The Portable Operating Group

Who We Are

The Portable Operating Group is a Special Interest Group of the Raleigh Amateur Radio Society.

Created on February 15, 2022, for the purposes of demonstrating amateur radio in public and preparing radio amateurs to operate beyond the conveniences of their home stations, our goals include

• Practicing the rapid deployment, assessment, and troubleshooting of equipment in the field
• Providing opportunities for Technician and General class license holders to operate on HF bands in order to gain experience with General and Extra class license exam topics
• Providing operating opportunities to hams without a home station
• Practicing for handling pile-ups by activating POTA entities
• Introducing the public to the amateur radio hobby in a positive way

What We Do

To fulfill our goals, the Portable Operating Group ventures into the field each month (more or less) with portable amateur radio equipment to operate for a few hours in public places. Often our activities will include activating a Parks on the Air (POTA) entity.

We supply all the equipment needed to get on the air - radios, antennas, cables, and power sources. Participants are also welcome to bring their own portable stations to demonstrate to other attendees, if they would like.

Our events are open to everyone. You do not need to be a member of RARS or any other club to attend. In fact, you don't even need to be a licensed amateur radio operator! Our events are ideal for newly licensed hams and for people who just want to find out what amateur radio is. We have experienced operators who will help you if you want to "Get on the Air."

Although we try to get out at least once a month, we don't operate on a fixed schedule. You will find a partial list of events below. We also announce events on the RARS homepage, on Brantley West's QRZed page, and on various email reflectors for local amateur radio operators.

Since we often operate in large parks or other public spaces, we typically provide a "talk-in" on 146.52 MHz (the national two-meter simplex calling frequency) or the RARS W4DW 146.64 MHz repeater (-0.6 MHz offset, no tone) to help guide you to our actual location.

When and Where We Do It

Upcoming events will be announced on the RARS homepage. For more information, please contact Brantley West.

Past Events (So You Can See the Kinds of Things We Do!)

When	What	Where
May 24, 2025 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM	Parks on the Air activation	The bridle trailheads at the Raven Rock State Park
March 23, 2025 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM	Mock public service event, Parks on the Air activation	Umstead State Park Crabtree/US-70 Entrance
February 22, 2025 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM	Parks on the Air (POTA) and South Carolina QSO Party	Eno River State Park, Fews Ford Access
January 1, 2025 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Parks on the Air New Year's Week	Falls Lake State Recreation Area
November 16, 2024 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Parks on the Air Activation	Carver Creek State Park
October 19, 2024 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Parks on the Air "Support Your Parks" Weekend	Jordan Lake State Education Forest
September 8, 2024 1:00 - 4:00 PM	North Carolina Parks on the Air (NCPOTA)	Umstead State Park Crabtree/US-70 Entrance
July 27, 2024 9:00 - 11:00 AM	Parks on the Air Activation	Raven Rock State Park
June 22–23, 2024	Get on the Air at RARS ARRL Field Day	Raleigh Police Club, Knightdale
May 11, 2024 9:00 AM – Noon	Linked Dipole Build	Anderson Point Park, Raleigh
March 30, 2024 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Parks on the Air Activation	Clemmons Educational State Forest
February 4, 2024 11:00 AM	Radio orienteering with the Backwoods Orienteering Klub	Eno River State Park, Fews Ford Access
January 20, 2024 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM	POTA Support Your Parks Weekend	Falls Lake Beaver Dam Day Use Area
October 28, 2023 3:00 -5:00 PM	POTA Activation	Jordan Lake Seaforth Day-Use Area Shelter #9
September 9, 2023 3:00-5:00 PM	NC POTA Party	Clemmons Educational State Forest
August 12, 2023 11:30 AM-1:30 PM	Satellite Demo	Lake Crabtree County Park
July 15, 2023 3:00-5:00 PM	POTA Support Your Parks weekend + Get on the Air!	Umstead State Park, Reedy Creek/I-40 Entrance
June 24–25, 2023	Get on the Air at RARS ARRL Field Day	Raleigh Police Club, Knightdale
May 21, 2023 Noon	Amateur Radio Direction Finding with the Backwoods Orienteering Klub	Eno River State Park, 6101 Cole Mill Road, Durham, NC
April 8, 2023	RARSfest Get On the Air (GOTA) Station	NC State Fairgrounds, Jim Graham Building
March 18, 2023 2:00 PM	POTA and QRP CW vs. 100W SSB showdown with the Knightlites	Jordan Lake State Education Forest
March 4, 2023	AB4OZ Hamfest	Behind the Golden Corral at 3551 Grenelle Street, Raleigh, NC 27603
February 25, 2023 3:00 PM	Mock public service event, APRS demo	Umstead State Park, US-70 entrance
January 28, 2023 3:00 PM	Winter Field Day and HF Demo	Crowder Park, Apex