Welcome!

Home of W4GTA, the Tri-States Amateur Radio Club!

The Tri-States Amateur Radio Club (TSARC) is a widely-based group of amateur radio operators, primarily located in NW Georgia and surrounding areas, who gather together for camaraderie, fun and to further our hobby.

We enjoy all aspects and modes of Amateur Radio, Analog as well as Digital modes, from lower HF frequencies all the way up to frequencies you probably weren’t even aware of!  All persons interested in learning about Amateur Radio are welcome to and to be a part of our meetings and/or events!  The TSARC also maintains a Facebook presence located here.  You can Contact Us for more information or if there is any way that we can be of assistance to you.

Please note that the Tri-States Amateur Radio Club is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation.  The IRS does grant tax deductions to those who have memberships, contribute and/or donate to such organizations, but there are limitations.  Your donation may be tax deductible, however, you will need to check with your tax preparation expert to see if you qualify.

 

This Saturday, Dec. 7 2024,  The Rambler Radio Club W4LMS (from Lafayette Middle School) will activate Cloudland Canyon State Park, US-2169, from the park interpretive center as a program for park visitors.

See (click it!) the flyer (look to your left) the park has used to advertise the event.

We have room to set up two stations inside the building and the kids will have priority on microphone time.  The public and all club members are welcome to stop by and watch these kids operate!  We’ll be there from 10am until 3pm eastern time.

This is a great opportunity to present Ham radio to the public and help out the park staff with a Saturday program.

 

 

—=== Upcoming Events ===—

  • 2024/12/14 – TSARC Christmas Dinner and Club Meeting – RSVP ONLY Event starts at 6pm, come join us!  See here for more info, directions, etc.
  • 2025 Annual TSARC Dues are due before 12/31/2024! – Click here to join TSARC, pay your dues or donate online!
  • 2025/01/14 – TSARC Club Meeting – Meets every 2nd Thursday of the month except December @ 1900 (7pm eastern).  We will be meeting at LaFayette Middle School, 419 Roadrunner Blvd, LaFayette GA 30728 (meeting will be in Room 705)  Berkshire Hathaway Bldg located at 3089 Battlefield Parkway, Ft Oglethorpe, GA 30742.  This month:  2025. what do we want  need!
  • 2025/01/14 – TSARC VE Testing Session – Testing will be at 419 Roadrunner Blvd, LaFayette GA 30728 (meeting will be in Room 705).  Every 2nd Thursday of the month except December @ 1800 (6pm eastern) at our club meeting location.  Contact Us. – Effective April 11, 2024, Pre-registration is mandatory.  You can find the next test session and register online at: https://hamstudy.org.
  • 2025/01/14 – Pre-Meeting Eating Meeting – It’s back on! Join up for a great meal and conversation at Choo-Choo BBQ located at 12960 US-27, Chickamauga, GA 30707.  O’Charley’s which is located at 2542 Battlefield Pkwy, Ft Oglethorpe, GA 30742 at 1645 (445pm eastern).
  • 2024-10-07 – NEW items on our SALE/TRADE/WANTED/DONATE page, check these out! 

—=== Upcoming Nets ===—

  • Monday thru Friday – TSARC Daily Devotional, 0720 (720am eastern).  Start your day right with our Daily Devotional!
  • Every Sunday Night – ARRL Weekly News Podcast, 1930 (730pm eastern).  News and information for US based HAMs.
  • Every Monday Night – TSARC Monday Night Club Net, 1900 (7pm eastern).  Catch up with other TSARC members and some good camaraderie.
  • Every Monday Night – TAG YL Net, 2000 (8pm eastern).  Join in on the fun ladies!  This is a ladies only check-in net.  OM’s, feel free to listen in!
  • Every Tuesday Night – Walker / Catoosa County ARES / Skywarn Net, 1900 (700pm eastern).  Learn how to help others when all else fails.
  • Every Wednesday Night – Join the TAG Digital Voice Net, 1930 (730pm eastern) All modes welcome.  See LMARC for more details.
  • Every Thursday Night – RV Radio Network, 2100 (9pm eastern).  RV’er or not, you’re welcome!  See LMARC for more details.
  • Every Friday Night – ARN Weekly News Podcast, 1930 (730pm eastern).  World-Wide news and information for HAMs.

