Cornell Amateur Radio Club
The Cornell Amateur Radio Club, W2CXM, is a group of undergraduate students, graduate students, and other members of the Cornell and Ithaca community whose common interest is the hobby of amateur radio. Amateur radio activity at Cornell University dates as far back as 1915, under the callsign "8XU."
Formed in 1949, W2CXM has been licensed under the callsign "W2CXM" since 1951. W2CXM is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and is funded annually by the Student Activities Funding Commission (SAFC). This organization is a registered student organization of Cornell University.
W2CXM has a complete station available for use by its members 24 hours a day. Our capabilities include SSB (voice), digital (RTTY, PSK, APRS, SSTV), and CW (Morse code) communication on HF (1.8–30 MHz) and FM, SSB, and CW on 2 meters (144–148 MHz) as well as equipment for short-wave listening and satellite operation. The club has a 2-meter repeater operating on 146.610 MHz to aid in providing reliable local communications.
The club's primary station is a FlexRadio Flex-6400, with a power of 100 watts PEP into a Butternut HF9V. The club is also capable of high-power operation with a FlexRadio Flex-8400 and a 700 watt PEP ACOM 1010 linear amplifier, with the same antenna.
W2CXM uses its equipment to provide a number of public services. During natural disasters, members have aided in handling messages to and from afflicted areas. The club has also provided “phone patches” allowing national or international communications using only a local phone call for a student and their family.
Locally, club members assist in communications during emergencies, walkathons, races, etc., using our 2-meter repeater. Cornell's annual Slope Day is frequently staffed by club members in relaying important information over radio. All public services of W2CXM are voluntary and free of charge.
W2CXM has had successful two-way communication with radio amateurs in well over 250 countries around the world including such places as Uganda, Mongolia, Antarctica, Qatar, Nepal, and Ghana. The club participates in amateur radio competitions for sport and emergency preparedness, both national and international, which test the operating skills of the competitors and the performance of equipment.
Semesterly, the club participates in the ARRL-run School Club Roundup, a competition primarily among primary schools, secondary schools, and collegiate clubs to make a multitude of contacts with other clubs and DX entities. On campus, semesterly foxhunts also allow members to gain an understanding of attenuation, antennas, and signal processing while searching for hidden transmitters.
Meeting attendees do not need any experience in amateur radio or electronics to get involved with the club; all relevant skills are learned through participation in the club.
Common meeting activities are soldering workshops, where members learn to solder or develop such skills through the construction of radio-related (or unrelated!) soldering project kits.
Lectures by members or invited guests also take place in club meetings, to introduce members to new concepts in the field and new projects to explore. These lectures are often very interactive and invite attendees to inquire further about any topic of particular interest to them.
If you are interested in joining the club, you are welcome to contact the W2CXM officers (w2cxm@cornell.edu), or simply attend one of our meetings. No prior experience or qualification is required. You can join our CampusGroups group at w2cxm.org/join to be notified of club meetings and events, most of which take place evenings in Barton Hall 401.
We are active on Facebook and Instagram. Most internal club communication takes place on Slack, which interested members are welcome to join, by asking at a meeting or emailing us. Membership is free and is open to any Cornell student, though visitors are always welcome at meetings and events.
Club members who hold a federally-issued General-class license or above are entitled to access to the club shack outside of meetings and scheduled operating hours. If not licensed, our club facilitates licensing for free! You'll need to be familar with the club and its equipment to be eligible for access; come to a meeting to inquire.
Our club will cheerfully reply to all QSL cards received by direct mail by our club advisor; the mailing address is listed on our QRZ page. If you care to send a green stamp to cover postage, it would be gratefully received, but is not required. If we forget, please email us! We also QSL via LoTW occasionally.
Our current QSL cards feature an image of Cornell's McGraw Tower and Uris Library on the obverse, and information of the QSO, as well as a bit of club history, on the reverse. Shown is a card from the 1950s.
W2CXM is happy to support and sponsor Cornell students in earning their amateur radio licenses, a federal license required to operate an amateur radio independently. In fact, our club offers the requisite exams on campus regularly, often semesterly. All expenses for the exam administration are paid by the club. If interested, please contact us at w2cxm@cornell.edu, and we'll let you know when the next exam will be!
Many individuals preparing for an amateur radio exam choose to study the publicly available question pool online, such as through the free ARRL study tool. Each of the three license classes (Technician, General, Extra) offers additional privileges, with progressively increasing knowledge requirements.
