Next Club Meeting

The next W9PVR club meeting will be held Monday, December 9th, 7:00PM. Our normal monthly meetings are held at Galaxie Skate Center, located at 1215 E Haseltine St, Richland Center, WI 53581. This will be our Christmas meeting, doors will open at 5:00PM. Or, you can click on the Zoom link below (only visible a few days before the meeting).

Join on Zoom
Greetings to all amateur radio enthusiasts!
My name is Mike Kaufman (WB9SLI), and I am the current president of our Richland Center amateur radio club–Pine Valley Repeater Amateur Radio Club (W9PVR).  I have been a licensed amateur radio operator for over 50 years.  I was one of the original members to start this Club along with Richard Neumann, Carl Syvertson, Gus Slayback, and Cliff Wilson.  We currently have 25 members, and I would like to encourage anyone with an interest in radio communications to attend one of our meetings, meet our group, and become a member.
There are different levels of licenses, which can be obtained through studying material and passing tests.  Each level of license has certain frequencies and modes, which can be used by the licensed operator.  The higher the level of license that a person has, the more frequencies the operator can communicate on.  Whether a person has achieved the Technician level, the General level, or the highest level of the Extra class license, there are so many possibilities for that operator to enjoy whether it be in the VHF, UHF or HF frequencies.
Today’s newer technology has introduced us to new modes of communication including digital (D-Star, Fusion, DMR, P25).  I would like to encourage and challenge each person viewing our W9PVR website to learn more about our amateur radio world—it is an enjoyable hobby for any age of person.  Amateur radio is also an important method of communication in times of storm and disaster-related events.  Please consider joining our Club and being a part of a group dedicated to preserving the amateur radio world.
Mike Kaufman (WB9SLI)
W9PVR Club Pesident

It was back in the late ’70’s when Mike Kaufman, John Kaul, Carl Syvertson, Gus Slayback, and Cliff Wilson organized the first repeater organization. They received their incorporation papers in October of 1980. They called themselves the Pine Valley Repeater, LTD. Although they received their Incorporation paper, they did not pursue or obtain their 501(c)(3) tax status. They did, however, obtain access to a site of land for their repeater station from Ray and Grace Householder, which also included the Richland Electric Corporation and the Richland Hospital. The site is on top of Quarry Hill on County N. After a few years of activity, the Pine Valley Repeater, LTD, became inactive. Mike Kaufman, however, continued to maintain and upgrade the amateur radio repeater equipment.

It was in June, 2004, when some licensed hams received an email from Chris Kanable inviting them to meet with him and Lori Schlafer, then Emergency Management Coordinator, to discuss becoming involved with ARES/RACES. In June, 2004, Chris, Bob Naegele, Dick Neumann, and Mike Kaufman reactivated the Pine Valley Repeater, LTD. There was much work to do to upgrade the incorporation papers, and the organization became known as the Pine Valley Repeater ARES/RACES Amateur Radio Club. Soon, Glen Dunne received his ham license and became a member of the group.

The Constitution and By-laws had to be upgraded to meet the State Corporation and the IRS requirements before receiving our 501(c)(3) tax status, and Mike, Bob, Dick, and Glen proceeded to get this done. Chris was away from home attending school in Fennimore. It was discovered that our State Corporation papers were in delinquency status because the yearly fee hadn’t been paid. Mike, Bob, Dick, and Glen each contributed money to get the corporation papers upgraded and in good standing because the PVR didn’t have any money at that time. The same four hams each contributed $125 to meet the IRS fee of $500 to receive the 501(c)(3) Letter of Determination … and for the same reason.

To attract more people to become hams, the PVR organization conducted classes for people to obtain their entry level license, the Tech license. Because of that, our roster began to grow. From 4 original hams that reactivated the group, we now have 20+ members. We now own and maintain a communications trailer ready to deploy whenever and where ever needed. We have also been involved in many activities from bike races to run /walks, Star Spangled Celebration as skywarn storm spotters and more.