New Member signup

 

This organization is exclusively for, and limited to, educational, scientific and charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Specifically the OCRA mission is to:

  • Encourage the use of Amateur Radio for emergency and welfare communications for the public good.
  • Further the exchange of information on Amateur Radio among members, and between members and the general public.
  • Promote radio knowledge, fraternalism and individual Amateur Radio operating efficiency.
  • Conduct meetings, classes and other activities of general interest to Amateur Radio operators.

OCRA membership dues are used to cover the costs of building & maintaining the OCRA repeaters; maintaining the club website for membership dues status & communications of amateur radio information; covering the costs of Field Day; and buying insurance for Club-sanctioned member events. Per IRS regulations membership dues are not tax deductible. However, any additional general donations of funds or equipment are tax deductible.

New Memberships:

In accordance with the OCRA Charter of Incorporation, all persons interested in Amateur Radio communications shall be eligible for membership. Membership shall be by application and election as provided in the By-laws.

Not yet licensed? You don’t have to be to join OCRA! Go ahead to supply the information requested below. Your contact information will be used for initial email communication with you about meetings and upcoming license examination sessions.

How to Join:

By Online Submission:   Complete the form below and then click on the “Save & Verify” button at the bottom of the form. Your call sign, name and address information will be verified with the FCC license registry. To match up online applications with any PayPal dues payments, your PayPal email address or shipping address should match the data you supply below.

An email will be sent from OCRA to the secure email address you list below confirming receipt of your application, additional membership information and a private access link you can use to further describe your ham radio interests, need for assistance and make an online credit card dues payment via PayPal. Or, attend the next meeting to pay your dues to the club treasurer.

By Mail: Supply the same information requested below with dues payment (write your callsign on your check) made by check. Make your check payable to “Orange County Radio Amateurs, Inc.”. Mail your information and your check to Orange County Radio Amateurs, Inc., P.O. Box 294, Carrboro, NC 27510.

A completed membership application and dues payment is required to complete the the process of joining OCRA.

Incomplete applications will be kept on record for 3 months in “Pending” status.

Complete the required information fields below, then click the “Save & Verify” button at the bottom of this page to create your initial profile.
Verify “Update Successful” appears just below this message; Any fields in error will be marked in red

Any fields in error will be marked in red and must be corrected before your entries will be saved.

AFTER verifying that your data entered above has been successfully saved, you can make a dues payment by clicking on the applicable PayPal button below.

  1. If you’ve filled in the application data above, make SURE you’ve SAVED YOUR CHANGES first, and THEN use the PayPal buttons below to remit any dues.
  2. A PayPal account is not required. After clicking on the “Buy Now” button below, click on “Pay with Debit or Credit Card”.

Annual Payment Options
Individual Membership
$20/year



Enter Callsign, or your name


 Family Membership
(same household) – $35/year


Enter all Callsigns, or names


 Newly Licensed Ham
1st year – $10



Enter Callsign, or your name

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OCRA Reserved Repeater Use Process

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OCRA Special Request – Reserved Repeater Use Process

OCRA has made it a practice to allow use of the club repeaters for other special events. This is a practice that we all support and would like to continue. However, to make this possible and be able to deliver the best outcomes for the requester and club members a new request / approval policy needs to be put in place. This new policy is really quite simple and not intended to put an unnecessary burden on the requester.

  1. All OCRA repeater users must follow the OCRA Repeater Code of Conduct. If you are not familiar with it, it can be found here:

https://ncocra.org/WordPress_v1/ocra-board-of-directors-repeater-code-of-conduct-policy/

  1. The requester should send the request to: ocra@ncocra.org   
  2. The requester must list all repeaters, repeater locations, and frequencies they intend to use.
  3. The requester must include the day, date, repeater use (primary / backup), expected duration of the use including start and stop times.
  4. A minimum of a 2 week notice must be provided. This may sound extreme, but time is needed to properly communicate to Club Members when the repeater will not be available for general use.
  5. VERY IMPORTANT: If the repeater is not in constant use, the requester needs to make occasional announcements, perhaps every 5 – 10 minutes. The announcement might be something like this: “This repeater is being used for the xxxxx event and we would appreciate a clear frequency”.
  6. Once the request is approved by the OCRA Repeater Trustee, the requester has priority unless the specific repeater is needed for an emergency. For example, for disaster communications by AUXCOMM.

AFTER REQUEST IS RECEIVED

    • Trustee receives the request
    • Trustee reviews request and either approves or rejects
    • Trustee sends notification to the OCRA leadership team
    • President sends summary of the approved request to OCRA membership using Groups.io
    • If request is for Saturday, the Net Control for Sat Aux Net will announce the upcoming event, and if needed will move the net to the backup repeater
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