Welcome to Cherokee Amateur Radio Society
Club Website for WX4CAR
Serving Cherokee County, GA and the surrounding communities in North Georgia
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Cherokee Amateur Radio Society is an organization of FCC licensed amateur radio operators (also called Hams) that meet and share the hobby, educate people about amateur radio, as well as support our local community in times of disaster. We are located in Cherokee County, Georgia and have club call sign WX4CAR. We are an ARRL Affiliated Club.
The club also participates with ARES, and the Cherokee County EOC when severe weather gets close to the area, and we help with local public service projects. The members of the club also dedicate some of their time to promote and help new hams to develop their skills and knowledge on Amateur communications modes and to be better operators. We are a very active club and participate in ARRL Field Day every year. If you are located in Cherokee County or the surrounding area, we would like to invite you to participate. Use the Contact Us button to ask any questions you may have. The menu tabs on the far left will help you navigate to the area of interest. |
Announcements
Next Club Meeting
June 10, 2023 at 10 AM EST at the WG Long Senior Center
The meeting for June is a Field Day Workshop. Chad Cone (KY4KP) will tell us the plans for Field Day, happening June 24-25, 2023. This is the major event for the club and we encourage all members to be a part of Field Day. This year we have aggressive plans to operate 6 radios plus a GOTA station. We will be using special call sign K4R.
This will be an event that you will not want to miss! There is still time to join a team and help with preparations and logistics.
Studying for your General or Extra Class?
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Adding or Renewing your ARRL Membership?
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General Interest
Stay tuned for more 2023 events
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Special Presentation coming for July
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Ed will give a history on how these antennas were developed and the theory on how and why they work so well. There is no “black magic” to antennas. He will explain in a non-mathematical manner to convince you for overall performance and simplicity his approach is one of the most practical.
September meeting will feature Jeff Stuparits - W4DD
Jeff will be teaching us about RFI, how to locate sources of it, and how to eliminate or reduce it.
Here is Jeff's bio:
"Jeff became interested in RFI about ten years ago when RFI affected his ability to enjoy ham radio for contesting, weak signal work, and rag chewing. In addition to providing information on locating RFI, he will also have a few pieces of hardware for show and tell. Jeff is retired from a large cellular company where he worked in the Advanced Technology Group on spectrum issues including cellular spectrum optimization and FCC spectrum auctions. In addition to his 20 years in cellular, he also worked in Telephone Operations and Air Defense Communications. Jeff’s background includes a EE, a MBA, and he is a licensed P.E. Additional information about Jeff can be found on his QRZ web page or page 13 of the August 2022 QST, Member Spotlight."
CARS Club In the News
Cherokee Amateur Radio Society was chosen to host a direct contact with the ISS.
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Martin Buehring KB4MG, club President spoke at the QSOToday Ham Expo along with Dave Jensen(W7DGJ). The session topic was "Become a Magnet Club for Newcomers to Our Hobby" , where we discuss how clubs can attract new hams and then assimilate them into the club through training and activities. The success we have had with CARS was highlighted.
The CARS Club is highlighted in Club Station column in QST Magazine November 2022 issue. Be proud of your club and what we have accomplished.
Marty Buehring - KB4MG was interviewed by Dave Jensen (W7DGJ) about the article that was written in QST. The article in QRZ.com explores ways to a "health check" for your club, and encourages clubs to embrace new comers and help them get more involved. His column is called "Trials and Errors".
Read Here
Georgia On My Mind Newsletter
February edition has a mention and summary of our Winter Field Day results plus two pictures.
Presentations Needed
We are looking for volunteers to give a talk in our 2023 meetings. Please let one of the officers know about your interest in doing this.
What's happening in the Club?
If you miss a meeting, you miss a lot!
