The Big Bend Amateur Radio Club is based in Alpine, Texas and covers the entire Big Bend area of West Texas. The club is open to anyone interested in amateur radio activities. Join us at our monthly meeting or on the air via one of our weekly nets. Contact us by email.
In Memory
We are extremely saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Dave Cockrum, N5DO (SK). He was a Founding Member and long time contributor to our club.
His family has ask for us to accept donations in Memory of his name.
Donate in Memory of Dave Cockrum N5DO (SK)
New Members and Visitors
New or interested members can find information on our New Member page. The page includes BBARC New Member form and information about dues.
Donations to club can be made through our PayPal page. Visitors to the Big Bend should try the 2m repeaters and participate in our 2m net. The repeaters also have EchoLink access.
WINTER FIELD DAY JANUARY 27 -28, 2024
Five members of the club participated in this event and logs have been uploaded. WFD Scoring process was changed this year to account for “objectives” to be met that will be acknowledged separately, rather than be “point multipliers” in the total score. Total score = QSOs x RF power x Mode/band. CW and digital QSOs count 2 points and PH QSOs are 1 point. With the new approach to scoring, our previous years scores were generally higher for some participants. On a raw basis we did better than the two previous events as a club, with 3610 points from 550 QSOs. 2022 score was 6558 points and 2023 was 4252 points, but those scores were calculated differently. Thank You to all that participated.
ARRL SUMMER FIELD DAY June 22-23 2024
We be holding our 2024 Field Day activities at the Double Diamond Ranch Pavilion, 8 miles south of Alpine on Highway 118 South. We will be running an HF Phone Station, an HF CW/Digital station, a 6m Station and a GOTA station. We will be operating for a 24 hour period, without the use of commercial power from the electrical grid.
The Get On The Air (GOTA) station allows any unlicensed person to make contacts with others around the world and try out Amateur Radio. We encourage scouts, school groups and the general public to use this facility to talk to others and experience the power of emergency communication without the use of cell phones or the internet. Our club members will guide you through the experience and you will be speaking with radio operators in other states or countries.
Here is a link to our Field Day location.
New Meeting Location
BBARC meetings and exams have moved to a new venue and time.
The new time is 7:00PM for meetings and 6:00PM for exams. The new venue is the Masons Building on Highway 118 towards Fort Davis on the north side of Alpine (2300 Highway 118 North). Here is a map and picture of the building.
Please note this is not the Mason’s Building downtown that google only mentions. Use the address to search maps, not the name.
FCC ULS New Log In
With the FCC going to email only communications, each member should log into the FCC ULS web site and review their record, particularly email address and license expiration.
Here is a document about moving to the new FCC system.
The CORES system is now in place and can be accessed for renewals and payments.
Log in using https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsEntry/licManager/login.jsp
BBARC Field Day 2023
License Exams
The new technician manual is available from the ARRL bookstore as the question pool changed July 1st.
The BBARC has exam sessions an hour before the monthly meeting – 2nd Tuesday 6:00pm at the Masons Building, 2300 Highway 118 N Alpine TX.
WINLINK
Practice sending Winlink messages.
BBARC PayPal Payment
Make Tax Deductible Donations to the Club.
Last update 11-01-2023