How to Join the Charleston Amateur Radio Society (WA4USN) or Get in Touch

The Charleston Amateur Radio Society (CARS) operates the website wa4usn.org, and the site itself is the starting point for joining or contacting the club. Its navigation includes dedicated Membership, Newsletter, About, and Officers pages, plus a site search and a running list of recent posts. Use the Membership page to find joining information, the Officers page to identify who to contact, and the Newsletter page or recent posts for current announcements. Because the site's public excerpts don't spell out dues, meeting times, or a contact form, treat those pages as the place to confirm specifics rather than assuming details.

Start with the Membership page

The site's main navigation lists Membership alongside CARS Info, Activities, Newsletter, About, Officers, By Laws, History, Links, Hamfest, Licensing, Museum Ships, and technical pages for N1MM+ logger software, Repeaters, Nets, APRS, IRLP, and Emergency Prep.

• Open the Membership link from the navigation menu to see how the club handles joining.
• If the page asks you to attend a meeting or contact an officer first, use the Officers page to find the right person.
• Check the Newsletter page for club publications and updates, which often carry time-sensitive notices.

Contacting the right people

The site separates general background from leadership contacts:

If you're unsure who to write to, start with the Officers page, then check recent posts in case a specific event contact is named there.

Check recent posts before you act

The homepage's recent posts list is where time-sensitive information appears, and it changes often. Examples from the site's own feed include:

• CARS in the news — a Post and Courier story on the local ham radio network as emergency backup after hurricanes (dated August 7, 2026).
• Field Day will be at K4LXF's house — after the club couldn't arrange the Yorktown site, Bryce Myers, K4LXF, offered his home and backyard (June 23, 2026).
• Field Day will NOT be on the Yorktown — a short notice to watch for the alternate location (June 22, 2026).
• Museum Ships Weekend 2026 — activating three ships on 6–7 June 2026, operating only during museum public hours rather than overnight.
• New MOU with Patriots Point — the club's Auxiliary Steering space on the O2 deck, frame 1, is being relocated because of asbestos mitigation (January 15, 2026).

These posts show the pattern: location and schedule changes are announced on the site first, so read the newest entries before traveling to an event or assuming a recurring activity is still in the same place.

Using the site search

The site includes a search box. Use it for specific topics rather than browsing the archive:

• Search "membership" or "join" for joining information.
• Search "nets" or "repeaters" for on-air schedules and frequencies.
• Search "licensing" for license class information — the feed references an online General Class license class.

The archive spans many years, so a search result may be outdated. Cross-check anything time-sensitive against the most recent posts.

Practical notes

• The site is a WordPress site with entries and comments feeds, so you can subscribe if you prefer updates pushed to you.
• Some content sits behind a Log in link in the Meta section; the public pages are the reliable route for joining and contact questions.
• The club's identity is tied to the WA4USN callsign and its long association with Patriots Point and the USS Yorktown, which is why museum ship operations and the Patriots Point MOU appear so prominently in announcements.

If you want a single next step: open the Membership page, and if it doesn't answer your question directly, go to Officers and use the contact details there.