2017 News
December 9, 2017
Barry K7BWH
Poodle Dog VHF Breakfast Report
It's nice to catch up with friends over breakfast, and enjoy watching the experts test and tune microwave radios after the meal.
We had 18 attending:
Ray W7GLF,
Jim K7ND,
Bob N7QOZ,
Bob W7BA,
Tom KE7SW,
Barry K7BWH,
Nick N0CYT,
Dale KD7UO,
Fred N7FW,
John W7FU,
Adam W2NCC,
Rod WE7X,
Merle W7YOZ,
John N7MWV,
Barry AC7MD,
Veda KG7OOL,
Loren WA7SKT,
Jim N7ND,
Stan KG7P (Did I miss anybody?)
John W7FU said that "the Test and Tune time went well. Quite a few people showed up to
watch and offer advice. Ray managed the power meter and level settings. I handled signal sources.
Dale, KD7UO, and Barry, AC7MD, brought their W1GHZ 10 GHz transverters. We were able to help with
RX and TX alignment and set the proper IF drive levels etc. One observation is that these W1GHZ
transverters, while capable of great performance and elegantly designed, they are a bit of a bear
to tune even with test equipment. The pipe cap filters adjusting screws are pretty touchy.
I enjoyed the session and learned a lot. Maybe the next time at the Poodle Dog or at Parkers we
can have another Test and Tune."
Barry K7BWH
December 6, 2017
Bill N7EU
Rogue Valley Lunch, Oregon
Our usual scribe is Bob K7JBU. Bob is in the hospital recuperating from an
operation so I will fill in for him this month with the Rogue Valley VHF Group.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob for a speedy recovery.
On December 6th we held our monthly luncheon gathering at the Centennial Grill
at the Centennial Golf Course. Attending were
David KL1XI,
Don WA7DCG,
Bill N7EU,
Bob KD6UIH,
Gerald K6KSI,
Lyle WB7VUF,
Bill K7WGD,
Steve KW5V,
Rob N7RFD, and
Bob N7RBP.
David KL1XI demonstrated satelltie communication using his mobile FM rigs in the car.
David successfully connected with the new AO-91 satellite and made a few contacts.
We were able to monitor the downlink with a Yaesu handheld FT-65 on 145.960 using
only a rubber duck!
Steve KW5V brought his RV with the 40 meter magnetic loop on the roof and
demonstrated his ability to use off-the-grid solar power to fire up his low band
rig on 40 meters. The loop is made of copper water pipe tubing complete with
a matching stub and adjustable sliding "trombone" capacitor. Steve did a lot of
work to make the RV antenna and his workmanship and designs paid off well.
We encouraged him to publish and photograph his work so others can share in his
efforts.
Bill K7WGD showed us his new VHF/UHF radio.
Bob KD6UIH brought his newly acquired 223 MHZ trans-verter manufactured in the
Ukraine. Bob and N7RBP Bob plan to start activating 223 MHZ SSB in the near future.
We meet for lunch on the first Wednesday of every month at 12:30PM.
Our meetings are informal in nature and usually have a few show and tell items every month.
Everyone is welcome!
Bill N7EU
October 24, 2017
Barry K7BWH
2017 Conference Proceedings
The complete 2017 Conference Proceedings
and the Photo Gallery are now published online.
We provide them on the world wide web for everyone instead of publishing and mailing
disks. I'm sure you'll enjoy this collection of notes and pictures about the event.
This year, I'm trying out a new method to display photos. When you click on a photo
collection, it will pop up a viewer with easy access to click through the entire set.
Please let me know how well this works for you -- I haven't tested it on all possible
screen sizes.
Barry K7BWH
Webmaster
October 14, 2017
Barry K7BWH
Etienne K7ATN - 2017 VHFer of the Year
We are pleased to tell you that Etienne Scott K7ATN is
our 2017 VHFer of the Year: "For recruiting and mentoring regional
hams in VHF, Microwave, and SOTA activity, along with developing
skills in building antennas and operating contests, and more.
His enthusiasm is catching and admirable."
This award was announced at our annual conference this weekend.
It is given to the amateur in the Pacific Northwest who has gone
above and beyond the call to further VHF+ activity. He was nominated
by several people in both Oregon and Washington, and the board of
directors voted unanimously for Etienne. We are all grateful for
his energy and passion to further the goals he shares with our Society.
