First, some history. The original station was set up by K7CWA, Warren, with the help of N7OKN, John, and N7VAT, Ron. Warren, John and Ron were/are employees of The Salvation Army Headquarters in Phoenix. We were able to obtain a room for the station in an out-building that had once been a small hotel cottage room when the property was the Sands Hotel, before The Salvation Army bought the property. The out-building was in very poor shape with plumbing gone and disconnected, roof leaking and bug infested. We were able to improve the room to a point where we were able to set up our radio station. The equipment, including the tower and a beam, were obtained in an estate sale from a local SATERN member who passed away from a sudden heart attack. K7CWA purchased a used legal limit power amplifier at his own expense and donated it to the station. As we found out, the beam could not take the power and the multi-band traps were destroyed. The beam was replaced with a full power capable beam and the station was able to put out a world-class signal. If communication was possible, we could do it.

The building was scheduled for demolition and in due time was demolished. The slab was left in place, along with the tower and beam. During this time K7CWA retired and took some of his personal equipment back, and interest in the station was not great so little happened for an extended period. Mr. Jim Puza (KE7APB)accepted the position as the Divisional Disaster Services Coordinator and between Jim and Warren, and other interested parties, an effort was made to get the station operational. When the building was demolished, Jim took all of the equipment and stored it in his office, so it remains.

A big break came when FEMA made available surplus trailers following the Katrina Hurricane response (another story in itself). Anyhow, in due time we actually got a trailer that we will move onto the slab next to the tower, and we will remodel the trailer to a point where we can have our station operational again, and support major disaster communications. Getting the trailer has prompted me to write this (mid-August 2007) and I am posting the first pictures of the trailer before it is moved onto the slab and before any remodling has been done. A group of us will be deciding just what to do, then we (SATERN volunteers) will go to work to make this trailer a self-contained headquarters communications amateur radio station.

We are at the starting point... we have the trailer in our possession. Click on the small pictures to get the large, high resolution picture.

Note: In the picture that shows the table, that section pushes out to the side, about 4 or 5 feet, expanding the room quite a bit.

[ much later ]

If you look at the trailer pictures where you see the bed, that was all removed and the bedroom was converted with tables and chairs, and equipment is in place, and the station became operational

The station was on the air for a time but alas a storm sent a wind gust that folded over the free-standing tower and laid half of the tower over the top of the trailer. The beam was saved, disassembled and stored and the tower removed. No antennas, no operating station. The tower also held up the center of a G5RV dipole type antenna that covered 40 and 20 Meters, and of course that came down with the tower.

One fact of life is that in The Salvation Army there is an awsome amount of red tape and nothing moves quickly. A budget has been approved to purchase and install a new tower and the last word I had was that it would be up soon. Since I (K7CWA) retired I now live more than 21 miles from DHQ and I do not get by there often, so at this writing (just before Field Day 2009) I do not know if the tower is in place yet. Nobody has contacted me to accept my offer to come and help get the station operational again. I am quite sure that the station will become operational once again, but as I said before, progress is S-L-O-W and I am no longer a principle player in this project.

Some pictures of before the tower fell.

More pictures will be added as we make progress and I have a chance to document it.