Join the Jay County Amateur Radio Club

We n offer three ways to become part of the JCARC community.

🎯 Full Member:
Dues: $50/year (or two payments of $25)

• Helps fund club activities, events, and operating expenses

• Exclusive perk: vetted members receive a personal unlock code for 24/7 access to our ~800 sq. ft. clubhouse at the Jay County Fairgrounds (when available and not in use for other events)

• Must be approved by a quorum majority at the next business meeting

• Eligible to vote, run for office, and fully participate in club decisions

• Family add‑on: up to 4 members for $10/year each

• License requirement: Technician, General, or Extra class license

• JCARC is a 501(c)(3) educational and community service organization — dues and donations may be tax‑deductible

⏳ Probationary Member:
Dues: $25 for the first year

• Great entry point for new hams

• No voting rights or eligibility to run for office

• Family add‑on: up to 4 members for $10/year each

• License requirement: Technician, General, or Extra class license

• No membership vote required to join

• You can upgrade to Full Member at any time — probationary status is not mandatory before becoming full

🤝 Supporting Member:
Suggested Donation: $25/year

• No license required

• Perfect for friends, family, and community supporters

• Encouraged to earn an Amateur Radio license or at least a GMRS license (no test required)

• Welcome to join our local GMRS nets

💵 How to Join & Pay:  We currently do not accept online payments but you can pay by cash or check at any club event (some with advance notice) when a club officer is present.

NEW!!!

For those wanting to get a pre-programmed image file for your radio, be sure to check out our new images on the Chirp Next page.
We also have image files for the iradio UV-98 Plus and the Radtel RT-880G among others.

Join the Digital Revolution!

DroidStar:
Ready to connect with voices across the globe?  Grab your DMR ID from RadioID.net, fire up DroidStar, and meet the friendly folks on Brandmeister (DMR) Talk Group 31181 every Tuesday at 8:30 PM for the Crossroads Net.

DMR, P‑25, Fusion, D‑Star — DroidStar does it all, transmit and receive! Click on the links in yellow to see how licensed amateur operators can install it on their Android or IOS devices!

EchoLink:
You can connect not only to most of our nets as well as others nearby using EchoLink on your Windows, Mac, or Linux based computer, Android or IOS smart devices, as well as using the cross-platform web based version. Many over-the-air repeaters will also link to other nodes by using the keypad on your radio's mic or HT keyboard.

Our EchoLink node number is 127019. You can find it online by searching the node list for W9JKL. Many repeaters in our area are also capable of using EchoLink as well as other modes.

7:30 PM

1 Muncie GMRS Net - Sunday at 7:30 PM

Muncie, Indiana

Join the friendly folks way over there in Muncie for their weekly net. You'll find them on GMRS at 462.7000 MHz with a standard 5K MHz positive shift at 467.7000 transmitting frequency and a PL tone of 110.9.

2 Jay County GMRS Net - Sunday at  8:00 PM

Usually hosted by Tony (KD9KPF). If you don't have your GMRS license (no test required) yet, this may be the best motivation for you to get one and help populate Tony's Net on Sunday evening! You'll find it on the Jay/Mercer County GMRS repeater at 462.725+ (467.725 input),  PL 107.2 Hz. For more info about the local nets, Click here.

3 Randolph County Roundtable Net - Monday at 7:00 PM
A question and answer net geared toward new hams...or even old ones to help you keep up with the latest and greatest stuff. Join us on our primary frequency of 147.300 with a tone of 110.9.

4 Adams County ARC Net - Monday at 8 PM Eastern

This net is normally hosted by Mark (KD9CES) and starts at 8 PM. It is linked to the W9JCA 443.475 (448.475 input), PL 100.0 Hz and the Fort Recovery repeater at 442.675 (447.675 input), PL 107.2 Hz. The primary EchoLink node, located in Decatur, Indiana is 808685 (KB9KYM). As an alternate, use node 127019 (W9JKL) in Portland, Indiana.

5 JCARC Net - Tuesday at 7 PM Eastern

Join us for our weekly net every Tuesday at 7:00 PM Eastern! All licensed hams are invited to participate, whether you're using one of our linked repeaters or connecting via EchoLink. If you're new to the hobby, remember that "+" means positive offset and "-" means negative offset when you see them after the frequency. Scanner listeners, just program in the frequencies below. Need the repeater input frequencies? Check out the spreadsheet here [link to spreadsheet].

