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ORANGE COUNTY RADIO AMATEURS
Orange County, North Carolina
Helpful Links & Resources

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Shortcuts to Resource Link Categories:
Amateur Radio related emergency links --OC ARES Emergency Links page
Philosophy --How and why we're on the air
Ham Exams --Practice sites and links to area test schedules
Organizations --National, state and local interest groups
Publications --Books and periodicals, on and off line
Technical --Information on antenna building, operating modes, etc
VoIP and Internet --Ham radio using the 'net
Companies --Commercial suppliers of ham equipment
Useful Computer Stuff --Mostly free software that helps
Miscellaneous --Links that didn't fit elsewhere
Philosophy:
47 CFR Part 97.1 --The FCC's official reasons for establishing the Amateur Radio Service
The Amateur's Code --First published in 1928 and still the standard of conduct we all should strive to meet
Amateur Radio Exam Practice:
AA9PW Practice Pages
Ham Radio Podclass --Study for your exams with these podcasts
QRZ.com Practice Tests
RadioExam.org Practice Exams
Tech Pursuit --Study for your Tech Exam with this Trivial Pursuit-like game!
W8HMB Practice Exam Generator
Take Your Amateur Radio License Examination Nearby in:
North Carolina South Carolina Virginia
Organizations:
Ø7Ø Club --A club just for PSK31 enthusiasts
Adventure Radio Society --They combine a love of Amateur Radio with a love of the great outdoors
Alamance Amateur Radio Club (AARC) --Our neighbor ham club to the west of us
Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning (ARHAB) --Ham radio to the very edge of space
Amateur Television Network --An organization of ATV clubs and individuals exploring internet video linking
American Radio Relay League (ARRL) --The national association for Amateur Radio™
AMSAT --The Radio Amateur satellite corporation
Antique Wireless Association (AWA) --Supporting historians, enthusiasts and collectors of antique radio equipment, including Amateur Radio gear
Arizona ScQRPions QRP Club --Sponsors of the FYBO Field Day event
Army Amateur Radio Society --Open to past, current and future US Army soldiers
ARRL North Carolina Section --Our source for statewide information
Bicycle Mobile Hams of America (BMHA) --Combining Amateur Radio and cycling, two fine pursuits
Burlington-Alamance Radio Kontrol Society (BARKS) --Radio control fliers to the west of us
Carolina 440 Repeater System --Linked UHF repeater network from Raleigh to the coast
Carolina Flashers --A group of North Carolina hams communicating via light waves
Carolina Tarwheels --The area's cycling club, so ride and get some exercise (and take the HT with you!)
Cary Amateur Radio Club (CARC) --Hams in the "containment area for relocated yankees"
Central Carolina Digital Group --The people who operate the WR4RDU D-STAR repeater in Carrboro NC
Chapel Hill Astronomical and Observational Society (CHAOS) --Welcoming everyone interested in viewing the night sky
Christian Amateur Radio Fellowship (CARF) --Fellowship and service via ham radio since 1966
D-STAR Groups --Our listing of organizations about D-STAR
Durham FM Association (DFMA) --Our neighbor ham club in Durham County
First Class CW Operators' Club (FOC) --They'll invite you to join if you measure up
Fists --The international Morse Code preservation society
Foundation for Amateur Radio --Scholarships for hams
Graham Repeater Association --Linked repeaters between Raleigh and Greensboro
Handihams --Ham radio for people with disabilities
Historical Electronics Museum --In Linthicum MD, military radar and electronics
International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) --The federation of national Amateur Radio societies
Islands On The Air (IOTA) --RSGB's famous awards organization for QSOs with islands all around the world
Johnston Amateur Radio Society (JARS) --Home of the infamous "LOM" award
Knightlites QRP Club --Free membership, NC based worldwide club doing more with less power
Longwave Club of America (LWCA) --The world of radio below 500kHz
Military Radio Collectors Association (MRCA) --For the green radio enthusiasts
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center --Informing and inspiring the public about scientific discovery
Morse Telegraph Club --Landline telegraphy is still alive and well
Museum of Radio & Technology --In Huntington WV
Narrow-Bandwidth Television Association --Here's what can be done with 32 lines and a spinning disk
National Association of Rocketry --For both model and high power rockets
Navy Amateur Radio Club --Open to current or former swabbies, coasties, and leathernecks
NCDSTAR --The Yahoo Group for North Carolina hams interested in D-STAR
NCOCRA Off Topic --The Yahoo Group for OCRA members' peripheral discussions
North Carolina Kilo Watts --Serious contesters!
