frgtwn
Adventurer
As the EP community grows, many of us are experiencing HAM and other radio contacts that are remarkable. I thought it may be fun to have a place to tell the stories.
Here's my latest:
I was once again invited to ride along on the Dusy-Ershim Trail east of Fresno, CA. On our last night out, two of our group chose to head for home, while the other two trucks and occupents wanted to stretch out our time and spend the last evening and night near the North trailhead, about a mile from Kaiser Pass Rd. The two outbound trucks were to report back to the group on two meters, just to see how far we could stay in touch. And for us to follow their progress.
We walked away from the truck to scout out the immediate area, and I carried my Yaesu VX-6r, in case a call came in. We spoke a few times as they descended; the rest of us were close to 9,000 ft.
A call came in to me from another ham. The call was as clear as my buddies', and I assumed that the caller was somewhere in The Valley. This was my first experience with traffic, as I had to ask the caller to standby until the comm with the guys was finished. This done, we spent some time getting acquainted.
The caller was waiting in his pick-up truck for his son and grandkids on an ATV on a ridge West of Lake Berryassa. That meant little to me until after questioning revealed that he was North of the Bay of San Francisco, near the Napa county line. I was impressed, and thankful for his effort at reaching me.
He had a 5/8 wave whip on his truck, and I was running 5 watts into my tri-band aftermarket antenna. And, of course, I was at 9,000 ft to his 2,000 ft. He remarked that the ridge he was on was a good place for radio contacts, and that he was building a retirement cabin there.
Our mutual guess of the distance between us turned out to be close, as a Google Earth search showed a 200 mile distance. I cannot be sure at this time of his exact location, but I just found a place on the West ridgeline that was 2,000 ft.
The downhill crew contacted us from Madera, and the mobiles on the trucks were the only ones to be able to remain in touch. They could hear a little of my transmissions; I could hear all of theirs.
So, even an HT can get lucky.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post up your stories. Memorable is just my chosen word, tell us your own story.
Dale
KI6IRF
Here's my latest:
I was once again invited to ride along on the Dusy-Ershim Trail east of Fresno, CA. On our last night out, two of our group chose to head for home, while the other two trucks and occupents wanted to stretch out our time and spend the last evening and night near the North trailhead, about a mile from Kaiser Pass Rd. The two outbound trucks were to report back to the group on two meters, just to see how far we could stay in touch. And for us to follow their progress.
We walked away from the truck to scout out the immediate area, and I carried my Yaesu VX-6r, in case a call came in. We spoke a few times as they descended; the rest of us were close to 9,000 ft.
A call came in to me from another ham. The call was as clear as my buddies', and I assumed that the caller was somewhere in The Valley. This was my first experience with traffic, as I had to ask the caller to standby until the comm with the guys was finished. This done, we spent some time getting acquainted.
The caller was waiting in his pick-up truck for his son and grandkids on an ATV on a ridge West of Lake Berryassa. That meant little to me until after questioning revealed that he was North of the Bay of San Francisco, near the Napa county line. I was impressed, and thankful for his effort at reaching me.
He had a 5/8 wave whip on his truck, and I was running 5 watts into my tri-band aftermarket antenna. And, of course, I was at 9,000 ft to his 2,000 ft. He remarked that the ridge he was on was a good place for radio contacts, and that he was building a retirement cabin there.
Our mutual guess of the distance between us turned out to be close, as a Google Earth search showed a 200 mile distance. I cannot be sure at this time of his exact location, but I just found a place on the West ridgeline that was 2,000 ft.
The downhill crew contacted us from Madera, and the mobiles on the trucks were the only ones to be able to remain in touch. They could hear a little of my transmissions; I could hear all of theirs.
So, even an HT can get lucky.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post up your stories. Memorable is just my chosen word, tell us your own story.
Dale
KI6IRF
