up with one or more medical personnel and assigned a section of the parade route.  Once on station, we patrol and look for participants or spectators that are in need of medical assistance.  When we encounter a medical need, we relay information regarding the patient’s condition and location to Net Control.  Our Net Control operators work alongside public safety and emergency medical dispatchers to ensure that help arrives as soon as possible.

As to whether Tulip Time volunteers need to be OCEC (Ottawa County Emergency Communications) members, the answer is “NO.”  In addition to OCEC members, ALL members of the Holland (HARC) and North Ottawa (NOARC) clubs are eligible to participate and we welcome all of you!

This year’s parades are on Thursday, May 9th and Saturday, May 11th. We usually meet around noon and are finished by a bit after 4pm on both days. If you’re interested in volunteering, please email me at bossman.mi@gmail.com and let me know which parade(s) you’re available to help.

….Todd Boss W8YHF, 2024 Tulip Time Communication Coordinator

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Follow-up to the June E.A.T. Meeting & Updates

Following are the LM317 Datasheet and AP notes from the June HARC Education And Training (E.A.T.) meeting provided by Jeff KD8THX.

The last E.A.T. meeting included an introduction to transformers, diodes and capacitors which make up some of the basic components of a power supply.  Ed’s K8DI power supply and noise presentation featured an adjustable power supply using the LM317 variable power supply IC.

For anyone who wishes to know more about the LM317 and some projects you can do with it, here are some links to LM317 datasheets. These datasheets include not only the IC specifications but many great power supply projects you can build yourself.

TI  https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm317.pdf
ONSEMI  https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/lm317-d.pdf
ST  https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/lm217.pdf

If looking to purchase a LM317 or other components, please buy from reputable sources like Mouser, Digikey, Newark, RS (formerly Allied Electronics) or any of the other reputable, authorized sellers.  Also stop by Tom’s 2nd Hand Ham Shop (7830 80th Avenue, Zeeland, open 8am-noon Saturdays) where you’ll find lots of quality parts and pieces.

Have fun and go build something.

FURTHER FOLLOW-UP, ADDED JULY 21, 2023

Switch-mode Power Supplies

Building on last month’s E.A.T. presentation by Ed Walters K8DI about choosing a power supply here’s a link to an article at All About Circuits about the basics of switch-mode power supplies or SMPS. The article explains some of the differences between linear and inductor/capacitor-based switch-mode power supplies.

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/what-is-a-switching-voltage-regulator

Introduction to Lossy Transmission Lines

For those who might enjoy math or simply what to dive deeper into RF technology here’s a link to the beginning of a series of articles named Introduction to Lossy Transmission Lines by Dr. Steve Arar.

“This article will help you understand losses in high-frequency transmission lines that include traces on PCBs. We will also investigate how these losses impact signal propagation and the quality of digital signals.”

If you’re considering designing circuit boards for RF applications you may find this series very interesting and useful.

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-lossy-transmission-lines

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February Club Meeting — Tuesday Feb. 12th

Join us on the 12th of February at the Chick-owa Club, 9279 Ottogan St, Holland, MI 49423 for our monthly meeting, at 6:30pm.  This month, after our Business meeting, the  Presentation will be by Jeff Nonhof, KD9THX. He’ll be discussing Yagi antenna design, antenna design software, gain and how it’s expressed, and will end up with a hands-on demo of how a Yagi antenna’s directivity changes as you add elements.  As usual, Rich will have the coffee going!  Join us for the fun!

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HARC Antenna Work Performed…

Mike, K8NWN, did about three hours of tower work recently on the 30 foot tower on top of the Warm Friend building downtown Holland. The top, off frequency antenna was taken down and side mounted for the Tulip Time Committee’s repeater, an X50 was put on top, (for the 147.50/146.50 repeater) and a 3 VHF element beam, pointed to the end of the Tulip Time parade route was installed, with a colocated UHF beam, to run the temporary remote receiver to the 147.06 repeater for Tulip Time.

If you hear or see Mike, say a lot of thank you’s for his work.

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