Barry K7BWH
Board of Directors
October 1, 2017
Barry K7BWH
New Conference Proceedings
I added the PNWVHFS 2006 Conference Proceedings
and also the 2007 Conference Proceedings
to our website for your nostalgic enjoyment. Plus, there's a ton of new "stuff"
in the 2005 Conference Proceedings.
This was all brought in from historical CDs – the words and pictures
haven't much changed. When Kevin Immel KF7CN originally produced all
that, he did a heckuva good job and made this migration possible.
However, the entire visual appearance did change:
- New nav bar to "Time travel to conference year"
- All pictures organized under "Photo Galleries"
- Faint background that looks like binary
- Flattened navigation - each year's index page includes a list
of all the material available, all on the same page
- Modern look and feel, including responsive design to support
devices from wide desktops to narrow cellphones
- 2004 and 2005 proceedings have been updated to the
same modern look and feel, with flattened navigation
Enjoy. Let me know if you spot any hiccups.
Barry Hansen K7BWH
PNWVHFS Webmaster
August 30, 2017
Bob K7JBU
Rogue Valley VHF Lunch on 8/30
We met for our monthly luncheon at Centennial Golf Club with 8 people present.
Two of our regular members couldn't make it.
Bob Moore (KG7YFB) showed us three devices he'd purchased recently.
Bill Martin is going to share a two meter Eggbeater antenna he used on the air
to shake it down and acquaint the members of the local net With "on the air"
signal reports . It is half the satellite array that will be used at N7EU this winter.
We're using 144.200 for our Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning get-togethers.
Although we understand this to be the national calling SSB frequency, we use it to
show those listening, 2m SSB is alive and well in the Rogue Valley.
Next monthly meeting is Sept 6th - all who are interested are urged to attend!
Bob K7JBU
July 27, 2017
Barry K7BWH
New old 2004 and 2005 Proceedings Added Online
You can now enjoy online the presentations, pictures, technical resources, manuals,
projects, videos, and other material from years ago. There is about 500 MB of new
online files. We have published everything from the CDs released years ago for 2004
and 2005.
These new old web pages are kept in their original design layout for your
enjoyment. The original CD is reproduced here on our website with minimal required updates.
The historical look and feel is retained as much as practical to reproduce the state
of web design in 2005. Isn't it remarkable how far we've advanced in the last twelve
years.
A tip'o the hat goes to Scott N7SS for providing me the historical CDs.
Barry K7BWH
July 5, 2017
Bob K7JBU
Rogue Valley July Luncheon
There were only five people at the luncheon this time; we are scheduled to meet on the
second of August.
We had one new person at the meeting Marco (KF7MYJ); it is good to see some of the younger
people get into the hobby.
Marco( KF7MYJ) and David (KL1XI) were working on the FM satellites They like to work
both SO-50, and AO-85.They were comparing antennas, it was quite interesting.
Bob K7JBU
June 14, 2017
Paul K7CW
New Pacific Northwest VHF Society Distance Record
Those members who have been watching 6-meter propagation know
that this sporadic-E season is off to a great start. The digital
modes of JT65A and MSK144 are becoming very popular and JT65A,
designed for weak-signal work, has been used to work most continents
(if not all) from the PNWVHFS area this year on 50 MHz.
On June 3, 2017, stations in the Western Washington and nearby areas
experienced a big 2.5-to-3-hour-long opening to Asia. I personally
worked 122 Japan stations on CW. Using JT65A, W7FI worked 2 Taiwan
stations and 30 Japan stations. He heard a third Taiwan station and
BA4SI also during the opening, but didn't work them. He was heard in
the Philipines, as well! As I was looking at his numbers this morning,
I saw that Jim had actually broken the Society 50 MHz Digital distance
record when he worked the BV stations.
During the June VHF Contest, several PNWVHFS stations worked stations
in JA, BA, BV and E51 (N) using JT65A.
This morning, I received a report from Hal, N7NW, that he had worked
VK8MS last night (6/14/2017 UTC) on 50 MHz sporadic E using JT65A digital
mode, a distance of 12255.32 kilometers. This JT65A contact broke the
previous Society record by a whopping 3480 kilometers! Apparently,
Society members made contacts also with stations in VK4 and E51 last
night, as well.
