Author: Darrell Davis KT4WX

DATE AND VENUE FOR 13TH ANNUAL TECHCON IN 2027 SET

The date and venue for the 13th Annual TECHCON have been set.  The date for the 13th Annual TECHCON, the Annual Technical Conference for the ARRL West Central Florida Section, is Saturday February 27, 2027.  The venue for the 13th Annual TECHCON will once again be the Polk County Emergency Operations Center, located at 1890 Jim Keene Blvd., Winter Haven, FL 33880, located between Winter Haven and Lakeland just off of the Polk County Parkway.

As is traditional, both program tracks for TECHCON will be recorded, have post-production editing done by Russ Delaney N4RTD, Assistant Section Manager, and then will be made available for viewing on the Section YouTube channel which is located at https://www.youtube.com/@arrlwcf.

Registration for the 13th Annual TECHCON is now open.  We are looking for presenters for TECHCON.  To have a successful TECHCON, we must have those who are willing to be presenters, especially those who have not been a presenter before.  The topic of presentation is, as always, the choice of the presenter, as long as the topic is related to amateur radio.

You may register to either attend or make a presentation for TECHCON at http://arrlwcf.org/section-forms/wcftechconfregistration/.  For more information about TECHCON you may go to the TECHCON webpage on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.

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SECTION HF ARES NET CANCELLATION DUE TO THE MELBOURNE HAMFEST

The ARRL West Central Florida Section HF ARES Net scheduled for Saturday October 10, 2026 at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net on 3940 KHz will be cancelled due to a number of Section staff attending the Melbourne Hamfest, which is scheduled for Friday October 9, 2026 and Saturday October 10, 2026.  The net will resume normal operation on Saturday October 17, 2026 at 0730 or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net on 3940 KHz.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR OCTOBER 2026 IS PUBLISHED.

The October 2026 issue of THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  This month includes a feature article from Dave Rockwell W4PXE on how the National Response Framework, the National Incident Management System, and the Incident Command System all work together to respond to emergencies.  Also the monthly ARES reports for August 2026 are listed as well.

All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

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LARRY GISPERT KR4X IS A SILENT KEY

Larry Gispert KR4X became a Silent Key on July 15, 2026, very unexpectedly. Larry was 77 years old at the time of his passing.  Larry was very active in amateur radio, as a member of Hillsborough County ARES/RACES, and an ARRL Official Emergency Station emphasizing operation on the HF bands.  Larry served as trustee of W4RNT, the callsign Repeater Association of North Tampa (RANT) which operates several analog repeaters and a D-Star repeater.  Larry served on the Board of Directors and as Secretary of the West Central Florida Group, the owners and operators of the NI4CE repeater system.    Larry enjoyed doing CW, and operated on CW for the Tampa Amateur Radio Club during Field Day in the overnight hours every year for many years.

Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section made the following comments upon the passing of Larry, “I always remember how proud Larry was of his retirement.  He used to always say ‘Retirement is great.  Everyone ought to try it.  Every day is like a Saturday.”  Larry had a strong reputation in the emergency management community of being very knowledgeable and professional, and could cut through the clutter to see the heart of a matter and give you good advice on how to handle it.  I will miss Larry’s devotion and passion about emergency preparedness.”

Larry served as a radioman in the United States Coast Guard.  Following his service in the military, Larry worked as a marine radio and radar technician onboard vessels that called on the Port of Tampa.  In 1981, Larry began his career with Hillsborough County Emergency Management, culminating his service as Emergency Management Director and retiring from that position in February 2011.  While working for Hillsborough County Emergency, Larry earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tampa in 1996.

To view Larry’s obituary, you may go to https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/tampa-fl/larry-gispert-12969893

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BILL MOFFATT W4RVX APPOINTED AS ASSISTANT NET MANAGER FOR EAGLE NET.

On Monday June 15, 2026, Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section appointed Bill Moffatt W4RVX as an ARRL Net Manager, as Assistant Net Manager of the Eagle Net.

Moffatt was first licensed with the callsign KO4SZT in September 2021.  Moffatt applied for and was granted his father’s callsign W4RVX, in April 2022, shortly after his father became a Silent Key, and is honored to carry on both his father’s legacy and his father’s lifelong passion for amateur radio.  Moffatt currently serves as the Wednesday net control for the Eagle Net, the ARRL NTS Traffic Net for the ARRL West Central Florida Section.

