About Furness Amateur Radio Society
Furness Amateur Radio Society (FARS) began in its present form in the early 1970s but has links going back to the original club formed in 1913 which we understand was the fifth such club to form in the UK.
Our current Club QTH is at Gleaston Watermill
Where is Furness?
We have a reputation as a friendly club and whilst most members live locally, we also have some resident in London, the Isle of Man, Blackburn, Leicestershire, Leeds and Wisconsin in the USA.
Members have use of a Yahoo reflector to exchange comment and receive news on a closed group. We also have weekly nets on 2m and 80m.
Our proximity to the Lake District national park and its hills means most in the club have an interest in the Summits On The Air (SOTA) activity. We have many activators and more chasers of SOTA and have even managed a couple of group outings to the nearest SOTA hill, LD-049 or Kirkby Moor.
Barrow-in-Furness is the nearest town and is the premier naval shipbuilding yard in the country and when 100 years of submarine building were celebrated in 2001, FARS put on a special event station using the callsign GB100SUB.
Furness ARS take part in the monthly 80m Club contests in all modes, CW, SSB and data. We are currently in 9th position behind some large and some high scoring contest groups.
We have operated a number of years various Scout stations, taking part in both Jamboree On The Air but also several local events in conjunction with local Furness Scouts. These operations led several youngsters into the hobby and taking the Foundation exam or higher.
