Author: Randy Patterson

Robert (Bob) Lewis WA5ONL (Previous callsign WB5FDF)- SK

Randy Patterson Silent-Key ,

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Robert (Bob) Lewis WA5ONL (previously WB5FDF) on Wednesday morning, August 17, 2022. Bob passed peacefully while asleep in his living room chair.

Bob was an active member of the DARC back in the 1970 and 1980’s. He taught a number of morse code classes.

(Note from James N5BKL who remembered him): Bob was very active in the DARC. He was the Technical Officer and maintained the W5FC repeaters. He was also one of the teachers of the classes that taught amateur radio twice a year at Love Field and at Electronic Center. He was employed at TI as an electronic engineer. Bob mentored many young hams throughout his career and hobby. He will be missed by many.

Bob was also the brother one of our current members David Lewis AC5DL.

Please keep the Lewis family in your thoughts and prayers.

73 Bob, you will be missed!

Nominations for Whit and Anne Griffith Community Service Award

Randy Patterson Uncategorized ,

Every January the Dallas Amateur Radio Club takes nominations for the Whit and Anne Griffith Community Service Award. Nominations for this award shall be members of the Club and may be submitted by member of either the amateur community or the community-at-large.

Nominees shall be solicited from among those amateur radio operators who have truly gone above and beyond what reasonably is defined as typical or routine community service, i.e., nominees should have made extraordinary contributions to the general and/or amateur communities.

Nominations shall be by brief (less than 250 words) written statement, sent to the board of directors by U.S. Mail or email transmission or you can use https://w5fc.org/contact/ and shall be received by the board of directors no later than the last day of January of each year.

The board of directors will consider each nominee at the February meeting, and make a final decision on the winner of the award. The winner(s) of the award shall receive a high-quality, engraved personalized plaque from the Club during the regular April Club meeting.

DARC Repeaters Off Air Feb-20-2021

Randy Patterson Uncategorized , ,
notice

Due to catastrophic cold weather events from Feb 12 – 18, 2021 the DARC repeater locations have experienced issues with building power failures and broken water pipes. Currently the DARC W5FC 146.880 repeater and the 442.425 repeater are impacted and have NO power – the backup power/batteries have been exhausted and won’t be back online until power comes back on to the buildings. In addition, we are unable to get access to these locations and the repeaters. We don’t have a current ETA on getting building access or when power will be restored the facilities. Please check back here often for current updates and status.

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Reprint from ARRL regarding Field Day 2021

Randy Patterson Uncategorized , , , , ,

ARRL to Extend Field Day Rule Waivers from 2020, Add Class D and E Power Limit

02/10/2021

The COVID-19 pandemic-modified ARRL Field Day rules from 2020 will continue this June with the addition of a power limit imposed on Class D (Home Stations) and Class E (Home Stations-Emergency Power) participants. The news from the ARRL Board’s Programs and Services Committee comes as many clubs and groups are starting preparations for Field Day in earnest. Field Day 2021 will take place June 26 – 27.

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The YMCA Dallas Turkey Trot 2020

Randy Patterson Uncategorized
2020 Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot

The DARC has supported communication for the YMCA Turkey Trot for years. As we discussed during the DARC General Meeting on October 06, 2020, we were still waiting on an official response from the Y as to whether they would be able to hold the event live or have to do all virtual.

I did communicate with our contact at the Y and Friday they made the following announcement:

The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas announced October 7th, the 2020 Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot will be a virtual event, for the health and safety of participants. Families will be able to participate in this Thanksgiving Day tradition from their neighborhood or wherever they may be across the country on Thanksgiving Day.

The DARC looks forward to helping with the event in 2021.

Stay Safe,

Randy Patterson KE5JIT, PSO

146.880 Repeater Status

Randy Patterson Uncategorized , ,

During the July 2020 DARC Board Meeting, the issue of noise on the DARC 146.880 repeater was discussed. It was agreed we would reach out to Bernie K5BP, our Technical Officer to discuss and get his consultation. Since that time, Tom KE5ICX Repeater Trustee, KF5ZBP President and David KG5EIU Vice-President have continued to monitor and do some testing offsite.

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