MTARS, the Middle Tennessee Amateur Radio Society, will hold its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, Oct. 10, starting at 6:30 p.m., in the meeting room behind the First Presbyterian Church, 204 E. Grundy Street, in Tullahoma. The meeting room is accessible from the church parking lot off of East Lincoln Street. The public is invited and welcome to attend.

The program for the meeting will be “Off-Grid Communications” using Meshtastic, a product that enables one to use inexpensive equipment as a long range, off-grid platform in areas without existing or reliable communications infrastructure. This opensource software is widely useful in most regions without the need for additional licenses or certifications. The general public can use this mode to communicate over long distances. The club’s business meeting will follow the program at 7:30 p.m. 

MTARS offers amateur radio license testing and provides backup emergency and public service communications through its VHF and UHF repeaters during communications and weather emergencies and other events. Monthly meeting programs include presentations of interest to “ham” radio operators and others, covering computer applications, electronics, radio theory and technology. 

The Middle Tennessee Amateur Radio Society is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League, the National Association for Amateur Radio and is a self-supported non-profit organization. For additional information, visit the club’s website at http://www.qsl.net/mtars or e-mail club president, Tina Rigsby, AK4AX, at cmrigsby@gmail.com, or mail to MTARS, PO Box 932, Tullahoma  TN 37388-0932.