NETS TO PARTICIPATE IN
THE RACK 6 METER NET SUNDAY
The Radio Amateur Club of Knoxville 6 meter net 9:00 pm est Sunday 53.77 Mhz
The above 6 meter repeater is located on bluff mountain at around 3000 ft elevation at the base of the 80 ft tower. The 6 meter net starts with repeater check ins and then changes mode to ssb and freq to 50.2 Mhz to get those folks that enjoy 6 meter ssb. Lastly the frequency is shifted to 50.4 Mhz a.m. mode to allow those with older tube type equipment to try out their restored vintage 6 meter gear.
For more info about the RACK club please visit https://www.w4bbb.org
THE SUNDAY NIGHT NET
This net is on Sunday night and is produced and linked to the 37 system from the repeater system in Chattanooga on 144.92 Mhz, 2.5 mhz plus offset and DCS 073. For additional information about the LMARC repeater system please check out the lmarc.net web site and you will be amazed to see the many ways to connect and enjoy.
MONDAY NIGHT T.A.G. YL NET
Ladies only please 8:00 pm est on the Chattanooga 144.92 LMARC system and linked into the 37 system. A great net for the ladies with Terri N9ZEN as net control.
For additional info please check out their web site lmarc.net
MONDAY NIGHT TECH NET ( RACK SPONSERED)
This net meets every Monday night at 9:00 pm est and is on the Radio Amateur
Club of Knoxville's repeater 147.30+ 100 tone. The net is open to all and no club
association is required to check in. The net also features a ham radio trivia presentation
for those that like to test their knowledge of ham radio trivia. The club repeater
has a coverage area of approximately 60 mile radius of Bluff mountain range
with the transmitter tower base at around 3000 feet elevation. For additional
info about the nets that the club sponsors please visit https://www.w4bbb.org
MEIG'S COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NET-MONDAY
MONDAY NIGHTS AT 8:00 PM 147.39+ NO TONE NEEDED
CLUB MEETINGS ARE 1ST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH
SIMPLEX GATHERINGS
TUES - EVENING AT 9:00 PM EST 146.505 FM VERTICAL POLARIZATION
WED - EVENING AT 9:00 PM EST 144.205 SSB VERTICAL POLARIZATION
SAT - MORNING AT 10:00 AM EST 146.505 FM VERTICAL POLARIZATION
SAT - EVENING AT 9:00 PM EST 224.50 REPEATER ( ALT 224.76 )
The above simplex gatherings have hams checking in from distances approximately 40 miles
from the center of Knoxville although there have been some that surprised us.
Be sure and give it a try and we will listen for you.
MONROE COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB - TUESDAYS
TUESDAY EVENINGS AT 7:00 PM ON THE 145.25 REPEATER IN THE SWEETWATER,TN AREA 15 PLUS CHECK INS TYPICAL. THE REPEATER DOES HAVE A 100 hz TONE AT THIS TIME SO COME ON BY AND ENJOY THE FELLOWSHIP.
SEVIER COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY
Net 2nd Wed of month at 7:30 pm est on the 146.85 T-118.8
Club meetings on 2nd Saturday of month at 10:00 am at the King Family Library
408 High St, Sevierville,Tn. For more info please visit their web site.
CLAIBORNE COUNTY NET - THURSDAYS
THURSDAY EVENINGS AT 7:00 PM 145.13 PL 100
6 METER GATHERING
Wed evenings at 8:00 pm est a group of hams with a particular interest in the 6 meter
band hangs out for a few hours on a local 53.25 mhz repeater and talks about
anything and everything but mostly 6 meter ham radio. This group is not
associated with any club and has been active for around 7 years.
470 AMATEUR RADIO GROUP
Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm est a net is held that gathers lots of hams in the
east Tennessee area to join in great fellowship and as an added feature includes a
well received trivia net. The net is on the 145.47 WB4GBI repeater and has an
amazing footprint. All licensed hams are welcome. For additional information please
visit the 470 Amateur Radio Group web site. 👈
NOTE: The above net has used 146.85 (118.8) as alternate in recent past.
THE DIXIE TRADER NET
Friday nights at 8:00 pm est on the 145.37 repeater system Roger ( KD4PRH ) can be
heard far and wide yelling for check ins on the main'est net of them all.
"THE DIXIE TRADER'S NET"
This great net has been around for more than 7 years and has an amazing following
that includes many check-ins from areas such as Kentucky,Ohio,
Oklahoma and Texas to name a few. The check in list is consistently above 100
and the record number so far is 165 when prizes were given away.
Please check out the block diagram of the 37 repeater system linked repeaters. 👈
NOTE: You can view the weekly listings of swap and sell gear on the Dixietraders site and also on The Dixie Traders Facebook Page. Remember, Roger says "call a friend" and
"Don't make me come out there" which seems to motivate the listeners to check in.
Sevier County Amateur Radio Society Is A Member Of Ready Nation
NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador.
