I am so sorry to hear that, Tess.  We'll keep your husband in our prayers.



>Ray


Ps. Good luck on your studies.

Hey Ray-

That rig is VERY easy to do the "MARS mod" - open frequency mod -  so that you can operate on 60 meters or basically on any frequency where it can hear.  It also seriously extends your VHF/UHF range, if I remember correctly.  In an emergency, this can be vital. Beside HF allocations, the ability - if necessary - of operating on GMRS/FRS/MURS and etc. could prove to be very handy.



>Ray

The change of mission can be a problem.  The advantage that we have here, is that we're not important enough for 'federal assistance' so we're on our own, which is how we like it.   

>>>  I DO understad your beeing leery of being used as unpaid KGB by the politicians.  They use 'us' against 'us' all the time and enjoy watching us kill each other.



73 de Raye

Robin Walbridge, KD4OHZ, Missing at Sea after Sinking of Tall Ship Bounty; Ship?s Electrician Doug Faunt, N6TQS, Rescued
TAGS: arrl, ARRL Life Member, coast guard, crew, dxpedition, ham radio, north carolina, Pitcairn Island, radio officer, raft, us coast guard, winlink
11/01/2012

Every DXer knows the story of the HMS Bounty and Pitcairn Island, VP6: In 1789, the HMS Bounty -- a small three-masted sailing vessel sent by Britain?s Royal Navy to the Pacific on a supply expedition -- was roiled by tension between its crew and its captain, William Bligh. After landing in Tahiti and taking on a cargo of breadfruit, the Bounty set sail for the West Indies; it never reached that destination. Instead, Master?s Mate Fletcher Christian led the men in a mutiny, eventually allowing Bligh and his loyalists to sail off in a longboat. After an arduous journey, they reached safety at the Dutch-owned port of Kupang. Christian and his followers ended up on Pitcairn Island where they burned the Bounty and settled on the island. Passing ships did not discover the enclave until after the turn of the century.

On Monday, October 29, a replica of the Bounty -- built in 1960 for a remake of the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty -- sank off the coast of North Carolina as Hurricane Sandy made its way toward New Jersey. Of its 16 crew members, 14 were rescued by the US Coast Guard. Bounty Captain Robin Walbridge, KD4OHZ, never made it to one of the two deployed life rafts and is presumed dead. Claudene Christian, who claimed to be a direct descendent of Fletcher Christian, was unresponsive and passed away at a North Carolina hospital on Monday evening.

Doug Faunt, N6TQS, of Oakland, California, was one of the 14 who was rescued by the Coast Guard; Faunt served as a deckhand and was also the ship?s electrician. A noted DXer and ARRL Life Member, he was part of the FO0AAA DXpedition crew in 2000 to Clipperton Island and in 2007, he was part of the DXpedition to Lakshadweep. According to Spud Roscoe, VE1BC, Faunt had satellite communications equipment and Winlink capabilities on board the Bounty, but he was not the ship?s radio officer. ?Sailing on replica ships was a hobby of Doug?s,? Roscoe told the ARRL. ?He had previously sailed across the Great Australian Bight on a replica of the HMB Endeavour, Captain Cook?s ship. He was an able seaman of the watch.? Roscoe was the radio officer on the replica Bountyfor its original voyage to France in 1962.

Faunt told the ARRL that the Bounty crew tried various methods, including a satellite phone, to call for help, ?but we got nothing when tried calling out on HF. We tried calling the Maritime Mobile Net, but nothing was out there. We hadWinlink on the ship that we used for e-mail and accessing the Internet to post to blogs and to Facebook, and we finally found an e-mail address for the Coast Guard. As a last-ditch effort, we used Winlink to e-mail the Coast Guard for help. Within an hour, we heard a C-130 plane, and later, a helicopter overhead.? According to Faunt, it was Walbridge, as master of the ship, who sent out the distress messages.

?I don?t know how I made it off the ship,? Faunt recalled. ?I had finished serving a long watch, and then we started going down. I was exhausted. I had to swim to get to the life raft. The water was full of rigging, and here I am, in my Gumby suit, trying to swim. It was so difficult. While swimming to the raft, I came up for air and a spar was coming at me. I finally found a raft and tried to climb into it, but I almost didn?t make it, tired as I was. Through the help of my shipmates who were already aboard the raft, I got on.? The two life rafts were out about 100 miles from shore when they were rescued.

