The club will be hosting it's second "New Ham Day" on Saturday April 17^th.  The event will be held from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon at the farm of Steve Webre AF5VR located at 1529 Beaugh St. in Church Point, LA.  Activities will focus on basic HF station setup.  You do not have to be a newly licensed ham to participate in the event and everyone is welcome to attend. 

If you are interested in attending, please contact Chris Ancelet N5MCY at cancelet@gmail.com or (337) 591-8871.

A map to the event location can be found here.
 

The club will be hosting it's first "New Ham Day" on Saturday March 27^th.  The event will be held from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon at the farm of Steve Webre AF5VR located at 1529 Beaugh St. in Church Point, LA.  Activities will focus on VHF/UHF communications using both simplex and repeater modes.  You do not have to be a newly licensed ham to participate in the event and everyone is welcome to attend. 

If you are interested in attending, please contact Chris Ancelet N5MCY at cancelet@gmail.com or (337) 591-8871.

A map to the event location can be found here.
 

Club officers for the 2021 calendar year will assume their duties on April 1^st.
The list of new officers is as follows:
 

President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Member-At-Large
Member-At-Large
Member-At-Large 
Youth Member-At-Large
Public Information Officer
Newsletter Editor
 

Chris Ancelet  N5MCY
Derek Meche  WM5TS
Michael Cavell  KI5ARX
Tom Dischler  W5OHJ
Danny Daigle  KD5JSM
Barrett Oge  KG5SSO
Steve Webre  AF5VR
Patrick Taylor  KG5YFR
Herman Campbell  KN5GRK
Joseph Meaux  K2JDM

A informal "RAG CHEW" net will be held every Thursday night at 8:00 PM on the club's 443.000 MHz repeater.   This will be an informal net in that there will not be a designated net control station.  The net discussions are not limited to amateur radio topics. 

Repairs have been made to the club's 146.820 MHz repeater and the repeater has been placed back into the net schedule.  Both the Monday night and Wednesday night nets will be held on this repeater starting at 7:00 PM.

Also note that the LCG owned SKYWARN repeater system has been inoperable for several months and it's future status is unknown.  Therefore, the Tuesday night  SKYWARN net will continue to be held  on the club's 147.040 MHz W5EXI repeater in Duson until further notice.  Start time for the net will continue to be at 7:00 PM.

Everyone is encouraged to participate in these weekly nets as much as possible.  The net schedule can be viewed at https://www.w5ddl.org/clubsite/files/calendar.pdf.
 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation the club's traditional Christmas Dinner will not be held this year.  The club will host a Christmas Social at 7:00 PM on Thursday December 3^rd.  The event will be held at the SEOT office building located at 1300 Bertrand Drive.  The club will provide cake and coffee along with ten $25 gift cards to be drawn for by club members in attendance.  Everyone is encouraged to attend but please practice the appropriate COVID-19 precautions.
 

In-person general meetings will resume starting October 1^st.  The meetings will be held at the SEOT office building located at 1300 Bertrand Drive and will start at 7:00 PM.  VE testing will be conducted prior to the meeting starting at 6:00 PM.  Social distancing and wearing of masks will be required.  Each attendee's temperature will also be taken so please do not attend if you suspect you are sick.
 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation the club's general meetings will continue to be held by radio on the 147.040 MHz W5EXI repeater.

VE testing will continue to be conducted on an "as needed" basis. 

This years Tour du Teche canoe race previously scheduled for October 2 - 4 has been cancelled by race management.

The club's Veterans Day Special Event planned for November 7th is in question.  A final determination regarding the status of the event should be made in October.
 

Although the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines have been somewhat relaxed, access to the clubs normal meeting location at the Lafayette Science Museum remains unavailable.  Therefore, the club's General Meetings scheduled for the first Thursday of the month will continue to be conducted via radio using the W5EXI (147.040 MHz +0.600 103.5) repeater.  Everyone is encouraged to participate in the meetings via radio if possible.  Attempts will be made to find an alternate site so that in-person club meetings can resume.  Anyone that knows of a specific site that is available should contact the board at board@w5ddl.org.
 

Until the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines allow access to the Lafayette Science Museum, the club's General Meetings scheduled for the first Thursday of the month will be conducted via radio using the W5EXI (147.040 MHz +0.600 103.5) repeater.  Everyone is encouraged to participate in the meetings via radio if possible.

An in-person socially distanced VE Test Session will be held in Youngsville the morning of Saturday May 9^th.  Due to space constraints imposed by the CDC social distancing guidelines there will be limited spots available.  Candidates wishing to participate must Pre-Register.  Candidates will be contacted with more details after registration.  Use this form https://forms.gle/4YF7xL2b1K38WZ6F9 for registration or inquires.
 

