The Old Friends Amateur Radio Transmitter Society (OFARTS) was founded in 1998 after Hurricane Georges and the failure of another club to properly prepare for after effects and communications needs. The club was founded by CARMELITA GOSSARD (W3YWK), MILFORD GOSSARD (K3ML), CRAIG GOSSARD (N4XHC) and STUART GARRISON (W3HUG) to coordinate hurricane support and communications in the Sugarloaf Key to Little Torch Key area and provide long range support in moving message traffic for hurricanes and disasters in other areas of the State and Country. The above mentioned Hams were the only health and welfare message home after Hurricane Andrew for the lower keys.
       The OFARTS Club provided repeater operation for the Cudjoe Key area until the club renamed itself the K3ML Memorial Repeater Club in January 2013. The OFARTS provided local communications for all hurricanes since Georges in 1998. We are the same group of people at the heart of the clubs operation and hope to continue this work with the same tenacity that K3ML provided.

We will maintain the K3ML/R repeater at Cudjoe Key, Fl on 147.060 MHz up 600 input frequency with PL tone 94.8. The repeater has been in continuous operation since May of 1995 with minimal outage. We, wishing to secure for ourselves the pleasures and benefits of an association of persons commonly interested in Amateur Radio, constitute ourselves the K3ML Memorial Radio Club of the Cudjoe, Ramrod, Sugarloaf and Summerland Keys of Monroe County, Florida. It shall be our purpose to further the exchange of information and cooperation between members, to promote radio knowledge, comradery and individual operating efficiency, and to so conduct club programs and activities as to advance the general interest and welfare of Amateur Radio in our community.

 We currently operate the K3ML Memorial Radio Club Post Hurricane Net at 1800 hrs local time on the first Sunday of the month during hurricane season Sunday evening on or about 7188 KHz an alternate frequency is now 3858 KHz.   WX4SFL conducts SkyWarn training on the repeater.  This Net was in operation imediately after Irma 2017 providing H&W messaging until the phones were re-established.

Entry level classes and general level classes can be arranged for as small or large a group that is interested.  Extra class tutoring can be arranged.