Cape Perpetua is back up

040125 – Cape Perpetua Visit
N7HQR 4 hours

During a storm we lost connectivity on Cape Perpetua. The 147.060 repeater went down as well as the packet APRS weather station.
Upon arrival at the site today, there was no AC power in the rack and the battery was at 6 volts. The setup is a dedicated 20 amp receptacle for our rack, that feeds an outlet strip in the rack. Most of the equipment plugs into the outlet strip, including a UPS that powers the modem/router/computer stuA. I started looking at the outlet strip, and the circuit breaker was tripped on it, and the power switch looked scorched. I tried the turn the UPS on and it
would not run.

The power strip and UPS were removed from the rack and a temporary outlet strip was wired in. I powered up the majority of the equipment, reset the weather station and set the parameters and checked to make sure the weather was making it out on APRS. The battery voltage was too low to safely charge it with the small power supply we have on it, so the battery was removed and should likely be replaced. The 147.060 repeater was plugged in and powered up just fine.

As often happens with amateur radio, we put things together to get them working and it isn’t always the best that could be done. This site should have a few things done for the power situation:

  • Replace the temporary outlet strip with an industrial rack mounted outlet strip
    and surge protector.
  • Upgrade the power supply to one large enough to handle everything in the rack
    and float the battery.
  • Install a low voltage disconnect (these little devices will disconnect the battery
    before it discharges too low and gets damaged).
  • Replace the battery unless this original one comes back to life.

Interestingly, there were signs of arcing inside the case of the outlet strip which shows something faulted but I don’t see what it would have been. I suspect this occurred when the power went out and the generator started and restored power. Perhaps the UPS failed when the generator came back on and that caused the issue, I don’t know.

Here are the parts needed for the upgrade:
Low Voltage Disconnect – https://duracomm.com/product/din-lvd-12/
Power Supply – https://samlexamerica.com/products/12-volt-30-amp-battery-charger-safety-listed/
Outlet Strip – https://tripplite.eaton.com/single-phase-pdu-2400w-120v-13-5-1520r-outlets-5-20p-input-6-ft-cord-1u~PDU1226

That is about $700 in parts, if we need to get a battery that could be another couple hundred at least.

The view North from a little lower down the hill from the tower:


The rack as it was left today after restoring services:

Inside the damaged power outlet strip, notice the burn mark by the white wires:

73
Daron

Elmering into the ether

You never know when we post tips, links, and information who might be out there searching for just such information. We recently received an email from Amanda, whose son Christian is working on his Radio merit badge and found our website and links helpful to his journey.

Amanda suggested we might also find this article useful for sharing information about amateur radio. Tell us what you think:

www.aaastateofplay.com/all-about-ham-radio-for-beginners/

Thanks, Amanda, and thanks Christian. Enjoy your exploration of the world of amateur radio!

Chuck’s Blog for April 2025

By W7CRG

What special memories come to you about growing up? 

  • Perhaps being included in adult conversations.
  • The thrill of the telephone ringing and it was for you! Remember, when I grew up there was only one telephone in the house and it was not for frivolous conversations and was often on a party line. You might pick up the phone and hear a neighbor discussing a cookie recipe, asking for a ride to the store for shopping or to church or just gossiping. Party lines were not the place to bare your soul unless you wanted everyone to know your business!
  • Back on topic, getting your own bike, or better yet, a brand new bike
  • Making a team, either athletic or academic.
  • Getting a date.
  • Going to a summer camp.
  • Having an adult talk to you as an equal. I think my “uncle” Ray was the first to do that for me.
  • Getting a letter in the mail. You remember what corresponding was? With Email, texting, auto-correct and other modern wonders the task of “putting pen to paper” is pretty well lost. I also remember the first letter I got from a pen pal. My first pen pal was from Germany and I was amazed that he wrote such good English! I thought his English might read like the Germans in the movies. I worried I would have to have my German born Grandmother translate it. No, it was very clear, concise and correct English!
  • Speaking of movies, how about going to the movie without an adult “taking you”.

