Welcome to the Silver Springs Radio Club!
We’re glad you are here, regardless of if you have just earned your first FCC ticket, recently moved to the area, finally got around to joining the club or maybe just thinking about it. You are probably wondering who we are, what we are about, what do we do and how do you get involved.
Who We Are:
SSRC is the oldest amateur radio club in Marion County having been formed in 1947. This is a fact that we are enormously proud of. Many of our founders and early members worked very hard to establish the club, make it grow and sowed the seeds for our future. It is up to us to continue their mission. That is why we are here and glad you are too!
The Silver Springs Radio Club (SSRC) is a group of radio enthusiasts who seek to enjoy and explore all aspects of the amateur radio hobby and to provide benefits to the community in which we live. We strive to serve all our members in the best ways possible. Some of the many ways in which we do this we consider particularly important.
Our key missions are Friendship, Emergency Preparedness, Club Meetings, Contesting, Special Events, Public Service, Weekly Nets, Training, License Exams, Hamfest and operating a VHF repeater with EchoLink capability.
Clubhouse Locations:
Monthly board and general meetings and VE testing are held at the Green Clover Hall, 319 SE 26th Terrace, Ocala, Florida, which is located in the McPherson Governmental Complex. This a very nice facility the Marion County government has made available to us for many years. We also have a small radio room there with VHF/UHF and HF radios.
SSRC also operates a satellite facility known as Perry Field, 131 Oak Circle, Silver Springs Shores that is leased from the County. This is a former Army MARS station that was active during the Vietnam War and more recently during the First Gulf War. It was decommissioned in 2011. The site includes a single wide mobile home with several operating positions offering easy access to a number of HF antennas including two 6,000ft rhombics. Perry Field is an outstanding contesting station. Members are more than welcome to use club equipment located there or set up and operate their own at Perry Field.
Both the Green Clover Hall radio room and the Perry Field facility are available for club members to use within their FCC operating privileges and after being checked out on the various radios.
Operating Events and Community Service:
The SSRC is an ARRL Affiliated Special Service Club. Good clubs are active clubs, and we strive to be a very good club.
Some of the events we regularly participate in are Winter Field Day in January, March for Babies in April, ARRL Field Day in June and our annual Hamfest in December which is our primary funding source for club activities. We need member participation in these activities to be successful.
Other events and opportunities also occur during the year where we can promote the club and hobby to our community. All of these events provide excellent opportunities to practice and hone our operating skills.
Weekly Nets:
The weekly club nets are held every Monday evening at 7:30pm on 146.610 PL -123. All members are encouraged to check-in to test equipment and receive updates on club activities.
The ARES/SkyWarn net is held every Wednesday evening at 7:30pm on 146.610 PL -123. All members are encouraged to check-in to test equipment, relay weather reports and receive updates from the ARES leadership.
There are a number of other local nets to participate in listed on the club website.
Club Meetings:
Board meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm and are open to all members. General meetings are held the third Tuesday of each month with fellowship beginning around 6:00pm with the program and business starting promptly at 7:00pm. All meetings, unless otherwise announced, are held at Green Clover Hall.
Monthly Board and General Meeting minutes are posted on the club website.
Dues:
Club annual dues are a very reasonable $25 for a single membership and $35 for a family membership and due January 1 of each year and delinquent after March 31.
VE Testing:
The SSRC VE Team conducts FCC license testing on the second Tuesday of each odd month beginning at 7:00pm at Green Clover Hall. All candidates for initial Technician or license upgrades are welcome. We encourage all members to upgrade their privileges from Technician as soon as possible.
Repeaters:
SSRC owns and operates a VHF repeater located on a tower on SR200 on frequency 146.610 FM and a PL tone of 123 minus. The repeater is also tied into the EchoLink system which allows access via cell phone while out of the area. Additionally, a club member has also generously provided a Fusion/WIRES repeater on the same tower on 147.210. Both repeaters are open for general amateur use.
