Indiana County Amateur Radio Club

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Indiana County Amateur Radio Club

This is the Facebook home of the Indiana County Amateur Radio Club. Longest established Amateur Radio Club in Indiana County. Founded March 1963. ARRL Affiliated.

Still going strong! 💪 Monthly Meetings: First Tuesday of every month @ 7:00pm
Eat 'n Park, 2675 Oakland Ave, Indiana, PA 15701

Saturday Breakfast: Every Saturday @ 8:30am
Eat 'n Park, 2675 Oakland Ave, Indiana, PA 15701

Repeater Information :
146.910 - PL ( 131.8 ) - W3BMD 2m Repeater
444.975 + PL ( 131.8 ) Analog
444.975 + CC1 ( TS2 TG 313037 (Local), TG 3142, 31422) ) DMR
147.570 - Emergen

cy County Simplex

We operate a weekly net to discuss club activity every Monday night at 8:30 PM on the 146.910 repeater. All licensed operators are welcome!

03/18/2026

A Saturday event at the Rhine Road repeater site is planned for March 21, 2026; Weather permitting.
It will be a combination event for antenna construction and a "Hot Dog Night".
The antenna construction event in the afternoon will be a "Loops on the Ground" receive antenna: all materials will be supplied for the construction project. This will involve winding the matching transformer for interfacing the antenna to a radio and testing. As the name implies, it actually is a loop antenna made of insulated wire laying on the ground. It will officially start at 2:00 PM but some of us will be there at 1:00 PM to set up the table and canopies.
The "Hot Dog Night" will transition from the antenna project as time makes for convenience (likely around 5:00 PM). Please feel free to bring something to share at Hot Dog Night.
ICARC’s Rhine Road Repeater site is located East of Coral – Graceton, at 325 Rhine Road, Blairsville, PA, about 1/3 mile from Luciusboro Road.
GPS coordinates 40.49831, -79.13371.
Hope to see you there.

01/23/2026

ICARC is sponsoring Winter Field Day operations on Saturday (1/24), 11:00 hours local time until Sunday (1/25), 16:59 hours local time.
Some food and drink will be available; courtesy of individual ICARC Members. Please feel free to bring some of your favorite foods and drinks to share as well.
The operations will occur indoors within a heated Blue Spruce Lodge building at Blue Spruce County Park near Ernest, PA north of Indiana, PA. Preparation will start on Friday Jan 23 at 11:00 hours to explore and prepare the site for appropriate antenna locations. Three antennas will be erected outdoors.
You are invited to visit us either or all of the days. It may be a good chance for you to do some HF operating if you so desire.
Note: predictions indicate very cold temperatures, so wear the appropriate clothing. There is a Winter storm moving into our area and significant snow and ice is predicted, therefore, a significant, possibility exists that all or part of the event may be canceled. A decision will be made by the late afternoon/early evening of Friday, Jan 23, 2026. If any portion of the event is canceled, an email notification will be sent out Friday evening, so be sure to check your email before heading to the site.
We look forward to your participation!

01/18/2026

Winter Field Day 2026
Date: January 24-25, 2026
Indiana County Amateur Radio Club will be hosting Winter Field Day at:
Blue Spruce Lodge in Blue Spruce County Park (Near Ernest, PA)
Time: Saturday 1/24 11:00 AM - Sunday 1/25 4:59 PM
(Setup: Friday 1/23 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM Saturday 1/24 Early?AM – 11:00 AM)
All Amateurs and general public invited
Bring your friends and family; it's field day, but colder and indoors!
GPS Coordinates: 40.68779, -79.16068
https://www.qsl.net/w3bmd/

01/01/2026

ICARC Holiday Dinner will take place at Hoss's Restaurant in Indiana, Pa at 5:00 PM, on Saturday January 3, 2026. We will be located in the large front Dining Room.
(closest to Wayne Ave.).

We're looking forward to seeing many of you at the dinner. Family and friends are all welcome!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and are looking forward to a great New Year. The dinner is a nice way to kick start it!

12/02/2025

ICARC Meeting on Tue, December 2, 2025, 6:30 PM at the Indiana, PA Eat 'n Park
Restaurant.

10/10/2025

Pennsylvania QSO Party
ICARC will be operating two radios under the W3BMD call sign for the PAQSO Party, this weekend, on Saturday 10-11-2025 from noon to midnight local time and Sunday, 10-12-2025 from 0900 until 1800 hours local time.
It will be a fun weekend.
We look forward to seeing you there, or working you on the bands!
(If wanting to operate but unsure of ICARC's PAQSO Party location, Please reference the ICARC Email that was sent out or Message this Group for more details.)

10/04/2025

The First Saturday is October 4 and the weather prediction is spectacular. It's "Hot Dog" night at 325 Rhine Rd once again. It should be a beautiful night for Moon, Satellite, and Star gazing, as well as eating.