I would guess all of us could go on and on about special “firsts”. I’m going to go back to that first letter from my pen pal. The things he told me about his family, city and country! I was amazed that there were many similarities, as well as so many differences. When he told me about his school classes, even though he was the same age as I was, it was as though he was a year ahead of me in school! I began to wonder if I was dumber than I thought I was; or, maybe he was just a super smart guy? Even though the schools in Taft were very good we were a very small school. I realized that schools in Portland and Germany probably offered more. That was probably the explanation, right?

It was a misunderstanding I lived with until I arrived at Oregon State and my room mate in the dorm asked how many were in my graduating class. “Sixty-two,” I proudly stated. “Oh,” Pete replied, “We had 1,500 and we graduated two classes a school year.”

It was further brought to my attention when in chemistry class I thought I could breeze along as I had taken a year of chemistry at Taft High School. What we covered at Taft was over after the third week at OSU!

I think the communication with that young German was a seed that made me think about amateur radio as a hobby. My uncle was a ham and he had told me about his contacts around the world. Talking to and learning about other people’s lives was intensely interesting.

To this day, I enjoy talking with people in person, on the radio and on occasion by the written word. Writing is more problematic I don’t relate as well, misspell words and foul-up my grammar. When I taught a Junior English series I was a great example for proof reading your writing and using the dictionary. As the years have gone by, I’ve gotten better (I think).

The practice that so many amateurs follow by saying, “you’re 59 and 73 see you on down the log.”, is not one I use. I try to find out about the operator, their station, their background, how they got into the hobby, which parts of the hobby they like. Sometimes this back and forth can last 20, 30 or even 40 minutes (rarely that long). I find that a QSO can be like meeting someone at the coffee shop or sitting on a park bench.

Does anyone take a walk in the park anymore? Do we sit and enjoy our surroundings? Do we extend a friendly word to a stranger? I’m of a mind that too many of the current generation are afraid of one on one conversation and are only able to communicate via their cell phones. 

As an aside, I remember being in Portland for my eldest’s wedding dinner and I stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. Two young girls were walking by conversing with each other via text on their phones rather than engaging in a conversation. The spoken word consisted of, “that’s a good one, how about this?” “Oh yeah, gottcha.”

Which brings up the old rant by many of this generation, “Why would I want to learn to use amateur radio when I can talk around the world on my cell phone?”

My response is, “Whose cell number in Australia, Peru, France, Japan, England or Egypt do you know?” Having a world-wide audience is not always the case on the ham bands but when you hear a “OH” (Finland) or a “PY” (Brazil) it is interesting or dare I say exciting.

During the last contact with a Finnish station I mentioned I was of Finnish descent being half-Suomi. He asked where in Finland my Grandparents came from. I realized I didn’t know. A second cousin did a lot of genealogy and sent everyone a long email of who begot who but it is also long gone on a dead computer which used MSDOS. So now one of my tasks is to locate that long lost file of genealogy.

I periodically wonder as a past history teacher, where and how are future historians going to access primary research? Those phone conversations, texts and emails are not stored anywhere. One of my most interesting classes in college involved writing a paper from primary research. I read through letter after letter of Civil War soldiers and their families. If you think reading my writing is difficult, try deciphering scribbled pencil or pen letters from young men with a education obtained in a one-room school house! I found so much information that one seldom finds in a textbook or even a biography. There is no such thing as a letter home in this day and age. We of the Viet Nam era wrote some letters but increasingly sent audio tapes which now are often unusable as the tapes aged and tape recorders have disappeared.

Since I’ve wandered so far astray, coming back to amateur radio, we in the military also communicated via MARS, or the Military Affiliate Radio System. Many hams spent hours connecting troops to loved ones stateside via phone patch which connected their radio to a landline phone. All the while teaching those civilians how one-way communications worked, “I love you and worry about you all the time Junior, Over”. The system was populated by “just hams” and famous hams such as Senator and Presidential Candidate Barry Goldwater. The thrill of hearing that soldier or that loved one’s voice is a memory many cherish to this day.

Once again I’ve rambled around a subject in an attempt to inform, urge and possibly entertain. I hope this is of interest and benefit to some of you and worth your time to read. If you have questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me. Thank you and “Get On The Air”!

