Category: Announcement Page 8 of 14

Welcome to the month of June! From now until November 30th 2025 we are in Hurricane Season. Be sure to have your plan ready as it is not if, but when. Stay weather aware and stay safe.

So what does that have to do with the tagline for PARC? We took the time on the first day of hurricane season to prep some coax that we recently recovered from the attic space above the club. This coax is from the former tower and was replaced with new coax during the new towers installation. It was recovered before the heat was unbearable and is going to be put back to use for the HF vertical and the fan dipole that will be rebuilt, test, and installed increasing the capabilities for communication at the clubhouse as PARC continues to make headway on multiple upgrades!

While we had the time, PARC tested the generator for emergency communications. It fired right up on the first pull. This is done semi-annually to ensure our property at the club is in tip top shape for emergency use! While on the subject of Club gear, we found an abandoned antenna set up in the attic while recovering the coax! Its true! Putting it across the meter, we identified that it is still exceptionally usable for multiple HF, VHF, and UHF bands. It is now cleaned up and ready for deployment! Where one might ask?! Potentially at a POTA, Field Day, or a weekend planned radio day! You just have to keep an eye on the calendar, come to a meeting, technical night, or pile-up to find out!

But what of the beach in the subject line?! PARC took time out after doing the morning attic crawl to head a few miles south and go to the beach! Walking along the shore, testing out frequencies with an HT, and just taking in the sites! Great fishing weather although we did not bring a rod. Mental note, you can’t hook a fish on RF (HiHi).

The team at the Playground Amateur Radio Club is happy to serve it’s members and guests! So if you are in our neck of the woods stop on by when we are open and we will gladly transmit along with you the world over! We will see you soon with your project, interest, answer your questions, and we will be sure to offer some of the best hospitality Florida has to offer while you are here!

The Pile-Up went on as scheduled and hams partook in projects club wide! Some programmed newly obtained radios, some went over the plausibility of using an android tablet to use Bluetooth to program handhelds, some played with wires-x, some installed a tv mount for station 1! Other went over activities, and some even performed a capacitance test on a loaded coil!

No matter what peaks your interest, the skillsets of the members of the Playground Amateur Radio Club offer the time and the dedication to show and teach those who have a genuine interest in all things communication! Be sure to take the time to attend the weekly Sunday Pile-Ups, you never know what you will learn or inspire others to do!

Speaking of inspiration, take the time to honor those who serve, have served, or gave all to allow us the freedoms we embrace. The freedoms we use use everyday are not possible without the few who protect the many!