Happy Holidays Everyone!

With Thanksgiving under our belts (so to speak) and more Holidays coming up soon, we here at ARRG hope you each had a good year. For me it has been full of blessing as well as trials and tribulations, but in the end, the blessing side of things clearly outweighed the other. The economy forced me to live within my means, and helped me easily to resist the urge to buy another HF Rig this year. Regardless of my HF woes, I did increase my VHF/UHF presence considerably over the year and made many new local friends.

I’m thankful this year to have worked with some great people along the way. I’ve learned a lot and hopefully helped make things run a little smoother for our users.

ARRG has done a great job in hardening our radio sites by adding emergency backup power and installing redundant, backup repeaters for some of our key radio sites. The team has already begun implementing many of our upgrade projects much earlier than expected. So I hope that each of you reading this knows that we don’t take your support frivolously and that each and every dollar of member donations you provide in the way of annual dues goes directly to support the K7RPT Repeater System. As a team, ARRG is already thinking and actually moving forward (no political pun intended there) and this is the beginning of many new and exciting changes to come.

If you are like most of us here serving ARRG, we see Amateur Radio as much more than just a hobby, we see it as our second career. Since this career is 100% volunteer, our efforts are truly an act of devotion. When it comes to designing, installing and maintaining the K7RPT Repeater System, this team is simply awesome! Unfortunately, for most of our Technical Team members, garages have become ARRG storage units, family room corners have become small radio repair shops and this all occurs while our spouses slowly lose their minds!

We are pleased to announce that we have two of the three new paths to VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) repeater linking installed and being tested.

Recently, I flew down to Utah to see my family. As most visits go, it was pretty boring and I missed my radios. Luckily, I had both my Laptop and IPAD in tow, both of which had the ECHOLINK application installed. I was able to bring up the K7RPT-R ECHOLINK VOIP system (442.225 + 100.0 Hz) and I had a blast working many of you here in Portland via the internet.

With more Holiday travel going to occur for many of you, feel free to download and install the free ECHOLINK program or application. Go to http://www.echolink.org/register_data.jsp and download the software.

On another note, I know most of you understand that ARRG is actually a technical repeater group and not actually a face to face social group. It’s not because we are hideous techno trolls hiding behind the OZ curtain, it is simply due to the fact that our team enjoys doing all of this from behind the scenes.

It’s also important to remember that ARRG provides emergency radio facilities for several ARES and CERT Response teams, Search & Rescue and Public Service events. We’ve added emergency b/u power to several of our radio sites this summer, including installing higher gain antennas & power amplifiers to enable the entire repeater system to operate more efficiently.This Holiday season I’d like to thank each of you for continued support of ARRG through your membership dues. I hope each of you will continue to support ARRG by telling others to become an active member or by renewing your own membership at www.arrg.org

Welcome

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E

Welcome

Amateur Radio

News

Member Spotlight

Humor in the Static

New Members

Technical Team

Updates

The ARRG Mission Statement

ARRG is dedicated to the advancement and

enjoyment of amateur radio, to

promote our hobby, to provide reliable

repeaters for community service

activities, emergency communications and other types of ham

radio activities.

Amateur Radio

Relay Group, I nc. P.O. Box 91213

Portland, OR 97219

www.arrg.org

By Marc Peterson, W7PM ARRG President

Holiday Edition December 1 s t , 2012

ARRG NewsletterAmateur Radio Relay Group

K7RPT Repeater System

Page 2 www.arrg.org

Amateur Radio News

Ham Radio Operators connect sick kids with Santa Claus at North Pole via RadioHam radio operators bring the magic of the jolly old elf to children

stuck in Cancer Hospitals once again this yearFor the past 12 years, local ham radio operators have strung up antennae and made arrangements for Santa to take time out of his busy schedule to talk via Ham Radio to kids at the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital and MSTI.

They also handle an intricate set of logistics so parents can surreptitiously help Santa and tell him some details about their children.

“I like that it actually brings the make-believe to life,” said Heidi Lindsey, whose son, Izik Salas, 6, talked to Santa over the radio with a look of amazement.

Per Santa’s request, Izik ran over to his mother and gave her a big hug afterwards. He whispered in her ear: “Merry Christmas from Santa.”

“This is awesome,” said Jennifer Harrier, mother of Serena Harrier, 3. “We haven’t been able to go see Santa because of the crowds.”