Chuck W7CRG “73”

RMS Gateways/digipeater down

The RMS gateways and digipeater are off line on Otter Crest, below is a description of the visit and I’ll update when we get things going again.  Shout out to John KN4RTK for making the trip with me and helping. ~Daron N7HQR

033025 – Otter Crest Visit
N7HQR, KN4RTK for 2 hours

Saturday 29th the Winlink server reported our RMS gateway on Otter Crest was unreachable via the internet. We were unable to access the PC remotely, and packet radio command was transmitted via radio to power cycle or reset the PC in case it was locked up, but that didn’t restore service.

When we arrived the PC power light was on, and the link light on the ethernet switch was lit, indicating that the ethernet interface on the PC was alive. We power cycled things, checked connections, no video coming out of the PC and no indication it was running except for the power light.


We removed the shelf that contains the computer, packet radio, modem, etc. and will be working to get it restored to service. In the mean time there is no winlink access on otter crest and no ability to digipeat through otter crest to get to the courthouse or other RMS gateway.

The computer is an OnLogic industrial PC, I think we invested $1000 or so for it, no fan and no moving parts, should just sit and run. I suspect the solid state hard drive may have failed. The computer runs on 12vdc, and is fed with a buck/boost power supply in case the DC power gets below 12v it will keep the PC voltage where it needs to be.

Hopefully we can get this restored quickly and back on the air!

Shack O’ the Month – K7EAB

Somehow growing up in Eugene, Oregon I never knew anyone that did amateur radio. Not an uncle, not a geeky friend in high school. It was not until I was 52 years old that my position with Lincoln County brought me to this wonderful hobby and essential emergency response tool.

My road to Ham radio began when I met with Jim Hawley (W7VTW), Emergency Manager to discuss with him the development of the first comprehensive Lincoln County Emergency Management Plan. I assisted him with all aspects of the plan, but was primarily responsible for the debris management aspects. Jim retired just after that plan was completed. During revisions to the plan a few years later it occurred to me that amateur radio could be an essential tool for communicating during an emergency.

I found Mike Eastman (N7ONP) as my Elmer, took his Technicians class and earned my Technician ticket in June 2013. At that time I only owned a Yaseu  FT-60R. In July of 2013 I passed my exam for my General License. I celebrated by purchasing a Yaseu FT-2900R, Kenwood  TS-590S, Astron RS-35M power supply and West Mountain RR/4008C for power distribution. I also purchased a Diamond X300A, VHF antenna for my car and supplies to build a dipole HF antenna.

My “shack” at that time was a card table set up in a corner of the spare bedroom. It consisted of power supply and distribution, HF transceiver, mobile VHF radio and antenna and an HF antenna that I still needed to build and install. My mobile rig was my FT-60R with externally mounted antenna. 

In December of 2014 I began a new chapter of my life as I became a Newport City Councilor and started a mobile wood milling business. I did not have time to get back to amateur radio until February 2020 – a few months before I retired at the end of June 2020.

I wanted to see if Ham radio would be a great fit for retirement. What a crazy thought right? I quickly decided it was, so I built my own custom desk/shelves with local lumber that I milled. By early August 2020 I now had my first respectable HAM shack. As we were designing and having a new garage built, I had a new heated space added to the back of a new garage as a 2nd shack/storage room. With the garage finally finished, I started installing some gear in late August 2022 and have focused on laying out all the radio gear. I am currently moving some radios around, which has been a lot of hard work, but the effort has been worth it. I am fortunate that my yard and design of my new garage allow for many antenna installation. There are 6 antennas currently installed and I have plans 4-6 more this spring/summer.

Mark’s Gear:

Original Ham Shack (corner of spare bedroom)

Kenwood TS-590S, Yaesu FT-991A, Icom IC-7100, Xiegu G90 (also for QRP), Yaesu FTM-500DR (VHF/UHF), Yaesu FT-2900R (75 watt VHF), Btech GMRS-50X1 (50 watt), various HTs, PC computer, OpenSpot3, ZUMSpot, SignaLink USB (WinLink) SDRplay DX, WSPR Transmitter, various HTs. Antennas – 66′ OCD (HF), Diamond X300A and Arrow J-pole (VHF/UHF). Power – Astron RS-35M power supply with Rigrunner 4008 for power distribution.

