Home of the FLORIDA KEYS Amateur Radio Club

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Activities

• The FKARC holds a free amateur radio instruction class each year and concludes the class with the FCC license examination for obtaining a Technician Class License. 
  
• Members of the FKARC hold examinations for all classes of FCC amateur radio licenses monthly throughout the winter months.  Email Chuck Gray, ND7K, for details.
  
• All amateur radio operators are invited to check in each Sunday at 7:30 PM to the Florida Keys Emergency Practice Net on any Marathon or Lower Keys repeater (all are linked, click Map). 
  
• Community activities include furnishing safety communications for the annual Seven-mile Bridge Run and the Fla. Keys Seafood Festival as well as other community-sponsored events such as bicycle races. 
  
• Working all Keys (WAKEY), a FKARC award, is offered by the club to all amateur radio operators who fulfill the requirements. Come to a club meeting and get details.
  
• Some fun activities within the club are an  annual Triple Fest (Transmitter Hunt [Fox Hunt],  Fish Fry and a  Hamfest,  click  here for pictures of the Triple Fest, and here for a list of of all the winners of the Foxhunt over the years).  We also have a  Christmas Dinner (Click here for pictures),  Luncheons most Wednesdays, and Tours of radio related places of interest.   We also hold Antenna Parties.  Here are some photos of Ricks, KQ4AZ.
  
• As a fun, but more serious activity, the club participates in the annual Field Day sponsored by the ARRL. The exercise is held as a mock-up of a real emergency when amateur radio operators would be needed to assemble and operate their equipment because no other communications were available. This necessitates using battery or fueled power and portable or available structures (trees, etc.) for mounting antennas. The event covers a 24-hour time span, which means the participants must spend overnight at their site. Thus, the club practices preparedness for a real emergency.  Pictures: (Field Day 2002, Field Day 2001,  Field Day 2000 ).
  
• An attractive club T-shirt is available from the club that displays the club logo. Members wear these shirts at club and other related events for identification. These royal blue shirts make the amateur radio operators easy to locate when their assistance is needed.