Aug 24, 2026 | CW, Events, Special Event
70th PA QSO Party – October 10 & 11, 2026 – Always the 2nd Full Weekend in October
K3ZMC is the bonus station for 2026. PAARC member are welcome to sign up to operate from the Ringing Hill Fire Company in Pottstown. We have a strong need for more CW operators. To operate SSB or CW, sign up to operate. Contact the secretary for the sign up link.
Walt Skavinsky, KB3SBC and PAARC President writes:
PAARC is celebrating 50 years of organized amateur radio in the Pottstown area. The club traces its beginnings to a group of local operators who began meeting in the early 1970s and formally organized around the installation of the WR3ACD two-meter repeater in 1975. Today, the club has 93 members and continues to support amateur radio through operating events, repeaters, licensing, mentoring, technical programs, public service, and fellowship.
K3ZMC will operate from a single location at 815 White Pine Lane in Pottstown. The planned operation will include three networked stations, with one focused on CW and two focused on SSB. The operators will use N3FJP logging software and a single coordinated serial-number sequence. Antennas will be spread across the fire company property, and the club plans to remain active across the available contest bands throughout both operating periods.
PAARC is honored to serve as the 2026 Bonus Station and looks forward to giving operators across Pennsylvania and beyond the opportunity to put K3ZMC in their logs.
Jul 28, 2026 | Club event, Club Station, Events, News
SPECIAL EVENT STATION
Celebrating 50 Years of Friendship, Service, and Amateur Radio
09/19/26 through 09/26/26
Join the Pottstown Area Amateur Radio Club as we celebrate 50 years of organized amateur radio in the Pottstown area. Throughout the week, club members will operate K3ZMCfrom home, portable, and club stations to commemorate the club’s history, honor its founders, and share the excitement of amateur radio with operators around the world. The celebration begins with a kickoff picnic and continues with seven days of on-the-air activity across multiple bands and modes. We invite everyone to join us in celebrating the friendships, service, and spirit of amateur radio that have defined PAARC for more than five decades. Please consider volunteering to work the airwaves as K3ZMC for PAARC. More to come!
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ANNIVERSARY PICNIC – Saturday, Sept. 19th
12 pm to 4 pm – Ironstone Park, Boyertown
141 Grist Mill Rd, Boyertown, PA 19512
Join us for a special day to celebrate that’s filled with fun, food, and fellowship at at Ironstone Park in Boyertown on Saturday, Sept. 19. Members and friends are welcome to bring the family. Reserve your spot by Sept. 16, by paying at the Sept. 4th meeting, or at the event. RSVP is suggested by sending a note to secretary at paarc dot net. Be sure to include your callsign.
$10 per person for adults, $7 for children under 14.
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PAARC applied to be a PAQP Bonus Station
Our president, Walt KB3SBC, has filed for PAARC to be a bonus station in the PA QSO Party on October 10 & 11, 2026 as K3ZMC. If the club is approved we will need operators to work this event. Stay tuned.
Jun 26, 2026 | Events, Field Day
PAARC will not be hold a field day exercise this year. We encourage amateur radio operators and the public to seek out other amateur radio groups using the online field day locator: https://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.
Apr 20, 2026 | Events
PAARC in the Park POTA
EVENT SCHEDULE
9:00 – 9:30 AM
Opening Assembly
Welcome and event overview
9:30 – 10:30 AM
Station Setup & Deployment
Hands-on setup with Elmers. Antennas, power, and station basics
10:30 – 11:30 AM
Operating Session I
“The First Contact”
Guided on-air operation. Make your first QSOs and learn logging
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Lunch & Learning
Short demos and practical tips
• Logging a POTA activation
• POTA Hunting
12:30 – 1:30 PM
Operating Session II
“The Mentor Challenge”
You take the mic. Mentors step back and coach as needed
1:30 – 2:00 PM
Debrief
Wrap-up and next steps
Mar 9, 2026 | Amateur Radio, Events, Meeting
Please join us on Friday, April 3rd at 7:00 pm for a presentation on GNU Radio, with Tim Poth, W3QP. We meet at St. James Lutheran Church, 93 Kugler Rd., Limerick, PA. Open to all. Refreshments served. If there is enough interest there will be a license exam prior to the meeting. Visit the License Exams page to sign up.