New Ham Shack (heated room/new garage)


Yaesu FTDX-10, Yaesu FT-891, FT-818ND (also for QRP), President George FCC (11m/CB), FTM-300, FTM-7250, Wouxun KG-XS20G (GMRS, 20 watts), various HTs, Inovato Quadra4K HamClock. Power – Astron SS-50M with Intellitron PDC-3408D 40A for power distribution. Antennas – Chameleon Base Camp III 132′ EFHV (HF), G5RV Jr 92′ (pending approval from the city), 11m/CB vertical, Diamond X510HDM (VHF/UHF, 17.2′), GMRS Base antenna. (Nagoya NMO-200C w/GPK-01 NMO mount ground plane kit, Diamond A144S5 (VHF beam, I need to install it with a rotor on a mast).

Chuck’s Blog for March 2025

By W7CRG

Preface: This started as a blog for the amateur radio group but a large part of it has turned into a bit of a historical blog. It still has material worthy of thought for hams as we speak on the airwaves; but, if the historical part bothers you … you have my apologies. Chuck

When we speak we don’t always realize who might be hearing us. This is a concern in life and especially when we are broadcasting over the radio. I know that some people don’t care who hears them and there are those who perform in this way to purposely anger, insult or abuse others. But I’m speaking to the civil members of our population. 

My father didn’t always say a lot but when he did it was because he thought it important or he sincerely believed what he said. There were some times when he used some pretty salty language. I remember once when we were at the Siletz Boat Works, two miles east of Kernville. Dad had a large wooden barge that was tied up on the south side of the river. It being Oregon, there was rain. Lots of rain and the barge had a number of large openings in its deck which meant someone needed to pump it out periodically. 

Dad had a fire pump which was surplus from WWII. In the 1950’s there was a lot of WWII surplus in civilian use. This pump was basically a ten horsepower Johnson outboard engine hooked to a very good pump. It was started by wrapping a line around a pulley on the flywheel and pulling to spin the flywheel and start the gas engine. It could be cantankerous at times and cantankerous breeds frustration and frustration often breeds swearing. At least with my Dad it did.

I was about twelve and my given chore was to stand there holding the output hose to ensure the water went overboard and not back into the barge. After ten or so strenuous pulls and no starting roar Dad fiddled with the primer, the choke and the throttle. As he did I said, “Why don’t you do what you always do, Dad?” 

“And what would that be son?”

“Call it a Son Of A B—-”

It was completely out of character for me to actually use those words at that time in my life. Even more out of character when speaking to my Dad who informed me of my inappropriate speech. Two more hefty pulls with no resulting roaring sound. “You Dirty Rotten SON OF A B—–!!!” Followed by a roaring engine and a stream of bilge water that almost knocked an unprepared twelve year old into the Siletz river when the hose I was holding suddenly became a solid stream of water.

I so wanted to say, “See, I told you so.” But I figured I had ventured too close to being a smart aleck already and didn’t press my luck. Dad didn’t say anything but he looked slightly guilty as he came over and took the hose and secured it with a rope to a deck cleat.

I learned when certain language and certain actions were appropriate and when they were not appropriate. I guess I should use the phrase “get away with it” in stead of appropriate. At NO time was it appropriate if my little German Grandmother was within ear shot.

When and where I grew up, working men in working situations used swearing as part of their speech pattern. Some were worse than others. Society seemed to overlook and forgive those swearwords if they were on the logging site, the deck of a boat or some other work area.

Going back to my Dad. As a young man he was the Captain of an eighty foot tug, the “Chahunta” towing log rafts from the booming grounds above Kernville down to Siletz bay and out to the ocean delivering the logs to mills from Coos Bay to Puget Sound. This was in the mid 1930’s and Dad was in his early twenties.

At that time there wasn’t a lot of entertainment in places like Taft, Oregon. Word spread quickly that the “Chahunta” was coming down with a log raft and would be crossing the bar. Taft dock would fill with observers as this was an event worthy of catching!

The woman who would be my Mom was one of them. (I don’t even know if she and Dad were married back then.) As she stood on the dock the newly arrived Priest of the local Catholic church came and stood beside her to watch the event. “I’ve been told this is an interesting event worth watching,” he shared with her. She smiled and nodded in agreement.

