Category: Events

  • Vista House/Rooster Rock Event

    Echo team helped Vista House at Crown Point celebrate its 100 year anniversary by holding a public outreach and training event on July 14. We had an outreach table set up in Vista House with flyers and the orange go-kit, and team members to answer questions and invite folks to tour the MCARES trailer which was in full operation in the parking lot.

    The yellow digital kit was set up with another public outreach table under a tree by the river at Rooster Rock State Park just down the hill.

    Everyone got a chance to try some image transfer with MMSSTV and to work gateway and peer-to-peer Winlink, so it was a great training exercise as well.

    Thanks to Deb KK7DEB for bringing the trailer and handling the training there and to John KI7LYP and Patti KB7GMM for handling the Rooster Rock PR and training. Appreciation also goes to Tom KE7JTM and Ken KI7RUN for helping to coordinate with Vista House and Oregon State Parks. And thanks to all the participating Echo team members who put in a total of 42 volunteer hours on a very hot Saturday!

  • MCARES Campout

    Our annual campout is coming up on the weekend of September 14-16. This is the highlight of the year and a reward for all our hard work through the busy spring and summer. Come for the whole weekend or just for the day on Saturday. If you like to camp, operate HF, or just relax with friends, this is the place to be. The trailer will be there and most likely another HF station or two. You may even earn your HF Operator certificate.

    We will be in the group site at the Pine Point Campground on the shores of Timothy Lake. The site allows tents and RVs (no hookups) and has drinking water and vault toilets. The campground is easily accessible by car. To get there, travel east on Highway 26 for approximately 40 miles past the city of Sandy to Skyline Road/Road 42. Turn right on Skyline Road and continue south for about 9 miles. Turn right on Forest Service Road 57 and travel west for 2 miles, then turn right again at the Pine Point Campground entrance sign.

    The cost is $20 per person to cover the campsite fee. Campers are expected to provide for their own breakfast and lunch. Dinner Friday and Saturday are group potluck events. Email Robert at RGAnglin [at] gmail [dot] com for reservations.

  • News from Around the County

    Come one, come all to Field Day! For those of you unfamiliar with Field Day, from the ARRL:

    Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. This outing is the largest event for radio groups interested in field operations.

    This will be the first year that Multnomah County ARES will be operating independently for this event. It’s a big deal for us, as it is pretty rare that we operate and perform outreach over an entire weekend.

    Drop by Willamette Park at SW Macadam & SW Nebraska Street on Saturday June 23 from 11:00 AM until Sunday June 24 at 11:00 AM and experience the fun! The ARES trailer will be there with a GOTA (get on the air) station so you can give HF a try with an experienced control operator, no matter what your license class. You can visit two other on site field stations to see what HF modes they are operating and visit the outreach tent to see what they are up to. We also have the picnic shelter reserved so you can sit and enjoy a picnic and visit with other members. If you would like to join the potluck dinner, check your email for the signup sheet that was sent on May 31. We hope to see you there!

    The MCARES raffle is back this year. Come to the June ARES meeting to see what we have for you. Tickets are $5 and all proceeds benefit our July “go-kit show and tell” BBQ and help purchase propane for the thirsty ARES trailer generators.

    The custom briefcases and clipboards purchased for us by Multnomah County Emergency Management have arrived! We will be distributing them to our ARRO certified members at the June ARES meeting on June 28. If you are a new member and have not yet completed your training, we will save yours for you!

  • MultCoARES Field Day

    For those unfamiliar with Field Day, the ARRL explains:

    Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.

    This outing is the largest event for radio groups interested in field operations. This will be the first year that Multnomah ARES will be operating independently for this event. It’s a big deal for us, as it is pretty rare that we operate and perform outreach over an entire weekend. I will attempt to outline the broad plan here, especially for those who have not operated during Field Day before.

    Multnomah ARES has extended an invitation to the Portland NET AROs to operate with us for this event. We will be operating from Saturday Morning on June 23 until Sunday Morning, June 24.  We will need to loft the antennas and set up the stations before the operating commences. I plan on performing these actions on Saturday; no pre-staging on Friday will occur.

    We will be operating from the picnic shelter at Willamette Park (off Macadam Ave). Our operating location was chosen for the large amount of foot traffic – the main goal of Field Day is outreach! I have tested Willamette Park for RF noise and skywave propagation (sufficient topographic clearance for takeoff angles). I was able to get contacts in Texas, Arizona, the East Coast, and Japan from this site, so I’m sure that our radio operations will be successful.

    We will be operating two stations for points, a GOTA station, and potentially a VHF station during the event. Setup will be interesting, and require some forethought. We are not allowed to sink stakes in this location, the area is somewhat cramped for large antennas, and the parking near the picnic shelter is metered and limited. That said, there is permanent plumbing, shore power, tons of passers-by and a beautiful view of the river. We’ll work through the difficulties and leverage the positives of the park.

    We will have a lot of work to do to make this event a success, but we have a ton of awesome and motivated folks in our radio unit. The leadership team will be reaching out for assistance, but many hands will make light work. Stay tuned for updates, and I hope to see everyone on June 23!

  • MCARES Campout

    Although I feel most at home in the deserts of the American Southwest, I feel very blessed to be living in one of the most beautiful places in the US. The outdoor opportunities here are endless, and the sights incredible. Because my home is so flat and dusty, I try to spend as much time exploring the mountains and other various landscapes as much as possible. 

