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Upcoming Event: Winter Field Day 2025

Winter Field Day is nearly upon us! ACARA will be participating in Winter Field Day on Saturday, January 25 and Sunday, January 26 at the Jim Crouse Memorial Radio Station in the Athens Red Cross chapterhouse. The club will operate in the category “Indoors”, using SSB, CW, and digital modes. Paul Schulz, WD8SCV, is Winter Field Day Chairman and he has some fun ideas for the event. Set-up will begin at 10:00 am on Saturday and the event starts at . . .

Annual Holiday Dinner: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

The ACARA’s annual Holiday Dinner will be on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at Applebee’s in Athens. We will meet at 5:30 pm for hors d’oeuvres and we’ll order our dinners from the menu at 6pm. As has become our tradition, the club will pay for hors d’oeuvres. Applebee’s is located at 547 East State Street in Athens and the menu is available online: https://restaurants.applebees.com/en-us/oh/athens/547-e-state-st-75062. During the holiday party, we will announce the winner of the NC8V Memorial Trophy for the . . .

ARRL 10-Meter Contest + NC8V Memorial Trophy – December 14 & 15, 2024

The ARRL 10-Meter Contest is the weekend of  December 14-15, 2024 UTC. Full rules for the ARRL 10-Meter Contest can be found at http://www.arrl.org/10-meter. The ARRL 10-Meter Contest is important to Athens County Amateur Radio Association (ACARA) members for two reasons: I will be announcing the winner of the NC8V Memorial Trophy at the annual Holiday Dinner on December 17, so please send me the number of stations you worked and your submitted score prior to the evening of Monday, December 16. I hope to . . .

Report: PCARS Ohio State Parks on the Air (Updated 2024-11-02)

On Saturday, September 7, 2024, members of the ACARA participated in the 17th annual PCARS “Ohio State Parks on the Air” (link), activating Strouds Run State Park at the Bulldog Shelter and operating under the club’s callsign, W8UKE. Participants:Bob Curtis, KD8FRQKirk Groeneveld, KC8JRV + wife SheilaLinsey Groeneveld, KC8KNAJohn McCutcheon, N8XWODrew McDaniel, W8MHVEric McFadden, WD8RIFMiles McFadden, KD8KNCVickie McFadden, KB8MAJ + grandson ArcherLen Touth, W8VQ The station consisted of the club’s Elecraft K3 transceiver; a power supply provided by Drew McDaniel, W8MHV; . . .

ACARA Free Summer Trunkfest

Despite a small crowd, ACARA had a nice no-charge summer trunkfest today. We did give away several raffle items. Congratulations to the following winners:WT8E -$50 cash and $50 ARRL Gift CertificateKE8ZAM – $50 and $25 ARRL Gift CertificateN8SUZ – $25 ARRL Gift Certificate Photos courtesy of WD8RIF and N8SUZ

Report: ACARA Parks on the Air Activation of Strouds Run State Park, July 21, 2024

On Sunday, July 24, 2024, several members of the ACARA met at Bulldog Shelter within Strouds Run State Park to perform a club Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of Strouds Run State Park, US-1994, using the club’s callsign, W8UKE. Several members and guests participated in the operation: Jeramy Duncan, KC8QDQKirk Groeneveld, KC8JRVJohn McCutcheon, N8XWODrew McDaniel, W8MHVEric McFadden, WD8RIFMiles McFadden, KD8KNCTony Peric, KE8VFADaniel PostRich Post, KB8TADPaul Schulz, WD8SCVJosh Senefeld, N8VXRHeidi TouthLen Touth, W8VQ The station consisted of the club’s Elecraft . . .

ACARA Parks on the Air (POTA) Activation of Strouds Run State Park, Sunday, July 21, 2024

ACARA will be performing a club Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of Strouds Run State Park at Bulldog Shelter (map) on Sunday, July 21, 2024. We will use the club’s callsign, W8UKE, and we will operate in SSB and CW. (We might also be able to operate using digital modes, too.) Experience, or lack thereof, doesn’t matter–we’ll have operators on-site to help! Because our logging software will keep track of operators, individual operators will get credit within POTA for . . .

Report: ARRL Field Day 2024 (Updated 2024-11-02)

The ACARA participated in the largest operating event in the Amateur Radio calendar, ARRL Field Day, on Saturday and Sunday, June 22-23, 2024, at the Athens Red Cross. Using the special event callsign “K8V”, the club succeeded in making 848 contacts on HF, and 6 meters, using CW, SSB, and FT8. Because of the weather forecast for extreme heat, Field Day Chairman Paul Schulz, WD8SCV, and the ACARA Executive Committee made the decision to switch the Field Day location from . . .

2m Tape Measure Yagi & Copper J-Pole Build Session: Sunday, April 21, 2024

We have picked Sunday, April 21st as the date for the ACARA build of TWO Antenna projects. Start time is 1 p.m. and the build will take place at the Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio, 100 South May Ave., Athens. Kirk Groeneveld, KC8JRV, will lead the build of a two meter tape measure Yagi which is suitable for foxhunting, public service or ARES events, or for permanent installation. Kirk has three kits available via RSVP for $20 each. Contact Kirk . . .