Meeting Notice
HOTARC will hold its monthly Meeting of Members at 7:00 PM on Thursday September 25,
2025 in person at Slow Rise Pizza – Woodway 7608 Woodway Dr. and via the Video
Conferencing. Please check your email or the Members Only section of the website for login
information.
The HOTLINE
Official Newsletter for the
Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club
Waco, Texas
SEPTEMBER 2025
VOLUME L, NUMBER 9
Hello HOTARC,
I’m looking forward to being back at a meeting for the first time in a few months! Some of the
membership here as well as other local radio ops (and a few non amateur folks) have been working on
building out a mesh network in town based on LoRa technology. Several things can run using the
LoRa technology which is an unlicensed area of the 900mhz band (In the USA anyway) and one of
those things is called Meshtastic. It gives users the ability to send messages through an off-grid
network of other nodes across town. It can also be used for tracking if the nodes have GPS chips or if
they are paired with a smartphone that does. Several of us have been working on getting standalone
solar powered nodes placed strategically across town and in some of the outlying areas to attempt to
stitch together coverage for Waco. At the meeting we will bring some examples of nodes both static
and mobile and give a little example of how it works. The cost of entry is pretty low and the more of us
we get on this the more usable it becomes. Hope to see you at the meeting this Thursday!
Drew Dickenson
KE5UBO
HOTARC President
HOTARC Meeting of Members
August 28, 2025
Vice-President Dave McClure N3DMC called the
meeting to order at 7:04PM 10 members and 3
guests were in person and in the ZOOM Meeting
Room. Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW gave the
invocation. Vice-President Dave McClure
N3DMC led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW moved to accept the
minutes of the last meeting as published in the
HOTLINE, Jim Jud KA5QKL seconded. Motion
carried.
Treasurer’s report: The Treasurers Report for
July 2025 as published in the HOTLINE was
filed.
New Business:
Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW moved to renew the
PO Box. David Rahn KD0WQC seconded.
Motion carried.
Jim Jud KA5QKL moved to disconnect the
HOTARC 442 repeater from the digital network
during the nets, other than the Monday ARES
net. Bill Feltenberger KD5UEW seconded.
Motion carried.
Meeting Adjourned 7:16PM
After the meeting: Waco Wild West prep.
Submitted by
Mike Davis NA5X
HOTARC Secretary
August 31, 2025
Starting Balance July 31, 2025 13,237.03$
Income
PayPal Dues 90.00$
Cash Dues
Interest Income 116.38$
Total received 206.38$
Total Income 206.38$
Expenses
Paypal Expenses 2.67$
Total Expenses 2.67$
There is one outstanding check -54.38
Ending Balance 13,440.74$
CD 11,000.00$
Checking 2,440.74$
Mike Ross New Ham Radio Fund 180.94$
Flower Fund Total 287.47$
Submitted by
Bill Feltenberger
KD5UEW
Heart o' Texas Amateur Radio Club
Treasurers Report:
8/31/2025
August 31, 2025
McLennan County
A.R.E.S.
by Paul Collins KG5DHS
McLennan County Emergency Coordinator
Hi HOTARC!
Gabrielle is the second major hurricane of the 2025 season. There is no landfall on our shores
expected with this storm, however the predicted lull is just about over. We are about to enter an active
phase for the hurricane season. So far the impacts have been minimal, but we still have a long way to
the end of the hurricane season on November 30th. Monday is the first day of Fall but we are still in
the 90’s and the dry weather is about to change. Stand by for potential severe weather!
As always, the ARES team is ready to deploy if needed.
Thanks to everyone who is part of the team!
If you are interested in becoming a member of McLennan
County ARES, go to the HOTARC Web site under the
frequently asked questions and download the application.
E-mail or mail the completed application according to the
instructions listed at the bottom of the application. Your
application will be processed and you will receive an ARES ID
Card As always, the ARES team is ready to deploy if needed.
Thanks to everyone who is part of the team!
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the meeting.
73, Paul
KG5DHS
The HOTLINE is the monthly newsletter of the Heart O’ Texas Amateur Radio Club (HOTARC), Inc., a nonprofit corporation, chartered by the State of
Texas and principally located in Waco. It is permissible to use any of the original material contained herein provided proper credit is given to the source.
Edited and Published by Mike Davis NA5X, mike@na5x.com
HOTARC 2025 Board of Directors
President: Drew Dickenson, KE5UBO
President@hotarc.org
Vice Pres: Dave McClure, N3DMC
VicePres@hotarc.org
Secretary: Mike Davis, NA5X
Secretary@hotarc.org
Treasurer: Bill Feltenberger, KD5UEW
Treasurer@hotarc.org
Past-Pres.: Aaron Gustafson, KI5PCQ
PastPres@hotarc.org
Director (2025): Jason Fedlam, KQ5UX
Director1@hotarc.org
Director (2026): Jeb Leutwyler, KG5WHS
Director2@hotarc.org
Director (2027): Jim Jud, KA5QKL
Director3@hotarc.org
Club Repeaters
145.15 MHz (input at –600 kHz, tone 123 Hz)
146.98 MHz (input at –600 kHz, D-Star)
442.875 MHz (input at +5.0 MHz, tone 123 Hz)
VE Testing
Contact HOTARC at hamradio@hotarc.org or visit HamStudy.org for testing practice and possible testing dates
and times.