Bristol County Repeater Association

Welcome to the website for the Bristol County Repeater Association (BCRA) a.k.a. the Fall River Amateur Radio Club. The BCRA is the local American Radio Relay League (ARRL) affiliated Ham Radio club. The BCRA has been around since 1929.

The club is active in local repeater nets, Parks on the Air, DX contesting, club educational activities, antenna building events, Fox Hunts (ARDF – Amateur Radio Direction Finding) and providing support for all levels of amateur radio interests. Join us for our monthly club meetings in Swansea MA and find out how much you can benefit from our club activities.

All club gatherings are open to anybody who wishes to attend, and we always welcome newcomers to join in the fun. Please join us for our monthly Business Meetings followed by a social chat.

Search W1ACT Club Log for a Callsign View W1ACT QRZ Page

A little background on the club:

The BCRA/FRARC is two ham radio clubs combined into one: the Bristol County Repeater Association, and the Fall River Amateur Radio Club. The BCRA was originally from Somerset, MA, and eventually combined with the FRARC to create one club. In 1960, the club was credited with having the club call W1ACT, $4.00 dues, and an indicated working frequency of 3885 KHz, an Emergency Coordinator (W1YHY), and as many as 10 AREC members. The club members possessed a number of “mobiles, dynamotors, vibropacks, and a gas-driven unit…”

Also recently uncovered was a 1953 note from the FCC responding to a query from the club concerning the history of the W1ACT call sign. According to the FCC, the earliest record found of W1ACT being issued to the Fall River Amateur Radio Club is in the Department of Commerce publication of Amateur Radio Stations in the U.S. edition of June 30, 1930, which also indicates that J. Wilbur Wilson was the secretary and the location was 1998 North Main St.

Today’s BCRA is an active group involving itself in Public Service, Public Safety, along with educational programs. In recent years we have supported parades and road races for their communication needs and practiced many drills in conjunction with the local Emergency Management Agency. There currently is a group of members who are working with a local middle school to get kids licensed, and involved in Ham Radio. We also have our regular annual events such as Field Day, and a DX-Pedition to the Gay Head Lighthouse on Martha’s Vineyard island. We always finish off the year with a fun-filled holiday party in December. Membership is only $20 per year, and we typically maintain around 50 members, with many of them actively participating in regular events.