Hampden County Radio Association

Welcome!

Welcome to the website of the Hampden County Radio Association, or HCRA, a group of amateur radio operators (“hams”) in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. The club has existed since the mid-1940s; the first newsletter we have on file is from September 1948. You can browse through it and the rest of the newsletter archive for a complete history of the club’s activities, but it’ll take you awhile.

HCRA has a long tradition of maintaining a diverse membership spanning a wide range of interests. Many of us are deeply involved in all kinds of HF communication, from CW and SSB to the latest digital modes. There are also members active in low power communications, in the microwaves, Parks on the Air (POTA), Emergency Communications, Summits on the Air (SOTA), project building and nearly every other aspect of this amazing hobby. There’s a place here for everyone.

The HCRA is an Affiliated Club and a Special Service Club with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for amateur radio. Find out more about that on the ARRL New England Division web site.

Many of our club members are technical and build projects or help others with their questions and projects.

  • A feature of membership is assistance for any question you may have, the club offers a specialist who can work with you at your level.
  • If you chase DX, the QSL bureau costs $7 per group of cards plus a fee for the weight of the cards. The club offers a pooled QSL service for members, saving you a minimum of $7 every time you send cards through the ARRL DX QSL Bureau System.
  • The club also lets members join the HCRA group on ClubLog. It’s a fun way to compete with your friends and their DX chasing accomplishments.

Whether you are a new ham who just earned a license or an old timer who’s been on the air for decades, there is something for you in the HCRA. Join the HCRA Facebook page and keep up with the daily goings on of the club and its members. Come join us at our monthly meeting and introduce yourself. We meet the first Friday of every month at the Holyoke Medical Center Auxiliary Conference Room.

I know I speak for the whole club in welcoming you to the HCRA. We look forward to meeting you. If you are not yet a ham, we can help you with that too.

73 and I hope to see you at the next meeting!

Alan Dove, AB1XW
HCRA President

ARRL Special Service Club Logo.
ARRL Affiliated Club Logo

Latest Blog Posts

  • K1DG to speak tonight at HCRA meeting!

    On hand, all the way from New Hampshire, is Doug Grant/K1DG. Besides being as close to ‘professional’ as an amateur radio operator can get Doug is also the president of WRTC2014. That’s the group that is responsible for bringing the “Olympics of Amateur Radio to New England in 2014. Doug will give us a brief…

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  • Zero Beat Archives Updated (1991-1998)

    Thanks to the efforts of John Balboni (AC1T), we now have issues of Zero Beat from 1991 through 1998 and some of 1999 and 2001. You can take a stroll down memory lane or see what HCRA was doing during the 90’s. Please check out our Zero Beat Archives page to see all the action…

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  • Next meeting is this Friday, April 5th!

    Only two days until the April HCRA meeting. It’s no April fool either. Our special guest speaker is Doug/K1DG. Doug is traveling all the way from NH to chat with us about the World Radiosport Team Championship coming to New England in 2014. There are a lot of moving parts to hosting an international competition…

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  • April 2013 Zero Beat now available

    Here is the link to the April issue of Zero Beat. Lots of good stuff this month, enjoy it and see you at the meeting Friday night! Zero Beat Apr 2013

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  • I need articles and photos for Zero Beat!

    Anyone for dropping me an email with photos or articles of interest to HCRA members? If you are tired of seeing SOTA articles you should submit something to me for upcoming issues of Zero Beat — I would like material by early next week. (Sorry, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any more SOTA items!)…

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  • 2014 Election draws near, nominations entertained.

    Hi folks, The 2014 Election will be held at our June 7th meeting. As in years past many board members have once again raised their hands to help guide HCRA through another year of fun and excitement. For many of them this will be another year of many serving HCRA. Wouldn’t it be great if…

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  • WRTC is coming in 2014 – are you ready to pitch in?

    WRTC is just around the corner. We’re looking to field (literally) a second station this year. Who’s game to give it a go? So what exactly is WRTC and more importantly WRTC-2014? Read on. In short you could consider it the ‘Olympics of Amateur Radio’.  Read all about the competition and its history here. The…

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  • March Board Meeting Minutes

    HCRA Board meeting 3/5/2013 Official minutes 7:20pm Vice President report -KB1NWH KX3 Raffle won by K1MA 234 tickets sold $1300 net profit 7:30pm Treasurer Report – AA1YW Income silent auction – $40.00 KX3 raffle – $1630.00 membership – $105.00 party – $731.67 50/50 raffle – $34.50 Expenses p.o. box -$86.00 FD deposit -$50.00 Total income…

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  • Are you Getting Zero Beat

    EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT.   Or maybe you or some one you know has not been.   If you or someone you know has E-mail and are not receiving and would like to receive the HCRA Zero Beat Via E-mail please contact me.   KB1NWH Ed KB1NWH@arrl.net

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  • 2013 Annual HCRA Show & Tell Meeting a Success

    Last Friday’s Show & Tell meeting was a great success.  We had 9 members bring projects that were either completed or close to completion. All of the presenters did a great job explaining their projects in detail to the club and the audience had good questions for the presenters.  Congratulations to Juergen – AB1SU (DK1TM)…

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