Join us for the 50th annual Pinecrest Run! The five-mile winds through the roads of Pinecrest and along the shores of Pinecrest Lake. The one mile is a quick race on pavement. This is a fundraiser event for Pinecrest Expedition Academy, our local private school. Sorry, pets are not allowed in the race. Get registered today!

TCARES GMRS licensees are being asked to provide volunteer radio support for the 1 mile, and 5 mile races. This is Tuolumne County’s oldest, continually running foot race. We can use 5 or 6 volunteers. As we learned last year a couple of places have a hard time reaching the Pinecrest repeater, so we will be operating on simplex, and also using GMRS. This will be a good chance to work the Strawberry GMRS repeater.

Contact Rich Combs, KK6RIC/WRMM317, at combsrichard@sbcglobal.net if you have questions.

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His years growing up were rich with the closeness of family and many beloved cousins that doubled as best friends!

He grew up working hard with his family in the peach orchards and on the ranch. And from a very early age, Wally pursed a God-given love of electronics and communications, building mail-order radio kits and components. Wally used to say he was “born with electrons in his blood”! 

Although Wally experienced the tragic loss of his father and then older sister at a young age, he always had the God-given gift of optimism and a grateful heart!

Wally graduated from Livingston High School; took courses in electronics at Modesto Junior College; received his FCC certification in communications; and served in the USAF Reserves/California Air National Guard specializing in radio communications. 

Starting in his teen years, Wally pursued his love of wireless communications through the hobby of amateur radio, raising in license status to General Class with an FCC call sign of W6FEJ.  He continued his love of Amateur Radio (‘Ham Radio’) throughout his life, including building and providing/maintaining infrastructure equipment for his local club, who comprised many of his closest friends in the valley and up in the hills.

In 1968 Wally married the love of his life, Carolyn Louise Smith, in Atwater, CA. They both had been given grace to wait for God’s choice…and the Lord blessed them ABUNDANTLY in a marriage of more than 55 years!

In 1968 they built a home on Wally’s family ranch and moved in as newlyweds. Carolyn worked as a cosmetologist and Wally worked as a two-way radio communications technician for Mobile Communications in Merced. Wally also drove A.M. school bus routes (which he began at age 18) for Livingston High School District, and then later Atwater High School District; and in his ‘spare time’ he continued to repair televisions and install towers and antennas (as he had done for many years) for relatives, friends, neighbors, etc.

In 1970 Wally and Carolyn welcomed their firstborn daughter, Kelly Lee. Kelly shares in the same clever and funny ‘wit’ that Wally is known for.  

In 1972 Wally and Carolyn welcomed their second daughter, Heidi Lee.  She, like her father, has a cheery nature and loves to talk! Heidi and Wally shared in the business of communications, which in later years led to the Lord’s gift to Wally of Deputy Sheriff Jeff Perlewitz (N6FEJ) as his son-in-law.  

Wally and Carolyn always partnered together, working hard to love and serve others. In 1979, this spirit of partnership led them to move the family to the Sierra foothills (“God’s country” as Wally called it) to start their business Columbia Communications & Avionics, which later evolved to Columbia Communications, Inc.  They have worked with many treasured and beloved partners & staff members along the ongoing journey.

Wally and Carolyn worked VERY hard together through both tough and abundant times, to grow both a family and a business successfully!

Since 1979, Wally has been a pioneering force in engineering and providing wireless communications serving the Sierra Foothills communities, including public safety, education and private industry!

Through long hours and unwavering commitment, Wally rode in helicopters, hiked miles through snow, and even rode mules – anything needed so that those serving and protecting others could communicate!

Wally and Carolyn are so proud of the present staff of Columbia Communications, Inc. who continue to serve the Foothill communities with that same standard and representation.

Wally was also active for many years serving through the Sonora Lyons Club, where he & Carolyn made many more cherished friends.

Wally lived this life as a GENEROUS man of FAITH, joyful and funny (and sometimes onery).  

Wally is WEALTHY in God’s gifts of family, as well as all those treasured friends who are family to him.

