Radio Time

 

"Amateur radio knows no boundaries except those set by the frequency"

~Unknown 

                This morning I woke up to the news of a couple of hams I knew passing away, this made two in one week and it made me think of some of the others that I have met either in person or on the air. It made me think about when you first get your license and talk to the ham that comes back to you and how sometimes it maybe the last time you talk to someone, such as the case as my friend Rick who was killed in a car accident two summers ago. Rick was a big supporter of  the rail net I ran and the Western Maryland 1309 project. the other two were great radio friends and almost always provided a great rag chew on the local 2 meter repeaters. I sadly only had met one out of the 3 in person and that was very briefly when I first got my license back in 2018. 

         With this I just want to climb up on my soap box for a minute. Most of us get into the hobby to learn about radio and how it works but we never take the time to learn other things from hams about life experience's. Sure that older ham can't teach you how to work the latest software defined radio or maybe can't help you put up and antenna but they can teach you about a whole lot of other things. Things like how some of the hams had to stay at the national guard base here locally to help with the blizzard of 76 or the storm spotter who first hand witnessed the Xenia tornado outbreak in the 70's . Sometime we hear an older ham talking about a old tube radio and we just brush it off as a guy who won't let go of the past, or the guy who loves CW and is willing to teach it but we are interested in our SDR radios and digital contacts and we feel that this is boring. 

    

            As I climb back down off my soap box I  just want to say take the time out to learn things from older hams, as it was put to me the richest place in the world is not the bank vault but the cemetery, where there is knowledge, wisdom, and experience that never was shared or appreciated is permanently locked away and can never be recovered. So if you are a younger ham I ask that you consider listening to the older ham that was trying to tell the story of his first shack or one of his experiences. If you are a older ham keep sharing the stories and Information because someone is always listening whether or not they come back and ask questions. Which brings me to my final thing, some of our seasoned operators may not have a family nearby and who do not have the means to do anything much other than sit and talk on a radio. If you have the means invite them over to your shack, a family cookout, a holiday dinner or even take them groceries if they can't make it out and just mention it casually on the radio that they struggle. As my friend Cary  say practice a random act of kindness,          

With this I want to close with dedicating this blog to the  friends who have become silent keys those are Richard (W8DBW) Jimmy (N8SGP) Howard (W8SV) And Rick (WA8TSI) who have helped shape me into the radio operator that I am today. Until next time take care, remember God is still in control ~73 

Emergency preparedness Series (Go-Bottle)

 

"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty".

~Proverbs 27:12 NIV 

             Since I first got into ham radio, Skywarn, and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) one topic has always come up on one end of the spectrum or the other and that is the Go-Bag and emergency preparedness. Whether  you are a railfan heading out on a local trip or a 5 hour cross state drive, a ham radio operator that is a storm spotter or that does disaster response or just a average everyday person who works, you need a Go-Bag.. Why do you need one? The answers simple, to sustain yourself for the day,  until help arrives or you can make it back home to safety. In the next article I will cover my EDC (Everyday Carry Bag) But in this article I want to cover a simple solution I found that can be put together for less than $200 bucks, can go anywhere you go whether it be work, a day railfanning, field day, or a trip out to the park. 

    Many years ago I just went out railfanning and didn't give much thought to what to eat drink or even if something happened how would I get home. To put it lightly I was young and dumb, sometimes I would pay attention to the weather and with the abundance of restaurants and vending machine around I was pretty set for a day of watching trains. Fast forward 20 something years and the food scene and area has changed drastically  along with my  daily needs and budget. For the most part I don't like lugging around my Go-Bag everywhere I go and some places are not bag friendly. I needed something that I could break away from my bag and if needed keep a low profile with  should the need for me to get home arise and I have to face possible dangerous encounters on my way home. This setup below also allows me a quick throw in the car and  go solution to my everyday carry bag for places close to home. 

