About Us

The West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society was first incorporated in February,1958 in Jackson Tennessee. The name of the club at that time was Jackson Radio Club, Incorporated. We are an ARRL affiliated club. The club has monthly meetings at the Jackson-Madison County EMA office at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport. We meet at 7:00 P.M. on the first Thursday of each month. Many of the club members are also ARES and RACES members. They support the Jackson-Madison County Emergency Management Agency. The ARES/RACES group meets the third Thursday of each month at the same location.

Several civic events are supported each year, including the Bagels and Bluegrass Century Bicycle race, several 5K events, and the Jackson Christmas parade. We take part in ARRL Field Day and the Tennessee QSO Party. In addition, we have Emergency Communications drills throughout the year.

JOIN US TODAY!

We Are an ARRL-Affiliated Club

WTARS, P.O. Box 3382, Jackson, TN 38303

WWW.WTARS.ORG

WELCOME!

If you are looking for fun, fellowship, education, and service in Amateur Radio, here are some reasons to join the West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society (WTARS). The West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society has been around, in one form or another, for fifty years. WTARS serves all of West Tennessee. The members have use of several VHF and UHF repeaters, as well as Internet-linked packet radio. "WF4Q" is the FCC-designated call sign for the West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society. "WF4Q" is used by operators of special events stations, club activities, sponsored events, SKYWARN and Field Day. Operators using "WF4Q" are acting as the Net-Control station. In such directed-net activities, all stations on the frequency should follow the directions from "WF4Q." Our radio repeaters are usually open unless some sort of drill, emergency situation, or severe weather event is going on. If you choose to use our repeaters, we ask that you become a member. Dues are $24 per year.

American Radio Relay League

Founded in 1912, the ARRL is the national organization representing Amateur Radio interests in the United States. As radio amateurs, our single greatest resource is our frequencies. This requires representation in World Administrative Radio Conferences (WARC), Congress, and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). For more information on the ARRL, go to http://www.arrl.org.

Meetings

The West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society is dedicated to advancement and growth of the Amateur Radio service, and usually meets every first Thursday of each month. The meetings usually start around 7 PM in the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) office inside the EMA building at the McKellar-Sipes Airport, 239 Grady Montgomery Drive in Jackson, Tennessee. Occasionally, some meetings are scheduled for different days or locations, such as in local area restaurants. All meetings are open to the public, and visitors are welcome.

Thank you for your interest in WTARS and our radio repeaters. We hope you will seriously consider becoming a member of the West Tennessee Amateur Radio Society. The WTARS is a non-profit Tennessee corporation.

All of the WTARS radio repeater sites have battery back-up and are built with severe weather in mind. The National Weather Service, the MEDMERS, the Red Cross, and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency all make use of WTARS radio repeaters during actual emergencies and disasters. Our radio repeaters are usually open unless some sort of drill, emergency situation, or severe weather event is going on. If you choose to use our repeaters, we ask that you become a member. Dues are around $24 per year. It costs a lot of money to maintain the system, and we cannot do it without your support. The success of the system is directly related to the wonderful support we have had from the amateur radio community over the past years.