About EVARC
The Estes Valley Amateur Radio Club serves the Estes Valley and nearby communities. Our mission is to promote the use of amateur radio as a hobby and contribute to the STEM education of the youth in our community. Through Amateur Radio Emergency Services, we provide radio communications to First Responders and the Red Cross during emergencies such as fires, floods, and severe weather. EVARC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. See our bylaws and articles of incorporation.
EVARC meets on the first Saturday of the month at 8:00 AM the Estes Park Memorial Observatory, 1600 Manford Avenue, Estes Park Co. The public is welcome, come and join us! The Observatory houses our club radio station and is used to provide radio technology training and hands-on activities for Estes Park Public Schools students. The club operates a UHF/VHF repeater on Pole Hill that serves the Estes Valley, with the ability to reach many other communities in northern Colorado. See our Standard Channel Assignments.
EVARC began working with the local high school in 2020 through a one-week School Club Roundup in the high school commons area. In 2021 we taught a one-week Technician license class for 8 post-5th graders, 2 teachers and 1 parent. In the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022, we held several mini-field-days with 6th grade middle school students. We showed them how to make proper calls using HT radios, both simplex and through a repeater. EVARC purchased several radios and a satellite tracking antenna for an ARISS project in 2021. Fifth grade students were able to talk to an astronaut on the ISS using our radio equipment. This equipment remains in the Observatory radio room for use by students and EVARC hams.
In the fall of 2022, we began a series of weekly sessions for 6-grade students on the HF radio in our club’s station. We discovered that a group of students loved to get on the radio and make contacts. Some of them had pileups and learned how to handle them. Students began asking how they could get their own license. This led to the idea of teaching another class. The middle school principal and science teacher agreed to allow several students to use amateur radio for their science elective in the spring 2023 semester. The school understood that this is part of STEM education. We had 6 students during the school day and 5 after school.