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Issue 101 — OCTOBER 2001

Monthly Newsletter of the Southern Oregon Amateur Radio Club

SOARC, P.O. BOX 1164, GRANTS PASS, OREGON 97528
VISIT THE SOARC WEBSITE AT: http://www.qsl.net/soar/SOARC/
EDITOR: MIKE WRIGHT, N7GEI, 432 GRANDVIEW AVE., G. P., OR 97527
PHONE: 541-471-0440 E-MAIL: n7gei@msn.com

The President's Corner

OK, this month sure went fast!  The Crop Walk was a success - and fun too!  The radio group did a swell job.  We will have lots of show-and-tell this month?and a good time, I am sure.  I hope to see you all at club.

73, Jim, WA6OTP

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2001 SOARC Officers and Board

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Welcome From Your Editor

Another busy month has just flown by. We had a great time visiting, and lots of delicious food, at the SOARC picnic! If you missed it, there's always next year.

There are lots of events coming up. Next month, we will be nominating officers for 2002, our Christmas party will be on December 18^th, and the election of officers and directors will be conducted at the January meeting.

A big "thank you" to our regular contributor Bill Tyner, WX7U, for his many submissions in this month's newsletter. Don't forget - everyone can play!

If you have anything to submit for publication in the Gnus, see the contact information below the masthead.

73, Mike, N7GEI

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NEXT CLUB MEETING
TUESDAY, 16 OCTOBER
1900
SENIOR CENTER
3^RD & B STREETS
GRANTS PASS

73, Bill Tyner, WX7U

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Calling All Ladies

Western Belles is a women's ham radio chat group that meets at 7:30 PM on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of every month on the 147.300 repeater. Please check in!

The ladies get together regularly for lunch and all female hams are invited to attend. The next luncheon will be at 11:30 on Saturday, November 3^rd, at the Wild River Pub, 533 NE F Street in Grants Pass.

73, Wilma, W1LMA, and Anita, KC7MGH

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2001 VE Exams

The last license exams of the year will be administered on Friday, November 30th.  New quarterly dates for 2002 will be arranged after that. Remember that upgrades need picture ID, any CSCE's you might want to use (less than 1 year old), and we need to gaze at your current license (though a copy isn't needed). If you don't have picture ID, then two other pieces of ID will do.

Currently, the fee levied by ARRL is $10.00.  The time of exam will be 6:30 pm and VE's will be there at 6:00, as always.  If you would like to test your CW skill and qualify for a SOARC code certificate, please give me a call at 476-2703 so I can make sure the apparatus is there.

73, Bill Tyner, WX7U

VE Liaison

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SOARC Repeaters Redux

147.30/90, K7LIX/MAN, with no PL.  Elevation at the antenna is 4506', located nine miles SW of Grants Pass at Manzanita State Forestry Lookout on Little Roundtop Peak.  This repeater is owned by SOARC and is for general use.  In times of need, Josephine County ARES can assume control until the need is over.   There are four control operators who possess the control codes.

146.64/04, K7LIX, is also located about nine miles from downtown Grants Pass.  The elevation is about 1700' and has an unimpeded view of the valley.  SOARC maintains an open phone patch on this repeater.  There is no PL.  Users may call locally including 911.  Instructions:  While keying the mike, enter the number followed by the "*" key.  Unkey and listen for the person to answer.  When the call is complete, key the mike and enter the "#" key.  The phone patch will end and the repeater will resume listen mode.  It's that easy.  Four control operators watch this machine.

147.14/74, WM7K, is operated by a 15-member gang called the Rogue Rebels Radio Club (all members of SOARC) and physically stands next to 146.64.  Like all SOARC repeaters, it is open, available for general use, and has no PL.  This repeater also has an ARES affiliation.  Four control operators watch this machine.

All of these machines have battery power for the short term should the grid go down.  The Manzanita rig, of course, is solar-powered, and a recent visit to the site found the entire installation fit and ready for the winter.  Winds have been estimated on Manzanita to hit over 100mph with temperatures recorded as low as 20 degrees below zero at that altitude.  This repeater is in its 10th year at that location.

73, Bill Tyner, WX7U

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Where Was God?... Everywhere!

How many of us have heard that question "Where was your God when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked?" Well, I know where my God was the morning of September 11, 2001, and He was very busy!

He was trying to discourage anyone from taking those flights. Those four flights together could hold over 1,000 passengers - but there were only 266 aboard.

He was on four commercial flights giving terrified passengers the ability to stay calm. Not one of the family members who were called by a loved one on one of the highjacked planes said that passengers were screaming in the background.

