Our Next Fox Hunt: May 6 & 7

Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Boris, those White Rock Lake radio foxes, will be released again on May 6 and 7 from 9 AM to 5 PM!

These fox hunts are always held in the White Rock Lake area, on pubic land and within a mile of the lake. Rocky transmits on 146.565 MHz FM, and a very low powered Bullwinkle is close by on 146.545 MHz. Boris is also close by on 146.580 MHz. Many club members are able to hear Rocky at their home QTH, so hunt for Rocky first, and then for Bullwinkle and lastly for Boris.

Listen for a distinctive set of warbling tones followed by a CW ID. Each transmission is about 20 seconds long and repeats each minute.

Radio fox hunts are scheduled at the lake on the first and third Saturday of each month.

Many thanks to Dave, K5YR, and David, KG5VSR, for hosting these fun events on behalf of the club for area hams to enjoy and to practice radio direction finding skills.

For more info, check out Rocky’s web site, https://ntxardf.org

General Membership Meeting: April 12, 2023 at 6:30 PM

The next in-person general membership meeting will be held April 12, 2023 at 6:30 PM in the meeting room at the REI store, 5929 E. Northwest Highway, Dallas. 

This meeting was originally planned for the 19th of April but had to be moved up due to limited availability of the REI meeting room and the planned support of the USA Radio Orienteering Championship starting on the 19th of April.

If club members have any issues or concerns that they want raised at this meeting, please bring them up with any club officer.

Guests and prospective members are always welcome.

Our Next Fox Hunt: April 1 & 2

Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Boris, those White Rock Lake radio foxes, will be released again on April 1 & 2 from 9 AM to 5 PM!

These fox hunts are always held in the White Rock Lake area, on pubic land and within a mile of the lake. Rocky transmits on 146.565 MHz FM, and a very low powered Bullwinkle is close by on 146.545 MHz. Boris is also close by on 146.580 MHz. Many club members are able to hear Rocky at their home QTH, so hunt for Rocky first, and then for Bullwinkle and lastly for Boris.

Listen for a distinctive set of warbling tones followed by a CW ID. Each transmission is about 20 seconds long and repeats each minute.

Radio fox hunts are scheduled at the lake on the first and third Saturday of each month.

Many thanks to Dave, K5YR, and David, KG5VSR, for hosting these fun events on behalf of the club for area hams to enjoy and to practice radio direction finding skills.

For more info, check out Rocky’s web site, https://ntxardf.org

Our Next Fox Hunt: Mar 25 & 26

Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Boris, those White Rock Lake radio foxes, will be released again on March 25 & 26 from 9 AM to 5 PM!

These fox hunts are always held in the White Rock Lake area, on pubic land and within a mile of the lake. Rocky transmits on 146.565 MHz FM, and a very low powered Bullwinkle is close by on 146.545 MHz. Boris is also close by on 146.580 MHz. Many club members are able to hear Rocky at their home QTH, so hunt for Rocky first, and then for Bullwinkle and lastly for Boris.

Listen for a distinctive set of warbling tones followed by a CW ID. Each transmission is about 20 seconds long and repeats each minute.

Radio fox hunts are scheduled at the lake on the first and third Saturday of each month.

Many thanks to Dave, K5YR, and David, KG5VSR, for hosting these fun events on behalf of the club for area hams to enjoy and to practice radio direction finding skills.

For more info, check out Rocky’s web site, https://k5yr.com/foxhunt

Our Next Fox Hunt: Mar 16 & 17

Rocky and Bullwinkle, that wily pair of White Rock Lake radio foxes, will be released again on March 16 & 17 from 9 AM to 5 PM!

As an additional feature for this next hunt, we are adding in another transmitter: Boris Badenov, the Bad Boy of Radio Foxes. Boris is another low power fox, with a shorter antenna and has a propensity for being harder to find. Boris will be able to be heard from Bullwinkle but probably not from Rocky.

These fox hunts are always held in the White Rock Lake area, on pubic land and within a mile of the lake. Rocky transmits on 146.565 MHz FM, and a very low powered Bullwinkle is close by on 146.545 MHz. Boris is also close by on 146.580 MHz. Many club members are able to hear Rocky at their home QTH, so hunt for Rocky first, and then for Bullwinkle and lastly for Boris.

Listen for a distinctive set of warbling tones followed by a CW ID. Each transmission is about 20 seconds long and repeats each minute.

Radio fox hunts are scheduled at the lake on the first and third Saturday of each month.

Many thanks to Dave, K5YR, and David, KG5VSR, for hosting these fun events on behalf of the club for area hams to enjoy and to practice radio direction finding skills.

For more info, check out Rocky’s web site, https://k5yr.com/foxhunt

Our Next Fox Hunt: Feb 18 & 19

Rocky and Bullwinkle, that wily pair of White Rock Lake radio foxes, will be released again on February 18 and 19 from 9 AM to 5 PM!

These fox hunts are always held in the White Rock Lake area, on pubic land and within a mile of the lake. Rocky transmits on 146.565 MHz FM, and a very low powered Bullwinkle was close by on 146.545 MHz. Many club members are able to hear Rocky at their home QTH, so hunt for him first. If you find Rocky, then search for Bullwinkle.

Listen for a distinctive set of warbling tones followed by a CW ID. Each transmission is about 20 seconds long and repeats each minute.

Radio fox hunts are scheduled at the lake on the first and third Saturday of each month.

