The September SOARC meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 24th at the Fruitdale Grange at 7 p.m. Board meeting is at 6 p.m.

Change of Meeting Location: Starting in June our meetings have been changed to the 4th Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Fruitdale Grange, 1440 Parkdale (corner of Rogue River Hwy) in Grants Pass. Our holiday party will also be held at the Fruitdale Grange on Friday, December 22nd. In 2007 we will go back to the 3rd Tuesday at the Fruitdale Grange.

We all comment about it, but not too much of an effort has been made to improve it. I'm talking about the fact that there isn't much activity on our local club repeater. Perhaps I'm just not listening at the right times, but I've listened to the repeater throughout the day on different days of the week, and aside from the scheduled net activity on Monday night, users seem to be maintaining "radio silence"!

I have heard of a lot of excuses throughout the years that I have been here in Grants Pass. They run from little time to get on, quality of the repeater and coverage, no radio in the car, as well as storied about squabbles with other hams. I came here from an area where the repeaters were active, and there was always someone ready to respond to a call from another ham in the area or a visitor who was passing through. In what is typically called – drive time – there was always some chatter about antennas, fishing, new radio equipment, DX on HF and even some VHF DX contacts. There was never any problem with someone jumping in and putting in their two cents worth of comments, with a quick break with their call sign when the repeater dropped for the next user.

I was in St. Louis all last week and the repeater I was monitoring seemed to be lacking in activity during the day. It was surprising how activity would increase when someone got on and gave a call, or just indicated that they were listening on frequency. Once primed it seemed that this would continue for most of the day.

But getting back to the club repeater, there are long, silent stretches of dead air throughout most of the day and into the night. I know there are people out there, either listening at home or in their vehicles, but the repeater is still going unused.

While out on my last trip, I was listening to "This Week in Amateur Radio" from one of the pre-recorded MP3 files I loaded on my little solid-state recorder/player. In one of the sections, WA0TDA (Patrick Tice) was also noting a similar situation with the local repeater he uses in the Twin Cities area. He asked the basic question: What to do?

He decided to try an experiment. He called it the "DOTA" or "daily on the air". That way it rhymes with "GOTA", which, during Field Day, stands for "get on the air". With DOTA, he would simply resolve to have a contact on his local repeater every single day. It didn't have to be long, nor did it have to be at any particular time. It could be with a person he already knew, or it could be a random contact with a person he had never met on the air. If he didn't hear anyone, he would just say, "WA0TDA listening", and see if he could shake someone loose!

After his DOTA plan went into effect, and, not hearing anyone on the repeater, He made a short call. Immediately, another member of his radio club answered and they had a short conversation. During the rest of the day, he thought it might be a good idea to listen to the repeater and see if he heard anyone calling. His theory being, that activity builds more activity. When a repeater is perceived by the local ham radio community as one that is reasonably active, it is more likely to get used. He signed off of his web cast with the comment: Try DOTA yourself and let me know if it works for you.

It can't hurt to try this little experiment ourselves, everyone listen a bit more to the repeater, answer back when someone calls, and let others know when you are listening on the repeater. We might all be surprised how many hams are out there who are listening. If others tune in and do find some activity on the repeater, more may show up or at least start listening more. I know that I am one of the guilty ones, when I don't hear anything on the repeater; I tend to leave the radio tuned to 40 meters. If you have had reasons to not get on before, then put them in the past and lets all get back on again. Be sure to leave some time between transmissions for someone to jump in with their call sign, and be courteous to others who might also want to use the frequency. Ours is one of the few repeaters in the area that is open in the sense that no tone access required making it easier to find and use by travelers along Interstate 5. (I'm probably not the only one who forgets to take the Repeater Directory with them when traveling.)

See you at the next meeting.

73 Dennis Recla Wa5KTC

The ARRL has called upon FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin and his four Commission colleagues to help end "a very frustrating and protracted delay" by releasing a Report and Order in the so-called "Omnibus" Amateur Radio proceeding, WT Docket 04-140. The 2004 Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) proceeding, one of two still awaiting FCC release, consolidated a dozen rule making petitions addressing various Part 97 rule changes &mdash including ARRL's Novice refarming proposal. In its Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order (NPRM&O), the Commission proposed to go along with the League's refarming concept and most other recommendations. ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, says the long-overdue Report and Order seems to be stalled for no reason.

"I believe it's grossly incompetent for a government agency to fail to act on something affecting the Amateur Radio Service," Harrison commented, "especially after the recognition Amateur Radio has received over the past year from members of Congress, public service agencies and even the President." The oldest of the rule making petitions dates back more than five years, while the NPRM&O came out two and one-half years ago. "There's nothing controversial in this proceeding," he said. "The FCC needs to act on this. That's the bottom line."

