The origins of amateur radio can be traced to the late 19th century, but amateur radio as practiced today began in the early 20th century. As with radio in general, amateur radio was associated with various amateur experimenters and hobbyists. Amateur radio enthusiasts have significantly contributed to science, engineering, industry, and social services. Research by amateur operators has founded new industries, built economies, empowered nations, and saved lives in times of emergency.
Attention Club Members!
The ECARC Board met on November 17, 2020 to discuss recent COVID-19 developments. The board realizes that some members are concerned about attending club meetings/events due to the recent spike in COVID cases statewide. The decision was made to take a hybrid approach to meetings that will include all members that want to participate. Therefore, the meetings at the clubhouse will still take place (masks are recommended) for those that want to attend in person. For those with concerns, ZOOM will be set-up at the clubhouse so members can attend remotely if they wish.
If you want to attend remotely and are not familiar with ZOOM, please click on the link and you will be able to watch a You Tube video on how to join the meeting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo1l6Ijz_wg
All club members should receive an email with the Meeting ID and Password before the January 16th Meeting.
Club Dues!
Annual Club Dues are being collected. You can stop by the Clubhouse to fill out a new application and pay, or you Click Here to download the application. Just fill it out and mail your payment to the “Elmore Amateur Radio Club” and send it to this address:
315 West Jackson Street Mountain Home Idaho, 83647
New members are always welcome and should do the same.
Testing Sessions
Seats are limited, so reserve yours Now!
The next license testing session will be held on Saturday, February 27th at 10:00 a.m. Test sessions are held at the Elmore County Amateur Radio Clubhouse located on 315 W. Jackson Street in Mountain Home. Tests are $15.00 and you will need to bring your Drivers License/Photo ID. In addition, you will need to get an FCC Registration Number (FRN) through the FCC. Go to this website to register: https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/regEntityType.do. If you decide to test, please contact Herb Rogow (KF7GMV) via phone at: 208-371-2428, or email at: rogow2930@msn.com.
License Classes
The Elmore County Amateur Radio Club is in the process of starting to teach License Classes again. If you are interested in ham radio and want to start learning about how to obtain your Technician License; or are already a ham and want to upgrade to General or Extra Class please Click Here to indicate your interest. Please fill out the applicable information and leave your phone number and what class you are interested in so we can schedule accordingly. All classes are free of charge and are usually taught weekly to cover all of the material. You will receive and email when your applicable class will be available. All are welcome!
Mentor Session
The ECARC will be holding Mentor Sessions on the 2nd Saturday of every month at 1:00 p.m. in the Clubhouse located at 315 West Jackson Street in Mountain Home. The next session is scheduled for February 13th and will cover Intro to Rasberry Pi and Coding using Python. For this class it is recommended that you view, read, and print the handout for the class. Click Here for the Handout. If you are interested in the class you can get the Specified Rasberry Pi and accessories in a kit using the following links:
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 w/8GB RAM ($ 119.99)
https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-8GB-Starter-Kit/dp/B08956GVXN
(It can also be purchased directly from https://www.canakit.com.)
There are some less-expensive offerings from other sellers, but per the instructors recommendations, be sure they include case & fan, heat sinks, power supply, cables, and MicroSD card preloaded with NOOBS. (The CanaKit includes these). Thanks to Bruce (N7HQJ) for the links!
Note: It is not necessary to have a Rasberry Pi for the class. You can attend and pair up with the instructor or someone that does. The classes are Free of Charge and all are welcome!
Some of the material that was covered in past mentor sessions can be found be clicking on the following links. July, October, December, January 2021. Big thank you to David (WA7UFM) for teaching the classes!
