Wisconsin Association of Repeaters

Hello everyone. Just wanted to post that there have been cases where the information that WAR has in our database is no longer valid. If you or your organization has changed the primary contact, Holder of Coordination, phone number(s), as well as email and/or mailing address, please make sure to update us to those changes. Any correspondence that WAR sends usually goes to the primary contact, so if that has changed we definitely want to know.

Also, a reminder that the frequency pair that has been approved for you is based on the criteria that you submitted. If things have changed, i.e. new antenna, more power, changed PL/CTCSS, etc, then a updated form needs to be submitted to us BEFORE you actually make the change. The new criteria may cause an issue with another repeater on the same frequency, or even a repeater on a adjacent frequency, and we want to make sure that any possible interference is kept to a minimum. From our website, you can fill out a New/Modify Coordination form and send it to us via email or USPS.

Lastly, we are still looking for more volunteers to help with the organization. Please reach out to any of the board members, or Corey KB9BNA, for more information.

Other than that, I hope to hear many of you during the ARRL Field Day coming up June 22nd and 23rd.

Until next time, 73 de Dean KB7QDI

I have a couple things I’d like to bring up to all of you this month.

First, Rick W9RIX and myself went to visit the spring meeting of the Minnesota Repeater Council last month, and had a great time. The Chairman, Jay K5ZC, invited us to join him and his friend to both a great dinner at a local Fairmont restaurant known for its fish and seafood, as well as a superb breakfast at a small town diner nearby that definitely has a regular crowd every morning.

At the meeting, many of the same issues that we are addressing were discussed. One new item that Minnesota is doing is allowing RepeaterBook.com to use their repeater data from the website. The board has been asked to consider the same for Wisconsin. At our last board audio conference, we decided to continue the discussions, and bring our findings to the membership at the August meeting in Eau Claire. If you are able to attend, this would be a great opportunity to get your input on this as well.

The second item that I would like to talk about is the need for additional volunteers, specifically in our club Coordination Secretary committee. We have the great luxury to have someone like Corey KB9BNA to help with all the coordinations, as well as helping with all the other pieces that go along with that. That being said, the more people we have on that committee, the better it gets. The committee, and therefore the club, becomes more efficient, and it allows for more than just one person to take on all the responsibilities that the position requires. I ask all our members who have ever thought about helping with our club to reach out to anyone here on the board, or Corey, and let us know. Corey has put together a nice presentation before on what some of the position entails, and is willing to show anyone if their interested.

Basically, the last two years have proven that this organization works best for its members with more volunteers, not less.

Until next time, 73 de Dean KB7QDI

First of all, thank you for all who joined us at HRO last month for the Milwaukee membership meeting.  Many topics were discussed, including a few that, as a board, we are already following up on and implementing.  Special thanks to Ham Radio Outlet – not only for their generosity in allowing us to use their facilities, but also letting us stay a little longer so John N9UPC could give an impromptu meet and greet afterwards to help us further understand the new features of Yaesu Fusion as it relates to frequency coordination.

Our club secretary, Josh KC9WWH, has put on the main WAR web page the ability for anyone to sign up to get updates via email.  We will be using this email list to send you new posts (like this one I’m writing now), as well as notifications to when (and where) our next membership meetings will be held.  We encourage you to add your email address to the list.

Another one of our board members, Tony KT9AC, has listened to many of you on suggestions to making our updated band plan for the state even better, particularly on how we can encourage, yet minimize potential interference, from the wave of digital hotspots that more and more amateur operators are using.  Tony is working on those changes, and will even post a few Q and As in our web site FAQ section.  Look for something soon on this.

Rick W9RIX, Corey KB9BNA, and myself went to Champaign, Illinois this last weekend for the IRA annual meeting, and had a great time.  The group south of the border were fantastic hosts, including allowing us to join them for an outstanding meal at a local steak house that I’ll only describe as somewhere where you should never leave hungry.  At their meeting, many of the topics and issues addressed were similar to our own.  They are also working with WAR, and the other adjacent states, to maintain correspondence and sharing agreements that only make all the state coordinating bodies better.

Next week, Rick and myself plan on going to Willmar, Minnesota to visit their annual membership meeting as well.

Lastly, keep an eye on our web site for the date of our August membership meeting.  It is our intentions to have it in Eau Claire again this year, and we hope all of you can join us.

Until next time, 73 de Dean KB7QDI