Communications volunteers are needed to support the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k on Saturday, April 22.  Participation is open to anyone with reliable radio equipment and a Technician class license or higher.  For more details or to volunteer please contact Jim Rubin W4PKR via e-mail.

New to public service events?  Generally, ham operators may be in a moving vehicle or stationary at strategic points along the course, or may shadow key event officials, staying right next to them as they buzz around the event all day.  We become part of their official communications plan, moving important logistics, security, and medical traffic with the aid of net control.  These may include requests for additional water or supplies at rest stops, the location of the first or last participants on the course, and calls for emergency medical assistance.

Our March membership meeting will be held via Zoom on Friday, March 17, 7:30 PM.  All are welcome to join us.  For more information and for links to the meeting, see our Meetings page.

The Virginia QSO Party is the weekend of March 18 and 19.  RATS has again sponsored the Single Operator VHF plaque this year.  We'll be participating as a club activity.  Location and other details are still being worked out, so please keep an eye on the front page of our web site for updates and be sure to join us at our membership meeting the night before.

While RATS Frostfest is on hiatus, you might enjoy these other nearby hamfests.  If you're up for a little bit of a drive, please consider supporting one of these upcoming events:

Vienna Wireless Society's 47th WINTERFEST is Sunday, March 19 at Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, around two hours north of Richmond.  Tailgating starts at 7 AM and the indoor portion of the show begins at 8 AM.  Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door.  Talk-in on 146.91(-) repeater, PL 77.0. [WINTERFEST Web Site & Tickets, Flyer, Directions]

The Third Annual Gloucester MPARC Hamfest will be held Saturday, April 8 from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Abingdon Ruritan Club, 8784 Guinea Rd in Hayes, Virginia.  That's just over an hour east of Richmond, or 30 minutes north of Newport News.  Indoor and outdoor vendor spaces are available.  Admission is $5.00, children 12 and under free.  Talk-in on 145.37(-) W4HZL/R.  [MPARC Web Site, Flyer, Directions]

The Greene County Virginia Amateur Radio Club is hosting their first annual Thawfest ham radio show on Saturday, April 22 at the American Legion Post, 636 Madison Road in Standardsville, VA.  This is about 90 minutes northwest of Richmond, or 40 minutes north of Charlottesville.  Outdoor and indoor vendor spaces are available.  Admission is $5, children under 14 free.  Talk-in on 145.47(-) PL 151.4.  [Thawfest Web Site, Flyer, Directions]

We will be having a Zoom meeting (it is under our meetings tab) to discuss Frostfest 24 on 1/12.23 @7pm to 8:30pm.   I have made a form for people to fill out to help us know where to put you if you're willing to help. 

Link to the form

https://forms.gle/h2HWZUu1CVCHyNz37

Update:  As of 7:35p 1/2/2023, the repeater is back in service.

The W4RAT 146.88 repeater is temporarily off the air for emergency maintenance.  The 442.55 repeater remains on the air but may experience brief disruptions this evening.  Further updates will be posted to the Repeater Status page.  Thank you for your patience.

Everyone from RATS Board would like to wish everyone a happy holiday and New Year 

The Lease has been signed and paid for.  

Thanks to everyone for their hard work and dedication in getting this resolved

RATS will be staying at the current site for the foreseeable future.

I would like to thank all that have emailed asking about Frost Fest 2023.

We will not be having a Frost Fest this year due to the rebuilding of RATS and getting our ducks in a row.  

We are looking for Members that want to take a role in making Frost Fest 2024 a reality, it takes about 10 months of planning and organizing to make it happen.

Please Email Board@rats.net if you would like to help. 

Without help I don't know if a Frost Fest 2024 will happen 

All please program your radio to do C4FM on the TX Freq.  The Repeater will TX back to everyone analog.    [More information]

The club used to publish a member newsletter called Solid Copy.  We've rounded up digital copies of a bunch of old editions, and you can find them under Member Services > Solid Copy.