In an October 3 letter to the Commission http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt04-140/ARRL-Ltr2FCCreWT-04-140.pdf, Harrison said the Amateur Radio Service asks very little of the FCC, "and our performance during recent disasters amply justifies facilitation of these relatively minor rule changes" that will enhance Amateur Radio's ability to react in emergencies and disasters. The FCC's apparent foot-dragging "is not responsive government," he wrote.

The ARRL's Novice refarming plan would reallocate current Novice/Tech Plus subbands to expand portions of the 80, 40 and 15 meter phone bands. Harrison maintained that the League's proposal and others in the proceeding would "greatly improve the efficiency of Amateur Radio's use of the high-frequency (HF) spectrum."

The FCC further agreed with the ARRL's proposal to extend privileges in the current General CW-only HF subbands to present Novice and Tech Plus licensees (or Technicians with Element 1 credit). It also proposed to largely do away with Part 97 rules prohibiting the manufacture and marketing to Amateur Radio operators of amplifiers capable of operation on 10 and 12 meters.

An ARRL delegation that met with Martin's Chief of Staff Fred Campbell last February was told that nothing substantive was holding up the proceeding.

Since that time, Harrison told the Commission, inquiries addressed to Campbell and to WTB management and staff regarding the proceeding's status have gone unanswered.

"I urge you to release the Report and Order that we understand has been drafted and ready for Commission consideration for more than a year now," Harrison stressed in closing.

Perhaps more eagerly awaited is FCC action on the "Morse code" proceeding, WT Docket 05-235. WTB staff already has indicated that a Report and Order in the older "omnibus" proceeding will come first, however. The FCC's Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order (NPRM&O) in WT Docket 05-235 last July proposed to eliminate the Element 1 (5 WPM) Morse code requirement for all license classes.

A Report and Order in either Amateur Radio proceeding would formally adopt and spell out the changes and specify their effective dates.

From the October 6th ARRL Letter

Icom PS-125 12-volt Power Supply, with original box, Asking $155.00;

All items in excellent condition. Please call: 541-582-2396 Rogue River.

Tnx es 73 Jerry AL7HS

You can list your "for sale or trade" or "wanted" items in the newsletter. Send info to: W7PUP@arrl.net

SOARC Repeaters, K7LIX with autopatch on 146.640(-) and on 147.300(+)

SOARC ARES/NTS Net: Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. on 147.300(+) repeater.

ORCA Swapnet - Wednesday evenings at 8 p.m. on the ORCA system.

2006 Complete ARRL/SOARC Licensing Exams:

The last session will be held in the new SOARC meeting facility - the Fruitdale Grange, 1440 Parkdale Dr & US 99, Grants Pass OR.

Test Session Dec. 9, 2006 @ 6:30 p.m. (VE's assemble at 6:00 PM.)

As everyone can see we will serve up quarterly sessions once again. And as in the old days, they are on Fridays except of the last one, which is a Saturday due to room scheduling convenience.

Remember to visit the www.arrl.org website to get the latest information about testing, requirements, new changes that are coming down the pike. The website for Grants Pass exam schedules is http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml. If you will notice the right hand side contains lots of hyperlinks covering most of the questions about exam sessions. A copy of this completed schedule has been sent to the VEC and should appear at this site very soon.

73, Bill (WX7U), VE and Liaison.

The primary initial goals I established as a new section manager were:

1. Increase geographical participation.
2. Increase communications throughout the section.

I have been working to accomplish these by appointing Assistant Section Managers (ASMs) for various parts of the state. I would like to find a couple more – one from around the Bend area and one in the southwestern portion of the state. I have also been doing my best to respond quickly to emails and phone calls I receive to ensure good communications in the section. With the help of Dean Davis KL7OR, I have started a website and have a number of updates and additions I still need to get posted. Dean also started an Oregon Section Yahoo group that I have been sending messages to periodically. As I become accustomed to thinking about it, I will send more messages to that group. I had some things happen that slowed me down, but I plan to start visiting clubs right away so I can get to know all of you better. I will try to visit 2-3 clubs each month. However it might be spring before I get over to the eastern side of the state. I don't want to take my chances in the mountains during the winter. If you have more ideas in accomplishing these initial goals, please let me know.

The FCC has produced a report and order (R&O) related to WT Docket 04-140, which was released on October 10. This R&O will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The publication is not yet known. I will send an email to the section as soon as that occurs. There is a link to the complete text with the changes that will occur to the FCC rules on the ARRL website. I will also post something on the Oregon Section website within the next day or two.

