W3HAC welcomes everyone in and around the Nation’s Capital, including people at all levels of amateur radio licensing and from every walk of life.
Founded in 2009 by five licensed area hams, the HacDC Amateur Radio Club (HARC) has all types of Hams — from builders and makers to operators who want to connect with people around the globe.
Our members have brought ham radio to rural Malawi, launched and tracked weather balloons, hosted members for frequent contests, supported field days and lighthouse weekends, and operated a UHF repeater covering most of the District of Columbia. And we do it in such a way that hams from all backgrounds can do it together. Our members come from many walks of life, ages, genders, and professions.
Today, we focus on serving District of Columbia hams and the D.C. community at large. We’re engaged with new hams, helping them be active operators in the District. We’re rebuilding the ARES emergency communications service in the District of Columbia to be a full partner with local officials and neighboring organizations. We’re also working to provide D.C. hams, most of whom live in buildings with antenna restrictions, the opportunity for remote and hands-on local operation.
W3HAC is co-located on the second floor of St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Yes, that St. Stephen’s — the church that was the center of the D.C. music scene in the 1980s and 1990s and has been an open congregation committed to social change for decades.
Remote Controlled H.F. Station
As part of our effort to help local hams who cannot mount their own antennas, W3HAC keeps a remote-controlled H.F. Station available for member use. The setup includes a Kenwood TS-590S, a Cushcraft A3S three-element yagi (20 15 10 meters), and a seven-element M2 6 meter Yagi, using software from www.remotehams.com.
If you’re interested, please email w3hac.hacdc@gmail.com for more details and to sign up.
HacDC
The HACDC ARC started as part of a local maker group founded in 2008. The ham club is now a separate entity.
HacDC hosts free and open activities to share knowledge, skills, and ideas. Amateur Radio has been alongside HacDC from the beginning, first as KB3TEA, then as W3HAC, starting in 2015. For more information about HacDC, check out https://www.hacdc.org/.