Welcome to the SCARS Website

The goal of this website is to provide you with a little information about the Sun Country Amateur Radio Society, our repeaters, some of the activities associated with our group and a bunch of general ham radio information.

Additionally we want to provide you with a “One Stop“ source of ham radio events and activity. Here you'll find information on hamfests, special events, contests, ham radio testing for new licensees and those upgrading and much more. We have also provided links to the ARRL search pages for all these activities. We hope that you find this information useful and look forward to making contact with you on the air.

The Goal of our Repeater is to provide all licensed hams that behave properly, operate in accordance with FCC Part 97 Rules and Regulations, who are pleasant and welcoming to all, and willing try to uphold the 5 basic purposes of the amateur radio service are welcome on KA4WJA/R, 146.970 MHz (-600khz) repeater!

Those that are rude, crude, abusive, inappropriate, etc., or racist, sexist, misogynistic, etc. are not welcome, and should find another form of communication that better suits there needs (such as CB Radio, GMRS, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)!

Those that have differing views and opinions on this are absolutely entitled to them, however please understand it is the legal and ethical responsibility (FCC Part 97.1) for KA4WJA to uphold the purposes and principles of the amateur radio service on the KA4WJA/R, 146.970 MHz Repeater. Also please remember it is the reputation of KA4WJA for all that is broadcast on the 146.970 MHz repeater....so, should you desire to express rude/abusive ideas, please find somewhere else.

Our repeater is located in North Central Florida, Marion County, in the town of Anthony, just north of Ocala, FL. We are about 90 NNW of Orlando, about 75 miles from the east or the west coast of Florida and about 35 miles south of Gainesville. MAP

KA4WJA/R, 146.970 MHz, Voted Best (non-Linked) Repeater in 4 Call Area. Needless to say, we are very proud of this recognition!

Our group is more of a social group rather than a official structured club. We get together every 2 weeks and meet at one of the local restaurants in town for some good food, good fun and some relaxation with some good people who share similar likes and interests.

Dinner generally gets started at 6:30PM and then we continue until we are ready to call it quits for the evening. Our next dinner get-together will be held at The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill - 4414 SW College Rd. #316, Ocala, FL 34474 on Tuesday - June 24th, 2025 @ 6:30PM.

Come on out and enjoy some comradery with people who share similar likes and interests who are willing to help you get you started in or willing to help enhance your interest in the ham radio hobby. You Can Always Check Here For Any Last Minute Changes

If you think you have some interest in ham radio but would like to learn more or if you are a local ham operator looking for a great group of people to socialize with, share ideas and maybe ask questions, we encourage you to come and join us. Everyone is always welcome!!

Have you ever wanted a GeoChron type program but didn't want to spend up to $500 or even more to purchase the software. Now there are 2 alternatives that are both nice pieces of software in their own right.

Simon's World Map

Click on the image for a larger view

The first is Simon's World Map which is also an SDR software package. It runs on a PC and is highly configurable and includes features like satellite tracking (almost every satellite you can imagine), rotor control, solar weather, moon phases, Maidenhead Squares, CQ and ITU Zones, Sunrise and Sunset and a lot more.

The current release is 1.40 and was released on Sunday, February 4th, 2024. What it does not include right now are live DX Spots but they are working on it. The cost is FREE but they do ask for donations.

The second is HamClock and it runs on either Raspberry Pi or Linux. It too is highly configurable and includes DX Spots, a live contest list, visual solar spots, POTA and a lot more. The down side is that have to purchase a Raspberry Pi computer (about $125) and you need to learn the operate and install software on a Unix type of operating system. The cost for this software is also FREE.

I run both programs and like them both equally. Visually, I like the dispay on the Simon's World Map better. However, I like the features of the HamClock software because of the DX spots.

I have compiled and run the HamClock software on a Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 (8GB RAM) running the Raspberry Pi OS, on a Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 (8GB RAM) running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and 24.04 LTS and a PC running Ubuntu Linux 22.04 LTS. Currently I am running HamClock on a small Celeron PC (8GB RAM) with Ubuntu Linux at 2400x1440 resolution mainly because I found the Raspberry Pi platform to be a bit sluggish if you only have 4GB of RAM, especially if the app was run at the highest screen resolution (3200 x 1920).

Side Note: I found Ubuntu to be a bit limited when running on the Raspberry Pi hardware. If you want to run Ubuntu do it one a PC based computer. Some of the apps don't work properly. Google Chrome will not load at all. Hopefully these issues will be addressed.

Grid Tracker
UPDATE: June 13, 2024

Click on the image for a larger view

I found another nice program. Grid Tracker. I haven't had a chance to look into it but I've included the link so you can try it out.

You decide what's best for you.

PSK Reporter
Here's a new mapping program I found. This one is web based and links to a lot of the popular programs. Take a look!!