Welcome to SCARS

2020 Hamvention® Club of the Year

About SCARS

The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society is an American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Special Services Club in the Cleveland County, Oklahoma, area. We help develop the amateur radio community in the region, state, and beyond with our Facebook presence and weekly newsletter.

We are a group of people interested in communicating without accessing public infrastructure. SCARS members are interested in talking to our friends or family during severe weather conditions or when power or communications systems are down. Hams are typical ‘makers’ interested in building our radio communications equipment. Amateur radio provides many different project opportunities to design, create, and use our gear. We live at the intersection of computers, the Internet, and radio. New, inexpensive devices allow us to communicate with neighbors using low-power VHF or UHF systems. We can talk globally using the linked Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), D-STAR technologies, or through space, with satellite links in minutes.

If you want to get licensed, visit our “Be a Ham” web page, join our Facebook page, or visit us on Tuesday Elmer Nights.


Elmer Nights

Each Tuesday evening from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, about 25 hams and potential hams meet at the Norman Firehouse #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, Norman, OK, and on the SCARS Zoom channel, https://w5nor.org/zoom/. After all the holiday nonsense, we’re back on a regular “Every Tuesday Night” schedule. In the amateur radio verbiage, an Elmer is a person who mentors or teaches another. This is the place to visit if you have any amateur radio questions. Feel free to bring the equipment you need help with. All are welcome; a license or membership is not required. More detailed information is on the SCARS Elmer Nights page. See you Tuesday!


March 7: Amateur Radio License Testing

SCARS offers no-cost amateur radio license test sessions on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Firehouse #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, Norman, OK, 73069. The locations and time details are available on our license web pageSign up here today, and you will be ready for the test.


March 9 Meeting: Duane Angles AA5KD – Quansheng UV-K5 Walkie Talkie

Duane Angles AA5KD will discuss the newest ‘inexpensive’ device, the QUANSHENG UV-K5 Walkie Talkie Dual Band 5W Rechargeable Two-Way Radio. This little handheld transmitting computer seems like it can do it all. There are alternate firmware packages that have unlocked tons of features. It transmits on VHF, UHF, and 1296. It can handle AM and FM. It also can listen to the HF band, and I think Duane can even make it wash dishes. Learn about this new radio and how you can make it sing.

Link to SCARS Quansheng – (In development.)

SCARS meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month (the 3rd during April for the Green Country Hamfest) at Norman Firehouse #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, Norman, OK, and online via Zoom / YouTube / Telephone. The monthly presentation starts at 9:30 a.m. The club meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. Guests are always welcome! Join us on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. for coffee and donuts. To join Zoom, download the Zoom software and click this link at https://w5nor.org/zoom. You can enter using 893 9952 6291 password w5nor. Or, to watch the fun, click the YouTube link at https://w5nor.org/stream …


SCARS Dues are Due

As a reminder, SCARS membership dues start each January 1st. Join/renew today online or through the mail at https://w5nor.org/membership/.


October 2020: YL Batfish Crew

The USS Batfish is a Balao-class submarine named for the fish found off the coast of Peru. During WW2, the Batfish sunk three Japanese Navy submarines in a 76-hour timeframe, and now it is in the Muskogee War Memorial Park, at the Port of Muskogee, OK.

October 9th to the 11th, 2020, some of the YLs (Young Ladies) from Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma were guests of the USS Batfish Radio Club. They operated a special event station from the facility. For more information, you can visit the newsletter article or take a look at the YL Batfish page.


Tape Measure Antennas – VHF/UHF

Our first batch of 30 tape measure antennas sold out in minutes. Another batch is now available. These kits are only $10 and are available from Mark Kleine N5HZR. More information is available on the tape measure antenna page.


VHF Audio is On-The-Web

Are you ever out of town and want to tap into the local net back home, but your 2-meter radio can’t reach that far?  You can now take advantage of technology and the World Wide Web by online listening to the SCARS and OU 2-meter repeaters. Do what? Yes! It’s real, and it sounds great! Give it a try by clicking here or on the play button below.


Homebrew – Pixie Radio Kits

The Pixie 1/2-watt 40-meter CW kits have arrived. “Get ’em while they’re hot” for $10. To get started, take a look at the SCARS Pixie page for circuit descriptions and build instructions. Also, you can visit the refresher information on the SCARS soldering page.


National Weather Museum

The National Weather Museum & Science Center is at 1200B West Rock Creek Road, Norman, OK 73019. This facility houses the historical weather equipment developed or used to promote weather management for the nation. Here you’ll find the world’s first Doppler radar console, a T-28 Trojan Weather Research airplane, a car that survived one of the Moore tornadoes, replicas of the largest hailstones, phased radar systems, and much more.

More information is available at http://NationalWeatherMuseum.com. Make plans to come, and see you there!


Future Meeting Topics

We’re working out the 2024 presentation schedule. We’d love to have more great topics; hopefully, you can supply those ideas. Contact Rodney Barrett KF5UZA, or post it on our Facebook group if you have an idea for a future meeting.


Did You Miss a Meeting?

Our monthly meeting presentations are archived on the Internet. Visit our YouTube channel to see previous events.