Club officers for the 2020 calendar year will assume their duties on April 1^st.
The list of new officers is as follows:
 

President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Member-At-Large
Member-At-Large
Member-At-Large 
Youth Member-At-Large
Public Information Officer
Newsletter Editor
 

Chris Ancelet  N5MCY
Derek Meche  WM5TS
David McCutcheon  KG5JHR
Tom Dischler  W5OHJ
Danny Daigle  KD5JSM
Barrett Oge  KG5SSO
Steve Webre  AF5VR
Patrick Taylor  KG5YFR
Herman Campbell  KN5GRK
Joseph Meaux  K2JDM

The AARA Annual Banquet that normally follows the hamfest has been postponed indefinitely due to the current Coronavirus situation.

The April general meeting and associated VE test session normally scheduled for April 2^nd has also been cancelled.  The status of subsequent meetings will be determined as the Coronavirus situation plays out.

Additional information regarding club activities will be provided as it becomes available.  Members are encouraged to participate in the club's weekly nets to help stay informed of club activities.
 

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, Hamfest activities originally scheduled for Saturday are CANCELLED as mandated by the City of Rayne.  Additional information can be found at w5ddl.org/hamfest.  You may also contact us at hamfest@w5ddl.org.
 

The 2020 AARA Hamfest will be held as scheduled.  MFJ, Ham World and The Sign Man arrived Thursday and started setting up.  Other vendors are scheduled to arrive Friday morning.  The Crawfish Boil will be held Friday night at 6:00 PM as scheduled.  We hope to see everyone there.
 

The AARA will enjoy it's annual Christmas Dinner on Thursday, December 12^th, 2019.  There will not be a general meeting on December 5^th.  The dinner will be held in the banquet room at the Golden Corral Buffet & Grill located at 3110 Ambassador Caffery Parkway.  Information on the facility can be found at https://www.goldencorral.com/locations/906/golden-corral-ambassador-caffery-pkwy/. 

The room will open to the group at 6:00 PM but you may arrive and eat earlier if you so choose.  Each member is responsible for the cost of their own meal.  Door prizes will be drawn for by those in attendance.  We hope to see everyone there.
 

The AARA plans to commemorate the 2019 Veterans Day celebration by conducting a Special Event Station on November 9^th at the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home in Jennings, LA.  Details for the event will be published as they become available.
 

The AARA will be providing communications support for the 2019 Tour du Teche canoe race.  Additional information can be found in the Events section of this website and at W5DDL - Tour du Teche.
 

The AARA sponsored a showing of the Apollo 11 documentary on July 11^th at the Lafayette Science Museum (LSM).  The presentation was open to the public and commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the lunar landing.  It also coincided with the 50^th anniversary of the LSM to whom the AARA is thankful for their continued support.
 

The Lafayette Science Museum (LSM) with the support of the Acadiana Amateur Radio Association (AARA) will be offering an 8-week ham radio course every Tuesday at 5:30 pm starting July 16^th, 2019.  After successful completion of the test the student will be awarded an FCC Technicians Class license for ham radio operation.  This course is open to anyone and lasts 8 weeks.  However, class size will be limited so please sign up early.  Course material will be $20 and there is an FCC fee of $15 at the time of testing.

The LSM is offering this course as a way to promote ham radio to the youth of South Louisiana.  This course is recommended for kids and adults 10 years and older.  The Lafayette Science Museum is located at 433 Jefferson Street, Lafayette, LA.

For more information visit www.lafayettesciencemuseum.org or call (337) 291-5544 to sign up.
 

Since the normally scheduled date for the July general meeting coincides with the nationwide July 4^th Independence Day holiday, the July general meeting and associated VE test session have been cancelled.  The next regularly scheduled club meeting will be held August 1^st.
 

The AARA will be hosting 2019 Field Day activities June 22 - 23 at the farm of Steve and Mel Webre located at 1529 Beaugh St. in Church Point, LA.  These activities are open to the public and anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio is encouraged to attend.  You do not have to be a licensed ham to participate.

Additional details on the event can be found at W5DDL - 2019 Field Day and at ARRL - 2019 Field Day.
 

The club's 146.820 MHz and 443.000 MHz repeaters located on top of the Chase Tower in downtown Lafayette are back in service.  The previously existing antennas were replaced with new monoband fiberglass vertical antennas.  The coaxial cable connectors were replaced due to water intrusion that was found when the previous antennas were removed.  New mounting assemblies for both antennas were designed and installed to eliminate contact with the building roof and to simplify future replacement of the antennas.  The repeater repair effort was lead by Glen Thibodeaux KF5FNP with assistance from Steve Webre AF5VR, Tom Dischler W5OHJ, Derek Meche WM5TS and David McCutcheon KG5JHR.  The AARA Monday Night Net has resumed activities on the 146.820 MHz repeater.
 

Several "After Action Reports" regarding Hurricane Michael are posted on the Emergency Communications page of the club website.  They are in PDF format and can be downloaded and/or printed for future reference.
 

The club's 146.820 MHz and 443.000 MHz repeaters are temporarily out of service due to pending roof replacement operations at the Chase Tower.  Replacement of the antennas, feedlines and mounting systems for both repeaters is being evaluated to improve reliability of the repeaters when they are reinstalled.  Until the repeaters are returned to service, the AARA Monday Night Net normally held on the 146.820 MHz repeater will be held on the club's 147.040 MHz repeater located in Duson.