The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club (NVARC) was formed in Groton, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1992 and has grown from the original 13 founders to over 60 members. While our membership is centered in the towns of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusetts, our membership includes residents from many communities in north central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.
The purpose of NVARC is to facilitate the exchange of information and general cooperation relating to Amateur Radio and to conduct club programs and activities to advance the interest and welfare of Amateur Radio in the general community. For more information on public service events utilizing Amateur Radio in which NVARC participates, please visit the Public Service Events page. The FoxFinder, described in April 2001 QST, is a project of several NVARC members. The Nashoba Valley Amateur Radio Club also sponsors the Worked All Massachusetts Counties Award.
We have participated in the ARISS program by providing communications for the Hawthorne Brook Middle School to talk to the International Space Station November of 2005. The club organizes radio support for several public service events in our local area. We regularly participate in Field Day; see photos from Field Day 2006. In 2009 we created a new activity to challenge members; the NVARC Lantern Battery Challenge©.
NVARC is a Special Service Club of the ARRL, the US national association for Amateur Radio. Special Service Clubs are actively involved in new Ham development and training, public relations, emergency communications, technical advancement, and operating activities. One of our non-radio activities is the 2 mile stretch of route 119 in Groton and Pepperell along which we pick up trash monthly as part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Adopt-A-Highway program. A sign at the east end of our section provides constant publicity.