Events…

The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) holds or hosts many annual events. Use this page to find your favorite activity and plan your Amateur Radio year.

January: One-Day Technician Study Session

The Winter Field Day Association (WFDA) is a dedicated group of Amateur Radio Operators who believe that testing emergency communication in a winter environment is essential. This year will be our fourth attempt at Winter Field Day, scheduled for January 28/29, 2023. More details are on our Winter Field Day page.

If you are as serious about emergency communications as we are, we welcome you to join us for our yearly event. We hope you will find this event a pleasant change and has different challenges than the summer field day.

January: All Ham Dinner

Many years ago, amateur radio clubs in the Oklahoma City area started an event known as the “All Ham Dinner.” This dinner allows about 70 hams to get together, eat dinner, and communicate with each other. This dinner is held on the third Thursday of January, May, and September at 6:30 p.m. No RSVP is needed; show up and join the fun. The next January dinner is on January 18, 2024. This dinner will be at the Golden Palace Buffet at 1224 South Air Depot Boulevard, Oklahoma City. (405) 737-7118. The Golden Palace is on the east side of Air Depot Blvd, just north of SE 15th St.  The location and more information are available at this link.

To spread the load and fun of hosting these dinners, the member clubs of the Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs (CORA) take turns organizing the event. This means that each club sponsors one of the dinners every two years. The hosting club selects the location and arranges a restaurant to host those who attend. The host club also makes a presentation and then facilitates a round-robin discussion by all clubs. This allows each club to present its recent activities or request assistance at a future event.

February: 2023 Technician License Class

SCARS typically holds an annual Technician class. This year it will be delayed to try the one-day event in January. More info as it becomes available.

March: Elk City Hamfest 2024

This annual event started in 1989. The 2024 event will be Saturday, March 2, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. to ??:?? pm. It’s a great little hamfest, and seeing some new and old friends is neat.

Laurel VE testing will be at 1:00 p.m. Set-up times are available on Friday Afternoon from 1:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. $10.00 registration fee, and $5.00 tables.

March 11 & 12: Oklahoma QSO Party

The Oklahoma QSO Party happens on the second weekend in March. This year, that will be March 9th and 10th, 2024. State QSO parties are an excellent way for Okies to talk to each other and the rest of the country.  County hunters use this event to increase their Oklahoma county contacts. Hams working on their Worked All States (WAS) award will use this to confirm an Oklahoma contact.

Operating times are 9:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. on Sunday local time. Note that Daylight Saving Time usually starts Sunday morning, so spring forward Sunday morning. For more details, see the K5CM web page with all the information. If you are an Oklahoma station, please consider going mobile this year. Please help us get all 77 counties on the air in a big way!

March: NWS Offers Storm Spotter Training

Each year, the National Weather Service (NWS) offers storm spotter training for our area. There will be other opportunities to obtain this training, including online webinar presentations, available on the Spotter Talk web page. This year, there are three opportunities for online webinars, one opportunity for an advanced webinar, and fourteen in-person classes around the region.

ARES storm spotters need this training either this year or last year to be a part of the storm spotter program for the upcoming season.

April: SCARS Spring Picnic 2023

Each spring, after the Technician / General class, SCARS holds a picnic. This year, the spring picnic would typically be on April 13th, 2024, at the WA6DKD ranch. Details will be available on the w5nor.org homepage.

April: Green Country Hamfest 2024

This annual event is again billed as the BIGGEST and the BEST in Oklahoma! This year, this event will happen on April 12th and 13th, 2024. The doors will be open from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday and from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

There will be ARRL VE testing, keynote speakers, vendors, and flea market tables. Tons more information is available on the Green Country Hamfest website.

May: Hamvention 2024 – Xenia (Dayton), OH

This annual event started in 1952, and tens of thousands of hams come together with vendors, classes, and a giant flea market. Generally, this happens on the second weekend in May. This year, it’s May 17-19, 2024. More information is available at club meetings and on the web at http://www.hamvention.org/.

May 18: All Ham Dinner

Many years ago, amateur radio clubs in the Oklahoma City area started an event known as the “All Ham Dinner.” This dinner allows about 70 hams to get together, eat dinner, and communicate with each other. This dinner is held on the third Thursday of January, May, and September at 6:30 p.m. No RSVP is needed; show up and join the fun. The next May dinner is May 9, 2024. This dinner will probably be at the Hibachi Buffet in South OKC. The location and more information are available at this link.

