Welcome to the Frederick Amateur Radio Club!

CLARIFICATION:  While logging is not required, we’d appreciate it, as it tells us which stations can reach one another without repeaters – think ARES/RACES.  But if you just don’t want to log, please participate anyway.

CLARIFICATION: From 7:00 to 7:10, I’ll monitor 146.73 W3FDK AND 147.09 W3CWC for questions, if any.  If you don’t have questions, find a two meter frequency (see chart below for suggestions) and call CQ.

The Frederick Amateur Radio Club is sponsoring the FARC and Friends 2M Simplex QSO Challenge on Saturday, February 15th from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM (but feel free to go later if you choose).  You do NOT (not!) need to be a club member to participate, and is open to anyone within range. The goal is to provide a fun February event without getting cold; an event for both new hams and those who maybe don’t get out like they once did.  So, at 7PM, find a frequency (see chart below) and call CQ.

While I’m a fan of digital, I’d like to keep this an all-voice event, using FM and SSB modes. The spirit of this event is to provide a very local QSO party, but with this additional twist:

How Low Can You Go Challenge (can be optional).  As you make a contact, each end should reduce power to determine the lowest output required to still communicate.  Most radios will only support High/Medium/Low.  For example, let’s say that K3MMM makes contact with N3LSB.  After initial exchange, K3MMM will say “I’m going low”, and then moves to medium power, then transmit something like “N3SLB, medium power, how copy”.  If good copy, K3MMM moves to low power and repeats “N3LSB, low power, how copy”.  If good copy, N3LSB would then start the step down in power process.  If at any point, contact is lost on lower power, move back to last good power level and complete the transaction.  Yes, this will take an extra minute or two, but it can be interesting to see how much or little power is really required.  If using an HT, same thing – your high/med/low will just be lower. Log the lowest power required to effectively communicate.  You may want to turn squelch down/off for this event.

Logs can be in any format, including hand-written.  If electronic, I’d prefer ADIF format, but can take .csv or most anything else.  Logs are due on or before March 11th – you can email to my call sign @arrl.net or mail to my address found on qrz.com.  I’m not going to cross-check logs, but rather count on your spirit and integrity.

I’ll be awarding the most-distant contact for both SSB and FM.  In addition to your log, PLEASE (please!) let me know your longest contact, including far end call sign and approximate distance from your location.

Those using SSB should the weak-signal frequency range of: 144.000 to 144.500, with specific “channels” of 144.100, 144.200, 144.300, 144.400 & 144.500.

In keeping with the T-MARC bandplan for our region (found here if you’re interested) and to save you from looking it up, the standard FM simplex frequencies are below. For FM, we’ll use the 146.415 to 146.595 block of channels, as they’re likely the most familiar with most folks, although any of the simplex frequencies are fine.  Specifics are:

Download a copy of the above chart in .pdf form here:  T-Marc simplex 2m frequencies

As always, let me know if there are questions.  My email is my call sign @arrl.net, or you can comment to this note.

73
Mike K3MMM

UPDATE: as of 7:30 Feb 8th, this event is a GO

Hagerstown has well over a century of aviation history, from shortly after the Wright Brothers first flight through today. The Hagerstown Aviation Museum (HAM) showcases that history, particularly the variety that Fairchild Aircraft produced in Hagerstown, when the company employed as many as ten thousand local staffers. This Saturday, February 8^th, the Antietam Radio Association will present Ham at the HAM from 10am until 4pm. This includes both overview and demonstration of amateur radio and how it fits into aviation history, with the goal of installing a permanent amateur radio station at the museum. Bring your HT; coordination is on W3CWC 147.09 (+ offset 100Hz).

The Hagerstown Aviation Museum is located at 18450 Showalter Road, Bldg 8 in Hagerstown, MD 21742

For a great understanding of Hagerstown aviation history, see this nicely-produced video overview: Hagerstown Aviation Museum Welcome Video

Visit the Hagerstown Aviation Museum website here: Hagerstown Aviation Museum

And here is a flyer with details for this particular event:  Ham at Hagerstown Aviation Museum

I hope to see you there!

