Northern  Chautauqua  Amateur  Radio  Club

This is a brief history of the Northern Chautauqua Amateur Radio Club from it's inception and it's journey through Northern Chautauqua history.

In the early 1930's, a few hams from Chautauqua County joined together and had regular meetings at the Dunkirk Airport.  These fellows went on to form the Northern Chautauqua Amateur Radio Club.  Papers of Incorporation were completed and recorded on June 20, 1956.  
The club has never been without membership or officers since its inception in the 1930's!  
Some of the early founders and members were: 

            W2SB (K2PCQ) – Al Barris        W2FUL - John Metzger       WB2SNH – Art Martinson       K2EHJ - Al Crossley     WA2JHA – Jim Mohney, Sr.     
            K2OAD – Melvin Rebic                 W2ELH - Larry Yont                N2HTE - Mike Head          K2SR – “Skip” Renswick, Jr.        K2RJR – Roger Renswick
            WB2SWW – Allen Lee                  WA2LPB - Ron Warren        W2FS (WA0PTV) – John Hansen
                         
The original club call sign in 1956 was K2PCQ and remained so until changed to W2SB in memory of Al Barris,  a charter member and original holder of that call.  

Below are pictured two QSL cards, one being the "official club QSL (circa 1950's, showing the Dunkirk Lighthouse) and the other, of Al Barris (SK), whose call sign is now licensed to NCARC.













Soon after the Point Gratiot Lighthouse was deeded over to the City of Dunkirk by the the US Coast Guard, the NCARC made arrangements to hold
its club meetings and operate an amateur radio station there.  Our club meeting location at the Dunkirk Lighthouse was enjoyed for many years until the facility was sold to a private corporation.

During the 1990's and for a few years in the early 2000's, the club held monthly meetings at the BOCES School in Pomfret.

Around 2008, the NCARC formed a relationship with the Salvation Army in Dunkirk and were granted  space for a station and use of the meeting room.  In 2012, our then club Treasurer, Ken Plucinski - W2ACT (SK) submitted a grant application for the club through the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation and on May 1st, 2013, we were awarded a grant for $4,500 for club development. 

The club used the grant money to purchase an HF, VHF/UHF station that was installed at the Salvation Army HQ.  Also purchased was a complete set-up for a nicely designed and constructed VHF/UHF Go-Box for emergency communications, built by Chip - KC2LFV, (our resident club electrician and Treasurer).  Chip also was primary architect for the Salvation Army Station, installing the radio gear and also the 3 antennas at the site with help from other members.  An electrical generator was also purchased for emergency power.

At the May, 2014 General Meeting, John (WZ2X) & Elaine Crossley (N2BBL) graciously donated gear to the club from the K2EHJ Al Crossley estate, that included a Kenwood TS-140S and an Alinco Power Supply, among many other items.  These station items enabled the club to have “loaner gear” to temporarily lend out to new hams to get on HF.

On December, 2016, the club acquired a new FCC license call sign, KD2MNA, primarily to use for the new SUNY College repeater site.  The new site, located at the Maytum Hall tower, the KD2MNA 2 meter repeater is on 147.195 mHz with a -600 kHz offset and uses a PL access tone of 127.3 Hz. 
It is an open repeater, and is an Analog FM and Digital Voice repeater (D-Star). The coverage area encompasses a 25 mile radius around Fredonia, NY along the Lake Erie plain in Chautauqua Co. from an elevation of 780' ASL, and 210' above Lake Erie.  Chip, KC2LFV is the FCC License Trustee and was responsible for acquiring access to this wonderful repeater site,  Chip is also the primary maintenance tech. for this repeater and the club appreciates his skills and efforts. 

In November, 2019 the Northern Chautauqua Amateur Radio Club became an incorporated tax exempt 501c3 IRS registered organization, affording us the benefits of a tax exempt status organization and the ability to receive tax deductible donations from contributors looking for a meaningful,
local tax deduction to help support the club.

The W2SB SA Station was in service and available for use by club members and ARES/RACES operators during emergencies until January 2020, when the club vacated from our Salvation Army HQ facility due the break-in and theft of some of our lock-up cabinet items.  So, we had several outdoor meetings at Pt. Gratiot Park at an open pavilion site during acceptable weather.  During our period of station transition, Jim - WA2DFN made arrangements with Ryan Laurie – W0WLY to store our radio gear in his barn until we find a new home station.  In the summer of 2023, Joe, KU4Y consolidated all of the club gear and stored it at his QTH in Dunkirk.

