Stockton-Delta Amateur Radio Club

The next Club Meeting is Thursday, May 11th at 7:00 PM...

LINDEN CHERRY FESTIVAL 
SATURDAY, MAY 20TH
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM 

The Linden Cherry Festival is a rural festival in Linden, which centers around the cherry crop, which the Linden area is well known for. As you can see by the festival link at the bottom, it includes a parade at 10:00 AM followed by the festival at 11:00 AM. The parade proceeds west along Front St. in Linden, passing from downtown, past the High School and ending at the Grammar School/Duncan Rd. We will be providing direction and communication support for the parade, it's preparations and return. It typically lasts about 45 minutes, but our support will last around 2 hours, because we also handle setup and return.
The festival starting at 11:00 AM, is an open air event in the Grammar School fields. The organizers will have some private security and members from the Linden Peters Fire Department providing public safety. In the past this event has attracted more people than some local cellular services can handle at peak, so radio can be the only link to immediate safety response. We need people to roam around and be public liaisons/contacts for the event safety and organizers, through Network Control. Tactical/Directed Net protocols will be used. Everyone will need to wear a safety vest at all times you are on duty. As the planning process moves along, more details will become clear.
This a great event for experienced and new Hams alike. Newcomers to Amateur radio can be paired with experienced operators to Elmer (coach) them and help with radio and Tactical Net operations. This is a great for inexperienced licensees to get some hands on experience. If you are not yet licensed, you can be paired with someone to just see what it is like. This will be either a repeater or simplex event, tbd. The parade is usually hectic, so depending on workload some operators may not have a lot of time to coach them, but the festival will be much more laid back and provide a lot more time to help each other. We hope that most people can move from parade duty to festival duty and some will need to overlap for a time.
To sign up, go to Event Sign-Up link, fill out your information.  
We will provide more details as they become available. If you have any questions, message me through Facebook Messenger or my QRZ email link, W6CPR.
Linden Cherry Festival link:

MAY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
THURSDAY, MAY 11TH 7:00 PM
STOCKTON SAILING CLUB
4980 BUCKLEY COVE
STOCKTON, CA  

 

QST QST QST… The May meeting of the Stockton-Delta Amateur Radio Club will

be held at the Stockton Sailing Club Auditorium, 4980 Buckley Cove Rd in Stockton. The Sailing Club is located at the west end of March Lane, west of Interstate

5 on the left-hand side of the road just before you enter Buckley Cove Park.

 

All members are strongly encouraged to attend. We will be reviewing Museum Ships Weekend on the USS Lucid June 2nd - 4th. We have some other events to review - Ham-U on the 29th of April and the Delta Century on May 6th. 


John NZ6Q will discuss Contest / Special Event Logging and Operating for our Training Program

 

So… grab your spouse, significant other or just that friend and we'll see you at the meeting! 


ALSO AVAILABLE ON ZOOM IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND IN PERSON


Zoom Meeting Information:

Topic: W6SF MONTHLY CLUB MEETING ON ZOOM

Time: May 11th, 2023 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)


Join Zoom Meeting

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8715741939?pwd=alRiTFhydFNtMlBQZXAwOUd2YTN1UT09

 

Meeting ID: 871 574 1939

Passcode: 147165

One tap mobile

+16699009128,,8715741939#,,,,*147165# US

W6SF CLUB BREAKFAST 
THURSDAY MORNINGS 9:00 AM
THE OMLETTE HOUSE 
CHEROKEE AND 99 ON THE WEST SIDE
OF THE FREEWAY 

Club members and friends of Amateur Radio are welcome to gather at 9:00 AM on Thursdays for Hamz n Eggs Breakfast... This week is at The Omlette House, 3455 N Cherokee Lane in Stockton.   

We enjoy a high level discussions of ham radio communications, rules, regulations, contesting, SOTAs, ARES gear and whatever else 'ya got. 

DX, county and state , SOTA, and POTA  hunters!  This is a reminder that you are expected to attend Thursday's breakfast or face demerits on your FCC issued license. 

