We like calling
Orange County North Carolina home! Our area is known for:
| Eclectic Carrboro, historic Hillsborough, world famous Chapel Hill |
| The University of North Carolina and the best ACC basketball |
| Succulent barbeque and the area's best VHF/UHF repeaters |
The Orange County Radio Amateurs ("OCRA") are an organization of area ham radio operators dedicated to:
Providing emergency communications through our  Orange County ARES group | | Empowering the next generation of Amateur Radio operators: maybe YOU! (Need some REASONS?) |
| Maintaining an up-to-date website listing upcoming events |
| Conducting both formal and informal OCRA membership meetings and on-the-air nets |
| Administering regularly scheduled VE test sessions every month (see upcoming events) |
| Celebrating our members' accomplishments, both on and off the air |
| Enjoying the art, science and fellowship of radio operating |
Upcoming Events of Interest:
 Saturday, January 30: The January Ready Rally will be an antenna building party at the Orange County EOC building from 0930L (9:30AM) to 1130L (11:30AM). Both roll-up ($10) and pvc pipe enclosed ($13) dual-band J-Poles will be built, with participants working in teams supplying the labor. NOTE: THE EVENT WILL BE RESCHEDULED DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER ADVISORY, STANDBY FOR UPDATES! For more information, contact Steve Ahlbom (W3AHL). |
 Sunday, January 31 - Monday, February 1: Classic Exchange (CX) 2010, CW portion, from 0900L (9:00AM) Sunday to 0300L (3:00AM) Monday. More info at the CX Website. |
| Sunday, January 31: Orange County ARES Emergency Communications Team Meeting beginning at 1800L (6:00PM) at the Orange County EOC Building, 510 Meadowland Drive, in Hillsborough. See directions here (PDF). All interested OC ARES members are invited to attend. Contact Laurie (N1YXU) for further information. |
 Sunday, January 31: Alamance Amateur Radio Club Net at 2030L (8:30PM) on the K4EG 146.670MHz machine. |
 Monday, February 1: OCRA 10 Meter Net beginning 2000L (8:00PM) on or about 28.450MHz. Net Control is Bruce (N1LN). |
 Wednesday, February 3: Happy Birthday, Jackie Little (KD4OFG). |
 Wednesday, February 3: 6 Meter Wednesday Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on the W4UNC 53.450 machine (PL 107.2Hz). Net Control is J.R. (KG4NNT). |
 Thursday, February 4: Central Carolina D-STAR Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on KR4RDU 442.5375MHz machine. Net Control is Gerald (KI4MXP). |
| Thursday, February 4: DFMA Thursday Net beginning 2100L (9:00PM) on WR4AGC 147.225MHz machine. |
| Friday, February 5: Happy Birthday, Bill McClymont (W1REP). |
| Saturday, February 6 - Sunday, February 7: Amplitude Modulation Transmitter Rally (160M - 10M) from 0600L (6:00AM) Saturday to 0200L (2:00AM) Sunday. Open to any hams running full carrier AM. Rules, suggested frequencies and more info here. |
| Saturday, February 6: Orange County ARES Emergency Training Net beginning at 0930L (9:30AM) on the W4UNC 442.150MHz machine. Net Control is Dee (KU4GC). |
 Saturday, February 6: Frostfest 2010 at the Richmond Raceway Complex in Richmond, VA. |
| Monday, February 8: OCRA Monthly Membership Meeting beginning 1930L (7:30PM) at the Orange EOC in Hillsborough. See directions here (PDF). All OCRA members, licensed ham radio operators and other interested individuals are welcome to attend. Dinner at Casa Ibarra Restaurant on South Churton Street begins at about 1730L (5:30PM) with Open Board Meeting following at 1830L (6:30PM). |
