K4JMC • Gadsden Amateur Radio Club
New faces, new opportunities, and a wide array of people. A modern, service‑ready club for radio, emergency communications, weather ops, and experimentation.
Local Repeater
Club Meeting
Meeting schedule & location
@ 7:00pm
601 4th St, Attalla AL 35954
Get On the Air
- Licensing help & study groups
- Portable ops: POTA / SOTA
- Severe weather support (SKYWARN‑style)
- Public service & emergency communications
- Nightly Nets & Round Tables
Solid day at Hokes Bluff — 35+ on site
Food, fellowship, and K4JMC gear tested with confirmed contacts. Hot day, good breeze. Early talk only about a cooler-season outing at the same park — not finalized; club input welcome.
September 19, 2026
Mark your calendar for the Gadsden Amateur Radio Club Hamfest. Vendors, fellowship, and full details on our Hamfest page. Color flyer coming soon — current page info stays live until then.
G.A.R.C. 2026 Club Officers:
Delton Hartzog — Harvey Moore — Michelle Kidd — Monte Hill — Casey Nowak
Serious about service. Serious about fun.
We are a club forged by many voices across generations, where learning, teaching, and growth never stop. One club — Many ages — Shared frequency. Field Day, HAMFest, POTA/SOTA, and community outreach.
CQ CQ CQ DE K4JMC
Hello everyone!
It's hard to believe we're already in the middle of summer. I hope each of you has had the opportunity to enjoy your favorite aspect of amateur radio during these warm months.
Many of us have experienced the excitement of 6-meter propagation recently. As I write this, the band openings over the past week have been nothing short of phenomenal! Others may be spending time activating parks for POTA, operating a portable station from the beach, or simply staying cool in the comfort of the shack while enjoying good conversations on the air. Whether your passion is operating, building equipment, experimenting with new modes, or exploring another facet of amateur radio, there's always something new to learn and enjoy. That's one of the things that makes our hobby so rewarding.
It's also hamfest season in our part of the country! Be sure to mark your calendars for the Huntsville Hamfest, August 22–23.
Most importantly, please make plans now to attend the Gadsden Amateur Radio Club Hamfest on September 19, 2026. You'll find all the details here on this website about the K4JMC Hamfest. We have an outstanding lineup of vendors coming this year, and we're looking forward to making this our best hamfest yet. We hope you'll join us and invite your fellow hams as well.
As summer winds down, we also invite you to attend our next Gadsden Amateur Radio Club meeting on Monday evening, August 10. It's always a great opportunity to enjoy fellowship, share ideas, and stay connected with what's happening in our club.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, have fun on the air, and we look forward to seeing you at the August meeting and at the upcoming hamfests across North Alabama.
73,
Delton Hartzog, WA4JLQ
President, Gadsden Amateur Radio Club
Delton Hartzog
WA4JLQ • President
Year of the Club — ARRL Contest Deadline Jan 30!
ARRL has declared 2026 the "Year of the Club" — a celebration of amateur radio clubs nationwide. GARC members: we have a chance to win recognition at the national level!
ARRL Club Website Contest submissions are due January 30, 2026 at 4 PM ET. Winners will be honored at the ARRL National Convention (Huntsville Hamfest, August 2026) and featured in QST.
This is a perfect opportunity to showcase K4JMC's contributions to amateur radio in Gadsden and beyond.
Recent Highlights from the Amateur Radio Community
Huntsville to host ARRL National Convention (August 2026) • HamSCI Workshop at Central Connecticut State U (March 14-15) • FCC extends license renewal deadline to March 5, 2026 • Student Coding Competition pre-registration now open
Get outside and operate portable
POTA and SOTA combine amateur radio with outdoor adventure.
POTA
Parks on the Air
Activate national, state, and local parks. Make contacts from the great outdoors and earn awards while supporting amateur radio in public lands.
SOTA
Summits on the Air
Portable operations from mountain summits. Earn points based on elevation and difficulty. Challenge yourself with backcountry radio.
Trusted databases, learning portals, programming tools, and quick-reference downloads.
Basics First
Power, fuses, connectors, and SWR before anything else.
Swap Test
Substitute coax, mic, power supply, or rig.
Stage Isolation
Test radio → feedline → antenna separately.
RF in Shack
Ferrites on DC, USB, mic lines, and control cables.
Front-End Overload
Nearby transmitters desensing the receiver.
Common-Mode Current
Feedline radiation corrupting pattern and noise floor.