We are looking ahead to the month of June. June is a particularly exciting month in Amateur Ham Radio. Every year, on the last weekend of the month of June, Ham Operators across the country and Canada grab their gear and go outdoors to make as many contacts as possible. As in past years, the Group will be setting up near the Sports Pavilion on Saturday, the 25^th in the Morning. Consider coming by before playing Pickleball or Tennis and saying hi to us. We are happy to show you our equipment and explain Ham Radio in a modern, digital era. Under our licensed supervision, Grandkids can get on the air as well. Meetings are held at the South Tower every Monday night at 6:30 PM. Our club conducts a weekly radio network at 7:00 PM every Monday on the W6LHR Repeater at 147.030 MHz, 167.9 PL. If you are looking for a way to engage in the community and have an interest in Amateur Radio, please check out the LHARG. For more LHARG information visit our Website, the URL is: lharg.us or email dlehrer72@gmail.com

Our Group was superbly represented at the Club Expo. Jim, K6GYM and John, NQ6Q were on hand to welcome inquisitive residents. A wonderful display informed folks about amateur radio opportunities here in Sun City. Jim, K6GYM had two working radios and an antenna set up on the desktop. Guests could hear stations chattering on the air as they passed by. Several guests signed our Visitor Log and we hope they will pursue the hobby with us. Preliminary plans are underway for Field Day, which takes place on June 25 thru the 26^th, near the sports Plaza. Meetings are held at the South Tower every Monday night at 6:30 PM. Our club conducts a weekly radio network at 7:00 PM every Monday on the W6LHR Repeater at 147.030 MHz, 167.9 PL. If you are looking for a way to engage in the community and have an interest in Amateur Radio, please check out the LHARG. For more LHARG information visit our Website, the URL is: lharg.us or email dlehrer72@gmail.com

Our Group embarked on a wonderful Field Trip to the Lincoln Area Archives Museum (LAAM). Located in Downtown Lincoln on 5^th Street, one can find a treasure trove of items on display. The Docents took us through a history of Lincoln. A WW2 Radio, captured from the Reich, was on display as well as several tube radios from the 50’s and 60’s. After working over a year, Dan, KN6DRN earned his Worked All States (WAS) award from the Parks on the Air (POTA) program. An individual Ham Operator visits a State or National Park and sets up their Radio and antenna in the Park. The operator, also known as an “Activator” attempts to contact a minimum of 10 stations. “Hunters”, like Dan, KN6DRN then hunt an Activator in each State to earn the Hunter WAS award. It is challenging and exciting to make those contacts. Meetings are held at the South Tower every Monday night at 6:30 PM. Our club conducts a weekly radio network at 7:00 PM every Monday on the W6LHR Repeater at 147.030 MHz, 167.9 PL. If you are looking for a way to engage in the community and have an interest in Amateur Radio, please check out the LHARG. For more LHARG information visit our Website, the URL is: lharg.us or email dlehrer72@gmail.com

The Group participated in two events recently. Winter Field Day and the North America QSO Party. The NA QSO Party yielded 54 separate contacts including 35 States and 1 Canadian Province. Winter Field Day was exciting (and cold) as we took to the great outdoors and made 26 QSO’s and earned 1,104 points. Eight States and two Canadian Provinces were successfully contacted. Bonus points were earned by utilizing battery power and setting up away from our homes. All these events help us fine tune our equipment and prepare us for emergency operations. The fun part also helps our spirits. Meetings are held at the South Tower every Monday night at 6:30 PM. Our club conducts a weekly radio network at 7:00 PM every Monday on the W6LHR Repeater at 147.030 MHz, 167.9 PL. If you are looking for a way to engage in the community and have an interest in Amateur Radio, please check out the LHARG. For more LHARG information visit our Website, the URL is: lharg.us or email dlehrer72@gmail.com

The Sierra Foothills Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring the Loomis Hamfest on Saturday, March 19, 2022. It will take place at the Loomis Historic Train Depot. The address is 5775 Horseshoe Bar Road in Loomis CA. For more information the Club website is W6EK.org.

The 2022 QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo is being held on March 12th and 13th. There is always something new to learn in our hobby and this is an excellent place to access information. The early bird registration fee of $10.00 allows access to the event and up to 30 days access to the recorded presentations. Here is a summary of the event:

About the Expo

Amateur radio is like a big circus.  It has its main tent with three rings in the center.  In those rings could be Contesting, DXing, and Rag Chewing.  However, amateur radio now has a “midway of a thousand smaller tents” according to Eric Guth, 4Z1UG, founder of the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo, and host of the QSO Today Podcast, a interview program featuring the most interesting amateur radio operators.  It is exactly this midway that the “Expo” was founded to explore.  