Sevier County Amateur Radio Society Is A WRN Ambassador
Building a Weather-Ready Nation requires more than government alone. It requires the entire Weather Enterprise to provide information for better community, business, and personal decision making, and innovative partnerships across all segments of society. We must involve everyone in an effort to move people – and society – toward heeding warnings, taking action, and influencing their circles of family, friends, and social network to act appropriately.
The WRN Ambassador initiative is the connecting hub of a vast network of federal, state, and local government agencies; emergency managers and city planners; researchers, the media; the insurance industry; nonprofit organizations; the private sector; and many others who are working together to address the impacts of extreme weather on daily life.
Together we will inform and empower communities, businesses, and people to make pre-event decisions that can be life-saving and prevent or limit devastating economic losses. We are a nation of many communities, and it is only through connected communities that we will achieve this goal.
NOAA’s Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) initiative is about helping our nation become more resilient to increasing extreme weather, water and climate events. NOAA is working to keep these threats from becoming disasters with greater accuracy in forecasts and warnings, evolving services to community decision makers, and better ways to communicate risk to stakeholders and the public.
Choosing an Antenna
What factors are important for you?
Choosing an antenna can be a baffling experience, especially for new hams.
- There is no one “best” antenna. Often several options will work as well.
- You aren’t limited to just one antenna.
- Start simple and build from there
- Consider prototyping a temporary antenna to see how it works before investing in a more permanent version.
Factors to consider:
Simplicity. How easy is it to install and get working?
Size. What space do you have available for it?
Cost. What is your budget?
Availability. How easy is it to get the antenna, or parts to build it?
Visibility and aesthetics. What will the neighbors think?
Gain. How strong of a signal does it produce?
SWR. How well does the antenna match your transmitter?
Frequency Coverage. What bands do you want to use this antenna on?
Bandwidth (of various parameters)
Weight. Particularly important if you have to carry it!
Radiation Pattern: who do you want to talk to?
Efficiency. How much of your power actually gets radiated?
Weather Survival rain / wind / ice / sun / salt
Power Handling.
Feedpoint Impedance – Is it easy to match? Does it need a tuner?
Adaptability. How easy is it to adapt it to different situations?
Portability. How convenient is it to take down / transport / install?
As you consider each of the following factors in choosing an antenna, consider how important, or how much of a limitation, it is to your particular situation. The highest ranked ones will probably be the ones driving your decision.
By Dale Hunt WB6BYU
HAM RADIO SIMPLEX FREQUENCIES
SIMPLEX HAM FREQUECY LIST, NOTE I PROGRAM THESE IN ALL RADIO"S
THAT I PROGRAM !
2-Meter Band
146.52* 146.535 146.55 146.565 146.58 146.595
147.42 147.435 147.45 147.465 147.48 147.495
147.51 147.525 147.54 147.555 147.57 147.585
* National simplex frequency
70-cm Band
446.000
1.25-Meter Band
223.42 223.44 223.46 223.48 223.50* 223.52
KEEPING UP WITH YOUR AREA INFO !
Using You Ham Or GMRS Radio
For Police, Fire, EMS, Railroads
& More !
How to Use a Ham Radio as a Scanner
- Find Frequencies: Use the RadioReference Database to find local police, fire, or EMS frequencies.
- Program the Radio: Enter these frequencies into the radio’s memory channels. For handhelds like the Baofeng, CHIRP software is often used
- for easier bulk programming.
- Disable Privacy Tones: When programming, ensure all CTCSS or DCS (privacy tones) are turned off to hear all traffic on that frequency.
- Make sure that you use the FM or FMN , will only work again on analog !
- REMEMBER !! DO NOT TX ON THESE FREQUENCIES !!
FCC Approves AST Space Mobile’s License for Emergency TT&C Operations in the 430–440 MHz Amateur Radio Band Outside the US
On April 21st, 2026, the FCC granted AST Space Mobile permission to conduct emergency Telemetry, Tracking & Control (TT&C) operations outside the United States in the 430–440 MHz amateur radio band for all their planned 248 satellites. More than 2,500 comments were submitted by ARRL, AMSAT, other IARU societies and individual radio operators during the FCC review period. The license allows emergency operations when no other bands are available for up to 24 hours on the center frequencies of 430.5 MHz, 432.3 MHz, 434.1 MHz, 435.9 MHz, and 439.5 MHz (each with 50 kHz bandwidth), and was granted by the FCC pursuant to Article 4.4 of the ITU Radio Regulations.
The IARU is of the view Article 4.4 was not appropriate to use in this case in order to assign frequencies in derogation of the ITU Table of Frequency Allocations. We note UHF allocations exist specifically for satellite TT&C purposes and should have been selected instead of frequencies allocated to the amateur services.
The 430–440 MHz band is primarily reserved for the amateur and amateur satellite services in ITU Region 1 and several Region 2 countries with secondary status in the balance of ITU Region 2 and in ITU Region 3 countries . The IARU and its member societies will keep working towards a clearer understanding of how Article 4.4 should be applied to space operations. We also encourage members to report any interference caused by AST Space Mobile satellites to their national regulators.