I am leading a set of workshops for members who would like to be certified in Winlink operations. I will provide an overview of the Winlink system and will go into detail on configuring Winlink Express, sending and receiving messages, and using templates. Plenty of time will be provided for hands-on practice, and operators who feel ready will have an opportunity to complete their check sheet and earn their Packet RMS Radio Operator (PRRO) certification.
There are two workshop dates currently planned, and more will be added if there is interest. Locations will vary, in an effort to make travel easier for folks in different parts of the county. Each workshop is scheduled to run for four hours, but we’ll probably finish earlier.
Upcoming Dates
December 2, 13:00 to 17:00, in St. Johns
January 13, 13:00 to 17:00, in Gresham
These workshops are open to all Multnomah County ARES members who have completed their ARRO certification, however space is limited. To sign up for either workshop, email me at KE7QPV [at] arrl [dot] net.
We had a great meeting tonight! There were 52 attendees, including representation from the Multnomah County Office of Emergency Management (MCEM) and the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM). We had five new people with us this evening.
The meeting was started off by our EC, Nathan N9VCU, who covered general business and announcements, and then presented certificates to two members who recently completed their ARRO certification. Michael AE7XP made an announcement about the NET Net, which is held at 20:10 every Sunday night on the ARRG 147.040 MHz (100.0 Hz tone) repeater – this is MC6 in the regional frequency template.
Chris Voss and Alice Busch from MCEM addressed the membership, thanking us for our service, and presented certificates of appreciation to the volunteers who helped with the Eagle Creek fire response. Mark McKay, also from MCEM, presented certificates of appreciation to those who helped with communications in Grant County during the solar eclipse in August.
A panel of six folks – three ARES volunteers, two Multnomah County employees, and one City of Portland employee – talked about their experience in Grant County during the eclipse. They had some very interesting stories about the technical and logistical challenges they encountered, and lessons learned.
Please remember to check your email for the annual MCARES survey! This information helps leadership plan for the coming year.
Join me in welcoming our newest members, Kimberly KJ6YWS, James W7NJ, Douglas KI7IPZ, and Marshall K7MWG. Kimberly and Marshall will join the Charlie team, James joins the Bravo team, and Douglas joins the Delta team. Way to go everyone for spreading the word about MCARES!
I am very pleased to announce that John KI7LYP is going to assume the position of Training Manager effective December 1. John brings a good deal of technical know-how and training experience and he’s a really nice guy! I will continue to do the ARRO certification workshops, and have more time to devote to the Echo Team as team leader.
I would like to start out with a big thank you to everyone who participated and volunteered 140 personnel hours to the Fall Simulated Emergency Test (SET).
We successfully executed operations from three stations on Saturday, October 16. Adam KF7LJH and Deb KK7DEB led the operations from the trailer (N7MCU) at Scouter’s Mountain. Robert WX5TEX was in charge of the county station at the Donald E. Long Center (JJC). Nathan N9VCU operated from Kelly Butte. Thanks to Metro, Multnomah County, and Portland Bureau of Emergency Management/Portland Parks for providing access to these great locations for our exercise.
Thank you all for taking our safety training seriously, and to Deb and John KI7LYP for procuring the hard hats. Masts were raised at Scouter’s Mountain and Kelly Butte. The Kelly Butte mast operation was somewhat different than normal. Normally the masts we use are either the nested push-up style or aluminum style with the large tripod. At Kelly Butte we used a 40ft mast that was assembled to full length on the ground and then raised to the vertical position. We used 7 personnel to achieve this lift, and were able to do so safely. We learned a few things in the process, and I will cover those at the general membership meeting. Potentially another 1,000 feet of line and a come-along may make this a one or two person operation.
Additionally, Martians were able to make off with the arrow your fearless EC has used to loft antenna lead-lines in the past. This has led me to swear a vendetta against their entire planet. As soon as Elon Musk can provide reasonably priced accommodations, I’ll take the fight directly to them.
Voice communications on HF were extremely poor from the JJC. Kelly Butte is a very quiet operating location (low RF noise) and we were able to make some HF contacts. The bulk of Multnomah ARES’ operating successes were via Pactor. Although the HF Winlink nodes were busy, the low S/N needed for Pactor to work made a great difference at the power levels we normally run. Kelly Butte also was able to effectively pass NTS traffic through the Metro area. This included the ability to hit many VHF repeaters in neighboring counties. Word on the street is that Lynn Burrell had a grill going in Washington county, making the operators on this side of the hills salivate. Multnomah ARES normally has the grilling game on-point, so I’ll avoid letting down our field teams in the future!
