Welcome to the homepage of  the Vero Beach Amateur Radio Club (W4OT).

Message from the President:

Well it seems that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this year. According to legend, that means we will see six more weeks of winter. But wait! Other groundhogs around the country disagreed with Phil as they did not see their shadows, therefore predicting spring to be “just around the corner.” I checked my calendar, and it says spring will arrive on March 20th. I think I’ll go with the calendar’s prediction. Especially since that means I have time to finish my antenna plans before the weather turns so hot that I’ll prefer playing with radios than antennas! That’s one of the great things about living here in paradise. When our fellow amateurs up north are battling snow and ice, we get to enjoy perfect antenna weather. (I know there are some who say antennas work better when erected under adverse conditions, but I’d rather not test the theory myself.) How is your antenna farm doing? Even if you’re not putting up anything new, it’s still a good idea to inspect your antennas, feedlines and other associated components to make sure everything is clean, tight and in good repair. Being so close to the ocean aluminum tends to corrode and oxidize, and moisture will penetrate into places it has no business being. Also, since Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S. (Rwanda in Africa has the distinction of being the world’s lightning capital) check your grounding system. There is a lot of great information online about grounding (try http://www.w8ji.com/ground_systems.htm to start.) Much better to have that lightning strike go into the earth than into your equipment!

Hamcation® starts the day after our February meeting, and I understand that several members will miss the meeting as they are going to Orlando early. But for everyone else, be sure to attend the meeting on Thursday, February 11th at 7:30. After the business is taken care of we are planning to show a video about the Peter I Island DXpedition, so come and see what's involved in a major DXpedition! See you on the 11th!

73, Vince K4JC

        Spread the word about the club to your friends with our new brochure. Down load it HERE and print it out. (You will need Adobe Reader to view the page, simply print one page on each side of a piece of paper and fold it in thirds.)