Ted’s essays

Darby Hams

Darby graduatesFCC amateur radio license testing came to Darby November 9th. Five people interested in entering the world of ham communications tested for their Technician levels. All Five passed.

Already a technician, I took the exam for General – and passed as well. It was a great day for Darby emergency communications.

We want to continue to meet. learn and work together. We have scheduled the Darby Library meeting room for
Saturday, November 30th, 10:00
for a Darby radio club meeting.

We are actually from Darby, Sula and Conner, but that pretty much is the nature of this community. Obviously radio communications and working together could be real important where we are spread out as much as we are.

We will be mostly a satellite of the Hamilton-centered Bitterroot Amateur Radio Club (BARC). BARC meets after dinner at JB’s in Hamilton 6:00/7:00 on the third Monday every month (tonight).

BARC has powerful expertise and resources, supplying radio repeaters free to the public, extending local communications from Darby to Missoula and beyond. They are very keen on adding repeaters in the East and West Fork areas with an objective of excellent coverage throughout the Bitterroot and even getting our local radios connected to Salmon, Idaho and beyond.

BARC also has a good training program whose teachers came to the Darby Library 5 Saturdays in a row to help us learn amateur radio. The licensing test team in the club then came down to administer Technician, General and Amateur-Extra exams.

Our Darby radio club meetings will be connected to that club AND participate in future training, testing and licensing opportunities this winter.

Come meet us Saturday the 30th. There are plenty of radio communications even without licenses.