—=== Things You Need to See ===—

Join in with us on the weekly TSARC Club Net!

We have a great time every Monday evening beginning at 7pm eastern time.  We welcome announcements from any station, regardless of club affiliation, as long as they are HAM radio related.  Announce your clubs meetings, nets, local HAM Fest, etc.  We’ll accept checkins from mobile, portable, short time, in and out stations along with Echolink and Allstar stations first.  We move onto all other checkins, any mode, anywhere and start taking comments from all.

We are currently going through the Tech, General and Extra FCC Amateur Radio Exam pools and generally asking a couple of questions from each just to add a little fun and camaraderie.  We’ll follow all that up with time for Tech Q&A, this can be a question, an announcement or just a FYI statement.  After that, we’ll take time for a Swap Shop, you can buy, sell, swap anything as long as it’s a) HAM Radio related and b) you are selling personal.. nothing business related.

Join any of the Nets held on TSARC systems via one of the following:

  • N4LMC 53.230 Repeater – no offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Lookout Mountain in GA
  • W4GTA 145.350 Repeater – minus 0.600Khz offset and a 100.0Hz tone required – located atop Lookout Mountain in GA
  • N4LMC 146.640 Repeater – minus 0.600Khz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Signal Mountain in TN
  • N4LMC 224.120 Repeater – minus 1.6Mhz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop White Oak Mountain in GA
  • N4LMC 224.560 Repeater – minus 1.6Mhz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Lookout Mountain in GA
  • N4LMC 224.920 Repeater – minus 1.6Mhz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Signal Mountain in TN
  • N4LMC 443.525 Repeater – plus 5Mhz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located on White Oak Mtn in Ringgold, GA
  • Allstar – N4LMC Node 46331
  • Amateur Wire – Extension 90013
  • Echolink – W4EDP-R, node 9058
  • HAMs Over IP – Extension 15014
  • HamShack Hotline – Extension 94013

TAG YL Net (TN, AL, GA) – Monday nights at 8 PM Eastern on the W4GTA 145.350 repeater as well as other methods, see below.

Net control will usually be Terri, N9ZEN. This net provides a forum for Licensed Female Hams of all ages and ham experience to meet on the air for fellowship, to discuss common interests, to discuss technical topics, to learn how to prepare for emergency events and communications, and more!

Each week we will cover many of those and other eclectic subjects, including providing information on topics such as FAQs, answers to technical questions, information about upcoming events and activities, and more.

We invite all female (YL) Hams everywhere to check in to this net.  We invite OMs (Old Men) hams and non hams to listen as well (and many do), but only YLs are “allowed” to check-in and participate.  Be sure to check out our website located at TAGYLNet.Org.

Join the TAG YL Net held on the TSARC systems via one of the following:

  • N4LMC 53.230 Repeater – no offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Lookout Mountain in GA
  • N4LMC 144.920 Repeater – +2.5Mhz offset and a 073 DCS code required – located atop Signal Mountain in TN
  • W4GTA 145.350 Repeater – minus offset and a 100.0hz tone required – located atop Lookout Mountain in GA
  • N4LMC 146.640 Repeater – minus 0.600Khz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Signal Mountain in TN
  • N4LMC 224.120 Repeater – minus 1.6Mhz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Signal Mountain in TN
  • N4LMC 224.560 Repeater – minus 1.6Mhz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located atop Signal Mountain in TN
  • N4LMC 443,525 Repeater – plus 5Mhz offset and a 146.2Hz tone required – located on White Oak Mtn in Ringgold, GA
  • Allstar – N4LMC Node 46530 or 510130
  • Amateur Wire – Extension 90013
  • Echolink – Conference Server *SELINK* (Used for ALL nets, W4EDP-R is disabled during nets)
  • HAMs Over IP – Extension 15014
  • HamShack Hotline – Extension 94013

Join the Walker County ARES Net on a Simplex “hop around”, held the last Tuesday of each month.

