About

The Athens County, Ohio
Amateur Radio Association
 

The ACARA is the oldest and largest of the four Amateur radio organizations in Athens County, Ohio. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Ohio scientific and education corporation devoted to the advancement of wireless telecommunications. Our members also provide emergency and public service communications to Athens and surrounding counties.

Newcomers to our hobby are always welcome! We normally meet monthly September through May on the evening of the third Tuesday of the month. Times and locations are posted on our Calendar Page. We offer licensing classes each year, and are happy to provide study guidance at other times. Check our members’ links page to see if you might already know one of our members in your community!

The ACARA owns and operates several state-of-the-art communications systems serving Southeast Ohio. These include a VHF repeater system operating on 145.15 MHz; a UHF repeater operating on 442.100 MHz; and a GMRS repeater on channel 20, 462.675 MHz, tone 91.5.

Ham radio is a diverse hobby, and our local members represent a wide variety of special interest groups including emergency communications, low-power operations, antenna design, long-distance worldwide communications, contesting, wireless digital, space communications, antique radio restoration, and many others.

Our Association Officers for 2025 are:

    • President: Eric McFadden, WD8RIF
    • Vice-President: Paul Schulz, WD8SCV
    • Secretary: Tony Peric, KE8VFA
    • Treasurer / Membership Chairman: Drew McDaniel, W8MHV
    • Newsletter Editor / Webmaster: Jeff Slattery, N8SUZ
    • VHF Repeater Trustee: Eric McFadden, WD8RIF
    • Digital Systems/UHF Trustee: Jeff Slattery, N8SUZ

If you have questions regarding Ham Radio, or would like to obtain an FCC Amateur Radio License, please feel free to contact any of our officers or members.