The Tri-State Amateur Radio Association (TARA) is based in Huntington, West Virginia and serves Amateur Radio Operators (commonly known as Ham Radio Operators or “Hams”) in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky.
TARA was organized in 1924, incorporated in 1956 and is an ARRL affiliated club. Our club call is W8VA. Our goals are to advance the art of amateur radio, promote good fellowship between amateurs and would be amateurs and to cultivate the good will of the public. We strive to provide in the public interest, reliable communications in time of emergency as well as other communications of help to civic organizations in the community.
TARA is a full service club with many members enjoying many facets of amateur radio. We have a great club hamshack located at the Museum of Radio and Technology which is available to members when the museum is open. We sponsor an annual hamfest that is well attended each year. We coordinate field day events for members to operate and be available to the general public should anyone be interested in learning more about our hobby. We maintain a Laurel VE test team and hold testing sessions every other month. We own and operate the W8VA repeater. We have many events including Elmer Q&A virtual meetings weekly, club POTA activation’s and tech talks each month following our regular business meeting.
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TARA Hamfest
🗓️ WHEN & WHEREDate: Saturday, August 8, 2026 Time: 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM (Doors open at 8:30 AM) Location:New Baptist Church610 28th StreetHuntington, WV 25701 🎟️ ADMISSIONAdults: $6.00 each Kids (Under 18): FREE! 🎉 EXCITING PRIZES & DRAWINGSGrand Prizes: Cash and Radio gear giveaways! Door Prizes: Multiple drawings held throughout the day. 🏫 EDUCATIONAL…
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TARA VE Testing 8-8-2026
Testing will be held during the Hamfest at New Baptist Church 610 28th Street Huntington, WV 25701. Testing will start at 12pm. Pre-registration is preferred. Walk-ins are allowed. You can pre-register on our website at – https://w8va.org/laurel-ve-testing/ You have to make sure you have your FRN before coming to take a test. If you have…
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POTA summer support your parks – 7/18-19
July 18th and 19th will be the summer POTA support your parks weekend. We will be planning to have a organized club POTA activation as we did for the spring event this year. As we get closer we will decide where and when we plan to setup and operate during this event and will share…
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July Business Meeting 7-21-2026 7pm
We will give an update on how Field Day went. Just like every year we had some things go right and some things go wrong but it would not be field day without them. We will discuss final planning and needs for the upcoming Hamfest. Discuss a few operational matters pertaining to the club including…
Meeting and Testing Location
Our home is the Museum of Radio and Technology, 1640 Florence Ave, Huntington, WV 25701. It is located near the western end of Ritter Park in Huntington. We meet on the Third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm at the museum. Visitors are always welcome!!!