New Website Updates!
Several changes have been added to the W5OBM.com website. A new capability to view uploaded videos of the Club's monthly meeting is not available. Check out the About Us menu item and then click on Meeeting Videos. You will be presented with the most recent Club Meeting videos. The list of past videow will continue to grow as time passes with new videos uploaded each month. Additionally, we now provide newsfeeds from the ARRL. Check out the main page on the OBARC site under the third column section with the ARRL Logo. At the bottom is a link to a new page with ARRL newsfeeds that you cn read by clicking on the newsfeed card. Enjoy this new feature!
FCC Fees for Applications & Changes
The FCC has recently approved new license fees for Amateur Radio and GMRS. According to the FCC (pending final approvals), Amateur Radio Application fees will now cost $35. This same fee will apply to new licenses, renewal licenses, and vanity call signs. No date has been announced for these fees to begin, but it is expected to become effective in June of 2021.
| FCC Request | Charge |
|---|---|
| New License | $35.00 |
| Special temporary authority | $35.00 |
| Rule Waiver | $35.00 |
| License Renewal | $35.00 |
| Vanity Call Sign (Amateur Radio Service) |
$35.00 |
Become an ARRL member
ARRL is the national association for Amateur Radio in the US. Founded in 1914 as The American Radio Relay League, ARRL is a noncommercial organization of radio amateurs. The 156,000 ARRL members are many of the active radio amateurs in the nation and has a proud history of achievement. ARRL focuses on five pillars: Public Service, Advocacy, Education, Technology, and Membership.
The Olive Branch Amateur Radio Club is an ARRL affiliated club and we encourage our members to join the ARRL to support the efforts of Amateur Radio and to continue to lobby for frequency allocations and the rights of our Amateur Radio operators. Please, consider becoming a member of the ARRL today!
Olive Branch Amateur Radio Club
Serving Olive Branch and DeSoto county amateur radio operators since 2000
Calendar of Events
Weekly OBARC Net Every Thursday at 2030 pm CT
Join us on 147.255 MHz +600 Hz (79.7 CTCSS), 444.700 +5.0MHz (107.2 CTCSS), EchoLink Node #568763 or Wires-X Room #64620 on either repeater. These repeaters are linked providing FM bridging on both repeaters simultaneously. View details
Monthly Club Meeting Every third Tuesday at 19:00 CT
Meeting announcements will be sent out via the Groups.io reflector every month. We have restated in-person, face-to-face meetings at the Fairhaven Fire Department again. Due to popular demand, video conferencing via Zoom will continue. Zoom meeting ID 234lij234lkj234. For directions to Club meetings, see our Meeting Location and driving directions page.
ARRL Field Day June, 2024
Dates: June 22nd and 23rd
Location: TBD
Time: June 22d - 1:00 pm start umtil June 23d 12:59:59 pm stop
Get ready for the Summer Field Day. Come join us on the fourth weekend in June. This year the dates will be June 22-23. Join in for 24 hours (1pm Saturday-1pm Sunday) of fun making for a weekend of fellowship and learning. Check out more about ARRL Field Day
The plans for this year's event are still in progress. The Olive Branch Amateur Radio Club (OBARC) will operate together at a venue within the Olive Branch area. Plans will be announced here when complete.
See our ARRL Field Day page for more information. Click Here for more details.
Memphis FreeFest
Dates: April 6, 2024
Location: Bartlett Station Municipal Center Auditorium
Time: 9:00 am until 3:00 pm
Public Contact: Art Barnett , Phone: 901-619-5573 Email: wa4pss@gmail.com
Call: WA4PSS
Address: 4133 Minden Rd. Memphis, TN 38117
Contact Info: Phone: 901-619-5573 Email: wa4pss@gmail.com
Mississippi QSO Party
Dates: April 6, 2024
Location: Anywhere
Time: 9:00 am umtil 9:00 pm
The Mississippi QSO Party (MSQP) is held the first weekend of April each year. The 12 hour event encourages ALL Mississippi hams to get on the air handing out Mississippi QSOs to hams around the world. This is also an excellent event for county hunters since many participants will operate mobile or portable from rare counties around the state. High scoring participants in each category will receive a beautiful solid wooden plaque recognizing their accomplishment.
Huntsville Hamfest August 17-18, 2024
Dates: August 17th and 18th, 2024
Location: Von Braun Center 700 Monroe St. Huntsville, AL 35801
It was good to get back to Huntsville this past summer! We look forward to 2024's event. For more information view the hamfest flyer.
Winter Field Day 2025
Dates: January 25th and 26th, 2025 estimated
Location: TBD
Plans for the 2025 Winter Field Day have not been set as yet. Check back here as the time draws nearer for full details.
New Website Updates!. It'll blow your mind.
We welcome the new launch of our updated website designed and engineered by Josh Harris (KI5JFX) and Bobby Stroud (KD5BS). The focus is to provide more informative information to existing users, to invite in new users, and help advance the education of members new and old! The site will provide enhanced contact forms, a membership application form and information about our Weekly Nets and Local Repeaters in the Area. We will provide links to interesting information to HAM operators and with some luck provide a location for New HAMS to get some of the basic start-up information they need to dive into their newly chosen hobby. More to come on this...
Field Day 2024. Plan to participate!
Field Day is ham radio's open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio's science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. Field Day is always a fun time to drag out the gear and operate away from the comfort of the Shack. This year, Field day will be on the fourth weekend in June, the 25th and 26th 2021 from 1pm on Saturdya to 1pm on Sunday. This is 24 hours of racking up the contacts across all bands and modes. You can participate on CW, SSB.FM and operate some Digital modes. Points are earned by the type of contact. Extra point awards are given for Digital modes and for operating outside of the normal street power we normally enjoy. Solar power, generator power and battery power all enjoy a multiplier for point awards. This 24-hour event requires coverage of all hours and is important to points accumulation. Set aside these dates and be prepared to help provide the round the clock coverage for this event.
Interested in Emergency Services? How to get involved.
There are a number of organizations that can help provide the organization and training necessary to assist the community and Emergency Service Responders in a time of need. Consider joining one of the many groups in the Memphis Metro area including ARES/RACES, MedMERS SKYWARN and others. Send us a note via our Contact Us form if you need additional information...
