Come join the DARC for the October 28, 2023 Lecture and Lab. This lab will be a Radio In the Park Day shine only event at a nearby POTA Park (Parks On the Air) in the Garland area just off the Geo Bush highway. Join the DARC on site at Spring Creek Forest Preserve Oct 28, 2023 start time is 10am more details below. THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER!
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If you’ve ever tried to find a hidden radio transmitter, or if you’ve ever wanted to…or if you’ve ever wondered how close you could get to finding a “jammer,” this month’s Lecture and Lab is for you!
We’ll be building the KC9NON active attenuator kit, an easy-to-build device that lets you get up close and personal with the radio transmitter that you’re hunting. The kit cost is only $20.00, and the tools needed are simple: a soldering iron, solder, wire cutters, wire strippers, and a small screwdriver are all that you really need. A hot glue gun and a needle-nose pliers were enough for me to finish my build. You’ll also need a jumper cable with BNC connectors (it can be very short, 2 feet is plenty), and a BNC-equipped antenna and radio, or else a set of adapters.
We’ll be meeting at 10:00 AM on Saturday, September 23rd, in the 3rd-floor community room at the Dallas Medical Center, 7 Medical Parkway Dallas, TX 75234. There are 15 kits available, first-come-first-served.
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Come join the DARC for the August 2023 Lecture and Lab – In this lecture and lab you will solder/build a 12volt 14Ah LiFePo4 battery box complete with BMS, charger, volt/amp meter, LED lights and more. The build will take place at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person Aug 26, 2023 start time is 10am central time. More details below.
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Come join the DARC for the May 2023 Lecture and Lab – In this lab you will solder/build and program a RF Load With Power Meter kit. The build will be at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person May 27, 2023 start time is 10am central time. More details below
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Come join the DARC for the Apr 22, 2023 Lecture and Lab – POTA 101. This lab will be a shine only event at a nearby POTA Park (Parks On the Air) in the Garland area just off the Geo Bush. In this event you will make at least 10 radio contacts and “activate” Park K-4423. Join the DARC on site at Spring Creek Forest Preserve Apr 22, 2023 start time is 10am more details below.
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Come join the DARC for the Mar 2023 Lecture and Lab – In this lab you will solder/build a QRP portable EFHW antenna kit. The build will be at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person Mar 25, 2023 start time is 10am central time. More details below
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Come join the DARC for the Feb 2023 Lecture and Lab – In this lab you will solder/build an aviation band PLL Receiver Double Frequency Conversion Aviation Radio Aircraft Tower receive only radio kit – this kit will also receive FM broadcasts as well. The kit comes complete with a case. This will be a fun in-person event at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person Feb 25, 2023 start time is 10am central time. More details below
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Come join the DARC for October 2022 Lecture and Lab – you will build a vertical J-Pole Antenna for 146 and 455 MHz. Rollin Gary WA5RFG will be leading this build. This will be a fun in-person outdoor event at TW Richardson Grove Pavilion in Irving just off Interstate 635 and part of the Tech-Net in the park later that afternoon. Plan on attending in-person Oct 22, 2022 start time is 10am central time for the antenna build. Details below
Come join the DARC for September 2022 Lecture and Lab – you will build a CW (continuous wave) Morse code key kit – complete with a 3D-Printed CW key, and 3D-printed case. This will be a fun in-person event at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person September 24, 2022 start time is 10am central time. Details below
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The latest revision of the instruction sheet and information guide is now available. I’ve also added some information about on-line resources.
The August, 2022, Lecture and Lab will be held in-person at the Dallas Medical Center on Saturday, August 27th, at 10:00 am. We’ll have an antenna build and a presentation, too. The antenna we build will be a 137-MHz helicoidal loop antenna pair for receiving weather satellite images and aircraft radio voice transmissions. The presentation will discuss the best software tools for decoding satellite imagery for yourself. The antenna will be very easy to build, and the cost will be only $30.00. 20 kits will be available!
You’ll need to bring a soldering iron and some general hand tools such as a tape measure, a sharpie, and your favorite set of files. The club will provide the antenna parts, but not the receiver: you’ll want to have a device that can receive signals at about 137 MHz. Most ham radios can’t do that, so now’s the time to check on your scanner or even order an RTL-SDR dongle or one of its competitors like an Airspy or SDR-Play. You’ll also want an adapter from a PL-259 connector to whatever connector your receiver uses.
I hope to see you there!
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