About Us

The Trident Amateur Radio Club is dedicated to helping newly licensed and experienced amateurs get active and participate in ham related activities. The club was formed in April of 1973. Since then the club’s mission is to get new and old hams on the air and stay radio active by having operating events like Summer and Winter Field Day, Special Event Stations, Parks On The Air (POTA) events, Operating Days, etc.

The Trident Amateur Radio Club is an official ARRL Affiliated Club. Click here to learn about the ARRL -> arrl.org

Join the ARRL and enjoy the many benefits of being a member! -> www.arrl.org/membership

Meet the Officers

President – Chris Benoit – KC4NW

I became a ham back in 1980 while a cadet at The Citadel. When I graduated, I went into
the Army and was assigned to the Signal Corps. During my 24 years, I was fortunate to
work with AM and FM radios, RTTY, tactical satellites, multiplexing radios, early packet
radio, and computers over radio. Also during that time, I was sent to work with
Magnavox to help develop new radio systems and was active in MARS and was able to
set up 2 MARS stations, one in Germany and one in Saudi Arabia.
Being a ham made those jobs so much more enjoyable and I met many great hams that
helped me along the way. Because of them (Elmers), I’ve always been an active member
in clubs and try to help other hams when I can. If you have any questions or need some
help, please don’t hesitate to ask me. I am here to serve.

Vice President – David Merritts – AE4ZR

Treasurer – Steve Anderjack – KO4AFL

Steve became interested in amateur (ham) radio as a teenager while getting his pilot’s license in high school. He didn’t pursue getting licensed as it wasn’t required at that time and didn’t look much more into it. In 2019 Steve was volunteering as a motorcycle marshall for LoVelo with his father and a few friends. They were not able to stay in contact due to the area the ride was in but the support vehicles were mostly operated by hams and maintained contact across the city. He asked one of the drivers what radios they were using and he was reintroduced to ham radio. Since then Steve has been introduced to Parks on The Air. He enjoys portable operations. He is a volunteer examiner for the ARRL, W4VEC, W5YI and GLAARG. Steve is also a session manager for GLAARG and Team Lead for ARRL specializing in online ham radio testing. He is also a volunteer area manager for Parks on The Air uploading logs from activators with a 4 in their call. As well as recently Steve was appointed as South Carolina Assistant section manager ARRL. He is also working on getting a YouTube channel going on Ham Radio projects and events. https://www.youtube.com/@ko4afl

Secretary – Brent Tatum – KO4KCR

I received my technician license in 2021. I’m not a “prepper”, but I like to have basic supplies and necessities should a natural disaster happen. When COVID happened it made me realize I need to have another way to communicate outside of relying on cell phones. I’m a USAF veteran and used mobile radios everyday as part of my job during that time so I am familiar and comfortable with using them. Fast forward and life gets in the way again and I end up doing nothing with it. I bought a handheld and never used it. In 2024 one of my goals for the year was using the license, becoming more familiar with it should I ever need to use it for emergency communication. I joined TARC at that time because it was a decent size active club. It was a way for me to get comfortable with ham and being around other like minded folks.
I put my name in the hat to become secretary because it continues to keep myself accountable to work on my knowledge with ham. I’ve gone to field days, which I would recommend to anyone, and it was a great experience and I enjoy getting to know others. My goal now is getting my general license to not be as limited in what I can do on the radio, and perhaps getting a home or mobile set up. The members at TARC have been welcoming and I have no doubt they will lead me in the correct direction. Getting to help the club in this journey for me makes it all the better.

Additional Board Members

Committee Chairs

Repeater Committee – Bryce Meyers – K4LXF

Membership Committee – Ron Davis – K4TCP

Program Manager – Reid Robinson – KR4CPL

Equipment Manager – Position open – Email us if interested. N4EE@tridenthams.org

QSL Manager – Chris Benoit – KC4NW