About the Officers:
Mel Parkes, NM7P (ex AC7CP) is the current President of the Utah VHF Society. Mel, first licensed in New Mexico in 1991, now holds an extra class license and is a life member of the ARRL. Mel has also served with the Air
Force MARS State Director and net control for its Administrative net,
was the president of the Davis County ARC in 1996 and 1998, and
presently an ARRL VE (Volunteer Examiner) for the Davis County ARC.
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Vice President: Les Blades, W1UT Les was born in Montreal, Canada and shortly thereafter moved to NJ in 1953 where he grew up and finished high school. His first call sign as a novice was WN2MTX followed by WB2MTX while still in NJ and remembers going to the FCC office in Manhattan, NY to get his general class license. Since then he has held several call signs and got his current call in the mid-1990s. His father was a radio operator in the RCAF during World War II and was instrumental in helping him get into amateur radio. Les moved to Idaho in 1971 to attend Ricks College and worked at a radio station to help pay for school. Following a mission to Germany he finished school at BYU and has worked as an engineer in aerospace mainly on airplanes the flying public uses. He has lived in a number of places around the country including Seattle, near Washington DC, Pennsylvania and most recently for 30 years in northern Vermont. As a young man struggling through school he worked as a technician for a telemetry company back in NJ. It was there that he learned how to properly solder, build and test complicated electronic equipment although he had built kits and repaired old radios while still in high school. He enjoys building kits and restoring older ham radio equipment as well as dabbling in amateur photography. Les retired in 2015 and currently lives in Heber City, Utah. His wife Cynthia is also a ham (N1MGN) licensed back in the early 1980s but is rarely on the air. They moved back to Utah to be closer to their kids and grandkids. Les looks forward to trying to fill Don Blanchard’s massive shoes as your new vice president. |
Secretary: Mike Groves, KD7MG Mike was born and raised in
San Jose, CA, where he rode the
technology wave to eventually become a principle R&D engineer,
with emphasis on
designing RF/microwave power FET's and power amplifiers.
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Treasurer:
Danny R. Fullerton, KC7RUF Danny, KC7RUF, has been licensed since 1996 and he currently holds a General Class license - and is currently working on getting his Extra. Danny became interested in Amateur Radio several years ago when helping with the MS bike race, after amateur radio in action. Since then, was joined in the hobby by is wife, Mary (KC7YLY) and his son-in-law, Gabe (KD7OGN.) Danny works as a driver for Cream O' Weber dairy, and in his free time he gets involved with many of the aspects of Amateur Radio's community involvement - such as the Pioneer Day Parade, the Wasatch 100 marathon run, and (of course) the event that introduced him to to Amateur Radio, the MS bike race. Danny is also involved with RACES and ERRS - organizations that train to provide communications during emergencies - training that came in handy as Danny helped out in the aftermath of the 1999 tornado and the Riverdale flood. Danny is currently a net manager for the UVHFS Swap net as well as having duties on the weekly UARC Information Net (Sundays at 9 PM on the 146.62 repeater) in addition to being the UVHFS Treasurer. As if that weren't enough to do, he also helped in organizing and executing the 2002 Utah Hamfest. Danny is also a lifetime member of the ARRL. If you have a question as to whether or not your UVHFS membership check has cleared, Danny is the one who can find out. He may be reached at home at (801) 301-0162 during "normal" hours (that is, not after 10 pm!) |
John Lloyd, K7JL, is the
current Frequency Coordinator
for the Utah VHF Society. In this position, John is the
clearinghouse for repeater information and frequency utilization within
the state of Utah for the amateur VHF, UHF, and microwave
bands. More than half a century of field experience
gives John an extensive knowledge equipment operation, repair, and
modification, as well as practical knowledge pertaining to propagation
and the identification and resolution of interference issues. John obtained his first
license when he was in Jr. High School in 1967 and, by 1970 (in High
School) he upgraded to an extra class. John has been
president of the VHF Society and was DARS (Deseret Amateur Radio
Society) president for 2000-2001, and is a life member of the
ARRL. John is the primary force behind the Intermountain Intertie
(a.k.a. the "Snowbird Link System") being the one who usually does the
installation, repair, and maintenance of these (and other) affiliated
repeaters along the Wasatch Front. Some of John's other interests
include Scouting as well as building even more
repeaters. For questions regarding frequency coordination issues or about the Intermountain Intertie, you may contact John at: Utah VHF Society Frequency CoordinatorIf you interested in putting up a repeater or are considering use of a frequency in a way that might affect other users, please contact John. Information about repeater coordination and related topics may be found on the Frequency Coordination page. |
Vice
President: Don Blanchard, WA7GTU (SK)
It is with deep regret that we note the passing of long-time Utah VHF Society officer and member, Don Blanchard, WA7GTU of Cedar City who passed away at his Cedar City home on the morning of Saturday, 4 September, 2021.
Don was well known throughout Utah - and the amateur radio community in general, helping many, many people get on the air, and he had been a key figure in getting one of the first repeaters (WR7AAA) on the air in Utah - and keeping many others on the air over more than five decades. As long-time vice-president of the Utah VHF Society, he has had a wide range influence - not only in south and central Utah, but everywhere the Intermountain Intertie has reached.
Don's technical skills, generosity and enthusiasm will be missed.
Don's obituary may be found here.
Don Blanchard received the
call WA7GTU in January of 1967 and has been an active amateur ever
since that time and currently has an extra class license. His
wife Linda, WA7VIN, has a general class license and tells people she
got her license in BC (Before Children) - otherwise it may not have
happened. Don became a Net Control Station for the Beehive
Utah Net shortly after he was first licensed and served twice for short
times as the Acting Net Manager.
Don retired from Southern Utah University in 2002 where he
was a Professor of Electronic Engineering Technology for 38 years and
served twice as Chairman of the Technology and Criminal Justice
Department. He continues to do consulting work in
radio broadcasting.
He has built many repeaters and was instrumental in helping to develop
the Intermountain Intertie (a.k.a. "Snowbird") link system, which he
continues to help maintain. His other hobbies include flying radio
controlled model airplanes, SCUBA Diving, Skiing, Astronomy, and
Genealogy.
Officer
Emeritus: John Mabey, W7CWK (SK)
John Mabey, W7CWK, was the long-time secretary of the Utah Vhf Society
and was most recently in an advisory position. First licensed in
1954 (or 1955 - he wasn't sure of the year) John held an Extra Class
License. John was one of the five original hams that started
the Utah VHF Society and has served in other UVHFS positions, including Frequency
Coordinator. Some of John's amateur interests were homebrew (of
radio/electronic) equipment, public service, and emergency
communications. John had also been the "Simplex
Frequency Manager" for the Wasatch Front (see this
page for more info.)
This page updated on 20220301
Questions, updates, or comments pertaining to this web page may be directed to: uvhfs@utahvhfs.org
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