Welcome
Welcome to the home of the Clairemont Repeater Association.
CLARA is a non-profit service organization serving most of the Southern California Amateur Radio area. Visitors are welcome to use our repeater systems for short QSOs as long as they practice courteous and considerate operating procedures. Join us if you are looking for a great repeater group, want to expand your Amateur Radio experiences, and would like to make friends along the way. Learn more.
IMPORTANT:
CLARA has a new PayPal address. See the Membership page for details.
Upcoming Events:
October 19: CLARA tailgate party
November 9: Tram Scramble Hike
November 16: CLARA breakfast
News
September Breakfast
September 21, 2024
Here are highlights from the September CLARA breakfast:
- Steve, K6ITR, updated everyone on the status of the repeater after the Airport Fire.
- Dale, WE6ER, and Bobby, KD6IOW, announced that CLARA Members and Associates now have access to a Digital Voice Fusion 440 repeater on Santiago Peak that is linked with the SoCal Link network through a mutual agreement with HUARC. See the About page for details.
- Dale, WE6ER, led a discussion on what members would like to see the club do in the future. Various activities were discussed, including volunteer radio support for races or events, amateur radio test sessions, and outreach to local colleges. Stay tuned as plans solidify.
- The October tailgate party will be in Corona. See the sidebar for details.
- Join CLARA members and friends for the first-ever Tram Scramble hike at San Jacinto mountain on November 9th. See the sidebar for details.
- Congratulations to the lucky raffle winners:
- Carl, KO6BUB, won a Field Day pin.
- Todd, KI6RBW, won a KD6DDM hat.
- HUARC guest Fred won a security system and the cash prize.
- Thank you to Todd, KI6RBW, for donating the security system, and to Dave, KD6DDM, for donating the hat.
CLARA Repeaters Back Online
September 19, 2024
Here is a followup message from CLARA Trustee Steve, K6ITR, on September 18th:
The CLARA repeater site is back on line. The Airport Fire damaged several utility poles and power lines that provide power to Santiago Peak. Because of this, power had been cut to the peak. Today, Edison set up a number of generators on the peak that are providing power to the equipment that was not damaged by the fire. Because our equipment came back on line, we know that it was not damaged by the fire. This is good news, because at this time, access to Santiago Peak is restricted and requires fire department escorts. We will eventually be able to visit the site, but it may be quite some time before we have access. While Santiago Peak currently has generators providing power, we don't know if there will be interruptions. So our best bet is to use the repeaters while we have access, with the understanding that there may be outages. We don't know when power will be permanently restored, because it involves Edison repairing the damaged utility poles and transmission lines in very rugged terrain. CLARA is grateful to the fire crews for protecting Santiago Peak during the Airport Fire, and to the crews that restored power to the equipment there. Thank you for being patient during this outage.
CLARA Repeaters Down due to Airport Fire
September 15, 2024
Here is a message from CLARA Trustee Steve, K6ITR, on September 14th:
As you may know, the recent Airport Fire came very close to our repeater site on Santiago Peak, and at times was only a few feet from it. The fire crews that were dispatched both on the ground and in the air did a phenomenal job of protecting the structures and equipment located there. The Airport Fire is still an active incident, and at this time is not contained. Our first concern is for the safety of the crews and the people impacted by this fire and the others across California.
The power to our repeater site has not been restored, which is keeping our repeaters on Santiago Peak off-line. We do not know when the power will be restored. We also don't know if the power lines to the site were damaged, turned off as a precaution, or both. Access to the repeater site is currently restricted, so we are unable to assess the condition of the site and our equipment. From the camera views we can see, the site looks intact, but we are unable to verify beyond that. As close as the fire got to the site, there may be damage we cannot see. As we get more information, we will advise the members and associates.
We will still be having our September CLARA Breakfast meeting on September 21 as usual, as well as the October Tailgate Pizza Party in Corona. Thank you all for your patience, and hopefully we'll be back on the air soon.
Fire threatens Santiago Peak on September 10th
Photo credit goes to UC San Diego’s ALERTCalifornia camera network
August Tailgate Party
August 17, 2024
Clara's bi-monthly tailgate party was August 17th in Tustin. It was a fun event, with lots of delicious homemade cookies.
Photo credit goes to Darcy, WI6ORG.
July Breakfast
July 20, 2024
Here are highlights from the July 20th CLARA breakfast:
- The annual election was held. Congratulations to the new and re-elected board members:
- President - Dale, WE6ER
- First Vice President - Eric, K6EDK
- Second Vice President - George, KM6AFI
- Secretary - Dave, W6DLR
- Treasurer - Jeff, N6JSV
- First Member at Large - Bob, KD6IOW
- Second Member at Large - Brian, AG6UH
- Third Member at Large - Vaughn, KE6V
Steve, K6ITR, continues as the CLARA trustee. - Outgoing president Jade, K6JDJ, thanked everyone for their support and involvement for the past year, and the group thanked her for her service.