Schmoozing starts about 9am so bring your latest stories, gadgets and lies to entertain everyone

I hope to see you there!   de N6LHL

APRIL 

MEETING REPORT

APRIL 13, 2023 

Stockton-Delta Amateur Radio Club – Meeting Minutes – April 13.2023

The meeting was called to order at 7:11pm by president Mark W6SXA. Introductions around the room with 16 in attendance and 3 more on Zoom. Charlie WB6NVB gave a treasures report with a current bank balance of $4325.09. He also reported on the proceeds of $6500 delivered to the Community Center For The Blind from the Pedaling Paths Bike Ride.

Charlie also reminded the members it is time to renew your membership if you have not already.


Mark W6SXA and John NZ6Q recapped the STEAM event which was held on March 25th at Lincoln High School. The event was a great success, with live booth demonstrations and hands on activities for the participants. The event organizers want us back again next year. The school principal, who was once a member of the old Delta Club (now part of SDARC), is interested in reinstating the Lincoln High School Radio Club.

Mark W6SA and John NZ6Q discussed the upcoming Ham University on April 29th. We need to get the word out, which has been posted on Facebook, and flyers to various local clubs. John NZ6Q will be sending out an email blast in the near future. All attendees will need to sign up on the club website.

Saturday April 22nd is opening day for the Stockton Sailing Club, and our club will again have a booth at the event. Peter K6PH confirmed the event hours from 10:00-5:00. Mark W6SXA will arrive by 8:30 in the morning to set up, extra help is needed that day.   The booth will have a go box radio and literature to hand out.

Our club was invited to set up a booth at the Stockton Victory Park for Earth Day on April 23rd, but after much discussion it was decided, due to multiple big events this month that we will pass this year.

Joni KN6WVX and John NX6Q reported on the Delta Century coming up on May 6th. Our club will once again provide radio and SAG support. We will need a sweep at the end of ride, and there are some changes regarding the lunch stop and one of the rest stops. Volunteers need to sign up on the website.

Al KN6IOK reported on the Linden Cherry Festival coming up on May 20th. The festival organizers have not finalized planning, and another meeting should be coming up soon.   If our club is to volunteer our services we will need 12 operators. More information will be available at the next club meeting in May.

The membership voted to sanction the following two events:

Opening day for the Stockton Sailing Club (April 22nd) and the Delta Century (May 6th). A motion made by Jeff KK6VXB, second by Cecil W6CPR. Motion passed with membership approval.

 

Meeting adjourned at 8:00PM and was followed by a Emergency Prepardeness for Hams presentation by Mark W6SXA.




WORLD of STEAM EXPO
SATURDAY, MARCH 25TH 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM



This year’s World of STEAM Expo was held on the campus of Lincoln High School on March 25, 2023 from 10:00 am-2:00 pm.

 

The Stockton-Delta Amateur Radio Club was invited back to this event again this year. Kids still think radio is cool and the interest at our tables proved it once again!  


We were in the gym again this year with access to the back parking lot to facilitate setting up antennas and for access from the MDARC TV Truck. Club members fro0m Stockton, Lodi and MDARC and others came together to offer up some great demonstrations.  Dave WB6TOU's Hi Altitude Balloon launch was scubbed in the morning because of wind concerns, but students and parents signed up for a live launch when the weather is better and got to see the balloon parts and payload up close. 


Bob K6DGQ's Morse Code was a hit with almost 100 student learning how to tap out their name in morse code.  Colin K6CMM (and his yet to be licensed sister) also had a hit with Morse code, giving students the opportunity to spin the wheel, learn a random letter in Morse Code and win a prize - from "HAM" stickers to candy. 


Rick N6DT had a great demonstration of Echolink, DMR and showed students how they can communicate around the world connecting their smart phone into radio networks. It was also a big hit! 


MDARC's TV set-up was a big event as kids of all ages communicated via the Mt Diablo ATV repeater to hams around Northern California on Television.  


There were demonstrations of SDRs and simple 2Meter/440 radio as well as FT8 on HF with Bob N6TCE, Mark W6SXA and Joyce K6QBQ helping students and adults "GOTA" or "Get On The Air" and talk to local hams.  Thanks Ron KG7OR for being ready to talk when called throughout the event. 


Joni KN6WVX and John NZ6Q were our "unofficial" greeters and raffle masters. Thanks to a generous donation by the Lodi ARC we gave away 4 pairs of Family Radio Service (FRS) walkie-talkies along with a blue tooth speaker, smart watch, books and notepads.  