The CW nets are concerned about some of the frequency adjustments in the report and order for phone and CW. If you have concerns, there is an email link on the ARRL website to express those concerns. There are changes to the band plan, to RACES and VE testing that we need to be aware of. This is NOT the change in the Morse code requirements that many are waiting for.

Rick Durst, K1YKZ is the Portland General Electric Amateur Radio Liaison. He is working on plans for the Portland General Electric's Annual Outage Drill that will be held on October 24 from 8am -- 11am. He would like to find other amateur radio operators who work for the various Gas, Electric or Water utilities. If you know of any, please let Rick know at k1ykz@ados.net.

I attended the Section Manager's workshop at the ARRL at the end of September. I learned a lot and will be sending information out to the section leadership to be disseminated as needed.

Jackson County ARES headed by EC Don Montgomery WB7Q, had a number of activities over the summer that did not get mentioned in the Section News.

In June, they provided communications for the "12-Mile Super Downhill" mountain bike race from Mount Ashland to Lithia Park. Seven members participated. In July, they provided communications for the Siskiyou Outback 50K Ultra Marathon Trail Run on Mount Ashland. Eight members participated in this event. In August they provided communications for the Mount Ashland

Hillclimb Run (13 mile route, 5400-foot elevation gain) from the City of Ashland and up Mount Ashland. Six members participated.

On October 8, Clackamas County ARES provided communications for the 2006 Harvest Century 40/70/100 mile bike event being coordinated at Champoeg State Park.

Wasco County ARES, headed by Marsh Johnson KK7CW, was involved in the RADEX-2006 exercise and provided communications between Mid-Columbia Medical Center and Providence Medical Center – Hood River as decontamination sites.

Jerry Boyd, N7WR, EC for Baker County reported that Baker County ARES/RACES members have been trained to set up and operate the County's mobile emergency operations communications vehicle. They are finalizing an agreement with the Eastern Oregon Chapter, American National Red Cross regarding communications support for shelters and the ANRC office in Baker City.

Don Tucker, W7WLL, K Sorter for the ARRL 7th Area QSL Bureau, is asking for assistance locating amateur radio operators with cards in the dead file. He is looking for assistance in Adams, Canby, Coos Bay, Corbett, Eugene, Forest Grove, Gilchrist, Gladstone, Grants Pass, Heppner, Hubbard, LaGrande, Milwaukie, Portland, Rainier, Sandy, Scappose, The Dalles, Tillamook and Tigard. Someone who has lived in those areas for a long time and knows all the hams could be very helpful in letting these people know they have cards.

OO Monitoring Reports: 125 hours, 2 Observers

Congratulations to Kenneth Taylor, K7NIB who has completed ARRL's Level III – Advanced Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course (EC-003).

Station Activity Report Totals for September 2006: N7CM 130. W7IZ 117, W7IG 84. K7EAJ 42, KC7SRL 41, K7PMB 38, KD7ZLF 38, N7YSS 33, WS7L 31, KK1A 26, N7HAE 12, N7APE 9

Public Service Honor Roll Totals for September 2006: N7CM 210, K7EAJ 200, KK1A 126, KD7THV 121, KD7ZLF 118, W7IG 110, KL7OR 110, KK7TN 91, N7YSS 90, N7HAE 72

I hope to see many of you at Swaptoberfest in Rickreall.

73, Bonnie AB7ZQ

- Worked All Germany Contest Oct 21 1500Z to Oct 22 1459Z

- W/VE Islands QSO Party Oct 21 1600Z to Oct 22 2359Z

- Illinois QSO Party Oct 21 1700Z to Oct 23 2400Z

- CQ WW DX Contest SSB Oct 28 0000Z to Oct 29 2400Z

- 10-10 International Oct 28 0000Z to Oct 29 2400Z

- ARRL Sweepstakes Contest CW Nov 4 2100Z to Nov 6 0300Z

- Ukrainian DX Contest Nov 4 1200Z to Nov 5 1200Z

- Veterans Day 64th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Juneau and the loss of the five Sullivan brothers W0FSB Nov 11 1500Z to 2200Z 7.240,14.240, 21.240

- Veterans Day USS KIDD W5KID Nov 11 1500Z to 2230Z 14.250 to 14.320 SSB, 7.040, 14.060, 21.060 CW

- OK/OM DX Contest CW Nov 11 1200Z to Nov 12 1200Z

- Kentucky QSO Party Nov 11 1400Z to Nov 12 0600Z

- LZ DX Contest Nov 18 1200Z to Nov 19 1200Z

- ARRL Sweepstakes Contest SSB Nov 18 2100Z to Nov 20 0300Z

- CQ WW DX Contest CW Nov 25 0000Z to Nov 26 2400Z

- ARRL 160 Meter contest Dec 1 2200Z to Dec 3 1600Z de W6IGK Elmer

-Ken K6TA gives credit to Kip W6SZN for finding this Web site for low cost headphones that fit in the ear and are great for Field Day environments - http://www.scantracker.com/dictationheadsets.htm.

