Starved Rock Radio Club's - Hamfest, Computer and Hobby Show

08/07/2025

Come on, SRRC! How about putting together a group to work at a medical tent in the upcoming Marathon? There was a time when the club was involved in a lot of events such as this.

MARATHON HAM RADIO CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
Time to build our roster for the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, October 12, 2025. This will be our 17th year supporting the Marathon and we are proud to be part of this world-class running event. The organizers are expecting 55,000 runners, which will put a strain on all aspects of the event. We are hoping to recruit 160 hams (and non-hams).

We support the volunteer medical team in multiple ways and locations. Each is a specialty area, requiring a specific set of skills.

Forward Command. The people who work in this environment must be excellent at handling radio traffic and be able to balance a hectic workflow with a calm demeanor. We need loggers, trackers, radio net controllers and liaisons.

Course Medical Tent. Typically, this is a small team of radio folks who support the medical team and the Aid Station Captain at the 20 on-course medical tents. For the most part, this group forms their own independent unit and is often organized by a club. Laflin is a medical transfer hub and has its own unique personality. The Course Medical Tents teams represent our largest block of volunteers.

Pre-Finish – this is a unique group that works with the medical teams to provide a response for the last mile of the course. Hams are staged in between medical people and serve as communicators. This can be the most challenging part of the course since it is near the finish line. Last year, we had 22 ham radio ops there and we could use even more!

Triage. This is a special team that roams around after the finish line with a small medical unit as a fast response to a distressed runner in Grant Park. Our job is to call for help if the situation requires more support. This group literally runs a great deal and operators need to be prepared to work a couple of long hours without a break.

We are also looking for a few people to help set up and takedown.
Finally, we will be staging a few people in the post-race party zone to help the medical teams assigned to that part of the event.
Registrations starts here. Fill out this Google form. Feel free to pass this along to friends or colleagues who might have an interest.

https://forms.gle/mCnVjbyrg4x4pSkz7

Thank you for your service to this event in the past and we look forward to working with you in 2025.

Rob Orr on behalf of Ham Radio Chicago Team (hamradiochicago.org):
Jeff Van Buren
Jerry Watts
Neil Zimmerman
Tim Wheeler
Mike Wilson
Brad Nicholson
Kermit Carlson
Kirk Timmerman

Event Date: Sunday, October 12, 2025 We are recruiting 160 ham radio radio operators to help with medical communication for this event. In some cases, non-ham frequencies (GMRS) can be used with a local team and in coordination with the ham leadership. We are seeking to fill positions with different...

06/30/2025

It's that time of year again! Reach out with any questions.

MARATHON HAM RADIO CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
Time to build our roster for the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, October 12, 2025. This will be our 17th year supporting the Marathon and we are proud to be part of this world-class running event. The organizers are expecting 55,000 runners, which will put a strain on all aspects of the event. We are hoping to recruit 160 hams (and non-hams).
We support the volunteer medical team in multiple ways and locations. Each is a specialty area, requiring a specific set of skills.
Forward Command. The people who work in this environment must be excellent at handling radio traffic and be able to balance a hectic workflow with a calm demeanor. We need loggers, trackers, radio net controllers and liaisons.
Course Medical Tent. Typically, this is a small team of radio folks who support the medical team and the Aid Station Captain at the 20 on-course medical tents. For the most part, this group forms their own independent unit and is often organized by a club. Laflin is a medical transfer hub and has its own unique personality. The Course Medical Tents teams represent our largest block of volunteers.
Pre-Finish – this is a unique group that works with the medical teams to provide a response for the last mile of the course. Hams are staged in between medical people and serve as communicators. This can be the most challenging part of the course since it is near the finish line. Last year, we had 22 ham radio ops there and we could use even more!
Triage. This is a special team that roams around after the finish line with a small medical unit as a fast response to a distressed runner in Grant Park. Our job is to call for help if the situation requires more support. This group literally runs a great deal and operators need to be prepared to work a couple of long hours without a break.
We are also looking for a few people to help set up and takedown.
Finally, we will be staging a few people in the post-race party zone to help the medical teams assigned to that part of the event.
Registrations starts here. Fill out this Google form. Feel free to pass this along to friends or colleagues who might have an interest.
https://forms.gle/mCnVjbyrg4x4pSkz7
Thank you for your service to this event in the past and we look forward to working with you in 2025.
Rob Orr on behalf of Ham Radio Chicago Team:
Jeff Van Buren
Jerry Watts
Neil Zimmerman
Tim Wheeler
Mike Wilson
Brad Nicholson
Kermit Carlson
Kirk Timmerman

Event Date: Sunday, October 12, 2025 We are recruiting 160 ham radio radio operators to help with medical communication for this event. In some cases, non-ham frequencies (GMRS) can be used with a local team and in coordination with the ham leadership. We are seeking to fill positions with different...

04/06/2025

2025 Starved Rock Hamfest Flyer!

01/20/2025

12/06/2024

Club photos from 11-26-1938!

