News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2023-03-12

Thanks to everyone who participated in the February 26 Winlink from Home exercise! We had 43 members participate. Team leaders reported mixed results in the success rate so we will schedule a redo of this exercise in April. Stay tuned for that date.

The March 23 meeting will be at our new meeting location at Portland Community College, Southeast campus (SE Division and 82nd Ave). We will send building details and parking instruction prior to the March meeting.

The Ultra Marathon planning team has set a target date of March 31 to send out a Signup Genius for all three summer marathons. Take a look at the dates and try to save a few to your calendar.

  • June 24: Wy’East Wander Mt. Hood near Parkdale
  • July 15-16: Mt. Hood Trail Run
  • Aug 5-6: Volcanic near Mt St. Helens

We will need your help to staff the various needed positions! Thanks!

Reactivation of the USS Blueback Submarine Amateur Radio Station (W7SUB)

by Steve W7SRH on 2023-02-20

For those who may not already know, the USS Blueback submarine is part of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, located on the east side of the Willamette River just below the I-5 bridge here in Portland. The submarine is moored in the river right in front of the museum. The Blueback was decommissioned in 1990 and brought to the Museum in 1994.

The radio room on board the sub has been inactive for the past several years primarily due to the pandemic. The person in charge of the radio room (called the “CHOP” in the Navy) has decided to step back from that role. OMSI has been looking for new leadership to reactivate the station and carry on operations. Several MCARES members who have been working as volunteers at OMSI – Bob Cady W7JNM, Ken Cone K7BXI, and Steve Hall W7SRH – learned of the desire to reactivate the station and have decided to take this on.

Bob, Ken, and Steve recently met with the OMSI submarine staff and the outgoing “CHOP” (station manager). They were able to reactivate the station which included testing the antennas to ensure they were functioning properly, bringing power back to the radio equipment, and locating station documentation. They are also learning about how radio room operations might fit into or conflict with submarine tours.

The new radio team is in the process of developing an operations schedule to include several special events and some form of educational opportunities for those interested in amateur radio. If appropriate, the team will seek authorization for other MCARES members to visit the station and participate in these events. An update will be provided when the station operating schedule is finalized.

Photo credit: Steve Hall W7SRH

News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2023-02-12

Winter Field Day was at Scouters Mountain on January 28 and it was great fun. We braved the chilly weather and set up two stations. Joe had his awesome Yaesu FT DX 10 for voice, and Bob and Ken brought their Elecraft stations for CW. Propagation was very good and we were able to make contacts as far away as Nova Scotia and southern Florida, and many places in between. We appreciate all who visited and helped out. A special thanks to Joe for submitting our logs to the WFD organization. The chili dogs were consumed at a very high rate!

We are super excited to have a new meeting location at Portland Community College’s Southeast campus (SE Division and 82nd Ave). Our March 23 meeting will be there as will all other in-person meetings. We will send building details and parking instructions prior to the March meeting.

We are planning a Winlink exercise from home for Sunday, February 26 at 10:00am. Please save the date. The drill guide will be sent via email soon. Time to dust off the equipment and practice, practice, and practice!

The early planning has begun for the three Ultra Marathons this summer. Take a look at the dates and try to save a few to your calendar.

  • June 24: Wy’East Wander Mt. Hood near Parkdale
  • July 15-16: Mt. Hood Trail Run
  • Aug 5-6: Volcanic near Mt St. Helens

We will need your help to staff the various needed positions.

News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2023-01-16

We have a few new and exciting changes for 2023!

We are looking for a new meeting location – somewhere closer in town – and hope to have that nailed down soon. We will keep you posted on the progress.

Multnomah County Emergency Management just announced their new EOC will be located on the 2nd floor of the Multnomah building. We hear a new radio room will be a priority.

We have been contacted by Todd Janssen from Go Beyond Racing and asked if we can volunteer for a couple more of their ultra-marathon events this summer. Leadership has agreed to add the following races:

  • June 24: Wy’East Wander Mt. Hood near Parkdale
  • July 15-16: Mt. Hood Trail Run
  • Aug 5-6: Volcanic near Mt St. Helens

Please save the dates as we will need as many members as possible to support these events.

Multnomah County Emergency Management is in the planning stages of a statewide Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake Exercise in June. This is a large, full-scale, multi-agency event. Jeff KI7TVE is representing MCARES in the planning process. The last Cascadia exercise was in 2016 and we are looking forward to providing emergency communications on June 13 and possibly June 14.

The January 26 MCARES meeting will be online via Zoom. Bruce AA7PB and I will be presenting on the new MCARES Power Kits. We will talk about uses, safety, how to start the generator, and a video presentation.

News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2022-11-13

The November 17 MCARES meeting will be in-person at Portland Fire & Rescue Station 2 at 4800 NE 122nd Ave. Jeff WX7OR will be presenting “Winlink Beyond the Basics.” The parking lot gate closes at 7PM sharp so plan to arrive a little early.

I am pleased to announce that Phyllis W7ZM has been chosen to be our new net manager. We are looking forward to working with Phyllis to keep our weekly nets running smoothly.

Carrie K7CAC has resigned as Charlie team Leader and AEC. The Charlie team is our largest team and Carrie has done a great job and will be missed. We are looking for a new team leader and will keep you posted on the search.

We have been asked by the Portland office of the National Weather Service to participate in their Skywarn Recognition Day on December 3. Steve W7SRH and Adam KF7LJH are working on the details. This is a great opportunity for the ARES trailer, and our members will have an opportunity to participate. Stay tuned for more details coming soon.

Multnomah County Emergency Management is in the planning stages of a statewide Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake Exercise in June of 2023. This is a large full-scale multi-agency event. Jeff KI7TVE is representing MCARES in the planning process. The last Cascadia exercise was in 2016 and we are looking forward to providing emergency communications again next year.

