The Buchanan County Amateur Radio Club was established in March of 2004 in Independence, Iowa, with the goal of generating more interest in Ham Radio in the community and to become more prepared to provide needed emergency communications in the event of a disaster in the county or surrounding areas.

BCARC and the Buchanan County Emergency Management Agency are working together to meet the goal of being well prepared to help with communications during a disaster. In our first year, thanks to funding from Buchanan County EMA, we built a new 2 Meter Repeater in Independence. You can find more information about this project on the Repeater Page.

BCARC participates in several disaster drills with the Buchanan County EMA and Independence Fire Department each year. These drills help us to be ready to help in the event of a real emergency.

In July of 2007, members of BCARC helped with communications for the overnight RAGBRAI visit in Independence.

BCARC meets monthly on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Sheriffs Annex (old County Home).

Our Charter, Bylaws and Membership Application can be found on the Downloads page.

BCARC is an ARRL Affiliated club. We have members from Buchanan County as well as Oelwein, Waterloo, and Manchester.