The Cascades Amateur Radio Society (CARS);
Amateur radio enthusiasts based in Jackson County Michigan.
Amateur Radio News:
CARs participated in the 2026 NW Schools Learning Fair to bring
awareness of Amateur Radio to all that attended.
Here we have the fearless booth staff at the ready –
L to R K8TS, ??, W3IGT, KC8IJZ
CARS Monthly Meeting:
Next Meeting: Tuesday Aug 18, 2026
Time: 1900 Local
Location: 1715 Lansing Ave, Jackson County Health Dept.
Enter building at the lower level parking lot entrance.
Talk in: 146.880 – 100 Hz PL
Amateur Radio License Testing
The CARS VE Team offers testing for all license levels.
Next testing date is:
Saturday August 08, 2026
Testing is held at the Carnegie (downtown) branch of Jackson district library,
244 West Michigan Ave, Jackson MI 49201 – McIntyre room, at 10 a.m.
ARES / RACES NEWS
After our test of the 2-meter simplex range following a Thursday night net. I dug out the old ARES / RACES suggested programming guide and updated it as shown below.
This guide includes planned Jackson county ARES / RACES 2-meter frequencies and a few extras.
2-meter:
W8JXN 146.880 (-) 100.0
KA8HDY 147.360 (+) 100.0
KD8LMI 146.980 (-) 100.0
IRA – Jxn 145.470 (-) 114.8
IRA – AA 146.740 (-) 100.0
IRA – BC 145.150 (-) 94.80
Simplex:
146.520
146.430
146.460
146.880
70 cm:
WD8EEQ 443.175 (+) 77.0
KC8LMI 444.825 (+) 107.7
Simplex:
446.000
Special Events –
Collect some paper for your wall!
Carnation Festival Special Event
Jul 30-Aug 9, 0000Z-2359Z, W8LKY, Alliance, OH. Alliance Amateur Radio Club. 7050 7220 14050 14250. Certificate. Alliance Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 94, Maximo, OH 44650. https://www.w8lky.org/activities/special-event-operations
1813 Battle of Fort Stephenson
Aug 1, 1100Z-1700Z, W8B, Fremont, OH. W8NCK. 7.040 7.265 14.040 14.265. Certificate. David Dyke, KZ4CW, 2783 E. State St, Fremont, OH 43420.
King Midget Micro-Car 80th Anniversary
Aug 5-Aug 9, 0000Z-2359Z, K8M, Athens, OH. Athens Co. OH ARA. 7.245 14.245. QSL. K8M, 97 Columbia Ave, Athens, OH 45701. Celebrating the smallest street-legal motor car ever made in America. https://K8M.info
Mid America Treshing & Antique Tractor Show
Aug 6-Aug 8, 1600Z-2200Z, W9T, Tipton, IN. Tipton County Indiana Amateur Radio Club. 7.225 MHz 14. 225 MHz 21. 325 MHz 28. 425 MHz. QSL. Tipton County Indiana Amateur Radio Club, 3229 S 110 W, Tipton, IN 46072-8912. k9trc.org
Indiana State Fair
Aug 7-Aug 23, 1600Z-2359Z, W9ISF, Indianapolis, IN. Indiana State Fair ARC. 7.240 14.240 21.300 28.400. QSL. Ken Bandy, 7405 E County Road 900 N, Brownsburg, IN 46112. We’ll be on as much as possible during the run of the Fair. ken.kj9b@gmail.com
NOARC Youth Lighthouse Activation
Aug 8-Aug 9, 1300Z-0200Z, W8CSO, Grand Haven, MI. North Ottawa Amateur Radio Club. 14.060 14.237 7.225 28.320. QSL. NOARC, PO Box 976, Grand Haven, MI 49417. invite all youth interested in participating in this year’s ARLHS US National Lighthouse-Lightship Weekend (https://arlhs.com/). This youth-only event will be on August 8th, at the inner (ARLHS ID# USA 1077) and outer (ARLHS ID# USA 1078) Grand Haven, Michigan, lighthouses on the Grand Haven South Pier. The on-air activation of the lighthouses will begin at 9am, with plans to operate into the late evening. It will allow young operators the opportunity to use amateur radio equipment from inside the lighthouses to make contact with other stations all over the world. This event has been made possible with support of the Grand Haven Lighthouse Conservancy (https://www.ghlighthouse.com/). Look for NOARC’s club call, W8CSO, on all open HF bands during the event. Informative QSL cards showcasing the beautiful lighthouses and their history, will be available upon request to those that make a contact during the event. See W8CSO’s website or QRZ page for more information, or contact the event chairman directly at: CQ.N8GMZ@gmail.com www.W8CSO.org
Operation PAUL BUNYAN (8-21-1976)
Aug 8, 1700Z-2359Z, NI6IW, San Diego, CA. USS Midway Museum Ship CV-41 COMEDTRA NI6IW. 7.250 14.320 14.070 PSK31 DStar on PAPA System Repeaters. QSL. USS Midway Ship Museum CV-41 COMEDTRA NI6IW, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101.