-What if your old logs are on paper and a pain to computerize? Craig W8TN has an answer for you: "One way to ease the pain a bit is to use my BasicLog spreadsheet system which makes the entries of old QSO data go very fast. It requires Excel but produces an ADIF log that you can import into your own logging program or upload directly to LoTW. Using this application I can enter up to 25 QSO's in less than 5 minutes and faster if the date, band or mode doesn't change often. Check it out here: http://www.w8tn.com/software.htm.

-If you would like to build your own set of transmit-capable band-pass filter, look no farther than Ed W3NQN's, article in the May 1997 issue of QST, "Clean Up Your Signals with Band-Pass Filters". They are also commercially available from Array Solutions. http://www.arraysolutions.com
Thanks Mike K4GMH

-And for information on homebrewing the PCBs for those filters, browse on over to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/
Thanks, Leon G1HSM

-Stan AK0B contributes a URL of a short paper on receiving the low power markers that operate below the AM broadcast band and are located around the USA airports:
http://lwca.org/library/articles/kh6sr/index.htm.
It is excellent reading for anyone who wants to improve their skills on digging out the very weak ones.

-Looking for a student project? Check out the Radio Jove NASA project -
http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/help/help.htm#setup

-CW isn't history, but this Army CW Training Manual sure is! Tree N6TR has made the PDF version available on his Web site at http://www.kkn.net/~tree/ArmyStudentsManual.pdf And when they say to copy the characters, you WILL copy the characters!

-Holy smokes - terminals and terminals and more terminals, plus how-to pages and all sorts of information! This page won't put a crimp in your style – http://terminaltown.com
Thanks, Jim VE7FO

-Chuck W1HIS has written a 42-page article full of amazing detail on Common Mode chokes available in WORD or PDF versions. www.yccc.org/Articles/articles.htm
Thanks, Tim K3LR

-Microwave and wireless data mavens should look into the article "Low-Cost 2.4 GHz Spectrum Analyzer" in the April 2006 issue of Circuit Cellar Ink (a terrific magazine, by the way). It's available on-line at http://www.circuitcellar.com .

-If the best protection is detection, Larry K8UT contributes his favorite Web resource for determining the proximity of real-time lightning activity - time to turn off the rig, disconnect the antennas and unplug the computers! http://www.weatherusa.net/lightningnet/

-MIT scientists have harnessed the construction talents of tiny viruses to build ultra-small "nanowire" structures for use in very thin lithium-ion batteries. Sneak a peek at http://tinyurl.com/hj451 . Just the thing for your next QRP rig - makes an Altoids tin look like the Superdome!

-TECHNICAL URL OF THE month - Here is the Mother of All Cross-Reference Web sites –
http://www.sourceresearch.com/cross-reference.cfm

1. The FCC will no longer require VECs to make public announcements in advance of test sessions. However, the individual VECs may continue to do so as a condition of coordinating an exam session if they so choose.

The ARRL VEC would like to maintain the highest degree of service and integrity by asking our VE teams for their continued cooperation with registering test dates in advance of the session. We have observed that most candidates refer to the ARRL VEC for help with finding exam opportunities in their local community. The information we post on our ARRL Exam Session Search web page helps candidates find you!

2. The FCC will remove the requirement that a VEC forward applications to the Commission within a ten-day time period. However VECs may still require VE teams to submit exam session materials back to the VEC within a specified period of time as a condition for coordinating the session.

The ARRL VEC will continue to adhere to the 10 day window to uphold our excellent customer service record. We ask our VE teams to also continue to be sensitive to the 10 day window.

3. Proof of an expired General, Advanced or Extra class license may be used for Element 1 examination credit (5 WPM) when presented at a VE test session. The FCC Rules for Element credit 97.505 will be amended to read: 97.505(a)(9) An expired FCC-granted Technician Class operator license document granted before February 14, 1991; an expired FCC-granted Technician Class operator license document granted after February 14, 1991 accompanied by documentation showing the examinee has passed a telegraphy examination; or an expired FCC-granted General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra Class operator license document: Element 1.

Thanks, Bill (WX7U)
VE Liaison