The vessel left Connecticut on Thursday, October 25 with a crew of 11 men and five women, ranging in age from 20-66. After being treated at a hospital in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Faunt arrived back home in California on Wednesday, October 31. ?I?m looking for a new boat to sail and a DXpedition to go on,? Faunt told the ARRL. ?Ham radio got me into my position on the Bounty, and ham radio got me out alive!?

Hey Ray -

That is a good quote.  A buddy of mine replied that thre are people in this world so dependent upon others that they can be "trapped" on an escalator.  I know people like that - a friend of mine used to call them 'Systemites'.

Here's a fun illustration of the problem.

http://youtu.be/uVN-7h4YiAs


>Ray

The news story is good, it's dated - being frm Katrina, but the actual audio during the last half of the video  is a lesson all by it self.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC0u42MnMdM&feature=colike



>de RadioRay ..._ ._

It is happening -  the vast majority of responses on the blogs are saying:

'Sorry that you are hurting right now, but. . . three days without shopping is not an emergency.'

'You had days to leave or prepare and did nothing. Decades of your 'gun control' regulations to make certain that you're disarmed, now you're living in fear of looters. The good news is that Mayor Bloomberg outlawed Big Gulp sodas - so that should help while he sponsors the New York Marathon.'

In Short - big government is not the solution - it is the symptom of this dependency mind set and those with this dependency mind-set HATE those of us who do not. 

The emperor has no clothes.




>de RadioRay ..._ ._

I've had a yen for survival skills since I was a very young boy.  I've seen the perception of basic 'survival skills' change from being strictly for military and professional woodsmen to 1970-90's 'survivalism' and finally to 'prepping'.  As our society had been dumbed-down into an ever more specialized and insect like collection of worker-bees, supporting the ruling class of the hive, we've had even the most basic of self reliance skills and instincts bred out of us, riddiculed on TV & movies and have a media which shows virtually anyone with even a few weeks of food, sanitation and water purification as some sort of 'red neck', stupid, slothful, indolent, moron who beats his wife three times daily whether shes 'needs' it or not.

Much of the gentrified northeast uber-urbanite Mecca is under water in some areas, homes burned to the ground in others & looting, while the media only lightly reports it and etc.  Many urbanites have the latest smart phones, designer shoes and illegal Big Gulp sodas (har!) , yet do not have any food in their high rise apartments - and who would, with so many top restaurants to be seen in ?  No water - "Well, that's what we pay the building 'Super' for . . ." .  However, this is changing and quickly! Prepping may not seem as nutty as it seemed last week.  OK - so lessons learned?

It's a rough situation, but fairly light compared to what COULD happen in a national emergency, where help is not a few miles inland.  I am noticing more people mentioning that 'over the protests of my wife/husband, I put away supplies 'for a rainy day' and now they are grateful.'  Or 'So, who's making fun of preppers now?'.  Hopefully, all those people in some wretched situations will serve as a wake-up call that NO - we're not some 'special generation' of people who magically do not need to take care of themselves.  Those who tell us that we should let the government take care of us are nothing more than 'Human Ranchers' trying to keep the cattle (us) doscile and dependent upon THEM until they decide it's time for the drive to market & slaughter.

We have emergency brakes on our cars & insurance - "just in case" , so let's think ahead a bit and put a bit of food away, heirloom seeds for BEFORE the food runs out, alternate water sources and purification and a way to defend our 'things' and families when the usual suspects decide that stealing is still more fun than learning to work for their daily bread. Be a lunatic - learn basic first aid and keep a kit handy. Maybe even become 'one of those radio nuts', so that you have national comms in something the size of a paper back book - and NO commercial infrastructure required.

Remember: If this were an EMP, or a viral outbreak - the NATION would be shut-down, not just a portion of north eastern cities. That would mean that there will be no help.  Become involved locally , preferably with your local emergency responders and disaster management teams. Ham radio is one way, CERT is another and there may be even more ways.  Once they know and trust you, then you have a say in how YOUR community and family will be taken care of in a disaster.  The feral government does not give you that option: they take care of politicians first.

