Las Vegas Ham Radio

10/31/2026

10/31/2026

🎃 A 1,000-YEAR STORM. 5,500 FAMILIES. 130+ RADIO CONTACTS. ONE UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT! 📻

Not even a historic Las Vegas rainstorm could keep amateur radio operators off the air!

On Friday, October 30, 2026, the Sin City Repeater Group, Inc. (W7RPT) joined forces with the Mabuhay DX Club of Nevada (NA7LV) for an extraordinary evening of community service at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Las Vegas.

Just hours before the festivities, Southern Nevada was battered by severe thunderstorms and flash flooding. Local meteorologists characterized the extraordinary rainfall as a 1,000-year storm, with some areas reportedly receiving approximately 3.2 inches of rain in less than three hours. That's roughly 80% of the Las Vegas Valley's average annual rainfall!

For a while, it looked like Mother Nature might have other plans for our evening.

But the skies cleared, the volunteers showed up, and so did the community!

Church officials estimate that nearly 5,500 families attended between 6:30 and 8:30 PM, creating an incredible opportunity to bring amateur radio into one of Las Vegas' largest community Halloween celebrations.

Operating under the W1AW/7 call sign for the ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio's "Year of the Club" initiative, our ham radio volunteers took to the airwaves using both SSB and FT8, completing more than 130 contacts in just a couple of hours!

The evening was about much more than making contacts. It was an opportunity to introduce amateur radio to the public, strengthen relationships between local organizations, and demonstrate the community service commitment that earned Sin City Repeater Group, Inc. its designation as an ARRL Special Service Club.

Dr. William P. Freeman, N4NJJ, Founding President of Sin City Repeater Group, Inc., reflected on the evening:

"After the amount of rain Las Vegas received yesterday, I wasn't sure we'd have an event to attend, let alone thousands of families showing up! But that's exactly what happened. We had a great time operating W1AW/7 alongside our friends at NA7LV, making contacts, handing out candy, and sharing amateur radio with the community. We can build repeaters and make contacts all day long, but getting out into the community and introducing people to what we do is just as important. That's the kind of club we're working to build."

This event was also a tremendous example of what amateur radio organizations can accomplish when they collaborate. Volunteers from W7RPT and NA7LV contributed their equipment, technical expertise, operating experience, and plenty of Halloween candy to make the evening a success.

Our sincere thanks to St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church for hosting this outstanding community celebration and to every volunteer who helped make our participation possible.

The storm may have been historic, but the community spirit was even more remarkable.

ARRL - Nevada Section ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio

10/31/2026

Club member Gregg K6EGG featured our W1AW/7 activation on his livestream last night at the 1:17:07 mark. Even from just under 250 miles away, Gregg supported our event by using his large social media platform to show hams doing what hams do—talking on the radio (yes, Adam, he picks up the microphone at 1:20:17!). If you haven't already, please like this video and subscribe to his YouTube channel. Thanks, Gregg, for the shout-out last night on YouTube, and thanks to those who made contact with us on 7.178 MHz for the W1AW/7 ARRL - Nevada Section Year of the Club.

Ham radio live stream 10/30/26 Icom IC-9700 and IC-7610 amateur rad...

10/31/2026

What’s up with the Sin City Repeater Group, rain, and our activities? Seriously. Rain. Every damn time. We’re a desert club.

‼️ 1000 Year Rainfall - Las Vegas 🌵
Desert Streets are flooding in
Normal yearly rain is 4 inches - they got most of that in 3 hours!!
A strong El Niño Subtropical jet stream is once again dumping torrential rain on the Desert. More than 3” in 3 hours near Henderson - that’s a lot for the desert… ground that can’t handle high rain rates. The rain runs off and floods everything in its path. It’s going to be a dangerous weekend in the SW including as several inches of rain are likely! It’s just the beginning of a record wet winter!
A 1000 year rain event does not mean it happens only once every 1000 years, it means in any given year the chance of that much rain in that time period is 1-in-1000.

10/31/2026

Two Las Vegas Ham Radio clubs partnered up to serve their community. The Sin City Repeater Group, Inc. and the Mabuhay DX Club of Nevada NA7LV operated W1AW/7 for the ARRL Year of the Club.

