Come join the DARC for the Oct 24, 2026 Lecture and Lab. This lab will be a Radio In the Park Day. A 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 24, 2026 start time is 11am more details below.
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Come join the DARC for the September 2026 Lecture and Lab – In this lecture and lab you will build mini DARC Flight Radar console. The build will take place at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person Septermber 26, 2026 start time is 10am central time. More details below.
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Update on 8/23/2026: only three kits are left! Please email me at nt5tm at w5fc dot org to order one. Kits will be available for pickup or purchase (with updated, illustrated instructions) at the September DARC meeting.
Last-minute update! A special backpacking version of this kit will be available for an extra $15.00.
The September, 2025 issue of QST helped to popularize the excellent “POTA Performer” antenna. With a telescoping whip and two elevated, resonant radials, the antenna covers 6 through 20 meters, and it doesn’t need a tuner once you’ve worked out the correct lengths for your whip. The QST version of the antenna suffered from one key problem: it could easily cost several hundred dollars to build! This version, designed by James Shugart, N5BKL, will cost $60.00 and is easy to put together. We’ll be building it from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturday, August 22nd, 2026 in the 3rd floor community room of the Dallas Medical Center–the same place our club meets. I’ll be updating this post with more details, including detailed construction instructions. Ten kits are reserved so far. Five are still up for grabs! If you’d like to sign up and reserve your kit, please fill out the sign up form!
Come join the DARC for the April 2026 Lecture and Lab – In this lecture and lab you will build multi-band 6-40 meter end fed antenna that is fast and easy to setup and deploy and will support 100W. The build will take place at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person April 25, 2026 start time is 10am central time. More details below.
Continue readingCome join the DARC for the March 28, 2026 Lecture and Lab. This lab will be a Radio In the Park Day. A 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 Mar 28, 2026 start time is 11am more details below.
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Come join the DARC for the February 2026 Lecture and Lab – In this lecture and lab you will build a 12volt 34Ah LiFePo4 battery box complete with a 10amp charger, volt/amp meter, LED lights, 65W PD power/USB-C (this is enough to charge/power a MacBook Pro and more). The build will take place at the Dallas Medical Center on the 3rd floor. Plan on attending in-person Feb 28, 2026 start time is 10am central time. More details below.
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The DARC Lecture and Lab for September 2025 has been RESCHEDULED! The event will take place on October 25th, 2025.
You can download the lab notes here and the original “cheap yagi” paper here.
Please join us for the October, 2025 Lecture and Lab. Tony Mendina, NT5TM, will introduce the famous “cheap yagi” series of antennas, and participants will built a 435-MHz yagi antenna suitable for AMSAT or fox-hunting use. Thanks to donations of valuable materials by Virginia, NV5F, and Rollin, WA5RFG, the kit cost will be only $10.00. Remember that you don’t need to be a DARC member to attend our event. We’ll meet up at our usual meeting location at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 25th. Please watch this post for more updates about tools and instructions.
Continue readingCome join the DARC for the October 26, 2024 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 26, 2024 start time is 10am more details below.
Continue reading2M Fox Hunting Yagi Antenna Build
Join the DARC for Lecture and Lab March 23, 2024 from 10am until 2pm. Attendees will be building an inexpensive 2M yagi beam antenna using 1″ tape measure sections for antenna elements and a three foot length of 1/2″ PVC pipe. This antenna is suitable for HAM radio fox hunting and other radio direction finding activities in the 2 meter HAM band. You can purchase the antenna kit on site, cost of the kit is $15.00. Builders with their tools will need to come to the Dallas Medical Center March 23, 2024 from 10:00 am – 2 pm ish to purchase, assemble and test their antenna. First come first served and as always this event is open to anybody licensed or not, and you do not need to be a member of the DARC to attend.
Continue readingAnderson Power Pole Workshop
Join the DARC for Lecture and Lab February 24, 2024 from 10am until 2pm. This will be an Anderson Power Pole Workshop – This Workshop will give you a complete overview of Anderson Power Poles and how they are used in HAM Radio. Participants will have a choice of building two kits: one kit has eight different essential Power Pole accessories and handy bag and the other kit is a fused distribution box complete with a volt meter and USB charge ports. You can purchase either kit or both. Builders will need to come to the Dallas Medical Center Feb 24, 2024 from 10:00 am – 2 pm ish to assemble their kits . First come first served and is open to anybody licensed or not, and you do not need to be a member of the DARC to attend.
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