Category: News

Several new members have joined recently. Please welcome Eric KI7MOH, Judy KF7DBN, Dylan KF7KXT, Ken KI7EIH and Rachel KI7NMB. Also Richard KF7INQ has returned and is now an active member. We continue to grow and are expanding our abilities to serve the needs of Multnomah County and our communities.

A special thanks to Multnomah County Emergency Management for funding four additional digital go-kits. The ordering is underway and once everything is gathered together we will build these new kits.

ARRL Field Day is coming on June 24 and 25. We hope everyone will stop by either Portland Amateur Radio Club at Kelly Butte in Portland or Hoodview Amateur Radio Club up on Larch Mountain. It will be a great opportunity to get on the air and make some contacts. Both of these clubs put on a great display of many different antennas and operating modes.

The City of Gresham has donated a Yaesu FT-2400 2-meter mobile radio and we have a Yaesu FT-1802 2-meter and a Panasonic ToughBook which will be raffled off at the July meeting. There may be other items in the raffle as well. If you have anything you would like to donate, contact Deb at kk7deb [at] arrl [dot] net. Raffle tickets will be on sale for $5 each at the June meeting and at the July meeting before the drawing. The proceeds will go into our trailer maintenance and operating fund.

The July 27 General meeting is our annual Go-Kit Show-And-Tell. This is a fun opportunity to see the ingenuity of our members as they bring their personal and radio go-kits and set them up. Some kits are elegantly simple while others are over the top. Bring your cool stuff, or just come get some ideas for your kit.

Welcome to our newest member Ralph AG7FE. Ralph will join the Alpha team. A big congratulations to Leslie KG7VGL and Pete KG7MRZ who were recently married! Steve W7SRH tells us his wife, Elaine, recently passed the technician test and is now KI7LAF.

What a beautiful Spring day we had for the 2017 Walk MS. Thanks to all who participated for another successful public service event. The event organizers really appreciate our eyes and ears along the course to keep everyone safe. Multnomah County ARES thanks you too for keeping your radio skills sharp.

This year Tom Mynes from ABJ Drones was able to demonstrate the benefits of streaming live video to the ARES trailer from the drone flying above the Willamette River. We hope to add some of the video and pictures to the ARES website soon. As you can imagine, this has sparked a renewed interest in having an ARES drone. Adam has his thinking cap on to figure a way to raise funds.

The Antenna Build Workshop on March 25 was a booming success! We built 30 ladder-line J-pole antennas in under three hours and each participant took one home. It’s great to know that many of our members now have a workable portable 2-meter antenna to add to their go-kits. Thanks to those who offered their technical skill and expertise to make this fun event successful.

The Sea-Pac organizers have approved our request, so the trailer will be on display again this year. We are looking forward to showing the completed project this time and hopefully we can rustle up a few new members with our promotional materials. Contact Steve W7SRH (hallstr [at] hotmail [dot] com) if you would like to join the outreach team.

Robert has been in touch with the BLM folks about reserving Aquila Vista for our yearly HF Campout on July 28 and 29. Aquila Vista is available for overnight group camping. The site is located in the heart of the forest next to a large beaver pond. There is plenty of hiking and natural beauty to be seen at Aquila Vista including a small water fall. Amenities include restrooms, a group picnic shelter with multiple picnic tables and a metal fire ring. There is no running water at Aquila Vista, so ensure that you bring plenty of drinking, cooking, and sanitation water. There is no firewood at the site or firewood collection allowed; please bring your own firewood if you wish to have a fire. The campsite is nestled next to a large beaver pond so there can be mosquitoes in the summer – don’t forget bug repellent. Dust off your tent and sleeping bag and join in on the fun.

Join us in welcoming our newest members, Jim KA7AGH and Lee KF7YUO. Jim will join the Echo team and Lee the Alpha team. This brings our total membership to 76 active members.

It appears that we have a record turnout for the Walk MS event on April 15. Thanks to all of you who have volunteered to support our communications efforts. It also looks like ABJ Drones, who were at our February meeting, want to join in with a demonstration of video back to the Comms trailer. Pretty exciting stuff!

It is never a good thing when we have two events on back to back weekends but we hope you will also help out with the State Spring SET the following weekend on April 22. The exercise will focus on shelter locations throughout the County. We have 10 sites on our radar and really need a good turnout to get the job done. Adam has challenged us to “Beat Washington County” by having the most locations staffed in the whole state. This Spring SET is special to us because it was written by Multnomah County ARES leadership at the request of the Oregon Section Emergency Coordinator, and we are proud of the result. Contact your team leader if you can participate.

The March 23 ARES meeting will feature guest speaker Alice Busch, Operations Division Chief for Multnomah County Emergency Management. We are very fortunate to have a really great working relationship with the county emergency management team. A special thanks to Chris Voss and Alice Busch for funding our website fees for the next three years!

The Bravo and Echo team drill was March 11 and all who participated agreed it was a great success and learning experience. We will take a break from team drilling for April as we focus on Walk MS and the State SET. May will bring together the Delta and Charlie teams for their first exercise together.

Welcome to our newest member, Mark KC7DTE. Mark will join the Delta Team.