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

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

The March D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday March 13th, 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 a few guests — David Casto, Director of  Emergency Management from Sumter County will be in to discuss the upcoming storm season and we will also have Michael Cauley and John Knott from OARC to discuss the MS Society Citrus Bike Ride next week.

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

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

Join us Wednesday evening, February 27th 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 monthly D.E.A.R.S. Net!!

Sean Wall  KV4WV

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

The February D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday February 13th, 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 be discussing HamCation 2019 which will be February 8th – 10th!

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

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

Join us Wednesday evening, January 23rd at 7 pm for the December 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 monthly D.E.A.R.S. Net!!

Sean Wall  KV4WV

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

The January D.E.A.R.S. Club Meeting and V.E. Test Session will take place on Wednesday January 9th, 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 be discussing the upcoming Technician class we’re holding on January 26th.  We need volunteers to help teach the class!

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

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

Join us Wednesday evening, December 26th at 7 pm for the December 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 monthly D.E.A.R.S. Net!!

Sean Wall  KV4WV