DEARS 2019 Holiday Dinner

Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie

Hello friends!  Please see below for information on the upcoming DEARS Holiday Dinner to be held at Chilis Lake Buena Vista at 6pm on December 11th!  Friends and family are welcome as always. This will take the place of our December general club meeting and all attendees should expect to pay for their own meals.

RSVP is required by noon Wednesday, 12/4 to ensure the restaurant can properly plan their staff and food to provide us with excellent service.  For any questions, comments, or to RSVP please email Brenda Davis at davib069@outlook.com.

Directions to Chilis

Thanks, and we hope to see you there!

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

Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie

The November D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday November 13, 2019.

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 at Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services building in the Route 66 conference room 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.

One suggestion from the July general club meeting was to start a tradition of introductions at the start of the meeting. To have some fun with introductions, we will have a slightly different topic for each month. This month will be sharing your radio goal for 2020.

For this meeting we will be hearing from Joe Eisenberg,  K0NEB, via skype to discuss ham radio kits. Joe will also be at Hamcation in February, and that would be a great time to catch up with him if you have any additional questions!

One additional thought: we would love to see everyone at meetings or events. We also would like to invite every member to our monthly board meetings, suggest ideas for upcoming meetings, sharing your feedback, and volunteer for club committees. If you are interested in getting more involved in club activities or have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to any officer!

This month’s meeting will be held at Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building. Directions to the location are as follows:

Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building
Building B
Magic conference room

Coming from I-4:
– Take Osceola Parkway exit, follow signs for “Other Guest Areas”
– Follow signs for Pop Century Resort and take Right turn on Victory Way
– Turn right at sign for Pop Century Resort onto Century Dr
– Before security guard post, take left onto Cayman Way
– Speak to guard at gate, and park in lot

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

The “Chat and Chew” will NOT be at the McDonalds near the All-Star Resort as it is currently under construction. Another venue can be coordinated via slack.

73s de Andy, Ian, and Steve

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

Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie

The October D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday October 9, 2019.

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 at Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services building in the Route 66 conference room 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.


One suggestion from the July general club meeting was to start a tradition of introductions at the start of the meeting. To have some fun with introductions, we will have a slightly different topic for each month. This month will be sharing favorite digital mode. See the agenda for more details!


For this meeting we will be hearing from John Knott, N4JTK, to talk about Winlink email. After his talk, as a club, we will be experimenting with getting setup on VHF Winlink. If you would like to try it out, please bring your laptop and an audio interface to your HT, if you have one. (If you do not, you can use Winlink over Telnet to get setup.)


This Sunday is Ride 4 Ronald. We will be volunteering for the event at Rest Stop 2 to provide communications. Signup at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BGG5CVT Address for Rest Stop 2:
CRESCENT PARK AT LAUREATE PARK
8374 UPPER PURSE CIRCLE
ORLANDO, FL 32827

This month’s meeting will be held at Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building. Directions to the location are as follows:

Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building
Building B
Magic conference room

Coming from I-4:
– Take Osceola Parkway exit, follow signs for “Other Guest Areas”
– Follow signs for Pop Century Resort and take Right turn on Victory Way
– Turn right at sign for Pop Century Resort onto Century Dr
– Before security guard post, take left onto Cayman Way
– Speak to guard at gate, and park in lot

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

The “Chat and Chew” will remain at the McDonalds near the All-Star Resort. Someone usually arrives between 4 and 4:30 pm. Just remember to leave in time to travel to the meeting location before the meeting starts.

73s de Andy, Ian, and Steve

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

Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie

The September D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday September 11, 2019.

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 at Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services building in the Route 66 conference room 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.

One suggestion from the July general club meeting was to start a tradition of introductions at the start of the meeting. To have some fun with introductions, we will have a slightly different topic for each month. This month will be sharing years since you were first licensed.  See the agenda for more details!

