Quote from: cockpitbob on March 14, 2016, 01:25:27 PM
The 2 times I've serves at the Boston Marathon were 2014 & 2015 (right after the bombing).  Both years, from wherever I stood, I could see multiple armed law enforcement or military people.  A ham with a bunch of gear is likely to be searched, so I wouldn't carry a gun.  But even if I did carry, I wouldn't consider drawing it unless my life were in immediate danger.  As you point out, there's no way to tell a good guy from bad.  Also, I doubt the military folk get the same "shoot/don't shoot" decision training the police get.

These days with all the operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and such the military does do a fair amount of MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) training.  A lot of that does involve shoot/no-shoot scenarios.

I do see your point.  I'm not going to say if I've ever carried at an event.  I do carry extra first aid and trauma gear.  If push ever comes to shove I plan to disappear into the woodwork until the lead stops flying and the dust has settled.  After that I'll take off my ham hat and put on my combat lifesaver hat.  That's just me though.

State laws and city ordinances will vary; but I'd say that in the lion's share of public service events you will not be permitted to be armed and there's no way in Hell you're going to be allowed to "go on the attack" as you put it.  How will the cops know who the active shooter is and who's the overzealous ham?

Not to steal Julian's thunder on this; but I've got one of the EZ-Military whips and found that the 6m-40m end-fed that I bought from KX3Helper.com works a heck of a lot better and is a lot more compact.  It can be coiled up and fits into a zip-top sandwich bag.  I'm not sure what the differences are between the regular EZ-Military and the EZ-Military "Gold"; but I doubt it's worth the added cost.  $400 for the Gold vs $250 for the original?  It looks like the only difference is the addition of a tripod and three lengths of wire (counterpoises and an NVIS element) all of which can be made yourself.

I'm not being bitter mind you.  It's entirely my own fault for not doing a lot more research.  I fell victim to hype.

WL2K is the system that you're accessing via RMSExpress.

Winmor is a protocol used by RMS Express in this case.

I'm hoping that Santa helps me out with a Raspberry Pi computer.  I bought one on my own just in case and have a TNC-Pi coming from Coastal Chip Works in the next day or two.  My next building project is going to be using the Rpi and the TNC-Pi paired up with my old FT-8900 into a satellite / EmComm station in a Pelican 1550 case.

You got that right!  If I'm called up for a RACES mission, or even some of our bigger public service events, I can throw my station-in-a-box in the back of the truck along with whatever field gear I need and set up pretty much anywhere.  That and I like setting up in parks as well when the weather's nice.

Here's the video I made about making Faraday containers out of popcorn tins.

     https://youtu.be/jk2gs906I8k

Amps definitely aren't the answer to everything.  A good antenna and a 5W FT-817 can get you the world.  Band conditions have sucked for the last few weeks and have only gotten better in the last three or four days.

I'm in Fort Worth and have worked contacts in the Pacific NW and the east coast.  I use a homebrew Inverted-V 20' up sloping down to tie into my privacy fence on both sides of my yard at a height of 6'.  I live in an HOA too so I have to keep my antenna hidden too.  At the top of my mast I've got a wireless weather station.  From across the street I can just barely see the tips of the anemometer blades for less than two steps before the roof of my neighbors' houses (from both sides) overlap mine and cover it.  You just have to be creative with antenna placement.  I've got an Arrow II J-pole in my attic for VHF/UHF work. 

I don't use an amp either; but I do have my Yaesu FT-857D connected to an LDG Z-11 Pro II tuner.  If you and your brother don't have antenna tuners you should definitely consider it.  It will help you squeeze every bit you can out of your radio and antenna.

PSK-31 is a good mode for when conditions are bad.  You can even get an interface to tie-in an iPhone or Android device to your radio.  Do a Google search for the Easy-Digi interface.  I bought mine from the guy who makes them from his eBay store. 

Just keep at it.  You and your brother will work it all out.  It'll take time and practice; but you WILL get there.

Ham Radio Outlet has a 100W one for $27.95.

Very nicely done, sir.   

Good job, man!  Now you can start workin' some DX.

Yup, those will work too.  Use whatcha got!

I'm currently working on a YouTube video on making a Faraday can out of those popcorn tins we all seem to collect around the holidays.  I've got a small one big enough for an HT and maybe a couple small GPS units; but you can also use the really big cans and for laptops and tablets.

The same process will work for things like ammo cans or any other metal container.

I'll see if I can get it finished and posted.  Stay tuned!

I keep 50' of RG-8X coiled up in a Rubber-Maid container along with a 100' extension cord and other accessories that I use with my HF station in a box.  You can coil RG-8X to less than 12" in diameter...possible 8 or 10" so packing it up shouldn't be a problem.

I would go with the 6m-40m end-fed from KX3Helper.com.  It rolls up nice and small.  Mine fits in a zip-lock sandwich bag and comes with a balun.  I've worked DX contacts as far away as Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Chile.

I like the QSL card you've got there!  Maybe we can work each other sometime!

Good luck!

Welcome to the group, Hank!