Sometime during early 2022, Jim Mohney, Jr. - WA2DFN, our club President at the time, with the help of Jim  Stoll – WB2BSL, procured the use of the Fredonia Moose “Forest Lodge” on Rt. 20E. in Fredonia, where we met for several months during the Pandemic in their nice meeting hall thanks to
Jim's generous funding for renting the facility for our meetings.

Beginning in January, 2020 , we started meeting at the SUNY Incubator Building,  214 Central Ave., Dunkirk, NY.  Chip, KC2LFV made arrangements to hold monthly meetings there, for which we greatly appreciate his efforts on procuring the very nice meeting site.  Except for during the pandemic, as of May, 2023, we still hold meetings at the SUNY Incubator Building.  
This meeting site is in the 2nd Floor Video Conference Room (handicapped accessible with an elevator), and makes a great meeting place with the large screen monitor, internet access for remote video conferencing and a large seating capacity.

During the COVID Pandemic, from April 2020 until around June 2022, some meetings were held online via ZOOM.  We had some outdoor meetings at the Pt. Gratiot Park at unused pavilions for a while starting in May 2021 and continued during the summer months until 2022.

In August 2022, the Club did the first ever International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend activation at the Barcelona Lighthouse at Portland Harbor.  We are planning on continuing this ILLW activation in the future as it's a fun operating and social event.

Also in August 2022, the NCARC participated in the ARRL September VHF Contest at Luensman Park at an elevation of 2080 ft.  
Some nice 2 meter FT8 contacts were made as far away as north of Toronto. 

Beginning in mid-2022, after the Pandemic peaked, we re-started the monthly Club Breakfasts, held on the 3rd Sunday at 10:30 am.   Formerly held in the Forest Lodge on Rt. 20E., we moved to the Central Station restaurant in Dunkirk with good food & good socialization.  For a few years in the 1990's & early 2000's, we had breakfast meetings held alternately at the former Grandma's restaurant in Cassadaga and Denny's restaurant on Rt. 60 in Fredonia.  

Also, re-starting in 2022, the club set up and participated in Field Day exercise at the Pt. Gratiot Park on the shore of Lake Erie in Dunkirk. Good food & good times were had by all.

NCARC's members packet radio history:  While not formally the club's packet stations, our members were pioneers in packet radio.  John Hanson had his WA0PTV packet BBS in Fredonia and he established a satellite gateway, the ONLY satellite gateway in the eastern USA.  When the satellite came over, John's satellite station would automatically connect to the bird and download and upload messages.  Mike, N2HTE also established a packet node on a hill outside Westfield, NY. 
That node enabled members to use "worm holes" and connect directly with packet nodes in Europe. 

The NCARC has always been active in emergency communications services.  In the 1970's they put a 2 meter VHF repeater in operation on 146.850 MHz to help support emergency communications in the Northern Chautauqua County region.  The repeater frequency was changed to 146.625 MHz (+) PL: 127.3 Hz. by the WNYSORC Repeater Council around 1992 and the current W2SB call sigh was used even back then.

In 2006, the NCARC did a major upgrade to the W2SB Pomfret VHF system that included new radios, coax, repeater controller, band filter, a 60 amp. power supply and a new antenna system.

A couple years later a 70cm (440 MHz) repeater was established on 444.350 MHz (+) PL: 88.5 Hz using the W2SB call sign, and is still in-service today.

The current location of the W2SB repeater VHF/UHF systems is south-east of Fredonia, NY on Concord Dr., just north of Fredonia-Stockton Rd. in the Town of Portland.  Antennas are up on the commercial tower and overlook the Lake Erie Plain for a good RF footprint.  The building houses the repeater gear rack and a small work bench.  Electric power is currently provided by the site owner in lieu of site maintenance, which the Club provides.

In lieu of payments for the W2SB Concord Rd. repeater site use, the Club does building & site maintenance for the site owner, who also provide us with free electric power.

In early 2019, a new ICOM ID-RP2010V dual-mode Analog/D-Star repeater was established at the SUNY Fredonia Matum Hall radio tower to serve the Northern Chautauqua amateur radio community.  This repeater's call sign is KD2MNA and operates on 147.195 MHz (+) PL 127.3 Hz FM analog and also has digital capabilities with D-Star.

In May of 2022, the NCARC esstablished a FaceBook page for distributing club information & news, as well as helpful radio related “stuff” at:                                                                       https://www.facebook.com/groups/1047968375802827

During the summer of 2023, the W2SB UHF repeater was re-connected to the WANRS repeater system, enabling wide area coverage into the Southern Tier and Northern Pennsylvania through the systems 9 linked repeaters covering Chautauqua Co. & Cattaraugus Co. in NY and McKean Co. PA. 

