The First Amendment Radio Transmitting Society is a group
of amateur radio operators in the Baltimore area who have
similar interests. We are an un-official radio club whose
members really see no need to set up an official
organization. Even though we don’t have club dues, or
operate our meetings using Robert’s Rules of Order, we get
just as much accomplished as many large ham radio clubs. We
have no dues, no treasury, no officers, no volunteer
problems and no arguments. We participate in yearly Field
Day activities as a group and our primary goal is (and not
just on Field Day) fun and camaraderie. Our little
organization is about 35 members strong (sorry, there’s no
official roster) and has existed since late 1993.
The History of F.A.R.T.S.
(No...it’s not a Mel Brooks movie)
Our membership comes from many different backgrounds.
Some from other amateur communities and a number from CB
radio of the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s.
"The hams are revolting, the hams are revolting!"
Well, they certainly are. But we are here to tell the
story of how our club evolved.
Once upon a time there were two major clubs in the
Baltimore area who called 220MHz their "home band". One was
called SARA (Summit Amateur Radio Association) and the other
was a leftover crew from something called C-NEC (The Carroll
County Novice Enhancement Consortium). These two groups
would trash each other regularly, usually based on key
figures in both groups. Basically, most members of both
groups grew tired of the aggravation. In the meantime, a new
club came onto the scene. The Moose Amateur Radio Club. This
new club was rapidly sucking-up members from the other two,
but being affiliated with the Moose was not exactly the best
thing for its’ image. In 1993 all three groups had a major
defection of people to our little organization, F.A.R.T.S.
No longer would we have to argue over senseless things, how
the treasury money was going to be spent, how the repeater
should be run or argue with each other. There are just too
many details of this story pertaining to each of the three
clubs to tell you here. The bottom line is that F.A.R.T.S.
has been together ever since, argument-free.
Here’s an experiment for you:
Try putting 35 or so good-hearted people with a common
goal in the same room and watch what happens.
The result is what we have...
