Welcome to the Frederick Amateur Radio Club!

Hi all,

As you know, Sandy has been working steadily to fabricate two Point of Delivery (aka POD) go-kits for the club. Sandy KB3EOF and Steve K3STE have generously funded these kits. And now that they’re, ready to go I thought a quick Parks on the Air (Parks on the Air ®) activation might serve as a shakedown. So, at 8am this Saturday April 25^th we plan to activate two locations:

• Sandy KB3EOF will be at Gathland State Park at the pavilion with POD Kit Bravo. Look for What3Words location: ///crater.guards.aboard
• Mike K3MMM will be at the Chestnut Picnic Area at Catoctin Mountain Park, located on Park Central Road with kit Alpha. We generally set up on the back side of the loop, at What3Words location: ///pulpit.sheepishly.crucial

We’ll probably only go for a couple of hours to not burn through the whole day. We’ll have the POD kits and I’ll likely take my personal radio. Bring your gear or just come visit and try the POD – no need to be licensed as we can serve as control operators. Let me know if there are questions – use my call @arrl.net.

I hope to see you Saturday!
Mike K3MMM

Greetings! The regular meeting of the Frederick Amateur Radio Club will take place on Monday April 20^th at 7pm. This month the main topic of discussion is the five-year strategic plan for the club; you’ll find the most recent draft here: https://frederickarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Strategic-Plan-Draft-18April2026.pdf. PLEASE take a moment to read through the plan, as this will chart our course for the next few years, and it’s only a few pages long.

ALSO, the social hour begins at 6pm – you can use the time to root through some leftover treasure from FredFest, which will be free to good home on a first-come basis.

We meet in the social hall of the Independent Hose (Fire) Company, located at 310 Baughmans Lane in Frederick. Parking and hall entrance are in the rear of the building. We welcome ALL of the local community who have even a slight interest in radio – there is no need to be a club member or licensed amateur.

While joining in person is best (particularly if you want to root for treasure), Zoom is the next-best option. The Zoom link is here: FARC Zoom 2026

If you join via Zoom, please mute your microphone unless actively participating in the meeting, and please have your name and/or call sign in the Zoom profile, so we can discern if you’re a bot or not.

As always, let me know if there are questions

73!
Mike K3MMM

Hi all,

It’s time to start ramping up for the biennial Hike Across Maryland (HAM), which will be held on Saturday May 23^rd. The HAM is an adventure where ~80 hearty souls hike the 41-mile Maryland segment of the Appalachian Trail southward from Pen Mar Park on the Mason-Dixon line to Harpers Ferry, WV in a very long day. Our mission is to provide radio support for the hike organizers, operating from ten checkpoints plus one welfare-check location, all along the trail. We primarily pass requests for assistance, as well as listing of hikers that have passed through each of the checkpoints.

Couple more points (in no particular order):

• Hikers leave Pen Mar Park around 5:30am and the last will likely arrive in Harpers Ferry around 9pm.
• Checkpoints open and close based on previous HAM hiker data. For example, Pen Mar will open at 5:15am and likely close at 5:40. As the day (and hike) progresses, checkpoints open later but remain open longer.
• We go rain or shine, unless conditions are dangerous.
• The majority of the checkpoints are a VERY short walk from parking.
• The POGO Campground welfare check is located between two relatively distant checkpoints, and requires a ~two mile hike (each way) via the Thurston Griggs Trail. If you’re interested in this role, let me know in the comment section of the sign-up sheet.
• High Rock checkpoint is a couple hundred yards into the woods from parking, and Ensign Cowell checkpoint is maybe a half mile up the trail from parking. If you’d like either of these, let me know in the comment section of sign-up sheet.
• While most checkpoints require only a handheld radio, one or two require handheld with enhanced antenna, and one or two require mobile-type radio and large antenna. We have loaner equipment, so please don’t let lack of gear prevent you from volunteering.
• An amateur technician license or better is required.
• This is an excellent first-event for new hams – if you’ve participated in any of the radio nets, you have the skill-set for this event. If you’d prefer, we can pair you up with a more experienced operator.
• We plan to use a combination of voice and digital data modes (Winlink/FLDigi) to transmit hiker data – whatever works for the operator at a particular checkpoint.
• Our primary repeater will be the W3CWC 146.94 in Clear Spring.

If you can help support this event, please complete the sign-up form here: https://forms.gle/7Gq9dC6nRDLkyz4M7 On the form, there is a place to provide free-form comments, questions or other useful information.

If you have any questions about this event, please send me a note using my call sign @arrl.net

Thanks and 73!
Mike K3MMM

A few pictures from Fred Fest 2026!