Category: Announcements (Page 1 of 23)

Saturday, May 2nd, 9am until after dark

The Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society is doing it again – The Radio Rally!

What is it?
The BRARS Radio Rally is part field day, part ham fest, part flea market, part barbeque, part social, and so much more!

Location: Riverbend Equestrian Park
175 River Bend Road
Greenville, SC 29617
https://greenvillerec.com/parks/riverbend-equestrian-park/

Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8sthUiQQzyfTpLDd8

Get on the Air Station!
The BRARS Field Day will have a GOTA (Get On The Air) station for anyone unlicensed or licensed who are interested in using radio equipment on the amateur radio bands. A number of mentors will be available to assist using the equipment provided. For newcomers or individuals who have no gear, you will be welcomed and encouraged to help set up and operate. Just show up and ask to play!

Food!
The Club will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks, and sides for a very nominal price. A grill will be available to cook on, and we encourage anyone who would like to bring a covered dish or non-alcoholic drinks to do so.

Entry: $5 to get in. Parking is free.

Flea Market: If you are interested in selling any gear, Flea Market table rental is $20 for all day. All profits are yours.

Raffle: We will have several prizes to be raffled off! Prize items and ticket price TBD and will be posted here later.

Talk-in Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing our Caesar’s Head repeater for talk-in assistance: 146.610 MHz FM offset -0.600 with no Tones.

Onsite Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing 147.610 MHz FM simplex for local communications.

For further questions, please contact Club President, Johnny Allison WD4DYH, via call or text at 864-884-1314.

Saturday March 7th, from 10am until late night

Join us for our ARRL Winter Field Day make-up day! Since the weather *really* did not cooperate for the official WFD, we are using our fallback plan to do it now!

Field Days are fun and challenging opportunities to put amateur radio skills to the test in real-world ‘remote’ conditions! Sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), this event encourages hams of all experience levels to operate portable, practice emergency communications, and enjoy camaraderie both on the air and in person. Whether you’re a seasoned operator or brand new to the hobby, Winter Field Day is a great way to learn, experiment, and show how amateur radio works when it matters most.

Location: “Phil’s Place”
1273 Reece Mill Rd
Pickens, SC 29671

Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/iay4viLgas4aQuyr7

Get on the Air Station!
The BRARS Field Day will have a GOTA (Get On The Air) station for anyone unlicensed or licensed who are interested in using radio equipment on the amateur radio bands. A number of mentors will be available to assist using the equipment provided. For newcomers or individuals who have no gear, you will be welcomed and encouraged to help set up and operate. Just show up and ask to play!

FOOD!
The Club will provide sandwiches and drinks for Saturday lunch. A grill will be available to cook on, and we encourage anyone who would like to bring a covered dish to do so.

Talk-in Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing our Caesar’s Head repeater for talk-in assistance: 146.610 MHz FM offset -0.600 with no PL Tones.

Onsite Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing 147.610 MHz FM simplex for local communications.

For further questions, please contact Club President, Johnny Allison WD4DYH, via call or text at 864-884-1314.

Due to the potential for inclement weather, the monthly BRARS Club meeting on Monday 2/2/2026 at 7PM has been moved to Monday 2/9/2026 at 7PM.

We will meet at the same location at the Red Cross Building near downtown Greenville. 940 Grove Road, Greenville, SC 29605

For those unable to attend the in person meeting, you may join via Zoom by using one of the two methods below.

Virtual Zoom meeting link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87560263453?pwd=I3QJ2JXVoAUQOcYMKyLqhSOrZF00bo.1

Meeting ID: 875 6026 3453

You may also call in via phone by dialing: 1-929-205-6099 When prompted enter the Meeting ID: 875 6026 3453

Saturday January 24th from 10am until late night

Join us for ARRL Winter Field Day, a fun and challenging opportunity to put amateur radio skills to the test in real-world winter conditions! Sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), this event encourages hams of all experience levels to operate portable, practice emergency communications, and enjoy camaraderie both on the air and in person. Whether you’re a seasoned operator or brand new to the hobby, Winter Field Day is a great way to learn, experiment, and show how amateur radio works when it matters most—rain, snow, or shine.

