ACRC Main Site
VE Testing
- Details
- Written by Shawn Rung
VE Testing
Are you ready to take your amateur radio (ham) license test? Are you ready to take your upgrade test to another level? Then let us help!
The Anoka County Radio Club schedules V.E. amateur radio testing sessions on most every 2nd Saturday of the month throughout the year. We are ready to test new and upgrading hams in all the current FCC elements.
And remember that you do not need to know Morse code to start your ham radio hobby! Take and pass the 35-question Technician (element 2) written test, wait the FCC to issue your license and you are ready to go on the air!
The Anoka County Radio Club's testing starts at 9:00 a.m. (Refer to Home Page for latest details). We test at the Blaine City Hall. The ARRL VEC rules states that we must charge a $15 Test Session fee to pay for testing materials, postage and handling of the tests. We accept checks and cash for payment.
You will need to following items with you on the day of the test:
- A photo ID (driver’s license or student ID)
- Your Social Security Number (to register with the FCC)
If you are upgrading a current amateur license:
- The current FCC issued original amateur radio license AND a photocopy to send in
- Any current original CSCEs for any previously passed elements and a photocopy of those
- Your FCC issued FRN number
If you have any questions about attending our V.E. amateur radio testing session, contact Shep Shepardson N0NMZ at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (651) 340-0567.
Click here for more information on the ARRL's VEC testing program.
On-Air Nets
- Details
- Written by Shawn Rung
On-Air Nets
The Anoka County Radio Club hosts an on-air net every Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. on the 146.670 Repeater. If you have any ideas or questions, contact us on the net!
Our Frequent Net Controllers include:
- Donald Zvareck KC0DWZ
- Steven Cullen KF0AED
- Tim Neu N0TJN
- Tom Holleran KC0VXC
- Aaron Lewis W0ADL
All hams are welcome to join us on our net. We look forward to your contact!
In addition, some club members meet on an HF net ever Monday-Friday on 3.865 MHz
On-air Special Event Stations
The Anoka County Radio club also has two long-standing Special event stations.
N0F
In May, the club operates a special event station celebrating the Minnesota Fishing Opener, often using the 1x1 callsign "N0F" which stands for "No Fish". We only fish for contacts, but maritime mobile participants are welcomed. We usually do this in Ham Lake Park, in Ham Lake, MN. Dates / times are published in QST and we send out custom QSL cards to contacts.
W0YFZ
In October, the club operates a special event station celebrating the city of Anoka being the Halloween Capital of the world. This is also typically done from a local park, different parks year to year. The location of this event will be posted on the main website, and the frequencies will be published in QST.
On-air Contests
We also participate in 1-3 contests per month, as determined by participants. We have a contest portal that is accessible on the website for all members to see each person's progress during the contest in near real time. We also have a discord chat link that is live during contests (from the contest portal link) to chat between contest participants.
Membership
- Details
- Written by System Administrator
Membership
Membership in the Anoka County Radio Club can be both rewarding and fun!
Rewarding - when you help out your community with communications during special community events like parades and local sporting events. Or during times of disaster and emergencies by providing greatly needed and dependable communications.
Fun - to meet, talk and share ideas with other members whom you've been talking with over the radio!
Membership Options: Note: New members joining after April 1st may choose to pay half the yearly dues rate for that yearly membership (this doesn't apply to lifetime memberships).
New/Upgraded Ham - Free for one year. Covers non-member new or upgraded hams tested at the ACRC VE Exams until renewal in the October after your first year’s FCC license grant anniversary. Please attach a copy of your CSCE from your exam.
$30 per year for an individual membership
$20 per year for seniors (age 62 and over)
$20 per year for students (actively taking classes)
$20 per year for children (under age 18)
$40 per year for a family membership (includes spouse and children under 18)
$750 for a lifetime individual membership
So if you are interested in joining your fellow hams in the Anoka County Radio Club, just print, fill out and submit the following membership form:
Membership Form (PDF) NOTE: Requires Adobe Reader, free, to use the feature to fill in the form online.
You can mail your completed membership form and payment to:
Anoka County Radio Club
P.O. Box 982
Anoka, MN 55303
or you may bring your membership form and payment to any club meeting and give it to a board member.
