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The McKinney Amateur Radio Club (MARC) has been operating for over 50 years, and is an ARRL affiliated Special Service Club with roughly 150 active members.  In 2018 MARC celebrated our 50th anniversary of affiliation with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).  Our documentation indicates that the MARC/ARRL affiliation began on February 14, 1968, but the affiliation may have actually begun much earlier. 

MARC is dedicated to serving the greater McKinney, Texas and Collin County amateur radio community by operating several voice and APRS repeaters, providing amateur radio license classes, FCC Volunteer Examiner ham radio testing sessions, communication services for public events, and monthly technical training sessions. MARC’s main operating activity is the annual national Field Day event, where amateur operators set up field stations using emergency power, to test their emergency preparedness. The club operates a weekly information net on Sunday at 8:00 PM local time on the 146.740 FM repeater (tone 110.9).  

In addition to our regular meeting on the second Tuesday night of each month, MARC meets for breakfast each Saturday morning at Dennys, 75 and 380 in McKinney from 7:30 to 9:00. Everyone is welcome. Dennys is located at 1615 N Central Expressway on the Southwest corner of 75 and 380. 

For more information about meetings, activities and general information, please check out the About MARC tab at the top of the page.

Time to Get Ready for Field Day!

2023 Field Day will be held June 24 – 25. It is ham radio’s open house. Every June, hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to communities and the nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Some participants may also choose to operate from home, using the exercise to develop and practice their personal radio communications capability.

Field Day has been an annual event since 1933 and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

In 2022, 4,929 entries were submitted (including check logs), and there was a total of 29,679 reported participants.

Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit and may submit entries as check logs.

The main focus of Field Day is to work as many stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15-, and 10-meter HF bands, all bands on 50 MHz and above, and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less-than-optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness and acquaint the general public with the capabilities of amateur radio.

For more information, check out  arrl.org/field-day for the official rules.

Join MARC on June 13, 7pm, Spring Creek BBQ for full details on the Club’s Field Day Plans for 2023!