Category: News

Since we cannot meet in person, I am encouraging everyone to execute Field Day by operating field stations in their own backyards or physically-distanced location of their choosing. Given the number of MCARES operators, there should be contacts to be made locally even if VHF FM voice is your only operating mode. Since contacts count for points on each different band, this could also be a great excuse to expand into 6m operations if you’re interested. The sheer number of folks on the air can make the magic band seem alive for long distance contacts! In the spirit of the event, we should all strive to operate via auxiliary power (batteries or other) as well.

The gist of the operating on Field Day is a contest format with a standard exchange. Since there are usually so many stations operating, there is often great leeway granted to newer operators during Field Day. So don’t stress about the radio operations themselves; dive in and have fun. The best place to start is the ARRL’s Field Day page. A YouTube binge for Field Day videos is also a great way to start if you’re completely unfamiliar.

The rules are somewhat in-depth, so if you have questions after you review them, I encourage you to bring them to the June general membership meeting. Hopefully we can address everything at that time so everyone can operate with confidence. I hope to hear a lot of local “One-Echo-Oregon” stations on the air this Field Day!

I would like to welcome two new members: Walt KJ7BHL and Dave N7DML. Walt is on the Alpha team, and Dave is on the Charlie Team. We now have 111 active members, and we logged 173 volunteer hours in April.

We hope all of our members are safe and healthy. These are unprecedented times for everyone and following the stay-at-home, social distancing, and face covering guidelines will slow the spread of the nasty COVID-19. Let’s all help keep the number of cases low in Oregon!

Our next on the air meeting is April 23 and we will practice sending pictures using SSTV both via computer software and acoustic coupling via your phone. Watch for an email from Ralph AG7FE with details and instructions. We will meet on MC1 (146.840) at 7:00PM.

The Winlink net check in worked well last month and we will be doing that again for April. Details and a reminder will also be emailed out a few days before the meeting date.

It seems a lot more folks are at home and practicing their ham radio skills, which is good, but remember that the local repeaters are open to all. If you are thinking of operating a net with several friends or team members you will need permission from the repeater owner to do so. And we never operate simplex on a repeater frequency when the repeater is operational. The MC2 (147.280) repeater is operated by the Hoodview Amateur Radio Club, and the MC1 (146.840) repeater is operated by the Portland Amateur Radio Club.

The ARRL has sent out ballots for the Oregon Section Manager position. We hope you will take a few minutes and vote for the candidate of your choice.

Despite our current situation, we still tallied 279 volunteer hours in March, and our active membership count is holding steady at 109!

The March 7 “Cascadia Slips a Bit” field exercise was a great success. We had 45 members willing to brave the cold and rain to send Winlink messages from all parts of the county. The digital go kits got a good workout and the quad gateway (Frankengate) continues to prove that it is a valuable asset.

This exercise was done to hone our ability to send and receive local Winlink without the internet. The VHF to HF gateway allows us to also send Winlink messages out of the area to other parts of the country where internet still works.

Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to the teams that deployed early to set up special equipment.

We received safety vests as part of the last UASI grant so if you need a vest or your current vest has seen better days let me know. I will bring one to the next meeting for you if you email me. We have a limited supply and hope to supply vests to our new members when they complete their ARRO training.

The new digital kits (photo above) are almost complete! The new design will make the kits lighter and easier to pack around. The batteries have been upgraded to two 35AH batteries for a total of 70AH for each kit. You can see the whole kit at the next ARES meeting.

Welcome to our newest members, Robert KI7KYE and John KI7YBL, both on the Delta Team. We now have 109 active members. We logged an amazing 476 volunteer hours in February – great job, everyone!

We welcome our newest members: Steve KJ7JBC who joins the Delta Team and Teddy KJ7IJR who has joined the Bravo Team. The membership roster was trimmed in December to reflect inactivity by some members so we are starting the new year with 103 active members.

The newsletter has a new, refreshing look for 2020! The MCARES “Connected” newsletter was established in July of 2013. Since then, Vaughn Lewis AC7HO has formatted the content into newsletter format. We can’t thank Vaughn enough for all his years of service!

A new decade brings a new look for “Connected.” Rochelle AE7ZQ is taking over the job with new ideas and formatting. Thanks, Rochelle!

Grant equipment update: With the help and support of Multnomah County Emergency Management two UASI grants have been funded for eight additional digital go-kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) for all of our members.

The radio go-kits will be built with a new design that will make them lighter and even more portable and flexible. The PPE kits will be available for distribution at our January 23rd meeting. If you have completed your ARRO basic training you are eligible to receive this kit. These bags contain safety items you will need for deployment. I was going to list the items but thought a surprise would be much more fun!

Welcome to our newest members! Sue KG7ALI joins the Alpha Team, Catha KJ7FWT joins the Bravo Team, Jon KG7HVA joins the Delta Team, and Richard KJ7FBH joins the Echo Team.

The annual ARES raffle continues at our monthly meeting. We hope you can find something that you would like to have. Tickets are $5 and proceeds are used to purchase food items for our go-kit show and tell and Field Day BBQ’S. The funds are also used to purchase propane for the ARES trailer. You can see the raffle items at the back tables at the ARES meeting where tickets are also sold. The drawing will be at our August Meeting and you will not need to be present to win!