Serena has T-cell leukemia. Her blood counts are low and she’s ongoing weekly chemotherapy, so she a can’t go to public places.

“I am so happy for her,” her mother said.

“It’s like nothing else,” said Lynne Pekuri, whose son, Grant, talked to Santa over the Ham Radio. “I don’t know who loves it more — the kids or these guys.”

It’s a toss-up.

“We get to share in the wonderful magic that happens between children and Santa,” said ham radio operator Doug Rich, who organized the event.

“This is what Christmas is,” agreed Gary Peek, who staffs the radio and asks Santa to tell kids about the reindeer (out playing reindeer games), the weather at the North Pole (snowing), and the elves (on a chocolate cookie break). He also asks Santa to check the naughty-or-nice list (twice).

Emilia Hahn, 6, made the nice list. Santa knew the name of her brother and teacher, and had left her a note last year.

“I think he remembered me,” she whispered.

Story And Photo By Katherine Jones - kjones@idahostatesman.com

Santa’s been busy elsewhere too!

Santa Claus spoke with children today through the magic of ham radio. The scene was Mountain States Tumor Institute.

Treasure Valley Ham Radio operators invited young patients to talk to Santa through a ham radio. The kids sat with Santa's Helper who put the radio calls through to the North Pole. And Santa's Helper is only too happy to give these children this unique opportunity.

"To see their little faces light up when they talk to Santa Claus is just a wonderful thing," Gary Peek, "Santa's Helper," told CBS 2 News. "It's the best Christmas anyone can have."

Children who attended say they were excited to talk to Santa and can't wait to see what he brings them come Christmas Day.

www.arrg.org Page 3

Amateur Radio News Morse Code Plays Role in New Spielberg MovieProducer Steven Spielberg has used Amateur Radio or Morse code in three of his last four movies: Super 8 (2011), The Adventures of Tin Tin (2011) and Lincoln (2012). Members of the Morse Telegraph Club (MTC) -- an association of retired railroad and commercial telegraphers, historians, radio amateurs and others with an interest in the history and traditions of telegraphy and the telegraph industry -- played an integral part in the production of Lincoln.

According to International President of the Morse Telegraph Club James Wades, WB8SIW, several MTC members -- including Tom Perera, W1TP; Derek Cohn, WB0TUA; Kevin Saville, N7JKD, and Roger Reinke -- provided telegraph instruments to equip the 16 operating positions portrayed at the War Department set. Jim Wilson, K4BAV, and his son Matt had roles as extras. Wilson also worked with production staff and the actors to explain telegraph technology and the role of the telegrapher in the 1860s.

“Nine of the 16 telegraph positions depicted in the War Department were fully operational,” Wades said. “These instruments could be operated in any combination through the use of a specialized computer program and custom built terminal units for the process. When necessary, a hand key could be inserted in the individual telegraph loops so messages could be improvised.”

Wades, who was employed as a Technical Advisor for the production, worked with set designers over a period of months to develop the War Department telegraph scenes, coordinating the process of procuring the necessary instruments and serving as an historical consultant as the telegraph scenes were developed. He also worked the producers to develop historically appropriate message traffic that fit the sequence of the script; however, as the movie was edited, he explained that the final product evolved into a more generic facsimile of Morse traffic. “Those with a background in landline telegraphy will hear the occasional snippet of message traffic in the audio track of the movie,” he said. “We are very pleased that Mr Spielberg and his staff took the time to treat the telegraph with dignity and respect. It is a pleasure to be associated with a high quality motion picture that can genuinely be classified as not just entertainment, but as a work of art.” ARRL Web

INTERNATIONAL REPLY COUPONS MAY SOON BE PASSED OUT IN THE USA

International Reply Coupons may soon be a thing of the past. At least here in the United States with word that the U.S.Postal Service has proposed doing away with them due to what it says is a very low demand.

The Postal Service says that even if it stops selling International Reply Coupons that it will continue to accept those purchased in foreign countries and presented at its U.S. facilities.

International Reply Coupons have long been a staple in the DX community used to help offset the cost of DX'ers to provide QSL cards especially from some of the words rarer DX locations. They have also been used to assist hams in nations where sending in foreign currency is not allowed.

