Which amateur radio club to join in Central Maryland?

Minuteman · Dec 10, 2014

Apparently there are a lot of Amateur Radio Clubs (ARC) in Maryland. Now that more than a few of us are getting licenses, probably should look into joining a club, or two? I've met folks from both the Laurel ARC and AACO ARC; any recommendations between picking from just these two?

I'll list some of the more popular ones I found on ARRL; please vote for the one(s) you are affiliated with or most interested in.

Laurel Amateur Radio Club: http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/index.php?pg=faq
http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/laurel-amateur-radio-club/type:club

Columbia Amateur Radio Association: http://www.columbiaara.org/

Anne Arundel Amateur Radio Club: http://www.w3vpr.org/
http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/anne-arundel-radio-club/type:club

Prince George County Emergency Radio Association: http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/prince-george-s-cnty-emergency-radio-ass/type:club

CHESAPEAKE AMATEUR TELEVISION SOCIETY: http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/chesapeake-amateur-television-society/type:club
http://www.qsl.net/wy3w/wy3w/CATSWEB/index22.html

MARYLAND MOBILEERS ARC INC: http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/maryland-mobileers-arc-inc/type:club
https://sites.google.com/site/marylandmobileers/home

Free State ARC: http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/free-state-arc/type:clubhttp://www.k3ivo-fsarc.org/

NormH3 · Dec 10, 2014

I can't help with Maryland, but it should be noted that clubs can have different interests within the hobby. Some are comprised of contesters. Some own and maintain VHF/UHF repeaters. Some do it all. It truly is a personal preference.

Minuteman · Dec 10, 2014

NormH3 said:
I can't help with Maryland, but it should be noted that clubs can have different interests within the hobby. Some are comprised of contesters. Some own and maintain VHF/UHF repeaters. Some do it all. It truly is a personal preference.

Good tip, thanks. I did notice on the ARRL page they listed comments of what the club focuses on. Most of the ones I listed are generalist, except the one that focuses on TV.

I see that one of the clubs airs news and info every Saturday and Sunday night on 147.225; I'll try to listen in this weekend.

NormH3 · Dec 10, 2014

Minuteman said:
Good tip, thanks. I did notice on the ARRL page they listed comments of what the club focuses on. Most of the ones I listed are generalist, except the one that focuses on TV.

I see that one of the clubs airs news and info every Saturday and Sunday night on 147.225; I'll try to listen in this weekend.

It's whatever you might be interested in. I forgot to mention clubs that do the ARES/RACES emergency stuff.

marte616 · Dec 10, 2014

CARA is pretty involved in civics, emergencies, nets, and contests. They have socials once a month at a diner, plus classes and equipment exchanges.

73's

drking2 · Dec 10, 2014

BARC, Baltimore amateur radio club is currently in the mists of giving up the clubhouse and pretty much shutting down I think.

NormH3 · Dec 10, 2014

drking2 said:
BARC, Baltimore amateur radio club is currently in the mists of giving up the clubhouse and pretty much shutting down I think.

WOW...really? They were one of the big dogs in Amateur radio

drking2 · Dec 10, 2014

NormH3 said:
WOW...really? They were one of the big dogs in Amateur radio

yes, they were selling the furniture from the club house a couple of weeks ago. I think they may try to stay in some form, but hamfest this year will be a flea market at the Arcadia firehall in june.

Sad really.

6-Pack · Dec 10, 2014

Where are you located? For some reason I thought you were Carroll County.

The Carroll County Amateur Radio Club (K3PZN) is a good group of locals.

I've always joined the club physically closest to me. Really though, you will run into just about everyone if you go to enough hamfests.

Pinecone · Dec 10, 2014

When I was active, I was a CARA member. Their repeater covers such a wide area.

Although, unless you are going to be active in the club, they are better off if you just send a donation.

JamesH · Dec 11, 2014

There's no reason to choose just one club. Most clubs open their activities to non-members, so you can attend whatever events interest you. Once you have an idea of which clubs you're most active in, you can become a member of those clubs.

Minuteman · Dec 12, 2014

JamesH said:
There's no reason to choose just one club. Most clubs open their activities to non-members, so you can attend whatever events interest you. Once you have an idea of which clubs you're most active in, you can become a member of those clubs.

Sounds a lot like gun clubs, just start showing up, meet some folks and see what's what.

thx!

Minuteman · Dec 14, 2014

I've decided to take the test in Jan, not this month.

Anyone want to take it with me, just let me know.

lonebrave · Dec 14, 2014

Minuteman said:
I've decided to take the test in Jan, not this month.

Anyone want to take it with me, just let me know.

Don't think I'll be ready for General by then.

gamer_jim · Dec 14, 2014

Can we get a cross-post to the amateur radio faq thread?

The_Wood · Dec 19, 2014

The BRATS often get dismissed as an amateur TV club, but we're an active group experimenting with all kinds of cool things.

High speed data network - links of 2-10 miles with 100 mbps wifi
SDR experimentation - we're deploying SDRs on some of our sites to play with ADS-B, AIS, etc.
Public service - we participate in three or four public service events a year, and have a blast doing it.
Hobby/experimentation - we're aiming to launch a weather balloon in the spring
Growth of amateur radio - we've started a large JOTA (Jamboree on the Air) event, exposing 150 Scouts and parents to ham radio this year alone, and looking to grow even more next year.

Feel free to visit during any of our upcoming meetings - the schedule is on our website at http://www.bratsatv.org. I've just finished two years as president, and I have to say I'm excited for what the future holds.

Kevin

Minuteman · Feb 1, 2016

Just noticed this happened recently, curious if anyone here attended:

http://www.capitalgazette.com/neighborhoods/ph-ac-gn-odenton-gambrills-0202-20160201-story.html

md_rick_o · Feb 1, 2016

I'm studying again, maybe this time i'll get to test. I was planning on testing prior to the change of material last year but it never worked out. Family and real world just seems to get in the way. Just like shooting.

BigCity · Feb 1, 2016

I'm in Carroll Co. but belong to CARA. That is where my Elmer goes.

Minuteman · Feb 1, 2016

md_rick_o said:
I'm studying again, maybe this time i'll get to test. I was planning on testing prior to the change of material last year but it never worked out. Family and real world just seems to get in the way. Just like shooting.

Same thing happened to me.

The blizzard we recently had reminded me why this is important.

Which amateur radio club to join in Central Maryland?

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Member

Banned

Member

Banned

God bless America...

Ultimate Member

Banned

Ultimate Member

NRA Life Member

Ultimate Member

That Guy

Member

Member

Member

Podcaster

Member

Member

Ultimate Member

retired undertaker

Member

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics