Welcome To The Richardson Wireless Klub

We promote Amateur (Ham) Radio to the public in Richardson TX and the surrounding North Texas area as a useful, life-long hobby. We also serve the Richardson TX community by providing self-supporting special event, severe weather and emergency communication networks and capabilities.

Our club is comprised of over 350 amateur radio operators in Richardson, North Dallas, the surrounding communities, around Texas and even out of state, with a wide range of radio and technology skills and interests. We provide our members with many opportunities to increase knowledge and enjoyment of amateur radio through fun, fellowship and unique learning experiences. Our members include hams ranging from teenagers to radio pioneers in their 80s! The Richardson Wireless Klub has been an ARRL affiliated club since 1957 and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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  May 3 RWK Balloon Launch Status Update – Launch Postponed
  by Chip Coker KD4C
  April 29, 2025
  By Chip Coker KD4C Thursday Update: The decision has been made to postpone the balloon launch to Saturday 5/31. The driving factors of this decision are the excess amount of rain we have received in the past few days (very saturated ground here in NTX), the winds aloft pushing the predicted flight path pretty far east making the chase somewhat difficult, and the lakes/trees in the expected landing area. The only thing working in our favor was the weather this weekend. Weds Update: The predictions have taken a bit of a turn now that the storm system from earlier has…
  Read more

Latest RWK General Meeting Announcement & Recording

• General Meeting – May 2025 – Double Inverted Delta All-Band HF Vertical

  Please join RWK on Monday May 12th for our General Meeting. 

  It’s antenna month (the few weeks a year that we all have to check and put up HF antennas, before the sweltering heat of the Texas summer sets in), so we thought we would show you an alternative to the traditional backyard dipole and end-fed half wave antennas. Something that might be suitable for people with small backyards or that might be concerned about nosy HOA police. Our old friend John Portune W6NBC has an inverted delta loop that fits the bill. To hear him tell it: “A small footprint wire vertical that will compete with a small beam on a tower, but it far less visible to the neighbors. It has low angle radiation, BUT is horizontally polarized for lower noise than other verticals. And also unlike other verticals, it has horizontal gain.” How does it work and how do you build it? Well I guess you’ll just have to show up to find out!

  [recording coming soon]

  Presentation Slides

• General Meeting – April 2025 – RWK Spring HA Balloon Launch & Solar Power for Your Shack

  Our April Meeting will have two short topics instead of one big program.  Hopefully most of you know that RWK is doing another High-Altitude Balloon Launch sometime soon (hopefully May 3^rd), similar to our successful launch and recovery from last fall. So we will give an overview of what we are planning for that launch and how you can participate, either at the launch or by working the various payloads (and earning the soon-to-be-prestigious “worked all payloads” award).

  After that, I will be giving a short “work-in-progress” on a project to run my shack radios totally off of solar/battery power.  Until I get a decent hail storm and can replace my roof, whole-house solar is out for me, so this is the best that I have come up with. It might be something that you want to consider as well.

  [Recording coming soon]

For all previous RWK Meetings, see the General Meetings page.

Check out the Presentation Archives. There are tons of presentations from Klub meetings over the years. Scan through them and you will be sure to find something interesting.

RWK Newsletter – The Chawed Rag

The RWK publishes a monthly on-line newsletter, “The Chawed Rag“, for members and others interested in the Klub’s activities.

• 
  The Chawed Rag – April 2024
  by Chip Coker KD4C
  April 30, 2024
  Here’s The Chawed Rag for April 2024. We’ve got a huge solar storm, what’s to become of MFJ, more on the hackable Quansheng UV-K5(8) HT, RWK Newest Hangout, Tracking the Skies Overhead, an update from W5RLP, the usual upcoming events and news and so much more. Hope you enjoy! – KD4C
• 
  The Chawed Rag – March 2024
  by Chip Coker KD4C
  March 28, 2024
  Here’s The Chawed Rag for March 2024. We’ve got a potential Baofeng killer, FCC changes, upcoming hamfests, rebuilding the K5UTD antennas, spring antenna maintenance, the usual upcoming events and news and so much more. Hope you enjoy! – KD4C

Previous Chawed Rags can always be found here.