Moffatt’s professional career began in the automotive service industry, where he spent many years in mid- and upper-management positions.  In the late 1990s, Moffatt developed one of the first web-based PGP-encrypted anonymous remailers, which led to the creation of several software applications focused on security and privacy encryption.  Moffatt later transitioned into web design and hosting, a field in which he continues to work today by hosting and maintaining websites for several local businesses.  Moffatt, now semi-retired, is writing new books, narrating audiobooks for authors from his home recording studio, and continues to work part time in customer service at a family owned service garage in Bartow.

Moffatt is a licensed pilot and sports car enthusiast, I’ve always been drawn to things that move fast. Moffatt is also a published author of the book, “Life Aboard Runner – A Smuggler’s Tale”, which has been warmly received by readers.  The book is available on Amazon, and an audio edition is in the process of being produced.

Moffatt made the following statement about his current and future plans, “Whether I’m behind a microphone, at the keyboard, or on the air as W4RVX, I enjoy learning, creating, and sharing my passions with others.”

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR JULY 2026 IS PUBLISHED.

The July 2026 issue of THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  This month includes a guest column by Will Scott W7WMS, AEC Pinellas ACS/ARES, entitled “LoRa Mesh Networks: An Introduction and Discussion of Use Cases.’  Also the monthly ARES reports for May 2026 are listed as well.

All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

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SKYWARN WX ALERT ON DUTY FOR FIELD DAY

In support of ARRL Field Day sites operating out in the field, as well as the 26th Annual ARRL West Central Florida Section Field Day Caravan, the SKYWARN WX-Alert Team will be actively monitoring the weather, and will disseminate National Weather Service issued advisories, watches, and warnings as needed, on the NI4CE Analog repeater system, and the NI4CE NXDN repeater system, on talkgroup 1299.

For the frequencies of the repeaters in the NI4CE Analog repeater system go to https://ni4ce.org/ni4ce-repeater-map-frequencies/,all of which are on a CTCSS tone of 100.0 Hz.  For more information about the NI4CE NXDN repeater system, including RAN codes and talkgroups, go to https://ni4ce.org/nxdn-repeaters-on-fl-icom-gateway/.  Also watches and warnings will be posted as text messages on talkgroup 1250, for those who are setup to use the SKYWARN WXMsg2 Windows app. For more information on the WXMsg2 Windows app and how to set it up you may go to https://ni4ce.org/nxdn/nxdn-wxmsg/.

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HF SECTION ARES NET CANCELLATIONS FOR FIELD DAY AND INDEPENDENCE DAY.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES and Information Net scheduled for Saturday on 3940 KHz at 0730 Eastern Time or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net will have the following upcoming cancellations:

The ARRL West Central Florida Section and Information Net scheduled for Saturday June 27, 2026, will be cancelled to facilitate ARRL Field Day.  The ARRL West Central Florida Section and Information Net scheduled for Saturday July 4, 2026, will be cancelled in observance of Independence Day.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section and Information Net will resume normal operation on 3940 KHz at 0730 Eastern Time or immediately following the Florida Phone Traffic Net on Saturday July 11, 2026  All other Section nets will operate as scheduled.

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26th ANNUAL ARRL FIELD DAY CARAVAN TRAVEL ITINERARY NOW PUBLISHED.

The 26th Annual ARRL West Central Florida Section Field Day Caravan itinerary is now published on the ARRL West Central Florida Section Field Day Caravan webpage located at https://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/west-central-florida-section-field-day-caravan/.   The itinerary is based upon submissions to the ARRL Field Day Locator by Saturday June 20, 2026.

Just two reminders for those operating Field Day sites:  (1) You CANNOT count a visit by the Field Day Caravan as a visit by a government official or a served agency per ARRL Field Day rules 7.3.11 and 7.3.12.  (2) If you generate an NTS message to the Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator, be sure it is in NTS format and includes the following criteria per rule 7.3.5: The club name, number of participants, Field Day location, and number of ARES operators involved with your station.

For more detailed information on how to send a radiogram to our Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator you may go to the Field Day Caravan webpage at https://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/west-central-florida-section-field-day-caravan/.

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