Category Archives: Information

National Weather Service Melbourne Tour

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TOUR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE ON SATURDAY, MAY 25 AT 10AM.

This should be very interesting as Scott Spratt, Coordinating Meteorologist, told me the tour will start with a presentation on NWS products and services – including everything from data collection, forecast generation, monitoring of all local hazards, issuance of severe weather warnings, and working with emergency management, media and SKYWARN partners to help keep the public safe. Then, a walk-through of the forecast and operations area is conducted, which will provide a hands-on demonstration of how data is collected and analyzed, forecasts are created, and severe weather warnings are generated. Visitors will also see how SKYWARN storm spotter reports are utilized, together with weather radar data, to create timely and accurate weather warnings.

The tour groups are limited in size so a headcount is required in advance. Please send your RSVP to me by midnight Sunday, May 19th, so I can let Scott know. Please let me know if you need to carpool or if you wish to drive yourself. I will confirm with specific directions etc. that Scott has provided which are not found by GPS.

This should be very interesting and I look forward to seeing you! ?

RSVP to https://www.facebook.com/Davib610

Sky Warn Training

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Saturday, Nov 17, 2018
Basic SKYWARN; 10 am-noon
Advanced SKYWARN: 1-3 pm

Location: *IMPORTANT – location changed*
DC-2 Warehouse Blue
3241 East Vista Blvd
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
World of Disney conference room

 

Space is limited, contact the D.E.A.R.S. President or Vice President if you are interested in attending!

 

September D.E.A.R.S. Monthly Meeting

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The September D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday September 12, 2018

* No testing session at this meeting*
D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the testing session for the September meeting has been cancelled.  Testing will resume with the October meeting.

Our speaker will be our own Ricardo Galarza KV4OP who will be discussing his trip to the “Last Man Standing” set to witness the recording of the first episode of the new season.

The meeting will be held in the Players Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Resort. The room will not be available to us until *6:00 pm* so please do not arrive earlier than that for the meeting. Directions to the location are as follows:

Disney’s All Star Resort Cast Services Building
1601 West Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Players Conference Room

Follow Buena Vista Drive through the light by McDonalds. Take your first right onto Showtime Drive (if you get to the Security Guard Shack, you have gone too far!). Stop at the security camera kiosk, push the button to alert security and show a photo ID (can be a drivers license) to the host or hostess via the security camera. Let them know you are there to attend the D.E.A.R.S. Club meeting. The gate to your right will open. You may park in any of the visitor (or open) parking spaces.

Enter the Cast Services Building through the covered entrance and double glass doors. Turn left and follow the hallway to the end and turn left again. The Players Conference room is on the right.

We will be monitoring the 147.300 PL tone 103.5 repeater and the 442.000 D-Star repeater. If you have made it to the McDonalds at All Star and are having trouble finding us, just give a call on 146.52 simplex.

The “Chat and Chew” will be at the McDonalds located prior to the All Star entrance. Someone usually arrives between 4 and 4:30 pm.

See you there!
Sean Wall
KV4WV

May D.E.A.R.S. Meeting

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The May D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting will take place on Wednesday May 9, 2018.

D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm

We will not be holding a VE test session this month.  We will resume VE testing with next month’s meeting.

Our guest speakers this month are John Knott (N4JTK), Michael Cauley (W4MCA) and Frank Tagliani (KD4EZW). 

The meeting will be held in the Players Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Resort. The room will not be available to us until 5:30 pm so please do not arrive earlier than that for the meeting. Directions to the location are as follows:

Disney’s All Star Resort Cast Services Building
1601 West Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Players Conference Room

Follow Buena Vista Drive through the light by McDonalds. Take your first right onto Showtime Drive (if you get to the Security Guard Shack, you have gone too far!). Stop at the security camera kiosk, push the button to alert security and show a photo ID (can be a drivers license) to the host or hostess via the security camera. Let them know you are there to attend the D.E.A.R.S. Club meeting. The gate to your right will open. You may park in any of the visitor (or open) parking spaces.

Enter the Cast Services Building through the covered entrance and double glass doors. Turn left and follow the hallway to the end and turn left again. The Players Conference room is on the right.

We will be monitoring the 147.300 pl103 repeater and the 442.000 D-Star repeater. If you have made it to the McDonalds at All Star and are having trouble finding us, just give a call on 146.52 simplex.

The “Chat and Chew” will be at the McDonalds located prior to the All Star entrance. Someone usually arrives between 4 and 4:30 pm.

See you there!

April D.E.A.R.S. Meeting

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The April D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday April 11, 2018.

V.E. Test Session begins at 5:00 pm
D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm

V.E. Test Session will be held at 5 pm in the Box Office Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Cast Services Building and is open to anyone who would like to obtain or upgrade their ham license. This includes all levels of licensing. You do not have to be a D.E.A.R.S Club member to attend the V.E. Test Session or the Club meeting. We invite everyone to attend.

Our guest speaker this month is Don Cwynar, KT4JF, former D.E.A.R.S. President. He will be sharing information about D.E.A.R.S. history. This should be an informative meeting so I hope to see you all there. After Don speaks, our own David Glasser, KM4UDA, has asked to address the group. You don’t want to miss this meeting!

