Welcome to the Highland LAKES Amateur Radio Club
Our goal is to help our members and the public learn more about the hobby through the educational and scientific aspects of Amateur Radio.
Next Monthly Meeting: January 31st
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Winter Field Day
The Highland Lakes Amateur Radio Club has decided to participate in the 2025 Winter Field Day.
Winter Field Day is a communications exercise that is sponsored by the Winter Field Day Association. WFD is held on the last full weekend in January, which will be January 25th & 26th 2025. WFD can be worked from the comfort of your home or in a remote location. The club will be setting up for Winter Field Day in Liberty Hill. Please contact Calvin KI5WZF for more information. 
Announcement:
Winter Field Day: January 26th & 27th.
Monthly Club Meeting 1/31/2024 at 1830hrs, POTLUCK!! Come hungry. Location: Marble Falls EMS, 609 Industrial Blvd, Marble Falls.
Club News
We have a new Discord Server! Please check it out!
Upcoming Events
Weekly Breakfast Meeting
Monday Morning Rag Chew Breakfast club. 0730hrs …Details
Weekly Coffee Club in Marble Falls
Wednesday Morning Coffee Club, Please reach out to Danny N5APD for the weeks location . 0800hrs…Details
Thursday Net
Elmer Net 1930hrs …Details
About HLARC
We have been in existence as a club since 1981.
Our club exists to help bring folks together with a common interest, HAM radio. There are so many different facets of the hobby, making it fun and relevant for everyone. From kids to parents to grandparents, all ages can enjoy the hobby.
We have fun informative NETS (On the air interactive radio programs) weekly. You’re welcome to listen to the nets or, with a minimum of your Technician license, actually interact over the air with fellow HAM’ers.
Marble Falls, TX 78654
HLARC is a 501(c)(3) Corporation
At a glance info
Our Repeater can be found on VHF 2m frequency of 147.020 with a tone of 100.0hz. UHF 443.250 with a tone of 100.0hz.
As of 2023 our repeater is a new Yaesu model DX-2R transmitting at 50 watts.
The repeater, tower and antenna are located off of Park Rd. near Inks Lake State Park in Burnet County, at an elevation of about 1,500 feet.
The repeater has great reach. The coverage area includes all of Burnet County, north into Llano, south in Blanco, west into Gillespie and east into Hays and Travis counties.
The Highland Lakes Amateur Radio Club in Marble Falls is now offering Amateur Radio Technician, General, and Amateur Extra exams. Our next sessions will be on August 24, 2024, at 2:00 PM CDT and September 28, 2024, at 1:30 PM CDT. There is a fee of $14.00 for the exam, and if you pass, you can take the next higher licensing exam that same day without paying an additional fee.
To register, go to www.hamstudy.org. On the right side of the page, select “FIND A SESSION,” then in the section “FROM VEC:” select W5YI, scroll down to HLARC-VE, and register for the exam. Once you have registered, you will receive an email from HLARC-VE with details on what to bring to the test session. Space is limited, so register early!
Backup Repeater: We have a backup repeater in the event our primary repeater is unavailable. It can be located at 145.390. The tone 103.5Hz.
Winlink Repeater, also known as a Digipeater. Winlink is a program you install on your computer and by tethering your computer to your radio, you can send and receive digital emails over the air! Our member, Riley W5RLY, has a RMS/Winlink Station operating on 145.030 MHz as W5RLY-10, with “via” connect info of K5HLA-1.
You’ll need to first download the Winlink Software and install it on your Laptop or Workstation. To connect to an HF or VHF digipeater it’s best to use the Vara Software that incorporates into Winlink. Once these two pieces are on your laptop, you can config your com/port/USB to your radio and if your radio has a built in sound card, you’re good to do some quick configuration and you’re up and checking actual email using your radio as the connectivity portion. There are club Elmers more than happy to help you set this up, just email and ask us.
The Winlink website has more detailed information about what they do and what they provide. You’ll also need the VARA add in to be able to connect with VHF/UHF Digipeaters to retrieve and send emails. This can bit complicated but rest assured with a little bit of help from our members, we can help you get it setup on your radio and laptop.
Dan Wurtz – KI5SVL (President) rdwurtz@hush.com
I’m glad you found the HLARC! If you are an experienced HAM (Elmer), we want you to know that your experience won’t go to waste at HLARC. We value and respect the knowledge that you have. If you are new to the hobby, don’t let the vastness of information scare you. We were all newbies at some point.
