Welcome
Founded in 1978 as a 501(C)(3) charitable organization, the Lake County Amateur Radio Association (LCARA) is a group of FCC licensed Amateur Radio Operators. We are affiliated with the American Radio Relay League as a Special Services Club, ARES and Sky Warn, serving Lake County, Ohio and the surrounding area. Our mission is to foster the advancement of Amateur Radio through education, mentoring (Elmers), regular ARRL/VE testing, and public service. We are headquartered at the Lake County History Center where we maintain a fully functional amateur radio station, available for use by licensed club members and offer a display of many ham related artifacts.
The Association owns, operates and maintains three FM repeaters that cover the Lake County area, using our club call-sign N8BC.
Operatiing activities include weekly VHF and HF Nets, annual operating events such as NVIS Day, ARRL Field Day, OSPOTA, and other public service events.
Our ARES team participates in the annual SET exercise, PNPP / FEMA bi-annual drill with the Emergency Management Agency of Lake County, and is otherwise available to assist all safety forces in the event of disaster, emergency or with other needs when called.
We publish a newsletter monthly called “The Patch”. This publication summarizes club news, activities and contains columns from both members and nonmembers on subjects pertaining to the hobby or of general interest, copies of which are available for viewing and download.
The Association meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm. Locations vary by season. You do not have to be a member or even a licensed ham to attend.
Should you wish to join our club, an application form is available for download from this site.
If you have any questions or comments, reach us via the “Contact Us” tab.
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