2011 GA Rally Radio Comms

[tennmogger]

Just a reminder that any hams who are joining us at Durhamtown are welcome and encouraged to help out with radio links. Non-hams who have green radios can also help, even on the ham bands, if you are participating along with a licensed ham.

If you can assist, please post your plans and capabilities here. If your station is installed in a green machine, even better.

I will have the PRC-77 again this year, boosted by an AM-4477 and high antenna, plus some MILPAC HF gear. If you have 6m ham equipment, and HF, please bring it along. Let's also try some of the HF ham bands to get the signals out of the creek bottoms. CB could be a nice link, too, and there are no limitations on who talks there, license or not.

Thanks to everyone, see you Thursday,

Bob WB4ETT

 

[jamieboy]

Hey Bob, still not sure if I am going to make it or not. If I can, I will have hf,vhf, and etc. as I had last year.
Would like to bring the prc-320, and ask you a few questions on it also. Sure hope it works out, and I can get there.
If not have a great time, and have fun on the radio!!

 

[123mack]

I have 2M in the M1009,plus a couple of 2M HTs. I could bring a PRC-25 if anyone has a battery.

 

[SCSG-G4]

Bob,

I sent two working PRC-77's w/ antennas on Ferro's convoy which should be there today.

 

[oilcan]

I just cut a 6m mobile whip for the mag mount (quad/4 magnets) and I have a small 12v battery-in-a-can to power the ic 706, but I don't yet know for how long. I can also switch out whips for 2m and 10m/CB as needed. (not very convenient) And I have a few 30a power supplies and portable HF antenna set to use at base camp, too.


By the way, I'm in the market for a cheap HF antenna tuner and/or SWR meter. (my old meter wasn't worth a hoot)

 

[tennmogger]

Thanks guys. Jamie, I'll have a PRC-320 also. Hope you make it. Mike, we can always count on you!

 

[LongueCarabine]

Yet another reason I need to make this rally next year. Hope you all have a splendid time.

LC

KE5KMR

 

[tennmogger]

You would have enjoyed the ham radio for sure. Adam, Joe and I were checking out the PRC-320 so they could take it on the trail, and a Swedish ham dropped in on frequency. We chatted with him on the little whip antenna, the PRC-320 manpack, battery powered. "It don't get much better than this". Later I talked to Russia, too. All of Europe was booming in.

All our comms this year were done on 10meters to keep it legal to Technician licensees. That worked solid out to about 10 miles. Next year we'll add a lower band, probably 40 m, to reach out to Washington, GA, for the hardball convoy to visit the Veterans. HF packsets are definitely the way to go, providing good performance advantage over the VHF sets. Lower frequencies perform better over terrain, and 30 Watts beats half a Watt anytime.

tennmogger
Bob WB4ETT

Yet another reason I need to make this rally next year. Hope you all have a splendid time.

LC

KE5KMR

 

[oilcan]

Remember that I have a general class ticket. We just had too much fun to take the time planning for band changes on HF!


We'll have all that planned out for next year, and it'll be 100% better.
S'pose we should set up the field phones, too? We might find ourselves hanging miles of cat-5 in the trees instead of a few hundred feet of wd-1 if we get carried away...

 

[SCSG-G4]

What's wrong with WD-1A? It's a lot stronger than CAT-5 swinging through the trees. Are you going to man the switchboard if we bring the field phones? A pair of SB-22's would give us 29 lines to hook up, and the SB-86 would allow 60 with the second TA-207. How many TA-43/TA-312's can you bring? I barely have 34 working ones. But I do have a little wire

 

[oilcan]

Just having a little fun! Maybe one of these years we'll find a use for all the field phone stuff where radios won't do. (Hmm, no need for batteries in the TA-1's...)







And I think you need to start stocking up on wire. Looking a little low there!

 

[SCSG-G4]

That's not all of it. There are about seven or eight one mile reels and a whole bunch of 1/4 mile reels that are partially full. Wooden reels are 32,200 foot each (about 6 miles).

 

[oilcan]

6 miles... That answers the question I was about to ask. What's the weight on one of those bad boys?

 

[SCSG-G4]

285 pounds each.