Beginning in the fall of 2023, the W2SB VHF repeater was linked to the EchoLink system, allowing global access to the repeater.  Joe, KU4Y temporarily sponsors the link and it has been quite successful and widely used by the club members, especially when checking into the Tuesday Nite Net from remote locations.  The emergency back-up wet cell batteries at the W2SB site were also replaced.

In early December 2023, Joe, KU4Y successfully acquired a new ICOM ID-RP2010V VHF FM/D-Star Repeater for the club to replace the old VHF system at the SUNY Fredonia College site that has been running since 2019.  This new repeater is D-Star and FM Analog capable and will be a welcome addition to the KD2MNA site.

While acquiring the NCARC W2SB VHF repeater, Joe, KU4Y bought himself a new UHF 70cm. D-Star repeater.  Joe's got it on the air at his QTH on 448.125 RX / 443.125 TX, PL: 123.0.   It's both Analog FM and D-Star capable.

All club repeaters serve the Northern Chautauqua region and are available for emergency use by RACES and ARES operations, and are open for use by all licensed ham radio operators.

For many years now, the NCARC has run a “Tuesday Nite Net” every week on our W2SB VHF 146.625 MHz Repeater at 7:30 pm.  All licensed hams are invited to check into the net.  Some past net control stations were Bill Currie WE2Q, Andy KB2EOQ/K3UK, Al WB7SWW, Paula KC2MUY, Charlie N2WJS, Mike N2COD, and Shawn, WA9UGP.

NCARC Club members have participated in various public service activities like the annual Fredonia MS Walk and the MS Bike Event and the RACES Halloween “Pumpkin Patrol”.  Many members are also affiliated with RACES, ARES, SkyWARN and other amateur radio organizations, as well as acting Volunteer Examiners (VE's) in both the ARRL and Laurel VE programs for proctoring Amateur Radio FCC Exams.

For several years the NCARC had a Yahoo Message Board account until Yahoo dropped that service.  There was a new club message board set up on Groups.io (groups.io/g/NCARC) in mid December of 2019, and is still used today.  In addition to the General Membership board, starting in mid March of 2023, we have a Groups.io message board for Board of Directors and Officers to hash out questions and concerns online.

In recognition to their contributions to the club, some recent past NCARC Club Presidents were:

    KE2PW  Rusty Seastrum             N2LRG    Duane Buchweitz (past VP & long serving RACES County R.O.)
    WB2SNH   Art Martinson             KB2EOQ (K3UK)   Andy O'Brien            AB2GF    Frank Rossi (SK)
    WB7SWW  Allen Lee                      KC2LFV   Chip Rieweldt                               WA2DFN   Jim Mohney                     KU4Y  (KT2J)    “Joe” Nieves

In 2023, at our March General Meeting, we elected a new roster of club officers:
    - President:  Joe, KU4Y (KT2J)
    - Vice President:  Jim, WA2DFN
    - Secretary:  Andy, K3UK
    - Treasurer: Chip, KC2LFV

We also added a new Board of Directors member:  Paul - KD2WBC  for a 3 year term.  Paul replaced Paula, KC2MUY after she moved to Warren, PA.
Scott, W7GSM and Mike, N2COD remained on the Bd. of Directors.  

In 2023, the club became more "active" than in previous years, having more ham related activities and socializing.
   -  After a long hiatus during the pandemic, we resumed having a club breakfast again. 
    We meet every month (except  August) at the Masons Forest Lodge to socialize & eat a good breakfast.
   -  During May, Joe, KU4Y rounded up all the NCARC club gear for storage at his QTH.
   -  During June 2023, we participated in the ARRL's Field Day at Pt. Gratiot Park in Dunkirk.
   -  In early August, there was a work party at the Concord Rd. repeater site to clean up, cut & grass, and do  housekeeping in the building.
   -  On August 19th, the club again activated the Barcelona Lighthouse for the ILLW weekend for our second year.
   -  In September, we repaired the access door on the repeater building and investigated the 70 cm. repeater transmission line, and repaired the guy               wire anchor security fencing.

At the January, 2024 General Meeting, the club adopted a new Constitution & Bylaws, replacing the older version, first adopted on November 21, 1997 and amended in 2017. 

Also at the January, 2024 General Meeting, the club elected the following Officers for 2024:
 -  President:  Joe, KU4Y
 -  Vice President:  Don, AD2GL
 -  Secretary:  Vacant
 -  Treasurer: Chip, KC2LFV
 -  Paul, KD2WBC and Mike, N2COD remained as Bd. Members for 2024, and Scott, W7GSM re-enlisted for another 3 year term on the Bd. of  Directors.
 -  Mike, N2COD was appointed as the new W2SB License Trustee, replacing Andy, K3UK.