Our Local Repeaters

• Pennville, IN: W9JCA, 145.210- (PL: 97.4 Hz)

• Portland, IN: W9JCA, 443.475+ (PL: 100.0 Hz)

• Our EchoLink connection is node 127019 (W9JKL-L). Jeff does monitor that node for log-ins.

• Fort Recovery, OH: KB8SCR, 442.675+ (PL: 107.2 Hz)

Please see the Local Nets page for more details on this and many other nets.

Note: Any nets may be cancelled or postponed during severe weather to protect radio equipment, lack of a net controller, to conduct emergency weather spotting, or for any other emergency use of the repeater system.

6 P-25 Net - Tuesday evening following the JCARC Net

For those who have P-25 digital capability, this net is hosted by Dave (KB8SCR) and follows the JCARC Net on Tuesday evenings. Look for it around 7:45 pm. You'll find the net on 444.6875+ MHz with a NAC of 2a3 (675 decimal) and on the Lynn, Indiana repeater at 441.5125 with a NAC of 293. List of Local Repeaters here.

7 Blackford County Net - Wednesday at 8:30 PM

A lot of the Jay County members check into this net each week. Because of the linked repeaters in Jay County, it gets well into Adams and other surrounding counties. For more info on this net see the list below or check out our Local Nets page for that plus MUCH more.

• Primary frequency is 146.0550 -  PL 141.3 Hz (Hartford City, IN)

• 443.475 +   PL 100.0 Hz (Portland, IN)

• 442.675 +   PL 107.2 HZ (Fort Recovery, OH)

• EchoLink Nodes 239090 (primary) or 127019 (secondary)

8 Blackford County GMRS Net - Thursday at 7:30 PM

Kerry is generally net control for the Oil City/Montpelier GMRS Net.  You'll find it on your GMRS radio at 462.6250 + 5.0 MHz (467.6250 repeater input frequency) with a PL Tone of 88.5 Hz.

9 Local 2M USB Net - Portland, Indiana - Friday evening from  7 PM until 8 PM (or so)
Roundtable net for the local 2M SSB guys. Find us on 144.210 USB.

10 JCA Radio Club "Social" - Every Saturday at 8:30 AM in Portland, Indiana

Join the die-hard folks that just love getting up and socializing every Saturday around 8:30 AM unless otherwise scheduled. Our meet-up location and getting together for coffee and socializing. Current location: Scout cabin at the Jay County Fairgrounds in Portland, IN. We are currently working on a new clubhouse in the fairgrounds, so look for a change in venue coming soon.

11 Tone Test Alert - Saturday @ 11:30 AM

12 Jay County Simplex Net follows

Dave, KB8SCR, runs a quick on-air net to check out the P-25 and repeater systems. To start, he sends a short test tone on the linked analog repeaters: 442.675 in Fort Recovery, 443.475 in Portland, and 145.210 in Pennville. If you're using a handheld, make sure your batteries are good to go. Right after that, listen for the simplex net on 147.540. Tony (KD9KPF) usually runs it, but sometimes he's unavailable. Dave will usually announce during the tone test if the simplex net is happening. 

13  Ragchew Net from Muncie
Mon, Tue, Wed, and Fri at 5 PM

Join Chris and the gang at the Muncie, Indiana repeater on 441.825+ PL 110.9 for some good old-fashioned chat time.

• Francis Betts (KB9QVO):  Club President.  Currently, due to health issues, he's kind of taking a back seat, but he still keeps things going.

• Steve McDowell:  Vice President

• Kim Oswalt (KD9RIU):  Club Secretary. Unfortunately she resigned as of the July, 2025 meeting.

• Krystal McDowell:  Club Treasurer

• Jeff Landers (W9JKL):  Trustee of the  W9JCA 70cm repeater in Portland, Indiana, host of EchoLink Node 127019. Lead net controller for our Tuesday Evening Net.

• Dave Wood (KB8SCR):  Maintains repeater systems used for the club in Fort Recovery, Coldwater, and Celina, Ohio, runs Tuesday evening P-25 Net.

• Gil Davis (KE9F):  Designed and edits this and East Central Indiana Hamfest websites. Serves as the 2-meter repeater trustee for W9JCA in Pennville, Indiana. Hosts the Tuesday Evening Net YouTube live stream. Volunteer Examiner for W5YI and ARRL. Sets up the computer network for contest logging.