Anyone ELSE reading about succesful prepping helping during this weather emergency & changing attitudes about prepping & etc. post-Sandy?

Your Thoughts?

Wake-Up America -


>de RadioRay ..._ ._

OK - Let me 'percolate' on this a bit, but to start with, let's do this in two steps - easy one first:

Co-Tx:  I ran a plot from Denver area to San Antiono, Tx area.  Texas is a big place, so YMMV, but in general:

VOAPropagation software shows:

20m band is a good bet for your voice & data : 15-22HRs GMT. 
30m is a good DATA/CW band , a few hours on each end of this block with some overlap.

>>>  I would make you sked including BOTH of these - usually Pri: 20m,  Sec: 30m  (have some 'slide' in there for QRM)  + 10 KHz is always good. Have the STRONG station call you - not vice-versa) . If you miss the sked, come-up on the next hour, that gives you time and freq diversity - if you can.

BUY THE GUY ON THE FAR END AN ALARM WATCH FOR CHRISTMAS AND PROGRAM IN YOUR SKED TIMES BEFORE YOU SEND IT!   ha ha ha   ;D

Emergency contact for prepping purposes: The MMSN 14300 Daylight/early evening for relaying SHORT QSY messages in a grid down situation and etc.

Warning: Voice is the mode MOST likely to compromise you by it's tendency to be 'envelope detected' by nearby electronics. Voice also requires many times more power than a digital or CW signal for the same intelligence transfer. Digital modes like even basic PSK-31 are a 'smooth' envelope and less prone to 'accidental rectification/detectin/. On 20m , even a whip antenna like the quick-up/down BuddiStick antenna, would put a copiable signal into Texas, especially in digital modes, when voice is virtually undetectable. Even a mobile whip clamped to a railing or chain-link fence would work well on twenty. Gil and I have worked CW between Florida and Virginia using an indoor antenna clamped to a coffee table. You might want his thoughts on that. Probably your best bet for a quick up/down antenna for  20m, is the BuddyStick, rather than a wire & antenna coupler, which you might not have time for. Another suggestion is an automatic antenna coupler a 16 foot, el-cheapo , telescopic 'Crapie pole with a wire to it's top. This is a full 1/4 wave vertical on twenty meters - either at home or on the road. 
toss a couple of 'counterpoise' wires on the ground fed to the 'ground side of the antenna coupler. Collapse it when not used. VERY effective from a stationary mobile.

20 meters MOBILE is another solution.  Get into your car and drive to make your skeds. This also eliminates one of the WORST problems in condos/apartments: electrical noise from all of your neighbors, wiping-out your reception.  There is a cure for most of that, but first things first.

OK - there's a start for 20m out door antennas and 'phoning home' when there are no phones  . . .  An indoor antenna for twenty is very doable and I used to use indoor antennas fed with an antenna coupler from south Aurora, Co. to contacts in State and in Washington State with a nearly 100% QSO rate.

QQQ1: Do you have metal rain gutters?

QQQ2: Do you have any fencing around any part of your patio or etc?


YouTube and look-up VK3YE for cool fun and ideas. 

Hi Mark,

Before giving some suggestions, it would help to have some information:

1. What specific band do you need to use at what distances (average)?
Example: 80m for in State at night.   20m out to 1,000 miles.

2. Are you allowed an antenna, or shall we run you as a clandestine station?   8)  (BTDT)

3. What modes are you planning on using?

4. What is the general layout of your available space?

I've operated a lot of HF radio from apartments and always did it clandestine, because it's always better to beg forgiveness    :'(  than to ask permission   :-[  .  Also, if those around you know that you have a radio transmitter, then you'll be the cause of every electronic disturbance as far as the rumors flow - regardless of whether you're on the air or not at the time. Best to keep it unknown, in my experience.   :-X

Never Say Anything




de RadioRay ..._ ._

One band?  Offshore 20m   Coastal 40m.  I can find more local'ish information and etc. on 40m, but may not have the reach is seriously off-shore, except at night.  My #1 frequency is always 14300USB MMSN.


>Ray

Congratulations on the call sign!  Also a low antenna beats no antenna - really!

