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West Chester Amateur Radio Association seeks new members

A boom microphone and footswitch have been donated to the West Chester Amateur Radio Association (WCARA) at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester. The equipment was donated by Bob Heil of Heil Sound, Ltd. Heil of Chicago is an internationally-known ham radio enthusiast and operator.

Mike Braun of KB8ZYE and a WCARA member, uses the new boom microphone at the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester. The museum is open for tours Saturday, March 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. Photo Provided.

The microphone is just the beginning of WCARA’s efforts to build several 1,500 watt amateur radio stations at the former VOA-Bethany station in West Chester.

The group has about 60 members, but wants to add more, especially young members. The radio group is willing to provide training classes for those interested in obtaining an amateur radio license, said WCARA president Bob Wickelhaus.

WCARA will need about $50,000 to $100,000 to install new antennas, radios and support equipment to complete building the new WC8VOA stations. The group is looking for donations of antennas, transmitters and receivers, amplifiers, computers and displays.

WCARA has a temporary tower donated by Schumacher-Dugan Construction, Inc. installed on a trailer at the VOA site. After the station is up and running, the tower can be used as a mobile emergency antenna installation.

The radio club recently competed in two amateur radio contests, making contacts with other amateur radio operators in the U.S. and around the world.
“The contests are exercises to help improve communications for emergency situations,” said Wickelhaus.

For more information about the group or to join, go to www.wc8voa.org.

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Tags: Tags: Bob Wickelhaus, National VOA Museum of Broadcasting, National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, VOA Museum, VOA Museum of Broadcasting, Voice of America Museum, WCARA, WCARA president Bob Wickelhaus, West Chester Amateur Radio Association

West Chester Amateur Radio Association members will join thousands of other amateur radio operators nationwide this weekend in a comprehensive evaluation of our nation’s emergency communications capabilities.

Bob Fay, vice president of the local amateur radio group, said the purpose of the event is to train operators and demonstrate the capability of local amateur radio operators to conduct emergency radio communications off the power grid for an extended period of time.

After two years of being shutdown to the public, the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester opened its doors to the public for a few weekend tours in late 2011. After renovations are completed the it will be open on the third Saturday of every month starting in July. Photo by Tony Jones.

Testing will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday and will run continuously for 24 hours to 2 p.m. Sunday. The group will gather at the north end of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting building, 8070 Tylersville Road, in West Chester.

The public is invited and visitors will have the opportunity to operate a radio station for themselves.

• Story: Anniversary of VOA marks beginning of national museum
• Story: Voice of America Museum rich in Cincinnati history
• Follow Voice of America Museum news and updates on WestChesterBuzz.com

The West Chester Amateur Radio Association operates WC8VOA from the VOA building. Club meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at the building. Yearly dues are $5. For information about the club, visit www.wc8voa.org or email Fay at wb0npn@arrl.net.

“Anyone – hams and non-hams – interested in learning more about amateur radio or make high-frequency contacts is invited to join us,” Fay said. “This is a unique club because we have highly technically-oriented members who are experts in their field.”

Once the renovations to the VOA building are complete, the group plans to have two 80-foot self-supporting towers to hold its station antennas.

Starting in July, the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting building will re-open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. on the third Saturday each month.

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Tags: Tags: Bob Fay, National VOA Museum of Broadcasting, National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting, Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission, VOA Museum, VOA Museum of Broadcasting, Voice of America Museum, West Chester Amateur Radio Association, West Chester Amateur Radio Association Bob Fay