Hello again, radio colleagues of the Marin Amateur Radio Society and friends, far and near—
Doug Slusher KF6AKU will be our host this month. His topics:
• What equipment should an operator plan to bring to a public service event (either net control or a rest stop)?
• And is that equipment list any different from what would be needed in a field station during an emergency like a fire or earthquake?
This topic is a hold-over from a question that Stan Witherspoon AI6NF asked last month. Radio, check. Operating manual, check. Batteries, check. Antennas, check. Coax, check. Clothes for changing conditions, check. Folding chair and table, check. Pencil and paper, check. Food and water, sunscreen, TP… OK, that’s basic stuff —Doug, aided by you all, will go into a bit more detail.
And more detail IS needed about antenna choices, so Doug will cover “the short and long” of antenna choices out in the field. Different “high-gain” antennas for HTs? Yagi versus log periodic? J-pole versus X-30? Horizontal vs. vertical polarization? What are the differences among the various magmount options? How best to mount those antennas to get additional height? (Who’s got a good slingshot?) And what’s a good messenger line? How about coax choices? What’s an “under-the-tire” base?
And, of course, ideas and questions that will crop up during our Zoom session—don’t hesitate to chime in. For example, Til Mossi W6CQC has had a question waiting for several months: “If I can HEAR a repeater loud and clear, why in the world can’t I HIT it??!”
For those of you who may be new to this monthly gathering—we are finishing up our third year of meeting on the third Sunday of each month. We are standing on the shoulders of Peter McElmury AA6SF who, until his passing a year ago, organized the San Francisco 2-meter Critical Mass for 7+ years. Pre-covid, we would meet at 1000 at the Marin County Civic Center Lagoon, and we hope to be able to go face-to-face again sometime next year.
In the field, we would break into teams for hands-on practice sessions programming our radios on-the-fly, shifting among available repeaters as well as simplex, practicing the best protocol, and passing verbal and written traffic in a controlled net. For now, we have shifted to Zoom, which doesn’t lend itself to hands-on practice as well. Four of us rotate the chair: Rob Rowlands NZ6J, Milt Hyams KM6ASI, Michael Fischer K6MLF, and Doug.
Standing by for Doug KF6AKU this coming Sunday!
Here’s the Zoom link we will be using at 1030 hours Sunday, December 20th:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81558949723
Meeting ID: 815 5894 9723
Hopefully, Ann Shores K6SHO and/or Brian Cooley K6EZX will join us so they will be co-hosts, helping to manage the “meeting room” and the chat board, helping to mute and unmute as necessary as we go along.
