HF Bands still stink today!!!

A couple of stations on 20 meters but not much. The band isn't in good shape for some reason this weekend. Too bad - rarely do I get a chance for some relaxing time in front of the radio.

Camping with the Buddipole

Anderson Powerpoles - I Love Them!

I can't remember where I first stumbled upon Anderson Powerpoles...it may have been TMRA's own KC8TVW a few years ago, but regardless every ham and hobbiest should/could find them useful.

Here's some I found within 30 seconds in my shack while fixing my R/C buggy.  I love them!!!!  They are my preference to soldering also!

Don't forget the crimper tool and to fuse those connections!

Glass City Maraton - SAG Wagon APRS Traffic

Just a little debrief for the April 28, 2013 Glass City Marathon - (a little late, but better late than never.)

In previous years at the Glass City Marathon (Toledo, OH) I've worked the water stops, but this year I was given a SAG Wagon assignment as part of Lucas County ARES role in the event.  If you've wanted to use those radios for things other than collecting dust, and help others in your area in times of need, consider checking out the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES).  It's a great way to get out of the shack and have some fun at the same time.

Anyway, Rick Sharpe (K8RKS) does an excellent job in being net control for the event and also getting ARES volunteers.  I've done it every year since I've started doing it.  It's just a fun event - rain or shine, or snow - yes it's snowed, but luckily it doesn't stick!

This year I had an excellent volunteer driver and have to say he did a great job and knew the roads like the back of his hand.  I couldn't have done it without him.

This year I was testing APRS as a positioning beacon in the SAG (Support and Gear) wagon.  Net control couldn't use the data, but I wanted to test out coverage on the course for next year.  I think it would be an excellent resource for net control so it can reduce the voice radio traffic and net control can put us to use quickly just by looking at a map and place us accordingly.

Here's my position reports - which I have the Yaesu FTM-350R set to "smart beacon" our position when speeds or directions change.  Click the picture for a larger version.

Missed Gordo's ATV

The group decided to leave a little earlier than normal so I missed Gordon West's (WB6NOA) ATV presentation - only got a snippet.

This year was the first year that I felt like I could have spent another day at Dayton.

I spent more time in the forums than normal because a lot of the topics interested me - and a lot of the vendors were actually sold out of products so I had to order them.

Maybe that's good for the hobby and were gaining more members.

Driving from the passenger seat

10 meters is open. A little action running 50 watts from the Yaesu FT-857 into an Icom AH-4 antenna tuner into a 106" whip on the mobile.

Hanging out on 20 and 40 meters

We're up in Sandusky at Cedar Point for the weekend (that's what Amy wanted to do for Mother's Day).

The dog and I took a little break and are relaxing listening to 20 and 40 meters using the truck's vertical. Works pretty well. A little chilly though so enter the campfire. 73

ISS Audio

It's rare now-a-days that I get a change to listen to the ISS astronauts make a contact with ground stations.  Today there was a school contact with a school in Gary, Indiana.  I figured that was easily listenable - so I ran out to the car and turned on the mobile radio (I didn't feel like listening to the Echolink node).  Plus it gave me a quick break from work.

Here's a link to a couple of minutes of audio (m4a audio file) recorded using the iPhone.  I had the radio's squelch open most of the time - so excuse that - but sometime you have to do that to make sure you can hear the ISS fading away and switch frequencies due to the doppler effect.

http://www.n8zak.com/files/public/ISS%20Audio/ISS_Contact_GaryIndianaSchool_5-8-13-15-35.m4a

73 - Zack