U.R.A.C. est.1927

After struggling for years to make more than five satellite contacts on Field Day, I was finally rewarded this year with the highest number of satellite contacts I've ever made.

What was different this year that was lacking in years past?

I, W6ADC, had the pleasure of managing the club GOTA station this year. Different from years past, we setup the station below the Angels Gate Cultural Arts campus on the grounds of Old Fort MacArthur. We have a pretty decent turnout of public visitors as well as a number of inactive licensed operators, many friendly faces, and a few four legged ones as well. Two boys, Justin KI6FTP (12) and Issac KI6FXM (10) stole the show with well over 50 QSOs. Check out the video below of "the boys" working 10 meters in the last hour of the contest!

Dim lights

These boys rocked the airwaves scoring several bonus points for the club! I think we found a couple of new URAC members and definitely inspired their continued interest in the hobby. One of my favorite memories is of these boys coming up with creative phonetic spellings for my call sign used for the GOTA station this year. I think the best one was "Whisky - Six - America - Dinosaur - Cappuccino". Too much fun!

The United Radio Amateur club was formed back in 1927, and has served the South Bay area of Los Angeles for over 80 years.

During the 1970s, U.R.A.C. gained worldwide recognition when it spearheaded the fabrication of kits with printed circuit boards for an extensive line of projects. These were given away at hamfests and ARRL conventions. We manufactured 500 kits for the IARU 20-meter transmitters and receivers. These were provided to the ARRL to promote amateur radio in third-world countries.

In 1987, the Los Angeles Maritime Museum (LAMM) invited U.R.A.C. to become one of its permanent volunteer groups to educate visitors on radio communication. Thus began a relationship that has provided a permanent meeting place and our K6AA operating station where we've made contacts and established long-lasting friendships with people from all over the world.

K6AA is located on the 2nd floor of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum and the museum is situated on the main channel of Los Angeles Harbor in what was once a ferry building for the City of San Pedro. The club's antennas sprout from behind a clock tower 21 meters above salt water. Volunteer club members man the station Tuesday through Sunday, demonstrating communications to everyone -- from classes of local school children to museum visitors from all over the globe.

Our members promote the amateur radio service by participating in World Port weekend and by lending a hand wherever our skills are needed.

On the American Radio Relay League's Field Day you can find us at our primary field operation site. That site is at Angels Gate Park located directly above the Point Fermin Lighthouse (adjacent to the Korean Bell monument.) This former Fort MacArthur reservation overlooks the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors and the Pacific Ocean.

Of historical note, U.R.A.C. placed 1st in the nation in the first and second Field Day events in 1933 and 1934. From our field operation site we can see the Angels Gate Lighthouse and the Point Fermin Lighthouse. We also operate a special event station here during lighthouse events. This location provides a great communications control point for various public service events that we routinely support.

U.R.A.C. belongs to the 10-10 International, and many 10-10 Net members welcome collecting our #99.