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VALLEY
AMATEUR
REPEATER
ASSOCIATION
WR9ABQ
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VALLEY
AMATEUR
REPEATER
ASSOCIATION
WR9ABQ
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| VARA CLUB | |
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The Valley Amateur Repeater Association (VARA) is an amateur radio club
that maintains several repeaters that provide service in and around the Elgin, IL
and Kane County, IL area.
Formed in 1970, the club has been in continuous operation for more than 50 years.
For historical details, please see our history page.
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| CLUB MEETINGS | |
The quarterly meetings are held on the first Friday of the months of
February, May, August and November.
The election of club officers takes place every May meeting.
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| REPEATER & NET INFORMATION | |
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Please allow the carrier to drop after each transmission for timer
reset and to provide an opportunity for anyone else to join the
conversation or pass emergency or priority traffic.
The 2m FM repeater has coverage as far as the lake shore to west
of Interstate 39.
The 70cm (UHF) repeaters do not have a courtesy tone, so please allow the carrier to drop after each transmission to reset the time-out timer during QSOs.
The VARA 2m net occurs every Monday evening at 8:00PM
local time on the 146.79 repeater.
Any and all amateurs (members or non-members) are invited to check
into this net and pass any traffic that may be of interest to other amateurs.
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| MEMBERSHIP | |
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The annual dues from our members go towards financially supporting
our repeater systems in terms of site rent and
electric bills, as well as other ongoing costs of maintaining
the repeater equipment.
Dues are to be paid at or before the May meeting. Additional family members (living at the same address as the paying member) may join free of charge. Regular membership is $50/year and is prorated based on the time of year you joined. Dues can be paid at meetings, mailed to our PO Box (address on membership application), an electronic payment via your financial institution, or paid online at our online store. If you use the online store, please include a note with your name and callsign.
The store vendor doesn't provide us with your name or callsign, so we have no other way to know who's making a donation or paying dues.
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| DONATIONS | |
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If you wish to support the club but don't want to join as a member,
you can still donate
online.
Please include your name and callsign (if any), so we know who made the donation. If you prefer you can send mail to our mailing address below (bottom of page). Thank you for your support, it is much appreciated. |
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| EMAIL GROUP | |
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The members-only VARA Email Group page can be accessed at https://groups.io/g/vara/.
Access to this group is granted via membership invitation and only
VARA members in good standing are eligible to join.
Meeting notices, club news and other amateur radio related information
can be shared via this group in between regular meetings.
Please
contact us if you are a member and would like to join the VARA Email Group.
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| FACEBOOK GROUP | |
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The publicly accessible VARA Facebook Group page can be accessed at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1194779133944900/. You do not need to be a member to follow us. |
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| MAILING ADDRESS | |
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Valley Amateur Repeater Association P.O. Box 53 Gilberts, IL 60136 |
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| Note that our mailing addressed is checked infrequently, and so you might let us know via email if you've sent us something to pick up! | |
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| © 1997-2025 Valley Amateur Repeater Association, Inc. | Last updated 2026-02-01 |