Route 66 on the Air Special Event Station Starts — September 12, 2026

W6J, W6K, and W6L are special event call signs for use in the Great State of Oklahoma.  The calls are registered and administered for the western, central, and eastern parts of the state and are available to all Amateur Clubs and Hams in the area who wish to activate a Special Event Station for Route 66’s 100-year Celebration.

To get involved in being a transmitting station, contact:

• W6J – Western OK – Gary Woodrow aa5gw.gary@gmail.com
• W6K – Central OK – NE5SD.Steve@gmail.com 0r TMWebb@cox.net or sensei_Kyle@yahoo.com
• W6L – Eastern OK – Daryl Reimer N5NYT darylrreimer@gmail.com

Those who “join the team” will receive a commemorative pair of poker chips, as shown here. Sign up, make some contacts, and turn in your log! You’ll get a nifty token. For the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road, we’re looking for 100 operators on the W6J, W6K, and W6L teams. Send your email today!

Otherwise, get on the air – and contact the other stations…

Purpose of Route 66 On the Air 

The purpose of the event is to commemorate the history of the “Mother Road” connecting the east and west United States.  Through stories, songs, and TV shows, the highway came to symbolize the spirit of the freedom of the open road, inspiring many to see America.

Route 66, established on November 11th 1926, as part of the U.S. Highway System, stretched approximately 2,448 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, passing through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Known as the “Main Street of America” and later dubbed the “Mother Road” by John Steinbeck in his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, it became an iconic symbol of American mobility and opportunity.

Although much of the original Highway 66 has been rerouted into a fast-moving interstate bypassing many of the small towns and interests of this nation, we take the week of September 12,  2026 through September 20, 2026 to remember and celebrate and share the enthusiasm and memories that Highway 66 represented in its time… and even still today.

25 Special Event Stations under the 1×1 call sign have been set up to commemorate this event. W6J is managed by the West Central Oklahoma ARC, W6K is managed by Steve Duskin NE5SD in OKC, and W6L is managed by TARC – W5IAS for all of Northeast Oklahoma.  Hams all over the world will be on the air that week, remembering, making contacts, and having conversations celebrating the freedom and opportunities that Route 66 represents.

Oklahoma Route 66 Stations On the Air

• W6J: ELK CITY, OK West Central OK Amateur Radio Club https://sites.google.com/view/wcoarc
• W6K: OKLAHOMA CITY,OK     W6K OKLAHOMA CITY –  Steve Duskin NE5SD
• W6L: TULSA,OK      TULSA AMATEUR RADIO CLUB –  https://www.w5ias.com