Radio Association of Western New York

11/03/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Museum Ships Weekend (MSW) this past June at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.

MSW continues to be one of our favorite events, and we had a great time putting four stations on the air: USS Little Rock CLG4 (W2PE), USS The Sullivans DD-537 (W2S), USS Croaker (W2C), and the USS Boston SSN-703 memorial (W2B)!

Special thanks to the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station, NJ2BB, for organizing this event each year, and for recognizing our operators with these certificates.

We’re already looking forward to Museum Ships Weekend 2027, when we activate from USS Grenadier SS-210 memorial as W2G!

11/02/2026

The Radio Association of Western New York (RAWNY) will be operating W2PE aboard the USS Little Rock at the Buffalo Naval Park for National Amateur Radio Alliance’s Club Week, November 7–8, alongside a youth overnight encampment where campers will have the opportunity to experience amateur radio firsthand!

11/02/2026

We’ve got a busy couple of weekends coming up aboard USS Little Rock, and we could really use some extra help!

The next two youth encampments are both sold out, so we’re especially looking for RAWNY members who can join us Saturday evening to help with the campers. We have a variety of activities planned, including Morse code, signal flags, radio communications challenges, and opportunities to get on the air. There’s plenty to do, and you don’t have to be an experienced operator to lend a hand!

This weekend, November 7th and 8th, we’re also participating in NARA Club Week from USS Little Rock. RAWNY is a member of the National Amateur Radio Alliance, and Club Week is all about getting amateur radio clubs on the air and encouraging conversations between them. It’s not a contest, so rather than exchanging quick signal reports, the idea is to spend a few minutes getting to know other clubs, sharing what we’re doing at the naval park, and hearing about their activities.

We’ll be operating as W2PE throughout the weekend, including overnight Saturday into Sunday. Listen for us locally on 146.52 and watch for us spotted on POTA.app.

The radio room will be open by 10:00 AM Saturday, with campers arriving around 4:00 PM. Dinner is around 6:30 PM, and we’ll have activities going until lights out at 10:30 PM. But anyone who wants to keep operating overnight is more than welcome! Breakfast will be served at 7:30 AM Sunday for those staying aboard or returning early.

We’re also looking forward to welcoming Kasey Efaw, KD2YMM, from Albany. Kasey is a Long Island CW Club instructor who also helps restore and maintain the historic radio shack aboard USS Slater, a World War II destroyer es**rt. He’ll be joining us for the weekend, including overnight.

It should be a fun weekend of radio, and a great opportunity to share the hobby with the next generation. If you can spare a few hours Saturday evening, we’d especially appreciate the help! And if you’d like to operate during the day or stay overnight, there’s plenty of opportunity for that too.

Please RSVP to Matt, K2EAG, if you’re planning to join us, especially if you’d like to stay overnight, so we can plan accordingly.

10/31/2026

We had a great time being part of Ship or Treat at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park!

RAWNY members made contacts around the world including France, Italy and Brazil, while demonstrating amateur radio and teaching Morse code to our trick-or-treaters!

10/31/2026

10/28/2026

We had a great time welcoming students from Canisteo-Greenwood Central School aboard the USS Little Rock, at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park!

The students are taking a Ham Radio and Digital Communications class with their instructor, Mr. Chris Romanchock, KD2PFE. They’re still working toward earning their amateur radio licenses, but today they got a chance to put what they’ve been learning into practice, by getting on the air and making contacts using our club callsign W2PE, with help from several RAWNY members!

Almost 100 contacts were logged, with the furthest being France and Sweden! A big thank you to those who answered their calls and helped make their first experience on the air a memorable one! We can’t wait to hear them on the air with callsigns of their own very soon!

10/27/2026

Join us Saturday as we participate on the Ship or Treat route from the atomic strike room! We’ll be on the air as W2PE, spotted to POTA.app

10/26/2026

Our last contact gave us a 5-9 signal report, then said they were transmitting from INSIDE THE SHIP!

We’re starting to wonder who’s really answering our calls. Now we’re afraid to answer the next CQ!

What surprised them on the ship? 👇