Upcoming Events for July and August

There are a few upcoming events for July and August. The first of which is the Appalachian Trail Golden Packet event on July 20th. The Golden Packet event is an annual attempt to send an APRS packet from one end of the Appalachian Trail to the other using mountain top to mountain top stations. Our local point of operation will be at Comers Rock. If you think you may be interested in helping or just coming as an observer, please contact Frank Howard (WB1USN) or send a message to briarpatcharc@gmail.com. 

On August 23rd through the 25th, the Iron Mountain Jubilee horse riding event will take place. If you're interested in helping out with a public service event, this is a good one to get your feet wet. Please contact Randy Lilly (KE4RL) at (540)239-0457. He can pair you with someone that is experienced. For further details about the event, see their event website at https://www.ironmountainjubilee.com/. 

Our club will also be setting up a tent at the Carroll County Fair during the week of August 21-25. This event really helps to show the community what ham radio is and spark interest in the hobby. If you would like to help setting up for the fair or manning the tent, please send and email to briarpatch@gmail.com.

Field Day 2024

Field Day 2024 will be June 22-23. Our June club meeting will also be on June 22nd as part of our Field Day events. There will also be a VE testing session at 1PM on the 22nd. The BARC Field Day is hosted at the Higher Ground Christian Retreat which is located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Hillsville, VA. For more general information about field day, check out the ARRL Website here. Remember all are invited and if you know of someone who may be interested in radio, please bring them along!

BARC Meeting 5-23-24

We will have our monthly meeting this Thursday, May 23rd at the First Christian Church in Galax, VA. The AUXCOMM group meets at 6:30 PM and the regular club meeting starts at 7:30 PM.

New Hams 4.11.24

Congratulations to Jim B on earning his technician license and his wife Jo, KQ4PVX on her upgrade to general at our latest VE session. Awesome job to you both!

No Frills Horse Ride Is CANCELED

The No Frills Horse Ride scheduled for mid April has been canceled due to ongoing issues with wildfires in the area of the event. We will try again next year!

April 2024 Events

 The Month of April is packed full of events this year. Below is a list of what's going on.

Appalachian Journey Bike Ride (4.6.24) - This bike ride will be held in the area of Floyd, VA. There are 105, 70, and 38 mile events starting at 7:30AM Saturday.

New River Trail Marathon (4.13.24) - The New River Trail Marathon is a 10, 25, and 50k race that takes place on the New River tail between Fries and Galax, VA. Race starts at 8:00AM Saturday.

No Frills Horse Ride (4.18.24-4.21.24) - The No Frill Horse Ride is an endurance horse riding event that takes place in the Shenandoah Valley.

If you are interested in Volunteering for any of these events, please feel free to email us at briarpatcharc@gmail.com. 

The New Ham Net

There will be a New Ham Net each Wednesday @8PM on the N4DN repeater system. This is a net to help all the new hams get familiarized with the hobby!