Welcome to my web page... my name is Bob Payne. You will find information on my web page about Amateur (Ham) Radio, Bishop, California, Alaska and my Family Tree. I hope you will find something that will be of interest to you.

       I am licensed Amateur Radio Operator (Technician) and my call sign is N7RAP. My brother, Bill Payne (WO7P), got me interested in ham radio. The hobby of Amateur Radio can be as simple as talking on VHF or UHF on a local repeater or talking to someone across the country on HF. Amateur Radio is used in Search and Rescue, Disasters and much more. From Morse Code, voice, slow scan TV and computer networking through radio waves there is something for everyone.

      The Bishop Amateur Radio Club has a nightly net on 146.940- (PL 103.5) at 8:00 p.m Pacific time year round. The club meets monthly on the second Wednesday of the month. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. and they are held at the Salvation Army located at 621 W. Line Street in Bishop. Getting started is easy and the Bishop Amateur Radio Club would be happy to help you get started in Amateur Radio. Please feel free to contact them or attend one of their meetings for more information. More information about BARC can also be found at their their web page at http://www.n6ov.com.

        The Bishop Amateur Radio Club gives amateur radio license exams quarterly at 11:00 a.m. on the first Saturday of February, May, August and November. The test are held at the Salvation Army, 621 W. Line Street, Bishop.

        You can practice for your test by using QRZ's Amateur Radio Practice Exams. the QRZ web page is located at http://www.qrz/p/testing.pl. You will find practice tests for the Technician, General and Extra class on their site.

      I currently live in Bishop, California (In the Owens Valley). Bishop is located in a high desert valley between the Eastern Sierra Mountains and the White Mountains. Bishop is surrounded by peaks some of which are over 14,000 feet in elevation. The City of Bishop is at an elevation of 4,147 feet and the 2004 estimated population was 3,621. Bishop is located in Inyo County, the second largest county in the United States and the town of Bishop is named after Samuel Bishop, one of the area's early white settlers. The average January low temperature is 22 degrees with a average January high of 54 degrees. The average July high is 98 degrees with an average July low of 56 degrees. The record low in Bishop is -7 degrees and a record high of 109 degrees.

      I lived in Alaska for many years and I have included some Alaska information including my personal picture album, Northern Lights pictures and my Alaska Web Cam page. At the above left you will see a preview of some of the pictures of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) from my Northern Lights page and other pictures from my Picture Album. To see more pictures of the Northern Lights and my Picture Album please click on the appropriate menu links.

      On my web page you will find my family tree. I am always looking for more information to add to my family tree and I am willing to share what I have with anyone looking for the same. A more complete family tree including the surnames Payne, Childress, Garrett, Pearson, Roland and many others can be found on on my Family Tree page. I do have some additional family tree information that is not included on either web page. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

In Memory of my Brother Donald Edward Payne Sept 23, 1946 - Jan 16, 2011