We’ll be utilizing simplex on both 10 meters and 2 meters to hone our skills, as well as test our radios and antennas!  We’ll start on the W4GTA 145.350 (100 Hz tone), and follow net control’s directions from there.  We have discussed the possibility of branching out to other bands as well, maybe 6m, 70cm, 1.25m.  Let us know what you think and what you would like to see.

  • December 17, 2024 @ 1930: 2 meter Simplex – Frequencies will be announced at net time on the repeater.
  • January 28, 2025 @ 1930: 10 meter Simplex – Frequencies will be announced at net time on the repeater.

Join the ARES / SkyWarn Nets held on the TSARC systems via one of the following:

  • W4GTA 145.350 Repeater – minus 0.600khz offset and a 100.0hz tone required – located atop Lookout Mountain in GA
  • N4LMC 146.640 Repeater – minus 0.600khz offset and a 146.2hz tone required – located atop Signal Mountain in TN
  • W4ABZ 146.715 Repeater – minus 0.600khz offset and a 67.0hz tone required – located atop White Oak Mtn Ringgold, GA
  • Allstar – N4LMC Node 46331
  • Amateur Wire – Extension 90013
  • Echolink – W4EDP-R, node 9058
  • HAMs Over IP – Extension 15014
  • HamShack Hotline – Extension 94013

Wednesday evenings beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern on the N4LMC Digital Systems

TAG Multi-Mode Digital Net: (TAG, which stands for TN, AL GA) is held each Wednesday night at 7:30 PM Eastern.  This is a digital only net and is off to a great start!  The TAG D-Star (D-Plus Only) net follows starting at 8:30 PM Eastern time.

The TDARG (TN Digital Amateur Radio Group) is held each Friday night at 9:00 PM Eastern. See below for connection information and check out our Nets page for more information, days and times.

Join the conversation on the TAG Multi-Mode Digital Net by using one of the following methods:

  • Allstar LMARC Node # 510131 – SouthEast Link Bridge System
  • Amateur Wire – Extension 90011
  • Broadcastify / Radio Reference (listen only) Click here
  • C4FM – FCS Reflector – FCS002 Room 89 SouthEast Link
  • C4FM – FCS Reflector – FCS003 Room 89 SouthEast Link
  • C4FM – YSF Reflector – “US SOUTHEASTLINK”, Room #43389
  • D-Star – N4LMC-C 145.160 – located atop Lookout Mountain, GA
  • D-Star – W4RRG-B 444.725 – located atop Signal Mountain, TN
  • D-Star – Universal Reflector (URF) XRF923-D
  • D-Star – XReflector systems XRF913-D, DCS913-D
  • DMR – N4LMC 444.7125 – located atop Lookout Mountain, GA – TS2, TG 43389
  • DMR – W4PL 444.150 – located atop Signal Mountain, TN – TS2, TG 43389
  • DMR – AmComm Network, Talkgroup SouthEast Link #43389
  • DMR – QRM Network, Talkgroup SouthEast Link #43389
  • DMR – TGIF Network, TalkGroup SOUTHEAST-LINK #43389
  • Echolink – Node N4LMC-L Node # 94680 – SouthEast Link Bridge System
  • HAMs Over IP – Extension 15012
  • HamShack Hotline – Extension 94004
  • M17 – M17 Reflector M17-SEL
  • NXDN – NXDN Reflector 43389
  • P25 – P25 Reflector 43389
  • Wires-X – N4LMC 442.650 – located atop Lookout Mountain, GA
  • Wires-X – N4LMC 442.725 – located atop Signal Mountain, TN
  • Wires-X Room – Room # 43389

Other repeaters and/or rooms, reflectors, talk groups can be linked in.  Some that routinely link in are listed below, however those listed below are not guaranteed.