- Steve, K6ITR, updated the group that the tech team has done some tuning for the settings on the new repeater, that it is sounding pretty good, and to let him or the tech team know of any issues.
- Dave, W6DLR, covered results from Field Day 2024.
- Incoming president Dale, WE6ER, asked everyone to think about goals for the upcoming year, for discussion at the next breakfast meeting in September.
- Congratulations to the lucky raffle winners:
- Todd, KI6RBW, won a compass
- Joe, KM6RPA, and Alex, KJ6RUB won headlamps
- Darcy, WI6ORG, won a sun hat
- Jeff, N6JSV, won the Luxe bidet
- Mike, N6QG, won the alternate prize of Charmin Ultra Soft
- Garrett, KN6NYR, won a $150 gift certificate to Ham Radio Outlet
- Thank you to Eric, K6EDK, and Jade, K6JDJ, for donating the bidet, hat, compass, and headlamps for the raffle. (And thank you to Vaughn, KE6V, for donating the Charmin.)
Updates
July 2, 2024
The annual election for the CLARA Board will be held at the July 20th CLARA breakfast. In order to vote, Clara Members must have paid their yearly dues, which are due July 1st. Rumor has it there will be some cool raffle prizes at the July breakfast meeting, in addition to the HRO certificate. Come and see!
On July 27th, the CLARA 2-meter repeater will be used to coordinate the Harding Hustle 15K, 30K, and 50K trail run from around 5am to noon. Please allow this group uninterrupted access to the repeater during the event.
Field Day 2024
June 22, 2024
For ARRL Field Day this year, CLARA members, friends, and family spent the weekend camping at Rolling M Ranch campground in Chino Hills. It was a hot but fun weekend. All together we made more than 90 contacts using the club call sign, N6CRA.
Photo credit goes to Garrett, KN6NYR, Dave, W6DLR, Jade, K6JDJ, Steve, K6ITR, and Darcy, WI6ORG.
Tailgate Videos
June 21, 2023
Check out these videos of some of our talented CLARA members at the last tailgate party. Thanks to Bill, KN6SMP, for taking and sharing the videos.
June Tailgate Party
June 15, 2024
Clara held the bi-monthly tailgate party on June 15th in Tustin. It was a fun event, with 26 people, 4 dogs, lots of treats, and live music.
Photo credit goes to Darcy, WI6ORG, and Dave, W6DLR.
Ham Scramble 2024
May 25, 2024
It was a beautiful day on Mount Baldy! More than 20 CLARA members, friends, and family met for the annual Ham Scramble on the Saturday before Memorial Day. Kyle, KY6LE, carried a 50+ pound pack to the summit, where he served pulled pork sandwiches to those who summited. Bob, KD6IOW, carried his snowboard to the top and enjoyed a ride down the snowy saddle. After the hike, everyone met at Top of the Notch for snacks, drinks, and stories. It was a great day all around.
Photo credit goes to Alex, KJ6RUB; Jade, K6JDJ; Steve, K6ITR; Garrett, KN6NYR; and Darcy, WI6ORG.
May Breakfast
May 18, 2024
The bi-monthly breakfast meeting on May 18th was well attended. Here are some highlights:
- Jade, K6JDJ, thanked everyone for participating on the radio and at events, invited everyone to the next tailgate party on June 15th in Tustin, and also to join the annual Ham Scramble hike at Mount Baldy on Saturday May 25th. See the sidebar for details.
- Dave, W6DLR, covered plans for ARRL Field Day 2024 (June 22), a weekend camping trip at Rolling M Ranch Campground in Chino Hills State Park. See the sidebar for details.
- Steve, K6ITR, updated the group that a new 2-meter repeater was installed on Friday on Santiago Peak in place of the old one. He explained that it is and will remain an analog repeater.
- The proposed updates to the CLARA Operating Procedures passed by a unanimous vote of the members present at the meeting. The Operating Procedures are now available online from the bottom of the Membership page.
- Eric, K6EDK, updated the group that starting in June, he will be hosting the Trivia Net only on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.
- Congratulations to Kevin, AJ6EE, Peter, WD6DVT, and Ruben, KN6ZJM, who were voted in as Members.
- Congratulations to the lucky raffle winners:
- Alex, KJ6RUB, and George, KM6AFI, won hats from Bass Pro Shops.
- Kate, K6KTY, won a Luxe bidet.
- Jade, K6JDJ, won a $150 gift certificate to Ham Radio Outlet.
- Thank you to Eric, K6EDK, and Jade, K6JDJ, for donating the bidet and hats for the raffle.
April Tailgate Party
April 22, 2024
CLARA held a tailgate party on April 20th in Corona, complete with friends, live music, and a few dogs.
Photo credit goes to Stuart, AK6ET, Jade, K6JDJ, and Steve, K6ITR.