Athens Radio Club
The Athens Radio Club is active in the amateur radio hobby. The club hosts several annual events that provide opportunities for operators to experience all aspects of amateur radio. Our members can be found operating POTA, working a variety of public service events, or just ragchewing on the local repeater. Join us at a regular meeting, at one of our many events, or on the air. Membership is not required but is encouraged and appreciated. We have set a goal of 100 members for 2026.
The First POTA Extravaganza Is Now History
February 20-22 - Due to the ice storm forcing the cancellation of our Winter Field Day activities, we held the first ever Athens Radio Club Winter POTA Extravaganza at Watson Mill Bridge State Park.
Setup began on Friday about 2:30 and we packed up and headed home around 10am Sunday.
Using the W4G special event callsign for ARC, we made over 1700 contacts. Five operators logged over 100 contacts to their personal call signs including Colin KO4IZK, Kevin KR4BDR, and Claude AC4SH. Top operator for the weekend was Andy KQ4VVW with 348 contacts. Top daily activator was Jess N4JAH with 312 contacts on Saturday.
We had over 40 people participate in the event. Some came and stayed 30 minutes, while some stayed the whole weekend. There were club members as well as non-members participating. We even had an 11 year old come out and make his first HF radio contacts ever. Saturday night, we enjoyed some world famous BDR Burgers from the grill. We had a seemingly never-ending supply of K Roger’s doughnuts and Domino’s pizza. Most importantly, we had a great time. Thanks to everyone who made this event possible.
AI Noise Reduction
Do you have significant noise on your HF signal at home?
AI is here to help.
Finally, a good use for AI.
The RM Noise project uses AI with the goal of removing noise from SSB voice or CW radio signals.
The AI has been trained using noise recordings which are often unique to each setup and location.
The client program sends the radio’s noisy output to the AI servers, and the servers remove the noise in real-time and return the audio back to the client for listening.
Watch it (listen to it) in action on SSB and CW.
What is required?
A Windows 10 or 11 computer with internet access and the computer’s audio line in (or something equivalent) connected to a radio.
In other words, it only works on Windows and you must have the radio’s audio feeding into the computer.
You must download and install the RM Noise client software on your computer.
You can find this software and more on our Links page.
New Meeting Location
At the November meeting, it was agreed that we would move our meeting location to the Athens Airport for 2026. See our Meetings page for more information.
We bid a fond farwell to our hosts at the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. All meetings will now be held in the Community Room at the Athens Airport Terminal building, 1020 Ben Epps Dr, Athens, GA 30605.
2026 Membership Drive
Help us reach our goal of 100 members. Join the Athens Radio Club now.
Upcoming Meetings, Programs, and Events
March 3 - Regular Meeting 7:30 PM - New Location
Scott Wooten (KW4NJA) will present the Long Island CW Club (LICW) and the CW Academy (CWops), two of the leading organizations available to the Amateur Radio enthusiast for learning CW Morse Code.
Scott is the current Vice-President of the South East Contest Club, a graduate of the CW Academy (CWops), and a morse code instructor with the Long Island CW Club (LICW), He is active in POTA, CW contesting, ragchews and chasing DX.
For more information, check out the 2026 Programs page. This meeting will be held at our new meeting location.
April 7 - VE License Testing 6:00 PM
April 7 - Regular Meeting 7:30 PM
Bruce Johnson (KX4AZ) is fascinated with the science of electromagnetic waves and the means of sending/detecting them. His presentation, titled “You Used Ethernet Cable for WHAT?”, will highlight the advantages of using ethernet cable as a feedline for HF antennas. The characteristics of ethernet cable (impedance, line loss, matching needs, cost) will be discussed, along with real-world examples from his Antenna Farm of using a single cable for multiple receive only antennas.
For more information, check out the 2026 Programs page.
See the main ARC Calendar Page for more events.
Someone in Athens is stealing the wheels off ACCPD police cars. The police are working tirelessly to catch him.