Starts at 6:00 PM. Some of us will be there earlier to prepare. As usual there will be water and basic picnic food, so bring anything you want special beyond that and be prepared to share. Also, it may be a bit cool so bring a lite jacket or blanket. Mainly just bring yourselves, you will be welcome!

Hope to see you there!

08/28/2025

ICARC’s “Last Saturday Event” this month (08/30/2025) is gonna be a work day whose MAIN function will be to drive Ground Rods (3) into the ground for each of the support anchor rods for the tower. The rods are 8 ft. long, copper clad steel, 3/4 inch diameter. We will meet at the Rhine Rd. Site at 10:00 AM. (GPS location: 325 Rhine Rd. Blairsville, PA). There will be other, lighter, work to be done also, so I hope many of us can participate. We need several people for the ground rod work because it will be strenuous and we will need to trade off frequently to get it done the old fashioned way. Bring any ideas or tools that you think might make it easier for us!
Also, feel free to bring water or other beverages and any food that you might want to share.

Thanks & 73

08/15/2025

Hot Dog Night Re-Start

UPDATE: 8/18/2025: The event went very well. Fourteen people attended and no one fell into a any of the large holes in the ground. The weather was good, the campfire was good, the food was good, the conversation was good! There were hot dogs, Brats, potato salad, Potato Chips, corn chips, salsa. It was just a very pleasant evening on the "hill". The sky was clear with a little haze, likely from the Canadian fires. The meteor gazing was a bit disappointing, with only 4 meteors spotted the whole night. However, there were many satellites flying over; it was like a freeway in the sky. A few of us diehards stayed late in hopes of catching sight of more meteors but left before Moon rise, which was to be at 23:58 PM. All in all it was very nice evening and we will be doing it again, weather permitting, on Saturday, September 6, 2025.

ICARC membership decided to restart our "Hot Dog Night". Hot Dog Nights will take place on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. This coming Saturday (Aug 16) is the start date. It will start at 7:30 PM at the Rhine Road Repeater Site (GPS location: 325 Rhine Rd. Blairsville, PA). Weather permitting, there will be a campfire and fire cooked hot dogs provide with condiments including chili, onions, mustard, relish, and ketchup.
Please feel free to bring any other food that you may desire for yourself and to share with the group. Water will also be provided; you're on your own for other drinks. The campfire will have a metal grate open to all who want to cook there upon.
If you have binoculars or a small telescope bring them, the night sky at the location is spectacular in good weather. If you've never been there at night, you are in for a real treat. In fact, the Perseid meteor shower is active from about mid July to early September this year. On any given night the meteors peak between 2 and 4 am but, it has been my experience that one can see them much earlier in the dark. We may have the opportunity to see some good stuff if the weather cooperates. Unfortunately, the Canadian fires are still burning but hopefully their haze won't significantly impact our viewing pleasure.
Also, feel free to bring along your radio gear you’d like to try out from this hilltop location.
Hope to see you all there!

07/24/2025

ICARC invites you to our "Last Saturday" event on July 26, 2025 at the Rhine Road Repeater Site - 325 Rhine Rd, Blairsville, PA 15717 (East of Coral - Graceton). The event will start around 11:00 AM

The exercise for this event will be to create a working antenna in the field from raw materials available to any ham. The antenna materials including feed line will be provided. You Must Bring an HF transceiver, Power Supply, and Antenna Tuning unit of your choice.
Again, feed line and antenna materials will be supplied.

Water will be available and there may be some picnic food if weather permits. Please feel free to bring some snacks to share.

Not yet a licensed Ham - just wanting to know more about Ham Radio or ICARC, or New Ham and no equipment, come check it out.
Looking forward to seeing you there!

06/26/2025

UPDATE: Amateur Radio Field Day is happening this Saturday & Sunday, June 28 & 29, 2025 at Blue Spruce Park.
The Indiana County Amateur Radio Club with the support of the ARRL Foundation and the Indiana County Emergency Management Agency invite all hams in the area, and the public, to participate in its operations at the annual ARRL Field Day event happening this weekend.
The event will be held at Blue Spruce Park near Ernest & Creekside, PA in Indiana County; (5 miles North of Indiana, PA off Route 110) Activities will take place in the Park’s Ball Field beside the Main Parking Lot. The GPS Coordinates of the Field Day location are: 40.68914, -79.16341
Field Day officially starts at 2:00 PM Saturday (June 28) & ends 1:59 PM Sunday (June 29).
HOWEVER: If you are really adventuress, come out on Friday evening (5 PM til dark), June 27 or early Saturday morning to observe and possibly participate in the setup activities. Learn skills in setting up antennas and radios under field conditions which become very useful during emergency situations. Be forewarned, it may be very tiresome but it will also be great fun!
We hope to see you all at Field Day this weekend - Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday at Blue Spruce Park.

Address

Indiana, PA
15701

Telephone

724-397-2702

Website

https://www.qsl.net/w3bmd/

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