| Thursday, February 11 Central Carolina D-STAR Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on KR4RDU 442.5375MHz machine. Net Control is Gerald (KI4MXP). |
| Thursday, February 11: DFMA Thursday Net beginning 2100L (9:00PM) on WR4AGC 147.225MHz machine. |
| Saturday, February 13: Orange County ARES Emergency Training Net beginning at 0930L (9:30AM) on the W4UNC 442.150MHz machine. Net Control is ? |
| Sunday, February 14 - Monday, February 15: Classic Exchange (CX) 2010, phone portion, from 0900L (9:00AM) Sunday to 0300L (3:00AM) Monday. More info at the CX Website. |
| Monday, February 15: OCRA 10 Meter Net beginning 2000L (8:00PM) on or about 28.450MHz. Net Control is Bruce (N1LN). |
| Tuesday, February 16: Happy Birthday, Moriah North. |
| Wednesday, February 17: 6 Meter Wednesday Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on the W4UNC 53.450 machine (PL 107.2Hz). Net Control is J.R. (KG4NNT). |
| Thursday, February 18: Central Carolina D-STAR Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on KR4RDU 442.5375MHz machine. Net Control is Gerald (KI4MXP). |
| Thursday, February 18: DFMA Thursday Net beginning 2100L (9:00PM) on WR4AGC 147.225MHz machine. |
| Monday, February 22: OCRA 10 Meter Net beginning 2000L (8:00PM) on or about 28.450MHz. Net Control is Bruce (N1LN). |
| Wednesday, February 24: 6 Meter Wednesday Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on the W4UNC 53.450 machine (PL 107.2Hz). Net Control is J.R. (KG4NNT). |
| Thursday, February 25: Central Carolina D-STAR Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on KR4RDU 442.5375MHz machine. Net Control is Gerald (KI4MXP). |
| Thursday, February 25: DFMA Thursday Net beginning 2100L (9:00PM) on WR4AGC 147.225MHz machine. |
| Saturday, February 27: Orange County ARES Emergency Training Net beginning at 0930L (9:30AM) on the W4UNC 442.150MHz machine. Net Control is ? |
| Saturday, February 27: The February Ready Rally details will be announced when finalized, but looks like a trip to the Red Cross building to reroute and terminate the coax cables, |
| Sunday, February 28: Happy Birthday, Vivian North. |
| Monday, March 1: OCRA 10 Meter Net beginning 2000L (8:00PM) on or about 28.450MHz. Net Control is Bruce (N1LN). |
| Wednesday, March 3: 6 Meter Wednesday Net beginning 2030L (8:30PM) on the W4UNC 53.450 machine (PL 107.2Hz). Net Control is J.R. (KG4NNT). |
| Saturday, March 6: Orange County ARES Emergency Training Net beginning at 0930L (9:30AM) on the W4UNC 442.150MHz machine. Net Control is ? |
| Monday, March 8: OCRA Monthly Membership Meeting beginning 1930L (7:30PM) at the Orange EOC in Hillsborough. See directions here (PDF). All OCRA members, licensed ham radio operators and other interested individuals are welcome to attend. Dinner at Casa Ibarra Restaurant on South Churton Street begins at about 1730L (5:30PM) with Open Board Meeting following at 1830L (6:30PM). |
| Monday, March 8: OCRA ARRL Volunteer Examination Test Session during the OCRA Monthly Membership Meeting beginning 1930L (7:30PM) at the Orange EOC in Hillsborough. : For more information, contact Dave Snyder (W4SAR). |
| Thursday, March 11: Happy Birthday, Dave Belt (NA4VY). |
 Saturday, April 3: 38th Annual RARSFest (and North Carolina State ARRL Convention) in Raleigh at NC State Fairgrounds Exposition Center Building.
