Not very long ago, "amateur radio" was part of the mainstream of America. Believe it or not, Montgomery Ward and Sears and Roebuck both published amateur radio catalogs. Yes, you could purchase transmitting tubes, coil forms, antenna feedline insulators, variable condensers -- just about anything you might want to build your receiver and transmitter for your amateur station. But that was 1938 through 1946, and now is now.

Today, so much of amateur radio is just more of the same. You are all aware of such things as WAS, DXCC and the myriad of other "awards" and certificates that are printed by the thousands. They are issued in such quantities that in actual value they are worthless, but just as the drive expressed by, "Hey Guys, let's put up a 2 meter repeater!" it is just more of the same. Another repeater? Another certificate, just like thousands of others just like it? What's new in amateur radio? Not much. What does the public know about ham radio? Even less.

At one time, such things were meaningful. Today, one may qualify for WAS in one 24 hour period, DXCC in just a few days effort. Two meter repeaters sit practically unused all over the landscape, all the while consuming energy and monopolizing a valuable amateur frequency that could be in productive use, except for the backward thinking of today's self-appointed czars of spectrum, called "coordinators."

In early 1997, a few licensed amateur radio operators gathered together to form a united, yet independent, group of individuals and clubs to search for the spark that will energize today's amateur radio community. These amateurs thus founded the Ventura County Amateur Radio Council.

This Web site is dedicated to the re-energized future of amateur radio, and the full application of Part 97 of the FCC rules, for the expanded enjoyment of all concerned amateurs.