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This is an unofficial blurb for the Milwaukee Radio Amateurs’ Club Inc (MRAC).  Unofficial because it is just my own doing.  I am a past President of the club and current historian (among other duties), so I guess I know something about it.  The Milwaukee Radio Amateurs’ Club is one of the world’s oldest continuously active amateur radio clubs (only 2 or 3 are older).  The key word is continuous.  The club has never gone dormant as some other clubs did during war time.  The club was formed in January of 1917 and affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in 1919.  The club was the sponsor for the 1948 ARRL national convention as well as the QSL manager for SAREX Space Shuttle mission STS-51.  Its members have included some of the pioneers of electronics and broadcasting in the Milwaukee area.  It founded one of only 14 Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VEC) in the entire U.S. (now spun off into it's own entity) (

Check out the MRAC REPEATER (145.390 MHz -600).  Not bad for a single receive site.  One of the original 100 Yaesu Fusion beta sites (in other words since 2014).  The repeater is open to all who wish to use it. 

MRAC has a web page of its own! Click Here!

In recent years you missed meetings with presentations of:
Oscilloscope tutorial
USB Microscopes and Surface Mount Soldering
A visit from Yaesu factory personnel
Yaesu Fusion and Wires-X
Mars Exploration and Driving the Mars Rover
Amateur Radio and the Puerto Rico Hurricane Recovery
Radio Propagation
SDR Play Receiver by factory personnel
Grounding for the Ham Shack
Radio Astromony
Receiving SSTV from the ISS
The Community Repeater Site

Besides other events like:
FM Simplex Contest (every February)
MRAC / MAARS Interclub Hamfest (Milwaukee clubs actually cooperating!)  
Auction every May (no business at the meeting)
Field Day (with MAARS since 2011 and also including the Gateway Technical College Radio Club in 2013 and 2014 and LeFrog in 2017)
The New Picnic Ham (every August) (again with MAARS and MRAC)
 

MRAC IS NOW 105 YEARS OLD!

MRAC has been affiliated with ARRL for 103 years!

No other club has been affiliated longer!

Watch a 15 minute video overview of the history of the club on YouTube

Don't have 15 minutes, how about a 5 minute trailer (with no music) for the video - The First 100 years Trailer

 

LOOK!! - Do you have any pictures of MRAC people and/or events over the years?  Do you have any other memorabilia, documents, whatever from the MRAC's long history?  At the least, Dave would like to create a digital copy for the club archive/photo album/scrapbook.  If you can get a digital image (BMP or JPEG for pictures or scanned images) to me, just - .  If you don't have that capability, I can scan (just give me time please).  If you no longer want the materials, let me know that too.  Thanks in advance.

Did you know that Tom Fuszard KF9PU, one of the coordinators of the MRAC VEC spent 5 years as chairman of the National Council of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC)?  Do you even know what VEC stands for?

Are you an MRAC member (current or past)?  Do you have a picture of yourself in your station and would like it to appear in the club photo album/scrapbook?   Same rules apply as above, just -

MRAC is in desperate need of people who are willing to do work for the club.  This includes meeting refreshments, Field Day planning and management, net control operators (and net managers), on-air code practice instructors, and much more.  If you are interested in helping out just contact any current board member (see the MRAC web site).

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  • Meets the Saturday of each month at Ham Radio Outlet Classroom 5710 W. Good Hope Rd. Milwaukee 10:00 AM

  • Operates the 145.39 (-.600) MHz repeater (127.3 PL) (normal coverage from southern Sheboygan to the Ill state line) (including one of the first Yaesu Fusion repeaters in the Midwest)

  • Friday night nets: 8:00 PM 28.490 MHz USB and 9:00 PM 145.39 (-.600) MHz 127.3 Hz PL FM.

  • Saturday night net: Fusion digital voice 7:00 PM 145.39 MHz -600 KHz

  • Participates in annual ARRL Field Day contest

  • Annual Auction at the May meeting

  • February meeting is post holiday, post FM Simplex Contest, misc party

  • Conducts theory discussions and code practice on the club repeater (to return based on user demand)

  • Formed one of only 14 VEC (Volunteer Examiner Coordinators) in the U.S. - VEC now an independent entity

  • Info phone: 414-459-9741

MRAC like many other clubs (Amateur Radio and otherwise) are in need of new members.  Many newer hams say they have no interest in joining a club that they only want to ___________ (you fill in the blank).  Often the blank is filled in with "I only want to operate the 'whatever' repeater while I'm in the car."  Well Amateur Radio is a vast hobby with a lot of different facets for one to explore.  Operating the repeater is but one facet of Amateur Radio.  Isn't it a lot of work to get your Amateur Radio license to do only one thing?  Plus repeaters don't just grow on trees.  Usually they are owned, operated, and maintained by CLUBS.  No members, no dues, no volunteers, no repeaters, no Field Day, no hamfests, no ________(another blank to fill in).