Next Club Meeting
January 16, 2025 @ Eisenhower Rec Center
No Meeting in December MacArthur/Arnold Room 6:00 PM Social/Swap Tables/informal "Elmer'ing" 6:45 PM Business Meeting TVARC club meetings
are held on the third Thursday of every month
(except for the month of December)
at the Eisenhower Regional Recreation Center,
3560 Buena Vista Blvd., in The Villages,
Florida. Click here for directions. Anyone interested in Amateur Radio is invited to attend our club meetings. You need not be licensed to attend or join. You do NOT need a Villages ID. 
TVARC QSL Cards are now available
For ordering information select WHO WE ARE above, then select Logo Items & TVARC QSLs. Or, just click HERE. TVARC Reflector - Communicate with TVARC
Membership in TVARC is required to join this club Reflector. For general information or to join this reflector, click HERE. Contact George Briggs (K2DM), the Reflector's moderator, for more details. Our Nets… • TVARC Ragchew – Net meets 7 PM Monday – 443.225 MHz (+5) PL 103.5 & Echolink at K4VRC-R • QCWA Ragchew – Net meets 10 AM Friday – NOW meeting on 443.225 MHz (+5) PL 103.5 (Echolink at K4VRC-R) • SKYWARN – Net meets 8:30 PM Sunday – 147.030 (+600) PL 123.0 • Sumter EMCOMM NET – Net meets 8:30 PM Monday – Temporarily on 145.490 (-600) PL 123.0 • check out our new repeater – 145.110 (-600) PL 107.2 
Solar Updates
Space WeatherDr. Tamitha Skov/WX6SWW, the "Space Weather Woman" is on YouTube with Space Weather and propagation conditions: An Earth-Directed Solar Storm with New Regions Peeking | Space Weather Spotlight 15 August 2024 : Click Here For everything you want to learn (and more) about HF Propagation, Click Here. |
Events & Activities (Upcoming/Ongoing)
2024 Fall Member Picnic a Success!
The TVARC Fall Member picnic previously postponed due to Hurricane Helene, was held at the Rohan Recreation Center on November 13 and was a great success.
Dozens of members came out to enjoy
the wonderful weather and lunch provided by the club. In addition to swap tables, a few of The Villages newest hams got a chance to meet up
with other enthusiasts of the hobby. Thanks to the TVARC board for their efforts at making the day a success.
2024 Fall Ham Radio class
The fall Technician Class has concluded, and the FCC tests were administered on October 28, 2024. We had 26 candidates take the test, and are pleased to welcome 18 new Technician Class hams, 3 new General Class hams and 1 new Extra Class ham. Outstanding! The next examination Session will be after the General Class concludes in early 2025. Thank you to the follow VE's who attended the session - KN9B, KU9H, AB3CR, KB9MI, KD8WAA, N2OXK, N4EDD, NO7GX, W3MJK NEXT CLASS ENROLLING NOW The next class, which is focused on the "General" license (which is level 2) will begin in January. If interested, email your full name, address and phone number to freehamradioclass@gmail.com to register of if you have additional questions. Note: Your class registration acknowledgement will be from a different email address, be sure to check your spam folder if you don't see anything after a few days. Report on Field Day 2024Forty TVARC members participated in the 2024 edition of ARRL Field Day, June 21-23. Set up began Friday afternoon and was completed by Saturday early afternoon. Two stations were in operation during the contest portion of Field Day – one running FT8 and the other running either CW or SSB, depending on the operator’s preference. Once again, we were fortunate to have the loan of the Sumter County Emergency Services trailer for the event. During the contest we made 200 CW QSOs, 546 SSB QSOs and 162 FT8 QSOs. Six members and guests made their first ever contacts at the FT8 station under the watchful eye of WB8PKK, and five YL members made their first ever SSB contacts with K2DM doing the mentoring. Our ambassador team chatted up amateur radio to a number of visitors, some of whom made their way into trailer to observe the stations in action. Midday Sunday we started taking everything down as threatening weather was forecast. As demonstrated by the most recent hurricane, the ability to practice not only setting up a stand-alone station, but also to reach new potential amateur radio enthusiasts, or new ham radio operators to unfamiliar modes and capabilities is why this is such an important activity. According to George Briggs (K2DM), club president, "We all started somewhere, and this is a great opportunity to get your feet wet." Ham Radio On the SquareSaturday, April 20, 2024 - Brownwood Square Some early fog burned off and dozens of TVARC members enjoyed a sunny day as we installed antennas, set up two radios and solved problems as they occurred. Overcoming minor obstacles is part of doing radio in the field, and our clubmates proved, once again, that they are up to the task. Then we set about doing what we individually enjoy doing. Some members operated the radios (FT8 on one and SSB/CW on the other) while sharing with others what they were doing. Some members who enjoy being ambassadors for ham radio and TVARC did so at our ambassador table, around the square and on the stage. And some members simply enjoyed the fellowship of being with each other talking radio. At least one newly-licensed ham made his first contact on SSB! Congratulations, Rush! Club president George Briggs remarked "In my opinion this was one of the best shows that we have put on at either square. Many thanks to everyone who participated, and special thanks to Mike Regan, KM4ZTE, for organizing this year's Radio Rodeo." Jan 20, 2024 - TVARC In the news
The Villages Daily Sun included a nice story on the role of The Villages Amateur Radio Club's Emergency Communications Team in providing backup communication capabilities. To read more about team and how to get involved, Click Here.
In case you missed the article, click here Interested in joining our DX spotting network? All you need is your cell phone (smartphone), and can receive/send text or SMS messages. Click here.
For Sale or Trade area is available, click HERE. Up to 2 pictures of the item for sale/trade can be posted. Keep photos small to minimize load times. TVARC WAS Standings are calling for your submissions. For information, click HERE. To view standings, click HERE. TVARC DXCC Standings are calling for your submissions. For information, click HERE. To view standings, click HERE. License Classes: License Class classes for 2024 have been scheduled for the General, and Extra license class. If you know someone interested in Ham Radio, or are interested for yourself; click here for details. A NEW and revised Extra Class Study Guide is now available. Click Here to download. Licensing Exams: Exams will be held usually following the ending of our Amateur license classes. All license level exams are offered. Pre-registration is now required. To pre-register, click here. For more information, contact Ken Kaplan/WB2ART - ARRL/VE Team Liaison. For more details, click here. 
Events & Activities (Past) ...
Field Day 2023 was June 24-25. Operations started from Saturday 2PM until Sunday 2PM. Setup started on Friday afternoon after the Trailer arrived, and continued through Saturday morning.
If you have any pictures you took over the weekend, please send them to me so I can post on the website. Radio Rodeo-2023 - was held on Saturday, 4/15/2023, from 9am - 2pm at Brownwood, Paddock Square. Pictures coming soon.
Holiday/Christmas Party 2022 - was held on Thursday December 15, 2022 at the Eisenhower Rec Center.
Click here for pictures. TVARC/ARRL Field Day 2022 - Was held on June 25-26, 2022. Click here for our recap.
22nd ANNUAL SHERIFF BILL FARMER'S CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT - was held June 4, 2022.
Click here for a Thank You Letter of Appreciation, from the Sumter County Sheriff's office. Hurricane Expo 2022 - Was held on May 6th, 2022. there was estimated 1,000 people at the expo. Many stopped by our table for info. Click here for some photos of our table.
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