To spread the load and fun of hosting these dinners, the member clubs of the Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs (CORA) take turns organizing the event. This means that each club sponsors one of the dinners every two years. The hosting club selects the location and arranges a restaurant to host those who attend. The host club also makes a presentation and then facilitates a round-robin discussion by all clubs. This allows each club to present its recent activities or request assistance at a future event.

June: Field Day 2024 – Summer

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors an Annual Field Day exercise. Each year, SCARS participates in these activities and operates emergency radios for 24 hours straight. Each year, this is held on the fourth full weekend in June, which, this year, will be June 29 – June 30, 2024. Contact any SCARS officer if you’d like to participate in the fun. More information is available at club meetings and on the web at w5nor.org/fd

July: Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs Ham Holiday 2024

This annual event, sponsored by the Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs (CORA), started in 1974 and has brought thousands of Hams together with vendors, classes, and a giant flea market. Ham Holiday is generally the fourth weekend in July. This year, it is scheduled for July 26-27, 2023, at Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May, in Oklahoma City, OK. More information is available at club meetings, on the web at HamHoliday.com, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/HamHoliday. See you there!

This event celebrates the “Mother Road,” Route 66, by activating special event stations along the route. This event started in 1998 and lets hams relive their memories of Route 66 and celebrate the highway’s rich history in making the U.S. what it is today. This year will be from September 7-14, 2024.

Amateur radio clubs use special 1×1 callsigns to operate from cities on or near Route 66 from coast to coast. Each year, the Oklahoma City Autopatch club activates from OKC, the West Central Oklahoma folks operate from the Elk City area, and the Tulsa groups run the eastern part of the state. SCARS members are always invited to help work the station or look for these stations on the air to collect beautiful QSL cards. More information is available on the W6JBT website.

October 8-9: South Dakota State QSO Party 2024

OK, it may not make sense that this is on the event calendar. However, SCARS’ W5NOR callsign is missing ONE state for 20 meters CW Worked All States. That state is South Dakota. So, this entry is here to remind folks that we need to work this state on 20-meter CW during the party. Here’s the link to the South Dakota QSO Party with all the details.

October: BSA Jamboree On The Air (JOTA)

This annual event is usually held on the middle weekend in October. In this event, the Boy Scouts will gather to learn about radio, talk on the radio, and communicate with other Boy Scouts at similar events across the globe. Here in Norman, they typically meet at a local park, and various SCARS members bring radios, antennas, and other systems for the Scouts to set up and use. A training opportunity will allow the Scouts to obtain their Radio Merit Badge. For more information about the JOTA program, visit this Scouting site. More information is available at club meetings and from the Boy Scout Troops.

October: SCARS Fall Picnic 2024

Each fall, typically in October, SCARS holds a picnic. This year, the Fall picnic will be held on October 12, 2024, at the WA6DKD ranch. Details will be available on the w5nor.org homepage.

November 3: Cycle 66 Communications

This event started in 2021 and had 555 riders running on three different-length routes. About 50 local amateur radio operators provide communications along the route. More information will be on the Edmond Amateur Radio Society’s website at https://k5eok.org/ as we near the event.

December 2: Stockyards City Cowboy Christmas Parade

It is time to sign up for the 2024 edition of the parade! The parade is on Saturday, December 2nd, 2023. Please visit the K5EOK Stockyards City Cowboy Christmas Parade Page and complete the form to sign up.

December 5: SCARS Annual Christmas Party 2023

This annual event started in 1978 and brought about 50 hams together for a great meal and a “White Elephant” Christmas gift exchange. Each gift should be a maximum of $15, and “No Free Harbor Freight items are allowed.” Bring your wrapped gift labeled from/for either a “ham” or “non-ham.” This year will be December 5, 2023, at 5:30 p.m., at the Golden Corral, 123 N Interstate Dr., Norman, OK. More information is available at club meetings or on the SCARS Facebook Group.

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2019 SCARS Past Meeting Topics

• 2019 – January
• 2019 – February – Nancy from NASA.
• 2019 – March
• 2019 – April – ARES, SKYWARN, NWS and You. Presented by Mark Kleine N5HZR Cleveland County ARES Emergency Coordinator. Presentation available here.

