History

The McHenry County Wireless Association was founded on September 12, 1978 to serve the amateur radio community in McHenry County, Illinois and the surrounding areas.  Beginning with a charter membership of 31 members, MCWA has grown into an organization of over 100 members.  In 2018, the association celebrated its 40th anniversary.

The club call sign,  K9RN, belonged to one of our earliest members, Bob Nielsen. Bob was the cousin of Jerry Heien, N9AVY and an avid DXer who could be heard on the 145.41 MHz repeater chatting about DX.  Bob was well liked and very active in MCWA Field Days. When he passed away, MCWA adopted his call sign in his memory.

A Field Day drawing by Bob Nielsen, K9RN, Circa 1988 (see the 1988 Field Day Gallery for the rest of Bob’s drawings). 

 

MCWA celebrates 40 years

We are looking for historical artifacts (documents, photos, stories, etc.) to be incorporated into our story.  

Send us your artifacts and stories