| | Sunday, April 4: Happy Birthday, Brian McLamb (KI4YSZ). |
 Thursday, April 8: Triangle ATV Association meeting will be at 6:30PM at Rudino’s Restaurant, 4911 Central Park Drive (off South Miami Boulevard in RTP). Please RSVP if possible to nc4tv.triatv@gmail.com if you plan to attend. |
| Monday, April 12: OCRA Monthly Membership Meeting beginning 1930L (7:30PM) at the Orange EOC in Hillsborough. See directions here (PDF). All OCRA members, licensed ham radio operators and other interested individuals are welcome to attend. Dinner at Casa Ibarra Restaurant on South Churton Street begins at about 1730L (5:30PM) with Open Board Meeting following at 1830L (6:30PM). |
| Sunday, April 25: Happy Birthday, Patrick Brooks (KJ4EWX). |
| Friday, April 30: Happy Birthday, Deborah North. |
| Saturday, May 1: Happy Birthday, Chris Lawless (KG4HNC). |
| Monday, May 10: OCRA Monthly Membership Meeting beginning 1930L (7:30PM) at the Orange EOC in Hillsborough. See directions here (PDF). All OCRA members, licensed ham radio operators and other interested individuals are welcome to attend. Dinner at Casa Ibarra Restaurant on South Churton Street begins at about 1730L (5:30PM) with Open Board Meeting following at 1830L (6:30PM). |
| Monday, May 10: OCRA ARRL Volunteer Examination Test Session during the OCRA Monthly Membership Meeting beginning 1930L (7:30PM) at the Orange EOC in Hillsborough. : For more information, contact Dave Snyder (W4SAR). |
| Sunday, May 16: Happy Birthday, Lisa Woodward (KG4PFB). |
| Monday, May 17: Happy Birthday, John Shadle (W4PAH). |
| Saturday, June 12: Winston-Salem Classic Hamfest, Dixie Classic Fairground, 421 West 27th Street in Winston-Salem. |
| Monday, June 14: OCRA Monthly Membership Meeting beginning 1930L (7:30PM) at the Orange EOC in Hillsborough. See directions here (PDF). All OCRA members, licensed ham radio operators and other interested individuals are welcome to attend. Dinner at Casa Ibarra Restaurant on South Churton Street begins at about 1730L (5:30PM) with Open Board Meeting following at 1830L (6:30PM). |
| Saturday, October 9: Forsyth Amateur Radio Club's Pfafftown Swapfest at the West Central Community Center, 6130 Yadkinville Road, in Pfafftown NC. |
Here's What OCRA Folks Have Been Up To:
| Laurie Meier (N1YXU) took time out from her busy schedule as a ham operator, ARES County EC, and technology manager to craft some greeting cards, one of which won her a second premium ribbon at the 2009 North Carolina State Fair. |
| OCRA received back-to-back coverage in "CQ" magazine by being mentioned in the August issue regarding our awarding an honorary life membership to Danny Hampton (K4ITL). |
| OCRA was once again covered favorably in a national ham radio publication when Efland-Cheeks Elementary School's weather station got coverage in "CQ" magazine. The July issue of "CQ" published an account of the weather station dedication, including a photo of Kristin Bedell (KI4LLO), in its "Public Service" column on page 36. |
| OCRA President Woody Woodward (K3VSA) was in attendance at a dedication ceremony for the weather station that OCRA members installed at Efland-Cheeks Elementary School for Kristin Bedell (KI4LLO), a teacher there. The school presented recognition plaques to OCRA, Piedmont EMC (which funded the project through a grant), and the Orange County school system's maintenance department (which ran the wiring). The station consists of a weather fax receiver and weather station, both mounted on a rooftop tower, and the software needed to keep track of the data and post it to the school's website. |
| Former OCRA member Noah Blach (KF4YBG) has graduated from Air Force Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio TX according to a report published on page C3 of the "Durham Herald-Sun" on Sunday, April 12th. Noah is the son of OCRA member Chip Blach (KF4WBK). |
