The Wayne Amateur Radio Club history dates back to 1956. At that time, twelve amateur radio operators came together to form an amateur radio club in Wayne County, Ohio. The club quickly grew to 60 members by 1957. This club continued to grow over the years operating as W8WOO, a name derived from the county seat, Wooster. For many years the club operated as Wayne Amateur Radio Technical Society (WARTS) but later changed the name to Wayne Amateur Radio Club (WARC), which is the current name for this busy group.
Over the years, this club has enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow amateur radio operators. They taught classes to beginners, enjoyed air time together, set up temporary “ham shacks” in schools, conducted fox hunts, and shared technical training at meetings.
The club has always been active in the community by participating in the following events and more.
- Donated amateur radio books to the library.
- Part of the local Y2K resource plan.
- Provided communications for the hospital when phone systems went down.
- Mohican 100 mile race communications.
- Communications in the aftermath of tornadoes.
- Communication and message handling after a blizzard.
- Strung the lights for Wooster’s town Christmas tree for many years.
We continue many of the same activities from many years ago. Some of those activities are conducting monthly meetings, participating in Field Day events, enjoying DXing, running 2-meter nets, and participating in SKYWARN. We also provide communication for foot races, bicycle races, and parades. Today, as well as historically, many members belong to ARRL and Wayne County ARES. The club members continue to ready themselves for communication needs in local emergencies.