North Carolina Solar Center --Advancing renewable energy for a sustainable economy
North Fulton Amateur Radio League --An Atlanta area club with an awesome website
Old Old Timers Club (OOTC) --For us really old geezers who were first licensed 40 years ago or more
Piedmont Coastal Repeater Network (PCRN) NC's largest 2M repeater network
Possum Trot Net --Web page for a fun, family-oriented morning net
Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC) --NC chapter of the regional contest club
QRP Amateur Radio Club International --Five watts or less works the world
Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) --For those of us who were first licensed 25 years ago or more
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) --Another way you can become a VE
Radio Club of America --Celebrating their hundreth year in 2009
Radio and Television Museum --In Bowie MD
Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) --Founded in 1913
Raleigh Amateur Radio Society (RARS) --A capital organization in several senses of the word
Second Class Operators' Club (SOC) --For those of us who didn't make it into the very best
SETI League --Are we alone?
Simplex Preservation Society --Promoting & preserving Amateur Radio direct communications
Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio --Free membership, dedicated to promoting technical achievement
Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) --The ultimate in DX! (sorry, no QSLs...)
Southeastern Repeater Association (SERA) --Our regional repeater coordinating body
Southern Appalachian Radio Museum --In Asheville NC
South Wake Amateur Radio Club --A fine new club dedicated to public service
Straight Key Century Club --Organization of straight key Morse operators, free membership (OCRA is SKCC #6391)
Ten-Ten International --Dedicated to an active 10M band
Triangle Amateur Robotics --Sophisticated, cutting edge automata
Triangle ATV Association --They have a fast-scan Amateur Television repeater
Triangle Area Rocketeers --Local affiliate club of NAR
Triangle East Amateur Radio Association (TEARA) --Zillions of links!
Triangle Electric Vehicle Association --Watt a great way to travel
Tri-County Radio Control Club --In Hurdle Mills NC
TriLUG --Triangle Linux Users Group
Tripoli Rocketry Association --Serious high power rockets
Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR) --Do PSK31 without a computer?
US Islands Awards Program --The home-based version to IOTA
US Power Squadrons Amateur Radio Club --The ham radio group from USPS
Veteran Wireless Operators Association (VWOA) --An organization of commercial and military wireless operators
Western Historic Radio Museum --In Virginia City NV, gorgeous old stuff
Xtal Set Society --Devoted to "roots radio," especially crystal sets
Young Ladies Radio League (YLRL) --An organization of women Amateur Radio licensees
Publications:
Alternative Energy News --News and resources about renewable energy technologies
Adventures of Zack and Max --Ham radio coloring books for downloading
Amateur Radio Video News (ARVN) --By Gary Pierce KN4AQ
Amateur Television Quarterly --The name sez it all
Amazon Amateur Radio Books --Old and new ham radio books from Amazon.com
antenneX --The magazine all about antennas
Antique Radio Classified --National monthly publication for buyers and sellers of old radios
ARRL Audio Letter --The League's weekly update in MP3 format
ARRL Publications --Includes RSGB titles, too
ARRL VE Manual --Become an official ARRL Volunteer Examiner if you hold a General Class ticket or higher
The Art and Skill of Radiotelegraphy by William Pierpont N0HFF --A fascinating and informative downloadable book
Astronomy Magazine --The world's best-selling astronomy magazine
Changing Skies --Three times yearly newsletter from National Weather Service Raleigh
Computer Pilot --The PC flight simulator pilot's magazine
CQ --The Radio Amateur's journal, published monthly
CQ Publications --The CQ bookshelf
CQ VHF --Quarterly magazine from CQ about 6M and up
CX Newsletter --About classic rigs, it's edited by Mac, OCRA's own WQ8U
"Dummies" Books --Including "Ham Radio for Dummies"
Electric Radio --Classy monthly magazine about vintage Amateur Radio equipment
Electronics and Radio Today --An e-zine resource for info on radio and electronics
Fly RC --The leading radio control airplane magazine
Getting Started in Electronics --A complete electronics course in only 128 pages
Ham Radio Online --On the www and updated daily
The K9YA Telegraph --web based newsletter e-zine, free subscription
Library of Congress --Your tax dollars at work!