| At the RARSFest on Saturday, April 11th, OCRA Treasurer and Repeater Manager Dan Eddleman (KR4UB) presented a plaque to Wade ("Danny") Hampton (K4ITL) in recognition of years of support with our repeaters that Danny has provided to OCRA. The plaque, half in ordinary script and the other half in Braille, proclaimed Danny as an honorary life member of OCRA. "I've been given plaques before, but I never got one printed in Braille," Danny remarked. Several hours later, it was announced at RARSFest that Danny would be named "Ham of the Year" at the 2009 Dayton Hamvention. |
| OCRA's own Jim Jingozian (KG4NEL) has once more been named to the dean's list at Virginia Tech, where he is a senior majoring in business information technology. He was one of two Hillsboroughites attending Virginia Tech who were mentioned in the April 1st edition of the News of Orange County. |
| Orange County, North Carolina hosted the Winter Swap Meet of the Carolinas Chapter of the Antique Wireless Association on Saturday, January 31st at the Mebane Antique Auction Gallery on Highway 70, just inside the Orange County line. Probably about a hundred old radios in varied condition, mostly broadcast receivers, were for sale. Several OCRA members showed up to enjoy the free admission and to gaze at the antique sets. Wilson (W4BOH) was seen in the parking lot, leaving with a newly purchased Hallicrafters Sky Buddy that appeared to be in excellent condition. He was accompanied by Mac (WQ8U), who appeared to be leaving empty handed. |
| OCRA's press release concerning the Christmas cake giveaway was published in the January 7th issue of "The News of Orange County." The page eight story was almost a verbatim copy of the press release, and it included KG4PFB's photo of the OCRA President's daughter, Michaela, in a Santa hat, presenting cakes to EMT Amy Turner of the Orange Emergency Management organization. |
| New Years Day 2009 saw a fair sized group of OCRA members gathered at the Mary Ellen Jones building on UNC for the annual repeater equipment familiarization and maintenance event. Judging from preliminary reports, we're getting significantly closer to having IRLP operation on our 2M machine. More details and a photo to follow, standby! |
| 2008 Events Archive |
| 2007 Events Archive |
Our W4UNC repeaters:
| 442.150MHz (PL 131.8Hz) --the flagship, with coverage throughout Piedmont NC |
| 443.475MHz (PL 131.8Hz) --local coverage in the Chapel Hill vicinity |
| 145.230MHz (PL 107.2Hz) --soon with an IRLP link, we hope |
| 53.450MHz (PL 107.2Hz) --improved coverage after June 12th? |
OCRA Meetings and Nets:
| Monthly OCRA Meeting on the second Monday of the month at 1930L (7:30PM) at the new Orange County EOC Facility in Hillsborough at 510 Meadowland Drive. Directions to new EOC here (PDF). All members, other licensed ham radio operators and interested individuals are welcome to attend. |
| Weekly Saturday Mornings about 0930L (9:30AM) at the Hillsborough Bojangles, 330 South Churton Street, you'll usually find at least several of us getting our quota of cholesterol, caffeine, and carbohydrates. (Unless there's a hamfest nearby!) |
| Weekly Orange County ARES Net Saturday mornings at 0930L (9:30AM) on the W4UNC 442.150MHz repeater. |
| Weekly OCRA HF Net Monday evenings (except the second Monday of the month) at 2000L (8:00PM) on or about 28.450MHz (USB). |
OCRA Officers for 2010:
| Ken Kauffmann KR4FM, President (president "at" ncocra "dot" org) |
| Dave Snyder W4SAR, Vice-President (vp "at" ncocra "dot" org) |
| Dan Eddleman KR4UB, Treasurer (treasurer "at" ncocra "dot" org) |
| Raymond ("Woody") Woodward K3VSA, Secretary (secretary "at" ncocra "dot" org) |
OCRA Board Members:
| Steve Ahlbom W3AHL (term expires 2012) |
| Dave Belt NA4VY (term expires 2012) |
| Chris Ferrer N2JFP (term expires 2011) |
| Bruce Meier N1LN (term expires 2012) |
| Laurie Meier N1YXU (OC ARES EC) |
| Karen Snyder KD4YJZ (term expires 2011) |
The Orange County Radio Amateurs, Inc, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (TIN# 58-2064632)
|
Sign OCRA's Guestbook
View OCRA's Guestbook
