The Los Alamos Amateur Radio Club has a rich and long history. The club was founded in 1947 right at the end of the Manhattan Project, and it became affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in 1948. It has been in existence ever since. The documents below show some of our club's events over the past 70 years.
Los Alamos Amateur Radio Club becomes affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) on May 3, 1948.
Civil Defense drill in Los Alamos in the late 1960s. The radio truck is an M725 Jeep (produced 1967-1969).
The pdf file above shows the LAARC member list as of April 1966. Most hams listed here have since become SK.
W5PDO club station in 2002. Richard Smale, W5IL (left) and Rod Whitaker, KA5MYE (right)
On February 25, 2022, Richard Smale shared the following historical fact with the club:
In looking through some old archives - I came across the election results from 1972 (50 Years Ago)
Nominated for President - Alan Hack, WA5VLX Nominated for Vice President - John Dean, WN5FDM Nominated for Sec-Treas - George Nickel, WB5BEF
Outgoing President - Richard Smale, WA5ROU Outgoing Vice-President - Alan Hack, WA5VLX Outgoing Sec-Treas - Robert Turner, WA5RPC
Nominated for Board of Directors
Murry Cantwell, W5NDW Richard Smale, WA5ROU Robert Turner, WA5RPC
Trustee
Robert Cowan K5QIN
There were no nominations from the floor and all candidates were elected by acclamation !!!
73's Richard, W5IL
On September 30, 1974, the club was instructed to vacate its location in the Atomic Energy Commission building east of the airport and move to the new location at the CD-1 fire station on Arkansas St. where the club still resides today. The letter by Robert Porton, Director Civil Defense at LASL, instructing the club to move to CD-1 is shown below. This letter also highlights LAARC's "...role in supporting the Civil Defense and Emergency Rescue activities of Los Alamos...", an important function the LAARC has continued to provide to Los Alamos to the present day.