President’s Message August 2018
I guess the first news is the Field Day update. If you have not heard, a great big ol’ fly landed in our Field Day ointment when, at the last minute, we lost use of the Palm Springs EOC. Oh well. When life gives you lemons, what do you do? We made a big batch of lemon aide. Good stuff too.
At the June meeting, we circled the wagons and came up with an alternative plan. We had an Open House Field Day. Seems there is an obscure rule that you can operate at different locations as long as they are within a 1000ft radius of each other. So we did just that. As it turns out Earl and Julie (KJ6DQR and KJ6FYY) , Dale (WA6MZW) and myself, Glenn (WB6RLC) all live within said 1000ft radius of each other. Just as a side note, when Earl kicks on his amp, I have to change bands.
So the idea was for everyone to move freely from station to station and operate on Side Band or digital, check out everyone’s shacks, socialize and still have a good time. And we did just that.
The bands were not as enjoyable. Propagation during the day was pretty dreadful. Almost nonexistent. By the time the sun went down, things picked up on just about all bands and everyone had a good time. Saturday dinner was hosted by Earl and Julie with a homemade smoked pulled pork dinner. Just YUM.
Thanks again to all that participated. Those that hosted and those that stopped by to say hi and to socialize and maybe grab a mic.
August Meeting
As we have in the last several years, there will not be a formal RATS meeting in August. Just too dang hot. So we meet at Manhattan in the Desert on Hwy 111 near Farrell in Palm Springs. The time is moved up to 6:00 PM and we will be in the back room.
Ham Designed Gear Helps in Rescue of Thai Boys in Cave
Here is an interesting article sent to me by Tom KJ6DZT.
A Ham in Great Britain has designed radio gear to operate at VLF (Very Low Frequencies) around 87 KHz. This gear was designed and used to transmit through the rocks and down the caves and water to keep communications between the top and down below. Read the article here. https://hackaday.com/2018/07/11/ham-designed-gear-used-in-thailand-cave-rescue/
Our 220MHz Repeater
An interesting short video that Mark KD6SEC found. It is our 220 Repeater just before shipping from Bridge Comm. Sort of neat to watch. The video is here.
The Gorman Rally
The Gorman Ridge Rally is coming on Saturday, August 25, and we are hoping you can volunteer for radio communications!
This year’s event will again be held within the Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area next to Gorman. The event will include 12 stages as last year so it doesn’t end late. The headquarters will be the Holiday Inn Express in Frazier Park
Working rally’s is always fun and it’s a great way to practice your communications skills. To sign up go to the Gorman Rally Website here. or contact the event communications organizer
Paula N6OQQ mpgibeault@gmail.com
