News & Updates

Our next free Technician License Class is set! The class meets for six Wednesday evenings, February 3 through March 10, 2027, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the DoubleTree by Hilton Helena Downtown, 22 N Last Chance Gulch. No experience is required, and the class is free.

Seats are limited to 20 students and are filled in the order registrations arrive, so please register early. If you added your name to our pre-enrollment list, you'll hear from a club volunteer soon.

A big thank-you to the DoubleTree by Hilton Helena Downtown, and especially General Manager John Lytle, for hosting the class and supporting our club's nonprofit effort to help more people around Helena earn their ham radio licenses. Community partners like this make free public education possible.

Reserve your seat in the Technician class →

The November newsletter is out, and it's a good one.

Our Technician class wrapped up with 10 of 11 students passing on October 21, and three of them walked out with their General as well. Come see who they are so you can welcome them on the air.

Also in this issue:

• Nerds On a Hike kicks off November 7 at Scratchgravel Hills with a POTA activation. New hams, bring your mic courage.
• Get Yourself Grounded: Bill N7MSI walks through his single-point shack ground, copper strap and all.
• Thunder on the Snake River: Rob KI4NCT on running safety boat comms where the cell signal gives up.
• EME Antenna Build, Part Deux: Tom KE7VUX machines a 24-foot, 12-element Yagi to the half-millimeter.
• Fire Prevention Week: Stacy KK7CJV led 7 land to the top spot with 4,747 QSOs.

Plus a Hallicrafters SX-110 looking for a new home, and a Badger Pass trip that's bringing solar backup to the Belmont repeater.

Read the November newsletter →

Ever wondered how people can talk across the country with a radio that fits in a backpack? Come find out at CCARC's first Nerds on a Hike on Saturday, November 7, 2026!

Trail Master Brett (N7SKI) will lead a short, easy walk and set up a portable radio station in the Scratchgravel Hills. We'll make contacts from a public park as part of Parks On The Air (POTA), a worldwide program, and you're welcome to step up to the mic and make one yourself. No license or experience needed.

New hams: this is your chance to get on the air with experienced operators beside you.

Bring: Warm layers, water, sturdy shoes, and your sense of adventure.

Weather: We'll post a go/no-go update here by 7 AM on the day of the hike. If we cancel, we'll move to Saturday, November 14.

What to Expect

• A friendly group hike to our operating location.
• A portable ham radio station you can see in action.
• Opportunities for newcomers to get on the air with help from licensed operators.
• Experienced hams sharing tips about portable operating.
• A chance to help complete a POTA activation.
• Good conversation, fresh air, and plenty of nerdiness.

Nerds on a Hike is a new club member activity happening the first Saturday of every month. Come join the adventure!

Please join CCARC in congratulating the 10 successful candidates from our recent Technician License Class and welcoming them into this great hobby!

• KM7IFH — Technician — Clayton
• KM7IFI — Technician — John
• KM7IFJ — Technician — Josh
• KM7IFK — Technician — Kurt
• KM7IFL — Technician — Dennis
• KM7IFR — Technician — Jacob
• KM7IFS — General — Neil
• KM7IFT — General — Charlie
• KM7IFU — General — Kendall
• Callsign pending — Technician — Shawn

A special thank-you goes to our guest mentors who helped with class presentations and the Volunteer Examiners who supported our special test session: N7HNT, AI7BM, N7MSI, WA1TYB, N7SHM, AE7AP, AA7VG (VE), and KS7R (VEC).

We hope to host another class in the first quarter of 2027. Thank you to everyone who helped make this class a success!

International ShakeOut Day is Thursday, October 15 (10/15 at 10:15 a.m. local time), when millions of people worldwide will practice earthquake safety with drills at work, school, or home. At 10:15 a.m., you can join people across Montana in practicing earthquake safety.

Local hams can take part in a directed net exercise shortly after 10:15 a.m. on the Belmont repeater: 147.22 MHz (+), 100 Hz tone. CCARC has registered as a group, so you do not need to register individually to participate.

For more on earthquake safety and the event, visit the Great Montana ShakeOut website or contact Lynn Wagner, K7WGR. Details are also in our October 2026 newsletter →

After more than a year of discussion and months of planning, a crew of CCARC members headed up Mount Belmont on Thursday, September 24 to improve the N7RB repeater tower's guy wires and grounding.

The Belmont repeater endures extreme weather and high winds most of the year, and that wear had been making the repeater hard to use on windy days. Loose connections or grounding on the tower and guy wires were suspected of causing radio frequency interference (RFI), filling the repeater's signal with static and noise and hitting weaker stations such as handheld radios hardest.

The crew installed new guy clamps and insulators to stop stray currents between the guy wires, and properly re-tensioned the guys to keep the tower upright. The work came none too soon: they found one guy wire significantly under tension and worn bolts that needed replacing. Early reports since the work have been very positive, with many operators noting greatly improved audio and signals.

This is part two of the club's ongoing repeater improvements funded by your dues. Last summer the repeater itself was replaced with a newer, more capable and reliable model, and next year the club may look at adding solar power.

Special thanks to the repeater maintenance crew: Brian Lee (KJ7OUF), Al Simons (WA1TYB), Bill McGuire (N7MSI), Eric Webb (KE7NLU), Stacy Webb (KK7CJV), Matt Gould (AA7MG), Keith Platts (KM7AEM), Mark Heckenlaible (W7HS), Dan Hawkins (N7SHM), and Steve Miller (KF7HJS). Read the full story with photos in our October 2026 newsletter →

We have a few events coming up in October that Al Simons is looking for volunteers to help support:

• Montana State Exercise on October 6
• The Great Montana ShakeOut 2026 on October 15
• Just for the Helena of It race on October 18

Montana State Exercise — New this year, we have been requested to participate in a state exercise on October 6. We will activate the four stations we have pre-positioned around town at the State DES, Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Emergency Preparedness Division, St. Peter's Health, and the Lewis and Clark County EOC at the airport.

The Great Montana ShakeOut — This is an earthquake-based exercise raising awareness of how to prepare for and behave during an earthquake. Lynn, K7WGR, will conduct a net on the morning of October 15 at a time to be determined, as he has done for several years. More information is available on the Great Montana ShakeOut website.

Just for the Helena of It — This is a running race we support with amateur radio operators at various checkpoints to track runners and keep race officials informed. All profits from Just for the Helena of It will be donated to The Friendship Center and Girls Thrive.

If you are interested in learning about one or more of these opportunities, please contact Al Simons at al@simonshome.org.