Pawnee Amateur Radio Club

01/21/2026

Another update on the Columbus 146.640 repeater. After the lightening strike and after the installation of a new antenna, the repeater controller experienced symptoms of staying active and not dropping correctly after a transmission ended. After trying various fixes, the club decided to replace the old controller. Thanks to club member WD0AAH for finding a new Yaesu controller that the club purchased.

This new controller has been installed and the 146.640 repeater is receiving positive reports from members using it around the county .

Send a message to learn more

11/23/2025

The Columbus 146.640 repeater is back on the air! The antenna is a Sinclair Technologies SD224 with a 6 dB 4 element omni directional dipole antenna array. Early testing show improved coverage compared to the previous antenna.

Thank you to N0RHM for his efforts in sourcing and coordinating the installation of the new antenna and feedline!

11/01/2025

The Osceola 2 meter analog repeater has been relocated to David City and it is back on-line and available for amateur radio operator use.

147.015 (+) KG0ED input frequency 147.615 PL Tone: none

This antenna for this repeater is mounted at 320' up on the tower and the tower is out of the Platte River valley giving the repeater solid coverage in a 35 mile radius.

More information about this repeater and additional information about other repeaters in this area can be found on the Pawnee Amateur Radio Club website:

Pawnee Amateur Radio Club Columbus, Nebraska Est. 1970

08/29/2025

Hello Pawnee Amateur Radio Club members and guests,

The thunderstorm that rolled through Columbus on Sunday night August 17th contained a lightning strike that hit the Columbus 146.640 repeater tower on top of the Columbus Court House damaging the antenna and feedline.

The repeater itself appears to be OK, but we have it powered off to prevent any further damage. We will leave the repeater powered off until we can determine what to do for a replacement antenna and feedline.

We still have the 146.775 N0RHM repeater operating and supporting our normal radio nets on Saturday mornings 9:00am and Sunday evenings 7:30pm.

01/13/2025

I enjoy building, tuning and using my own home brewed antennas. Build your own 10 meter portable vertical antenna using the instructions in the video below and join in on the great 10 meter band conditions! I have built this antenna and it works well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJw6zvEFhhU

To get the exact diagram and wire measurements that he references, use Google and type in "10 meter wire jpole N1LO"

Easy to build 10 Meter vertical antenna. A start to finish antenna build of a ladder line J pole antenna cut for the 10 meter band. I also follow up with a f...

12/14/2024

Thanks to the efforts of several club members, a Meshtastic radio network has been set up in Columbus, NE. This open access radio network is available for anyone to use.

What is Meshtastic? Meshtastic radios are inexpensive, low power, long-range, open-source radios that can be used for off-grid texting communication in areas without reliable cellular signals or Internet access. You use your cell phone, tablet or computer to talk to your own Meshtastic radio node. Your Meshtastic node then talks between all the other nodes in your area to pass along your texting communications.

Text messages can be broadcast openly to everyone (imagine CB radio), broadcast to private channels (like texting groups) or directly to another individual (like direct text messages).

Most importantly, the FCC allows Meshtastic to be used by anyone as long as the transmit power does not exceed 1 watt. This means that you do not have to have a FCC amateur radio license to use the Meshtastic system.

Learn more about Meshtastic on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH-K9fRuhfQ

Learn more about Meshtastic in the Columbus, NE area by going to the Pawnee Amateur Radio Club website: https://sites.google.com/site/pawneearc/home

08/04/2024

Summertime Tropospheric Ducting is occurring on VHF across Nebraska and the Mid-West.

Summer time normally brings large band openings on VHF and UHF frequencies. The map below shows Nebraska on Sunday morning. The darker the red color the further the propagation is occurring. Propagation has been open already several times this summer as the hot humid air masses move across the region.

I normally recognize that Tropospheric Ducting is occurring when I can hear regional repeaters like Lincoln, Omaha, Grand Island, Neligh and Sioux City on my VHF/UHF mobile radio in my truck. If you can hear them, there is a good chance you can reach back and make a contact on their repeaters. Wati for a break in their conversation and say "Hello, this is YOURCAL calling from Columbus, NE and taking advantage of the band opening"

There are also times when distant repeaters will Duct back into our local repeater frequencies. Don't be surprised if you carry on a long distance conversation over our "local" repeater.

Keying up and calling out on the National Simplex VHF calling frequencies 146.520 can also initiate contacts. Throw your call sign out, say "This is YOURCALL calling CQ on 146.520 from Columbus Nebraska." Do this several times, wait 30 seconds and call again. Give the stations that may be monitoring time to get back to their radios so that they can respond.