Keeping HamClock Alive
HamClock was created by Elwood Downey, WB0OEW — an engineer who built one of the most popular shack displays in amateur radio and gave it away for free. Elwood became a Silent Key on January 29, 2026. Because of this, the server that supports the original HamClock will be going offline in June 2026.
However, Bruce Edrich, W4BAE, has built a back-end server that promises to keep your HamClock installation functioning after that time. Bruce is a cybersecurity consultant and ham radio operator based in South Florida. He is hosting the new web site hamclock.com. Visit hamclock.com to get the details on how to keep your HamClock operating.
OpenHamClock
Have you been looking at Geocron or Hamclock but haven’t pulled the trigger yet? Try OpenHamClock. You can find a link to it on our Links page in the Maps and Display Software section.
While a cold snap might feel like it should be the "end" for mosquitoes, the reality in the Southeast is a bit more complicated. Most mosquitoes don't actually die off; they just hit the "pause" button.
Here is how they survive the Southern winter:
The 50-Degree Rule
Mosquitoes are cold-blooded and cannot regulate their body temperature.
Below 50°F: They become lethargic and generally stop flying or biting.
At Freezing (32°F): Most adult mosquitoes will die if they are exposed, but they are experts at finding "micro-climates"—protected spots like crawlspaces, hollow logs, or thick leaf litter—to stay just warm enough to survive.
Hibernation (Diapause)
Many species in states like Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas enter a state called diapause. They essentially "hibernate" by slowing their metabolism to a crawl. They can stay in this state for months, waiting for a string of days above 50°F to wake up and start biting again.
"Winter-Hardy" Eggs
Even if a severe freeze kills every adult mosquito in your yard, the population is usually safe. Many species lay eggs in the fall that are designed to survive sub-freezing temperatures. These eggs can sit in dry or frozen dirt all winter and will only hatch once the spring rains arrive and the water temperature rises.
So the bottom line is, the skeeters will be back, regardless of the cold.
From Glenn Burns on Facebook.
It's not even over, but this winter will go down as one of the wildest in recent memory...for opposing reasons. The eastern half of the US has seen very cold temperatures and well ABOVE normal snowfall. The western US has seen unseasonably warm temperatures and well BELOW normal snowfall. Some traditionally snowy areas have seen staggering departures from normal snowfall - like Salt Late City, UT without an inch of snow so far this winter. In fact, parts of our area have seen similar or even more snow than places like Denver, Boise, Rapid City and Cheyenne.
From Jamie Arnold WMBF on Facebook.
Repeater site in northwest Clarke County, GA
Club members supporting the 2025 Milledge Mile run.
Colin, KO4IZK, operating at Winter Field Day 2025.
Club members looking over some items at the 2025 club swap meet.
Drone view of the club repeater antennas on the Colbert water tower.
Nighttime overhead view of the Number One Dawgs, N1D, setup at UGA April 2025.
Club members socializing at Summer Field Day 2025.
Claude AC4SH and Kevin KR4BDR supporting the Star Spangled Classic fireworks show June, 2025.
Jesse N4JAH supporting the Coach Mikes's Through the Woods Run August 2025.
Fireworks exploding in the air at the Colbert, GA Fireworks show July 4, 2025.
Gant (KR4CWB) and Tom (K9EDD) at STEM Day at Watkinsville Library 2025
2025 Christmas Party collage
VE License Testing Session December 2025
Recent Events
February 20-22 - ARC held its first ever Winter POTA Extravaganza. Using the W4G special event callsign for ARC, we made over 1700 contacts. Five operators logged over 100 contacts to their personal call signs.