Before this tale goes further I must explain to those unfamiliar with the 

Siletz waterway that it was different then than it is now. The river was deeper because of the Spring freshets which occurred due to heavy rains. Like a flash flood, the freshet would sluice out the river bed. Another factor was that there were not yet numerous towns and cities drawing water out of the river. Lastly large boat traffic tends to widen and deepen waterways with the effects of wake and prop wash on the banks and river bottom.

The tug and raft would pass through the Kernville bridge which was a draw bridge. It would be opened by a number of men walking in a circle pushing strong poles in a windless. The windless was on the deck of the bridge and caused the roadway to swing open to a position up and down the river as opposed to across the river. It was a slow, tedious and back breaking task. A car coming upon an open draw bridge either had a long wait or left to do something else. Life progressed at a different pace in those days.

It would take the tug and log raft an hour or more to transit from the booming grounds at Kernville to the bar at Siletz Bay. Timing was critical as the tug would need a strong incoming tide to accomplish the necessary maneuvers. There was a dance between the tug, the raft and the current. The tug’s crew needed to respond quickly to position the tug while at the same time lengthening or shortening the hawser (towline). All of this was to cause the raft to swing, by the force of the incoming tide, from basically a north-south position alongside the sand spit to an east-west positioning toward the Taft dock and the bar. The tug and tow could then move out to sea and from thereon to the various sawmills.

If the raft hung up on a sandbar or the operation took too long and the tide became slack, or worse ebbed, the situation could become a real mess. To facilitate all this movement, the tug’s Captain stood at the highest viewpoint on top of the wheelhouse. Using the controls located there to steer and control the boat. From that position, with the tug facing seaward into the incoming tide, he could see the bar, the raft and the crew on the aft deck.

In those days steering was accomplished with a series of ropes and or chains traveling through pulleys to turn the rudder(s). Therefore the steering wheels were four to five feet in diameter to provide enough leverage to move those ropes and chains as well as position and move the rudder in the stream of the propeller(s).

On some tugs the throttle might be connected up there on top of the wheelhouse. Less modern tugs had the throttle and shifting from forward to reverse had to be done in the engine room by the engineer. A lever would move an indicator in the engine room indicating “ahead half” and so forth. Depending on the type of engine, in order to reverse it the engine had to be stopped, the cam shifted, then the engine restarted running in reverse. There was no gear box to change from forward to reverse. The engine was directly connected to the prop. 

It is hard for those of us who have more modern mechanisms to move from forward to reverse to realize the forethought, coordination and timing it took to accomplish these tasks. When things went as planned it was a real slick show for the people watching from the Taft dock. When things went awry the people on the dock could be “treated” to roaring diesel engines, clanking chains and winches as well as a flood of salty language as commands and directives were shouted back and forth. Handi-talkies would have really made things easier but they didn’t come into existence for decades.

So now we get back to Mom standing on the dock next to the priest on a crystal clear fall morning. Dad’s voice rang out over the quiet waters of the bay as the tug swung into the channel with its bow seaward holding its position in the jaws against the in-rushing tide. The incoming tide began to swing the raft to the north and east but halfway to being in the position to head out to sea …. it hung up on a sandbar!

The tug had to back down out of the jaws or channel and re-position itself to pull the wayward raft more to the north and hopefully off the sandbar. As the tug was maneuvering the towline needed to be winched in to accommodate the tight space and keep it out of the propellers.

As one might guess, all did not go as it should. Was it because reactions were too slow or the current too strong moving the tug or raft or whatever? It doesn’t matter. The tug’s diesels roared and then quieted then roared again. Foam frothed from the stern of the tug as the props churned the bay’s water in varying directions. The crew tried mightily to accomplish their Captain’s salty commands which carried over the bay’s waters, easily heard over the roar of the tug’s engines and machinery.

“The Captain has quite a command of his boat … as well as quite a command of swearwords,” mentioned the priest to Mom. Do you know who he is?” he asked.

“It’s a small town and most everybody knows most everybody,” Mom replied trying not to let on she had shared numerous cups of coffee and one or two dances with the salty languaged tugboat skipper. 

Then as she tried to inch away from the priest, one of her friends called out to her, “Ben’s swearing gets better every time they hang up! He reached a new art form today don’t you think, Almona?”

The priest grinned at her and said, “Sometimes the message needs strong words to accomplish the task.”

