The AERO Club began many years ago mainly to experiment and operate on the VHF and UHF bands using surplus military equipment which became plentiful after WW2. The club had an old barracks building on Wilson Point Road used to house military personnel when the Martins Aircraft plant was in full production. Martins eventually took over the property leaving the club stranded as far as a regular meeting location.
Joe Donat, K3IVM (Now a silent key) was a science teacher at Kenwood High School in the 1970's and invited the AERO Club to install the 2 Metre and 70 CM repeaters there. Joe got permission for the club to meet in one of the classrooms which was very convenient for everyone. Our membership consisted of approximately 30 members and was growing. The club has extensive records of most meetings since the club started going back many years thanks to Joe Bozak, KA3VCO (Now a silent key) who was very meticulous in keeping accurate minutes during club meetings.
Now mostly because of not having a sponsor at the school along with stricter school security, we meet at a local restaurant ( Coffmans Snack Bar) in Middle River, Maryland. The repeaters are still located at the school and are used for Civil Defense drills since the system is always on battery backup.
The club is still very interested in VHF/UHF/Microwave activities but finding a suitable spot with good elevation is difficult. Recently we have been visiting a location in Elk Garden, West Virginia owned by one of the members and has a mean altitude of 2300 feet. Needless to say, any stations heard at that location are easily worked on all bands 6 through 1296 MHz. Mostly because of the distance to travel there (200 miles), many people hesitate to consume the required amount of gasoline.
Here are the sub pages with a few photos: 1981 VHF Contest at a location near Loch Raven Dam (more photos to follow) 2005 VHF Contests in January and September from FM09kj (Elk Garden, WV) 2006 VHF Contest in Elk Garden, WV
This interactive GOOGLE Satellite or Map view shows where the club has recently gone to conduct some VHF/UHF ARRL contests. This location is ideal since it is at 2300 feet elevation where stations can be worked easily from Michigan, Canada, North Carolina to Maryland using the 2 metre band. This location however is 200 miles from Essex, MD which prevents many members from traveling there especially with the high cost of petrol at his time. Setting up for the contests is easily done using some newly acquired crank-up military surplus masts. In fact, Bob WA3SWA and AL K3ROJ have setup antennas for 50, 144, 220, 432 and 1296 MHz in about an hour and even faster when breaking down. A truck is necessary when transporting the antennas and associated gear.