You may also pay your dues with PayPal here and send your application to us via mail or email. Please be sure to write down the Transaction ID from the PayPal transaction on your membership form so we can reference the payment and mark your dues as paid.
The full year payment (October-September):
The half year (Apr-Sep) payment:
Club Repeaters
- Details
- Written by Shawn Rung
The Anoka County Radio Club hosts a wide-area 2-meter repeater on 146.670 MHz. It has an input CTCSS/PL tone of 114.8 Hz. The input frequency is 146.070. It transmits off of the Blaine water tower on Paul Parkway with an ERP of about 350 watts. The antenna is about 180 feet above the ground.
We have a number of receive sites, and are working on more!
Blaine Receive Site: The antenna is about 180 feet above the ground.
Fridley Receive Site: The antenna is about 100 feet above the ground.
Centerville Receive Site: The antenna is about 170 feet above the ground.
Portable Field Link Site: On Standby
Note: Any statuses listed are not real-time and may not reflect the current status of the repeater(s).
Having trouble getting in to the repeater?
* Can you hear the repeater? Make sure frequency is 146.670.
* Does the frequency change to 146.070 when you hit PTT? If not, then the offset is not set to Minus. If another frequency comes up instead, then your offset is not correct (should be 600Khz, negative / minus offset)
* Does your radio have a "T" or "CT" on the screen when you transmit? If NOT, then your radio might have the tone selected but transmission of the tone not enabled. Check the manual for your radio regarding turning on CTCSS for transmit. Often two settings need to be configured to properly enable tone (one to select the tone, one to enable).
Still having trouble? Contact N0TJN via Email from QRZ or bring your radio to a club meeting for help.
About Us
- Details
- Written by Shawn Rung
The Anoka County Radio Club is a group of Amateur (Ham) Radio enthusiasts that support each other and our community in Anoka County.
Fun Ham Radio Facts
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We communicate locally, regionally, and internationally using only the atmosphere and our equipment.
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Ham operators have their own satellites for our own use in earth orbit!
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We can hear, and communicate with, the ISS.
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We experiment with electronics and antennas
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We use voice, data, and morse code. In data modes, we can see where our signals go on a world-wide google map!
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We can send/receive pictures via radio, including from the ISS.
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We have competitive contests testing our skill to make contacts, trace signals, or pass messages.
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Our equipment ranges from the ancient to the state-of-the-art, from homemade to store-bought. Antennas could be simple wires, fiberglass poles, or entire tower trailers.
If any of this sounds fun to you, you should consider becoming a ham radio operator. The Anoka County Radio Club is authorized to administer FCC exams; and the questions and answers are online. www.arrl.org would be a good resource to start out. Also www.anokaradio.org for testing dates and locations. Ham Radio is a fun hobby for all ages or budgets
We also aspire to help out any new hams in our service area with equipment selection, operation and/or installation - look up our board member call-signs on qrz.com for email contact information.
About Us
Originally founded in 1955, Anoka County Radio Club and Emergency Services is a group of ham radio enthusiasts who live in and around Anoka County, Minnesota. Affiliated with the Amateur Radio Relay League, we teach classes, host radio and social events, maintain a repeater and volunteer our services at several community events every year. We also sponsor V.E. (Ham Radio) Testing and Skywarn Training.
Club History
The Anoka County Radio Club has its roots in the organization created at the home of Bernt Westeren (W0SER) on January 10, 1955. Mayne Menke (W0DXZ) was President, Bernt Westeren (W0SER) was Vice-President and John Lonsky (W0BSI) was Secretary and Treasurer. You can read the first club newsletter (Feb 29, 1956) or Phil DeJarlais' (W0JHS) account of the first club field day operation and the June Civil Defense Drill. After the exercise it was decided that Anoka was too close to Minneapolis and St. Paul, and that the Civil Defense station had to move to Mankato. You can read correspondence regarding the drill and see the logbooks from the event. From the beginning, the Anoka County Radio Club has made helping the community a priority.