Please note there will not be a December membership meeting. The leadership team will be holding its annual planning session. If you have ideas or input for 2023 please send them to leadership [at] multnomahares [dot] org.

News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2022-10-18

The October 27 MCARES meeting will be online using Zoom. We will send the link for the meeting a few days before the meeting. Non-members can contact Leadership [at] MultnomahARES [dot] org to receive a link to the meeting. Dylan N4LYD will be presenting “Forms and Logging”.

A reminder that the November MCARES meeting will be one week earlier because of the Thanksgiving holiday – that means November 17. This meeting will likely be in person at PF&R Station #2. Jeff WX7OR will be presenting “Winlink – Beyond the basics”.

The fall statewide ARES SET is coming soon on Saturday, October 29. The guidance from the state ARES folks was rather late so our county plan is still being worked on. We hope to have the drill guide out to you later this week. Stay tuned.

We are sad to announce that Rachel KI7NMB is stepping down as our net manager. She has done a fantastic job and she will be missed for sure! Our sincere thanks to Rachel for her many years of service.

News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2022-09-11

We are very pleased to announce that our September 22 membership meeting/training will be in person at Portland Fire & Rescue Training Center (4800 NE 122nd Ave). After over two years it will be great to meet again live! John KI7LYP will be demonstrating how to assemble Anderson Power Pole connectors and SO239/PL259 coax connectors, a needed skill for every ham radio operator. We hope you can join us. We encourage you to wear a mask if it makes you feel more comfortable however there are no mask requirements at this time.

It was great to see so many of you at the August go-kit BBQ at Sellwood Park. The raffle was a huge success and added about $1200 to our bank account. The funds raised every year help us pay for insurance and license fees for both of our trailers, food and drinks for the BBQ, swag for our annual GPS Food Drive and equipment and propane for both trailers and go-kits. This year the red “Beast Trailer” is undergoing a complete overhaul to be turned into an operating station for our west side radio operations. The added funds will help purchase equipment for the Beast.

Stay tuned for news about the ARES Fall Statewide SET (simulated emergency test). The plan is still being worked on and I hear it will be in late October.

News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2022-08-15

Thanks to our 42 members who joined in the “Sizzling Summer Setup” field exercise! Team Leaders report that we all learned a lot and fun was had by everyone. The team go kits were put to use as cross-band repeaters and digipeater,s and everyone had a chance to practice these skills. It was great to be out in the park on a beautiful summer morning with our fellow team members.

Our August 25 meeting is the annual BBQ, go kit show-and-tell, and raffle drawing. Bring your go kit and show others your unique design. If you are thinking about building a kit, this is the best place to see what others have done and get ideas. Burgers, hot dogs, and cold drinks will be provided, and feel free to bring a picnic item to share if you would like. We hope you can join us at Sellwood Park!

We will do the raffle drawing (Donation/Prize Extravaganza) at the BBQ so there is still time to get your tickets. Watch your email for the signup form and tickets will also be on sale at the picnic. This is our annual fundraising event and helps us pay for the BBQ food and needed expenses during the coming year.

News from Around the County

by Deb KK7DEB on 2022-07-17

I hope you are enjoying our somewhat mellow summer weather. No massive extreme weather so far is certainly good news. Let’s hope we can continue on this path.

We are working on our annual fund raising raffle as we collect donations from our members. You should be seeing more about this soon.

We have scheduled our August field exercise for the morning of Saturday the 13th . We will have each of our teams out with their team go kit practicing set up and learning the process of cross-band repeating and digipeating. Stay tuned for more information as we work on the drill plan.

Field Day was really fun up at Larch Mt. The weather was great and we had a really good antenna up high in the trees. A few of our members made the trek up the hill and Robert Quinn, our Multnomah County Emergency Management liaison, rode his bike up from Corbett. Way to go Robert!

The Hoodview Amateur Radio Club had several members onsite and we all enjoyed meeting new folks. Unfortunately the HF bands were not very friendly and our contacts were mostly on the western side of the US and Canada.

Field Day 2022 – Next Weekend!

by Adam KF7LJH on 2022-06-19

Hello Multnomah County ARES Members,

This coming weekend is the ARRL Field Day, June 25 and 26!! If you’re not familiar with Field Day, it’s one of the most fun ARRL events of the year. Hams all over the world gather outdoors to participate in a fun HF/VHF contest, hang out with other hams, and perform outreach to the public. For many of us, it was the first time we ever got on the air!

This year, Multnomah ARES will be joining the Hoodview Amateur Radio Club‘s annual Field Day celebration. They will be at Larch Mountain again this year and we’re looking forward to blasting some radio waves with them up there. If you haven’t been to Larch Mountain, it’s beautiful. The Sherrard Point trail is short but fun, and leads to a pretty amazing viewpoint.

Here’s a google maps link to Larch Mountain with directions. We’ll be set up in the parking lot outside the Larch Mountain Trail trailhead.

The Field Day contest starts at 11 AM, Saturday the 25th and runs through 11 AM Sunday the 26th. The MCARES trailer will be arriving on site around 9:00 AM on the 25th and will remain there through the event. If you’d like to get some great field experience and help the Hoodview team raise a few antennas, plan to arrive around 9 AM. All are welcome – and encouraged – to come operate, make some contacts, and hang out!

We’re having a Potluck Saturday night!!! Deb will be bringing her incredible Field Day Spaghetti – a perennial favorite! Please feel free to bring a dish and enjoy some great company and a pleasant evening.

We hope you can find the time to visit next weekend even if it’s just for a little bit during the day. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to meet up face to face (in small groups). If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you! Have a great week!

Deb KK7DEB, Adam KF7LJH, and Carrie K7CAC