The Covid-19 Pandemic closed ham radio conventions, hamfests, and monthly meetings all across the World in 2020.  It was because of these closures that Eric, 4Z1UG, got the idea to create an on-line, and virtual convention that has all of the elements of a real ham radio convention, similar to the most notable live conventions.  

The First QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo was in August 2020 where over 15,000 amateurs attended on the Expo weekend, attending on their computers over the Internet instead of in-person.  Over 80 presentations were made, with live Q&A on Zoom webinar, and attendees could come back over a 30 day on-demand period to view the recorded presentations that they missed.  

We discovered something unique in August from surveys that we made following the expo.  Sixty percent of the attendees, almost 9000 hams do not go to live expos, preferring to stay at home.  The Covid-19 Pandemic has made this all the more important.  

The Expo has also become the place to discover more niches in amateur radio through the presentations given at each one.  In March 2021, while there was some difficulty with the platforms, over 6000 hams came and viewed almost 100,000 presentations from the over 80 that were offered in March.  Our Expo in August 2021 had over 90 presentations in 8 tracks of amazing amateur radio content. 

The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo returns on March 12th, 2022 and has become a twice yearly event.  We hope to see you there!

For more information the link is: qsotodayhamexpo.com

CQ, CQ, CQ this is KN6DRN calling all fellow Ham Operators. Why not dust off your radios and take a new look at our Club this year. Several less active members have rejoined us and are checking into our weekly net. Senior members are happy to hear their voices on the air once again. We welcomed new member Gerry, KG6OQE who has rediscovered his interest in the hobby and has added his call sign into our Net Rotation as a Net Control Operator. Meetings are held at the South Tower every Monday night at 6:30 PM. Our club conducts a weekly radio network at 7:00 PM every Monday on the W6LHR Repeater at 147.030 MHz, 167.9 PL. If you are looking for a way to engage in the community and have an interest in Amateur Radio, please check out the LHARG. For more LHARG information visit our Website, the URL is: lharg.us or email dlehrer72@gmail.com

The last weekend in January is our opportunity to participate in the Annual Winter Field Day event.

Purpose Mission Statement: To foster Ham camaraderie, field operation, emergency operating
preparedness, and just plain on the air, outdoor fun in the midst of winter for American,
Canadian, and DX Hams. Don’t let those winter doldrums keep you locked up in the house… get out and play some radio!!
When: Winter Field Day runs for 24 hours during the last full weekend in January each year
from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. For 2022 the dates are January 29th and 30th. Station set-up may commence no earlier than 1900 UTC (2pm EST) on the Friday before. Station setup may consume no more than 12 hours total. How & when you schedule/spend those 12 hours is up to you.
Bands: All Amateur bands, HF, VHF, & UHF except 12, 17, 30 and 60 meters.
Modes: Any mode that can faithfully transmit the exchange intact without a conversion table… CW, SSB, AM, FM, DStar, C4FM, DMR, Packet, PSK, SSTV, RTTY, Olivia, Satellite, etc… (note FT8 & FT4 cannot)
Suggested Frequencies: (to make it easier to find each other)
HF CW – 1810-1820, 3.530-3.550, 7.030-7.050, 14.035-14.055, 21.030-21.050, 28.030-
28.040
HF SSB – lowest 30 kHz of the US General Class Phone bands (160m-15m), 28.400-
28.425MHz (10m) 6m/VHF/UHF – adjacent to, but not on, nationally recognized simplex calling channels

For more information, the website is: winterfieldday.com

Good Luck.

We are pleased that the Board approved our request for a new Repeater. The support from the Properties & Finance Committees is greatly appreciated. Better coverage and a more reliable and modern Repeater will better serve the Community. As always, thanks to John, NQ6Q and LC, N7VQC for all their research and expertise. The equipment, owned by the Association, will be maintained by the Club. The month of January brings with it the North America QSO Party. Hams will be trying to make as many contacts as possible, on January 22^nd from 10:00 AM (1800 UTC) until 10:00PM (0600 UTC). The following weekend of January 29^th thru the 30^th is the Annual Winter Field Day event. Starting Saturday at 11:00 AM (1900 UTC) ending Sunday, at 11:00AM (1900 UTC). Points are awarded for number of contacts as well as bonus points for portable power and setting up away from home base stations. The Group has a goal of making more contacts than last year. If you are looking for a way to engage in the community and have an interest in Amateur Radio, please check out the LHARG. Our club conducts a weekly radio network at 7:00 PM every Monday on the W6LHR Repeater at 147.030 MHz, 167.9 PL. For more LHARG information visit our Website, the URL is: lharg.us or email dlehrer72@gmail.com