- Winterfest Banquet a Huge Success –

The Amateur Radio Caravan Club celebrated the winter holidays by hosting its annual Winterfest Banquet at the Olive Garden restaurant in NE Albuquerque on Saturday, January 10, 2026. We had 24 members and guests attending to share fellowship and delicious food. Our sincere thanks to the Club’s special events director Gayle Doty KJ5AUJ for arranging this popular special event.

- Free Amateur Extra Class on Zoom -

New!!! A free, weekly, live, Amateur Radio Extra Class Licensing course on Zoom will begin on Thursday, January 15, 2026, and will run through Thursday, March 26.  There will be 11 sessions.  The three-hour sessions will start at 4:30 PM Mountain Time and will also be recorded.  These are the classes that we have been holding for years sponsored by the Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum. Those wishing to sign up should email roland.anders@comcast.net.

Note:  Attendees should hold (or be studying for) the General Class Amateur Radio License.

- Winter Tailgate Swapfest –

The 146.580 Simplex Group has announced that it will be hosting their 30th Annual Winter Tailgate Swapfest on Saturday, January 24, 2026 (sunrise to about 11 AM). It will be held in the north parking lot of the Stoneface Tavern, 8201 San Pedro Dr NE.  Location is just north of Paseo Del Norte on San Pedro at Carmel Ave.  Please note that this is an outdoor event so dress warmly. No indoor facilities are available but there will be a porta-potty onsite. As always, there is no admission charge and no vendor space fee.  Hope to see you there!  Click Here for flyer.

- New Technician Class Question Pool Released –

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) Question Pool Committee (QPC) released the revised 2026-2030 Technician Class (Element 2) question pool. It will be required for all exam sessions beginning July 1, 2026. The new pool includes 409 questions (27 new, 30 removed, and about 155 modified), compared to 412 in the prior pool. The pool also includes three diagrams used for some of the questions.  You can view all question pools on the NCVEC website.

Getting Started in Ham Radio - A page has been added to the Become a Ham tab titled Getting Started in Ham Radio.  Thanks to Pete Stine for this write up to help those interested in becoming a licensed Amateur Radio Operator.

Please sign our log, explore our site, and consider joining our growing club. 73

Website Committee:  Pete KE5WTM; Larry K5LRY, Mark W5MHG Site Last Updated:  January 10, 2026. Copyright © 2026, Caravan Radio Club.  All rights reserved.