The meeting will be held in the Players Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Resort. The room will not be available to us until 5:30 pm so please do not arrive earlier than that for the meeting. Directions to the location are as follows:

Disney’s All Star Resort Cast Services Building
1601 West Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Players Conference Room

Follow Buena Vista Drive through the light by McDonalds. Take your first right onto Showtime Drive (if you get to the Security Guard Shack, you have gone too far!). Stop at the security camera kiosk, push the button to alert security and show a photo ID (can be a drivers license) to the host or hostess via the security camera. Let them know you are there to attend the D.E.A.R.S. Club meeting. The gate to your right will open. You may park in any of the visitor (or open) parking spaces.

Enter the Cast Services Building through the covered entrance and double glass doors. Turn left and follow the hallway to the end and turn left again. The Players Conference room is on the right.

We will be monitoring the 147.300 pl103 repeater and the 442.000 D-Star repeater. If you have made it to the McDonalds at All Star and are having trouble finding us, just give a call on 146.52 simplex.

The “Chat and Chew” will be at the McDonalds located prior to the All Star entrance. Someone usually arrives between 4 and 4:30 pm.

See ya real soon!!!
Kathy Blake
K4WDW

Tour De Cure 2018

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Come join us on Sunday, March 25 for the 2018 Tour de Cure Bicycle Event. The D.E.A.R.S. van will be located at Rest Stops 3/4 to provide any needed communications.
The bicyclists are always so appreciative of our attendance and some stop by to talk about amateur radio and look at our van.
We are to be at the location at 7:30 am and will stay until the last rider has completed his/her journey through our rest stop.
I am attaching a map to show the exact location and the roster.
If you are available any time during the day, please come show your support. This will also count toward volunteer hours.
I hope to see you all there!!
Kathy Blake / K4WDW

TourdeCure Rest Stops 2018

2018 Tour de Cure Roster Ver3

March D.E.A.R.S. Meeting

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The March D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.
V.E. Test Session begins at 5:00 pm
D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm
V.E. Test Session will be held at 5 pm and is open to anyone who would like to obtain or upgrade their ham license. This includes all levels of licensing. You do not have to be a D.E.A.R.S Club member to attend the V.E. Test Session or the Club meeting. We invite everyone to attend.
Our guest speakers this month are Fred (AB1OC) & Anita (AB1QB) Kemmerer from New Hampshire. They are avid ham radio operators and will be sharing with us their DXpedition to Bora Bora. You don’t want to miss this presentation! Let’s show our support for ham radio by having a large attendance for this meeting.
The meeting and V.E. Test session will be held in the Players Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Resort. Directions to the location are as follows:


Disney’s All Star Resort Cast Services Building
1601 West Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Players Conference Room
Follow Buena Vista Drive through the light by McDonalds. Take your first right onto Showtime Drive (if you get to the Security Guard Shack, you have gone too far!). Stop at the security camera kiosk, push the button to alert security and show a photo ID (can be a drivers license) to the host or hostess via the security camera. Let them know you are there to attend the D.E.A.R.S. Club meeting. The gate to your right will open. You may park in any of the visitor (or open) parking spaces.
Enter the Cast Services Building through the covered entrance and double glass doors. Turn left and follow the hallway to the end and turn left again. The Players Conference room is on the right.
We will be monitoring the 147.300 pl103 repeater and the 442.000 D-Star repeater. If you have made it to the McDonalds at All Star and are having trouble finding us, just give a call on 146.52 simplex.
The “Chat and Chew” will be at the McDonalds located prior to the All Star entrance. Someone usually arrives between 4 and 4:30 pm.
See ya real soon!!!
Kathy Blake
K4WDW

February D.E.A.R.S. “Fun” Net

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Join us Wednesday evening, February 28, at 7 pm for the February D.E.A.R.S. “Fun” Net with the illustrious Captain Bruce Keller (K4BAK) at the helm as Net Control! Bruce is the reason we call our net the “Fun” Net. He makes it an exciting event you don’t want to miss.

Please join us from all over the world and check in to our net. Everyone is welcome to check in and share any traffic or announcements with us.

We will begin promptly at 7 pm Eastern Time. In the Orlando area you will find us on the D.E.A.R.S. repeater at frequency 147.300 PL 103.5.  You can also join us via EchoLink node #632802.

Settle yourself in your radio shack, grab a cup of coffee in your D.E.A.R.S. coffee mug(right handed or left handed – either way works) and check in to the net. We want to know you are listening and we can be heard.

We love to share our net with all hams no matter where you may be located. This is a way to ensure we are being heard and our repeater is working properly and ready to be used in case of an emergency situation.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to once again be a part of the “Fun” D.E.A.R.S. Net!!

Kathy Blake  K4WDW

January D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting

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Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie

The January D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday, January 10, 2018.

V.E. Test Session begins at 5:00 pm
D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting begins at 6:00 pm

V.E. Test Session will be held at 5 pm and is open to anyone who would like to obtain or upgrade their ham license. This includes all levels of licensing. You do not have to be a D.E.A.R.S Club member to attend the V.E. Test Session or the Club meeting. We invite everyone to attend.

This month’s meeting will take place at the Walt Disney World Emergency Operations Center.  We will be given a tour of the facility followed by the regular monthly meeting.

Directions to the location are as follows:

WDW Emergency Operations Center
3301 Bonnet Creek Road
Orlando, FL 32836

The blue areas below are recommended parking places.

We will be monitoring the 147.300 pl103 repeater and the 442.000 D-Star repeater. If you are having trouble finding us, just give a call on 146.52 simplex.

See ya real soon!!!
Kathy Blake
K4WDW