We also established some new friends who are looking toward future opportunities to partner with the club.  The first of which was is the principal of Lincoln High School who is looking to significantly elevate STEM, Robotics and other technology opportunity (Maybe even a radio club) on campus in 2023. Also, the education director at the San Joaquin County Schools program is looking to have their own STEMFest in 2024 and was very interested in SDARC being a part of that.  


A huge shout out to everyone who participated, helped set-up, helped take down, took pictures (Paul N6KZW) and were a part of this great event.  


If you would like to donate to help next years World of Steam, you can  through their Facebook page. 

 

BRONZE LEVEL:        $100 and up

SILVER LEVEL:           $250 and up

GOLD LEVEL:              $500 and up

PLATINUM LEVEL:      $1000 and up 

 


HAMCRAM / VE SESSION
SATURDAY AUGUST 12TH 
DOORS OPEN 7:45 AM 

STOCKTON FIRE STATION #2 - BRET LAWES CLASSROOM 
110 W SONORA ST, STOCKTON, CA 95202 

Here's your chance to get your license and join the fun of ham radio! Did you know that during the recent storms and flooding around San Joaquin County, ham radio operators we still able to communicate, able to access their own email, data and internet sites.  Ham radio operators are part of the teams that help the community through a natural disaster - The next HamCram study and test session will be held at Stockton Fire Station #2 - Bret Lawes Classroom, 110 W Sonora St, Stockton, CA 95202

 

If you are interested in doing a HamCram Study Session, OR you are testing for an upgrade, or you or a family member wants to get your license, please pre-register at www.w6sf.org/hamcram.html

 

HamCram study session starts at 8:00 AM and the doors will open at 7:45.

 

The Test Only sessions will start at 3:00 PM

 

Sign up for the next HamCram clicking the link here.

VOLUNTEERS ON THE AIR
A YEAR-LONG AMATEUR RADIO EVENT

JAN 1 – DEC 31, 2023

 

2023 will be celebrated by ARRL as “The Year of the Volunteer.” More information will be available throughout the year as the details are confirmed. However, the first adventure has been announced as a project called “Volunteers On The Air (VOTA).” Here we get ‘points’ for each contact made with another ARRL volunteer. So, if two ARRL members contact each other, they will each receive a point for that QSO. No special codes, sequence numbers, or section information needs to be passed. Make contact with a fellow ARRL member, and you each receive a point. Each of you must upload the contact to the Logbook of The World (LoTW), and your points are calculated when the QSO is matched. This could be an FT8 contact, a CW contact, a simplex 2M FM contact, an RTTY contact, or an SSB rag-chew.

To add more interest to the year-long operating event and help demonstrate the ARRL volunteers’ value, each level of volunteer activity has been assigned a point level, shown in the table at http://vota.arrl.org For example, if you make a contact with John NZ6Q, the San Joaquin Valley Section Manager, you’ll get 175 points for that one contact. So, I’ll need to up my HF game to handle all the pile-ups coming my way in 2023. Maybe I need that 160M inverted L and another HF rig ! I’m hoping you will be able to get some certificates, or wallpaper, for your efforts.

More details on this are at http://vota.arrl.org and in the January 2023 issue of QST. So, get your gear running, make sure your LoTW connection is working, and see you on the air!!!

VOTA Program Rules

I’m sure these rules may be extended or revised, so please check http://vota.arrl.org for updates.

  • This starts January 1, 2023, at 0000Z.
  • This ends December 31, 2023, at 2359Z.
  • You must be an ARRL member. You can join or renew at https://arrl.org/join/
  • All QSOs must be uploaded to the ARRL QSO matching system, Logbook of The World (LoTW).
  • No repeater contacts are allowed.
  • Contacts can be made on any band (except 12 M, 17 M, and 30 M).
  • Contacts can be made on any legal mode of operation.
  • You receive ‘points’ based on the volunteer level of the ARRL member you contact. Points range from 1 point for an ARRL member to 300 points for Rick Roderick K5UR.
  • The point levels are listed at http://vota.arrl.org (Your favorite Section Managers are worth 175 points.)
  • Each QSO will get only one point value. For example, someone who is a member, a life member, and an Assistant Section Manager will be worth the value of the highest role, 35 points for the ASM role.

