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:
Time for another club meeting! Come and hear what happened at the SOARC/JARS Swap Meet/Potluck. Come and learn more about something we all have in common. Come and rub elbows with your fellow hams.
See you at the meeting.
73, Jim, WA6OTP
Things are really hopping around our house as the Grandview Realignment Project is well underway! Lots of dust and noise from Copeland's heavy equipment as the corner of our property is notched out for the new section of roadway.
Tuesday night we have our board meeting at 6:00, followed by the regular meeting at 7:00. I have to have my wife at the airport to catch a plane at 7:15 and I have a Grandview Project meeting at 6:30 at City Hall. I had hoped to see the Doobie Brothers at the Josephine County Fair that evening, but, unfortunately, there will be no Doobies for me. I'm going to drop off my wife early, rush back for the meeting at City Hall, and maybe I'll get to make the last part of the SOARC meeting. Such is life.
Don't forget to place your ad in the Gnus for anything you want to sell, swap, or buy. Several of our members have been satisfied customers.
If you have anything to submit for publication in the Gnus, see the contact information below the masthead.
73, Mike, N7GEI
Everything you wanted to know about antenna matching and some things you didn't", will be the topic for discussion at the next SOARC meeting. Dennis Recla, WA5KTC, Elmer Seutter, W6IGK, and others will be presenting their insights on this very important process. They will talk about what it takes to match your antenna to your radio for maximum efficiency and low SWR and answer questions about what is really happening when you use a tuner with your transmitter and antenna. Don't miss it!
Western Belles is a women's ham radio chat group that meets at 7:30 PM on the 1st and 3rd 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.
Our next luncheon will be at 11:30 on Saturday, September 4th, at Harts Café, 112 NE Morgan Lane, Grants Pass.
The last SOARC VE test session of the year will be held on November 26th.
The exams will be conducted at 1830 on the last Friday of the month in the Senior Center cafeteria (our regular meeting place). Volunteer examiners should be there at 1800.
The exam costs $12.00 and is available to all, first come, first served, with no reservation necessary.
73, Bill Tyner, WX7U, VE Liaison
| SOARC Officers: | |
|---|---|
| President: Jim McNutt, WA6OTP, 479-5630 | Vice President: Dennis Recla, WA5KTC, 955-1704 |
| Secretary: Sean Smithers, N7ZWU, 476-7964 | Treasurer: Ann Randall, KB7TGO 476-2456 |
| Board of Directors: | |
| Mike Wright, N7GEI, 471-0440 | Anita Malmstrom, KC7MGH, 476-2339 |
| Michael Kelley, N6ZOC, 597-2155 | John Stubbe, K7VSU, 479-3718 |
| Ken Wages, KH6CQH, 472-1112 | |
Amateur radio license plates in Oregon apparently are now being included with the Special Interest Group license plates, along with the $30 recurring extra charge on registration renewal.
Please copy and send or e-mail the file named "Amateur plate fees.doc" below, to your state legislators to try and get these fees rescinded. Enter your name and Information at the bottom where indicated.
To obtain the names and e-mail addresses of your state senator and representative, go to this link, enter your address, and click submit:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/
Here is a proposed letter:
Dear Honorable ____________
Amateur radio license plates in Oregon apparently been included with the special interest group license plates, along with the $30 recurring extra charge on registration renewal.
Amateur radio operators perform a great volunteer service for the State of Oregon, its counties, and communities in assisting law enforcement, fire, Oregon Emergency Management, and other agencies by donating time, personal equipment, and personal vehicles to support them during disasters and civic functions. We also donate our emergency communications services to hospitals, Red Cross, and others during disasters and help coordinate communications among all agencies.
Over the last year alone, amateurs donated many hours with our vehicles and radio equipment to the benefit of Oregon in forest and brush fires alone. This support did not cost the taxpayers or the state one cent.
In addition to our ARES or Oregon Emergency Management ID cards, the amateur plates help identify us to traffic control and emergency personnel in disaster areas.
Most other states recognize the value of additional emergency communicators in disasters and charge an extra one time fee to cover a nominal plate cost and registration processing fee. They do not charge a recurring fee.
As an active (participant, volunteer, or supporter) I (or we) request that the State of Oregon act appropriately and respect the amateur radio communities services by rescinding the extra $30 bi-annual fee for the amateur call sign plates.
Respectfully,
(insert your name(s))
Submitted by Warren Olney, KB7EKF
Amateur radio operators in the US, French Polynesia and Australia played a vital role in the successful late-June rescue of a couple aboard a privately-owned sailboat in the Pacific Ocean.
The drama began June 25 after John Caine, VK4CEJ, in Queensland, Australia, checked into the Pacific Seafarers Net on 14.313 MHz with emergency traffic from the 47-foot sailing ketch Fingolfin, some 680 nautical miles north of Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. A young Australian couple, John and Kelly Hallows, were on their way from Mexico to the Marquesas. With the trip taking longer than anticipated, John Hallows had run out of a required medication and was experiencing debilitating pain.
Through Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) http://www.mmsn.org member Bob Botik, K5SIV, in Austin, Texas, the US Coast Guard in Honolulu, and a shipping firm, arrangements were made for a Greek container vessel to rendezvous with the Fingolfin and transfer the needed medication. Unfortunately, the larger vessel struck and badly damaged the ketch during the transfer. To add insult to injury, the medication transferred turned out to be the wrong one.
Eventually, several other radio amateurs became part of the unfolding drama, but Botik found himself as a key player.
The Coast Guard was in touch with the French Navy to effect a rescue, but the situation aboard the Fingolfin continued to deteriorate. John Hallows was no longer able to assist in piloting the damaged vessel, and his wife, injured during the collision with the container vessel, was in pain and exhausted. Both also were suffering symptoms of dehydration. An hourly radio schedule with the Fingolfin was maintained, with stations staying on frequency after the MMSN shut down.
The next day, Botik patched Dr. Jim Hirschman, K4TCV, in Miami to the Fingolfin so Hirschman could attempt a medical assessment. Due to the couple's condition, evacuation became imperative. A French Navy patrol vessel came on 14.300 MHz to advise it was on its way to the Fingolfin's last-known position. Via VK4CEJ and K5SIV, a series of questions and answers to and from the Fingolfin were relayed to the patrol boat.
The Fingolfin's situation continued to worsen. The vessel was taking on water and eventually lost both masts and its only lifeboat. Amateurs on frequency advised the Fingolfin to stay on frequency no matter what.
A few hours later, the increasingly stressed, demoralized, and desperate couple made contact with Gary Walls, KE6SD/mm, aboard the S/V Amidon Light in Suwarrow Atoll, and with Bill Healy, N6JRD/mm, in the Pacific.
The two amateurs attempted to lift their spirits to get them through the crisis.
The French patrol boat finally reached the Fingolfin on June 27 and took the couple aboard, but the sailboat had to be scuttled. The couple was hospitalized and later released.
Botik received a letter of appreciation in July from Rear Admiral C. D. Wurster of the US Coast Guard in Honolulu.
"Your efforts and skills in radio communications directly resulted in the safe rescue of two personnel," Wurster said. He also applauded Botik's "unselfish devotion and commitment to aiding others in distress."
A more detailed account of the Fingolfin rescue is available on the MMSN website http://mmsn.org/events/fingolfin.htm.
MMSN Assistant Net Manager Tom Job, VE3II
