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! 

Big Congratulations to New Hams

Congratulations to seven new ham Technicians and one new Tech + General who completed Glen, N4DN’s Technician class. There was also one student who scored 100%. Enjoy those new HT's and your 12 month complimentary club membership.


The new hams are:
Jo B.
Brian C.
Cindy D.
Sandy D.
Ethan E.
Charles G.
David R.
Cathy S.

Special thanks to the CC SAR crew for use of their building during training and testing. Additional thanks to Frank, WB1USN and David, N4SH for sponsoring the HT's, and to Glen, N4DN, Junior, N4VL, and Roy N4YXU for their VE professional skills.
Great work all and we look forward to hearing those new call signs on the air!

BARC Meeting 2-22-24

Our monthly club meeting will be Thursday February 22 at 7:30PM. Our AUXCOMM group will meet an hour prior at 6:30PM. The meeting will be held at the First Christian Church in Galax, VA. Hope to see everyone there!

Technician Amateur Radio Classes

Amateur radio technician operator training will be offered beginning Wednesday, 01/03/24 thru February each Wednesday 7-9 PM at the Carroll County Search and Rescue ('SAR') Bldg., Hillsville, located at 100 Expansion Drive. The course is free. The ARRL license manual will be used for a study guide. The FCC technician examination will be given at the end of the course work, and will also be free, however, the FCC charges a one-time fee of $35 to obtain the operator's license. Further information can be found by contacting course proctor Glen Sage at email: glensage@centurylink.net

BARC News 12.10.23

 

The 2023 BARC Christmas Party was held at Fiddler's Resteraunt in Hillsvile, VA on Saturday the 9th of December. A great time was had by over 30 hams, spouses and guests. Wonderful fellowship, thankful hearts and full bellies were appreciated by all. Thanks go to VP Dick WA4ZIZ for setting up the reservations!

BIG congratulations go to Matt KM4ZLO for winning the 50W dual band mobile TYT transceiver! A special Thanks to Pres Frank WB1USN for donationg this awesome rig, and a big thank you to everyone for raising just over $150 for the BARC.

Let's all keep Randy in our prayers as he goes for surgery soon.

Be sure to mark your new 2024 calendars for our next VE session on Jan 11th at 7PM at the First Christian Church in Galax. More details can be found here: https://www.briarpatcharc.com/p/ve-sessions.html And check out the awesome job Webmaster Josh KM4AZW is doing all across the BARC pages while you're there. Thanks Josh!

Lastly, BARC elections were held. No new nominations were forwarded, and all BARC officers remain seated in their 2023 positions, however, BARC truly needs a new Treasurer. Please reach out to any officer via the BARC webpages if you are interested in investing a little time to your BARC as Treasurer.


Merry Christmas!
73,
Your BARC officers

Annual Christmas Dinner/Club Meeting on 12.9.23

We will be having our annual Christmas Dinner which will also be our December club meeting on Saturday the 9th of December. The dinner/meeting will be held at Fiddler's Restaurant in Hillsville from 4PM to 8PM. Club officer elections will be held at 7PM. Frank WB1USN, will be raffling off a 50 watt dual band mobile radio, tickets will be available at $1 each or 5 tickets for $3. Hope to see you there!