.... Bethel Educational Amateur Radio Society ....   

The  B E A R S
K A 1 K D

The BEARS

The Bethel Educational Amateur Radio Society is sponsored by the Bethel Office of Emergency Management and is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League. The BEARS organization has three aims: Amateur Radio Education, Public Service and FUN!  The club operates its own repeater on 147.03 MHz. and a Digi/BBS operation on 145.03 MHz. Since the club's founding, as part of the Bethel Middle School Technology Education program in 1973, over 675 amateurs of all classes have received their licenses through our program, a feat of which we are most proud. The BEARS count among its members two Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award recipients: Chris Anziano, KD1OX and Michelle (Ritterbusch) Thompson, N1PNT. The BEARS Volunteer Examination Team conducts one of the oldest and most active programs in the state. The club maintains associations with: The Bethel Office of Emergency Management, the National Traffic System (NTS), RACES, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the Red Cross (ARC) and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). Our club call is KA1KD. The club advisor/trustee  is Mr. James Ritterbusch, KD1YV, our founder Mr. Peter Kemp, KZ1Z.

Meetings & Activities

The Bethel Educational Amateur Radio Society, The BEARS, conduct monthly meetings at the Bethel Office of Emergency Management the second Monday evening of every month, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The BEARS provide operators/facilities for emergency services, the Connecticut QSO Party  and  provide a wide range of supportive services to new hams and community members.

Special Project - T30ES - Kiribati

The BEARS are proud to help co-sponsor one of our former members, Eric Griffin, N1JSY, as he serves overseas with the Peace Corps.  For information on his great adventures on Kiribati check out http://people.mags.net/boem/kiribati1.htm.  He will be using the callsign T30ES.

Contact Information

If you would like more information on the BEARS, we may be reached via the following methods:

E-Mail: Larry Pennington (N1URB) and Jim Ritterbusch (KD1YV)

Mail: 

BEARS 
c/o Bethel Office of Emergency Management 
Municipal Center
1 School Street 
Bethel, CT 06801

Operating Frequencies

In the event of an Emergency, The BEARS operate on the following frequencies:

Repeaters: 147.03+ (PL 100), 147.300 + (PL 100), 447.775 -
Simplex: 147.585 
Connecticut ARES/RACES: 145.68 (VHF)   3.965 (HF Primary)   7.280 (HF Secondary)

Amateur Radio Reference Links ---

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