Using the BARC Website

Finding Your Way Around

A few things about the site's navigation that are worth knowing:

  • The top menu has dropdowns. Hover over (or tap, on mobile) "Home," "Events & Programs," or "Resources" to see a list of sub-pages open underneath.
  • "Events & Programs" has a wider menu with two columns — "On the Air" activities (Repeaters, POTA, Digital Radio, Contesting, etc.) on one side, "Club Programs" (Field Day, Tech Night, Presentations, etc.) on the other.
  • Most content pages have their own left-hand sidebar with related pages grouped together. If you're looking for something related to the page you're on, check the sidebar first.
  • Breadcrumbs (the small "Home › Section › Page" trail at the top of most pages) show you where you are and let you jump back up a level.
  • On mobile, the top menu collapses into a hamburger icon (☰) in the upper right — tap it to open the full navigation.

Downloading Documents

Club Presentations

The Presentations & Documents page (under Events & Programs → Club Programs) has a searchable library of past club presentations, organized into categories like Field Day, Antennas, Digital Modes, and more.

  • Use the search box at the top to find something by title or presenter name.
  • Click any category heading to expand or collapse that group.
  • Each document has a PDF button — click it to open the file in a new tab.
Newsletter (Full Quieting)

The Newsletter page always shows the current issue front and center, plus the 5 most recent issues below it. Each issue has two options:

  • Read Online — opens the PDF in a new browser tab
  • Download — saves the PDF directly to your device

There's also a highlighted Article Index link in the sidebar — a spreadsheet listing every article that's ever run in Full Quieting.

Club Documents

Bylaws, officer info, and other official club documents live under Home → About BARC in the top menu, with their own sidebar to move between them.

Submitting a Presentation

Have an idea for a Tech Night topic or a monthly meeting presentation? On the Presentations & Documents page, look for "Submit a Topic" in the sidebar. Clicking it opens a short form right on the page — fill in your name, callsign, presentation title, and a bit about what you'd like to cover, and it goes straight to the Programs Coordinator.

Logging In & Passwords

🔧 Coming soon. A full member login area — with password management, an online member directory, and profile settings — is planned as the next phase of the website project. It isn't live yet. We'll announce it once it's ready.

For Officers: Creating a Post

If you've been given an account with posting access, here's how to publish something to the site:

  1. Go to bellbrookarc.org/wp/wp-admin and log in with your username and password.
  2. In the left-hand menu, click Posts → Add New.
  3. Give your post a title, then write your content in the main box below it.
  4. To add a photo, click the + button in the content area and choose Image.
  5. On the right-hand side, assign a Category and set a Featured Image.
  6. Click Publish when ready — or Preview first to check how it looks.
  7. To edit later, go to Posts → All Posts and click Edit.

Not sure if you have posting access, or need an account set up? Contact the webmaster below.

Something not working? Let us know — no detail is too small.
Doug Hayward, K8DRH — dhayward@systemspoint.com

Home › Events & Programs › Tech Night

Tech Night

Hands-on workshop nights for builders, tinkerers, and curious hams — BARC W8DGN

What Is Tech Night?

Next Tech Night: See the club calendar for the next scheduled date. Tech Nights are held periodically throughout the year — check the calendar or the club email list for announcements.

Tech Night is BARC's informal workshop and build event — a chance to get your hands on equipment, work on projects, get help from experienced members, and learn something new in a relaxed setting. No agenda, no pressure, just radio.

Bring a project you're working on, a piece of gear that needs troubleshooting, or just come to watch and learn. All skill levels welcome.

What Happens at Tech Night

Antenna Builds

Cut wire, wind toroids, solder connectors. EFHW, dipoles, verticals, yagis — club members bring materials and expertise.

Equipment Demos

Members demo new rigs, SDR setups, digital mode configurations, logging software, and other shack tech.

Troubleshooting Help

Bring a radio, antenna, or accessory that's not working right. Experienced members with test equipment are usually on hand.

Digital Mode Setup

Get help configuring FT8, Winlink, JS8Call, or APRS. Laptop-to-radio interfacing is a popular topic.

CW / Morse Practice

Code practice sessions for new hams learning CW and for licensed hams looking to improve their speed.

Open Build Night

Sometimes it's just an open table — bring your project and work alongside other members in the club shack.

Recent Tech Nights

  • May 2026
    FT8 Setup and HF Digital Interface Wiring
    Laptop-to-radio interface cables, WSJT-X configuration, and live FT8 contacts
  • Apr 2026
    EFHW Antenna Build
    Building a 40m–10m end-fed half-wave with 9:1 unun — group build, everyone takes one home
  • Mar 2026
    SDR Demonstration — RTL-SDR and SDR#
    $25 dongle covering 100 kHz–1.7 GHz, aircraft tracking, weather satellite images
  • Feb 2026
    Open Troubleshooting Night
    Members brought in rigs and antennas for diagnosis — VNA demos and SWR measurement
  • Jan 2026
    Raspberry Pi for Ham Radio
    Pi-Star hotspot setup, AllStar node on Pi, JS8Call and Direwolf packet

Suggest a Topic

Have an idea for a Tech Night topic or want to lead a demo? We're always looking for members to share what they know — even a 20-minute show-and-tell is great.
Suggest a Topic or Demo →