Lindsay Publications --Technical books for "Thomas Edison" types
Make Magazine --Technology on your own time
Marine Amateur Radio Guide --Published by the US Power Squadrons
Microwave Antenna Handbook --By W1GHZ
NASA Tech Briefs --Free magazine publicizing NASA technical discoveries
NCJ --"National Contest Journal," bimonthly publication of ARRL whose name speaks for itself
Nuts and Volts --The magazine for the electronics hobbyist
Optical Through the Air Communications --A handbook of practical information
Packet Status Register -Journal of Tucson Amateur Packet Radio
Popular Electronics Magazine --1950s through 1980s, an ongoing project
Project Gutenberg --A hundred thousand free e-books for you to enjoy
QEX --A forum for communications experimenters, a bimonthly publication of ARRL
QST --The official monthly journal of Amateur Radio since 1915, included with ARRL membership
QST Searchable Archive --From 1917 through 2004, for ARRL members only
Robots Magazine --Hobby, science and consumer robots
Rockets Magazine --The official magazine of the Tripoli Rocketry Association
RadCom --Monthly publication of the RSGB, included with RSGB membership
Radio Amateur Information Network --Producer of the weekly "RAIN Report"
The Roundtable --Quarterly e-journal of the Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio
Scatterpoint --Publication from the UK Microwave Group for the microwave enthusiast
Schematic Magazine --Online electronics circuit projects for everyone
Servo Magazine --Covering the world of personal robotics
SKCC Centurion --Official newsletter of the Straight Key Century Club
Sky and Telescope --The essential magazine of astronomy
Sport Rocketry Magazine --Subscription included with NAR membership
This Week in Amateur Radio --An "up-to-the-minute" news magazine of the airwaves
USMC Field Antenna Handbook (PDF) --Military guide to antenna selection and use in situ (192 pages!)
WorldRadio --An unusual and worthwhile online publication with many regular columns
World Radio TV Handbook --Directory of global LW, MW, SW and FM broadcasting
Technical:
All About Circuits --Good, basic tutorial on DC and AC electronics fundamentals
Amateur Television (ATV) --Live, full motion, and color, too!
Antennas by W4RNL (SK) --The antenna tech website of L.B. Cebik in memoriam
Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) --Linking GPS with ham radio
Band Plan --Who can operate, and where
Battery University --Online resource of practical knowledge about batteries
Boat Anchor Manual Archive --Downloadable manuals for old ham radio equipment
Build an MFJ-Style Folded Dipole (PDF) --Posted by KZ1X
Channel Freqs for Part 95 Services (PDF) --For CB, GMRS/FRS, MURS, and PMR446
Crossband Repeating --Various ways of doing it
D-STAR Page --Information about D-STAR
Edge of Space Sciences --High altitude balloons and Amateur Radio
The "Four Dollar Special" Antenna (PDF) --By W1GFH
Ham Radio --A basic primer from the "How Stuff Works" people
Hellschreiber --An antique "digital" mode with some surprising advantages
Homebrew Coathanger HDTV Antenna (PDF) --Why pay for signal when you can get it off the air for free?
HSMM (High Speed MultiMedia Radio) --Did you know some of those 802.11 channels are in the middle of ham bands? Hmmm, what if...
"Lowfers" Links --Will 136kHz be our next ham band?
NØHR.com --Cool ham apps for your pocket PC
NBEMS --Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System, Windows software suite for point-to-point, error free emergency communication
Narrow Band TV --Techniques for low resolution electromechanical television
Natural Radio --A comprehensive glossary of QRN
New Carolina Windom --Copyright K4IWL
NJQRP Slinky Antenna Designs (PDF) --Posted by W4CHL
Phonetics, the Official Listing (PDF) --Accept no substitutes!
Portable Ground Plane for VHF or UHF (PDF) --From the ARRL
PriUPS --Use your Toyota Prius as an emergency power source for your house
Project ForkenSwift --Electric car conversion on a beer budget
PSK31 --Formerly exotic, it's now the mainstream digital mode
"Q" Signals --All you'll ever need to know
QRP Freqs (PDF) --QRP calling frequencies list for North America by band
QRP/SWL Homebuilder --Projects galore
QRP Webring --The web's collection of sites regarding operating with very low power
RadioReference.com --Scanner frequencies reference
Radio Scanner Guide --Info about scanners, including model-by-model comparisons
Radioteletype (RTTY) --Somewhat eclipsed by PSK31 now, but still fun
Realtime HamSat Track --From NASA, see where those HamSats are right now
RSQ Reporting (PDF) --For PSK31 operating
RST Reporting (PDF) --For phone and CW operating
Satellite Modes Decoded (PDF) --What all those cryptic letter combinations mean
Slow Scan TV (SSTV) --Hey, a picture's worth a thousand words, right?
