Whether you are just exploring ham radio, or a seasoned veteran looking to connect with more like-minded hams, the Fox River Radio League may well be a great resource for you. We are all students of the radio art.

We are a band of Hams who meet in Aurora, Illinois for the purpose of furthering our knowledge, enjoying fellowship, and having fun with the hobby. At last count, we are 175 members strong. There is nothing in common about our jobs, our education, or our ages. What we do have in common is the love and dedication for the hobby.

If you are new to the hobby, amateur radio is about processing all sorts of wireless communications for many purposes. The fact that it is amateur means that no monetary gain is achieved by the “Ham.” Hams have some degree of technical ability and intent as described in the radio laws covered by the FCC.  Amateur communication includes such facets as wireless experimenting, development of the state of the art, assistance for emergency and other public service communication, and other goodwill radio communication. Hams need an FCC license to practice the hobby (to get on the air!). The frequencies, modes, and certain general aspects of amateur communication are carefully defined. FCC licenses are earned by passing a written test to demonstrate a level of knowledge and capability.

Besides volunteer emergency and public service, hams can also elect to get involved with education, satellite communication, radio sport (on the air contesting), DXing (contacting faraway places via radio), and casual chatting (rag chewing). Besides on the air activities, some Hams may buy or design and build radios and antennas, modify them, or construct radio equipment from kits. For many, there is a certain thrill to utilize very low radio power and a simple radio antenna to communicate with another Ham on the other side of the world. And there is a satisfaction of bouncing your radio signal off the moon to communicate.

So if you would like to see who we are and what we do, you are invited to our meeting at St. Rita of Cascia Church, 750 West Old Indian Trail, Aurora, Illinois on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM.

If you have any questions, you can also ask me, Harry Jones, K9DXA at President@FRRL.org. I’ll see you later!