Wally’s ‘FATHER’S HEART’ covered, protected, provided for, and loved many, far beyond his two daughters and son-in-law!

Wally is a man whose true citizenship has always been in the Kingdom of God, and as of February 12th, 2024, Heaven is where he now resides!  

You are warmly invited to celebrate the life and Homegoing of Wally:

Friday, April 12^th

1:00 p.m. (*See below)

1:30 p.m. (Celebration of Life service)

Sierra Bible Church

15171 Tuolumne Rd.

Sonora, CA

*You are also invited to come early at 1:00 p.m and join the family, joyfully worshiping the Lord in music and song.

**Because Wally loved life, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Foothill Pregnancy Center at www.fpcsonora.com

The post W6FEJ – Wally – Silent Key – Service April 12 appeared first on TCARES.

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Residents of Tuolumne County interested in Fire Safety and Emergency Communications are invited to an online presentation by Alan Thompson, Satellite Internet Field Engineer of El Dorado Networks of Placerville. Alan helped restore Internet service at several downed cell-phone towers in Paradise shortly after the Camp Fire. What he saw there and learned later about the colossal emergency communications failures during the fire, turned him into an “Accidental Advocate” for fire safety and communications resilience. Since 2019, Alan has given over 100 presentations before Civic Groups, Fire-safe Councils and Homeowners’ Associations, detailing the clear and present danger we now face from an over-dependence on vulnerable Internet and telecom services, and the urgent need for backup emergency-communications systems.

This will be a 45-minute online presentation via Zoom on Monday, November 22nd , time is 4 PM. Those interested should email Rich Combs at richsfpd@gmail.com, and he will send you a link to the meeting and the time. Please don’t wait until the last minute! You can ask questions at the same address.

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The post Linked Repeaters Explained appeared first on TCARES.

HOW TO USE: Find all the frequencies for the system.

Background

For more than several decades, TCARES has established and maintained five repeaters across Tuolumne County. We have recently finished an inspection and survey of the systems and performed some FCC licensing updates as well as renewing some repeater coordinations with NARCC. You can view our current repeater set up here.

While the repeaters are holding up fairly well, especially for such old installations. we determined that Tuolumne County could be better served. Currently, someone trying to get help from the wilderness, may find no-one listening on an isolated repeater. TCARES members are advocating we upgrade our system with a linked system so that effective communications from remote locations are achievable and reliable. The result should be a very impressive network for emergency communications!

In late 2019, the TCARES Board of Directors approved a plan to research linking some repeaters together so communication is possible across linked repeaters between remote regions of the vast terrain of Tuolumne County’s 2,200+ square miles of hilly and Alp like mountainous terrain. Communications can also work from as far as parts of the Bay Area and extreme north and south of the Central Valley.

The Project Research

As part of the research, Greg, WA6HNA, performed a propagation survey via software. He layered each repeater together in a single graphic showing wide coverage when all three repeaters are used together. Greg presented the linking concept during the January 2020 American Red Cross Ham Radio Workshop in Sonora.

Additionally, Greg, Phil WB6GGY, Craig KM6NCU and Rich KN6HSR have each been meeting with repeater location sponsors and trustees: Tuolumne County OES, Mi-Wuk Sugar Pine Fire Station, Dodge Ridge Ski Resort, Tuolumne Utilities District, and Columbia College STEM to review existing agreements and memorandums, update them or create new ones.

The current plan involves both adding a linking capability, plus moving two repeaters. The Telegraph Hill repeater will be relocated to the 6,000 foot elevation Duckwall location. The current Mt Lewis repeater (.115/HUH) will be relocated to the Mi-Wuk Fire Station.

If you would like to see a google Earth tour of the existing and planned locations, watch this video, and scroll down further to learn more about the project and how you can participate.

DONATE Direct link to Pay Pal / Credit Card page.

Simulation Tour of the Planned System

Duckwall Mountain Site Visit

The Moccasin and Dodge Ridge sites have been in place for a very long time. Duckwall Mountain will be our next location. A site tour was arranged and Greg, Jerry, Marc, Todd and Gabe all visited the Hetch Hetchy controlled communications site at the summit of Duckwall Mountain.

