Dennis Lazar, W4DNN (formerly K4KLQ)
pain_doctor_nd@hotmail.net
January 10, 2008
Moonshiners Bring Spirit to 10 Meters.
It has nothing to do with strong spirits but everything to do with high spirits. The evening southwest Florida’s ten meter “Moonshine Net” was so named because of its close bond to the two meter “Sunshine Net,” a part of the Charlotte Amateur Radio Association, which convenes every morning in greater Port Charlotte.
The Moonshine Net began when Dennis Lazar, W4DNN, came upon an old RadioShack Realistic HTX-100 10 meter transceiver in pristine condition on eBay and was unable to resist adding it to the shack. Once on the air and with no one to talk to in this ebb of the sunspot cycle, Dennis announced on the Sunshine Net that a new ten meter net would meet Wednesday and Sunday evenings on 28.405 MHz at 7 pm EST and would be called the “Moonshine Net.”
Dennis was quickly joined by Matt Regan, N8RZZ, and Randy Hyatt, KC3CH, as movers and shakers and the net was off to a fast start. The first evening meeting saw 20 stations check in and now the net boasts nearly 100 members. Early worries about cross polarization proved to be correct but overblown. Those with beams, dipoles and other wire antennas were at a disadvantage. But soon, antenna experimentation and construction got going in a big way.
Now, nearly everyone has some type of vertically polarized antenna. Ground wave signals are outstanding over a 40 mile radius around Port Charlotte, from Fort Myers in the south to Sarasota in the north and Arcadia to the east.
A normal net night nets 15 to 20 check-ins and runs for less than an hour. Each night a subject is selected for discussion ranging from “What was your first ham construction project?” to “What was your best DX contact and what were you using to bag it?” However, when the band opens, mostly with sporadic E, it becomes an all-nighter. DX check-ins never stop and the net control station, at his discretion, must cut off check-ins before he collapses in exhaustion.
The last gasps of Cycle 23 have been good to the Moonshine Net because it has provided the quiet band necessary to get local net operations down pat and to give the 13 net control operators some on-air experience before the bedlam expected as Cycle 24 ramps up.
In April, having gained enough members with 10-10 numbers, the net applied for chapter status with Ten-Ten International and in June 2007, became an official chapter. To celebrate, Dennis and Randy arranged for a dinner at a local restaurant. It was a bit scary as there was the possibility of up to 100 members and their spouses deciding to attend. However, as it was summer and the Florida snowbirds were away, there were a very manageable 40 folks in attendance.
A unique offshoot of the net is The Moonshiner on-line magazine. Beginning as a newsletter for the net and chapter, it has morphed into a full fledged on-line magazine. Dennis and his wife, Ruthie, were previous owners of a small publishing company in West Palm Beach on Florida’s east coast. They edited and published several weekly community newspapers and monthly magazines. The Moonshiner now is e-mailed to subscribers across the US and in several European countries.
Fun and camaraderie are great, but ten meters also can function in emergencies. Some net members are also ARES/RACES activists. That is why in an emergency — that usually means hurricanes in these parts — the Moonshine Net stands ready as a well oiled communications machine to pass traffic should area repeaters and power be taken out.
For a look at The Moonshiner and more information about the Moonshine Net, you can download all the issues of The Moonshiner with articles on activities, equipment and fun from the ARRL West Central Florida Section Web site: www.arrlwcf.net/. Just scroll to near the bottom of the page to find the “Newsletters” section. And, when the band allows, check into the Moonshine Net. We all look forward to meeting you!
Dennis Lazar, W4DNN, Chapter Head of the southwest Florida “Moonshine” Chapter of 10-10 International has been a ham since 1960, earning his Technician and Novice licenses in Cleveland, Ohio as K8TSQ. He was active, running frequent phone patches, while serving in the US Coast Guard on Bijorka Island, Alaska as KL7FSX and then became K4KLQ in Florida. W4DNN is his vanity call. Dr Lazar is a pain management practitioner, a naturopath and certified registered nurse therapist as well as president of Clinical Pain Management Products, Inc. His passions include, of course, 10 meters, as well as CW and QRP, with memberships in FISTS, QRPARCI, QCWA and the Ambassadors for Christ net.
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