On one of the flights, he was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the highjackers.

He was busy trying to create obstacles for employees at the World Trade Center. After all, only around 20,000 were at the towers when the first jet hit. Since the buildings held over 50,000 workers, this was a miracle in itself. How many of the people who were employed at the World Trade Center told the media that they were late for work or they had had traffic delays.

He was holding up two 110-story buildings so that 2/3 of the workers could get out. It was so amazing that the top of the towers didn't topple when the jets impacted. And when they did fall, they fell inward. God didn't allow them to topple over, as many more lives would have been lost.

And when the buildings went down, my God picked up almost 6,000 of his children and carried them home with him. Reassuring his frightened children that the worst was over and the best was yet to come.

He sat down and cried that 19 of his children could have so much hate in their hearts. That they didn't choose him, but another god that doesn't exist, and now they are lost forever. He sent his children that were best-trained for this disaster and had them save the few that were still alive, but unable to help themselves. And then sent many others to help in any way they were needed. He still wasn't finished though. He held the loved ones that were left behind in his arms. He continues to comfort them daily. His other children have been given the strength to reach out to them and help them in any way they can.

And I believe that he will continue to help us in what is to come. He will give the people in charge of this great nation the strength and the wisdom to do the right thing. He would never leave us in our time of need.

So, when anyone asks, "Where was your God on September 11th", you can say "everywhere"!  And yes, although this is without a doubt the worst thing I have seen in my life, I see God's miracles in every bit of it. I keep praying for those who don't believe in God, every chance I have. I can't imagine going through such a difficult time and not believing in God.   Life would be hopeless.

Anonymous, from the Internet

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Gilbert Creek Salmon

Fishermen and environmentalists rejoice! For years I have walked and driven the streets of Grants Pass and seen those "meaningless" signs along the spindly little creeks winding through town. Every once and a while I'd pass Gilbert Creek, near the old Firestone store, and look at the weeds over-growing the sides of the creek and almost covering the little sign with the fish on it. 

Well, today (October 5th) I got my tires balanced. I walked by that miserable, piddly little "crick" and a big old salmon was making it's way upstream! I couldn't believe it! The stream was so small and shallow that the entire fin was out of the water, but that old battered and bruised pescador was fulfilling it's destiny. Drought or not, the salmon wasn't to be denied. What a great feeling to see the wildlife struggle and meet the challenge. Great lesson for us bipeds...

73, Bill Tyner, WX7U

Stranger Than Fiction?

Sandra and I were out in the Kalmiopsis in mid-September, hiking into Pine Flat aka Weaver Ranch.   From the ridge overlooking the old farm along the Illinois River, we noticed a big old Sikorsky with a 750-gallon bucket dipping into a huge donut-shaped orange-painted pool.  Curious, after exploring the flat and eating some apples off one of the dozen trees still flourishing in the orchard, we went over to the pool to talk to the two ground workers. 

After the chopper left with another full bucket, the workers started a pump and refilled the pool.  It was quite an operation.  The pool was 8 feet high and held about 10,000 gallons.  The firefighting operation was targeting the Craggy fire nearby, a fire that had consumed about 250 acres in the northwest corner of the Kalmiopsis.  We asked them why the pool when they had a river alongside it with at least a 20-foot depth at that location?

Can you guess why?

The answer came as we watched one of the men pour a gallon of Clorox into the pool.  They said that the Forest Service required them to fight the forest fire with treated water only.  Yes, water poured on a forest fire had to be chlorinated.  The reason:  The Illinois is said to contain Port Orford Cedar root disease spores and the chlorine kills them.  The Forest Service doesn't want to spread the disease.  Makes sense, doesn't it?

73, KD7IYL & WX7U

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One Good Solution

Three guys, a Canadian farmer,  Osama bin Laden, and an American engineer, are out walking together one  day.

They come across a lantern and a genie pops out of it.

"I will  give each of you one wish, that's three wishes total," says the  genie.

The Canadian says, "I am a farmer, my dad was a farmer, and  my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in  Canada."

With a blink of the genie's eye, 'POOF', the land in Canada was forever made fertile for farming.

Osama bin Laden was amazed, so he  said, "I want a wall around Afghanistan so that no infidels, Jews or Americans can come into our precious state."

Again, with a blink of the  genie's eye, 'POOF', there was a huge wall around Afghanistan.

The  American asks, "I'm very curious. Please tell me more about this wall."

The  genie explains, "Well, it's about 15,000 feet high, 500 feet thick and completely surrounds the country. Nothing can get in or out; it's virtually impenetrable."

The American says, "Fill it with  water."

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