February 18 - Bob KE4JLL, Tom KQ4TAB, Mark W0GZR and Claude AC4SH presented a Ham Radio display prior to the Athens Rock Lobsters hockey game. We displayed several types of radio gear to the school groups and hockey fans before the 10:30 game at the Akins Arena. We were invited to this STEM event primarily due to our participation at the Oconee Library in October 2025, We discussed how to use Ham Radio with all that stopped by and gave out lots of flyer and stickers,
Participation in public service events makes the general public aware of Athens Radio Club and Ham Radio. Let's share any upcoming opportunities where we can do a similar presentation.
There's a photo album called Rock Lobsters School Day on our Groups.io.
February 6 - In conjunction with Severe Weather Awareness Week ARC assisted Athens Clarke County with their Emergency Siren Test.
February 3 - VE License Testing Thirteen candidates tested. Twelve passed. Eight new Technicians, Two new Generals, and Two new Extras.
February 3 - Regular Meeting
Annie Dmitrieff (KQ4NJC) presented on the progress of the University of Georgia Small Satellite Research Laboratory (SSRL) and their current educational/outreach satellite in development, MEMESat-1. We had 44 people in attendance.
For more information, check out the 2026 Programs page.
January 30-Feb 1 - ARC ARES members ran a Skywarn net on the Athens repeater to support the Athens-Clarke County EOC (Emergency Operations Center) during the Winter Snow Storm.
January 24-25 - ARC conducted a Skywarn net to support the Athens-Clarke County EOC (Emergency Operations Center) during the Ice Storm.
January 24-25 - ARC ARES members ran a Skywarn net during the Ice Storm event to support the Athens-Clarke County EOC. Thank you Phillip, W4PHC for coordinating this and all of the operators who worked as net control stations.
January 24 - Athens Classic City Marathon.
The ARC supported the 3rd annual Classic City Marathon. We have helped with this event since it began in 2024. We 17 operators this year. Thank you Bob (KE4JLL) for coordinating this event and acting as net control.
January 23-25 - Unfortunately, the annual POTA/Winter Field Day event was cancelled due to the ice storm event.
January 10 - Winterville Snowflake 10K.
Our club supported the 12th annual Snowflake. The race is put on by the Winterville Civitan Club and supports the Firefly Trail, the community, and persons with disabilities. Thanks to Bob (KE4JLL) for coordinating this, Phillip (W4PHC) and Abby (KQ4JEU) for handling net control, and our other volunteers James (KF4AQO), Brad (WB3BPI), George (KZ4GRK), Ed (N4ZRA), Kevin (KR4BDR), Michael (KC4JML), and Jesse (N4JAH).
January 6 - 70 members on membership list.
January 6 - Regular Meeting This was our first meeting at our new airport location. We had 31 in attendance.
Mark Campbell (W0GZR) presented on two impressive radio stations. His presentation included a tour of the WHO Radio transmitter site in Des Moines and the popular contest station of Tony Radebaugh, N0NI, in Rippey, Iowa. For more information, check out the 2026 Programs page.
December 12 - 60 members on membership list.
December 4 - 50 members on membership list. We’re half way to our goal of 100 members.
December 2 - VE License Testing Session. Seven candidates tested. Four earned their Technician license and one upgraded to General.
December 2 - ARC Christmas Party - We had about 30 people come and enjoy good food and good friends. A great time was had by all.
November 22 - ARC provided communications for the First Aid Dawgs at the UGA home football game, UGA vs. Charlotte. Thank you Tom (KN4TBD), Lamar (KO4NTS), Robert, (KC4SPD), Angela (KJ4HWB), Daniel (KK4NGE), Richard (KR4OS), and Net Control Bob (KE4JLL), For more information about how to participate, contact Bob, KE4JLL.
November 15 - ARC again provided communications for the First Aid Dawgs at the UGA home football game, UGA vs. Texas. Thanks to Tom (KN4TBD), Lee (KD4NTS), Lamar (KO4NTS), JoAnna (KQ4GAV), Daniel (KK4NGE), Robert, (KC4SPD), Bob (KE4JLL), Angela (KJ4HWB), James (KF4AQO), Richard (KR4OS), and Net Control, Jesse (N4JAH) for supporting ARC and the First Aid Dawgs this week.
