Panama City Amateur Radio Club

10/13/2026

All,

The funeral for Charles Fox, NK4A, will be next Monday, October 19th, at Wilson Funeral Home on Airport Rd. Visitation will be 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. The funeral will be at 2:00 PM.

Club members will be listed as Honorary Pallbearers. Please attend if you can.

Gary / AJ4KY
PCARC President.

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Panama City Amateur Radio Club - W4RYZ

10/12/2026

All, the NOTAM and Waiver are set for Saturday, 17 October 2026, from 9am to 5pm (0900 to 1700). The forecast looks good for now. Bring the usual stuff: shade, hats, lawn chairs, lunch, water, rockets, motors, etc.

Check with Chris Short on the status of his vending at csrockerty.com.

Event & Location Details:

Schedule: Setup begins at 8:30 AM CDT. Launches run from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM CDT (Tip: Arrive by 10:00 AM to catch most of the action).

Admission: $10 range fee per carload of flyers.

Location: Sod Road, Samson, AL. Use this Google Maps link or enter "Sod Road, Samson, AL" into your GPS.

Driving Directions: From the AL 52 & AL 87 intersection in downtown Samson, head west on AL 52 for 0.9 miles. Turn right onto County 17 and go 0.8 miles (passing the cemetery on your right). Turn left onto the wide, graded dirt road. After 0.4 miles, turn left onto Sod Road and continue past the sod farm offices into the field. Please stay on the road and observe all posted signs.

What to Bring & Expect:

Observers, beginners, youth, scouts, and families are all welcome!

Bring your own rockets and motors—the club provides the launch equipment. Starter rockets are available at Hobby Lobby if you need one.

Bring a sack lunch, water, sunscreen, lawn chairs, and a tent or umbrella for shade. Restrooms (PortaPotty) will be on-site.

Feel free to bring your ham radio gear along if you'd like.

Vendor Info:
Chris Short of Chris’ Rocket Supplies is our event vendor. He won't have his trailer on-site, but you can order directly through his website.

Hope to see you there!

Best regards,

Greg (N4KGL)

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10/12/2026

Get ready for the RaDAR Rally on Saturday, November 7, 2026! RaDAR — Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio — is a fun, challenging outdoor amateur radio activity where you set up a portable station, make five contacts, then pack up and move to a new location. Repeat within a four-hour window. In this Zoom, we walk through everything you need to know.

The Wiregrass ARC have a POTA/RaDAR Activity Day on November 7th!

See https://youtu.be/FBGdzQMkhEs?si=6ZJORq9MZ-eC2WUX

Also, check out our YouTube Playlist

Beginner's Academy is on Monday night at 7:30 CT. Beginners or returning hams in Northwest Florida and Southeast Alabama are encouraged to join. We have a group of mentors on Zoom. We aim to hold a presentation every other week and Q&A on the other weeks. All members of Panama City ARC and Wiregrass ARC are welcome. See you there!

Please join the Zoom Meeting at 7:30 pm CT on Monday. Click on this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86507265460?pwd=K1hhR0pKVXIreXFLWlpiWjVBcmxYQT09

Meeting ID: 865 0726 5460
Password: 145210

The Beginner's Academy is seeking talks for our Zoom meetings on a ham radio topic that interests you. You may also choose a topic pertinent to new or returning hams. If you are willing, please contact Greg, N4KGL, at [email protected].

Panama City ARC has in-person meetings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at the clubhouse. The first Wednesday is the business meeting, and the third is testing at 6 p.m., usually done around 7 p.m.

Thanks,

Greg N4KGL

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Panama City Amateur Radio Club - W4RYZ

Here's a short YouTube description:---Learn how to combine Park...

10/07/2026

Our friends from NOARC have cancelled their Hamfest that was scheduled for the upcoming weekend,

10/05/2026

October 7th Business Meeting *** Pizza ***

All,

Please join the Officers this Wednesday for the October Business Meeting.

This year is the club's 70th year and help us continue to celebrate the year with pizza at 6:30 PM.

Ideas for the club are always welcome.

I hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Gary / AJ4KY
Club President

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Panama City Amateur Radio Club - W4RYZ

10/04/2026

Meet your ham buddies and make new ones!

Interested in POTA? See https://youtu.be/04JG80G56mw?si=KD5oY9ZmGfOetyeU

Also, check out our YouTube Playlist

Beginner's Academy is on Monday night at 7:30 CT. Beginners or returning hams in Northwest Florida and Southeast Alabama are encouraged to join. We have a group of mentors on Zoom. We aim to hold a presentation every other week and Q&A on the other weeks. All members of Panama City ARC and Wiregrass ARC are welcome. See you there!

Please join the Zoom Meeting at 7:30 pm CT on Monday. Click on this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86507265460?pwd=K1hhR0pKVXIreXFLWlpiWjVBcmxYQT09

Meeting ID: 865 0726 5460
Password: 145210

The Beginner's Academy is seeking talks for our Zoom meetings on a ham radio topic that interests you. You may also choose a topic pertinent to new or returning hams. If you are willing, please contact Greg, N4KGL, at [email protected].

Panama City ARC has in-person meetings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at the clubhouse. The first Wednesday is the business meeting, and the third is testing at 6 p.m., usually done around 7 p.m.

Thanks,

Greg N4KGL

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Panama City Amateur Radio Club - W4RYZ

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Panama City Amateur Radio Club - W4RYZ

09/30/2026

20260929_115110.jpg
This is a test of listening to and recording the ISS Crossband Repeater downlink. This weekend I can repeat on the SSTV frequency and decode from the recording. I did not expect a tree-trimming operation to set up right next to me. So could have done better. I was using a $30 Quansheng HT. My hookup is in the video. There would be many ways to do the same thing. I think you will hear something with any radio and antenna you have. See the previous email for passes and frequencies.

Greg N4KGL

Video of setup.

20260928_152923.mp4
Pass Recording
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H7XFSxtg6j4KjoJhxyEE7LUTQjiyhI6p/view?usp=sharing
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09/30/2026

https://www.w4ryz.org/2026/09/parks-on-air-getting-started.html?m=1

09/29/2026

Parks on the Air (POTA), Getting Started - YouTube

This was the topic of our Sept. 28th Beginner's Academy Zoom. See https://parksontheair.com/ and https://pota.app/ #/

US-12965 Dale County State Public Fishing Lake, US-1034 Blue Springs State Park, and US-1041 Frank Jackson State Park are among my local favorites.

Enjoy,

Greg N4KGL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04JG80G56mw

This video is a beginner's guide to Parks on the Air (POTA), an amateur radio hobby that combines outdoor activity with radio operation (0:00).

Key highlights:

Participation: You can participate by hunting (contacting others from home) or activating (setting up a portable station in a qualified park) (0:41).
Requirements: To activate a park, you must choose a POTA-listed site (national, state, or wildlife management areas), make at least 10 contacts, and submit your logs online (1:57).
Setup: Operators can use a variety of rigs and antennas—such as dipoles or verticals—often operating from a picnic table or a vehicle (3:47).
Workflow: The process involves choosing a park, setting up equipment, self-spotting on pota.app, making contacts, and finally uploading your ADIF log file (5:03).
Why POTA? It is popular because it encourages getting outdoors, building portable skills, and experimenting with radio gear in a community-oriented environment (6:25).
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