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Affiliated Club
Welcome to BCARC
Thank you for visiting the site of one of the oldest amateur radio clubs in Northern Idaho. We are a non-profit 501(c) (3) charitable Idaho Corporation, Federal ID Number 82-0425697 incorporated in 2002 to promote amateur radio and serve the interests of the communities in Bonner County Idaho.
The Bonner County Amateur Radio Club was initially established in 1961 by a small group of amateur radio operators with a strong desire to promote amateur radio, to join together in fellowship, and to provide a service to the communities within Bonner County Idaho. In May 1969, we became an American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Affiliated Club. On 14 Feb 2003, the Club was granted a sequentially numbered club call sign of KD7UJQ and on July 2, 2003, the Club’s call sign was changed to K7JEP in memory of Neal Fredstrom who became a silent key in January 2003.
BCARC is a family friendly, all mode, all band operational club, with interests in all fields of Amateur Radio. To see proposed projects, progress in on-going projects, topics of interest to be presented at our next meeting, or changes in meeting schedule see the Club Updates page.
If you are seeking information regarding joining our Club, it can be found here.
Information regarding our Officers, By-Laws, etc. can be found on the About Us page.
Activities
Our members have traditionally assisted in local events. Just a few of our activities are listed here. We furnish communication support, for such events as the annual Lion’s Club 4th of July Parade, the Long Bridge Swim, and, until recently cancelled, the Lake-to-Forest Triathlon bicycle route. A radio station or booth is usually set up during the annual Bonner County Fair. We have a monthly breakfast held in Sandpoint. A family picnic is held in conjunction with our annual Field Day event. We offer Elmers and when needed we host antenna raising parties for the less mobile amateur operators in our area.
Please contact one of our club officers if you know of an event in Bonner County Idaho in need of communication support.
BCARC Meetings
BCARC’s Club General Meeting is held the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM local time. A pre-meeting gathering is held at 6:00 PM. Here you can receive answers to your questions or join in our before meeting social. The meeting is held at the VFW Hall, 1325 Pine St, corner of Pine and Division.
BCARC also holds a monthly breakfast in Sandpoint usually on the fourth Saturday of each month at 9:00 AM. This is generally held at Connies Cafe (323 Cedar St, Sandpoint, ID 83864) but has frequent changes in dates and locations. As either or both may change, due to holidays or other conflicts, please check the Calendar and Club Updates for any changes to times or location of both the meetings and breakfast.
We want to thank the VFW for allowing the use of their facilities. Click here for Google map to meeting location.
VE Testing
BCARC does not currently host a sponsored VE Team (Voluntary Examiner Team) although several members are actively engaged in the effort with the Bonner County ARES group. Other groups in our area have active VE Teams that test fairly often. Further information is provided on the Becoming A Ham page.