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 The winter air was filled with the happy shouting of nearly 400 Cub Scouts at Camp Mountain Run on Saturday, February 11th, as they gathered for their annual Klondike Derby. “It’s a great way for them to enjoy winter activities in the great outdoors,” explained District Director Carl Hall.
This year, there was a new activity that captured the interest of the Cub Scouts from the north-central Pennsylvania region served by the Bucktail Council. That activity was an Amateur Radio station and exhibit set up by members of the Quad-County Amateur Radio Club. Nearly 400 Cub Scouts got on the air to experience Amateur Radio first hand, as Quad-County hams volunteered to help. Club President Joe Shupienis W3BC led the hams in greeting each 50-60 Scout unit as they entered the room. Quad-County members Don Jewell KB3LES and Lars Kvant KB3WBT/SM7FYW demonstrated VHF antennas they built, and answered questions from the Scouts and their parents. Jesse Tucker KG4ZXC and President Shupienis W3BC discussed how Amateur Radio is a lifelong activity which can lead to careers in engineering, science and technology.
 Club Member Kevin Hoynoski W3PIG showed the Scouts his “Go Box”–a portable amateur radio station in an easily carried container.
Next, the Go-Box was put into action on the Quad-County 147.315 repeater, and each and every Cub Scout got to speak on the air with Phil K3PJ at his home in Clymer. They learned from talking with him that he is a Scoutmaster for a unit in Indiana County.
After putting 381 Cub Scouts on the air, both groups were very happy with the operation and look forward to working together again!
Photo Gallery:
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- Kevin demonstrates his Go Box as the Cub Scouts eagerly await their turn at the controls!
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- Show and Tell. Lars and Don exhibit their antenna craftsmanship for the surprisingly interested Cub Scouts!
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- Jesse and Club Technology Coordinator Lars ready the equipment for flawless operation before using it to put hundreds of Cub Scouts on the air!
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- Don KB3LES, Lars KB3WBT, Jesse KG4ZXC and Kevin W3PIG prepare displays and handouts.
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- Cub Scouts gather around the radio and await their turn to say "Hello" on the air!
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TTHE BIG DAY is here! All the planning and preparation comes together today at the Old Town Sportsmen’s Pavilion on the Clearfield County Fairgrounds. This morning, we are setting up antennas and radios and computers, and the grill… and everything else!
The contest portion begins at 2:00 pm and ends Sunday at 2:00 pm. Help will be needed to tear down as well, so please stop by. Many hands make light work, you know!
The Public and media are invited, and this year we’re trying something new – a GOTA station. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a “Get On The Air” station to allow unlicensed people, new hams and old-timers who haven’t been active lately to make some contacts at a more leisurely pace.
We are there now, come on over!!!
Update Saturday 10:00 pm
Channel 6 News visited our Field Day site and depending on the other stories (of course) plans on airing their coverage of us tonight on the 11:00 news. Catch us tonight, and stop by in person Sunday after 10 am. The contest period ends for us at 2 pm, but we’ll be cleaning up and enjoying a hotdog and conversing with old friends for hours after that!
FIELD DAY IS many things to many people, but among amateur radio operators, it is popular! In the words of Francis E. Handy W1BDI (SK) the “Father” of Field Day, it offers “a great opportunity to get out in the open in this fine spring weather…”
All radio amateurs and people interested in personal communications in our entire Quad-County area are invited to participate in this year’s Quad-County Amateur Radio Club Field Day operation at the Old Town Sportsmen’s Booth on the Clearfield County Fairgrounds. This is a location open to the public, and there is plenty of free parking. Above and beyond that, there is a shelter where we will be setting up shop, and this will protect us from the inevitable showers and Mother Nature’s many otherinconveniences.
 Quad-County Field Day historically has been a family affair, and we continue that tradition this year. There are facilities for a cookout, so we will have one, and a place to sit and eat in comfort! We emphasize again that we intend to make this a family affair and everyone is invited.
Activities begin on Saturday morning, June 25th, and continue around the clock until 5 pm on Sunday. Field day is the largest event in Amateur Radio. Participate with your local club this year and get in on the fun! W3BC is bringing a couple contest-grade radios which he has used to achieve numerous contest awards, and is fine-tuning the networked computer logging system. There are several recently licensed hams locally, and we are setting up a “GOTA” (Get On The Air) station for recently licensed amateurs, those without licenses yet, and long time hams who have not been active lately.  The GOTA station is the ideal way for amateur radio newcomers and unlicensed family members to enjoy a meaningful part in the festivities by making actual contacts with other Field Day stations that will contribute to the Club’s overall score!
We also plan on having a VHF station on hand so if 6 meters and 2 meters open up we will be ready to go! Four transmitters, food, a public information area, shelter from the elements… It sounds like a large order, but we’ve done it before and we will do it again this year! There is a lot to be finalized at the meeting on Friday, June 17th, so plan on attending that important meeting!
