Official 2014 SS Georgia Rally Amateur Radio / Communications Thread

[bchauvette]

I'll bring my Baeofeng UV-5RE Plus and 4 GMRS . I plan on doing plenty of trail riding with the MOG.

anybody going to set up an event Call Sign?

 

[ke5eua]

I don't know why my post didn't post.

The poles are galvanized steel, standard piping. Used them sever times and never had any issues. Plus using guy wires to help the wind load.

I love my antenna analyzer, it has probably saved the finals on a couple radios.

 

[ke5eua]

I'll bring my Baeofeng UV-5RE Plus and 4 GMRS . I plan on doing plenty of trail riding with the MOG.

anybody going to set up an event Call Sign?

Unless we plan on doing a hf station I wouldn't really see the need for an event call sign.

 

[ke5eua]

Alright, got the house.

Put my antenna analyzer on the dummy load and it looked good. I was worried it was giving me false readings the last time I used it.

Also picked up a swr meter and a 300 watt dummy load while I was in Austin.

Repeater is a bust. It puts out 50 watts but is in bad shape. Needs tuned, about 5 MHz off from what I could tell just doing a quick test, having trouble with getting it to accept a good program.

Cross band is always an option.

 

[swbradley1]

Now I have an antenna to use for my 2 meter. I also salvaged the 20 foot four section aluminium flagpole from the house we tore down. Very sturdy and pulls apart into 5 foot sections. Now to figure out a base for it or mounting to the side of my M101A2.

Staging all the stuff for the trip in the house and in the barn. Changed the power steering radiator on my pickup this morning.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Now I have an antenna to use for my 2 meter. I also salvaged the 20 foot four section aluminium flagpole from the house we tore down. Very sturdy and pulls apart into 5 foot sections. Now to figure out a base for it or mounting to the side of my M101A2.

Staging all the stuff for the trip in the house and in the barn. Changed the power steering radiator on my pickup this morning.

For what it's worth, I use the aluminum support poles Streamline sells as a flag pole. I pound the first section into the ground through the lunette of the M101A3 and shim the lunette with wood or tent stakes. I then add the additional poles to that to support the flag. I'm sure you can come up with something similar on your M101.

 

[swbradley1]

I think we should pick a frequency for 2 meter operations beforehand. I was thinking somewhere around the normal simplex frequency. The GMRS will probably be whatever Mike used at Graves since it worked.

If I can get setup early I may be on air as people get close.

 

[ODFever]

The 2m simplex frequencies are 146.400-146.580. Athens repeaters are 146.745 and 145.955. How about 146.500? It's far enough away from the repeaters that there won't be any bleed-over, and it's close to the national simplex frequency of 146.520.

I'm really looking forward to hitting the trails and finding out the range of my mobile antennas on simplex. I also want to find out how many repeaters I can hit. Maybe we can use one of them if simplex fades out on the trails furthest from the Registration/HQ Tent. If we can't hit any repeaters and simplex is too weak, we might have to set up relay stations or a radio relay system to get word back to the First Aid Tent in an emergency.

 

[swbradley1]

Ok

146.500 it is. We'll set that in extremely slow drying cement....just in case.

 

[bchauvette]

Got a GMRS channel in mind?

 

[ke5eua]

Ok

146.500 it is. We'll set that in extremely slow drying cement....just in case.

Works for me.

Got my new antenna tuner in for the 857. What does any good ham do when he gets a new tuner, opens it up to make sure there aren't any bad solder joints, lol

 

[tennmogger]

146.500 is fine by me. We'll just have to remind every one mot to be on the standard frequency of 146.550.

How about we set 51 MHz as our green radio frequency?

Really looking forward to this!

Bob WB4ETT

 

[swbradley1]

51Mhz works for anyone that has the equipment.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Now all I need is a PRC77 and an operator. LOL, for what it's worth, at one time I have a half dozen or so RT524s that were tossed my way. Since I'm not an operator, they were all swapped off for useable stuff.

 

[SCSG-G4]

Got a GMRS channel in mind?

We probably need to scan the channels once we get there since the dirt bike crowd will likely be using some of them (hopefully only the FRS channels, SINCE THEY LIKELY DON'T HAVE AN ACTUAL LICENSE - we do have an FCC license!).

 

[ke5eua]

We probably need to scan the channels once we get there since the dirt bike crowd will likely be using some of them (hopefully only the FRS channels, SINCE THEY LIKELY DON'T HAVE AN ACTUAL LICENSE - we do have an FCC license!).

But technically not a gmrs license.

Apples to oranges though.

 

[swbradley1]

Actually Mike has a real GMRS license and I do as well. Mine is:WQUM762

 

[scottgs]

We will be there as we have the past two years with our mobile Military HF and VHF stations. Will be on the Military ham and "HF Pack" freqs, including VHF tactical on 51.00MHz.

We offered to bring a linked repeater/base station with plenty of portables for event coordination throughout the park, and also to allow VHF Tactical and FRS/GMRS users to communicate via simplex back to a central communications point. This would be a solid performing system, However the rally coordinators did not appear to be interested.

At a minimum, we will have our mobiles and portables like the last few years, and Military tactical on 51.00MHz, and I will also bring a deployable HF and VHF tactical, and 2-meter.

What I would like to try is a sort of HF special event station on the HF Pack frequencies, where we can participate in several of the Military nets as the "Steel Soldiers Rally" event. Any hams interested in helping out?

Garret
W8BUG

 

[ke5eua]

Actually Mike has a real GMRS license and I do as well. Mine is:WQUM762

Well, someone read the manual, lol

Never cold see myself actually sending off for the gmrs license. Seemed like a joke to me given the amount of radios being sold with frs/gmrs capabilities.

It's like murs, at one point in time you had to have a license if I remember correctly. Now it's just like frs, and don't get me started on the 900 ism band.

 

[ke5eua]

We will be there as we have the past two years with our mobile Military HF and VHF stations. Will be on the Military ham and "HF Pack" freqs, including VHF tactical on 51.00MHz.

We offered to bring a linked repeater/base station with plenty of portables for event coordination throughout the park, and also to allow VHF Tactical and FRS/GMRS users to communicate via simplex back to a central communications point. This would be a solid performing system, However the rally coordinators did not appear to be interested.

At a minimum, we will have our mobiles and portables like the last few years, and Military tactical on 51.00MHz, and I will also bring a deployable HF and VHF tactical, and 2-meter.

What I would like to try is a sort of HF special event station on the HF Pack frequencies, where we can participate in several of the Military nets as the "Steel Soldiers Rally" event. Any hams interested in helping out?

Garret
W8BUG

I'll bring my 817 for some true qrp work. Already have the 857 in the truck and I'll see if I can pry my 897 from my buddy and bring it too.