Today
Each year, our club hosts a number of events. Some are brand new to the club, while others have been done each year. Our Christmas Banquet has been held annually since 1958. Many of our other events have been held 10 or more years each. Anoka Count Radio Club Members help with communication at parades, festivals marathons, and community events. Every event we do serves at least three purposes - having fun, refining our communication skills, and helping the community. As it was throughout our history any time the communications of hams are needed the Anoka County Radio Club will be ready.
The most frequent locations we use for meetings and events are:
Blaine City Hall
The Blaine City Hall is at 10801 Town Square Dr, Blaine, MN, at the corner of 109th Street and Radisson Road in Blaine. From Hwy 65, go east on 109th St. Continue on 109th Street until you cross Radisson Road. The city hall is located behind the apartment complex and Walgreen's store.
Centerville City Hall
The Centerville City Hall is located at 1880 Main St, Centerville, MN. Take Main Street into Centerville to Shad Ave.
Our mailing address is:
Anoka County Radio Club
P.O. Box 982
Anoka, MN 55303
Field Day
- Details
Plans
Each year the Anoka County Radio Club participates in ARRL Field Day. This tradition started in our club back in 1955, and pictures for the last decade or two are in our photo gallery.
Normally we use the club callsign, W0YFZ, although a few years we've used other callsigns (W0ANA in 2008). Scores for years since 2002 are available on the ARRL contest database.
We begin each year with a planning meeting to determine who is interested in participating, and what each person is interested in doing.
We ask that all persons be present or represented in this meeting if they plan to have a full-time presence at the field day site.
Each person should be prepared to represent
- The planned schedule and shelter for their station
- Station logging setup (N3FJP)
- Their planned power source
- Their location within the club site
- Their planned radio, modes of interest, feedline, and antenna
- RF and physical safety regarding their setup
We then try and and create a combined plan for Field Day operation that most meets the needs of everyone. We monitor for lightning and severe weather and have plans in place for disconnecting antennas and/or seeking shelter.
In the past most years we've ended up with 3 stations, (3A-MN) - one station doing voice modes, one doing CW, and one doing digital modes (FT4/FT8). The most consistent parts of the plan tend to be:
- Setup on Friday for station/logging testing
- Pot luck dinner on Saturday
- Tear down and cleanup on Sunday
Nature also tends to add a decent thunderstorm or two in there somewhere.
During the June general membership meeting, we present the overall Field Day plan to club members, as the main topic of the meeting.
If you are interested in joining our Field Day activities, feel free to reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and watch the website for FD planning meetings in the April/May timeframe.
Baofeng
- Details
- Written by Tim Neu
Some of my fellow ACRC'ers own Baofeng HTs. Before I bought my F8HP unit, I watched Youtube installments mentioning how the squelch was really BAD on Baofengs. After setting up my radio I found that it, too, exhibited awful squelch characteristics, namely, OPEN squelch, and CLOSED squelch. The problem lies in the squelch curve settings. It is my SWAG (Scientific Wild A@@ Guess) that these factory settings were due to too much electromagnetic interference at the factory. Just my thoughts. As you may know, audio control is non-linear, rather (somewhat) semi logarithmic in nature. After re-writing the squelch settings in CHIRP's SERVICE SETTINGS page, I believe this to be about "as good as it gets" for these critters. The revised settings are as follows: VHF - 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 26, 33 UHF - 0. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 14, 19, 22 This really helped my little radio. I hope it works as well for yours, too. 73 Russ Emerson - AEØPX
Hams in the park
- Details
- Written by Tim Neu
On the second Saturday of each month, local ham radio operators normally meet at the Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton to operate, show off their gear and test ham radio related equipment. The event starts at noon. The next date for this event is 5/14/2021. This is an event of interest to ACRC members, but is not an ACRC event. Hope to see you there!
HRO Location Voting
- Details
- Written by Tim Neu
Ham Radio Outlet is asking its customers to vote for where they should open their next store. If you would like to suggest a location, the link is http://www.hamradio.com/newstore
ACRC Monthly Board Meeting
- Details
- Written by Tim Neu
ACRC Board Meeting
Board meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month The next board meeting date is 10/22/2024. We meet in person at the Centerville City Hall. The meeting is from 6:30-8:45PM. Any club members or guests are welcome to attend
VE Testing
- Details
- Written by Tim Neu