There is always something new to learn, a problem to master and a new contact to be made, whether face to face or on the air.
You won’t find a more gracious and patient group of experts, and newbies, anywhere than in the HAM radio community.
I invite you to join us. Remember, “Strangers are just friends that you haven’t met, yet.”
’73’s!
Alan Templeman – WW5AT (Vice President) WW5AT.US@gmail.com
As the Vice President of our club, I am looking forward to serving the members in such a way
that is safe for the club yet keeping it light and fun for all. Everyone in this club has a voice and
I am always willing to listen and work with anyone be it on Amateur Radio equipment, Club
Business or even getting an A/C unit installed in your house.
I am also looking forward to helping Dan grow the membership for our club by being the best
Ambassador I can be.
Thank you for placing your trust in me with this position!
Lee Kinard – K5AVY (Treasurer)
As Treasurer of the club, I want to welcome you into our midst. I’m looking forward to receiving your club application so that I have more information about you. Our club meetings are the last Friday of each month unless otherwise communicated at the EMS station on Industrial in Marble Falls at 6:30pm. See https://www.arrl.org/ for our national organization, Amateur Radio Relay League. Our club is all about communications with others. We hope you enjoy being a member of the club and we look forward to seeing you at club meetings.
Barb Wurtz – (Secretary) KI5SVK
Other important links
- Get to know virtually everything in detail about HAM radio, it’s history, what’s out there now, what to expect in the future,,, as well as GREAT resources for all your testing and license info. They have a bunch of cool gear to buy as well. ARRL (American Radio Relay League)…
- QRZ… IS a fantastic site for visiting if you wish to access the database of HAM call signs. Enter a call sign in the search window and it will tell you all about the HAM. If that HAM has input info about themselves as well as photos of their HAM equipment or shack it’s even more interesting!
Highland Lakes ARES
The purposes for which Highland Lakes ARES is organized are to provide disaster preparedness, emergency communications, and public service communications to government and nongovernment entities, referred to from now on as Served Agency or Agencies:
Club Programs
Activities/Programs
Monday Morning Rag Chew, POTA (Parks on the Air), Field Day, Ham Fest, Fox Hunts, Monthly Meeting, etc
What are Options
There is more than just “talking” on a HAM radio. You can now email, morse code, chat, FT8, text, GPS, and more. Talking and communicating with folks all around the world using these technologies, WITHOUT the aid of the internet.
Nets
A “Net” is an on the air gathering of licensed and unlicensed HAM’ers who share a common interest in the topic at hand and of the Net’s theme.
Parks on the Air
POTA (Parks On The Air) – This originally was a creation of the ARRL in 2016 with the intent of having an Activator (person with their equipment brought to a park) making contacts with Hunters (Folks at home with their HF equipment) responding and establishing an official exchange of information over the air.
Hunters attempt to get as many contacts as they can from their officially designated park.
It can be great fun and of course you get out into a city, county, state or national park!
As with the other upcoming new and exciting events, stay tuned for our first date and time.
Fox Hunts
A Fox Hunt is a scheduled event where licensed or unlicensed HAM take special (not expensive) track equipment out into the world, so to speak, to lock on and find a signal beacon. It’s almost like a game of hide and seek. There can be small teams or just individuals. Prizes or awards can be won!
Plus,,, there can be an awesome meetup afterwards for talk, lunch, coffee, or dinner!
Certification Classes and Training
So, you’ve thought about getting a HAM license every since you were a kid with a CB or recently with a couple of FRS radios on a cruise ship or in Disney World. It really is quite easy and you can learn and get licensed in stages. Also they DON’T require morse code any longer.
The testing is multiple choice, study guides have all the questions AND all the answers, what could be easier. A great part of the fun is studying with a friend, a kid or grandkid, and in the end testing together.
We as a club have testing sessions but if your anxious about in person testing or your schedule doesn’t match up with ours, there are plenty of ZOOM testing sites. Test pricing varies but is about 15 bucks-ish.
Let us know if you wish to get your license and we can hook you up with classes we sponsor and/or an Elmer (Mentor) to volunteer their time to help you.
OK, now you have no excuse!
Watch for training sessions and testing on our calendar.
Join our Club or Ask a Question
If you are interested or have a question please get in touch with our club president Dan at rdwurtz@hush.com. Thanks and we are looking forward to hearing from you