 The Quad-County ARC May meeting was held Friday, May 20. Despite being the weekend of the Dayton Hamfest, there was a reasonable turnout. Routine business was conducted, the outstanding Spring Banquet bills were submitted for reimbursement, and several people volunteered for Club support positions.
Beginning his term as Technology Specialist is Lars Kvant SM7FYW. If anyone has technology questions, feel free to ask Lars! It’s only natural for Joe W3BC to accept the duties of Public Information Officer, which he did at the meeting.
Field Day discussion resulted in the formation of a committee to look into a location for this year’s effort. By a poll of members present, it will not be held at the EOC this year, but at the Fairgrounds or another suitable park. More details will follow as soon as arrangements have been made.
After the Business Meeting, the coffee and donuts were served, and the evening’s program began. Lars SM7FYW and Don KB3LES put on a very interesting program about radio fox hunting, and discussed the antennas, techniques and technology it takes to find an unknown transmitter.
A drawing was held for one of Don’s antennas that he kindly donated to the club. The lucky winner was Bryan Simanic WA3UFN from DuBois.
Next month’s meeting will be the finalization of Field Day planning, and the program will be Tweak and Peak night. Steve Waltman, KB3FPN will bring a commercial communications service monitor to help check out rig performance and tuning. Bring your VHF and UHF equipment, and Steve will help you get the most out of it!
Photo Gallery
Click for for full screen and other controls…
[showtime]
 Well, as most of you already read, I will show you how to have a chance catching one of those elusive Foxes…
So, today I went to the local hardware store and got some plastic pipe, T’s, 4 way thingies and a pair of hose clamps, the tape measure itself, comes from a garbage bin at work, so its a little bit too thin, but works fine anyway. Apart from that, you also need a few feet RG-58, some electrical tape and 5 inces of 16 gage copper wire.
I was really going to let you come down to the meeting, to get the rest of the dimensions, but decided to give them to you here ;-)
Schedule 40 plastic pipe, think its 3 feet, about $ 1,67, 1 Tee end, that fits the pipe, 2 cross pieces, also same size, a few cents each…. ;-) You will also need 2 hose clamps, that fits the cross things.
 Cut the plastic pipe into 3 pieces, 11 3/8 , 6 7/8 and one more 11 3/8. Put the T on the one end of the 11 3/8 pipe, then put the one cross piece on the other end, next stick the 6 7/8 pipe into the already assembled parts, then the last cross piece onto the 6 7/8 and last but not least, the 3rd piece of pipe, its going to come out something like this: ———————————->
Now to the tape measure itself, cut one piece 41 3/8 inch, two pieces 17 3/4 inch and one piece 35 1/8 inch, you can use ordinary pair of scissors, but be careful, the ends gets really sharp! (put some tape over ends)
Attach the 35 1/8 to the T, make sure its centered, (use electrical tape) next file of about 1/8 inch of the paint on the one end of both 17 3/4 pieces, attach the two 17 3/4 onto the middle cross piece with the hose clamps and finally the longest, to the next cross piece, using the tape again.
When all is put toghether, see picture 3, you will need to solder the 5 inch copper wire, which you have to shape like a U, presolder the ends first, solder it onto the feedpoint, (dont overheat, plastic will melt) then solder your RG-58 to the same point, coax running towards the handle…..
I hooked mine up to my Bird, and it shows very low SWR, so good luck, and if you are interested or have questions, come down to the meeting, and we will help ;-)
Lars FYW
Hi everybody!
As I was sitting here, looking at our exellent home page, I got one of those ideas that maybe I could try to write something of my own, if nothing else, it might encourage all of you readers to do the same, afterall, we can’t wait for Joe to come up with all the articles.
That said, I would like to tell you all, that my tower is back up, my 10m quad is repaired, and the 6m beam is finaly back in the top.
Furthermore, I have a new rotor, it’s now a HAM IV rotating the antennas, so now I can finaly see at what direction I’m beaming (thanks Don, for the rotor cable)
For those of you, who are waiting for the weather to warm up, I will try to get my plans for FOX hunt realized, more about that later…….
If you are interested in fox hunt, please Email me, so we get to know how many are willing to hunt….
This was a lot about nothing, LOL, but never the less, a beginning.
Lars FYW
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The winter air was filled with the happy shouting of nearly 400 Cub Scouts at Camp Mountain Run on Saturday, February 11th, as they gathered for their annual Klondike Derby. “It’s a great way for them to enjoy winter activities in the great outdoors,” explained District Director Carl Hall.
Club Member Kevin Hoynoski W3PIG showed the Scouts his “Go Box”–a portable amateur radio station in an easily carried container.
