The February D.E.A.R.S. General Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 10^th 2021 at 6pm Eastern. There will be no VE testing session this month.

This meeting will be virtual due to COVID-19. Please click here to join our Microsoft Teams meeting.

This month we will have a special presentation to discuss Hamcation 2021 among other fun things.  Please join us for a great evening!

73s de Andy, Ian, Steve, and Paul

The January D.E.A.R.S. General Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 13^th 2021 at 6pm Eastern. There will be no VE testing session this month.

This meeting will be virtual due to COVID-19. Please click here to join our Microsoft Teams meeting.

This month we will have a special presentation hosted by Bob Inderbitzen of the ARRL.  John Knott and Michael Cauley will also be joining us to discuss Hamcation 2021.  Please join us for a great evening full of fun topics and information for all!

73s de Andy, Ian, Steve, and Paul

With COVID-19 on the rise we will not be having an in-person gathering this December. Instead, we will be getting on the air as a club! On Wednesday December 9th at 6pm we will have a Holiday net!

For those who would like to, we will be on 40 meters around 7.225 MHz LSB. We will also use the 147.300 FM repeater. Echolink will hopefully be up for those who wish to talk in on that. Andy will be operating from the shack as WD4WDW acting as a holiday net control for HF. If you’re interested in being net control for VHF please let Andy know. On the net share what you do for the holidays and maybe get some ideas for ways to celebrate with your family.

This should be a great way to finish out the year on the air. Feel free to share this event as well.

Happy Holidays!

Andy, Ian, Steve and Paul

The November D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday November 11th, 2020.

D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm and will be virtual

This month we will be joined by some folks from the CW Ops. They will be speaking to us about Morse Code and the classes they offer. This would be a fun activity to do together as a club.

There will be no VE testing session this month due to COVID-19. The “Chat and Chew” will NOT be at the McDonald’s near the All-Star Resort as the meeting is virtual. The McDonald’s is open though!

Thanks, and we hope to see you at the meeting!

73s de Andy, Mike, Ian, Steve and Paul

The October D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020.

D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm and will be virtual

This month we will be hosting a training on using the shack. This meeting will be virtual, but will be live from the shack. This would be a great time to ask question on how to get on the air at the club station!

There will be no VE testing session this month due to COVID-19

Thanks, and we hope to see you at the meeting!

73s de Andy, Mike, Ian, Steve and Paul

The September D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 9th, 2020.

D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm and will be virtual

There will be no VE testing session this month due to COVID-19

This month we will be talking about grounding and bonding. Curious how to avoid RF in the shack? Ever heard of an RF burn? We’ll be discussing as a club our grounding stories, challenges, and ideas to improve our own stations!

Thanks, and we hope to see you at the meeting!

73s de Andy, Mike, Ian, Steve and Paul

DEARS will be hosting an Amateur Radio License testing session on Saturday, August 29th at 1pm. Please reserve your spot beforehand by emailing president@wd4wdw.org and be sure to wear a mask when attending. Thank you!

Testing Location
Maxwell Field (behind Reedy Creek Fire Station #4)
1920 Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

The August D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 12th, 2020.

D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm and will be virtual

There will be no VE testing session this month due to COVID-19

This month we will be talking about Antennas! We’ll start with HTs and work our way up to large HF setups! Bring pictures, ideas, and questions. There is no formal speaker, but a moderated forum of our membership, just like the power discussion earlier this year.

Thanks, and we hope to see you at the meeting!

73s de Andy, Mike, Ian, Steve and Paul

The July D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 8th, 2020.

D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm and will be virtual

There will be no VE testing session this month due to COVID-19

Our speaker this month will be John Knott, N4JTK, of Orange County ARES (https://www.ocares.org/). Continuing our theme of radio and Florida weather emergencies, John will be speaking on what ARES is and how you can get involved!

As a reminder, the new DEARS member/renewal membership form is located here. Renewals need to be complete by July 30th for FY21. New members are also welcome to complete the form as well. We do not currently charge dues.

Thanks, and we hope to see you at the meeting!

73s de Andy, Mike, Ian, Steve and Paul

The June D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 10th, 2020.

D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm and will be virtual

There will be no VE testing session this month due to COVID-19

This month we have a busy meeting. Our guest speaker is Jessie Smith, WX4JRS, of the National Weather Service Melbourne Forecast Office. She will be giving an overview of Florida weather and a look ahead on the 2020 Hurricane Season. Following our guest speaker we have some club business to discuss: Fiscal Year 2021 Budget, Field Day, Club Membership Forms, and Bylaws Discussion.

The “Chat and Chew” will NOT be at the McDonald’s near the All-Star Resort as it is currently almost done with construction. Another venue can be coordinated via slack.

73s de Andy, Mike, Ian, Steve and Paul

Skype Conference Call Detailed Instructions

1. Click on the Online Meeting Link above
2. You may automatically join the meeting if your computer is already setup, otherwise you should see a screen with installation options. If you see the installation options screen click the link to “install or reinstall Skype Meetings App (web)”. This will install an add-on to your computer.
3. You should see a download for SkypeMeetingsApp.msi in your downloads folder. Run the installer. After the installer completes, click the link to “Try to join the meeting again” on the website.
4. Once joining the meeting you will need to configure your audio. You can do this by clicking on the button with 3 dots in the lower right. From there you can choose to use computer audio or have Skype call your phone. You can also setup video. To open the chat feature use the button on the left side of the screen.
   
   Please note that Skype Meetings is the professional version of the Skype app. You cannot open this meeting in the regular Skype. There is no need to register or pay for any apps. If you get to a screen asking you to activate Microsoft Office you have probably made a mistake. We will be monitoring slack if anyone has connection issues.