Welcome to the Santa Clara Valley Section Website! Keeping you up to date and informed on the latest information available for the Santa Clara Valley Section.

2017 ARRL Field Day is June 24-25

Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. “What Is Field Day” PDF We welcome the public to come learn more about ham radio! Use our Field Day Locator to search for a Field Day site near you.

CA Hands Free Law – Update

This is shared from our San Francisco Section Manager, Bill Hillendahl – KH6GJV. We have been fielding a number of inquires on if Amateur Radio (2-way radio) is exempt from the updated “hands-free” law that went into effect on January 1st of this year. The language of the legislation is “all inclusive” and tends to, by default, wrap 2-way radio use into the prohibition. Amateur licensees in the Pacific and South West Divisions of ARRL have been working on this issue. The original bill’s sponsor has been contacted a number of times. The CHP command has also been contacted. As a result, the CHP has issued a memo to its officers advising that “a radio installed and mounted in a vehicle with a wired hand microphone is not considered a wireless...