Page 4 www.arrg.org

Member SpotlightWarren Winner, W7JDT

It started at a 1,000 watt AM radio station in San Luis Obispo, CA. The high school, local companies and manufacturers had career days for the students to consider possible careers in their respective industries. San Luis had two radio stations and one new television station and a group from high school took a tour of the facility. A week later the City of San Luis had a parade and the Cal Poly amateur radio operators provided security and coordination for the event. Warren was interested in the very large single band hand held transceivers that the hams used.

Even though he was in high school, Warren joined the Cal Poly amateur radio club, W6BHZ and took the code and amateur radio theory classes.

While in high school the "rock and roll" era in Los Angeles was strong but had not moved north to San Luis Obispo. One weekend the Winner Family headed to Burbank to find a Tower Record store. Buying a copy of all the LA top 40 records, Warren and a friend drove their parents crazy by playing this new music. They were used to Percy Faith, Montavini etc.

With the owner of KVEC 920 am living in the same block as the boys, they asked if they could play the new music on Saturday's from 12 noon to 4 pm. In July 1955 a new era of radio hit San Luis Obispo with the 1st song being played was Bill Haley and His Comets "Rock Around the Clock".

After graduation from high school he started in the Electronics Engineering department at Cal Poly. Later that year, six potential hams ventured to Los Angeles for the amateur radio test. The test was a written exam of 50 questions and the examiner told Warren that he passed the code test but would have to wait 6 to 8 weeks on the results of the written exam. Seven weeks later, his general class license arrived with a call sign of W6QGG.

Warren was active with amateur radio at Cal Poly with the club station W6BHZ. With the US Army breathing down on him, he joined the Signal Corps and attended two electronic repair courses. One was at Fort Gordon, GA, K4WAR and Fort Monmouth, NJ, K2USA.

After completion of these courses, Warren was assigned to South Korea installing and repairing field carrier, microwave and cryptography equipment for the Department of Defense. He was the second US Army soldier to be licensed by the Korean government at HL9KT.

After graduation from Cal Poly, Warren worked at Stanford University, W6YX before moving to Portland, OR. Upon moving to Oregon, he applied for an area seven call sign and was givenW7JDT.

Warren Knight, N7BIJ remembers that he 1st met Warren when I came to Oregon in 1971.“He was with Graphic Arts Center, and I was just starting with Photo Art Commercial Studios. Warren was involved with ARRG in the beginning and has been ever since. That's over 35 years, as I count them. Local hams owe him a great deal for giving so many years of devotion!”

Warren has been a member of ARRG, K7RPT since 1977 and is a charter member of the Oregon Tualatin Valley Amateur Radio Club, W7OTV. Warren currently serves as an Officer with the ARRG Board of Directors.

Having known Warren for quite some time, it’s become apparent that Amateur Radio is a huge part of his life. How he can go to Hawaii for weeks at a time without having a rig close by is anyone’s guess!

Warren, W7JDT in Hawaii 2010

Warren, W7JDT at W1AW 2012

www.arrg.org Page 5

Winter Solstice makes for possible E-Skip (Sporadic E) Conditions on 6 Meters!Sporadic E or Es is an unusual form of radio propagation using characteristics of the Earth's ionosphere. Whereas most forms of skywave propagation use the normal and cyclic ionization properties of the ionosphere's F region to refract (or "bend") radio signals back toward the Earth's surface, sporadic E propagation bounces signals off smaller "clouds" of unusually ionized atmospheric gas in the lower E region (located at altitudes of approx. 90 to 160 km). This occasionally allows for long-distance communication at VHF frequencies not usually well-suited to such communication.

Communication distances of 800–2200 km can occur using a single Es cloud. This variability in distance depends on a number of factors, including cloud height and density. MUF also varies widely, but most commonly falls in the 28–110 MHz range, which includes the FM broadcast band (87.5–108 MHz), Band I VHF television (American channels 2-6, Russian channels 1-3, and European channels 2-4, the latter no longer widely used in Western Europe) and the amateur radio 10- and 6-meter bands. Strong events have allowed propagation at frequencies as high as 250 MHz.

As its name suggests, sporadic E is an abnormal event, not the usual condition, but can happen at almost any time; it does display seasonal patterns however. Sporadic E activity peaks predictably in the summertime in both hemispheres. In North America, the peak is most noticeable in mid-to-late June, trailing off through July and into August. Interestingly, a smaller 6 meter peak is seen around the winter solstice. Activity usually begins in mid-December in the southern hemisphere, with the days immediately after Christmas being the most active period. So far this November, there have already been a few short half hour openings from CN85 (Portland) to DN40 in Utah and a few other Southwestern States.