2018 SCARS Past Meeting Topics

• 2018 – January – SATERN – Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network by Bob Rogers WA5EEZ.
• 2018 – February – Mark Kleine N5HZR – Grounding and Bonding – Presentation here – Motorola Grounding here – Polyphaser here
• 2018 – March – Peter Laws N5UWY – Amateur Radio Satellites 
• 2018 – April – Phil Sinnett KD5UGO & Bill Lockett AE5F – Direction Finding Antennas and SCARS two-meter tape measure yagi kits.
• 2018 – May – Bill Baker WG5T – Cigar Box Guitars and Amplifiers from Another Mother.
• 2018 – June – Jim Massara N2EST – QSL Cards, how they work and how to use them.
• 2018 – July – Conrad Warren W7WLM talks about his work with the Marconi T-antennas. Homebuilt antennas are shown and he tells you how to build your own antenna. Link to the presentation video. More information on T-antennas is available at this link.
• 2018 – August – Conrad Warren W7WLM and Phil Sinnett KD5UGO talk about tube radios. Demonstrations of simple tube transmitters and receivers are shown. Link to the presentation video.
• 2018 – September – Gerry Creager N5JXS talks about the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and their use of radio. Link to the total meeting video.
• 2018 – October – Bob Rogers WA5EEZ and Jim James KG5BIM gave a great demonstration and presentation on Winlink. Link to the presentation PowerPoint.
• 2019 – November – John Langridge 630 M setup – Skype from Dallas, TX.
• 2019 – December –

2017 SCARS Past Meeting Topics

• 2017 – January – Meeting canceled due to potential Ice Storm.
• 2017 – February – DXKeeper. By Peter Laws N5UWY presented information on the DX Labs Software Suite. Peter has provided his presentation slides for your later review, and they are available here. Here are two additional links to presentations from DX Lab Suite that may also be of some assistance to your pursuit of this software. http://www.dxlabsuite.com/Presentations/DXLab%20Suite%202012-03-19.pdf and http://www.dxlabsuite.com/Presentations/DXing%20with%20DXLab%202016-05-05.pdf
• 2017 – March – PSK31 and ARRL Membership. This month our own Bill Baker WG5T presented information about the digital mode of operating PSK31. That Powerpoint presentation is available here on the W5NOR website. More info on PSK31 is available on the W5NOR PSK31 page.
  And, our own ARES Technical Specialist Gary Skaggs WB5ULK presented the ARRL, and the benefits of membership. More info on the ARRL is available on the ARRL web page.
• 2017 – April – Denny WA6DKD presented a great presentation about building your own antennas with whatever you have around the shack. For more information, please see the W5NOR Antenna page, or search the web to build your own antennas.
• 2017 – May – Field Day 2017 Setup By Chris Pape KE5JZN
• 2017 – June –
• 2017 – July –
• 2017 – August –
• 2017 – September – Gordon Hudson AD5GG talked about designing antennas.
• 2017 – October – Aubrey Washington KF5DJH talked about his deployment to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Irma, and his upcoming deployment back to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
• 2017 – November –
• 2017 – December –

2016 SCARS Past Meeting Topics

• 2016 – January – Drones, drones, drones. By PDC Productions
• 2016 – February – ARES Oklahoma. By Gayland Kitch WX5MOR
• 2016 – March – How Far Can Your Talkie Talk? By Harold Black W5IFN
• 2016 – April – DMR, D-STAR, and System Fusion By Mark Kleine N5NZR – Presentation slides are available here: – More info on DMR, on D-STAR…
• 2016 – May – Field Day 2016 Setup By Chris Pape KE5JZN
• 2016 – June – Collector & Emitter Online Archives and Q.R. Zedd Archives By Mark Kleine N5HZR and Gary Skaggs WB5ULK.
• 2016 – July – Planning Your Tower Work By Phil Sinnett KD5UGO Also auction of spare club goodies.
• 2016 – August – Logbook of the World By Peter Laws N5UWY
• 2016 – September – Cheap Handhelds and Their Effect on Amateur Radio Gordon Hudson AD5GG
• 2016 – October – Homebrewing From Scratch Presentation – Kenn Goodson KA5KXW
• 2016 – November – Young Ladies Radio League – Michelle Carey W5MQC District 5 Representative and Learn Morse Code – Mark Kleine N5HZR
• 2016 – December – James Tittle, AR-OK Regional Disaster Director for the American Red Cross. James talked the with the members of SCARS and talked about the role of the contemporary Red Cross, and how Amateur Radio can be involved in getting the message through “when all else fails”. A number of volunteer opportunities were discussed and will be posted on the CC ARES page.