history Page

(Note: This information may not be entirely accurate)

The Radio Club was originally started in 1956 under the direction of Shelbyville High School shop teacher Mel Davies W9PLO who had also started a radio club at the school with the callsign of K9GLV. The General Elecric company had moved to town and many of the hams who worked there and had also moved to town also attended many of those meetings which were occasionally held at the high school. The original club experienced a lull in activity for some time and eventually became defunct. In 1971 Doral Hunt WB9OKB and Ron White WB9ELY decided to form the club again. Thus the Blue River Valley Amateur RadioSociety was born. It moved into a room above the old Civic Center on E. Washington St.thus calling this place home.

On Dec. 18, 1968 a tragic automobile accident took the lives of Bob Eberhart W9JUQ, a well known and well liked ham and his wife Lillian WN9BOJ and son Ronald K9UVI in Gainsville,Florida. Two of Bob's daughters survived the accident and his other son Steve WB9KJW was in Viet Nam at the time. Steve and his wife and his 2 sisters, who were 12 and 15 at the time are now living in Evansville, Indiana.

In 1973 the newly formed club applied for and recieved Bob Everhart's callsign from the FCC which became the club's station call. (W9JUQ)

Doral Hunt served as first President. Ron White and Ralph Amos K9JRK were soon to follow. In 1977 Ralph Polston K9SEW became President and he held that post until 1985.The club boasted of having over 30 members. During the early years the club began dabbling in a new mode of communication....Amateur Television (ATV) under the direction of Don Miller W9NTP who was one of the fore runners of the ATV hobby. The club then became real active in ATV .It continued to do so as the membership was waning. During that time novices were given voice privileges on the 220 band. In an effort to get more hams to upgrade and possibly join the club in 1989 the members voted to purchase a 220 repeater and all the necessary hardware. And the machine was eventually put on the air with the kindness of Carl Mohr who owned and operated a contruction company on E. Michigan Rd. With his permission the repeater now had a home. Also during that time, Gregg Steele K9CDB was forced to move his 440 repeater off the WENS radio station tower in Fairland IN. He was also allowed to move to the site of the 220 machine. The club now had 2 working repeaters....no small feat by any means for a club with little or no funds.

In 1991 the FCC in an effort along with ARRL to boost the number of hams being licensed restructured the licensing classes to include a new class. The no-code technician class as it was called. From the point on and as of recent the club has grown somewhat boasting of 50+ members and at least 25 active members.

In 1992 the BRVARS joined the Red Cross and was given a new home at the Fuller Place (Scuffy Building) until October 1998 when the Red Cross closed its office and now calls the upper room above Carl Morh's shop area where our two repeaters are located home.

In the meantime the club has purchased a new 440 machine, repaired the 220 machine, purchased and installed a new link controller and two new repeater antennas. It has also purchased some VHF, UHF and HF gear and now has a fully operational Club Station.

( Not a bad accomplihment for a once small radio club spanning almost 45 years...don't you think?)

73' de NT9G- Dave Brown

On September 12. 2000 The Blue River ARS put a new 2m repeater online. There has never been a 2m repeater in Shelby County until now. The frequency co-ordinator found us a frequency pair we could use. So now we now have 3 working machines for which to use. The 2m machine will be mainly for emergencies and skywarn but will be open to all amateurs to use. Though it may become our primary repeater and the 220 & 440 machines will be our back up machines.