 

Logbook of The World (LoTW)

All the reporting for this VOTA effort will be handled automatically by the ARRL Logbook of The World (LoTD) QSO matching system. If you already log your QSOs from your favorite logging software and it uploads them to LoTW, you will automatically be enrolled in the project. Your QSOs will be verified normally, and the callsigns of the people you work will be searched to find the appropriate points (table shown at http://vota.arrl.org ) that you receive for each QSO.

 

But, if you aren’t set up to use LoTW, now is the time to set it up. The LoTW quick-start page is a great place to start, and the “What is LoTW Document” explains the whole process. You must authenticate yourself with the system by receiving a postcard mailed to your FCC-registered address. You’ll run a program called TSQL that is used by your logging program, N3FJPN1MMDX Lab Suite, or something else to authenticate and upload to LoTW. You can start the setup process now, and you’ll be ready in a few days. Hold your logs until you get LoTW set up, and you can upload them when you get it all sorted.

 

If you need help setting up your LoTW account, watch some YouTube videos, contact your Elmer, or local club. If that fails, email me at nz6q@arrl.org, and I’ll find someone to help you.

 

W1AW Remote Operations

As a part of the Year of the Volunteer celebration, the mystical callsign W1AW will be traveling to the corners of ARRL-land. ARRL members in each state/territory will be asked to operate their stations for two different weeks using the callsign W1AW/x where x is one of the local regions: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, KL, KH0, KH2, KH6, KH7, KH8, KP2, KP3, or KP4. For example, California’s first week starts Feb 15 2023, at 0000z and will run through January 31, 2023, at 2359z, using the callsign W1AW/6. Each state will coordinate the time/band/mode slots throughout the week and hams will be able to operate their

Each state W1AW coordinator will make a schedule to optimize the on-air time for those interested in running the callsign. Contact John NZ6Q if you would like to be W1AW/6 between February 15th and the 21st nz6q@arrl.net

This is a great opportunity to get on the air and have some fun, maybe earn a W1AW Worked-All-States Certificate, talk to the President of the ARRL (I did during the Centennial QSO Party in 2014), meet a bunch of new people and learn more about the hobby while you’re doing it.

THANKS DAVE NAVONE FOR THE LINK TO THIS COOL VIDEO ALL ABOUT HAM RADIO AND THE TV SHOW "LAST MAN STANDING"
W6SF
2019 FIELD DAY VIDEO
CHECK IT OUT!
THANK YOU DENNIS AD6DM

Ham Test Online

CHECK OUT OUR OWN BOB KM6ONS AND KYLE K6KDD ON GOOD DAY SACRAMENTO

AUGUST 28, 2018

Click to Replace
QSO TODAY
CLUB REPEATERS

Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at 2500 feet, the club repeaters cover the Southern Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valleys. The call-sign is W6SF and can be heard on 147.165 MHz and on 442.250 MHz with a PL of 107.2 Hz. Club simplex frequency is 147.51 MHz.



SDARC also has a UHF repeater, operating independently, on 444.575+ PL 107.2.  This is a local low level Stockton repeater with the call W6SF.  As the project progresses, three receiver/voters will be installed via T1 phone lines and the addition of IRLP linking to other repeaters.  
CLUB REPEATERS

Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at 2500 feet, the club repeaters cover the Southern Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valleys. The call-sign is W6SF and can be heard on 147.165 MHz and on 442.250 MHz with a PL of 107.2 Hz. Club simplex frequency is 147.51 MHz.



SDARC also has a UHF repeater, operating independently, on 444.575+ PL 107.2.  This is a local low level Stockton repeater with the call W6SF.  As the project progresses, three receiver/voters will be installed via T1 phone lines and the addition of IRLP linking to other repeaters. 
CLUB REPEATERS

Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at 2500 feet, the club repeaters cover the Southern Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valleys. The call-sign is W6SF and can be heard on 147.165 MHz and on 442.250 MHz with a PL of 107.2 Hz. Club simplex frequency is 147.51 MHz.



SDARC also has a UHF repeater, operating independently, on 444.575+ PL 107.2.  This is a local low level Stockton repeater with the call W6SF.  As the project progresses, three receiver/voters will be installed via T1 phone lines and the addition of IRLP linking to other repeaters.  
CLUB REPEATERS

Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at 2500 feet, the club repeaters cover the Southern Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin Valleys. The call-sign is W6SF and can be heard on 147.165 MHz and on 442.250 MHz with a PL of 107.2 Hz. Club simplex frequency is 147.51 MHz.

  



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