MTARA

The Mountain Top Amateur Radio Association, MTARA, is located in the  communities within the San Bernardino National Forest including  Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs and Green Valley Lake. We  welcome members and visitors from any area.

We are a  group of licensed amateur radio operators and friends, young and old,  who wish to promote the amateur radio hobby through mentoring, license  testing, communications training and community service in a fun,  friendly and active environment.

MTARA is now offering weekly VHF/UHF and HF nets as well as our new Virtual Field Trips and Elmer sessions. 

The Virtual Field Trips and Elmer sessions are offered once a week on Thursdays at 2:00 pm on Zoom. As of 11/5/2020 we have hosted 50 sessions. A list of the planned sessions are below:

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS

ZOOM Meetings

As of 6/1/2020

• October 1 -  Logging with QRZ, Vic, KK6WKI  
• October 8 -  Mapping for Ham Radio, Part 1 & 2, Tracy, WM6T  
• October 15 -  Emcomm for Emergency Communications, Tracy, WM6T  
• October 22 - Echolink for Emcomms, Tracy, WM6T
• October 29 - How to participate in the ARRL Sweepstakes events this November, Bill, K8TE.
• November 5 - Batteries and Chargers, Tracy, WM6T
• November 12 - QRP Transceivers, Tracy, WM6T
• November 19 - QRP Antennas, Dave, K6WDE
• November 26 - Thanksgiving, no Zoom session. 
• December 3 - TBD
• December 10 - TBD
• December 17 - TBD
• December 24 - Christmas Eve, no Zoom session
• December 31 - New Year's Eve, no Zoom Session. 

HAM RADIO CLASSES AND TESTING

On June 6th, MTARA held a special testing session for all levels. We had 10 people testing and all 10 passed: 7 Extra and 3 Technician.

Our next Tech classes will be held via Zoom. The testing session is scheduled for October 24, 2020 in Big Bear.

 Click on the links below for all the 

  information for the next classes. 

Ham Radio  is the ability to communicate -- across the street, around the world, or  even with people and satellites in space!  Even when the power's out,  and the land lines and cell phones don't work, with a battery, a radio,  and a wire, ham radio is there.

Ham  Radio lets us enjoy life-long friends, and a hands-on technical  education.  It provides the resources and encouragement to experiment  with new things and to design and build on the latest communications  technologies.

You  can't say that the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the  moon!  You can go anywhere you want, without boundaries, and amateur  radio can help you get there! - by Doug Lamb, K4EK

Field Day 2020

 Field Day is Saturday, June 27th. This year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic we are encouraging all members to do Field Day from Home or out in the field/forest.    

Kodiak 100

MTARA members will be supporting the Kodiak 100 two day event in Big Bear. Dates are August 14-15, 2020. There is a chance it might be postponed for a month or two. Check in later. 

Kids on Public Lands

KOPL has been cancelled for 2020 and the organizing committee has decided after 21+ year to end the program. 

Gran Fondo

The Gran Fondo mountain bike ride will be held once again in Big Bear. This year it is on September 26th, 2020. MTARA members will be located along the mountain area trails, aid stations and in SAG vehicles providing communications to support the event.