That was never Dad’s main vocabulary but in times of stress and immediacy we often become less than our best in communicating. That salty language did not carry over to his normal speech and was never heard over the radio.

The tugs Lincoln County Logging Company owned were among the first to have radios installed. My Grandfather, Almon A. Kerry was the superintendent of L.C.L.C. and a very progressive man. He was also someone who wanted answers or actions when he wanted them. I think the idea of being able to communicate with the tugboats answered that need. Those radios were AM and in the “marine band” located near the current 40 meter band. If you see pictures of the tugs they are sporting “clothesline antennas” which was four 16 – 18 foot lengths of wire strung back and forth between two spreader bars, one on the forward mast and one on the aft mast. Early hams would use similar configurations for mobile antennas. I have a t-shirt with a Model T sporting such an antenna.

We all need to strive to improve our communication skills. How effective can we be to convey the information necessary? Do we say what we want to? Does the situation cause us to make mistakes? Are we the most effective communicator we can be? Practice makes perfect.

I, once again apologize for shifting off topic to historical and biographical material. There are some radio references. On the other hand, you have learned a little about the history of the area in which we reside. Questions, comments and concerns can be directed to me via email. 

Chuck W7CRG 

Latest Sea-PAC information

Update: Registration for Sea-Pac 2025 is open! Dates are May 30 – June 1. Friday Workshop subjects will be emergency communications (emphasis on Winlink) and DMR. For more information and to register: https://www.seapac.org/

We are excited to announce that the newest issue of the SEA-PAC Waves is available to download!  Click this link for the SEA-PAC Waves.

We are looking forward to SEA-PAC 2025 and the SEA-PAC committee has been hard at work. We have some great things to share, so you are going to want to read this issue of the Waves!

Please feel free to copy and distribute this to your friends and clubs.

The SEA-PAC Committee

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the SEA-PAC mail list, send your name, call sign preferred email address to info@seapac.org.

If you are seeing the November 2024 issue of the Waves, please refresh your browser cache.

NVIS Antenna build presentation by W7CRG

At the February LCARC club meeting, Chuck Gertulla, W7CRG presented a very informative program on the merits and ease of building a “Near Vertical Incidence Skywave” or NVIS antenna. The complete build documentation, as provided by DX Engineering, using their kit, or as a reference to build your own, can be viewed here. Chuck’s handout and synopsis of NVIS operation can be found here.

Cascadia Coastal Community HAM Net

Coastal communities in the Pacific Northwest have a lot in common. In coastal Cascadia many people live in small towns or rural areas, which are often isolated by terrain and everyday radio / cellphone dead zones. Natural disasters don’t stop at jurisdictional boundaries. During times of disaster and service interruption, the usual transportation corridors to and from the coast may be cut off — the nearest help may be located in an adjacent coastal community.

The Cascadia Coastal Community Amateur Radio Net was established in to facilitate ongoing interaction between coastal groups (or agencies) interested in emergency or disaster-related communication. The purpose of the net is to share information and to facilitate communication between coastal communities in AK, WA, OR and CA in order to build community awareness, prepare for interruption of services and disasters, and to enhance overall community resiliency.

Net participants are those interested in sharing information on upcoming emergency or disaster-related training events and opportunities (posted to a calendar on www.cascadiacoastalcoalition.org), as well as, summaries of actual events. Starting in March 2025, the net will be run on the first and third Thursday of each month at 13:30 Pacific time on Brandmeister ‘Western Oregon’ TG 31412.

This is a directed net. Check-ins will share information with other net participants. The net is open to all licensed amateurs who have an interest in emergency or disaster-related communications especially those associated with ARES/ RACES, Hospital Communication groups, Medical Reserve Corps, Community Emergency Response Teams, and neighborhood groups.

Although there are a few DMR repeaters in our area of interest, most participants can use hotspots to access the DMR network. In addition to the net, the Western Oregon talk group 31412 may be used as an evaluator back-channel during large-scale training events (e.g., Disaster Airlift Response Team drills, Cascadia Rising, IronOR). If you need help with DMR let us know. We also have a few DMR radios and hotspots to loan out for folks to become familiar with DMR amateur radio.

For more information see –

http://www.cascadiacoastalcoalition.org/ccc-events-2/