Training Archives - TCARES

2026 ARRL FIELD DAY

Jeff Tolhurst — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 03:24:37 +0000

Click on the poster, or here, for more info about the TCARES ARRL Field Day – we hope to see you there!

More info can be found at the American Radio Relay League (ARRL):

https://www.arrl.org/field-day

https://www.arrl.org/news/start-planning-for-arrl-field-day-2026

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Parks on the Air (POTA) TCARES Breakfast Meeting Presentation

Jeff Tolhurst — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 04:42:14 +0000

On Saturday, May 23rd, at the TCARES monthly breakfast meeting, Andrew, K6AEF, and Jeff, N6JWT, gave a presentation on the recent (May 2nd) POTA event, at Elizabeth Peak./Mt. Elizabeth, near Twain Harte, CA. For those not able to attend the meeting, here is the slide presentation of the talk.

Learn more about Parks on the Air (POTA) (Click on the link below to view the presentation).

https://tcares.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260502_POTA-Event.pdf

TCARES POTA Event
at Mt. Elizabeth
May 2nd, 2026

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2026 Tuolumne County OES Emergency Siren Test

Jeff Tolhurst — Thu, 07 May 2026 03:24:56 +0000

Tuolumne County OES and Sheriff will be testing 5 Sirens in the following locations: Groveland, Tuolumne City, Twain Harte, Cold Springs and Strawberry. The County has asked TCARES if we can monitor the locations and report what was heard in a live Net that day. Go to the link below for more info and details.

WHEN: Thursday MAY 14 10:30-11:30 AM

Click on this link for more information.

2026 County OES Emergency Siren Test MAY 14 11:00 AM

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2026 TCARES Soldering Meetup

Jeff Tolhurst — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 03:56:47 +0000

Jeff, N6JWT, George, N6GEO, and Ginger, KM6RFT, at the soldering meetup, hosted by George on April 11th. Jeff & Ginger learned quite a bit from George, soldering cable connectors, and getting tips on soldering components onto surface mounts. Thanks so much George!! Stay tuned for more events like this to come.

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TCARES POTA Meetup = May 2nd (Saturday)!

Jeff Tolhurst — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:34:40 +0000

POTA = Parks on the Air

Join us for a casual Parks On The Air (POTA) meetup at Elizabeth Peak in Cedar Ridge, Tuolumne County, on Saturday, May 2nd (Note: Date changed from April 28th, due to weather forecast). See the events calendar on the tcares.net home page for details.

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TCARES Winter Field Day 2026 (WFD)! Columbia California

Jeff Tolhurst — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 06:03:32 +0000

TCARES hosted a Winter Field Day (WFD) event on Saturday, January 24, 2026, in Columbia State Historic Park, at the old schoolhouse. A number of hams showed up for the event, including: 1) Mike, KI6WJT; 2) Grayson, KE6KYI; 3) Ned, K6NED; 4) Toni, K6TNI; 5) Tim, KO6LLM; 6) John, KN6RLM; 7) Brad, KN6ERF; 8) Ed, KO6DJZ; 9) Carl, K6KRL; 10) Andrew, K6AEF; 11) Ginger, KM6RFT; 12) Steve, KN6JLU; 13) Paul, KN6CWT; 14) Jeff, N6JWT; and (15 & 16) Carl & Andrew’s significant others (hope I didn’t miss anyone!). Tim, KO6LLM, was the big winner, in terms of contacts – he racked up a bunch on 10 meters, according to Ned!

Here are some photos of the some of the crew enjoying their time at Winter Field Day.

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Transmitter Hunt at Pinecrest Expedition Academy

K6NED — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 04:49:06 +0000

Hunting Foxes at Pinecrest Expedition Academy

by Richard Combs

Pinecrest Expedition Academy is a very outdoors oriented hands-on school. So, under the guise of giving a presentation about amateur radio, a few of us arranged for a Fox Hunt for the students. Those in the know realize this is not an actual fox hunt, but rather an exercise in radio direction finding. With the help of Greg Kiyoi KN6RUQ and “Fox Master “Brian Zoraster KA6ZED, foxes were found, and students educated.

My task was talking about radios, its history, and how they work. There were two groups young K-3 and older 4-7 graders, somewhat of a challenge for me. Both groups were however, inquisitive and engaged. We started with some tin can phones, then I cut the string and said “Now what?” After a little history and some more discussion, we eventually headed out for the hunt. Brian Zoraster had 3D printed two custom tape measure Yagi antennas, and after some instruction the students were off for the hunt. None of the foxes got away, and the students seemed to have fun, expressing surprise when they located the fox/transmitter.

Special thanks to Brian and Greg who made the trip up to the school near Pinecrest early in the morning. The next challenge will be to try and monitor the ISS transmissions with the antennas Brian left with the school.

You can see Brian’s antennas and setup at Pacificon. On with the hunt!

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CW web app training tool Vband

K6NED — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 03:38:51 +0000

Recently Jeff, N6JWT, and Ginger, KM6RFT, presented and did a live demo of this CW training and practice tool. See or download presentation below. Links to resources are included at the end.

VBand CW Web App Learning Tool Download

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Groveland Grind Mountain Bike Adventure Results

K6NED — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 03:33:08 +0000

TCARES volunteers have a very exciting adventure helping out with the 2025 Groveland Grind.

Scroll through this presentation or download the whole file to view it any way you prefer. Enjoy.

The Groveland Grind Mtn Bike Race Download

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TCARES Education Committee plan for 2025

K6NED — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:17:07 +0000

20250215_TCARES_Education_Committee_Report Download

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