In May of 2024, Mike, N2COD applied for a grant for $5000 from the NCCF to upgrade our repeater systems.
The Grant was approved and work commenced on improvements to both repeater sites.  At the W2SB Pomfret Site the Duplexer cans were re-turned at TX-RX in Angola and a new Yaesu Dual Mode repeater was purchased & installed along with a new power supply.  Also installed was a T-Mobile Modem for Internet connectivity.  Our intentions of replacing the 2 meter hard-line was abandoned because we couldn't find a local reliable & cost effective tower service company.  Additional equipment upgrades were performed at the W2SB College repeater site, including a new 30 amp power supply.

At the January, 2025 General Meeting, the club elected the following Officers for 2025:
 -  President:  Andy, K3UK
 -  Vice President:  Mike, N2COD
 -  Secretary:  Vacant (Andy acted as temporary Secretary)
 -  Treasurer: Vacant
-   Scott, W7GSM remained as Board Member for 2025
          -  John, W6JTB was elected to a 3 yr. Term on the Board.
          -  Mike, N2COD was appointed as the Bd. Of Directors Chairman by Andy to run meetings.

New members for 2025 included: 
 -  Shawn, WA9UGP
 -  Ross, W2OK
 -  Bill, WR2DX
 -  Albert, AD2JX
 -  Cody, KD2LCJ

The new Yaesu 2 meter repeater was successfully installed at the W2SB Concord Dr. Pomfret site.   John, W6JTB installed a new power supply & did cabling upgrades.  Currently it is analog FM only.  YSF Fusion might be operational with the installation of the T-Mobile 5G modem. The old radios remained in the cabinet rack in case they are needed.  The lead-acid car batteries also remained in the repeater building.
The W2SB College repeater was still not functioning, as site access is limited.

At the January, 2026 General Meeting, the club elected the following Officers for 2026:
     -  President:  Ross, W2OK
     -  Vice President:  Andy, K3UK
     -  Secretary:  Shawn, WA9UGP
     -  Treasurer: Vacant (Ross is acting Treasurer)
     -  Scott, W7GSM & John, W6JTB remained as Directors
     -  Al, WB7SWW was elected to a 3 year Bd. Of Directors term.

New members for 2026 included Mike, K2AQR (renewed after a short absence) and Franklin, N2JYG.

In 2026, we resumed Club Breakfasts at a different restaurant, the Central Station on Central Ave. in Dunkirk.    
During early 2026, the club consolidated our gear and stored it at the QTH of Shawn, WA9UGP.
Work has commenced on re-establishing the KD2MNA College repeater with a new power supply and some re-programming.


Here are some personal historical accounts by members:
Andy K3UK writes ...

When I joined the club in 1989 the club had repeaters on 146.85 and 145.29 . The equipment owner of the .29 repeater in Mayville fell out with the club and moved his repeater to South Wales.  The 146.85 repeater was cited by the repeater council for causing interference to the Knapp Creek repeater near Salamanca.  It was housed at WB2SNH's house on the Fredonia Stockton Road as a temporary measure.  
It was discovered that the tower on Concord Drive was owned by my employer, WCA Hospital, and I obtained permission for NCARC to put an antenna on that site, free of charge. 
We could not use an installation that high without interference on 146.85, so I conducted tests over a six months period and we selected 146.625. The closest repeaters on 146.625 were the Peterborough, Ontario club.  
I contacted them and did simplex tests and also had them listen when we held a net.  The repeater council approved our use of 146.625 with conditions that we use PL tones AND we set the 4 bay dipole with a northerly null to minimize potential interference to Peterborough.  The 146.625 repeater was established around 1992.
The W2SB repeater was part of the IRLP system in the mid 90's and in the early 1990's it had a VOIP system using modified Radio Shack VOX answering machines connected to the internet that allowed ham's around the world to connect to the NCARC repeater, this was before the IRLP system had been invented.
During the early 1990's, Andy, K3UK regularly attended the repeater council meetings in Hamilton, Ontario.  Rusty KE2PW was our W2SB trustee and he would often accompany me.  The trend at that time was that repeater pair frequencies were becoming harder and harder to find.  Two meter frequency pairs were all occupied and only a few 440 repeater pairs were left.  I advised NCARC that if we ever wanted a 440 repeater, we should apply soon.  The club approved and we were assigned 440.350.  The club did not have the financial resources to buy all that was needed for a 440 system. 
Several members stepped forward and donated money for the 440 system. John W2FS, Ted N2ISQ/W3VG, Bob KA9IZM and me, K3UK.  Radios, controllers, duplexers and the antenna were all purchased after the substantial donations from John, Ted, Bob, and me. 
The 440 station was co-located at the Concord Drive site.  A few years later the site was hit by lightning and knocked out the 440 system.  Our plan to claim via our insurance policy failed because the club discovered that the treasurer at the time had forgotten to add the 440 equipment to the insurance policy.  
A fresh set of donations were received and new 440 equipment was installed.  
I am not sure who donated but I know that Ted W3VG was the main person leading this effort. 
After a few years at this tower, WCA Hospital sold the tower, and we were asked to vacate the property.  Someone in the club inquired about the tower right next to our original one, and they received permission.      
de  Andy, K3UK