10/31/2026

Founding President Bill N4NJJ running SSB on 7.178 MHz.

10/31/2026

W7IVK running a pile up.

10/30/2026

Want information on how you can support W1AW/7? Information on how to sign up? Visit our website.

/* HERO */

10/30/2026

Tonight’s activation also represents something significant for Amateur Radio in Southern Nevada.

Sin City Repeater Group, Inc. W7RPT and NA7LV Mabuhay DX Nevada are partnering to support the ARRL Nevada Section’s W1AW/7 Year of the Club effort. Together, they are the only Southern Nevada clubs, other than the Las Vegas Radio Amateur Club K7UGE, contributing to this statewide W1AW/7 operating project.

For Sin City Repeater Group, this activation reflects a broader commitment to strengthening Amateur Radio through action. As the region's only ARRL Special Service Club and ARRL Contest Club, Sin City Repeater Group continues to combine serious operating, technical experimentation, community service, public outreach, and partnerships with other Amateur Radio organizations.

Tonight brings all of those pieces together. W1AW/7 will be on the air while W7RPT and NA7LV introduce families to Amateur Radio, demonstrate its technical and public-service capabilities, and build connections across the Southern Nevada ham radio community.

That is what Year of the Club should look like: clubs operating together, serving together, and creating opportunities that are bigger than any one organization. This is the heart and spirit of not only the Sin City Repeater Group, but the Mabuhay DX Club of Nevada.

10/26/2026

FIVE OPERATORS. SIX CONTINENTS. ONE LAS VEGAS HAM RADIO CLUB THAT GETS ON THE AIR!

The 2026 CQ World Wide DX SSB Contest is officially in the books, and the most radioactive Las Vegas Ham Radio club - the Sin City Repeater Group, Inc. W7RPT has plenty to celebrate!

Five of our members took to the HF bands this weekend, operating from their own stations and competing alongside amateur radio operators from around the world. Together, they logged 177 contacts across 38 DXCC entities and six continents, producing a combined preliminary contest score of 19,722 points!

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

Chris KI7VLP entered his FIRST EVER amateur radio contest! As a Technician-class license holder, Chris exercised his operating privileges on 10 meters, making 15 contacts with stations across North America, the Caribbean, and South America. No General or Extra Class license required! Chris is living proof that you don't need to wait for your next license upgrade to start experiencing the excitement of worldwide HF communications.

Jason WV3V claimed our longest-distance contact, reaching BA7NO in China, approximately 7,264 miles from Las Vegas! Jason logged 40 contacts, demonstrating just how far a radio signal can travel when conditions cooperate.

Jim K7JSX turned in an impressive 51 contacts, earning the second-highest preliminary score among our participating members with 6,327 points. Jim operated portable, proving that getting serious about contesting doesn't necessarily mean staying home!

Mike KC8OWL represented the club from Arizona, putting 15 contacts in the log while concentrating exclusively on 20 meters. Amateur radio friendships and club participation don't stop at state lines!

Bill N4NJJ rounded out the group's participation with 56 contacts across four HF bands, helping push the club's combined results even higher.

Across the five stations, our members reached Japan, China, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, Cape Verde, Portugal, the Caribbean, and many other destinations.

And here's what we love most: Our participants included experienced operators, casual contesters, and someone entering his very first contest. Different equipment, different experience levels, different operating styles. All participating in the same worldwide event.

That's what the Sin City Repeater Group is about.

As an ARRL Special Service Club and ARRL Contest Club, we're committed to making amateur radio more accessible, more engaging, and more rewarding through hands-on operating, technical experimentation, mentoring, public service, and real-world experience.

Looking for an active Las Vegas ham radio club? Whether you're an experienced DXer, a newly licensed Technician, or someone who's just curious about getting started, there's a place for you.

No license? No radio? No problem. We'll help you get started.

Visit www.SinCityRepeaters.com and discover what we're building.

LESS TALK. MORE DO.

Sin City Repeater Group, Inc. | W7RPT

All contest scores are preliminary and subject to official CQ WW log checking. Contact counts reflect submitted logs. The longest-distance figure is an approximate distance from Las Vegas to the contacted station's region.