Humor in the Static

Page 6 www.arrg.org"The Night Before Christmas"

Ham Radio-style

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the town,The snowstorm was raging, the phone lines were down;The wind it did howl, the tree limbs did crack,I hope that St. Nick isn't forced to turn back.

The wife making cookies, the kids making noise,While away in the shack, by my rig I was poised.The finals were glowing, the mike gain was set,I was chasing DX to see what I could get.

The bands were all empty, the frequencies clear,Except one lone station that sounded quite near.He was calling CQ and my interest did pique,When he ended transmission with the words,"Old St. Nick".

I answered back quickly, I used great dispatch,If this were St. Nicholas, good God, what a catch!We exchanged information; it was really quite graphic, then he came back and said,"I've emergency traffic!"

His reindeer were tired, his elves in a grump,If he didn't land soon, then his sleigh he would dump.

I thought very carefully, I thought very hard,Then I gave him directions to my snow covered yard.

As he flew past my window, his hair like a mane,He reined in his chargers and called them by name:"Whoa, Anode! Whoa, Cathode! Whoa,

So into the backyard the reindeer did drop,St. Nick, the elves, and the sleigh went kerplop!

Then at the back door, I heard this loud knocking,"Open up in there, or I won't fill your stocking!"

As I turned off the light and was leaving the shack,Into the house Saint Nicholas came from the back--

His two-meter rig held to his hip with a strap,"Hams do it in the shack" on the front of his cap.

The sack that he carried made his aged brow furrow,And he handed me a card that read,"QSL Via Bureau".

His clothes were all sooty, from his shoes to his vest;I felt like a novice taking his test.His fingers were calloused and from what I could tell,This came from a straight key that I'll bet he used well.

I offered him coffee, I offered him smokes,I tried easing the tension by telling ham jokes.Then he nodded his head and raised up his thumb,He smiled like an Elmer, did I ever feel dumb.

He grabbed up his sack and went straight for the tree,And placed in it a large present for me.When he finished his work, he stood up, took a bow,Then out the back door to his team he did plow.

But I heard him exclaim as he flew o'er the land,"Beware the FCC, friend, we were both out

www.arrg.org Page 7Solar activity is well below normal levels (if you couldn’t tell!)

Scientists are puzzling over the sun and why its activity is low when it should be much higher. Despite the predictions of an active sun for 2012 and 2013, the sun is quite pacific leaving scientists to wonder over what appears to be the sun's quietest period over the last century.

Solar activity is well below what has been predicted for 2012.LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - It is an established fact that the sun has cycles. Every 11 years, the sun completes a cycle of activity, becoming alternatively active, then quiet during that span. Right now, the sun should be active, but it isn't. It's nearly as quiet as it is during its minimum, which has scientists scratching their heads.

Solar activity can only be generally predicted and has fluctuated considerably in the past. Solar minimums, represented by weak activity are generally correlated with cold periods in Earth's history. The "Little Ice Age" that lasted somewhere between 1550 and 1850, saw temperatures well below average normal’s and has been correlated to a decline in solar output. That period of solar decline is known to scientists as the "Maunder Minimum."

The Little Ice Age was typified by unpredictable weather and colder summers in northern Europe. The region was beset with sporadic famines. Glaciers crept down from mountains and consumer farms and villages, while lakes and ponds froze over across Europe so that people could skate on them.

The current level of solar activity is still well above Maunder Minimum levels, but it could portend the start of a general decline. Such a decline could affect Earth's climate for several centuries.

Scientists have several ways of measuring solar activity, but one easy way is to count the number of sunspots on the solar disk. Currently, there are less than 50 identified and recognized sunspots on the solar disk, which means activity is very low.

Sunspots are dark areas on the sun's surface which appear black to observers on Earth. Sunspots are not actually black, but they appear that way because they are cooler and less luminous than the surrounding surface of the sun. Sunspots are created when the suns magnetic field becomes twisted and distorted in places as a result of high internal activity.

Periods of high activity are typified by an increase in the number and size of sunspots, which can release solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME). These events are eruptions on the solar surface which throw incredible quantities of solar material out into space. Many solar flares are much larger than planet Earth itself.