The Go-Bottle 

                Let me introduce you to the Battle Bottle from Iron Infidel it is a 2 liter stainless steel bottle that comes with a neat camo carrier or if your savvy like me you buy the 2 cover version to switch up. Pictured above is it in the black camo pattern. As a ham radio operator most events I have done are marathons and if you have done any then you know that they only last a few hours, way too little to use your 72 hour bag. The bottle above filled with the water and gear weighs about 10 pounds, fits in between the seats of your car and provides you with a few hours of  operating without breaking out your 72 hour go bag.  Let's unload our bottle and  see what has worked well for me. 

The Contents 

 

        From top left here are the contents: 

1. Compass map reader* 

2. Water key  (to refill the bottle) 

3. Sharpie Marker 

4. Snack 

5. Snap lights (Green)* 

6. Flashlight (Mini Goose Neck)  

7. Ferro Rod 

8. Knife 

9.  Magnifying glass 

10. Bottle with cover 

* ( comes in a multi pack that will be broke into Additional  Go- Kits) 

For the most part I have everything I need should  any emergency arise or if I decide I don't want to drive I have a quick solution that I can just through into a car and go without tasking the driver with a bulky bag or taking up precious room in their car. Almost all of this stuff can be found on amazon but I have included a link to the battle bottle. How you put it together is for you to decide, I just wanted to show you what has worked well for me. If you have any questions just write in the comments below and I will cover them in another blog post. 

Link to the bottle: (and no I am not affiliated with them just a really happy customer) 

This is for the 2 cover 1 bottle set. https://ironinfidel.com/collections/battle-bottles/products/battle-bottle-ocp-and-ocp-black

Storm Spotter, an inside look Part1

 

Freedom is not constituted of privileges but of responsibilities 

~Albert Camus 

          Good Afternoon friends, today I want to start off a three to four part series on being a storm spotter and what it takes to be one beyond just the Skywarn training. In this blog we are going to cover the mobile end of it and some of the special set-ups and modification's made to my vehicle in order to do it safely and efficiently. Let's take a look at what has worked well for me and some of the equipment I use. 

            For the most part I drive a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan and I decided not to post any exterior pics just because of the aesthetics  of the car would not let me show it in a good light, so we will focus on the inside equipment for the most part. Now if you are fairly new to storm spotting or are looking into it I hope this advice helps. You don't want to buy a new car or to go chasing in a 50K Dodge ram pickup truck right off the bat. The reason is, things happen, the reason I say this is you can easily turn that nice truck into a 2 ton tuna can in a hurry so start off with a older less expensive option like I did. 

Passenger side 

      

      In the picture above you are looking at the passenger side of the vehicle and where my partner sets while we are operating. This is the radar/ spotter seat this allows me or the driver to focus on the road condition ahead and affords the team the ability to keep out of the path of the storm. From this perspective you can see the laptop mount, laptop for radar positioning via cell and satellite, fire extinguisher and the weather tech mats. Out of sight in this view is the cell/ satellite booster used to keep the mobile data coming in. 

Drivers Side 

           Looking in from the drivers side we see the amateur radio used to call in reports, the handheld radio mount for the DMR (digital Radio) and the scanner used for Weather/CB Monitoring. One of the things I lack is a CB radio but that is on the list to be put in. By having the laptop mount in place allows for us (me and my partner) to keep eyes out the window while making sure we are in a safe location. Mobile spotting has it's dangers and if we are going out in the city I usually don't drive through traffic instead we find a spot and sit to watch the storm from a  safe distance. 

The back hatch 

        Moving to the Rear of the vehicle here we see more additional equipment. In my blog the incident command I explained how I built this for my vehicle and for short the short explanation it enables me to help establish emergency communications if need be, The orange case is more radio gear and the drawer contain usually a anometer for wind speed and other needed items. Other items that go behind the box are listed below.

