The Southern Oregon Amateur Radio Club (SOARC) is a general-purpose amateur radio club serving Josephine County, Oregon, which includes the city of Grants Pass. We are an ARRL-affiliated Special Service Club. Anyone interested in amateur radio is invited to attend club meetings. Club meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at 7 PM at the Fruitdale Grange, at 1440 Parkdale Drive in Grants Pass, for all months except December.
The club operates two 2-meter FM repeaters which are open for use by anyone. SOARC Repeaters, (K7LIX): 146.640 MHz (-) and 147.300 MHz (+). The CTCSS tone (aka PL tone) is 136.5 Hz for both repeaters. The 147.300 (+) repeater has been more reliable, and is therefore considered to be the primary repeater. An ARES/NTS net is held on Monday evenings at 7:30 PM local time, generally on the 147.300 (+) repeater. All licensed amateur radio operators are welcome to check into the weekly net.
The club also operates a D-STAR repeater on Mount Fielder, serving the cities of Grants Pass and Rogue River, and eastern parts of Medford. The D-STAR repeater has callsign KE7LKX and is on 440.4625 MHz (+) on the B node. All licensed amateurs currently registered with the D-STAR system are invited to use the repeater. Visitors are welcome to link the repeater to a reflector if the repeater isn't being used, but are asked to unlink the repeater or link it to reflector 14C when they have finished.
The club participates in the disaster preparedness exercise and operating activity known as Field Day, held annually on the fourth full weekend in June. Participants are encouraged to set up temporary stations under emergency power and make contacts with as many other participating stations as possible. The club sets up several stations powered by solar panels, batteries, and generators at a local park. Anyone curious about amateur radio is encouraged to stop by during Field Day to observe the club in action, or even to participate in the fun (with the help of a licensed control operator)! The radios are operated from 11 AM Saturday morning to 11 AM Sunday morning.
Many club members support the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, serving Josephine County and the State of Oregon for emergency communications. Club members also support many community service events, including Boatnik, the Josephine County Youth Tree Plant, and CROPWALK.
For more information about the club, please contact our President, Steve Porter WA6YSM, at 659-5648 or sisqsteve at gmail dot com.
Mailing address:
SOARC
PO Box 1164
Grants Pass OR 97528-0096
For club members, there is an email mailing list hosted by groups.io. Go to https://groups.io/g/SOARC if you'd like to join the mailing list.
Page updated 2022-07-21