“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Overview & Welcome
We Welcome You to Participate to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and explore His Word, the Bible.
Join us any morning of the week, Sunday through Saturday, on the 75 m ham band on 3912.0 kHz SSB (LSB). Check in after: 6:00 AM EST (1100 GMT), or in the summer time after 6:00 AM EDST (1000 GMT). The Net begins at 6:30 AM EST (1130 GMT), or in the summer at 6:30AM EDST (1030 GMT).
It does seem rather hard to believe — an adult Bible Study Class that meets daily, is always well attended, and progresses with near perfect order and harmony. Each member has opportunity to share in each session, and no speaker is ever interrupted by another speaker. Surprisingly enough, such a class does exist. The short-wave radio enthusiast who tunes across the 75-meter amateur band during the early morning hours may suddenly come across references and quotations from the Bible – the Word of God, as an unusual group of Christian radio amateurs meet on the air to share their ideas and to fellowship in the one common denominator of all Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Radio amateurs are individuals who are licensed by their governments to operate short-wave communications stations as a hobby. In the United States, each must prove his knowledge of radio principles, and demonstrate his operating proficiency to the Federal Communications Commission before a license is granted. Each amateur radio operator is assigned a call sign with which his station must be identified during each transmission. Over half of the world’s amateur radio operators are situated in the United States and in Canada.
Background and History of the SRBSG
The Sunrise Bible Study Group was begun as a joint effort of Lloyd Alford, VE3AX, and Don Cronemeyer, AD4NT (K8HHK at the time). These two men had met through a Christian amateur radio organization known as ARMS, The Amateur Radio Missionary Service, which had been operating on the ham bands for a number of years. At that time, Lloyd operated a quite successful automobile dealership in London, Ont. Canada, and Don was a research physicist at the Bendix Research Laboratory in Southfield, Michigan. Their common interest was the bond in Christ and desire to win others to Him, as well as a keen dedication to ham radio. They had also become aware that groups of Christian amateurs in other parts of the United States had been conducting radio nets for the purpose of Bible Study and Christian fellowship; also, certain cults had been counterfeiting Christian fellowship via amateur radio for some time.
Rather than participate in such a net dominated by a cult, they were led by the Lord to start a new Christian non-denominational Bible Study net. This net was to be centered around the Word of God, and would give preeminence to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Author of the Word of God. This new net was to adhere closely to orthodox Christianity with a fundamental outlook on Scripture – verbal and plenary inspiration of the Word being stressed. The one true gospel of the grace of God was to be emphasized and saving faith defined in relation to that wherein is “the power of God unto salvation”. In addition, an emphasis was to be made upon the “born-again” experience which underscores the gift of a new nature given to all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation. That moment, of course, was “when he or she has believed” that message of good news through Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Ideas and plans for the new organization were discussed during and after sessions of the ARMS net. Indeed, one can say that the Sunrise Bible Study grew out of the ARMS net – for there are many connections. On March 26, 1964 at 7 AM on 3903 kHz on the 75-meter ham band. the Sunrise Bible Study Group began. The first study was devoted to the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John. Basically, it amounted to a Bible discussion between the two founders of the net, Lloyd Alford, VE3AX in London, Ontario, Canada, and Don Cronemeyer, (then K8HHK, now AD4NT) of Franklin, Michigan, near Detroit. Both of the amateur radio stations of the founders were equipped with first-class equipment manufactured by Collins Radio Corp., running near the legal limit of power – one kilowatt, and could be heard well over the whole eastern half of the country. The particular time of day, near local sunrise, was favorable for “skip distances” of 150 to 1500 miles, so the founders were well aware that their two-way “private” conversation about the Scriptures could be monitored over a vast area of the two countries, the United States and Canada. From the start, the international flavor of contact between the USA and Canada was also an attraction. The first few sessions were held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, since these days were alternate to the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday meeting days of the ARMS net. The 3903 kHz frequency was chosen since it was adjacent to the ARMS net frequency of 3907 kHz.
