Tamiami Amateur Radio Club

First organized in 1960, the Tamiami Amateur Radio Club has more than 160 members engaged in the active pursuit of the amateur radio hobby. A large number of our members are seasonal residents who live in Venice during the cold winter months and then return north to their original home QTH for the summer. The club makes use of new DMR technology to allow these members to keep in touch with the local, full-time club members here in Venice.

W4AC QSL Card
10/20/24MemberChasity HeltonGeneralW3DAY
10/19/24AssociateLawrence FletcherNoneNone
10/14/24MemberAllan HustonGeneralKC1IWF
9/8/24MemberKenneth “Ken” CoxExtraKI4YHX
8/23/24First YearRichard ‘Rick’ MikluscakTechnicianKQ4UMP

Local License Testing Available

The club has been a proud affiliate of the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) since 1963. Some of our members are certified Volunteer Examiners (VEs). The club sponsors a monthly FCC license testing session on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 10 am. Information regarding location, testing, cost, procedure, and registration is available.

Get more information.


2019 FL QSO Party Award

TARC participates in the annual ARRL Field Day event each year. The club also operates a special event station each year (K4S) in April at the annual Shark’s Tooth Festival in Venice. Operating as club station W4AC we won the 2019 Florida QSO Party Award for most contacts!

ARRl Affiliated

Club membership is open to all ham radio operators and to those who want to become ham radio operators. Please visit with us at one of our monthly club meetings held at Venice Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 825 The Rialto, Venice 34285 on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM. (No meetings in July and August) <more>


ARES Logo

Sarasota County has an Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) group organized under the ARRL West Central Florida (WCF) Section Emergency Coordinator. It is organized and operated independently of any club affiliation. Membership in this ARES group is open to any licensed amateur radio operator in the county. For more information visit their website: http://srqares.org.


Parks on the Air (POTA)

POTA LogoGirard KQ4DVDPOTA activations have become a big attraction for many club members in the 2020’s. Started in 2016 by the US Park Service to encourage amateur radio operators to come into the parks and operate, the concept has grown to become not only a popular nation-wide ham activity; but, now also includes many foreign (Dx) park entities as well. Visit the POTA website to get yourself registered and start getting some outdoor activity with nice fresh air and a little bit of exercise too.We have many club members who do POTA activations in the Venice area. Join us! If you can’t get out anymore than become a “park hunter” and participate from the comfort of your shack. Either way, make contacts and earn POTA awards.


Tamiami Tradeshow

Hosted by club member Tom KE4RXM
W4AC Repeater 146.805mhz (-) PL 100.00
ECHOLINK: W4AC-R Node 513309
NET SCHEDULE
Every Tuesday Evening at 8:00 pm
(click the image for tradeshow website)


Learn CW Online


The old, legacy, FCC CORES (COmission REgistration System) expired in July 2022. Every licensed amateur must have a user account and an FRN (FCC Registration Number) in the new system to update your address, change your call sign, or renew your license. If you haven’t done this yet, NOW IS THE TIME! https://www.arrl.org/fcc-cores-registration-instructions


Madenhead Grid System

Get a Maidenhead Grid Location <HERE>

What are grid squares? Well, they’re more like rectangles and are just a way of dividing up the surface of the Earth. Grid squares are a shorthand means of describing your general location anywhere on the Earth in a manner that is easy to communicate over the air.

An instrument of the Maidenhead Locator System (named after the town outside London where it was first conceived by a meeting of European VHF managers in 1980), <more>


Chapter 53 of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) meets for lunch at 11AM on the first Monday of each month at the Denny’s on Bee Ridge in Sarasota. You do not need to be a member of QCWA to attend and your “Plus 1” is welcome. There is an interesting program along with an excellent meal and fellowship. (No meeting June to September).

For more information on QCWA see the Chapter website – QCWA53