During the site visit, the team inspected the rack space and determined where TCARES would be placed, which battery we can utilize, where we would mount the antennas and where the feed line would run into the vault. After final approval MOU is provided by County OES, we will be ready for the installation project.

TCARES and the County OES both agreed that TCARES can provide members from time-to-time to assist with work at the location to provide a safety person or perform soldering, etc.

Greg performed an airborne survey at 7000′ above Duck Wall to verify that 147.945 won’t be conflicting with other nearby repeaters with success.

Remaining Project Tasks

• Finalize and test the Hub repeater and controller
• Test the link with the current Telegraph Hill 2 meter repeater
• Finalize MOU with County OES
• Perform Duck Wall Installation as 147.945 repeater and link hub.
• Turn Down Telegraph Hill Repeater
• Relocate MT Lewis (.115/HUH) repeater to Mi-Wuk Fire Station
• Develop MOU with Dodge Ridge for regular access
• Update Dodge Ridge repeater to join the linked system.
• Finalize and test full syatem
• Educate the local Amateur Radio Community on how to use the new system.

How you can help!

We have several ways you can help get this project finished this year.

• Make a donation of any size Online via above DONATE button.
• Write a check to TCARES, Inc for any amount, write “Repeater Fund” in the memo and mail it in to our PO Box.
  • TCARES PO BOX 3555, Sonora CA, 95370
• Let us know about some Amateur Radio gear you would like to donate to the club. We are able to re-sell it and donate the proceeds to the Repeater Fund.
• Associate your Amazon Account to our Smiles account and we will get a percentage of your spending donated to our club.
• Spread the word!!!

If you have a donation of gear, please complete the following form, Thank You!

UPDATE: Here’s the new TCARES Pinecrest/Dodge Ridge repeater undergoing testing and bring-up at the WA6HNA QTH

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The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) announcement reads:

The ARISS team is pleased to announce that set up and installation of the first element of our next generation radio system was completed and amateur radio operations with it are now underway. This first element, dubbed the InterOperable Radio System (IORS), was installed in the International Space Station Columbus module. The IORS replaces the Ericsson radio system and packet module that were originally certified for spaceflight on July 26, 2000.

Initial operation of the new radio system is in FM cross band repeater mode using an uplink frequency of 145.990 MHz with an access tone [CTCSS] of 67 Hz and a downlink frequency of 437.800 MHz. System activation was first observed at 01:02 UTC on September 2. Special operations will continue to be announced.

The IORS was launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 6, 2020 on board the SpaceX CRS-20 resupply mission. It consists of a special, space-modified JVC Kenwood D710GA transceiver, an ARISS developed multi-voltage power supply and interconnecting cables. The design, development, fabrication, testing, and launch of the first IORS was an incredible five-year engineering achievement accomplished by the ARISS hardware volunteer team. It will enable new, exciting capabilities for ham radio operators, students, and the general public. Capabilities include a higher power radio, voice repeater, digital packet radio (APRS) capabilities and a Kenwood VC-H1 slow scan television (SSTV) system.

A second IORS undergoes flight certification and will be launched later for installation in the Russian Service module. This second system enables dual, simultaneous operations, (e.g. voice repeater and APRS packet), providing diverse opportunities for radio amateurs. It also provides on-orbit redundancy to ensure continuous operations in the event of an IORS component failure.

Next-gen development efforts continue. For the IORS, parts are being procured and a total of ten systems are being fabricated to support flight, additional flight spares, ground testing and astronaut training. Follow-on next generation radio system elements include an L-band repeater uplink capability, currently in development, and a flight Raspberry-Pi, dubbed “ARISS-Pi,” that is just beginning the design phase. The ARISS-Pi promises operations autonomy and enhanced SSTV operations.

ARISS is run almost entirely by volunteers, and with the help of generous contributions from ARISS sponsors and individuals. Donations to the ARISS program for next generation hardware developments, operations, education, and administration are welcome — please go to https://www.ariss.org/donate.html to contribute to these efforts.

ARISS–Celebrating 20 years of continuous amateur radio operations on the ISS!

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