Many thanks to Dave, K5YR, and David, KG5VSR, for hosting these fun events on behalf of the club for area hams to enjoy and to practice radio direction finding skills.

For more info, check out Rocky’s web site, https://k5yr.com/foxhunt

HOUNDS WHO FOUND ROCKY DURING THE FEB 4 & 5 HUNT:

• KI5KTZ, Phillippe Lewis, 2023-02-04 17:27:53Z
• WB8QZM, Brian Murphy, 2023-02-04 20:27:04Z
• KN5EEE, Al Alexander , 2023-02-04 20:27:54Z
• NT5TM, Anthony Mendina, 2023-02-04 21:55:14Z
• KI5WZZ, Alberto Boisse, 2023-02-05 22:31:02Z
• W5WXY, Randy Durham, 2023-02-06 17:51:05Z

HOUNDS WHO FOUND BULLWINKLE:

• KN5EEE, Al Alexander, 2023-02-04 19:35:33Z
• WB8QZM, Brian Murphy, 2023-02-04 19:35:55Z
• NT5TM, Anthony Mendina, 2023-02-04 20:38:09Z
• KI5KTZ, Phillipe Lewis, 2023-02-04 23:23:22Z
• KI5WZZ, Alberto Boisse, 2023-02-05 22:53:03Z
• W5WXY, Randy Durham, 2023-02-06 17:52:41Z

Next fox hunt is scheduled for Feb 18 at 9AM through Feb 19 at 5PM.

Winter Field Day 2023!

The weather was great and the radio band conditions were good too! During five hours of operating, members made 100 radio contacts across the country and even stretched a signal across the Pacific Ocean.

Many thanks to Dave K5YR and David KG5VSR for co-chairing this event, to the many members that helped set up and take down, and to everyone that stopped by.

Virtual Club Meeting Wednesday November 16

The WRLARC will hold its 4th quarter meeting virtually this Wednesday Nov 16 at 7 PM. This is an important meeting since we will hold elections for club office.

We are lucky to have a great slate of candidates that have volunteered to serve next year. We will open the floor for other nominations; if there are none, we can accept the nominations and then move on for another of our great round table discussions.

We’ll use Jitsi again as it has worked well for our past meetings. You can use your computer, iPad, tablet, cell phone, or even a landline.  For example, you can use a computer which doesn’t have a camera or microphone but allows you to see the video, and use your landline for the audio (special phone numbers and ID number are provided below).

When using your computer browser, there are only 4 things to do:

1. Click on (or copy and paste) this link: https://meet.jit.si/WA5WRLake

2. IMPORTANT: when prompted, click “ALLOW” to use your microphone and camera.

3. Type in your name & call sign.

4.  click on the “X” in the upper right corner of the box to remove it from asking you to install an extension (if you are using Chrome). 

When using your phone (or cell phone to avoid using data) to join the meeting and be able to listen and talk (without video): Dial (512) 647-1431 You also have to enter the following ID (including the pound sign): 4210548946#

Radio Comms for Native Plants and Prairies Day

The WRLARC provided communications support for the Native Plants and Prairies Day held at the White Rock Lake Bath House Cultural Center on Saturday May 7, 2022.

Radio operations were held on VHF simplex, 147.52 MHz. Since all support was within 1/2 mile of the Bath House, 5 watt HTs worked great for portable operations. An Event Operations Center (EOC) was established in front of the Bath House building using a 10 watt transceiver and vertical antenna. Club members provided shadow comms and rovers for the staff that managed the event.

Thanks to all the club members that participated!

Virtual Club Meeting March 23, 2022

There will be no net tonight, but join us for our virtual meeting. We’re going to use a different provider than we have in previous meetings. It’s called Jitsi, and Randy W5WXY has been using it the past two years. He describes it as the most user friendly he has ever encountered.  Here’s the scoop from Randy.

It’s FREE, with NO time limit, NO “permission” or password requirement, and there is NO need to download anything or add an extension to Chrome (although, it always asks if you want to).  Furthermore, there is NO special account requirement.  I think it works with all the usual browsers and prefers Chrome. 

You can use your computer, iPad, tablet, cell phone, or even a landline.  For example, you can use a computer which doesn’t have a camera or microphone but allows you to see the video, and use your landline for the audio (special phone numbers and ID number are provided below).

When using your computer, etc. browser, there are only 4 things to do:

1.  click on (or copy and paste) this link:  https://meet.jit.si/WA5WRLake

2.  IMPORTANT: when prompted, click “ALLOW” to use your microphone and camera.
3.  Type in your name & call sign.

4.  click on the “X” in the upper right corner of the box to remove it from asking you to install an extension (if you are using Chrome). 

When using your phone (or cell phone to avoid using data) to join the meeting and be able to listen and talk (without video): Dial (512) 647-1431 You also have to enter the following ID (including the pound sign): 4210548946#

Note:  

1.  if you want to see additional dial-in numbers:  https://meet.jit.si/static/dialInInfo.html?room=WA5WRLake

2.  if you want to watch on your computer without hearing the audio (to avoid feedback if using your landline to listen) here’s one more link (I chose not to bold, because it may be a very uncommon occurrence):  https://meet.jit.si/WA5WRLake#config.startSilent=true

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE….  You are free to use this link and system  anytime and from anywhere, and it’s easy to send the link to the person you want to invite, so keep it in your “favorites” or “bookmarks”.