Martin County Amateur Radio Association Inc upcoming events

April Regular MCARA Meeting (23 Apr 2026)

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

The Martin County Amateur Radio Association normally meets on the 4th Thursday of each month, except in November, when we meet on the 3rd Thursday. This month the meeting will be held in the Stuart Police Department located at 830 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Stuart.
The doors open around 6:30 PM and the meeting begins at 7:00 PM.

Stuart Air Show. Photo KM4RTQ

For those who would like to attend the meeting virtually, we will also broadcast the meeting via Zoom:

Zoom Link

Meeting ID: TBD

Passcode: TBD

All people with an interest in technology and Amateur Radio are welcome to join us. Our association is open to people who are interested in getting their license, or "ticket," as well as "old timers" (people who've been in the hobby awhile).

Come early (6:30 PM) and participate in the mini-fest! Bring amateur radio related items to sell or buy, or items of interest to you. We hope to see you there!

Florida QSO Party (25 Apr 2026)

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Have you ever been the target of a pile-up? The Florida QSO Party is looking for operators in Martin County!

Since the re-introduction of the Florida QSO Party to the contest scene in 1998, the Florida QSO Party has become one of the fastest growing and most popular State QSO Parties around today. This is due, in part, to the tremendous effort by the mobile teams to activate as many counties as they can in order to allow those participating from out-of-state, to achieve a county “Sweep” (working all 67 Florida Counties). Florida stations operating from home are also valuable, since that increases the chances that stations will work all counties!

Regardless if you are a serious or casual participant … from Florida, or from outside of Florida … the Florida QSO Party was designed to be a FUN operating event. Why not give it a try?

The event consists of two 10-hour periods. The first period begins on Saturday at Noon EDT, and ends at 10PM EDT. The second period begins on Sunday at 8AM EDT, and ends on Sunday at 6PM EDT.

Please visit floridaqsoparty.org for the most up-to-date information.

Martin County ARES Meeting (14 May 2026)

Thu, 14 May 2026 23:00:00 GMT

The Martin County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month. The meeting is held at the Martin County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located at 800 SE Monterey Road in Stuart.

The doors open around 6:30 PM and the meeting begins at 7:00 PM. Please join us!

All people with an interest in Public Service and Amateur Radio are welcome to join us. Our association is open to people who are interested in getting their license, or "ticket," as well as "old timers" (people who've been in the hobby awhile).

May Regular MCARA Meeting (28 May 2026)

Thu, 28 May 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Stuart Air Show. Photo KM4RTQ

For those who would like to attend the meeting virtually, we will also broadcast the meeting via Zoom:

Zoom Link

Meeting ID: TBD

Passcode: TBD

ARRL Field Day 2026 (27 Jun 2026)

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 18:00:00 GMT

The fourth full weekend in June marks the most anticipated annual event in Ham Radio, ARRL Field Day! Preparations begin months before to ensure that our clubs enjoy the Florida Sunshine, Ham Radio, Food, and Fellowship.

Setup will begin on Friday morning, June 26th at 9:00 AM at the Martin County Fairgrounds, and generally lasts until Noon. As they say, "Many hands make light the work," so please come out and help. Everyone is welcome.

Station operation for Field Day 2026 begins on Saturday June 27th at 2:00 PM (1800z), and continues until 2:00 PM (1800z) on Sunday.

Thank you for participating with the Martin County Amateur Radio Association and Martin County ARES/RACES organizations!

What is Field Day?

Field Day is an Amateur (Ham) Radio exercise held on the last weekend of June each year to encourage emergency communications preparedness among amateur radio operators world-wide. USA Field Day is the largest single emergency preparedness exercise, with over 40,000 hams typically participating in the two day long event.

Field Day is a time to hone our skills and showcase our emergency preparedness as well as introduce the hobby to the public. Ham radio means something different to each person, but most of all, we are a friendly and helpful fraternity of people from all walks of life, and all geographic areas, who are willing to pitch-in and do what needs to be done. Come to Field Day in Stuart, Florida or find a local Field Day event in your area. You may be surprised at who you see there, and amazed at the advanced technologies we employ for communications fun as well as emergency public service.

Among the technologies we intend to demonstrate are Amateur Satellite communications, Packet Radio over VARA-FM, and of course, Morse Code (also called CW). Please join in the fun!

Below is a Google map of the Martin County ARRL Field Day location: