History of the Newark Amateur Radio Association

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Some of our historians are collecting records and documenting some of our history, until then we will provide a few highlights.

1960s ...

The Newark Amateur Radio Association was formed prior to October 1969 and became affiliated with the American Radio Relay League on 31 October 1969.  Reference:  http://www.arrl.org/Groups/view/newark-amateur-radio-assn/type:club


1970s ... 1980s ...

Sometime in these years, repeaters were developed to serve the Licking County area.  Laverne Pabian, N8HLP, indicates that sometime in the 1970-1971 time-frame the W8WRP repeater was operational and a secondary receiver site was operational in about 1972.  For many years NARA has had 2 meter and 70 centimeter repeaters operating under the W8WRP call sign.  NARA has since actively supported the operation of these repeaters and other capabilities.  Reference:  https://www.n8ara.org/w8wrp.html

The Newark Amateur Radio Association was incorporated as a 501c7 Not-For-Profit corporation on 13 November 1978.  Reference:  https://n8ara.org/smf/nara-by-laws/1978-articles-of-incorporation/

Fritz Tender, WD8E, found some pictures in his file for a NARA picnic that occurred sometime in the mid-1980s.  Pictures are in folder in the Photo Album.  https://n8ara.org/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=35

1990s ...

The January 1990 club newsletter provides a glimpse into the activities of the club at that time.  One such activity was Transmitter (Fox) Hunting.  Instructions for such an event were provided in that issue.  Here's an excerpt:  https://n8ara.org/smf/older-documents/transmitter-(fox)-hunting-january-1990/?action=dlattach;attach=110

In the early 90s, NARA had a membership list, at or near 150 members.  A great deal of activity is reflected in a January 1992, Hamchatter Newsletter available for viewing here:  https://n8ara.org/smf/older-documents/january-1992-the-hamchatter-newsletter/

A relatively robust NARA Repeater Manual March 1991 Edition is available for viewing here:
  https://n8ara.org/smf/older-documents/nara-repeater-manual-march-1991-edition/

An excerpt from the 1992 Hamchatter Newsletter stated: "November [1991] NARA program on packet produced a packet BBS in Newark.  Thanks to KB8GVW for taking the bait and getting this going for us.  Last report was 25 people regularly using BBS."  This may have marked the time when NARA had it's first Bulletin Board System -- an early version of an online digital instance.

2000s ...

At the turn of the decade, the organization slowed down.  There was difficulty in finding willing volunteers to take on the roles associated with being Officers of the Association.  As documented by Rob Gartner, KB8OBQ,  on 9 December 2000 it was decided by the few 'to put the club into hibernation' and only have one (1) business meeting in December of the year.  This went on until the 9 November 2002 meeting, when NARA came out of 'hibernation'.

It's not certain when NARA had joined the Internet age with a public web site.  A couple of early web pages were available prior to 2003 including a web page at Geocities in early 2003.  NARA President, Tim Reed, KA8PCP, asked for a volunteer to take on developing a new web page.  Earl Paazig, N8KBR, took on that challenge.  In February 2003, NARA began developing a web site with dynamic features like a message board and photo album.  The web site has evolved with time.  Pictorial history of Field Days started being collected on the NARA web site starting with the June 2003 Field Day along with other selected activities of NARA.  Reference:  https://n8ara.org/cpg/index.php?cat=4

In April to May 2003, Marc Pohm, KB8TMG, offered amateur radio classes and then again in September to October 2003.

On 14 April 2005, the By-laws of the Association were amended to include a Club Call Sign Trustee for a newly acquired call sign, KC8ZJJ, issued on 30 March 2004 and the subsequent vanity call sign, N8ARA, issued on 30 April 2004.

In August and September of 2006, Scott Long, K8SM, and Earl Paazig, N8KBR, conducted amateur radio classes for Element 1 and Element 2 at the Licking County EMA.  Scott provided his expertise in Morse Code and Earl provided the instruction on Element 2, Technician Class.  Successful students were Vanessa Evans, KD8EIH, Bethany Evans, K8EII, Teresa Long, KD8EIJ, Douglas Wright, KD8EIK, Charles Daniels, KD8EIL, John Garber, KD8EIM, Brett Mowery, KD8EIN, Dick Boorn, KD8EIO.and Lindsay Long, KD8EIP. Additionally, Dave Crase, N2KNC participated in the Element 1 Morse Code portion.  https://ema.ohio.gov/Documents/Newsletters/2006/09-29.pdf

2010s ...

Effective 26 January 2015, the Articles of Incorporation were amended to indicate desire for 501c3 IRS status.  An application to the IRS was submitted by Fred Nickerson, NL7CF, and the effective date of exemption began on 12 July 2016 and the application was approved on 23 September 2016.
Reference:  https://n8ara.org/smf/nara-by-laws/nara-has-been-granted-its-501-(c)-(3)-status-by-the-irs!/

Beginning in early 2019, the NARA By-laws were revised by a committee lead by LaVergne Pabian, N8HLP, and included, Mike Neal, WD8JLP, and Earl Paazig, W8BR, with input from the membership.  These By-Laws were approved by greater than two-thirds affirmative vote of the active members present at the meeting on 15 June 2019.  https://n8ara.org/smf/nara-by-laws/current-nara-by-laws-15-june-2019/

Throughout the many years, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) has been integral to NARA.  NARA has been an active supporter of ARES activities http://www.licking-ares.org/ and events such as the annual Field Day event held in June of each year.  Reference:  https://n8ara.org/cpg/index.php?cat=4

2020s ...

A Technician Class Amateur Radio Course began on March 14, 2020 taught by Earl Paazig, W8BR, but was disrupted by a Pandemic commonly referred to as the Corona Virus or COVID-19.  The course continued meeting by using teleconferencing technology and a specially designed web site. An exam session was conducted on 13 June 2020 applying protocols like social distancing and face masks.  Call-signs issued were KE8OXP through KE8OXV.

NARA meetings during this time period were conducted via teleconference, as well.  The nature of the Pandemic caused schools and many businesses to be closed for months.  Circumstances were so dire that the Dayton Hamvention was cancelled in May 2020 and May 2021 along with many other events to ensure social distancing.

An exam session was conducted on 13 Feb 2021 with 16 participants in attendance at St. Leonard Catholic Church.  The facility was coordinated by WE8V, NARA President Ron Jones, and the participating Volunteer Examiners were Earl Paazig W8BR (Session Manager), Dwight Bonifield W8TJT, Ken Hagan K8DQ, John Lala KC8MIS, Weldon Mathews K8NQ, Thom Thorpe AD8AG, and Tim Reed KA8PCP. A total of 19 exams were administered in less than 3.5 hours.  One (1) upgrade to Extra and one (1) upgrade to General, two (2) new General and 11 new Technician class licenses were earned.  New callsigns were issued from KE8QYB through KE8QYM and KE8RDN with upgrades for W8KOU and KE8QOL.  The callsigns were assigned in four (4) calendar days and that included a Sunday and a President's Day.

A Technician Class Amateur Radio Course began on March 13, 2021 taught by Earl Paazig, W8BR.  The course was taught using teleconferencing technology and a specially designed web site. An exam session was conducted on 15 May 2021 applying protocols like social distancing and face masks.  The facility was coordinated by WE8V, NARA President Ron Jones, and the participating Volunteer Examiners were Earl Paazig W8BR (Session Manager), Dwight Bonifield W8TJT, Ken Hagans K8DQ, Thom Thorpe AD8AG, and Jim Clark KC8VKQ. A total of 16 exams were administered in less than 3.5 hours.  One (1) upgrade to Extra and one (1) upgrade to General, two (2) new Extra, one (1) new General and six (6) new Technician class licenses were earned.  New callsigns were issued from KE8SAV, KE8SAX, and KE8SCH through KE8SCL, and AD8HJ and AD8HK, with upgrades for KG5NBI and W1CHL. 

In May 2021, the Newark Amateur Radio Association Volunteer Examiner team became an ARRL-VEC Stocked team allowing the team of over 15 volunteer examiners to become more agile for providing exams on a more frequent basis. 

As COVID vaccinations became more prevalent and implemented more activity was evident.  In June 2021, Mike Michelson, KD8DZ, was a driving force in reinstituting weekly luncheons for area amateur radio operators to meet and exchange information, share experiences, and socialize with one another.  These luncheons continue to this day.

In June 2021, NARA conducted Field Day at Horns Hill Park for the first time since 2019, signaling a return to some normalcy after the pandemic.  Over 25 participants were involved.  Members donned their new NARA shirts proudly showing the NARA Logo.  The Association also displayed the new banner.



On the October 9, 2021, NARA conducted a Fox Hunt.  Earl, W8BR, served as Huntmaster by managing the Fox Hunt net and hiding a low power transmitter at Everett Park in Newark, Ohio.  Participants included N8ADX, KA8PCP, WD8JLP, WE8V, K8NQ, K8TMW, KE8OXV, W8RLL, and KE8SWI.  Jeff, N8ADX, won the event by being the first to find the hidden Fox transmitter.  He benefited from a general location tip from Tim, KA8PCP, who was first to find the net control station.  Teamwork was encouraged and was evident.

A Technician Class Amateur Radio Course began on September 4, 2021 taught by Earl Paazig, W8BR.  The course was taught using teleconferencing technology and a specially designed web site. An exam session was conducted on 6 November 2021.  The facility was coordinated by WE8V, NARA President Ron Jones, and the participating Volunteer Examiners were Earl Paazig W8BR (Session Manager), Dwight Bonifield W8TJT, Ken Hagans K8DQ, Thom Thorpe AD8AG, Weldon Mathews K8NQ, Jim Clark KC8VKQ, Tim K8TMW, and Donna, KE8OXT. A total of 22 exams were administered in less than 3.5 hours.  One (1) upgrade to General for KE8SVU, one (1) new General, and twelve (12) new Technician class licenses were earned.  New callsigns were issued from KE8TFX to KE8TGI, and KO4UPA.

Concerted effort was applied by Russ Payne, W8ATA, for the improved liaison between the city of Newark and NARA concerning the maintenance and future use of the tower facility on Horns Hill.

The calendar year 2021 concluded with a holiday pizza party and election of officers for calendar year 2022.  Despite the ongoing waves of COVID variants, the Association continued to meet it's mission of fostering and promoting the hobby of Amateur Radio by providing repeater systems for the Amateur Radio community, providing public service and emergency communications when needed, providing education for licensing, and providing a forum for members to meet and exchange information, share experiences, and socialize with one another.  Teleconferencing was utilized when necessary.

The year 2022 started off with more concerns of a COVID virus variant.  A Exam session that was scheduled for the first Saturday in February was re-scheduled due to an ice storm which closed the roads in the county for a day or two.

An exam session was conducted on 26 March 2022.  The facility was coordinated by WE8V, NARA President Ron Jones, and the participating Volunteer Examiners were Earl Paazig W8BR (Session Manager), Dwight Bonifield W8TJT, Ken Hagans K8DQ, Thom Thorpe AD8AG, Jim Clark KC8VKQ, Tim K8TMW, Donna, KE8OXT, and Rob, KC8SUM. A total of 6 exams were administered.  One (1) upgrade to General for KE8TGG, and two (2) new Technician class licenses were earned.  New callsigns were issued, KE8UIK and KE8UIL, with slight delays due to ARRL web site outages for site upgrades.

A Technician Class Amateur Radio Course began on February 26, 2022 taught by Earl Paazig, W8BR.  The course was taught using teleconferencing technology and a specially designed web site. An exam session was conducted on 7 May 2022 including these students and others.  The facility was coordinated by WE8V, NARA President Ron Jones, and the participating Volunteer Examiners were Earl Paazig W8BR (Session Manager), Ken Hagans K8DQ, Fritz Tender WD8E, Rob Miller KC8SUM, Thom Thorpe AD8AG, Jim Clark KC8VKQ, Tim K8TMW, and Donna, KE8OXT. A total of 23 exams were administered in less than 3 hours.  Three (3) upgrades to Extra, one (1) upgrade to General, and eight new Technician class licenses were earned.  Since a $35 fee from the FCC was implemented on 19 April 2022, the processing of new licenses took on additional steps.

The VE team continued their quarterly exam schedule.

On the October 1, 2022, NARA conducted a Fox Hunt.  Earl, W8BR, served as Huntmaster by managing the Fox Hunt net and hiding a low power transmitter at Taft Reserve-North near Heath, Ohio.  Participants included N8CJ (Netlogger), N8ADX, KE8OXT, WD8JLP, WE8V, KE8TGC, KE8UUO, KE8TGD, K8TMW, KE8UTY, KD8SCL, KB8VUL, KE8UQP, and a guest observer, totalling 15 people.  The first on the scene, to find the net control station was Terry, KE8UUO.  Jeff, N8ADX, won the event by being the first to find the hidden Fox transmitter.  Teamwork was encouraged and was evident.

The website was enhanced by Ken, K8DQ, allowing for an active online membership application and facilitating donations and dues payments via Paypal.

The calendar year 2022 concluded with a holiday pizza party and election of officers for calendar year 2023.

More history will be outlined here soon ... stay tuned ...

... The future hasn't been written yet.


The American Radio Relay League has nice write-up for the history of Amateur Radio located at the following web site:  http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-history