I got started in Amateur Radio this past summer when I was looking for yet another hobby to add to my armament of hobbies.
Even before I got my license, one of the first things that appealed to me was the club aspect of the hobby. Your local club promotes ham radio and provides an environment for you to enjoy and flourish in the hobby as well as in other areas of your technical studies (especially if you are a student). Your club members provide comaraderie as well as tons of knowledge, experience, and stories.
Long before I got my Technician license, I listened to the Longmont Amateur Radio Club’s Hamlet on my cheap handheld radio. It’s a Net on Tuesday evenings that is geared to help warm-up new operators to the hobby. It’s always been welcoming, friendly, and members seemed to go out of their way to provide help with any questions.
After I finally got my Technician license and started understanding amateur radio more, I began to appreciate more and more what LARC provided for me. Being a Technician I couldn’t offer much back, except to help other Technicians new to the hobby, since I love hearing myself talk 🙂
One of my favorite things about LARC is the amazing monthly newsletter. It is packed full of content. The graphics are cute and usher in or remind you of holidays or times of the year. I read a few other newsletters but I think the Splatter is easily one of the best. It’s put together by the wonderful Kat (W0UM) who is a very accomplished amateur that is very involved in our hobby.
I think I joined LARC right after getting my Technician license about 6 months ago. And I’ve attended the weekly Hamlet net through my General and Amateur Extra licenses. They’ve provided support, cheered me on, as I’ve cheered others on when they upgraded their own license. I’ve also received a ton of of good advice – stuff you can’t get watching a YouTube video or reading an article.
On our net, we’ve had people from the area and new people visiting the areas joining on EchoLink! On our Zoom monthly meetings, we’ve had a packed house with people attending sometimes from far-off places.
This is a weird year with COVID but I think Amateur Radio and especially LARC has helped keep me sane.
And I haven’t even met any of them in-person!
With that said, I want to encourage every new ham to join their local club. Join several. Get involved with your network of fellow ham radio operators. Help new hams get over their mic fright.
