Report provided by Rob Rowlands (edited):
Hi all,
I think we all enjoyed getting out on Saturday – even the Comm Truck seemed eager to deploy!
Net control was set up at Stafford Lake and roll call began soon after 10am. Michael chose to operate from Bofax to support those locations that could only use Tam West. Pam and Stan Witherspoon did an excellent 2 hour stint at net control.
Steve KB6HOH acted as doorman on the simulcast system to keep Net Control honest! We are still not allowing enough time for missed stations to check in and I’m the worst culprit!
Some observations:
1. Bahia had interesting reach into places like Tennessee Valley, but clearly is no substitute for Big Rock in north Marin and Sonoma.
2. English Hill continues to be a great adjunct to our Marin repeaters.
3. Tam UHF 443.250 continues to show its big footprint, extending to Valley Ford.
4. The role KB6HOH took on as a home based adjunct to net control might be a good addition to future public service events, if we ever have any.
Involvement of the Marin Cyclists
Some organizers of the Marin Century informally rode the “Metric Century” from Terra Linda through Nicasio, Hicks Valley Road, Walker Creek, Marshall Wall, Point Reyes, Tocaloma, Nicasio and back to Terra Linda. They started earlier than us so we wouldn’t see them until Walker Creek. We agreed that they would look for likely hams, and if possible, let operators know they are passing through. There was no need to forward names to net control unless there was an emergency. The bicyclists were contacted by Chris on his Moto, Dirck at Walker Creek and Brian at Nicasio, though difficult to tell those nostalgic Century riders from the throng!
Simplex Frequencies
We asked radio operators to chat with their colleagues using simplex frequencies as they changed over assignments. The simplex frequencies were:
North Marin 147.585
Central Marin 147.510
West Marin 147.465
South Marin 147.555
We wrapped up net control at 1253. The results are being crunched into a google sheet that will be circulated, together with a map showing what works where.
Best regards,
Rob Rowlands NZ6J