See LMARC’s Net page for information on all the nets that our systems carry that you can join in on.  Join in on these nets, they won’t exist without participation and interest.  Many of these nets are also looking for Net Control persons and Alternate Net Control persons!

We test every 2nd Thursday of the month (except December) at 6pm eastern at our club meeting location.  While it’s not required that you register, it is advisable that you contact us so that we can make sure to have the resources on hand for your session and also so that we can contact you with any last minute changes such as times, locations, etc.  If you have a need for other testing times and / or location due to shift work, work travel, etc, please contact us and we can attempt to work out something or help you get in contact with another test session that can help.

With any passing of the Tech exam (does not apply to test after license lapse or revocation), the TSARC rewards you with the remainder of the current calendar year of membership in TSARC as our gift to you for all of your hard work and successful completion of the exam!  We hope that you like us and will renew for years to come after your gift ends.

We  had another great testing session, we added / upgraded HAMs!  They all, test takers and VE’s,  did an outstanding job as always.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the new Technicians, Generals and Extras!  Be sure to check out our picture album and our HAM family as they are told they passed!

Welcome to the fun and excitement of HAM radio, the world’s greatest hobby! Now that you’ve earned your license or upgrade, you probably can’t wait to get on the air and make use of those privileges, and we’d like to do our part to help you get going. If there is anything that we can do to help you get going, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any club member, we want to hear you on the air!

We want to see all of you succeed and have fun with this hobby!

A Bit About Us

The TSARC owns and operates one of the amateur radio repeaters in the NW Georgia area.  Our W4GTA 2 meter repeater located high atop (2473′ ASL) Lookout Mountain in GA, operates on 145.350 (minus offset & a pl tone of 100.0 Hz) and is open to all properly licensed Amateur Radio Operators.  The W4GTA repeater has some of the best coverage in this area, it covers all of NW GA, South down toward Calhoun, West into Alabama as well as Chattanooga, TN and North.

If you would like to help support our efforts to maintain this repeater and it’s coverage, think about joining the Tri-States Amateur Radio Club.  At only $20 per year, it costs less than 1/3 of a cheap cup of coffee per month!

Also, some of our members own, operate and maintain repeaters and other types of systems that are open for all properly licensed Amateur Radio Operators to use.  You can find out more about many of these systems by checking out our Repeater Listings.

Club Repeater: W4GTA 145.350 (- offset, 100.0Hz tone)
Linked to the N4LMC 146.640 (- offset, 146.2Hz tone)
Linked to the N4LMC 443.525 (+ offset, 146.2Hz tone)

Allstar Node: 46331
Amateur Wire: Extension 90013
Echolink Node: W4EDP-R, #9058
HAMs Over IP Extension: 15014
HamShack Hotline Extension: 94013

Come try us out, we think you’ll find what you’re looking for here!

The TSARC is an ARRL (American Radio Relay League) affiliated club and we encourage all of our members to become and remain ARRL members.  For more information visit the ARRL TSARC Club page.  We also offer ARRL Volunteer Examiners (VE’s) to help you obtain your license.  We can test for Technician, General and Extra Class and generally offer a test session 1 hour prior to our Monthly Club Meeting. (Please Contact Us prior to the month you want to test so we can make sure that we can accommodate your needs.)

We are very good at communicating!  If you’re having a public event where communications are important, we might be able to help.  Amateur Radio Operators assist in events such as bike races, triathlons, parades, large events and more.  All the practice we get from helping out, is preparing us for emergencies that we hope we’ll never have to deal with.

A brief note: The key to success on the air is described by one word: Courtesy. There’s no other way to explain how hundreds of thousands of Amateur Radio Operators can share the same radio frequencies all over the world with minimum interference and conflict. If you keep courtesy at the front of your mind you’ll rarely have difficulty on the air. An attentive and courteous operator is welcome on our systems, It’s not the class of license the amateur holds, it’s the class of the amateur who holds the license”!

With that said, what we really want is for

YOU to have fun and enjoy this hobby!