The Go-Box Chronicles (The Incident Command)

 

“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” -Benjamin Franklin

   Recently I was over by a friend of our families house and the apartment up the street had a kitchen fire.  I was milling around  the scene taking pictures  of the firetrucks and the scene when I noticed the back of the battalion chiefs SUV had a mobile incident command center.  The center was small enough to fit into the back of the SUV and contained a small desk, a base type radio along with other stationary items needed to provide a safe command station to the responding fire companies. Unfortunately I was unable to get close to get pictures as it was a very busy scene.

A box similar to Akron's (Image from the internet for reference) 

To say I was intrigued would be an understatement, not only did it have the radios but also storage areas, and a marker board  with a integrated desk. The idea for one when I go trackside, or when I do a public service events came to mind, however I just couldn't find something that  I liked and that would work with my new go box so I decided to set out on my own and build it myself. 

I had a general idea of what I wanted but there were several features that I felt could be incorporated into my design and some items that could be eliminated. One of the things that was not needed was all of that storage,  so I narrowed it down to a single deep divided drawer and a tuck under shelf for my clip boards and other paper work.  This allowed me to make the one half of the unit to fit my Go-Box in which from my previous blog allows it to be modular to be taken from the shack to the car quickly and efficiently. So lets take a tour of my Ham Command Center. 

A perfect fit  

   

     The dimensions are 15" Deep by 48" Wide by 15" high at the radio bay and is a custom fit for my go box. From left to right there is a nook to store my headphones and any other small cases between the wheel well and tailgate area. Next is the Go-Box bay, it is open in the back to allow venting and power cable routing along with a battery tray to make the whole setup independent of the vehicles power system. Next is the desk and drawer that keeps small items such as charts, papers, forms, spare antennas, HT's, and other miscellaneous items needed at bay. Finally on the top of the drawer is the small desk for writing, it is angled about 5 degrees and has a strip across the bottom to keep items from sliding off. 

    I feel I accomplished what I wanted, and once I get a chance later this coming year to  fully test my setup and see how it operates I will either be tweaking things or will be going full ham (Pun intended). This concludes part 2 of my Go-Box chronicles and hopefully I have inspired you to build something for your vehicle. Until Next time my friends, take care, be blessed and remember God is still in control. ~73 

    

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Prying Eyes Part 1 (a primer on ham shack security)

 

Good evening fellow hams and railfans,

In tonight's blog I want to touch on ham shack security. As amateur radio operators we go to great lengths to try to make our shacks safe from hazards such as lightning, stray voltages, and bad RF, however one thing I have noticed is the lack of security in our ham shacks. Now I want to make the disclaimer that this is not a full nuts and bolts out of the box security system, but a few simple tips and tricks to make your ham shack more secure.

Target hardening:  You can't always prevent someone from breaking in, however one of the most simple things you can do is slow the rate one can either gain access to, or remove equipment. This is especially true if you have a stand alone shack. Here are 7 things you can do begin target hardening  

1. Install a double deadbolt lock on your door,  this is one of the simplest things you can do, they require a key in and a key out and another benefit is that they prevent smash and turn entry by requiring the key to open the door and since the shack is not  considered a livable structure they get around most building codes. 

2.  Screw it down..... Most radios come with a mobile bracket or one is available, by screwing it down this slows up the removal process allowing more time for law enforcement to arrive and catch the suspect in the act. 

3.  Light it up!!!!!  Most shacks have some source of power, by installing lights you deter crime because of the easiness of getting caught. Adding lights weather solar, battery or utility adds to the overall safety  and security of the shack.

4. Install cameras.... By installing a camera system with a DVR you not only highly discourage theft and trespassing but you have a set of digital eyes watching 24 hours a day ( make sure the DVR is not visible or place it in another location) 

5.  Keep a low profile... This is a essential thing if you live in a moderate to high crime area (just about anywhere now) adding antennas is easy but it also makes a obvious sign that you have expensive radio equipment. If you can, use the smallest antenna needed. 

6. Add shutters with locks, while this maybe an old fashioned way of doing things it still slows one down without the unattractive bars on the outside of the windows and requires a pair of bolt cutters or making noise to access the window. 