For this meeting we will be constructing and tuning 2 meter Discone antennas to aid everyone is joining the monthly fun net! This should be a fairly laid back activity and a great time to socialize with your fellow hams. If you have a soldering iron or needle nose pliers, please considering bringing them. We will have some to share, but it will be helpful to have more on hand. An antenna analyzer will also be present to tune the antenna. We will also be hearing from Jim Schilling, KG4JSZ as he is running for the ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director.

*** IMPORTANT – NEW MEETING LOCATION ***

This month’s meeting will be held at Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building. Directions to the location are as follows:

Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building
Building B
Magic conference room

Coming from I-4:
– Take Osceola Parkway exit, follow signs for “Other Guest Areas”
– Follow signs for Pop Century Resort and take Right turn on Victory Way
– Turn right at sign for Pop Century Resort onto Century Dr
– Before security guard post, take left onto Cayman Way
– Speak to guard at gate, and park in lot

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

The “Chat and Chew” will remain at the McDonalds near the All-Star Resort. Someone usually arrives between 4 and 4:30 pm. Just remember to leave in time to travel to the new meeting location before the meeting starts.

73s de Andy, Ian, and Steve

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

Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie

The August D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday August 14, 2019.

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 at Disney’s Pop Century 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.

For this meeting we will be hearing from Aaron Magness, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for Walt Disney World Emergency Management. We will also be discussing adjustments to a portion of the club bylaws. It should be a really fun evening!

*** IMPORTANT – NEW MEETING LOCATION ***

This month’s meeting will be held at Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building. Directions to the location are as follows:

Disney’s Pop Century Cast Services Building
Building B
Memories conference room

Coming from I-4:
– Take Osceola Parkway exit, follow signs for “Other Guest Areas”
– Follow signs for Pop Century Resort and take Right turn on Victory Way
– Turn right at sign for Pop Century Resort onto Century Dr
– Before security guard post, take left onto Cayman Way
– Speak to guard at gate, and park in lot

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

The “Chat and Chew” will remain at the McDonalds near the All-Star Resort. Someone usually arrives between 4 and 4:30 pm. Just remember to leave in time to travel to the new meeting location before the meeting starts.

See you there!

Steve Martin

KI4IUN

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

Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie

The June D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday June 12, 2019.

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.

For this meeting we will have Rick Nitz from the USCG Auxiliary and is also a fellow member of  Orlando ARES. Rick will be speaking about offshore emergency operations. It shall be interesting to learn how they handle emergencies off land.

We will also be discussing the plans for ARRL Field Day coming up on June 22nd. We welcome all to come join us for this great evening!

The meeting will be held in the Players Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Resort. We should be able to get in the room starting around 5:45 pm. 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!

Rebekah Bachstein

K4YAY

May D.E.A.R.S. Fun Net

Join us Wednesday evening, May 22nd at 7 pm for the May D.E.A.R.S. Fun Net. The illustrious Captain Bruce Keller (K4BAK) is taking a well deserved break so I will be at the helm as Net Control! I am excited to be Captain for this evening, just like my good friend Captain Minnie who is currently steering the ships!

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. It is an exciting time for everyone to listen to old friends and make some new ones! Interested to see what everyone has been up to this past month.

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

Look forward to hearing from everyone soon!

Rebekah Bachstein
K4YAY

National Weather Service Melbourne Tour

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

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


The May D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday May 8th, 2019.

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.

For this meeting we will have Scott Spratt from NOAA in Melbourne, Florida. Scott will be discussing hazardous weather in our area leading up to hurricane season.

The meeting will be held in the Players Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Resort. We should be able to get in the room starting around 5:45 pm. 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!
Rebekah Bachstein
K4YAY

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


The April D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday April 10th, 2019.

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.

For the meeting we will have John Knott from OARC on hand to talk about ARES Operations and Training. If you’ve been interested in participating in the local ARES organization, you’ll definitely want to attend! Also, the DEARS officer election will be taking place.

The meeting will be held in the Players Conference Room at Disney’s All Star Resort. We should be able to get in the room starting around 5:45 pm. 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