I recorded Hal's record onto the PNWVHFS Distance Scoreboard which
can be viewed at:
www.qsl.net/k7cw/pnwvhfs/distancescoreboard.html 
BTW, if anyone thinks they may have broken a Society distance record,
please send me the details so your accomplishment can be recorded.
73 and Good DXing
Paul K7CW
PNWVHFS Distance Scoreboard Moderator
May 3, 2017
Bob K7JBU
Rogue Valley VHF Lunch on 5/3
We met for our monthly Luncheon at Centennial golf club, we had two
guests present that we are in hopes of meeting with us monthly as well
as on the air. Clair Martin (KC7ARX) and Arlen Hatlestad (W9PCI).
There was no active Show and Tell though there were members active in
the parking lot.
The next luncheon will be on 6.07.17 at Centennial, we meet oh 144.200
on Tuesdays at 19:00 as well as Wednesdays at 10:00 for those retired
or can make it.
Bob K7JBU
April 5, 2017
Bob K7JBU
April VHF Lunch in Rogue Valley
We met at the Centennial golf club for our monthly luncheon, there were
eleven people in attendance. It was as usual, a no host affair; there was
no Show and tell from the members this month.
The next meeting will be 5.03.17 and will be at Centennial.
Bob K7JBU
March 17, 2017
Barry K7BWH
Welcome New Members
Welcome new members in 2017:
Britt Bayers KG7VLB in Portland,
Jim Shaw WA6PX in Issaquah,
Dave Schaller W7DEQ in Bellingham,
Del Morissette WA7AQH in Nine Mile Falls,
Rick Jones W7HBP in Olympia,
Tom Wiswell W7TCW in Centralia,
George Albertson WA7VIZ in Lacey,
Wayne Connell KF7QHQ in Snohomish,
Josh Richesin K7JLR in Madras,
Roger Lustri W7TZ in Myrtle Creek,
Nick Pair WB7PEK in Kelso, and
Brian Dickman AF7MD in Beaverton.
Barry K7BWH
March 5, 2017
Bob K7JBU
Rogue Valley March VHF Lunch
Ten of us met at the Centennial Golf Club for our monthly luncheon.
Robert Earl (KD6UIH) gave a brief show and tell on an MFJ 4416 power
booster and Robert Moore showed us an extension for our cell phones
that will work with an external SIM card. The beauty of the extension
is it will work on either operating system.
An excellent time was had by all; with excellent food.
Our next meeting will be April 6, 2017 at Centennial again.
Bob K7JBU
February 11, 2017
Barry K7BWH
VHF Breakfast at the Poodle Dog, Fife
We had a good turnout for breakfast the the historic Poodle Dog restaurant in Fife
(near Tacoma) with twenty people enjoying a good meal, lots of conversation, and a
few equipment swaps on the side.
Darryl WW7D, Doug AC7T, Hal N7NW,
Jim K7ND, Veda KG7OOL, Loren WA7SKT, John W7FU, Merle W7YOZ,
Paul K7CW, Mark VE7AFZ, Tom KE7SW, Bob W7BA, Bob N7QOZ, Mike KD7TS,
Stan KG7P, Eric N7EPD, Barry K7BWH, Ed KL7UW, Janet, Barry AC7MD
Barry K7BWH
January 28, 2017
Steve Sala K7AWB
VHF lunch at Frankie Doodles in Spokane
There were 8 of us. Here is a picture with names and calls.
Left:
KA6NZZ Karen Phelps,
W6LLP Jim Phelps,
KG7ZCW Dan Carter,
WA7AQH Del Morissette
Right:
W7OE John Dempster,
K7HPT Mark Van Winkle,
W7BHP Dick Snell
EWA Director Steve Sala K7AWB was holding the camera.
Steve K7AWB
January 14, 2017
Jim K7YO
VHF Lunch at Elmer's in Tigard, 1/14
A small but enthusiastic group attended the south area luncheon
at noon at Elmer's restaurant on Saturday, January 14. The road conditions
were still icy after a week of subfreezing temperatures and a recent dump of snow
around Portland, which reduced
attendance.
On left is Greg K7RSG with his daughter Bridgete. On the right is
Lou WA7GCS and Jim K7YO.
After lunch, the group visited the new
Ham Radio Outlet store across the street.
Jim K7YO