In the early days of the net, many of the Sunrise Bible Study Group members sought to enhance their witness to other radio amateurs by the use of QSL cards featuring Scripture verses. Often these cards which radio amateurs share with each other to acknowledge and verify contacts could include references to the times and frequencies used by the Sunrise Bible Study Group as well. Gospel tracts especially suitable for amateur radio operators and designed to win others to receive Christ as Savior became popular with the members. A number of these tracts had their origin in the work of the ARMS net; several tracts such as “Your Best Contact”, and “The Wrong Manual”, had been written by Dr. William A. Meirop, K2JEI. Dr. Meirop is credited with being the founder of the ARMS net. Also, Lloyd, VE3AX, designed a little brochure which detailed times and frequencies of the Sunrise Bible Study Group; the brochure gives our theme verse, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). The verse is extremely applicable to our Study since it so well encapsulates the reason for our existence.
Current Net Control Stations
The Sunrise Bible Study Group is a directed net. This means that one operator is responsible for preparing the scripture selection for that day’s study, checking in operators and making verse assignments as check ins progress, and then managing the operations of the net for that session. The current net control list is (as of October 2025):
| Day | NC | Call Sign | Town / City | State |
| Sunday | Bill | K8BDR | Bruceton Mills | WV |
| Monday | Jim | NG1Y | Concord | NH |
| Tuesday | Jerry | N9TU | Connorsville | IN |
| Wednesday | Steve | N2COJ | Geneva | NY |
| Thursday | Eric | KB4MTS | Lexington | NC |
| Friday | Dave | K3GAU | Springfield | OH |
| Saturday | Tom | AB1FF | Shirley | MA |
Internet Tools (RemoteHams & Google Docs)
For nearly over ten years now the net has had the added benefit of using two tools that have really made the difference especially during times of poorer propagation. These are the remote operations capability provided by remotehams.com software and management tools (called by the group, “the dashboard”) available through a shared spreadsheet that reflects each day’s Bible study.
Remote Station access with RemoteHams.com
A number of stations are currently made available by way of the Internet for both listening and for transmitting (when transmit rights have been assigned upon request of the station owner). A server PC application is installed on the shack PC which is then connected by serial or USB connection to the shack’s transceiver. This application “publishes” that station to the Internet for access by stations running the PC client application. Both applications are freely downloadable after registering one’s call sign (or ID, for those who are not licensed hams, who ARE ALLOWED to listen!) from www.remotehams.com. Using a station that is operating this remote capability requires only that the remotehams client application be installed on one’s PC (sorry, but no Mac version is available). The user logs in to the application using his call sign and password (as determined during the registration process) and the client application then lists the stations that are available to be used at that time. Clicking on an “online” station will then connect your PC to that station. The stations in the list that are NOT grayed out are currently “on line” and available for use. If all has gone well, the audio stream as it is received by that connected station may then be heard on your PC speaker. Transmitting via the Internet on that connected station may also be done for those to whom transmit rights have been granted.
The “Dashboard” using Google Docs
Net Control manages a shared Google Docs spreadsheet for management of the net each morning. It is very useful to know who is assigned what verse(s) and what the net status is as the net proceeds. All of that and more are provided by this shared spreadsheet (which we call the “dashboard”) as it is viewed by means of an Internet browser connected to the Internet. There is also a shared chat column for interactive messages and a comments / notes column is often kept up to date as the Bible study proceeds. If you would like a link to this document, please send a request email to Bill Ramsey, K8BDR, at k8bdr@arrl.net, the creator and maintainer of the Google Docs spreadsheet, and he will send it to you.