Location: “Phil’s Place”
1273 Reece Mill Rd
Pickens, SC 29671

Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/iay4viLgas4aQuyr7

---

Get on the Air Station!
The BRARS Field Day will have a GOTA (Get On The Air) station for anyone unlicensed or licensed who are interested in using radio equipment on the amateur radio bands. A number of mentors will be available to assist using the equipment provided. For newcomers or individuals who have no gear, you will be welcomed and encouraged to help set up and operate. Just show up and ask to play!

FOOD!
The Club will provide sandwiches and drinks for Saturday lunch. A grill will be available to cook on, and we encourage anyone who would like to bring a covered dish to do so.

Talk-in Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing our Caesar’s Head repeater for talk-in assistance: 146.610 MHz FM offset -0.600 with no PL Tones.

Onsite Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing 147.610 MHz FM simplex for local communications.

For further questions, please contact Club President, Johnny Allison WD4DYH, via call or text at 864-884-1314.

To all interested amateur radio operators:

On Saturday, November the 8th of 2025 (11-08-25), and at the request of local Trail Life management, there will be an operating event using Amateur Radio.

This is a large yearly event involving the younger members of Trail Life USA.

All attending radio operators must report to the headquarters location to obtain your ID badges. ID badges are to be displayed at all times while on site. Any persons found unescorted without ID will be subject to questioning and possibly removal from the event site.

---

Location: Hugh’s Bend Road, Central SC, 29630

Signs will be present at this map location to guide you in (click icon):

We will be monitoring 146.520 MHz simplex for talk-in once you reach the general area if you are having trouble locating the event.

The request from Trail Life is for a controlled two-meter simplex Net to be set up for the purpose of tracking the flow of Trail Life scout members and personnel through the various activity events across the site.

Setup for Net Control will start at 6:30 AM

Check-in for communications personnel will begin at 7:30 AM.

The Event will start at 8:30 AM.

For further information, club members should read the document linked here.

---

For those interested in participating, we will be holding a training session at the next BRARS club meeting on Monday November the 3rd (11-03-25). Please bring the dual-band radio equipment that you would be using at the event.

Note, while it would be a good opportunity to learn and a lot of fun to attend the meeting for training, doing so is not a requirement for attending the event.

In closing, this is a great opportunity to introduce Amateur Radio to the younger generation, setup and operate equipment, practice operating for emergencies, and mostly having a lot of fun doing so!

On October 4th 2025, Club leadership and several members traveled to both repeaters sites to perform cleanup and site surveys. Caesar’s Head (146.610) and Paris Mountain (146.820) were reviewed and cleaned up, and a To-Do list was created for the repeaters. Here are a few photos that were taken via Daniels’ quadcopter and Scott’s professional camera rig!

Caesar’s Head

Paris Mountain

The Monday September BRARS club meeting will be moved from the 1st of September to Monday the 8th of September due to the Labor Day holiday. The location and time will remain the same.

The onsite meeting is at the Red Cross building at 940 Grove Road in Greenville and also accessible via Zoom Video.

Address: 940 Grove Rd, Greenville, SC 29605

Meeting start time will be 7:00 PM

As always, guests, licensed or not, are welcome and encouraged to attend. Club membership is not required.

Virtual Zoom meeting link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88670224040?pwd=WWdtVFprUEg4ZDVSdGxqUElyMUlzUT09

Meeting ID: 886 7022 4040
Passcode: 169706

You may also call in via phone by dialing: 1-929-205-6099 When prompted enter the Meeting ID: 886 7022 4040 and the Passcode: 169706

The Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society is excited to invite you to a special presentation on Meshtastic, an innovative, open-source project that’s making waves in the amateur radio community.

Meshtastic enables long-range, off-grid communication using small affordable LoRa radios — no cell towers, Wi-Fi, or internet required. Whether you’re interested in emergency preparedness, outdoor expeditions, or simply curious about mesh networking, this system offers a fun and practical way to extend your ham radio toolkit, or a simple way to explore wireless communication technologies.

Join us as we dive into how Meshtastic works, what gear you’ll need, and how you can start experimenting with your own mesh network — all while staying well within the amateur radio spirit of exploration and service. Guests are welcome, and no license is required to utilize this fascinating wireless tech!

