Royal Naval Amateur Radio Society
Encyclopedia
The Royal Naval Amateur Radio Society (RNARS) is a specialised group or club for amateur radio
operators
who have a link with maritime
employment, such as members of a navy
, merchant marine, or similar employment. As such, RNARS has become a de facto international group for such people.
RNARS is well known for fostering amateur radio station
s in museum ship
s. The best known to people in England
is HMS Belfast (C35)
.
RNARS is open to membership by people from 'allied' nations. For instance, there are members in countries such as the United States
and the Netherlands
, and a semi-autonomous national group in Australia
that has stations in three museum ships: HMAS Vampire
, HMAS Diamantina, and HMAS Castlemaine
.
RNARS offers several certificates for Amateurs and Shortwave
listeners
(SWLs) who make contacts or copy transmissions by RNARS members. There is also a Morse Code
speed certificate.
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
operators
Amateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...
who have a link with maritime
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
employment, such as members of a navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
, merchant marine, or similar employment. As such, RNARS has become a de facto international group for such people.
RNARS is well known for fostering amateur radio station
Amateur radio station
An amateur radio station is an installation designed to provide radiocommunications in the amateur radio service for an amateur radio operator. Radio amateurs build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground stations, mobile stations, space stations, and temporary...
s in museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
s. The best known to people in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
is HMS Belfast (C35)
HMS Belfast (C35)
HMS Belfast is a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the Imperial War Museum....
.
RNARS is open to membership by people from 'allied' nations. For instance, there are members in countries such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and a semi-autonomous national group in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that has stations in three museum ships: HMAS Vampire
HMAS Vampire (D11)
HMAS Vampire was the third of three Australian-built Daring class destroyers serving in the Royal Australian Navy . One of the first all-welded ships built in Australia, she was constructed at Cockatoo Island Dockyard between 1952 and 1959, and was commissioned into the RAN a day after...
, HMAS Diamantina, and HMAS Castlemaine
HMAS Castlemaine
HMAS Castlemaine , named for the city of Castlemaine, Victoria, was one of 60 Bathurst class corvettes constructed during World War II, and one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy ....
.
RNARS offers several certificates for Amateurs and Shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
listeners
Shortwave listening
Shortwave listening is the hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts located on frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz. Listeners range from casual users seeking international news and entertainment programming to hobbyists immersed in the technical aspects of radio reception and DXing...
(SWLs) who make contacts or copy transmissions by RNARS members. There is also a Morse Code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
speed certificate.