The Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association (VVARA)

VVARA History

The Verde Valley Amateur Radio Association was formed in 1976 with just a few members and the Feedback Newsletter. Frank N7EBT and Peggy Funk N7DDR in 1982 conceived, designed and published the first VVARA news letter. The VVARA hosts a daily net know as the knobby Knee net, at 0700 hrs. local 365 days per year.

VVARA Mission Statement

To Have Fun!

It shall be the Verde Valley Amateur Radio Associations mission to hold club meetings for the social, business, educational and promotional advancement of the Amateur Radio Service; further the exchange of information about Amateur Radio and cooperation between members for the disbursement of general information, technical information and the promotion of all aspects of Amateur Radio for the organization and the community at large.

To promote radio knowledge, fraternalism and individual operating efficiency, for the betterment of Amateur Radio.

To conduct programs and activities as to advance the general interest and welfare of Amateur Radio in the community.

To help prepare our members in being ready to assist the community with emergency communications using Amateur Radio.

To help make the advantages of Amateur Radio for emergency communications known to the community and agencies within our community.

To assist Federal, State, and Local agencies with emergency Communications using Amateur Radio.

To operate and maintain amateur radio repeater station(s)

To promote social aspects of the Club - i.e., the Christmas party, Field Day, T-Hunts, Ham Fests, Lunch Bunch and any other social activities which may arise.

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Knobby Knee Net History

The VVARA was formed in 1976 with just a few members. By 1986 membership had grown to 72 members. An informal 2-meter net was in operation 1986. The club did not have a repeater, so the net was a simplex operation and was only on once a week on Friday nights at 7 PM. Cal Turner, WI6S,SK was Net Control and usually had a topic for discussion pertinent to Ham Radio. Eventually, John Sullivan, KQ7T, now a silent key, gave the club a repeater to use. Several folks, which included Cal WI6S, George NZ7I and Don Rader N7HYH,SK installed the repeater on an old empty hotel in Jerome, but found that it's coverage was inadequate and so it was moved to KQ7T's house off of Rocking Chair Road in Cottonwood.

This proved to be unsatisfactory also and after several other unsatisfactory locations, the equipment wound up on Mingus Mountain sharing the Mingus Mountain Group's Repeater Shack. The club was allowed to share the MMG Shack because several of members helped build it (In the midst of a snow storm, by the way). TheVVARA now has its own building and hosts a variety of amateur radio equipment.

The simplex operation of the net made it difficult for some desiring to participate to hear each other, so Cal suggested the club make use of the repeater. This worked out so well that it was decided to put the net on daily at 7 AM with different Net Controllers each day.

One day after the net was closed Don N7HYH was talking to Cal WI6S as he sat with his short pajamas still on and said, "I'm sitting here with my knobby knees showing". He immediately picked up on it and said "Say, why don't we call this the Knobby Knee Net". And Don said, "Sounds good to me". So that's how the net got its name.