During the December, 2024 Christmas meeting, the Magnolia ARC recognized KB5ZO, Ben Stapp, for over a decade of service as repeater trustee for the area's amateur radio community.  As trustee, Ben kept the club repeaters up and running, and made sure they were available for regular amateur use as well as emergency service.  As repeater trustee for the Magnolia ARC, Ben was the FCC license holder for all club stations, and made sure the station operated as intended by the club.

Ben's faithfulness to the amateur radio community in general is well known in North Mississippi.  Ben is retired from MFJ Enterprises where he worked as RF Engineer and helped with product design.

The 2024 Repeater Roundup saw some great results.  Many hams found repeaters that were new to them, and some hams found that they could reach repeaters they previously thought were out of range.

The high score for the event was taken by AD5HM, Andrew Fountain, with 11,550 points.  Andrew worked at least 13 of the 18 repeaters on the contest list, plus several YLs, XYLs, and youth to rack up the high score for the event.

The 2025 Repeater Roundup is being planned now, and the repeater list will be announced in the spring of 2025.

Here's a map of all the repeater location for the 2024 Repeater Roundup.  Map is courtesy of Rob McCray, KN4VZR, of the Tuscaloosa ARC.

The Magnolia ARC will host the 2024 Repeater Roundup on November 9, 2024, from 7AM to 7PM. All call signs are welcome to participate; club membership is NOT required to take part.

Three files have been uploaded to the FILES section of the Magnolia ARC Facebook page, and these are the files you will need to download and print. They are Instructions, Log Sheet, and Repeater List. The link to the files page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/497073537139477/files/files The files can also be found at the bottom of this article.  (Click "Read more" below to see the rest of the article.)

Area 51 Radio Group and Jackson County Amateur Radio Association are working with Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks (MDWFP) to promote public awareness of amateur radio and Mississippi's State Park system. There are 21 State Parks in Mississippi that are registered with Parks on the Air (POTA). It would be awesome if we are able to activate all 21 parks on the same day during the same time period!

We need help from Ham Radio Operators to make this happen. Please consider signing up for a time to activate a Mississippi State Park on Saturday, May 18, 2024 between the hours of 9:00 am - 6:00 pm CDT. We are looking for activators willing to work a morning shift or an afternoon shift.

Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to SIGN UP to Activate a park.

For more information, visit MSPOTA Mississippi Parks on the Air

Steve Akers, N5OMK, was recently presently with a singular recognition, a framed certificate naming him as a Lifetime Member of the Magnolia Amateur Radio Club.

Steve is well known in North Mississippi as an avid supporter of amateur radio, so much so that his semi-official nickname is "The Supreme Net Commander".  Steve spent many years serving as net control for the MSU W5YD weekly net, and currently serves as net control for the twice-monthly Backporch Net (first and third Sunday nights) on the K5DY Maben repeater.

Steve is a second generation ham radio operator.  His father was Jim Akers, W5VZF, who was a mainstay of the amateur radio community in North Mississippi for decades.

Steve is an avid CW operator, and checks in daily on CW nets around the nation.

Congratulations to N5OMK, and our club's appreciation for your lifetime of service to local amateur radio.

(Photo: MARC Club President Doug Camp, K5BAK, presents certificate to Steve akers, N5OMK.)

On April 15, 2023 the Magnolia Amateur Radio Club held an "Antenna Party", and renovated the 2M repeater antenna on the Maben Fire Tower.    This involved taking down the old, non-functional antenna, and installing a new, folded dipole at the top of the tower.

Club members were onsite from before 9 AM until mid-afternoon.  High winds and threats of lightning hampered some of the progress, but all the work was finished except for the actual antenna install.  That was completed April 22.

About a dozen club members took part in the event.  New steps were installed on the tower, platforms were repaired, and new hardline was pulled up the tower.   The old antenna was lowered using a rope and pulley system devised by AD5HM.

The frequency is 147.315, tone 110.9.

Click "Read More" below left to see the photos.

Each year the Magnolia Amateur Radio Club gathers for a Christmas season dinner.  This year we got together on December 8 at La Terraza Mexican Restaurant, and we had a ball.   About 25 folks filled up multiple tables.