Mentoring:
We highly recommend new amateurs, regardless of license class, team up and seek help from our more experienced members. Probably the most daunting and challenging thing is setting up your first station. We can help you with this! There are so many facets of this hobby to explore, and members are more than willing to help you.
Older hams also need help learning new things and we all learn from each other and from you! Just ask.
SSRC usually has monthly mentoring sessions on the last Saturday morning at Green Clover Hall – unless there is an event we are working. Mentoring sessions will usually be announced on the weekly net, so that is another reason to participate.
Some of the Saturday sessions have demonstrated antenna building, digital operations, QRP (low power operations), solar power, antenna hanging, radio demonstrations, operating from HOA antenna restricted communities, programming that new handi-talkie, to name a few. If there are specific things you need help with, we probably have a member who has done it – so just ask!
Contesting:
We have many members who are avid contesters and a number who are not. Either way is OK. However, contesting can be fun, and it helps hone your operating skills. There are contests every week and most are quite easy to work.
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES):
SSRC is an ARRL Affiliated Special Service Club and is active in ARES. We encourage participation in ARES activities, training courses, drills, and weekly nets to test equipment, exchange information and to practice emergency communications.
Each month on the second Saturday at 9:00am, there is a training and education meeting at the Marion County Sheriff’s Emergency Operations Center between SSRC members, ARES, MERT (Marion Emergency Response Team) and the county Hospital Emergency Communications Team. These meetings are open to all licensed amateurs and SSRC members are encouraged to attend whenever possible. In the event of an emergency, these various groups could be tasked to fill vital communication roles in our community.
SkyWarn:
Skywarn is one of the vital aspects of amateur radio in Marion County. Because of the way Doppler radar works, it may take five minutes to fully sweep the sky. Additionally, because of the curvature of the earth, the National Weather Service (NWS) Jacksonville radar only “sees” clouds in Marion County above 2,000 feet. Many adverse weather events, such as tornados, happen below that height. Therefore, our local Skywarn spotters are the NWS “eyes on the ground” to report adverse weather events.
Membership in ARES, MERT or the club is not required to participate in the SkyWarn nets. Training is desirable, but not required. The SkyWarn net, once activated, will be on the 146.610 repeater. It will be operated as a controlled net and under net control procedures during the event. Please follow the instructions of the net control operator. Classes are offered for Skywarn and are announced on the nets and on the websites. You can sign up for them at aresmcfl.org.
Websites:
Our club website is k4gso.us and the ARES/SkyWarn website is aresmcfl.org.
Our websites are a work in progress and are always changing or being updated. If you would like to participate more in the club, as an officer, director, committee chair, event chair, etc., just let a member of the board of directors know. The list is on the club website and below:
2024 Officers and Directors
| President | Adam Parker NY5E | sevenfurlongs@aol.com |
| Vice President | Hayden Kaufman N2HAY | n2hay@aresmcfl.org |
| Secretary | (vacant) | |
| Treasurer | Annie Allen KN4RIC | annie@annieandy.net |
| President Emeritus | Bill Gillespie KW5BG | kw5bgn4@gmail.com |
| Director | Andy Allen NA4DA | andy@na4da.com |
| Director | Terry Strey KN4FMH | tstreynw@gmail.com |
| Director | Tim Trombley K8TAT | ttrombley83@gmail.com |
Committee Chairs
| Membership and Hamfest | Elbert Wilkerson KQ3K | kq3k@outlook.com |
| Editor, The Oracle | Marty Brown N4GL | n4gl.marty@gmail.com |
| Perry Field | Terry Strey KN4FMH | tstreynw@gmail.com |
| Operating Day | Ethan Rodriguez KQEIC | ethan.r.rodriguez@gmail.com |
| ARES Emergency Coordinator | Hayden Kaufman N2HAY | n2hay@aresmcfl.org |
| K4GSO Trustee | Wayne Brown N4FP | n4fp.wayne@gmail.com |
Thank you!
Again, thank you for your interest in our club. If there is anything we can do to make your experience more pleasurable, please let us know. We are only as good as our membership, and everyone is a valued member!
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