Greetings! It’s amazing that this year has almost disappeared this quickly. It’s December already! That means that Christmas is soon to arrive with all of the lights, decorations, wrapping paper, gifts, family gatherings, and parties.
Mmmm, gatherings and parties. That usually means FOOD. I’m good with that.
And speaking of food, there’s plenty on the menu for the December meeting of the Decatur Amateur Radio Club. We’re heading up Priceville Mountain for our annual Christmas Dinner Meeting at Libby’s Catfish and Diner on Highway 67 in Priceville. We are assembling at 6:00pm on Tuesday, December 2nd, so that we can order our wonderful meals, have a lot of great talk with other hams about the year and radio matters in general, and speculate on what the coming year will bring. Come up the hill and meet with us.
If you’ve never been there, take the Beltline (Highway 67) out of Decatur towards I-65. Keep going east past the Interstate and head up the hill towards the large white cross. Libby’s is just past the cross on the right side of the highway. Someone will likely be on the 147.00 repeater if you get misplaced and need to be pointed in the right direction.
Don’t show up in the regular meeting place in the basement auditorium of the Morgan County Courthouse, The building is will be secured, but some of the cleaning staff may enjoy talking with someone new while they are on break outside the building. And the fine officers from the police department next door or the deputies from the jail across the street may also enjoy talking to you in a more confined area.
The club meeting will obviously not be streamed on Microsoft Teams. But you can log into the meeting on your computer or phone and try to participate anyway!
It’s not too early to pay your dues for 2026 and beyond. If you pay in December you’ll get a month for FREE. That’s 13 months for the price of 12. Don’t you want a bargain? Free stuff?? Well, dues are only $20.00 per year, and additional family members are $5.00 each. See a club officer at the meeting or mail it to DARC, PO Box 9, Decatur, AL 35602-0009.
Please continue spreading the word to fellow hams or those wanting a new or upgraded license that the Decatur club is still giving amateur radio license tests every month on the first Saturday of each month. The testing sessions will be held in the Decatur Public Library on 6th Avenue NE (Highway 31) at 1:00. Please bring ID (especially your FRN, which is required on the license application) and your $15 fee. And, most importantly, PLEASE send an email to DecaturHamTest@w4atd.org so we can have the testing materials prepared and available for you. December 6th is our next scheduled testing date. PLEASE NOTE: WE ALWAYS NEED VOLUNTEER EXAMINERS TO HELP WITH THE TESTING PROGRAM! If you want to help in some way (an Extra class license is normally required), please let us know! And if you send an email and do not get a timely response, please let the Secretary know.
Check out the roster of current club members online at www.HamClubOnline.com. Set up your free account and if you have paid your dues (and the Secretary has updated the database) you should see that you’re associated with the DARC. If there’s an issue, let us know.
See you on Tuesday evening, December 2nd, 2025, at 6:00 at Libby’s Catfish and Diner in Priceville! Be there, be on time, and be hungry!
And we hope that all of you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas season!