Fortunately, the sun is so far away that solar flares cannot endanger the Earth. However, coronal mass ejections, which occur when a flare shoots a pulse of charged particles into space, can affect the planet. If Earth is in the path of a CME, people who live in far northern and southern latitudes can see the northern or southern lights in the night sky. These colorful displays known as auroras are caused when the sun's charged particles strike gas molecules in the upper atmosphere. They pose no threat to humans.

However, in the rarest cases, the electrical charge of these particles can cause power fluctuations on the ground. At least one such event caused a blackout across much of Canada in the 1980s. Today, these events can be predicted and prepared for to prevent disruptions.

During the solar minimum, these events simply do not occur. So while solar minimum means auroras become rare, it may also mean cooler temperatures for the planet.

Scientists still do not fully understand the processes involved, so they cannot make any firm predictions. Although the sun is quiet just now, it could erupt with activity in the days to come. There is simply no way

Page 8 www.arrg.orgto forecast what will happen next.

Technical Corner (Repeater Updates from the Technical Team) By Marc Douglas, AE7KK and the rest of the Technical Team A lot of work has been completed on the K7RPT repeaters since our last issue! The 442.225 repeater at Sylvan is back in service with a 100.0 Hz PL tone decoder/encoder installed. In September, Jim (N7QME) and the two Marcs (W7PM and AE7KK) went to the Mt. Hood Repeater site and fixed the 444.225 UHF repeater. Jim made a second trip to get the 147.120 amplifier back on line. The system has been working great since that time. The system was linked full-time to the Bend 147.040 repeater but the Bend link radio is being a bit intermittent and will be replaced with a new synthesized radio in the 1st quarter of the New Year. Thanks to all the local Bend Guys who are going out of their way to keep that unit going. The Mt. Hood Emergency Autopatch is off the air for this Ski Season, and we are looking to reinstall it early next year, special thanks to Jim Schaeffer, KB7ADH for hosting and maintaining the emergency patch for all these years.

Several trips were made to the South Saddle site this year. One trip included installing a 7 DB Gain 21' tall Fiberglass Radome commercial antenna on the 147.320 machine. A few weeks later we installed a very nice Motorola Micor Unichassis for 147.320 and we included a tone of 100.0 Hz. There wasn’t anything wrong with the old 147.320 repeater, so we left it in place. It can be swapped back in as a backup if needed. Future plans are to make the two 147.320 VHF repeaters 'hot swappable' via a simple remote control command. This will better prepare our site that is heavily relied on by ARES, CERT and SAR teams. The 442.325 South Saddle repeater has also been repaired, and is now linked full time to 147.320, also using a PL tone of 100.0 Hz. If you can hear one, use the other. We've added two newer repeater designs to the ARRG Repeater inventory; the commercial grade Motorola MSR-2000 and the newer MSF-5000 synthesized radio.

The first MSR-2000 Repeater has been installed at the 147.380 Cedar Mill site and is waiting for a new controller before being put into full service. Like the South Saddle site, the old 147.380 machine will remain in place as a working backup repeater. Installing backup repeaters at our sites makes the K7RPT System one of the most reliable systems in the entire State of Oregon. The soon to be installed Chehalem Ridge repeater is going back up hopefully before Christmas. Some of you might remember it as being the old Newberg Repeater on 441.125 + 100.0 hz. The repeater is being rebuilt and you may hear it on the air during build & test phase, if it’s on, give it a try. Its new home up on Chehalem Ridge at 1340 feet elevation, should provide users some fairly significant coverage. This machine is going to be able to link at will to the 147.380. The K7RPT ECHOLINK connection is up and running right now on the Sylvan 442.225 repeater. Likewise, the K7RPT IRLP node has been tested on the Sylvan 147.040 repeater, where we had quite a few Portland area hams check into the Alaska Net one day this last summer. The final IRLP node will normally be pointed at the new Cedar Mill repeater at 147.380 when it becomes operational. We are also looking at setting up an ALLSTAR link as well. Our goal is to be able to point any of these Internet links to any ARRG repeater in the Portland metro area as needed for special events. Our PL (CTCSS) tone encode/decoder project has been going forth during the summertime. As you know we have made it a point to add PL tone to each and every ARRG Repeater. Most users have adapted to the new PL tones without any problem.

If you are still having difficulty, please contact any of our Technical staff and we can assist you either over the phone or in person. As

Dale Justice, K7WW Ready for So. Saddle

Dale Justice, K7WW and Jim Campbell, N7QME up at So. Saddle Site

Special Thanks to the following MembersThere are so many great Amateur Radio Operators (including supportive spouse and family members)

who have gone out of their way to keep K7RPT Repeater System available and on the air.

