Greetings! A quiz question for you: The second day of the second month is called . . .

Groundhog Day!

So what’s the day *after* Groundhog Day?

It’s Groundhog Day! Duh! Didn’t you see the Bill Murray movie?

OK, so it’s Tuesday, February 3rd, the first Tuesday of the new month. That means it’s time for the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Decatur Amateur Radio Club. The meeting will be held at 6:30pm at the Aquadome facility in southwest Decatur. The address is 1202 5th Avenue SW, Decatur, AL 35601. It’s at the corner of 5th Avenue SW and 8th Street SW. It shows up on Google Maps, so most of us can navigate our way there. If not, someone should be available on the 147.00 repeater to offer directions. Park in the front parking lot and enter the main door on the 5th Avenue side. Look for other vehicles with callsign license tags or multiple antennas sprouting from the top and sides. And please come early so you can find where we’re hiding.

We have moved out of the Morgan County Courthouse for a while because it is undergoing renovations and will not be available to us for club meetings for a few months (presumably). So we have had to make other arrangements for a meeting location.

We are scheduled to have a presentation from Vice-President Chris Robson KB3A about Parks On The Air (POTA). We may also be discussing the Winter Field Day event that got partially frozen out on January 24th and 25th.

The club meeting may be streamed on Microsoft Teams. We’re trying to make arrangements for an online meeting.

Another new year’s thing: it’s time to pay your dues for 2026 and beyond. Dues are $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 to spread the word to fellow hams or those who are wanting to take a test for a new or upgraded license that the Decatur club is still giving 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. February 7th 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, February 3rd, 2026, at the AQUADOME in Decatur at 6:30! Be there, and be on time!