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Charlotte Amateur Radio Club
HISTORY
The organizational meeting of the CHARLOTTE
AMATEUR RADIO CLUB was held on Friday, January 28, 1972 at the WSOC-TV
Studio Building, 1901-25 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC. Present at
this meeting were: Richard Bell, WA4BNO; Fred Callahan, W4IJG; Dave
Smith, K4NLH (now K4HX); Wayne Shope, K4ANL; Earle J. Gluck, W4CQ; Francis Nakamura, WB4ETF; and John Abrams. The club was
formed at this and subsequent meetings.
Click on the photo to see a high resolution scan
Left to Right: Dave Smith, Wayne Shope, Earl Gluck, Francis Nakamura
Following the death of Earle J. Gluck,
application was filed with the FCC to form a Club Station in his
Memorial using his call W4CQ. A dedication service was held with Mayor
John Belk, VP and General Manager of WSOC-TV Freeman F. Jones, members
of the Gluck family, and Club members present.
The Club is affiliated with the American Radio
Relay League and is a non-profit organization with a tax- exempt status
with the Federal and State governments. It provides free training for
newcomers and provides the community with various public service
activities. The Club participates in ARRL-sponsored activities, such as
Field Day, VHF contests, Simulated Emergency Tests, etc. During the
Managua and Guatemala earthquakes, the Club station was activated and
received and transmitted many pieces of traffic. During the Managua
earthquake, the Club was recognized for its services by the Charlotte
Observer and by the two wire services, United Press International and
Associated Press. W4CQ was again active during the Guatemala earthquake
and was in direct contact with a hospital in Guatemala and ran phone
patches so doctors there could talk with doctors here in Charlotte and
the Sanger Clinic to make medical supply requests directly. Doctors here
were made aware of their needs directly without any delays.
The Club has provided many public service
communications for various local agencies, such as the March of Dimes,
American Lung Association, Charlotte Marathon, and Carolina Moon Ride.
The Club station, W4CQ, is equipped to operate
on HF, VHF and packet. Any member of the Club can operate the station
after being checked out on its proper operation and tuning. The Club
also has four repeaters; two on 70 centimeters and two on 2 meters. The
146.46/147.06 and 449.85/444.85 repeaters are located on WTVI's
transmitting tower on Caldwell Road and Back Creek Church Road. The
449.45/444.45 repeater is located 1500 feet high on the WCNC Channel 36
tower in Dallas, NC. The second two meter repeater on 147.87/147.27 is
on the air at Fran Nakamura's QTH and is being tested. It will
eventually be located on the WTVI tower, and the 46/06 machine will be
moved to the WCNC Channel 36 tower.
The Club also owns an Emergency Communications
Trailer equipped with towers and antennas for Emergency and Public
Service use. It is equipped with radios to operate on HF using regulated
land power or 12-volt battery power. The lights in the trailer are also
switchable to either AC power or 12-volt DC power. The t railer was just
repainted with new signs identifying it as the Club portable station on
wheels.
EARLE J. GLUCK
Earle J. Gluck was born in Baltimore, Maryland
in 1900. He served in both World Wars in the U.S. Navy and in the Naval
Reserve during the remainder of his life. He was one of the pioneers of
WBT Radio in Charlotte back in 1922 and one of the organizers of WSOC
Radio in 1933. He was also one of the leaders who were instrumental in
obtaining the TV license for WSOC Channel 9 among two other competing
applications for the TV license. Earle J. Gluck was also a pioneer in
Amateur Radio and was active in the hobby from its infancy. He also was
an active community leader and served on the Housing Authority of our
city. He was a charter member of the Charlotte Amateur Radio Club and
was instrumental in offering guidance and advice in its organization.
After he became a Silent Key, his wife donated some of his amateur radio
equipment to the Club. He held an Amateur Extra Class license with the
call of W4CQ which the Club proudly proclaims in his memory
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