From the Amateur Radio and DX Reference Guide...




San Diego, California.- On February 7th. 2001, the Palomar Amateur Radio Club (PARC) will celebrate it’s 65th. Birthday!




Founded on February 13th. 1936, PARC is in possession of a “Charter Of Affiliation” to the ARRL signed by then ARRL President E. C. Woodruff who recognized that PARC had “Declared its sympathy with and allegiance to the aims and policies of the League…”.





Club records indicate that while the “founding” took place in February 1936, founding members had been meeting in homes in the cities of Escondido, Oceanside, and along the Southern California coast before the club was incorporated.





PARC was founded by 27 amateurs, and has grown to a membership of some 560 in today’s count. Of significant importance to PARC is the pleasure of recognizing that Jack Cornell (W6MMO), one of the Club’s original founders is still an active ham and Club member for all 65 years of the Club’s existence! The Club is also honored to count amongst active members a YL who is over 100 years old!





PARC enjoys many of the traditions common to all Ham Radio clubs. But by it’s history, club membership size, and it’s presence in San Diego County, considers itself special in many ways.





The Club operates repeaters from it’s own site on Palomar Mountain at an elevation of 5,600 ft., adjacent to the world famous Mt. Palomar observatory. The club’s 10 repeaters at the site cover well over 10,000 square miles of Southern California, and Mexico’s Baja California, with coverage extending 100+ miles into the Pacific Ocean. From the site, the Club – under the call W6NWG – operates repeaters in the 2 and 6 meter, and 70 cm bands, with modes in FM, TV, and a host of modulation capabilities (FM, SSB, TV, Packet, etc.). In addition, several other organizations are hosted by PARC at the repeater site, extending the site’s band coverage into the 220 MHz band.





The Club’s repeaters run a variety of amateur radio, and emergency service nets. The repeaters host twelve+ nets during the week, dedicated to ham radio, hiking, boating, traffic handling, ARES, RACES, microwave amateur radio, field day planning, etc.





As with any other club, PARC provides innumerable community services to the San Diego County area, with club members participating in communications services for all sort of outdoor activities for which San Diego is world renown. Likewise, the repeaters serve the varied emergency services normally active in any busy metropolitan area, serving as a link for many community needs. Speaking of Field Day, the Club is proud of winning the San Diego Amateur Radio Club association field day trophy, recognizing the Ham Radio club achieving the highest FD score in San Diego county, for the last 11 consecutive years, having achieved 10th. place nationwide in FD 2000, and 2nd. place in the nationwide 5A category.





PARC will mark the celebration with a “birthday bash” at it’s February monthly meeting, held the first Wednesday of the month in the city of Carlsbad Safety Center. Talk in on 146.730 MHz.