Watch for VHF ducting in your area: https://vhf.dxview.org/

Summer time is fun time for VHF amateur radio. Keep your radio on and monitoring and get on the air and enjoy it.

02/27/2024

Best of the Best of the Best - Sir!

I recently ran across an excellent article that compares popular omni directional antennas in use by amateurs today. The article is titled "Understanding the 5/8 wave antenna” but it really compares several of the common omni directional antennas.

I am not going to spoil the surprise results (at least to me) at the end of the article but I would like to close with a quote from our club’s own WA0QCI – “Any antenna is better than no antenna”.

https://practicalantennas.com/designs/verticals/5eights/?fbclid=IwAR0s5PBPEK8txRkmO9sH-AQ8aWu9596tvmN7jV996bNO7ucJvheTl19RVx0https://practicalantennas.com/designs/verticals/5eights/?fbclid=IwAR0s5PBPEK8txRkmO9sH-AQ8aWu9596tvmN7jV996bNO7ucJvheTl19RVx0

Understanding the 5/8 wave antenna last updated 28 November 2023. One of the problems we often run into when trying to understand antennas is when a condition that applies in very specific cases gets generalized and accepted as “fact”, even in situations where it doesn’t apply. A classic examp...

01/08/2024

Winter Heat 2024 is underway now!

Warm up your shack with another Amateur radio event occurring right now in January called WINTERHEAT. Run by the HAMACTIVE group:

https://www.hamactive.com

"WINTERHEAT, now in its fifth year, stands as a month-long UHF/VHF simplex event crafted to empower amateur radio operators by offering a dedicated platform to test and enhance their UHF/VHF capabilities. From its inception, WINTERHEAT aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of stations, encouraging operators to adapt and refine their equipment setups throughout the month-long event.

Distinguishing itself from shorter on-air events, WINTERHEAT, along with its summer counterpart (SUMMERTHUNDER), extends over several weeks to capture a more realistic and nuanced assessment of stations. This prolonged duration enables operators to make adjustments in real-time, ensuring a dynamic and continuous enhancement of their capabilities.

Streamlining communication, WINTERHEAT mandates all contacts to occur on pre-designated frequencies. This approach simplifies the process for operators, eliminating the need to search for stations calling CQ. Operating within Technician class privileges, all FCC-licensed amateur radio operators can actively participate in the event.

Adding to its uniqueness, WINTERHEAT utilizes a custom-built, over-the-web logging system that facilitates real-time statistics and logging of contacts. This one-of-a-kind method enhances the overall experience, providing operators with valuable data in an unprecedented manner.

Beyond its role as a skill-building platform, WINTERHEAT serves as an invaluable opportunity for Emergency Communications (EmComm) operators. Leveraging the event, EmComm groups can coordinate emergency communication activities, assessing mission functionality and readiness for potential crises. WINTERHEAT, now in its fifth consecutive year, continues to evolve and grow, combining its rich history with the potential for real-world emergency preparedness."

WINTERHEAT will commence on January 1, 2024 at 00:00:01 UTC and conclude on January 31, 2024 at 23:59:59 UTC.

During the event, radio operators are encouraged to make as many contacts as possible during the event window. All contacts are made via FM-Voice and include both analog and digital modes (Fusion, DMR, D-STAR).

09/22/2023

Lately I have been experimenting with a HF NVIS antenna on 40 and 20 meters. What is a Near Vertical Incidence Skywave antenna?

Near vertical incidence skywave, or NVIS, is a skywave radio-wave propagation path that provides usable signals in the medium distances range — usually 0–650 km (0–400 miles).

The radio waves travel near-vertically upwards into the ionosphere, where they are refracted back down and can be received within a circular region up to 650 km (400 miles) from the transmitter. If the frequency is too high (that is, above the critical frequency of the ionospheric F layer), refraction is insufficient to return the signal to earth and if it is too low, absorption in the ionospheric D layer may reduce the signal strength.

08/06/2023

Satellites, they are up there waiting to be worked. They are available for Technician Class HAMS and provide a great way to experience long distance communications. In addition, there is also an amateur repeater active on the International Space Station!

07/08/2023

KD0OBA Campground portable field station with a homebrewed end fed half wave antenna on 40 meters. Checked into the Nebraska 40 meter daily net at 13:00 CDT - 7.282 LSB.