Surface Mounted Component Soldering --YouTube video shows how it's done
WB4LFH's Crystal Radio Resources --A "pretty good set" of ideas for the crystal radio enthusiast
WIKI Repeater Directory --A national ham radio repeater directory, user updateable
Winding Toroids --A tutorial on how to do it easily
VoIP and Internet:
CQInet D-STAR Echolink eQSO
iLINK IRLP JNOS OViR
QsoNet Winlink 2000 WIRES-II
Companies:
Alinco --Calling themselves the value leader in Amateur Radio equipment
Allied Electronics --Still at 100 N Western Ave, Chicago, after all these years
Amazon Amateur Radio Gear --Ham radio equipment from Amazon.com
Anderson Power Products --Makers of the Powerpole Connector
Antique Electronic Supply --Tubes and more
Bencher, Inc --High quality iambic paddles and Butternut antennas and filters
Buddipole --Portable dipole systems
Cable X-Perts --Coax cable, connectors, etc
CablesForLess --Don't get ripped off buying overpriced HDMI cables at Wally World
Cheap QSLs --Your basic QSL cards at an economical price with great service
COMAX --Run your computer with a Morse Code key
dBj Radio and Electronics --The home boys from Jamestown NC
Down East Microwave --Equipment for UHF and beyond
DZ Kits --Home of the Sienna transceiver
Elecraft --Makers of the famous K1, K2 and K3 transceivers
Electronics USA --Makers of Whiterook keys and keyers
Fair Radio Sales --Military surplus since 1947
FAR Circuits --PC boards for most published ham radio projects
Gap Antenna --Home of antennas and the "Hear It" DSP products
Harbor Freight --"America's favorite tool store"
Hendricks QRP Kits --Affordable QRP kits at exceptional value
ICOM --Maker of the highly popular IC-706
Idiom Press --CW keyers and SCAF filters as kits or assembled, and more
K1EL Kits --Kits for Morse keyers and more
KD1JV Designs --Innovative QRP kits and projects
Kenwood --Some solid radios, from the 1970's TS-520 to today's TS-2000
March Magnetic Paddles --Gorgeous custom paddles crafted by Michael March K4QU
MFJ --Tuners, antenna analyzers, etc
MoeTronix --Home of the DVDongle
Morse Express --Fine keys from all over the world
Northern Tool & Equipment --"Where warriors prepare for battle"
Oak Hills Research --QRP kits (great wattmeter and dummy load kits)
Ocean State Electronics --Components, kits, hardware and tools, etc.
Paddlette --Paddles for portable Morse operation
PolyPhaser --Lightning protection for the shack by people who know what they're talking about
PYI Radio Covers --Protect your investment with these custom embroidered covers from KI4RFT
QRPme --Transmitters and receivers you build using tuna cans as chassis
Radio Shack --The home of OCRA's own N4ZAK
Ramsey Electronics --Both fun and serious kits and supplies
The SignMan of Baton Rouge --Custom monogramming from Rick N5VA
Small Wonder Labs --Nifty single board PSK transceiver kits
SteppIR --Antennas that tune themselves
TAK-tenna --An HF stealth antenna that works!
Tarheel Antennas --Local home of the screwdriver antenna
Ten-Tec --High quality radio equipment made in USA
Tigertronics --Home of SignaLink digital interface products and more
Unified Microsystems --Keyers, IDers and other products to make contesting more productive
Ventenna --VHF and UHF antennas disguised as pvc vent pipes
Vibroplex --Over a hundred years of quality Morse code keys and bugs, now owned by W4OA
VIZ Keys --Quality Morse keys and bugs by K4VIZ
Weather Vane Antenna --Functional weather vanes that are stealth VHF and UHF antennas
West Mountain Radio --Home of the RIGblaster
Wilderness Radio --Home of the Wilderness Sierra transceiver kit and others
The Wireman --Supplier of wire, coax, connectors, etc
Yaesu --Maker of the FT ("Fox-Tango") line of radios
Useful Computer Stuff:
1&1 Web Hosting --It's the one we use for the OCRA webpages, very inexpensive and good service, too
Avast! --Free anti-virus program by ALWIL Software
CCleaner --Free "crap cleaning" software removes temporary files, cookies, etc.
