B. R. "Ray" Chambers, W7KOS Memorial

Ray Chambers recently passed away following a period of failing health.  Ray will be sorely missed in the East Valley.  Ray was the technical repeater advisor from 1990 to 2005 for WB7TJD.  He endorsed the use of the Motorola MICOR line fashioned into repeaters for 2 meters and 70 cm.  He leaves behind his wife Dee, who is also licensed as WB7ULY, along with a daughter and four sons.

His commercial experience was invaluable when the Club moved the 147.12 repeater to the Signal Peak area near Globe, with a 150 mile circle of coverage from 1992 to 1995.  With coverage from the La Paz county line west of Phoenix to the Pinetop and Show Low localities in northeastern Arizona, WB7TJD/R served a wide area, reaching new members and fostering a friendly relationship with the Globe hams that frequented our Club picnics.

Ray continued to guide the Club as we made the transition from the mountaintop to a local ground-based repeater, and solidified our repeater service with purchase of the Motorola base station "Big Boy" repeater at the Stone Castle.  This allowed for nets to operate over 3 hours continuously, key down, with excellent service, as it continues today.

The same practices that went in to the 2 meter Big Boy were also implemented in the set-up of the Big Boy commercial-grade repeater for the 449.60.  That repeater is about to be deployed in coming weeks by a vote of the club in its February 2007 general membership meeting.  This move will allow for full utilization of 449.60 by our nets on a radio designed for full-time repeater service.

Amateur Radio and Work history

Ray Chanbers also maintained the 146.80 autopatch repeater at his home just west of the city of Apache Junction, together with his wife Dee, WB7ULY.

W7KOS has also been Director of Arizona State Army MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System) since 1989, while self-employed as a Consultant and facilitator for quality issues since 1988.

His prior work experience includes Motorola's Government Electronics Division in Chandler, Bell Aerospace, Textron's Electronic Test Department in Tucson, the U.S. Army's Electronic Proving Ground in Ft. Huachuca, and Lockheed Electronics Company's Electronic Test Department in Tucson.

Military Service

Ray Chambers served in the military from 1951-1971, and is a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars.  He served in General and Special Staff positions within Special Forces for Signal Plans, Operations, Frequency Prediction and Propagation.   He trained personnel in radio operations and performed duty of Signal Officer (J-8).

A debt of thanks

We owe a debt of thanks to Ray Chambers, for his help and encouragement in helping us put together a repeater system that we could be especially proud of.  He wasn't as well known among our members as he was within the technical committee that was headed by Neil Leverance, K9ZSR.  Ray did not regularly attend meetings, but he was willing to lend his expertise and valued advice.

Credits

I want to thank Neil Leverance, K9ZSR, for providing me with a write-up and including Ray Chambers' resume, which I relied upon to write this page.  His e-mail notice is dated Feb 24, 2007.