Holland Amateur Radio Club K8DAA USA

Our next HARC uBITX build event is planned for Friday, January 18, 2019 at the Chick-Owa Sportsman’s Club, 9279 Ottogan St. in Holland. If you missed the previous build sessions, here’s another chance to join in the fun.  The event is scheduled for 6:15 PM to 9:00 PM. 

Soldering equipment, hand tools, and test gear will be available.  Those who have soldering equipment and tools are encouraged to bring them along.  Experienced kit builders are also encouraged to attend to mentor and assist others assemble their uBITX kits. 

Also while you’re there, try out the club’s HF rig using our indoor loop antenna.  You’ll be amazed at what you can do with this setup.  Jack, KE8CIO may have his Fusion rig on hand to check out too. 

If you’re interested in radios, kit building, soldering, test equipment, Arduino’s or device firmware, stop by and check things out.

The upcoming Winter Field Day (WFD) 2019 is scheduled for January 26 and 27 and will run for a full 24 hours from 1900 UTC (2 pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2 pm EST) Sunday.  Much like the ARRL’s June Field Day, Winter Field Day is not just a simple contest.  Operators world-wide are challenged to practice and exercise their emergency communications skills during the winter months, in the face of inclement weather or adverse conditions.  WFD is one more way to enjoy the hobby and demonstrate ham radio’s capability to operate in all environments.  Winter Field Day began in 2007, but this is the first time that the Holland Amateur Radio Club will be participating.

This is a rain or shine, snowing or blowing event, since we will operate indoors from two cabins at the Holland State Park (in the camping area on the right, just past Ottawa Beach Inn).  We’ll be setting up club operating stations, antennas, and amenities and camping out during the event.  If you would like to sign up for specific times to operate one of the stations (phone, digital and CW) during WFD, please contact Josh, KE8DSB, at secretary@hollandarc.org.

To make it easier for entrants to find each other, we’ll be using the WFD suggested frequencies:
HF CW – 1810-1820, 3.530-3.550, 7.030-7.050, 14.035-14.055, 21.030-21.050, 28.030-28.040

HF SSB – lowest 30 kHz of the US General Class Phone bands (160m- 15m), 28.400-28.425MHz (10m) 6m/VHF/UHF – adjacent to, but not on, nationally recognized simplex calling channels.

More Winter Field Day Association information is available at https://www.winterfieldday.com.  Holland ARC also has a Facebook page with our local club information at https://www.facebook.com/events/1895035050615406/.  Drop by, operate, or just check out the operation.  All warm bodies welcome!

Support us when you shop on Amazon. Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/38-2136386 and Amazon will donate a percentage to Holland Amateur Radio Club.  This adds nothing to the cost of your purchase but benefits the club.  Thanks!

Due to conflicts with the use of the clubhouse, our meeting days will change from Tuesday to Friday in January, February, and March, 2019.    The plan at this time is to change back to our regular Tuesday dates from April forward.  Thus:

General HARC meetings will be held on Fridays – January 11, February 8, and March 8.

Education and Training meetings will be held on Fridays – January 25, February 22, and March 22.

On Saturday, March 9, the Holland Amateur Radio Club will be holding licensing exams for anyone wishing to get or upgrade their amateur radio license .  The testing will be held at the Chick-Owa Sportsmans Club, 9279 Ottogan St., Holland.  The testing session will begin at 6:00 p.m.  There is no charge for any testing.  No Morse code is required for any grade license.  In addition, if your license is within 90 days of expiration, it can quickly be renewed at no charge between 6:00 and the end of testing.

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 16 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 your Social Security number (SSN) if you are not yet licensed.  If you do not wish to give out your SSN at the test (the paperwork goes to the FCC and is not kept by the club), you can obtain your Federal Registration Number (FRN) before the test, by going to this website:  https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/regEntityType.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. 

“Ham in a Day”  Held at the Chick-Owa Sportsman’s Club located at 9279 E. Ottogan Street (just west of Winding Creek) in Holland.  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 starts at 1:00 and continues till 6:00, when the test will be given.  For registration and more information, go to: http://tinyurl.com/holo-hiad-ve.  Cost for the Ham in a Day study session is $25.  Also, anyone holding a current technician or general license may arrive at 6:00 and take the test to upgrade at no cost.  Anyone whose license is within 90 days of expiring can also renew their license between 6:00 and the end of testing at no charge.

There is a PDF uploaded that has pictures of the 2018 field day.

Holland ARC Field Day 2018

And Zach, KE8BSM has uploaded a great video to Youtube:

After years of being with the Yahoo Groups, and after much heartache, the Holland ARC has moved over to the groups.io email list server. Superior service is here.

If you did not get the email on how to sign up, please go to:

https://k8daa.groups.io/g/k8daa

From there you will see “apply for membership” icon. Click on that and follow the instructions and we should be good to go.

The archives are available at any time to be read without logging in.  Todd, W8YHF ported over thousands of emails from the Yahoo Group.

Here are 14 of the folks who helped out with the Tulip Time Parade medical communications on Wednesday, May 10, 2017.  When all else fails, there is amateur radio.

Here is a short pictorial on this year’s Field Day. Thank you to all who participated.

Holland Amateur Radio Club Field Day 2017