10/09/2024

No doubt, you are probably aware of the havoc wreaked by the recent hurricanes on various infrastructures including communications, welfare, and search and rescue operations. There was no cell service available and it may be a substantial period of time before it is all restored to pre-storm levels. Amateur radio operators use their training, skills, and equipment to provide communications during emergencies When All Else Fails®. Hams serve our communities when storms or other disasters damage critical communication infrastructure, including cell towers, and wired and wireless networks. Amateur radio can function completely independently of the internet and phone systems. An amateur radio station can be set up almost anywhere in minutes. Hams can quickly raise a wire antenna in a tree or on a mast, connect it to a radio and power source, and communicate effectively with others. You can even send emails by radio signal, which will be converted to conventional email and delivered normally, sharing information with family or friends outside of the affected area.

As an amateur radio operator myself (ham), I follow with great interest Facebook groups that deal with this hobby. As we are all aware, Facebook brings out some "experts" on topics of which they have no knowledge. There are people saying, "I don't need a license if I am an emergency situation, I'll do what I have to". While anyone can purchase a radio and probably figure out how to turn it on, knowing how to communicate effectively and correctly is another story. As the saying goes, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

The time to prepare is before the need arises. There are many free, online learning tools to help an interested person prepare for their examination which is administered locally by volunteers (35 questions, $15 fee then $35 payable to the FCC after successful testing). There are many resources available before and after testing to prepare you for "When All Else Fails". Many mentors available and glad to help a newcomer learn about and set up their radio. While we are pretty well protected from the destruction caused by hurricanes, we do have tornadoes, possibility of earthquakes, or just plain cell phone outages (been a lot of those happening in the last couple of years).

If this is something that would interest you or you would like to reach out for more information, feel free to send an email to: [email protected] . Please share with family and friends, even if outside this area as similar assistance is available nationwide.

Thank you,
Bradley Nicholson

09/09/2024

SRRC Meeting tonight at 7:00 PM, 9/9/2024, at the SRRC clubhouse, 100 Tabor Drive, Leonore, IL USA

Send a message to learn more

07/05/2024

It's that time of year! Please consider working at this well run event. Perfect for new amateurs as well as the more experienced operators! (Reach out with any questions--KA9WRZ)

MARATHON SIGN UP 2024

To sign up, please go to this link: https://forms.gle/i7GFgy5icnip1wP48
We are excited to be invited back to work the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. We are seeking 150 ham radio operators (by comparison, the Boston Marathon uses 200 ham radio operators and the Marine Corps Marathon using 250 hams!) Of the majors, we are the smallest team. We have three basic teams: Course Medical Tents (CMT) with 2 – 8 hams assigned (depending on location); Pre-Finish Team for the last mile of the course and Triage team. These folks roam the zone after the finish line throughout Grant Park serving distressed runners.
The Chicago Marathon is considered one of the 6 major world Marathons – New York, Boston, London, Berlin and Tokyo. It is a privilege for us to work with this class of events.
This year they are looking to increase the field to 55,000 runners. That means more stress on the medical teams and us.
We have been successful working alongside Chicago Event Management for 17 years largely because of the community of ham radio folks we have attracted. This year, we are seeing more non-ham communicators working with us. Many stations are using hybrid radio communications to talk between their teams and our forward command operations.
Again, to sign up, please go to this link: https://forms.gle/i7GFgy5icnip1wP48

Event Date: Sunday, October 13, 2024

06/11/2024

Tonight's SRRC meeting declared our Hamfest was a success. Prize winners confirmed:
Grand First Prize: Jeff Goodspeed KA9S (Mailed)
Grand Second Prize: Jason Ostrowski (Mailed)
Grand Third Prize: Loren Jentz N9ENR (Claimed)
Fun 50/50 Prize: John Thornton, KD9VZJ (Claimed)

Send a message to learn more

05/29/2024

www.w9mks.org

04/29/2024

STARVED ROCK COUNTRY MARATHON SATURDAY, 5-11-24
On 5-11-24 the Starved Rock Country Marathon will be held along the Illinois River, starting in Ottawa, IL. Very scenic course on Route 71.
https://runstarvedrockcountry.net/
Tentatively, they are looking for amateurs to be on site about 06:00 a.m. and the day will likely end before 15:00, but is advertised at 16:00 I believe. If you have any interest in this event, please reach out to me and I will put you in touch with the fellow that is organizing the amateurs (I don't want to post his contact information as I have not discussed that with him). I've worked this event since it's inception and it's a nice, low pressure event. Great for new amateurs and experienced ones as well. An HT would likely suffice, but to be sure a mobile setup would be good. In the past an effort has been made to put the higher power stations at the more remote stations, but there's never been much of a problem getting into the repeater. Most of the course can reach NC on simplex. So, for more info and details, please reach out to: [email protected] . Your information will be forwarded. Oh, almost forgot to mention, there are tons of restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, etc. Check out Ottawa, IL for more info on that.
https://runstarvedrockcountry.net/...

The Starved Rock Country region and Illinois Valley is a beautiful area with many opportunities for hiking, running, exploring historical sites, great dining, craft beer, and local wines.  Come share this place we call home and realize your running dreams.