ARCWC is privileged to announce the deployment of a 6M VARA FM station on Bearwallow! This is the only publicly listed 6M VARA station in the United States—and one of only six worldwide!

Why 6M? The band offers some unique capabilities and opportunities that local well known ham and repeater owner Jeff (NC4J) was eager to explore. What began as a casual conversation among a few hams at the Shelby Hamfest last year quickly evolved into a full-fledged project—one that Jeff personally led and brought to life.

Where is this unicorn 🦄 of a machine? It’s strategically located on Bearwallow Mountain, just outside Fletcher/Hendersonville, NC, the station joins an already active site that hosts a 2M VARA FM RMS, several analog and digital repeaters, as well as APRS iGates and digipeaters. This latest addition further strengthens the region’s ham radio infrastructure and opens the door to new modes of communication and experimentation.

Using digital modes—especially VARA FM—on the 6-meter band (50 MHz) brings some unique advantages that make it a compelling choice for amateur operators. Here is some information for all below:

1. Magic Band Propagation = Wide Reach

The 6M band, lovingly nicknamed the “Magic Band,” is known for:

• Sporadic-E (Es) openings during spring and summer, allowing unexpected long-distance communication—even hundreds to thousands of miles on VHF!
• Occasional tropospheric ducting and trans-equatorial propagation (TEP).

This allows digital modes like VARA FM, which are designed for high-speed, efficient data transfer, to perform over much longer ranges than typical VHF expectations—turning what is normally a line-of-sight FM band into a regional or intercontinental mode.

2. VARA FM on 6M = High-Speed, Low-Bandwidth Hero

VARA FM is a high-efficiency ARQ (Automatic Repeat reQuest) mode that offers:

• Has a published capability of Near-DSL speeds on FM (up to 25 kbps under good conditions).
• Error correction and compression.
• Solid performance in weak-signal and mobile environments.

On 6 meters, this means:

• Excellent data throughput, particularly when conditions enhance range.
• Less crowded band use compared to 2M, which is can be saturated with voice and repeater traffic.

3. Infrastructure-Friendly & Emergency Comms Potential

Because VARA FM can be used point-to-point, via specially configured digipeaters, or with Winlink gateways, pairing it with 6M:

• Gives you resilient digital communication even in areas without heavy repeater coverage.
• Is great for emergency communications (EMCOMM) due to enhanced range and reliability during conditions where HF may not be optimal or 2M doesn’t have the range for the operator.

4. Lower Noise Floor Than HF

6M has less man-made and natural noise compared to higher bands, especially in suburban or rural areas. This gives digital modes like VARA FM a cleaner channel to operate in, which improves signal decoding and throughput.

5. Hardware Accessibility

Many HF/VHF rigs like the Icom IC-705, Yaesu FT-991A, and Kenwood TS-2000 already cover 6M and support digital audio interfacing, so most operators don’t need extra gear. Just configure your audio interface or soundcard modem (Dire Wolf, Signalink, etc.), and you’re rolling!

Use Case Sweet Spot

Running a VARA FM Winlink node on 6M is golden in rural areas or hilly terrain like ours across WNC:

• It fills coverage gaps between 2M and HF.
• Offers fast mail transfer even to mobile or portable stations.

If you’re looking for both range and data performance without HF complexity, 6M + VARA FM is the secret sauce to add to your toolkit. You get the agility of VHF and the reach that flirts with HF. It’s like driving a Jeep that suddenly develops wings when the weather’s just right.

The station details are available in the Winlink Express VARA FM Session under the “Channel Selection” List, or can be accessed directly using the information below.

The 6M VARA station is NC4J-10 on a frequency of 53.570MHz!

Lets get you on the log!