Minden Amateur Radio Association Inc.

N5RD

Public Service Through Communications

P.O. Box 1292

Minden, LA 71058-1292

An ARRL affiliated club

We are sorry to announce the passing of Ernie D. Brown, W5FYZ on Sunday January 8^th, 2006. Ernie was a founding member of MARA, serving in many capacities through the years. He was truly a blessing to everyone he ever met, and will be greatly missed.

About MARA - The Minden Amateur Radio Association was begun in 1991 with about 20 members and now has about 60 members from Minden, Shreveport and other municipalities in the Bayou State and elsewhere. (Our fairly up-to-date Membership Roster is available on this site.) For a printable membership application click here. MARA is registered as a non-profit corporation in the State of Louisiana. The 2005 club officers and Board of Directors (current officers and immediate past-president) are:

President - Dusty Collins, KB5WFE
Vice President - Jimmy White, AD5KX
Treasurer - Bonnie Brown, W5TEB
Secretary - Fran Hill, KD5LKB

Non-elected positions in the club include:

Hamfest Chairman - Dusty Collins, KB5WFE

MARA Activities

Repeater: 147.300+ - MARA's 2-meter repeater has good coverage and is open to all licensed hams. This repeater is also part of the MARA/N. LA link system connected to the 145.430- machine in Shreveport, the 147.210+ machine in Calhoun LA, and the 145.350- machine in Delhi, LA. The link is automatic, covering the I-20 corridor across North LA. There are no CTCSS tones or DTMF sequences employed. All hams are invited to utilize these repeaters.

Tuesday Night Net - We hold a net on the MARA/N.LA repeater system every Tuesday night at 8:00 PM local time. The net is very friendly and informal, so feel free to check in.

Annual Christmas Hamfest - This popular event has been moved to the 3rd Saturday in December and draws participants, including dealers, from surrounding states and has gotten bigger each year. Its timing provides a "hamfest fix" during a period of the year during which few hamfests are held. For more information on dealer tables, swap tables and/or tickets, contact MARA at dusty1@microgear.net.

Field Day Activities - Field Day activities for the club are held in conjunction with the ARRL's annual Field Day activities in June of each year providing family fun and operating experience for all who want to participate. MARA's Field Day site for 2006 has not yet been determined.

Public Service - Club members participate in a wide variety of public service activities like Walk-a-thons, the Caney Lake Triathlon, as well as Skywarn and other events as the need arises.

Monthly Meetings - The club's monthly meetings are held on the third Saturday of each month at the Exacta Inn just North of I-20 at the Minden/Sibley exit. Meetings begin at 12:15 p.m., but members and guests are encouraged to show up early, have lunch and visit.

Other Amateur Radio Sites

Northwest Louisiana Amateur Radio News The name says it all. Information for local Amateurs including upcomming events.
WM7D.net and QRZ Daily FCC Call Sign Update - These two links provide up-to-the-minute information on FCC issued call signs and also have a search feature for those who want to search by call sign or by name.
ARRL W5 Incoming QSL Bureau. Just enter your callsign to see if they are holding any QSLs for you.
American Radio Relay League - The organization that represents many Amateur Radio Operators and provides information for those who would like to become hams, Amateur Radio testing coordination, bulletins and much, much more.
ARRL LA Section - Information on the LA section of the Delta division of the ARRL
eHam.net - A good source of information.
Keplerian Elements and for Satellite Bulletins - These two sources offer a lot of useful information for Hams who use satellites.
WZ1V's Index of WWW Ham Radio Sites offers a lot of useful information for Hams who want to surf the net and enjoy the thousands of Ham Radio sites.
Ham Radio Showcase - This is an interesting site featuring manufacturers of Amateur Radio equipment.
Ashley's (WB5OTD) Space World - This entertaining and educational site is a real eye-opener. He has an extremely well-done page with animation and sound, and his links to other resources should fulfill a space ham's dream. Check it out!!
Skywarn- What is Skywarn? , Skywarn.net These are two excellent sites.
Other Amateur Radio Resources on the Internet - The Alta Vista search engine can be an intriguing gateway to the tens of thousands of Amateur Radio pages on the WWW. If it's out there (and it probably is), Alta Vista can help you find it.

Area Clubs

Other Sites

Minden, Louisiana - Take a virtual tour of Minden, Louisiana.

If you have a suggestion for a useful link we can add, let us know. You can also let us know of any corrections we need to make. Or, you can just send MARA a note at: dusty1@microgear.net

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