AL WB7SWW writes . . .

When I joined the club in 1997 the [repeater] site was owned by a different company.  
The W2SB repeater was located at present site.  Now we have a third site owner; Crown Castle.
During a power outage, I learned that the site power had been disconnected at the request of the site owner, since there was no one in the building (to their knowledge).  I was the repeater and call sign trustee at the time.  I contacted Crown Castle site coordinator and he didn't know we were in the building as we were grandfathered in.  This was squared away when I explained why we were there and what we did in return.  Following this, Duane N2LRG made a document showing why we should be allowed to stay at site and what our contribution to the site was, such as building maintenance and ground maintenance that we have been doing for years. This satisfied Crown Castle and we did send our Liability Insurance information to them and that settled that.  Otherwise it would be $600.00 a month for our equipment to be located at the site and on the tower (this is like year 2000 dollars).  All installation and equipment shall be installed and maintained to "COMMERCIAL" standards.

Other than the presentation document, no other paperwork exists except maybe some emails.  Basically a "gentleman's agreement".  What hasn't been done for several years is the site grounds care since we lost the use of a tractor and brush hog when Art Martinson retired and moved.
It appears the site owner has weed control jobbed out around the building and inside fencing.

What would happen if we hand the site over to someone else is undetermined.  We/they, would have to work with Crown Castle and I assume, the proper agreement would have to be made between a prospective new repeater owner and the site owner.  There is a lot of history about this site, some has been lost over years due to poor file keeping.  This is the best I can do without going into a lot of details and with my foggy memory.

Gentlemen, we do not own the site, we are there with the conditions that I stated above.   If there are any other questions, I am available for further discussion / information.

Respectfully Submitted,
Al Lee, WB7SWW

In Remembrance … SK

As a respectful reminder, here is a list of former club members  and local hams who have gone on to the big shack in the sky.  They are now silent keys who have helped build and shape our club into what it is today.
    We are sincerely grateful for their contributions to our clubs rich history.  May they all rest in peace.

    W2SB, H. Allen Barris           WA2JHA, Jim Mohney, Sr.        WE2Q, Bill Currie          K2MIZ, Jack Topliffe         AB2GF, Frank Rossi          K2RIP, Pete Kozlowski        WA2LPB, Ron Warren          K2JQT, Stan Jopek                       N2RCW, Rich Loewer            W2CDX, Elmer Ahrens             KC2ZS, "Buck" Martin       
    WB2UQQ, Ed Lefferts         K2ZYX, Willis Krause                    K2VCG, Lyman Wood            WA2IOL, Ed Little                        WA2IOH, Charlie Cunningham
    WA2LDG, Ernie Higbee       W2DGU, Emile Berube               N2PCP, Walter Schulze        W2TBA, John Granada            K2LVR, Ed Duchaine               
    N2REL, Ben Kent                      W2GBK, Kay Nuttal                      W3CG, Norma Vanderhoff  N2ZIJ, Marion Anderson       N2ZIE, Wayne Printup                                            KA2SLC, "Curt" Dunn            N2JH, John Hagle                         KC2LFY, "Cindy" Boyd            N2MQ, Deborah Nelson          K2OAD, “Mel” Rebic                                              N2PCN, "Herb" Marker         W2SR “Skip” Renswick               K2RJR, Roger Renswick      KC0QQF,  Rich Fulmer             W2ACT, Ken Plucinski                                            N2WFY, Dave Betz                  KC2WTE, Glenn Newton          W3VG, "Ted" Leonard             W2DRZ, Thomas Mott            K2BT, John Mueller
    W2RDT, "Dan" Trippy, Jr.      N2OZF, "Sandy" Brill                     KS2D, "Harry" Fiedler              W3MJA, Mike Anderson       W2FUL, John Metzger                                          WA2DFM, Mike Sameulson