CARA Fest brings in more than 500 visitors and vendors each year, and we need many volunteers to make it a success!

Most volunteer positions are allocated in 2-hour shifts, so volunteers will have plenty of time to visit the vendors and clubs on site before or after their shifts. Setup volunteers on Saturday will be treated to a pizza lunch, and event volunteers on Sunday will receive a voucher good for any food purchase from the Lions Club.

Check out the online signup form to see what positions are available. No ham radio experience is needed! We will train all volunteers in what is needed for a particular role, so friends/family are welcome to help out as well! (Spread the word!)

Thanks in advance for your support!

In addition to the 7-week class we previously shared, we learned there two more great Technician licensing classes starting soon, and all are FREE! summary:

Starting Saturday, September 16, 2023:
2-day in-person Technician licensing class hosted by the Carroll County Amateur Radio Club K3PZN. Runs from 9am-5pm Eastern on Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 50 Kate Wagner Rd., Westminster MD 21157. Pre-register online at http://www.k3pzn.net/course.html or email ccarc.k3pzn@gmail.com for more information.

Starting Sunday, 1 October 2023:
6-week virtual Technician licensing class hosted by Anne Arundel Radio Club W3VPR. Runs from 1:00-5:00pm Eastern for 6 consecutive Sundays. Preregister online, or email learn@w3vpr.org with your name, address, and telephone number (this information is strictly for the club's use and will not be shared with anyone else without permission).

Rol Anders' legendary FREE, weekly, live, virtual Amateur Radio Technician Class Licensing course will begin on Thursday, September 7, and will run through Thursday, October 19 (7 sessions). The three-hour sessions will start at 6:30 PM Eastern Time.

The course follows the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual for the technician class amateur radio exam (5th edition) which you will need to acquire before class. To sign up, email roland.anders@comcast.net.

The National Weather Service is offering a free SKYWARN Basics class virtually on 24 July at 6pm. For more information or to register go to SKYWARN Basics Class - VIRTUAL.

CARA's monthly membership meetings are now on the fourth TUESDAY of each month. The next in-person meeting is on TUESDAY, 25 July.

Moving forward, meetings will alternate between in-person and virtual-only formats; keep an eye on your email and the CARA Events Calendar for details.

Topic

The 28 June meeting will feature a general overview of Howard County ARES-RACES activities and future goals. Dan Wilt N3YQ and Andy Protigal N3AWP will review the group's emergency communication support relationships, recent activities, future goals, and address questions about becoming a member of the ARES-RACES team. We also anticipate a visit from the ARRL Maryland-DC Section Leadership who will review, among other topics, thoughts for a possible section wide emergency communications Simulated Emergency Test in October.

Meetings are open to all, spread the word!

Directions

The in-person meeting is in the Applied Physics Lab Building 1 Cafeteria, 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723. From Rt. 29 go west on Johns Hopkins Road. At the second light turn right onto APL drive, proceed to the end and park on the left. From the Bldg 1 lobby, turn right at the guard desk to enter the cafeteria and proceed to the far end.

Zoom Link

You can also watch the meeting via Zoom, however the chat will not be moderated and viewers will not be able to ask questions. Those on the newsletter mailing list will already have received a link for the Zoom meeting; if you would like a link please Register on the event page and a link will automatically be sent to you.

12 hams enjoyed today's breakfast at la Madeleine.

For Summer Field Day (24-25 June), CARA will operate two HF stations and a satellite station at River Hill High School, 12101 Clarksville Pike (Route 108), Clarksville, MD 21029, and anyone who is interested in ham radio is welcome! Please help spread the word.

Field Day is a great opportunity for hams of all experience levels to make a bunch of contacts, and our coaches will help new hams and non-hams of all ages get on the air to make their first contacts. Or just come by for a visit, and be sure to bring family and friends to the cookout on Saturday at 5pm! CARA will provide hot dogs, chips, and drinks; feel free to bring anything you may wish to share, and don’t forget a blanket or chairs and sunscreen. No RSVP needed, just stop by.

The contest begins at 2pm on Saturday and runs through 2pm on Sunday. We expect at least one station will be running until at least late evening on Saturday, so stop by any time! Coaches will be available on Saturday from 3pm to 9pm, on Sunday from 10 am until 2pm, and at other times depending on coach availability. Just sign in at the welcome table and we’ll connect you with a coach.

And we appreciate as many volunteers as possible who can help with setup from 8am onward on Saturday 24 June, and for breakdown on Sunday 25 June starting at 2pm.

Work on the 147.390 repeater in Cooksville was completed on May 12, and reports confirm good reach into Columbia, Ellicott City, Clarksville, and surrounding areas. Work on the 147.135 and 449.475 repeaters has been rescheduled to May 30-31.

The CARA repeaters will be going offline to permit maintenance on the towers and antenna replacement on the following dates:

147.390 - Thursday, May 11 and Friday, May 12

147.135 and 449.475 on Thursday, May 24 and Friday, May 25.

We will update you if there are any changes.