CDBurnerXP --Burn CDs and DVDs including BluRay and HD-DVD for free
Craigslist --Get a job, buy, sell, or trade literally anything with free listings, this app is putting newspaper classifieds out of business
Desktop Media --Free app that puts icons on your desktop that allow you to easily access drives and media
doPDF --Free program that creates PDFs from your documents
D-STAR Software --Our listing of mostly free programs for D-STAR
Eraser --Free program to erase files or even a whole hard drive
ExpressPCB --Design your own PCBs with this free layout software
FreeClock --Free software adds UTC/local time dual display to your PC
GreenPrint --Free software to save those wasted sheets of printer paper that only have one line on them
HDD Health --Free software to warn you if your hard drive's fixin' to die
HP Smart Web Printing --Free HP software to organize and print only what you need from multiple web pages
Karen's Time Sync --Synchronize your system's clock with an online atomic clock using this free software
Kim Komando --"America's digital goddess" is an excellent source for free software and valuable tips
LinPSK --Free PSK-31 software for Linux
Multimon --Run up to three monitors on your computer with different taskbars on each with this free software
OpenOffice --Free alternative to MS Office because Billy in Redmond's gotten enough of your money already
PDFTextOnline --Extract text from a PDF
PortableApps --Work from any Windows computer with these applications you carry with you on a flash drive
QuadLock Unit Converter --Instantly convert between different units of measurement
Reactor Server --Run your own web portal with this free Apache distro
Recuva --Prounounced "recover," this free software recovers deleted files
Spybot Search and Destroy --Free anti-spyware software so you won't have to see Peter Norton getting older every year on his box of software
Stellarium --View celestial objects in your sky on this awesome, free planetarium program
TrueCrypt --Free on-the-fly encryption software for Windows, Mac and Linux
Ubuntu Linux --Free Linux distro (based upon Debian) to start you opening doors instead of going through Windows
U-Exchange --Barter/trade site that's free to use
Vetusware --Large, free collection of "obsolete" software for you to download, need DOS?
WebAnywhere --Free software for the visually impaired that reads websites to you
WXSpots --Free internet software to distribute severe weather reports
Zelscope --Turn your PC into a dual-trace 'scope with this free-for-individual-use software
ZoneAlarm --Excellent, free firewall software
Miscellaneous:
Amateur Radio Awards --A listing of various operating awards sorted by country
ARRL Radiogram --Print it or fill it out on your computer
BBC Radio --Listen to "The Beeb" via the 'net
Collins Radio Virtual Museum --what we all really wanted
Dilbert official Website --Get your Dilbert fix daily
Drake Virtual Museum --Beautiful classic tube rigs
DX Cluster --Find out who's working whom in near real time
Early Radio History --Chapter by chapter narrative of radio development
First Contact Award --Online certificate you can create to present to that newbie who had his or her first QSO with you
Hallicrafters Virtual Museum --Your webmaster's first real radio was an SX-110
Heathkit Virtual Museum --Ah, those were the days
ICS-213 Form --Message form blank for ICS/NIMS use
Incredible Radio Tales --Reminiscenses of a Coast Guard radio operator
International Space Station news updates --from NASA, find out what's going on "up there"
The Linux Home Page --Learn all about it here at Linux Online
Maryland Slow Net --Learn how to handle traffic with CW!
NASA launch schedule --When the next mission is to be launched
NASA TV Public Channel --Live mission coverage and more from NASA
NC Callsign License Plate form --An additional $10 gets one for you
NIST Time and Frequency Division --Not about multiplexing
NC BBQ --All about North Carolina barbecue!
Our State --The magazine about North Carolina
PocketMod --The free recyclable personal organizer
Radio-Locator --Find internet and on air broadcast stations in the US and around the world
Renewing Your Ticket --How to do it
Swan Virtual Museum --More classic tube rigs
SWPC Radio User's Page --NOAA Space Weather ionospheric data for radio operators
Time Notation for Amateur Radio --From "L" to "Z"
W3HF's Callbook Collection --Contact Steve for help finding the callsign of a friend or relative
WCOM 103.5 FM --Community radio in Carrboro
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Home D-STAR Field Day History HSMM Join OCRA! Members Newsletters OC ARES
OCRA Cup OCRA Stuff Orange Co OViR Resources Silent Keys      

Last updated on 1/9/2010, send corrections to webmaster "at" ncocra "dot" org