SPECIAL EVENT
ORANGE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB W5ND
CELEBRATING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF AFFILIATION
WITH THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE
ARRL Special Event Name- W5ND 70th Anniversary
Special Event Station Call Sign- W5ND
Location-
Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
1210 Green Avenue
Orange, Texas 77630
Event hours of operation-
Start: January 13th, 2018, 10 AM-10 PM CST
End: January 14th, 2018, 10 AM-4 PM CST
Primary operating frequencies-
3.860 MHz
7.260 MHz
14.260 MHz
51.160 MHz
146.520 MHz
Operating modes: Voice, CW, PSK31
Request QSL by mail to (no SASE required)-
Orange Amateur Radio Club
P.O. Box 232
Orange, Texas 77631-0232 USA
Background-
The Orange Amateur Radio Club was established on December 30, 1949 under the call sign W5OGP. Charter members of the club included well-known civic leaders in the Orange area such as Davis Cooper, Martin K. Thomen, Thad Decker, and Edgar Brown, III. The OARC affiliated with the American Radio Relay League on January 27, 1948 and is a part of the South Texas Section of ARRL. The ARRL is the national membership association for Amateur Radio operators. The League represents Amateur Radio interests to regulatory bodies and provides technical support to Amateur Radio enthusiasts. January 27 of this year will mark the 70th year of OARC affiliation with the ARRL.
In memoriam to an early club member, William Chester Campbell, the Club call sign was changed to W5ND on December 19, 1957, as it remains to this day.
Value to the Community-
OARC supports the Oange and surrounding communities by providing Emergency Communications to organizations such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, CERT, National Weather Service, Department of Homeland Security, local fire and police departments, and other agencies. Other club services include sponsorship of the annual Orange Hamfest, radio operator license testing, and operation of open 2M and 70cm repeaters. The club will soon activate new 2M and 70cm repeaters with antennas at about 450ft elevation on a new tower near Vidor, Texas. To access the W5ND C4FM 2M repeater set your radio to the following: receive frequency 147.180MHz, tone frequency 103.5kHz, + offset. The repeater has automatic detection of FM analog or C4FM Digital.
The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot-
The Southern Pacific Railroad and its predecessor regional railroad companies played a critical role in the economic development of the country from New Orleans to Los Angeles. In 1910 the railroad built a depot in Orange to support the growing passenger load. The railroad shut down this depot in 1960, after which it fell into disrepair. In 2017 a group of citizens interested in preserving the old depot, the Friends of the Orange Depot, raised funds and contracted a builder to restore the historic depot.
The OARC is pleased to be able to hold this special event in the newly-restored Southern Pacific Railroad Orange Depot.
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