  72 hour go-bag with IFAK med kit:  Out storm spotting this is a must especially if you come upon a town damaged by a tornado. It enables you to help out and save lives after the storm passes without the need to become a victim yourself and enables you to be self sufficent

CERT Bag: Some communities such as Copley (an adjacent town) have a Community Emergency Response Team and this allows us to function in a roll other than just another storm spotter trying to help. (I would suggest highly into getting into one it is a lot of fun) 

 Food and Supply crates:  This allows us to maintain extended operations as we may not be able to leave the damaged town for a few days, This contains non-perishable easy to cook food, gear and supplies  and the other containers contain teddy bears to comfort scared or hurt children. 

 EDC Bag and Lunch Boxes:  These usually sit up between the  rear passenger seats and provide food and other personal to our team members as we can be out on the road for a while on a very active day. 

Tools And other items: I carry a gas chainsaw (to remove downed trees)  and a few cans of fuel along with tools for the repair of the car and other spare parts to make needed field repairs . 

 Camera bag and media gear:  This should be self explanatory but it enables us to document and live stream video of the storm   

        For the most part we spot in teams of 2-4 people and those consist of  myself, my love, and whichever Skywarn trained friends want to ride along I hope you enjoyed my short blog and tour of my storm spotting vehicle. In the next blog we will cover the basics of information gathering, why I became a spotter and how we know when to load up the van. If you liked the blog click subscribe, leave a comment, if you have a suggestion for the vehicle let me know too. Remember God is still in control and let's keep those affected by the tornadoes in your thoughts and prayers. Until next time my friends 73 

Of Hams and Hoggers 2.0 (an introduction )

 The most important thing is to enjoy your life — to be happy. It's all that matters. 

~Audrey Hepburn~

Good evening friends, family and visitors, I want to welcome you to my blog and give you a little insight about myself and what my blog is all about. For many of you who know me know besides being an extra class amateur radio operator I am into trains, weather and other fun outdoor activities. For those of you who do not know my story here it is. 

CSX 911 first responders unit 

My love of trains: For many years since I was young I always have loved trains. Whether the full size steel wheels on steel rails, or the Tabletop models I always have loved trains and still do. Most of my passion is sitting next to the railroad tracks and travelling to railfan destinations in Ohio my other part of this passion is to model the Youngstown steel industry in HO Scale on my freelance model railroad. For the most part some way shape or form you will find me trackside at one point or another.  

Ham Radio: The one thing that lead me to becoming a ham radio was the trains. For many years I helped a associate run a small hobby shop in Akron here and he was a veteran radio operator. I followed him to a ham fest to help sell items and wound up getting hooked into this hobby. In August of 2017 I became KE8HNK and in February of 2018 I passed my extra class and the rest is history. One more thing I would like top clear up is yes my real name is Elmer and yes I know the history LOL if you don't know then just look up what an Elmer in ham radio is. 

Supercell over Akron 

Storm Spotting and Skywarn: What better thing to get into than storm spotting. It was a natural, plus the Skywarn logo in my opinion is one of the coolest logos out there. Add this in with my love of outdoors, ham Radio, Trains and  my travels it was seamless addition to my two great hobbies I already enjoy plus I get to help save lives by getting weather warnings out quicker using a hobby I already enjoy. 

Outdoor Activities and Preparedness: For the most part through the channels of ham radio I have found other great activities to get into such as archery, and disaster prep. For the most part I volunteer on several groups and try my best to help others know the importance of preparedness whether you are trackside or outside at home storms and disasters can strike and I want others to know how to survive and get home safe or help keep some sense of normalcy in their life. 

What to expect from this blog: For the most part you will find my stories and journey into new things and if I can teach something and share knowledge then I have accomplished my mission here. I hope you will come back and enjoy my blog and if you do don't be afraid to drop a comment below. I look forward to bringing you what I feel to be great content and hope you hang around and subscribe. Also follow us on social media  (links posted below) Remember God is in control, He loves you and so do I until next time friends 73

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