Jackson County Fair, 6th Annual Exposition 172nd Entertainment Edition
Aug 9-Aug 15, 1021Z-1021Z, W8J, Jackson, MI. Cascades Amateur Radio Society. SSB; CW, FT8; 35 KHz from bottom of General Bands . QSL. Cascades Amateur Radio Society, PO Box 512, Jackson, MI 49204. https://w8jxn.org
Deltana Fair Special Event Station
Aug 15-Aug 17, 1800Z-0100Z, KL7DRC, Delta Junction, AK. Delta Amateur Radio Club (DARC). 14.250 14.320. Certificate. Delta Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 1061, ATTN: KL7DRC Special Event Station, Delta Junction, AK 99737-1061. Join the Delta Amateur Radio Club operating Special Event Station KL7DRC from the Deltana Fairgrounds in Delta Junction, Alaska. QSO contacts may request a special certificate for verified contacts on either day of operation. https://www.kl7drc.org
FIRE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE NA026
Aug 15, 1000Z-2030Z, W2GSB, Babylon, NY. GREAT SOUTH BAY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB. 14.245 28.500 21.325 7.275. QSL. FIRE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE NA026 , 200 East Sunrise Hwy, Lindenhurst, NY 11757. WWW.GSBARC.ORG
Steamboat Nannie Byers Disaster of 1866
Aug 15, 1400Z-2200Z, N9B, Madison, IN. Clifty Amateur Radio Society (W9EFU). 28.328 14.325 7.250 20 meter and 10-meter FT8. Certificate. Jerry Barnes, 601 Spring Street, Madison, IN 47250. Remembering the lives lost during the collision and sinking of the Steamboat Nannie Byers with the steamer E.C. Hillman around 2:30 AM on the Ohio River within eyesight of Madison Indiana. Unique eCertificate will be sent to operator’s email listed in QRZ. See our QRZ and FB page for details. Jerry Barnes (KA9PIJ), 601 Spring Street, Madison, IN 47250.
Michigan Hamfest Calendar – 2026
- 09/20/2026 – Adrian Hamfest, Adrian Amateur Radio Club
Adrian, MI: Knights of Columbus Hall, http://w8tqe.com
- 09/26/2026 – Top of Michigan Amateur Radio Club and Thunder Bay Amateur Radio Club Hamfest
Location: Gaylord, MI: Knights of Columbus Hall: http://www.nm8rc.org
- 10/03/2026 – Kalamazoo Hamfest and Vintage Electronic Expo
Kalamazoo, MI, http://www.kalamazoohamfest.org/
Weather Siren Testing for Jackson County
We have been ask to help provide verification that the weather warning sirens located in Jackson County are working as expected. If you would be willing to take an hour or less out of your day once a month to check on a siren please let Tim WD8PMD know and we will add you to the list of watchers. For more information see the SkyWarn page.
Siren testing job aid (how to sign up) is now available – click here for pdf copy
Go direct to Siren Map – click button
CARS Email Reflector:
Have you signed up on to the CARS email reflector? Keep up to date on what’s happening with the club. We won’t spam you with lots of junk and you can unsubscribe at anytime, just let us know.
To sign on, just follow this link. CLICK HERE
LOCAL NETS:
Thursday Night 2 meter net
Time: 8:00 pm (2000 local)
146.880 – 100 Hz PL
Sunday Night 2 meter Net
Time: 9:00 pm (2100 local)
146.880 – 100 Hz PL
Sunday Night CW Net
Time: 8:00 pm (2000 local)
Held on 28.100 MHz +/-