---

The meeting is on Monday, October 6th at 7pm ET. It is both onsite at the Red Cross building at 940 Grove Road in Greenville SC and via Zoom Video.

Click here for a map to: 940 Grove Road, Greenville SC 29605

For those unable to attend the in person meeting, you may join via Zoom by using one of the two methods below.

Virtual Zoom meeting link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88670224040?pwd=WWdtVFprUEg4ZDVSdGxqUElyMUlzUT09

Meeting ID: 886 7022 4040
Passcode: 169706

You may also call in via phone by dialing: 1-929-205-6099 When prompted enter the Meeting ID: 886 7022 4040 and the Passcode: 169706

Saturday June 28th starting at 10am, through Sunday June 29th at 6pm

Field Day is ham radio’s open house – everyone is invited. The ARRL Field Day is the most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada, and often extending across the globe!

This is a free event and the public is welcome! This will be an old-fashioned event with friends and family members encouraged to attend. Plenty of parking is available as well as onsite power and shelter if you wish to bring your own equipment and operate.

The Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Society will be hosting this year’s Field Day in partnership with Greenville County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service). The primary purpose of the event is to bring radio equipment to the site, set it up, and operate. We will have many experts on location to assist with station setup, programming, alternative power configurations, and more!

The theme for 2025 Field Day is “Radio Connects” – highlighting the many ways that wireless technology connects people across distances near and far. The event is part picnic, campout, practice for emergencies, and most of all, fun! However, we will not be participating in the official contest for the purpose of earning points for the Club. Instead, we will use the equipment brought to the site to provide contacts for the other participants around the world who are contesting.
http://www.arrl.org/field-day

Location: Riverbend Equestrian Park
175 River Bend Road
Greenville, SC 29617
https://greenvillerec.com/parks/riverbend-equestrian-park/

Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8sthUiQQzyfTpLDd8

Get on the Air Station!
The BRARS Field Day will have a GOTA (Get On The Air) station for anyone unlicensed or licensed who are interested in using radio equipment on the amateur radio bands. A number of mentors will be available to assist using the equipment provided. For newcomers or individuals who have no gear, you will be welcomed and encouraged to help set up and operate. Just show up and ask to play!

FOOD!
The Club will provide sandwiches and drinks for Saturday lunch, and will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks and sides for dinner starting at 5pm. A grill will be available to cook on, and we encourage anyone who would like to bring a covered dish to do so.

Camping:
Camping sites with power (120/240 volt, 50 amp) and standard water hook ups are available starting Friday night with a fee of $25 per night, proceeds going directly to the Park. However, full RV wastewater connections are not available. Primitive camping on both nights is free and welcomed.

Talk-in Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing our Caesar’s Head repeater for talk-in assistance: 146.610 MHz FM offset -0.600 with no Tones.

Onsite Frequency: For licensed amateurs, we will be utilizing 147.610 MHz FM simplex for local communications.

For further questions, please contact Club President, Johnny Allison WD4DYH, via call or text at 864-884-1314.

To all interested amateur radio operators:

On Saturday, April the 26th of 2025 (04-26-25), and at the request of Trail Life management, there will be an operating event using Amateur Radio.

This is a large yearly event involving the younger members of Trail Life.

All attending radio operators must report to the headquarters location to obtain your ID badges. ID badges are to be displayed at all times while on site. Any persons found unescorted without ID will be subject to questioning and possibly removal from the event site.

---

Location: Hugh’s Bend Road, Central SC, 29630

Signs will be present at this map location to guide you in (click icon):

We will be monitoring 146.520MHz simplex for talk-in once you reach the general area if you are having trouble locating the event.

The request from Trail Life is for a controlled 2 meter simplex Net to be set up for the purpose of tracking the flow of Trail Life scout members and personnel through the various activity events across the site.

Below you will find a Power Point link that details the event.

---

For those interested in participating, we will be holding a training session at the next BRARS club meeting on Monday April the 7th (04-07-25). Please bring the 2 meter radio equipment that you would be using at the event.

Note, while it would be a good opportunity to learn and a lot of fun to attend the meeting for training, doing so is not a requirement for attending the event.

In closing, this is a great opportunity to introduce Amateur Radio to the younger generation, setup and operate equipment, practice operating for emergencies, and mostly having a lot of fun doing so!