Category: Meetings

  • News from Around the County

    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

    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

    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

    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

    The April monthly meeting will be online via Zoom. We are planning for the May meeting to be in person at Portland Fire station 2 training center. After two long years it will be great to meet in person again! Stay tuned as these plans are somewhat fluid as we monitor the COVID situation.

    The safety of our members is always our highest priority. We have added new speakers to some of our meetings and we will be back on Zoom for the June meeting. We have scheduled David W7DAO, who is located in Seattle, to talk about propagation and the ionosphere. This is great subject matter prior to Field Day the following weekend.

    Spring and Summer MCARES activities are taking shape with WALK MS on May 21 and the new Mt. Hood ultra-marathon on July 8 and 9. (Members: Check your email for the sign up.) We have also scheduled our annual GPS Food Drive for June 11. Unfortunately the spring statewide ARES SET (Simulated Emergency Test) has been canceled.

    Several of our members have been asking for MCARES apparel such as t-shirts, polos, sweatshirts, and callsign name badges. We are working with our suppliers on updating prices and will be offering an online order form very soon.

  • News from Around the County

    A reminder that our November membership meeting will move to the third Thursday, November 18, to avoid conflict with the Thanksgiving holiday.

    As this year nears the end it is time to reflect on our past accomplishments. In 2021 we focused heavily on Winlink usage and training. I believe we can say a very high percentage of our members are pretty darn good at it now. If you are feeling confident about using Winlink, check out the training page on our website.

    The VHF/UHF Winlink certification is a great way to acknowledge all of your hard work. Contact your team leader who can arrange for the practicum part of the certification. Each team leader has a go kit available to lend out if you do not yet have the needed equipment. We would love to have all of our members certified!

    Each December the leadership team turns into the planning team for the next year. This year, December 5 is the chosen date for that meeting. We would like to hear from you if you have any training topics you would like in 2022. Email leadership [at] MultnomahARES [dot] org with your ideas and requests.

    Our build workshops have been very popular in the past and we are hoping to bring this back next year. COVID has been a major disruption in many ways and we hope next year to be able to meet again in person and do more in the field.

  • News from Around the County

    Thanks for all the support as I assume my new role as MCARES Emergency Coordinator. Join me in welcoming Matthew AF7PV as our newest AEC (Assistant Emergency Coordinator). Matthew has been with MCARES since 2015 and is a member of the Bravo team. He will continue as the MCARES Station Chief at the PBEM ECC. Thank you Matthew for joining the leadership team!

    The Fall SET “Where’s Waldo” was a booming success, we had 40 members participate and our intra county field team made several voice and Winlink contacts with our neighbor counties. Our thanks to Joe, Linda, and Dave for setting up the field station at Nansen Summit. WOW! Adam reports a record 39 packet connections and 27 Vara connections at his KF7LJH Winlink gateway.

    A special thanks to our two roving Waldos, Matthew and Gary, for driving around and sending in GPS coordinates. We really appreciate all of our members who participated by sending in their reports as it helps us all to keep our skills and equipment alive.

    The second MCARES trailer, the “Red Beast,” will be moving to the west side of town soon. We have permission to store it at the old Jerome Sears Armory on Multnomah Boulevard. The county is in the process of replacing the stolen equipment and it is our hope to turn the trailer into comfortable operating space for west side operations.

    A reminder that our November membership meeting will move to the 3rd Thursday, November 18, to avoid conflict with the Thanksgiving holiday.

  • March General Membership Meeting

    Please join us for our general membership meeting on Thursday, March 22 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. There will be a Q&A session and informal gathering for new members from 18:15 to 19:00. The main meeting will run from 19:00 to 21:00. You do not need to be a member to attend – everyone is welcome!

    We will meet in the main room at 19:00 for leadership updates and general business, and then break into two groups for introductory and advanced discussions about antennas. You are free to choose either session, based on your level of experience.

    John KI7LYP will lead the intro session in the main room. Material will include the basic types of antennas, directional properties, polarization, and gain/losses. Nate NA7EE will lead the advanced session in the Annex, covering antennas, transmission lines, baluns, matching systems (tuners), and impedance. Material will include function, characteristics, and losses.

    Additional information about our monthly meetings can be found on the meeting page.

  • February General Membership Meeting

    Please join us for our general membership meeting on Thursday, February 22 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. There will be a Q&A session and informal gathering for new members from 18:15 to 19:00. The main meeting will run from 19:00 to 21:00. You do not need to be a member to attend – everyone is welcome!

    We will meet in the main room at 19:00 for leadership updates and general business, and then break into two groups for introductory and advanced discussions of radio operations. You are free to choose either session, based on your level of experience.

    John KI7LYP will lead the intro session in the main room, where he will cover the basics of operating VHF and UHF FM using local repeaters and simplex. Robert WX5TEX will lead the advanced session in the Annex. He will discuss HF operations, focusing on propagation and MUF, SSB operations, and a brief mention of digital modes in use on HF.

    Additional information about our monthly meetings can be found on the meeting page.

  • January General Membership Meeting

    Please join us for our general membership meeting on Thursday, January 25 at the Portland Fire and Rescue training center at 4800 NE 122nd Ave in Portland. There will be a Q&A session and informal gathering for new members from 18:15 to 19:00. The main meeting will run from 19:00 to 21:00. You do not need to be a member to attend – everyone is welcome!

    We will meet in the main room at 19:00 for leadership updates and general business, and then break into two groups for introductory and advanced discussions of Winlink operations. You are free to choose either session, based on your level of experience.

    John KI7LYP and Eli W7ELI will provide an introduction to Winlink software for newer users. Bring your laptops and join in while they demonstrate how to configure the software, find forms, and create and send messages. We will be using the WiFi in the training facility to send and receive real messages.

    Adam KF7LJH will lead the advanced session for more experienced users who would like to learn how to operate/interface with a TNC and SignaLink, find gateway stations, and operate using a packet session.