Mike K3MMM

Winter Field Day 2025 is in the books, and was well received.  We had about thirty people stop by over the weekend, and just about everyone made a field day contact.  While Mother Nature reminded us that it is winter, we remained warm enough to function.  And, as always, there were some lessons learned, such as: the combination of LED lighting, switching power supplies, and solar chargers adds significantly to the noise floor on some frequencies – so much that a successful Winlink connection required that I had to go even more portable from our portable location – a couple hundred feet made a world of difference on 2 meters.  We won’t have final score for a few days, but it really isn’t about the numbers, rather it’s about putting together a remote operation in adverse conditions. We don’t need a score to know that we had success.

Anyway, thanks to all of the folks who contributed to the effort, particularly to neighbor Dave who helped split wood, hang lights and tarps, as well as brand new ham Paul KD3AMT who had NO idea what he was getting himself into, and came over early and joined the preparations. And to the folks who brought their gear, food, snacks, drinks and great fellowship.  It was a great weekend!

A few photos:

Hello everyone,

Please join us for the January 2025 meeting of the Frederick Amateur Radio Club, on Monday January 20^th at 7pm. We meet in the social hall of the Independent Hose Company located at 310 Baughmans Lane in Frederick. Parking and entrance are in rear of the building. We invite ANYONE with even an inkling of interest in amateur radio to join us. Every month, many of us arrive around 6pm to set up the meeting space and chat. Anyone is welcome to join in the pre-meeting social hour.

Per our bylaws, (found here: FARC Bylaws) we elect officers each January. If you would be willing to serve in any role, please send a note to Justin AB3E using his call sign @arrl.net or maybe join us at the pre-meeting social hour. We are particularly looking for someone to relieve Bryant N3NON of his several-year stint as both secretary and treasurer. While Bryant is willing to remain as club treasurer, he would like to pass the secretary torch to another member. Not to diminish Bryant’s secretarial prowess, but this isn’t a life-altering task, and it would be great if someone would step up.

Mark KC3EOJ will present the best way to communicate an event injury to a 911 center, particularly via a net control station. Mark had emailed you the form that he’ll be using, but you can find a copy here: FARC 911 Form. Please bring a copy of the form, a writing instrument, AND a handheld radio if you have one, as we’ll be doing a simulated event.

Here are the tentative (tentative!) events for this calendar year. Some dates are not yet nailed down, but please keep them on your radar:

January 25 & 26: Winter Field Day All of the details are here: FARC Winter Field Day

February 8: Amateur radio at the Hagerstown Aviation Museum (aka HAM), in conjunction with the Antietam club. See details here: Ham at HAM

February 15: FARC Two Meter QSO Challenge. We did this a couple of years ago, and it was a lot of fun. Here’s a link to what we did last time, and this version will be extremely similar: FARC 2M

March 22: FredFest 2025! Check here for details as they’re developed: FredFest 2025

April 27: Pedal for Lymphoma. This is a new cycling event that we’re supporting, but smaller in scale as compared to others that we’ve done. This event begins and ends at the Comus Inn, and the 50, 25 & 15 mile courses route through western Montgomery and southeastern Frederick Counties. We’ll need to staff three rest stops, three SAG vehicles and Net Control.

May: Combo Portable Two Meter Challenge + ARES drill.
June 7: Tour de Frederick. Likely very similar to years past, with ~10 rest stops and 12 SAG vehicles, plus net control. This is a great event that benefits kids in Frederick County.

June 26 & 27: Field Day.

July: POTA Activation

August: Foxhunt

September 27 or October 4: Half HAM (half Hike Across Maryland). We support the Mountain Club of Maryland as folks hike the Appalachian Trail from PenMar Park in Cascade to Washington Monument near Boonsboro.

December 15: Club holiday party

Also, a gentle reminder that January is time for club dues, which remain $15. Easiest is to send funds via Zelle, which is native via the web or smartphone interface for many financial institutions. See post about Zelle here: FARC Zelle. You’d send to: treasurer@frederickarc.org. Of course, sending a check via USPS to PO Box 1260 Frederick MD 21702 or cash/check at a meeting also works.

Meetings are always best in person, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen.  Next best is to join via Zoom using this link: FARC 2025 Zoom
If you join via Zoom, PLEASE either include your call sign or name in your Zoom profile.  This will help identify you as a human and not a bot. Thanks!

We hope to see you on Monday!
Mike K3MMM