Welcome – We’re PCARS

PCARS is an ARRL Affiliated, Special Services Club. We are a group of Amateur Radio hobbyists located in Portage County, Ohio who believe that the whole point of being in the hobby of Amateur Radio is to have fun with it. Whether you are a new ham or an “old timer”, PCARS has something to offer you. The PCARS monthly meeting is held the second Monday of each month and the meetings start at 7:00 PM. We meet at The American Legion Post 496 – 1945 Mogadore Rd, in Kent. Click for more info!!

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New PCARS Members

Welcome to the latest members of PCARS!

Raymond KA8WCVRootstown, OH
Eric KF8CUAStow, Ohio
If you meet these people on the street, in a meeting, or on the air, be sure to say Hi and introduce yourself. Let's make our new members feel welcome!

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Birthdays this Month

Vince AC8XOBen AD8FQKevin AD8MO
Jack K8HGXPhil K8PJWGary KB8VJO
Steve KC8YSURandall KD8JNJennifer KD8LIR
Richard KD8WCKBernadette KE8LWOKeith KE8TQR
Mark N8NHColetta W8CDLBob WB8OVQ
Dan WD8DAU

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Latest News

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DX/Contesting SIG

Tuesday June 24th 7 PM

Hello PCARS DXers & Contesters:

Here is a friendly reminder that the DX/Contesting Special Interest Group meeting will take place Tuesday evening, June 24nd at 7PM at our World Famous headquarters.

Among our topics of discussion will be the North American QSO Party – RTTY Mode that takes place July 19-20 We will be going over the Rules and how we will be operating for this contest. We will also discuss any other topic(s) that members bring up including upcoming contests in May.

As always, the meeting will be available on ZOOM. So I hope to see a lot of members either in person or on ZOOM.

Event: DX/Contesting Special Interest Group meeting

Topic: Various topics as listed above

Time: June 24, 2025 at 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

PCARS K8BF is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/96686108444?pwd=hN5hDgTGWwdLBLXkLSeAfVOfSa4nGq.1

Meeting ID: 966 8610 8444

Passcode: 915088

73 – Chuck W8PT


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PCARS 20th Anniversary Net Award

This award is open to all PCARS Net Participants

The award period will run from July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025. There will be a PCARS net every Thursday evening during the award period EXCEPT July3rd, November 27th and December 25th. Therefore, there are 23 nets you can check into to qualify for the award. In addition, all 4 nets in June 2025 are considered “bonus” nets, and you can use up to 2 of them that you checked into to count for nets you miss during the award period.

There are 3 awards:

  1. “20th Anniversary 10 in a row” awarded for any 10 in a row check-ins during the award period. Up to two “Bonus” nets can be used for this award.
  2. “20 for 20” awarded for 20 check-ins during the award period. Up to two “Bonus” nets can be used for this award.
  3. “All 23 for PCARS Special 20th” is awarded for all 23 qualifying nets during the award period. Up to two “Bonus” nets can be used for this award.

That’s it. Pretty simple. The whole point is GET ON the PCARS Thursday night 2-meter nets! All awards will be distributed at the January 2026 PCARS meeting.

73,

Tom WB8LCD


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Field Day Dinner – 2025 REMINDER

RESERVATION REQUIRED – Please register early if possible

PCARS 2025 Field Day Dinner will be served Saturday June 28th starting between 5:45 and 6:00 pm. Dinner will be delivered to on duty station operators/loggers first. Dinner for PCARS members and guests will start immediately after.

Dinner is free to all pre-registered PCARS Members. Guests will be charged $5.00 each. I am requesting that everyone who wants to share FD Dinner with us please register by June 23rd so that we can have enough food available for everyone.

To register on-line for FD Dinner Go to the PCARS web site at: www.portcars.org – Front Page just below the Donate to Field Day Button

2025 PCARS Field Day Dinner

Dinner Menu: Rigatoni; Fried Chicken; Parsley Potatoes; Green Beans; Rolls & Butter. Bottled water will be available (no charge); soft drinks may be available (no extra charge).

Please note that to have dinner with us you must be on the dinner registration list. Those on this list will be served first. PCARS members (and paid guests) not registered for dinner may be served after registered members have eaten (if extra food is still available).

Tony WA8AR, Field Day Chairman


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Field Day – Volunteers needed for Setup/Teardown

Volunteers Needed for Setup/Tear Down

As we have done in recent years I will need at least 14 volunteers to assist the Field Day team with Setup and Tear down of antennas and station equipment. If you have done this before, great, but you do not need any experience to volunteer. The Captain for each station will direct all work for their station. If you are a new Ham this is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience putting up a variety of antennas. Setup has normally been completed in about 2 to 3 hours (more or less). Teardown after Field Day has been done in less than 2 hours. If you cannot volunteer for both, no problem, just let me know which task(s) you are volunteering for (Tony WA8AR tromito99@gmail.com) . The Club will supply coffee and water plus sandwiches/pizza for lunch(s).

Here are the Field Day setup/teardown schedules:

Prior to Field Day, a detailed Safety Plan will be distributed to all volunteers. Each Volunteer must read and be familiar with the safety plan. Each Volunteer must sign, date and return a copy of the plan to the Safety Officer. Distribution of the safety plan will be accomplished at least two weeks prior to FD.

SETUP Saturday June 28th

8:30am Arrive on site (meet at the picnic shelter of the Freedom Township Park) PLEASE BE PROMPT

8:40am Assignment of work tasks

8:45am Begin Work

12:30pm Antennas up and ready for testing; generators setup and energized [Sandwich/Pizza Lunch]

2.00pm Field Day Stations On-The-Air

TEARDOWN Sunday June 29th

2:00pm Stations Off-The-Air Work begins immediately [Lunch served before 2:00]

3:30pm All antennas down and stowed for transport. Field Day over and done.

The only equipment the volunteers need to bring are gloves and safety glasses (REQUIRED). Steel toe shoes are always a good idea. Rain gear is essential (just in case). If shoes/boots are not waterproof an extra pair of dry shoes and socks are a good idea. The club will supply a dozen basic hardhats, but I encourage you to bring your own hardhat if you own one. Hardhats must be worn whenever you are working in an area where there is any equipment (antenna components) or any hardware above your head. Remember that even a medium size bolt falling from 25 or 30 feet can cause serious injuries (or worse).

To volunteer for the PCARS Field Day Setup/Teardown crew just send an email to me at tromito99@gmail.com, Specify if you are volunteering for Setup, Teardown or Both as soon as you can. I will confirm by email.

Come out and help make 2025 another successful PCARS Field Day! Email me with any questions.

Tony WA8AR,

PCARS Field Day Chairman


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Special Linux and Raspberry Pi Clinics

Hi everyone,

Our Linux & Raspberry Pi SIG was a huge hit! Because of this, we are having TWO special clinics:

Wednesday July 2, 2025 @7:00pm – Linux Clinic

Wednesday July 9, 2025 7:00pm – Raspberry Pi Clinic

Our next SIG meeting will be in August, so we want to get things moving before then.

HINTS: 1) clean up your old laptop, 2) get an empty microSD card ready.

More details to follow closer to the dates.

Cya there!

73 de W8NET Gene


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