November 4 - Regular meeting - Club Officer Nominations and Elections were held. Phillip, W4PHC, gave a short presentation about Georgia Bushcraft and the upcoming Fall Gathering near Watkinsville. Watch the meeting on Youtube.
November 5 - ARC members assisted Athens-Clarke EMA during their Siren Test.
October 25 - For our 5th year, the ARC hosted the Wicked 4 Halloween special event POTA station at Hard Labor Creek State Park, near Rutledge, GA. For more information, contact Claude, AC4SH.
October 25 - ARC provided communications support for the Colbert Community Trunk or Treat event. The event is held at the Colbert City Park (Red Canna Park), Colbert, GA.
October 18 - Georgia Fall POTA Sprint - The W4H Georgia Fall POTA Sprint logs are now uploaded to both the POTA and the "Sprint" sites. They should show up on the “Sprint” webpage in about a week. It was a fun 4 hours in the parks for KQ4TAB Tom, KR4BDR Kevin, KO4IZK Colin, KQ4VVW Andy, KO4FHS Diane, KN4SWS John and Claude AC4SH.
Here are the individual park counts for a total or 260 QSOs:
US-2177 Ft. Yargo SP - 62 QSOs
US-2205 Victoria Bryant SP - 65 QSOs
US-7142 Redlands WMA 46 QSOs & US-4473 Chattahoochee-Oconee NF - 46 QSOs
US-7904 Broad River WMA - 41 QSOs
October 18 - We had 10 operators come out and support the club, the First-Aid Dawgs and the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. Without the help of our club, they might not have pulled off this victory. We can always use more operators. If you would like to help in the future, contact Bob, KE4JLL.
October 7 - Regular meeting —Bill KQ4PGV gave a program on Summits on the Air - SOTA. You can download his PowerPoint presentation.
October 7 - Ham Radio License Exams (VE Testing) at 6:00 pm @ 3035 Lexington Road, Athens, GA. 2 new Technician licenses and 1 upgrade to General.
October 5 - STEM Day at Oconee County Library - Athens Radio Club demonstrated Ham Radio to people of all ages in Wire Park, 1925 Electric Avenue, Watkinsville, GA.
September 2 - Regular meeting - Claude AC4SH gave a program on how POTA has increased club activities and participation over the last 5 years. He also covered the upcoming club POTA events and Georgia State Parks on the Air.
August 5 - Regular meeting - Big crowd of 37 attended and enjoyed Phillip W4PHC giving a presentation on how to keep your Ham radio on the air when the power grids are down.
August 5 - Ham Radio License Exams (VE Testing) at 6:00 - 3 new Hams and 1 upgrade to Extra.
4014 Big Boy Steam Engine
The Union Pacific railroad will join the nation in celebrating 250 years of American independence and innovation this year with its first-ever coast-to-coast steam tour led by the legendary Big Boy No. 4014. A daily schedule with additional stops along with a map of the route will be released closer to the tour’s launch. The eastern leg of the tour, anticipated to start in late spring 2026 (after April), is still being finalized and will be announced soon.
Suggestion Box
Please take a moment and tell us what you think of Athens Radio Club. You can also suggest ideas or monthly programs. Just use the message to send us your ideas or comments.
We also receive physical mail at:
Athens Radio Club
PO Box 251
Hull, GA 30646
Donations
Please consider making a donation to our group to fund things such as Supporting Special Events, Repeater Maintenance, Disaster Aid, General Operations, and Public Service.
We seek to educate members and others interested in Amateur Radio, as well as provide information about amateur radio activities in Athens and surrounding areas.
Maybe your neighbor is a licensed ‘ham’ radio operator? Take a LOOK!
For current meeting information visit the meetings page.
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Athens Radio Club meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the first Tuesday of every month, except July and December. Check the Meeting Location page for the correct location.