String it over the backs of three kitchen chairs if you have to . . .




>RadioRay ..._ ._

This looks like the CQ DX WORLDWIDE CONTEST   ::)  WaHoo  ::) Reading through the silly rules, it appears that you get points for talking to different countries.  Naturally, if you live in Europe, where countries are the size of American counties, that's fine.  If you live in north America, you can blab from Maine to San Diego, California and still get zero points, which is how it should be.  All contests = zero points, no paper and no publishing of 'results'.  (I always thought that results implied DOING something.)

I am curious to hear how this interferes with emergency radio operations relating to the impact of Hurricane Sandy. With Hurricane Sandy due to hit in the next 24 hours, ham radio is very important for us in the more remote areas where loss of infrastructure along the coastal counties can last for a week or more.  Emergency coordination is generally done on Statewide HF.  I can only imagine about 2 a.m. with winds ripping roofs off and some guy is going to be calling me at the EOC: " Italy Zulu One Bravo Sierra you are 5/9, Italy" on his 'voice keyer'.

It may not be as important as contesting though:
'Worked All Crack Houses in Detroit'

Maybe it's just me, but I don't like SPAMMERS, litter-bugs or telephone sales guys and other rude, pushy critters. Unfortunately, the only cure for such wide-spread mayhem is EMP, because counting on good manners in a contest as a way of limiting the damage certainly has no effect.



>RadioRay ..._ ._

Good call, Jonas!

Add to that:

7268LSB as night time Huricane Watch Network.

14265USB = Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) // relief operations.
  7265LSB


We'll likely be loosing internet when this thing hits. Virginia is spooling-up to take a hit right now, nas declared emergency and the counties are activating their EOC's beginning as soon as tomorrow afternoon in some places.


>Ray

An example of what NOT to do:

As a sail-bum at heart, I was listening to the Cruiseheimer's net this morning at 08:30 local on 8152USB.  Well, in comes the coast guard, having to radio relay through a sailor to reach a vessel in distress . . . a sport fisher in the Bahamas (i/e the bullseye of this hurricane yesterday) . This Gomer went out to sea with 31 aboard, including crew & paying customers to go SPORT fishing in the tail of the hurricane.  The sailor/relay reported winds of 40kt with gusts higher in port, but this sport fisher went out anyway.  The relays for coasties via the sailor in port state that there are not enough life jackets for all aboard, no HF radio only VHF - so the coasties had to relay through the sailboat who is equipped with both HF & VHF who was juuuust close enough to reach the sport fisher who has now declared a MAYDAY. His engines are still running but are not going to help for much more than pointing - at best -  in high winds and huge/confused seas.  Engines tend to die when the fuel is sloshing around in the tanks, stirring-up sediment which clogs fuel filters. . .

Hmmmm, Let's review - SANDY was a CAT2 Hurricane when it passed his position yesterday.  Need I say more?  Naturally all the cruisers /with a brain/ from North Carolina to New York are seeking hurricane holes - the sport fisher dude in the Bahamas drives into the tail of the hurricane with customers aboard and drives in so far that he cannot return on his own, then calls other vessels to help.  There are some things that you can't just power your way through - despite what's seen on TV. Most of these type vessels have a TALL spotting tower/flying bridge which is a lot of windage + weight and adds to his liklihood of capsize in high winds and steep / confused seas.  Unlike a mono-hull sailboat, which designed to be self-righting after a capsize, if this thing goes over - their odds of survival are basically zero. Let's hope for the best, despite his poor judgement. This serves as an example of what unthinking people can do to themselves and others even on land during an emergency.

Lesson:  Do NOT assume that others INCLUDING "AUTHORITY FIGURES" around you are going to think first or well.  You CAN assume that when they get into trouble, paniced people will do ANYTHING to try to get out of it - including tear you to shreads.

99.9% of what we call 'surVival' is nothing more than good home economics: Shelter, water, fire and the last .1% is having the means to hang on to your shelter , water & fire.



QUESTION:  If the customers survive, do they get a refund???    ::)

QUESTION:  If they survive, do they lynch the SKipper when they reach the dock?


We may never know.


de RadioRay ..._ ._