7. Limit how far windows can be opened, installing a bolt drilled into the side of the window can significantly slow one down but allow you to remove the bolt and the window to be fully opened when you are in your shack 

After you do all this what else can you do to make your ham shack more secure? Here are 4 more tips that don't require any money and can make the difference in how easy you are targeted. 

1.  Know your neighbors!!!! You don't have to be the social butterfly, but simply by casually observing your neighbors you can learn a lot about what they really are up to and assign a threat level to them based upon whether or not you observe criminal activity. 

2. Practice light discipline, by knowing where to place monitors and TV Screens you can prevent wandering eyes from knowing what you have, also consider light blocking blinds or curtains to keep light from spilling out at night. 

3. Keep quiet, while it is one of our favorite things to do is to show off our ham shack it could be one move that invites trouble. This also includes family members as we all have a few that are always up to no good. Just be wise to who you show your toy room too is all that I am saying.

4. Finally the most important thing to do is to be vigilant, do a quarterly review of your shack. Ask yourself if I was a criminal how would I get in and what could I easily remove? By asking these things you can help keep yourself, your family and toys safe from the perils of life's ruthlessness. 

I hope you enjoyed my blog and have found a lot of this useful, as a ham and a  security professional these are things I have learned to implement at home and in my vehicles in which I will cover in another blog in the future. Until next time remember God is still in control and stay safe and happy ~73 

Broken Rail

 

" you have to embrace the pain in order for it to have the desired effect"

~Drew Brees 

   

The Westbound coal drag 

        

    In 2019 I had to make a hard choice and leave my employer of over 5 years that afforded me the wonderful mornings of trains and ham radio, it wasn't a easy choice and it put a serious dent in my trackside mobile operation. For 3 out of 5 years I was a staple on the barometer net and trackside in Akron. Soon afterward I began spiraling away from trains, ham radio and rail-fanning altogether and went only on a handful of excursions with my lady with little to no excitement. In December 2019 I chose to change careers again only to find myself still unable to get the desire to go back trackside or even fully enjoy ham radio. 

Coal Cars roll by 

     The pandemic of 2020 put another big damper and it didn't help my feeling  of being uninterested in my hobbies. What caused my dismal feeling? Was it I was growing out of the hobby? Did I lose my passion? Was I bullied out? and the answer was I had been bullied out of my passion. For the most of 2018-2019 I helped a fellow ham (The one who introduced me to ham radio) at his shop and at ham-fests. While I was there helping him it seemed I was not smart enough or good enough and I gave up even trying to  even show any interests in my hobbies as I was punished for trying to do anything that wouldn't benefit him, after leaving him and taking on a new job, I just didn't have the time  or the desire to divulge myself into my hobbies. My lady tried to encourage me to get back to what I loved however the only thing I seemed interested in was storm spotting, not realizing I was in the middle of my own storm and was losing direction. 

The Eastbound auto carrier 

What changed to get me back on track? (Pun intended) Well over the course of the summer my lady and I would go and sit trackside along with a few snacks and try to enjoy the day, however it just still didn't work.  Beginning this fall I decided to begin to start remodeling the shack and building a Go Box and as fate would have it my small propane heater ran out of fuel during one of the coldest weeks of this month. So  instead of trying to heat and work in my shack before I go to work I decided to go trackside mobile at a spot I normally  would go on the weekends. It had just freshly snowed the night before and I went trackside similar to what I had at my old job. It was cold out, I had my coffee, a great sunrise, the barometer net on the radio and a fresh snowfall and it seemed like a already beautiful morning, could it get any better?  Yes it did!!! On my scanner the Q216 cracked the silence and called a signal two signals away from me while the other railroad was giving out track warrants a westbound coal drag snuck up on me I looked up and saw the westbound coal drag with a UP leader. Two trains at once? It was!!! It almost was instant my feeling of  being uninterested left and my passion began to come back flooding in. Now I still have a long way to go to get back to where I was but now I am back on track and slowly rolling toward my destiny once again. Sometimes all it takes is a moment  And God  to change your circumstances, so if you are feeling like I was take the time to reflect on why you feel that way, and then embrace the pain and the rest will fall into place. Until Next time my friends, remember God id still in control, Take care and Be Blessed  ~73