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It sure is a great time for amateur radio! The Mount Diablo Amateur Radio
Club and our radio community has so many things going on, it is just
really exciting. First off, John Welden KJ6GLQ, MDARC’s Vice-
President, has set up some really great speakers at our General Meetings
for 2013. This last month in January, he had George Zafiropoulos
KJ6VU of Sierra Radio. George gave a brilliant presentation on microcontrollers
and their use in ham radio. He was an absolutely captivating
speaker, and at least, left me with the sense that there were some real opportunities
to create some very useful devices without having a great
amount of experience with microelectronics. If you missed the meeting,
you missed much!
John Primus AF6RJ and his education team are continuing to do some
really fine business. Midway through January, they started up their latest
Technician license class. They have over 40 students enrolled in the
class. It is just remarkable to see the entire Fireside Room at the Concord
Salvation Army completely filled with tech students and Elmers. I
am probably most proud of our Club when I see those Elmers mentoring
the class. The amount of preparation, and the seriousness that they approach
their task is really inspiring.
Ray Gaschk, W6FYA, will have a laminating machine available at club
meetings to laminate the wallet size copy of members’ licenses.
The Salvation Army crew and MDARC have been doing Tech Saturday
(or Sunday). Chuck Graham KI6DCD has been doing a great job of creating
and executing this operation. Chuck has been working with Richard
Lueck KI6REL to promote the events. He has pulled in the talents of
David Haycock KI6AWR, Pete Harris KE6ZIW and Sheldon Lawrence
KI6ATA to explain and demonstrate the finer points of the Buddipole
antenna system. The response has been just great. More programs on
various topics are planned in the future.
Because of the amount of Club business that I try to cover each month, I
had not written about the passing of Rod Newkirk W9BRD (SK). Rod
wrote a the “How’s DX?” column in QST each month from 1947-1978. In March 1971, Newkirk coined the ubiquitous ham mentor term –
“Elmer”. I embrace this moniker as a special expression of appreciation
to the OM/women that make our hobby great. I would suggest that there
are not a whole lot of Elmer’s like Rod Newkirk in this world, but I think
that we have a disproportionate number of great mentors in our radio
service!
Speaking of service…Amateur radio provides a great service
when in the back country. I do not know how many of you use
your ham gear when playing in the woods, the desert, or playing
by the dunes, but I am here to tell you that the value of ham radio
should never be understated. I will not be at the next Club meeting.
Every year on Presidents Day weekend, I lead a group of intrepid
explorers into Death Valley and its environs with offroad
vehicles. I have done this since February 1999. Historically, 11
meter (CB) has been the main tool for vehicle to vehicle communications.
In the last several years, I have encouraged many of my
friends to study a bit, and get their ham ticket. 2 meter and 440
MHz are now the new, preferred methods of vehicle to vehicle and beyond communications.
We have had great success with amateur radio. The increased range, greater clarity and readability
of VHF FM ham radio is so incredibly superior to 27 MHz AM Citizen Band.
An event that could have turned out much more tragic than it did, occurred two Thanksgiving
weekends ago. It occurred during an annual event called Panamint Valley Days. This is an
event where offroaders of various stripes come together to explore very remote areas surrounding
Death Valley National Park. In the Panamint Valley, near the hamlet of Ballerat, on a trail
called Southpark Canyon, a vehicle failed to successfully navigate around a protruding rock,
aptly named, “chicken rock.” The vehicle, the driver, and her daughter went tumbling down the
perilously steep canyon for about 400 or more feet below. It was near impossible to get anyone
down to attempt a rescue, and honestly, few wanted to check the vehicle for fear of what they
might find. Frantic calls went out on cell phones – but there is no service. The only solution
were calls made and relayed via amateur radio that summoned the CHP, Inyo County Sheriff’s
Office, and Bureau of Land Management officers. Even when on the scene, the various agencies
radios were completely feckless. They recruited amateur operators as their communicators
to help coordinate all the resources needed to ensure a proper rescue – or perhaps a recovery. At
the end of the day, and many hours later, the driver and her daughter were extricated from their
Jeep. Although banged, bruised, and broken – they were alive to tell the tale of how amateur radio
helped save the day.
An event that could have turned out much more tragic than it did, occurred two Thanksgiving
I cannot claim that I have done anything so dramatic in the desert, but having the powerful tool
of our coveted radios – and knowing how to use it properly, gives me a bit more confidence in
traversing some incredibly wonderful, but amazingly remote territory.
What new and interesting thing can you do with ham radio? That’s your homework for the
month.
Until our next QSO...
73,
Jim Siemons AF6PU
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