    Since we built our awesome communications trailer four years ago, the first idea that popped into my head was, “We HAVE to take this thing camping!” And so we created our annual HF Campout. The purpose was three-fold: to exercise the trailer for an extended period of time away from the comforts of civilization; to provide HF training and experience; and as a relaxing team building event. To have a top performing, cohesive team, sometimes you just need to have fun without the pressures of a structured drill.  

    This year, we have found a great group campsite on the shores of Timothy Lake called Pine Point. The campsite allows up to 36 people and should provide for a very relaxing and fun adventure for the team. Although Timothy Lake is nestled in a valley, I have worked HF from this location during Field Day and had no problem reaching stations all over the world. 

    We will be arriving Friday Sept 14 and staying through Sunday the 16th, so we should be avoiding most of the Summer crowd. And although we call it the “HF Campout,” you don’t have to have any interest in working HF; just come out and have fun. If you would like to join us, please RSVP ASAP by emailing me at RGAnglin [at] Gmail [dot] com. We like to get a headcount as early as possible so that we can plan meals and whatnot. Typically everyone is on their own for breakfast and lunch, but we do group dinners at night. The cost this year is $20/person to help cover the cost of the campground and food. We look forward to seeing you there!

  • Communications volunteers needed for Walk MS Portland 2018 event

    It is nearly time once again for the annual Walk MS event in Portland. Multnomah County ARES is honored to have been asked by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to provide communications support for their event again this year. In years past this event has been well regarded as a training and public service event for the Amateur Radio community.

    The event takes place on Saturday, April 7 from approximately 08:00 to 14:00, and is held in downtown Portland along the Esplanade and in the World Trade Center Plaza.

    To learn more, or to sign up to help, please visit the Walk MS Portland Communications Volunteer Registration Form.

  • 2017 HF Campout Recap

    The 2017 HF Campout was at the Aquila Vista campground this year, part of the Molalla River Recreation Area – a mix of impressive river vistas and comforting NW forest canopy. It was also pleasantly bear-free. Thank you Robert WX5TEX for all your work planning the trip and Deb KK7DEB for bringing pretty much everything.

    More than 15 hams participated this year and we had at least seven different HF setups roll through the camp over the weekend. Wire dipoles, stick dipoles and magnetic loop antennas we’re all setup at various times as were a few Icom and Yaesu radios. But we should have called this the Elecraft-sponsored ARES HF Campout this year. The entire model line made an appearance at one point, including most of the accessories, between all the various radio kits on display. It was impressive; those radios are amazing!

    The food, often the best part of the whole campout, was great again this year and there was enough space for the number of campers we had. Getting the trailer up to the site was a real challenge though. The last mile to the camp was double track at best and laughably steep in sections. We weren’t sure how it was going to go, but not only did Deb and her sturdy new truck easily pull the ARES trailer up this 4×4 only road, the trailer’s interior didn’t shake apart either. It was a rugged field test of the trailer and it was up to the task.

    We’re already thinking about next year’s HF Campout which will be at Champoeg State Park. This park is accessible by any vehicle. We will be looking at a group site that has RV sites, electricity, flush toilets and showers. It will be either the last weekend in July or the first weekend in August. Dates will be confirmed this fall.

  • Communications volunteers needed for Walk MS Portland 2017 event

    It is nearly time once again for the annual Walk MS event in Portland. Multnomah County ARES is honored to have been asked by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to provide communications support for their event again this year. In years past this event has been well regarded as a training and public service event for the Amateur Radio community.

    The event takes place on Saturday, April 15 from approximately 08:00 to 14:00, and is held in downtown Portland along the Esplanade and in the World Trade Center Plaza.

    To learn more, or to sign up to help, please visit the Walk MS Portland Communications Volunteer Registration Form.

    UPDATE: Due to amazing volunteer turnout, we have been able to staff all event communications positions much earlier than expected. We have therefore decided to close volunteer registration early, on March 8. This will allow the event communications team more time to finalize position assignments and other details before the event.

  • HF Campout Recap

    We had a great time at Fort Stevens State Park, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. We operated under the event callsign W7A for National Parks On The Air, a year-long event celebrating the 100th birthday of our National Parks service. We were able to make many contacts as far away as South Carolina. The weather, the food, and the camaraderie made for a very fun weekend. Congratulations to Brian KE7QPV, Eli W7ELI, and Bill KG7UPR for earning their HF operator certificates. Nathan’s son, Dimitri, age 7, made his first HF contact with the USS Hornet Amateur Radio Club, NB6GC.

  • 2016 Disaster Relief Trials

    Multnomah County ARES is proud to provide radio communications services for the Disaster Relief Trials Portland for the fifth year in a row. This exciting event is a mixture of bike race, disaster relief exercise, and emergency preparedness fair. The event takes place on Saturday, October 22 from approximately 08:00 to 17:00. The main event will be held at the University Place Hotel in downtown Portland, and there will be several checkpoints scattered around the city.

    We would love to have your help with this event! We will need radio operators for net control and logging in the communications trailer, and reporting rider arrival times from the checkpoints. We will be pairing up less experienced operators with more seasoned volunteers, so don’t worry if you haven’t worked many (or any) events before.

    If you would like to participate, please fill out and submit the volunteer registration form so that the communications organizers can best staff the available positions.

    UPDATE: Volunteer registration is now closed, to allow the event communications team sufficient time to finalize position assignments and other details before the event.