CLARA provides Ham Help Workshops to guide and mentor people learning about amateur radio. If you don’t have an amateur (ham) radio license, we will show you how to study for and pass the exam. If you have a ham radio license, we will help you take the next steps in getting on the air and having fun with radio. We are here to help!

Workshop schedule

June 21, 2025

Aug 23, 2025 – POTA activation

Oct 11, 2025 – Radio Trek event (Buena Vista River Park)

Dec 6, 2025 – Radio Trek Event (Casa Del Rio Clubhouse)

Radio Trek – Dec 6th

On Sat Dec 6th, we will hold our second Radio Trek event. The general approach will be similar to the previous event but we will make some changes to mix it up a bit. It starts at 1 pm at the Casa Del Rio clubhouse in Buena Vista and will probably go until 4 pm.

Teams

Teams of one or more people drive to three checkpoints and perform tasks that demonstrate basic radio skills and knowledge. We recommend that a team consist of two or more people, one of them must have a ham radio license. The course is designed for cold weather…most of the time you will be in your vehicle, getting out for short periods of time. Total driving distance will be less than 30 miles. The course starts and finishes at the clubhouse.

A team must have a vehicle that can drive on highways and improved forest service roads, roughly 25 miles total. At least one team member must be able to walk a short distance (~ approx. 100 feet).

Everyone is welcome to participate. You don’t need to be a club member.

Oh, you are required to have fun along the way.

Frequencies

The main Net Control Station (NCS) frequency will be the W0LSD repeater (146.745 MHz, – offset, 100 Hz tone). We will also use 146.55 MHz simplex (CTAC 1), 146.40 MHz (CTAC2), 446.050 MHZ (CTAC5), and another frequency-to-be-announced later. It will be VERY IMPORTANT for you to be able to program your radio on the fly. Hey, we want to build some skills here!

Skills Required
  • Operate a 2m/70 cm FM transceiver
  • Setup a 2m/70cm FM transceiver on an arbitrary simplex frequency (not preprogrammed into the radio) – make sure you can do this!!!!!
  • Use a GPS receiver or app to find a location
  • Be able to determine your lat/lon and 6-character grid locator (Ham Square app is useful)

You will be asked questions over the air and you will record your answer on your scoresheet. Questions may include ham radio technical questions, general trivia questions and local/regional trivia questions.

  • Bring a radio (or two) that can operate on 2m and 70 cm FM
  • You will be instructed to tune your radio to an arbitrary frequency and make a contact. You must know how to program your radio on the fly, including setting the transmit offset to simplex!
  • Bring a manual if you are unfamiliar with the radio.
    Mobile radio is preferred but handheld transceiver is OK.
    Consider bringing an external mag mount or half-wave telescoping antenna for a handheld radio.
    A bigger signal is better.


Bring a GPS receiver OR a smartphone app capable of reading out your location and navigating to a specific latitude/longitude.
The smartphone app Ham Square (iOS and Android) will be helpful for determining lat/lon and grid locator.
Bring maps, printed or electronic, for the Arkansas Valley, roughly 25 miles in any direction from BV. An app like Google maps will be sufficient.
A clipboard will be handy for writing down notes.

You may use a smartphone or other device to look up information during the Trek.
All tasks must be completed while stopped at a Checkpoint. You cannot be driving.

You can always ask the Net Control Station (NCS) for help and advice, but the NCS may or may not provide it.
Take your time and be safe. Time is not a factor in this event.

Preparation Before The Event:

Download the app Ham Square to your smartphone and become familiar with it.
Verify that you can set your radio to any frequency and set the transmitter offset, on the fly.
Program the frequencies listed above into your radio.

Weather Cancellation

We will plan on cold temperatures but not really bad weather.
If the weather turns unusually poor, such as blizzard conditions, hazardous driving conditions, extreme cold, etc., we will announce a cancellation via the CLARA email list and the W0LSD repeater before 10 AM on the day of the event.

Any questions, contact Bob K0NR, bob@k0nr.com