The Sunrise Bible Group Experience
It is a fascinating experience to participate in such a Bible study, or indeed just to listen to such a study, as the signals hop-scotch across half of the USA from Florida to Maine, and on up into Canada. The discussion might pass from Bill, K8BDR in Bruceton Mills, WV; over to Jerry, N9TU in Connersville, IN; then to Bill, W2BWL in Twin Bridges, NJ; then to Eric, KB4MTS in Lexington, NC; and then on to Dave, K3GAU in Springfield, OH, to Jim, NG1Y in Concord, NH; and on to Dick, KA8DCJ in Goose Creek, SC; then to Don, AD4NT in Greenville, SC; and to Clayton, KC5ZLX in Carne, OK, then to Steve, N2COJ in Geneva, NY; to John, KA8DRJ in Martinsburg, WV; then to Duncan, VE3GXU (a Braille reading operator) in Ottawa, Ont. Canada; and to Bob, WD8PIC in Sylvania, OH (another Braille reader), or Pat, KK3F (a third Braille reader) [with many “regulars” left out of this list]. All of this might be controlled by a net control operator such as Tom , AB1FF in Shirley, MA. The participants comment on their assigned verses as the Holy Spirit prompts them. Some participants may cite current events as they seem to apply to the Scripture studied. Other participants may point out related passages of Scripture. Some operators simply read the verses and pass it back to the net control station. The participants range in age from 15 to 99 male and female, and have stations ranging from minimal to far advanced in cost and complexity. Diversity of participation is welcomed at all times. “The ground is level at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ!”
One distinctive appreciated by all is the Sunrise Net’s unique orderliness. While this can be partially attributed to the characteristics of the communications media, and to the early morning hour of operation, a God-given spirit of courtesy and cooperation prevails to enhance these characteristics. In addition, the Sunrise Bible Study Group has other qualities which make it highly unusual—it knows no state barriers, no national boundaries, no racial barriers, no denominational constraints, not even barriers of unusual handicaps such as blindness prevent participation. Several sightless hams have taken part in the study using their ability to read the Bible in Braille. One, Duncan, VE3GXU, in Ottawa, Ont. Canada, has been on the net almost from its earliest days. It is always a privilege to hear his exposition of the Word, and he reads Braille flawlessly. You would never know from the way that he handles his radio station and reads from his Braille text that he was blind unless you had personal acquaintance with him. Another of our great net control operators was Alice, WB2TJC, formerly of Pompton, NJ and later of Richmond, VA. She did her “homework” in her comments on the Scripture, and had a near ideal voice for radio and not as high pitched as many female voices sound, particularly on single-sideband. She served for many years as an accomplished net control station on Tuesday mornings. Alice went to be with the Lord some years ago. The Sunrise Bible Study Group is not a church, but merely a loosely organized group of Christian hams, and as such, the question of female leadership which might arise in a local church may be by-passed here. We hope that other female hams will join us in the future as they are always welcome.
The King James Version is our “Standard” text
The use of the King James Version is not mandatory but is highly recommended. It enhances clarity and orderliness in the study to be able to follow along in one’s own Bible as each operator reads and comments on the Scripture. The KJV is still not only the most widely available Scripture version, but is also one of the most reliable translations available today, even after over four hundred years! For those reasons it was chosen as our common Bible text; reference to other reliable versions of the Scriptures, and to their rendering of certain verses may be helpful, but should not be allowed to get out of hand, since confusion easily results. The King James Version may be obtained in any bookstore or freely online at sites like blueletterbible.org, biblehub.com, biblegateway.com, and youversion.com.
No Affiliations
The Sunrise Bible Study Group is not affiliated with any particular denomination or group, nor is it directed exclusively by any one person. Sectarian discussion is avoided, so that oftentimes operators will participate for years without other operators knowing what group they may belong to; thus each net proceeds harmoniously in spite of a wide variety of groups represented, and considerable actual divergence of opinion with regard to certain matters of individual Christian practice.
[Note: The above was excerpted from the official group brochure. Please click on that in the menu at the top right for the rest of the story!]