Again, thanks to all the operators who made the SET such a great time. I may have had more fun than any drill in the past few years. I’ll try to hide the ICS-214 from the Kelly Butte crew from judgmental eyes, as it shows N9VCU cared way more about antennas, masts, and Pactor modems than complete paperwork, but all in all a great success!
Welcome to our newest members, Patty (no callsign yet but she is working on it), and Aaron K7ALF. Aaron is a new supporting member. He works for PBEM and is the new PBEM comms trailer master!
A look ahead: The October general meeting will have a panel of the folks who went to Grant County for the Eclipse. The November meeting will have a demonstration of making a copper j-pole antenna. This will be followed up in January with a Saturday workshop. Participants will be charged a small fee for parts and will go home with an antenna.
Women’s Ham Radio Technician Class taught by women for women – six sessions: October 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, and 21. Contact Barbara Yasson at AC7UH [at] arrl [dot] net to sign up.
Hoodview ARC Technician Classes will be held November 4 and continue on November 11 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Mt. Hood Community College’s Fisheries building. Testing is on November 18 at 9:00 AM. Classes are free, but the book is $22 and the VE test is $15. The textbook, “Ham Radio School” by Stu Turner, is available online. To register, email Cory at ka7iug [at] frontier [dot] com.
The October 5 ARRO Basics and October 19 Traffic Handling workshops are for MCARES members only. All active members who want a refresher are welcome to attend. Please let me know at eliza [dot] pride [at] gmail [dot] com if you plan to attend so I can have enough trainers present. New members must have completed the three online FEMA classes, IS-100, IS-700, and IS-200, prior to attending the workshops.
What a busy month we have had! Thanks to all who helped Multnomah County Emergency Management by volunteering their time to help support the Eagle Creek Fire response. We had members helping at the EOC in Troutdale and in Corbett for the resident reentry check in point. In all we volunteered over 250 hours. WOW! Great job everyone!
Behind the scenes we also had a team of builders working on the four new digital go-kits. They have been working on Saturdays from the end of August to present. Their mission is almost complete and each of our ARES teams will now have their own digital kit to use in the field. YAY! Thanks to all the kit builders for their hard work and volunteer time.
As if that was not enough we also had an Alpha/Echo team drill on September 9 and a couple of outreach events including the Get Ready Gresham event on September 16.
This month goes into the history book as one of our busiest times. The support of our membership has been so awesome. We are so fortunate to have such a great team so willing to help out as needed. We appreciate every one of you.
As we all catch our breath and adjust to the season change I hope many of you will be available for the Fall SET on October 15. This is a really great opportunity to hone our radio skills.
Welcome to our newest members Gordy KI7NME, Robert KG7ULH, and Micha KG7JKP! Gordy and Micha will be joining the Charlie team and Robert will be joining the Alpha team. We are thrilled to continue to expand our membership. Thanks to all our members for keeping the drive alive!
We hope everyone who participated enjoyed Field Day on June 24 and 25. The MCARES trailer was up at Kelly Butte with the Portland Amateur Radio Club for the weekend and there were many visitors despite the nearly 100 degree temperatures.
Congratulations to Robert WX5TEX! His picture won the Heil Field Day photo contest. The picture was taken at Pilot Rock in eastern Oregon. Robert won a Heil pro headset for submitting the winning entry.
This month’s ARES meeting on July 27 will be our annual go-kit show and tell. We will be out in the Portland Fire Training Center parking lot with lots of interesting kit ideas and we hope you will bring yours to share with others. Nate will be grilling up the burgers and we encourage everyone to bring a side dish to share. Pop, paper plates, and utensils will also be provided. Bring your own chair to sit and enjoy the great food.
Raffle tickets will be sold at the meeting for the items on display for $5 each. This annual fund raiser for the trailer operating fund helps with the purchase of fuel, insurance, and maintenance. We will have the drawing later in the meeting and some lucky folks will take home some great prizes. You do not need to be present to win, however.
The HF campout is July 28, 29, and 30. Robert reports that several have signed up to spend the weekend at Aquila Vista near Molalla. You are all welcome to come out for the day if camping is not your thing. The trailer will be there and antennas will be hanging in the trees for you to make some HF contacts. It is great fun and a chance to learn in a no pressure atmosphere.
