Welcome, and thanks for visiting our website. The Kern County Amateur Radio Club (KCARC) is a diverse group of individuals who share a common interest in the hobby of Amateur Radio. Radio Amateurs (or "Hams" as they are commonly called) are those who hold a valid FCC license and are interested in Amateur Radio for personal and non-monetary reasons. If you are a licensed amateur radio operator and not yet a member, we hope you will consider joining our club. If you are not yet licensed but have an interest in amateur radio, contact us and we’ll help you get started! Better yet come meet our friendly members at one of our monthly club meetings.

   Information about the Amateur Radio Emergency Service

     The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is part of the Amateur Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) extensive volunteer field organization dedicated to public service. ARES is comprised of amateur radio operators who volunteer. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in the ARRL or any other organization, is eligible for membership in ARES.  Click here to visit  the Western Kern County ARES webpage.

 Club & Other Scheduled Nets:

     Club nets are held every Sunday evening at 2000 local time, on the two W6LIE repeaters of 146.910-pl 100 and 145.150-pl 100.

     ARES nets are held every Monday evening at 1900 local time, on the two W6LIE repeaters of 146.910-pl 100 and 145.150-pl 100.
Then check-ins are taken on simplex frequencies and other bands and modes

Next VE Session: Second Friday of every odd month.

    SAT CHAT (Every Saturday 8:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m)

    Most of us are on ham radio so we can communicate with other people. but where and how do we get together to talk to one another on the radio??????...

    I am glad you asked. This is going to be an ongoing online social time for the club. maybe after it cools down, we can get together in person. SAT CHAT is a Saturday morning chat opportunity. we have a lot of folks that have radios that can use the 145.150 repeater to talk to each other. For most of the newer hams, it is a matter of being comfortable as we bring the mic to our face to talk. This is what the sat chat is all about. just to get comfortable talking ham.

    This is also a good place to try out a radio or antenna that is new or you are making adjustments to. Whatever a person needs to do to be more comfortable on the air, this is the place to do it.

    For me personally, it is hard for me to hear and capture the call signs. On Saturday, if we all give our call signs more often than usual, that might help the newer hams capture them by hearing them more often.

    This is going to be a four hour block set aside to communicate. come and go whenever you need to. if you can be there for a few minutes, great. if you need to leave and can come back later, also great. There are a few people that I have talked to that will be there, on and off. 

    I am hoping that the officers, board members, and the elmers of the club can drop in for a spell and maybe even tell some stories of what it was like when they first started doing ham. stop by if you have a chance, let’s see how many 2 meter radios we can get working on Saturday morning. 

    AT THE AUGUST 24TH GENERAL MEETING, WE ARE GOING TO EXPLORE THE REASONS HAMS DECIDE TO PICK A CERTAIN AREA OF HAM RADIO TO FOCUS ON. WE WILL EXAMINE FOUR AREAS IN THE TIME THAT WE HAVE; FT-8, ECHOLINK, SATELLITES, AND HF/DX.

     DURING THIS MEETING WE ARE NOT GOING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SET THE DIFFERENT MODES UP, BUT WE WILL EXPLORE THE DIFFERENT REASONS PEOPLE ENJOY A PARTICULAR HAM VENUE. IF THERE IS INTEREST IN ANY OF THE DIFFERENT AREAS, WE WILL SET UP A WORK DAY SO THERE WILL BE AMPLE TIME TO LEARN HOW TO GET STARTED IN EACH SPECIFIC AREA.

     THESE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ARE GOING TO ANSWER AT THE AUGUST CLUB MEETING. IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKED ANSWERED, PLEASE EMAIL THEM TO RICKKN6NOC@GMAIL.COM AND WE WILL PUT THEM ON THE LIST. IF THERE IS INTEREST IN THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM, OR IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR ANOTHER AREA, WE CAN COVER THEM IN FUTURE MEETINGS. THANK YOU FOR ANY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS.

• FT-8; HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT TO SET UP AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU DONE FT-8? WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE PROGRAM? WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT FT-8 THE MOST? IS THERE ANY PART THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE OR YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE DONE DIFFERENTLY? DOES A PERSON HAVE TO HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF TECHNICAL SKILL TO BE ABLE TO WORK THIS PROGRAM?
• ECHOLINK; HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT ECHOLINK? HOW LONG HAVE YOU USED ECHOLINK? HOW MUCH DO YOU USE ECHOLINK? WHAT IS THE BEST FEATURE ABOUT ECHOLINK AND WHAT IS THE HARDEST OR THE WORST FEATURE?
• SATELLITES; HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SATELLITES AND WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO WITH SATELLITES? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST CALL? HOW INEXPENSIVE CAN A PERSON START WITH SATELLITE AND HOW INVOLVED IS YOUR SYSTEM? OUT OF ALL THE HAM OPERATIONS THAT YOU DO, WHAT PERCENT IS SATELLITES? IS THERE A BAD PART OF SATELLITES?
• HF/DX; WHAT PERCENT OF HAM FOR YOU IS HF? WHAT PERCENT IS CONTESTING OF ANY KIND? WHY DO YOU DO CONTEST. IS HF YOUR FAVORITE PART OF HAM? WHY OR WHY NOT? WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART OF HF AND THE MOST REWARDING? WHERE DOES DXING FIT INTO WHAT YOU DO WITH HF?

    THESE PRESENTATIONS WILL NOT FILL A WHOLE HOUR, SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TALK TO THE PRESENTORS DURING A SOCIAL TIME AS YOU COOL OFF WITH A SPECIAL TREAT. OUR PLAN IS TO HAVE FUN, LEARN SOMETHING, AND EAT OUR WAY INTO THE NEXT HAM VENUE.