The Comstock Memorial Station, Inc.
An IRS 501c3 Charitable Organization
Virginia City, NV
An Invitation to Potential Remote Operators
The Comstock Memorial Station, W7RN, was chartered in 2007 to advance the art of Radiosport. Included in our mission is:
- Provide a venue for new hams to operate a world class station
- Provide a training ground for potential hams
- Provide a venue for world class operators to attain their highest level of achievements
- To provide insight into antenna design and implementation and into station design
- To operate remote hosts
For many years, we have provided a remote host for a group of hams in gated communities, apartment and condo dwellers, and those who cannot afford a competitive station. Since COVID we added a second remote host to accommodate more users.
We are now soliciting additional remote operators. Membership will depend on the level of usage you desire. We are a 501c3 not for profit, so your contributions are tax deductible and not a “pay for use” like other remote hosts that are organized as for-profit organizations. We believe that no ham should profit from selling airtime.
The station is entirely Elecraft, so the first requirement is to have a K3, K3-0 or a K3 Mini plus a Remote Rig Interface Box. The K3-0 and K3-Mini are difficult to find. We have, however, found a distributor that sells remote-side RemoteRig without having to buy the pair. Details provided on request.
Minimum donations are scheduled here. Airtime is on the honor system:
| Airtime Desired | Minimum Monthly Donation |
| Up to 5 hours/month | $100.00 |
| Up to 10 hours/month | $250.00 |
| Up to 20 hours/month | $500.00 |
| Contest Weekend | $750.00 |
The donations are needed for equipment maintenance and antenna repairs. (We have 8 towers, 54 antennas, 5 Elecraft K3, 2 Acom 2000 and 2 Elecraft KPA-1500). No officer of CMS benefits financially from the donations. For comparison, Remote Ham Radio charges $20 per month plus Airtime. Rates vary between $0.19/min to $1.25/min so 5 hours could cost you $395.00 compared to a $100 donation to CMS. A weekend contest on RHR would run $3,600 where ours would be $750. It must be noted that Remote Ham Radio has 29 stations and is for-profit.
There are two remotes available, so we will moderate who wants to operate at what times. Historically, it has been by gentlemen agreement by the operators. There are weekends when we have local operators for major contests. On those weekends, the remote is available only for 30, 17 and 12 meters.
For more information, contact Tom Taormina, K5RC, at tom@k5rc.com or 775-847-2360 between 10AM and 8PM most days. Can’t text to this phone. www.w7rn.com