Besides the people who serve as ARRG Officers and Board Members, our team we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out all the wonderful support we have received from the following people:

Ken Gies, K7IQI and his family for being part of the Cedar Mill Repeater Hosting Team

Gordon Marks, KC7YNY and his family for being a part of the Medford Repeater Hosting TeamAdditional thanks go out to Bill Schrader, W7QMC and Kirby Wheeler, Kl7VK

Larry Wilson, W7IXZ and his family for being a part of the La Grande Repeater Team.Larry retired from being our primary 147.260 Repeater Guru this past Fall. Thanks to Larry for many years of great

service!

Pat Roberson, W7PAT for assisting the team with the Newsletter and for his personal donations of Radio Equipment to ARRG ECHOLINK Project.

Marc Douglas, AE7KK for taking up the lead of most of our Technical Projects over this past summer. He was instrumental in scheduling repairs and making sure the system kept running smoothly.

Marc has donated at least 300 hours to the team just by himself over 2012. He has made converting; upgrading and maintaining the K7RPT Repeater System seem easy (and it’s not). Marc has responded to many emergencies and

outages with remarkable speed, leaving the lay users unaware of his actions in keeping the system running 24/7. His leadership and his ability to make smart decisions while prioritizing ARRG’s overall needs, has been really cool to witness.

Thanks Marc for all your hard work and continued effort!

We’d also like to thank ARES, Beaverton CERT, CARES, SAR and Jolly Jeepers, Oregon Coast Repeater Group (Thanks Daron) and many other Event Supporters that each helped support our efforts through monetary or equipment donations.

Additionally, we want to recognize all the Team below.The K7RPT Repeater System is supervised, maintained and operated by the following Officer’s and Board Members

CURRENT ARRG OFFICERSPresident Marc Peterson W7PM

Vice President Terry Biggs WB7CHK

Secretary Peter Jones KE7CKB

Treasurer Warren Winner W7JDT

Jim Campbell, N7QME Terry Biggs, WB7CHK Dale Justice, K7WW

Brian Nordlund, AC7QE Mark Walker, W7CLU Peter Jones, KE7CKB

Dee Lynch, K7JRB Jeff Scheetz, KF7HG Warren Winner, W7JDT

Marc Douglas, AE7KK Marc Peterson, W7PM

DIRECTORS EMERITUSAl Berg, W7SIC Cliff Soderback, W7VVA Randy Cobb, WN7W

Roger Steyaert, K7RXV Ralph Karls, KG7TP SK Tom Wing, W7ETRWELCOME NEW LAGRANDE TECHNICAL TEAM MEMBERS

Julian N. Pridmore-Brown, KK7JXTed Ivester, N7NSL

www.arrg.org Page 9usual, there's plenty of work if you would like to come and help us, just contact us at k7rpt.arrg@gmail.com.

73, Marc Douglas, AE7KK

ARRG BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Special Thanks to the following MembersThere are so many great Amateur Radio Operators (including supportive spouse and family members)

who have gone out of their way to keep K7RPT Repeater System available and on the air.

Besides the people who serve as ARRG Officers and Board Members, our team we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out all the wonderful support we have received from the following people:

Ken Gies, K7IQI and his family for being part of the Cedar Mill Repeater Hosting Team

Gordon Marks, KC7YNY and his family for being a part of the Medford Repeater Hosting TeamAdditional thanks go out to Bill Schrader, W7QMC and Kirby Wheeler, Kl7VK

Larry Wilson, W7IXZ and his family for being a part of the La Grande Repeater Team.Larry retired from being our primary 147.260 Repeater Guru this past Fall. Thanks to Larry for many years of great

service!

Pat Roberson, W7PAT for assisting the team with the Newsletter and for his personal donations of Radio Equipment to ARRG ECHOLINK Project.

Marc Douglas, AE7KK for taking up the lead of most of our Technical Projects over this past summer. He was instrumental in scheduling repairs and making sure the system kept running smoothly.

Marc has donated at least 300 hours to the team just by himself over 2012. He has made converting; upgrading and maintaining the K7RPT Repeater System seem easy (and it’s not). Marc has responded to many emergencies and

outages with remarkable speed, leaving the lay users unaware of his actions in keeping the system running 24/7. His leadership and his ability to make smart decisions while prioritizing ARRG’s overall needs, has been really cool to witness.