Here are things we did so far in 2023:
The May topic was on "Portable Power". This includes batteries, solar panels, generators, etc. There are a lot of planning and safety considerations when using any sort of portable power for your station. There was some typical equipment on display for people to look at how is constructed and connected and have opportunity ask questions about. Speakers were Martin Buehring - KB4MG and Rob Bruderer - W1JKU
Topic in April was the Basics of Emergency Communications. Even if you do not participate in ARES or SkyWarn, these are skills you should have for yourself and family. Rob instructed us in the proper prosigns and other needed protocols for emergency communications.
Speaker was Rob Bruderer - W1JKU - ARES Emergency Coordinator for Cherokee County
The March presentation was Part 2 on Space Weather and propagation. Space weather predictions may not make a lot of sense unless you understand the basics. Neal Sulmeyer (K4EA) explained what we need to know to use this data in our everyday operating environment. We all got a better understanding of Solar flux, sunspot number, Kp, and A values and how they affect propagation of HF radio waves.
February presentation was by Jason Turnage - KO4NDP
Jason is an antenna experimenter and has been doing a lot of work with Loaded Verticals that he uses for POTA activations. His first interest is in homebrewing and this just carries over to the ham radio hobby. It was a very practical look at what can be done with simple materials from the hardware store and some careful winding on loading coils.
January 2023 Roundtable
The Roundtable is an event where both experienced and newer hams can share their experiences about setting up stations, working HF modes, portable operating, solving problems, finding help, and favorite ways to enjoy amateur radio. We had 4 panel members:
Tim Wall - KJ4RDF - Contester and DX chaser
Jason Turnage - KO4NDP - Experimenter/Builder and POTA activator
Don Coltrane - KJ4UC - ARES leader, experienced operator
Bob Garret - N4BBG - Newer ham, HOA restrictions, and DX chaser
This was a moderated round table discussion in which the moderator asked questions in six different categories and pick a person on the panel to start that discussion. It was well received by the club and many of us can say we learned something from it.
Weekly On-AIR Nets
We would encourage all members to participate for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we love to hear from you! This is a chance to be certain your equipment is up to snuff and that you know how to operate it. It is also a place to ask questions and have group dialog on any ham radio topics.
Let's get the dialog going!
Note: We need additional volunteer NET Controllers for the weekly nets. Contact James James KE4HMS for more info.
Need help?
Have you been recently licensed? We have a New Ham Kit for all new hams on the Cherokee county and surrounding area.
Press the button below for the .pdf file download.
Watch this website for more details opportunities for new Hams.
Look for Elmering in 2023 as well as new Ham Crams for license upgrades.
Building a project you want to share?
We would like to be sure we show our projects and activities on social media. Please share your project details with us. We want to extend our reach through the uses of social media and hopefully reach more young people.
General Interest
Topics of general interest to the ham community
A comprehensive Contest Calendar can be found here:
Contest Calendar
Ham Radio Blog from DX Engineering
OnAllBands
Our Affiliations
Ham Radio Workbench Podcast and Talk Group DMR 31075
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Weekly Nets
CARS Weekly Net
Our weekly Net can be found on the KG4VUB-R every Thursday evening starting at 8PM Eastern Time. 145.270 mHz (- offset, PL tone of 100Hz encode and decode) Repeater is located in Waleska,GA
Backup repeater for nets is WA4EOC on 443.075 MHz , PL107.2, Positive (+) offset
Georgia DMR Talk Group Net
Wednesday evenings at 8PM Eastern Time
Talk Group 3113 Brandmeister Network
Website Link
Our weekly Net can be found on the KG4VUB-R every Thursday evening starting at 8PM Eastern Time. 145.270 mHz (- offset, PL tone of 100Hz encode and decode) Repeater is located in Waleska,GA
Backup repeater for nets is WA4EOC on 443.075 MHz , PL107.2, Positive (+) offset
Georgia DMR Talk Group Net
Wednesday evenings at 8PM Eastern Time
Talk Group 3113 Brandmeister Network
Website Link
Club ARRL Links
Click the logo to follow a link.
This is the link to Georgia Chapter of the ARRL. Look here for local activities, Ham fests, and the Georgia On My Mind Newsletter.