Thanks Marc for all your hard work and continued effort!

We’d also like to thank ARES, Beaverton CERT, CARES, SAR and Jolly Jeepers, Oregon Coast Repeater Group (Thanks Daron) and many other Event Supporters that each helped support our efforts through monetary or equipment donations.

Additionally, we want to recognize all the Team below.The K7RPT Repeater System is supervised, maintained and operated by the following Officer’s and Board Members

CURRENT ARRG OFFICERSPresident Marc Peterson W7PM

Vice President Terry Biggs WB7CHK

Secretary Peter Jones KE7CKB

Treasurer Warren Winner W7JDT

Jim Campbell, N7QME Terry Biggs, WB7CHK Dale Justice, K7WW

Brian Nordlund, AC7QE Mark Walker, W7CLU Peter Jones, KE7CKB

Dee Lynch, K7JRB Jeff Scheetz, KF7HG Warren Winner, W7JDT

Marc Douglas, AE7KK Marc Peterson, W7PM

DIRECTORS EMERITUSAl Berg, W7SIC Cliff Soderback, W7VVA Randy Cobb, WN7W

Roger Steyaert, K7RXV Ralph Karls, KG7TP SK Tom Wing, W7ETRWELCOME NEW LAGRANDE TECHNICAL TEAM MEMBERS

Julian N. Pridmore-Brown, KK7JXTed Ivester, N7NSL

Page 10 www.arrg.org

ARRG has a Christmas Wish as well! Equipment Needs List in order of priority:

1- Second Dualband Mobile Tranceiver (working with programmable CTCSS and a working DTMF mic).This radio is needed to begin testing the IRLP Node for 147.380. The radio needs to have dualband capabilites because we may wish to point the unit during emergencies, drills, ARES tests, etc. to any of ARRG’s VHF or UHF repeaters. If you have something, even if it is older and lower power, we need it. In fact we could use TWO dulband rigs if we could get them. One for on the air and the other for remote programming from our IRLP Node managers QTH. On a side note, it is unfair for the Node Manager to provide his own equipment fulltime when the ARRG team should be providing the equipment for the entire link backone.

2- VHF or UHF Repeater(s) The Technical Team is looking for any VHF/UHF Repeaters, Transmitters, Receivers from the GE Master II or newer or the Mototorla MICOR, MSF-2000 or newer line of Repeater boxes.

3- Antenna Tower SectionsARRG Needs several Rohn 25 or 45 Sections for a few of our sites. If you have any sections lying around, let us know, we’ll come pick them up, refurb them if needed and get them in use at our sites to hold our antennas.

4- Feedline (COAX) We also need LMR-400, 9913 and any Heliax Hardline sections you might have lying around. Lengths from 25’ and more are needed for new repeater installs.

5- HELP WANTED: Technical Help.. willing to train people who have a desire to assist us on the ARRG Repeaters! Contact Marc Peterson w7pm@live.com for a complete list of items we need help on right now! Amateur License Testing Sessions

OTVARC SESSIONS Exam sessions are held on the first Saturday of each month except June at 1:00 PM at the Hillsboro Fire Department, Ronler Acres Station, 4455 NW 229th Street, Hillsboro, Oregon. All exam elements are administered at each session. You may verify any exam schedule at http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session as any changes will be posted there.The test fee is $15.00. Bring check or money order payable to ARRL VEC and a photo ID. Applicants upgrading must bring the original AND a photocopy of their current license. Contact Carl Clawson, WS7L, 503.629.5796, ws7l@arrl.net, to preregister.

KA0TP SESSIONS SE PDX/Milwaukie "First Sunday" VE testing. 7:00 pm at the Roundtable Pizza at 82nd Ave and King Rd.Walk-ins welcome! Please come early. Bring Photo ID, photocopy of current license or other paperwork, Pen, pencils, and check for $15 made out to the ARRL. We accept cash if you have exact change but all funds are submitted to ARRL, as we keep nothing locally. Contact KA0TP - Tom at ka0tp@aol.com or cell 503-318-5399 2012 schedule: July 1, Aug 5, Sep2, Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 2

PARG SESSIONS PARG has test session on the Westside by Capitol Hwy and Barbur Blvd. on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 8:00 pm. For more information and for info on other test sessions in the area, see ARRL Exam Search at arrl.org website.