Boy Scouts and Field Day

Today I finally had a chance to slow down a little and catch up with myself. I always enjoy these days because it means I get some housework done, the paperwork piles are reduced, and I get ready for whatever happens to be coming next.

I didn't get any training in today, because I had promised to give a presentation to the local Boy Scout council about the American Radio Relay League's 2009 Field Day exercise. That took up all of my time after dinner. The meeting went well. I made my presentation, explaining that Field Day is a combined emergency preparedness exercise and contest. Contestants have a few hours to set up their equipment followed by 24 hours to make as many contacts as they can. It is the biggest amateur radio event of the year in North America. This is usually a good time for hams to show their stuff to the public, who are allowed to operate under an amateur radio operator's supervision.

Tomorrow is a rest day, so I suppose I will get a double rest before taking on Mission Peak for a second time.

Off My Diet

This morning it was rise and shine at 6:00 am. I met some hams at the Circus Circus diner and had an omelet, hash browns and sausage. Definitely not on my diet, but there was no Starbucks on site or anywhere else that I could find a yogurt/fruit parfait or a small latte. Harumph!

After that, it was off to the swap meet at 7:00 am. Hams like to recycle used gear, so it's a pretty common event to hold a swap meet, which is basically just a big garage sale in a parking lot, similar to a flea market. I bought a set of used hamsticks (20M, 40M and 80M), which are HF antennas primarily used for mobile or otherwise portable communications. The whips have already been cut, but it's possible to buy replacement whips if it turns out that the whips need to be longer. The price was right and since I don't yet have 80 meter capability, this may give me some additional options for my home base station. Unfortunately, I didn't see two 80M hamsticks at the swapmeet. Two 80M hamsticks would give me the possibility of making an 80M dipole, which would be a lot shorter solution than stringing a long wire across the roof to the front edges of our home. I would have to keep my eyes open.

The convention started off with a state of the ARRL address, the national organization of amateur radio operators, given by Steve Ewald, WV1X, from headquarters. After that, there were breakout sessions. I went to the ones on WWII Spy Radio (something I would have enjoyed had I understood how to read a schematic), Tactical Field Communication Centers (essentially how to make your radio equipment quickly and safely portable), Green Power and the Modern Grid (about the current electrical system, the plan to replace it, and hair-raising modern security concerns). The power system presentation was the most intriguing and something I would like to see again since it was so jam packed with information.

A bunch of us hams from San Jose RACES went to the El Dorado for a lunch of Chinese food, which was quite good. There was much great conversation, both about amateur radio, emergency communications, but also on topics of a more social, less technical nature. I had the Mongolian Lamb with rice. Definitely off my diet. A pattern is developing...

After lunch, I took a look at the vendor booths. I bought a couple of emergency communications signs to put on my car when I am activated. I also found another new 80M hamstick as well as a mounting bracket for making a dipole. Now all that is needed is a mast and more coax, as well as an antenna switch. Hmmm.... putting up that long wire may be easier after all...

There were also more seminars. Jim Brown, K9YC, gave an excellent presentation on RFI (radio frequency interference) in the ham shack. He's not only a good presenter, he makes his subject matter accessible to those with less technical backgrounds (like me). After that, I went up to my room and took a nap for an hour. I never sleep well when I'm away from home without my family and last night was no exception.

Next, I went to a presentation on CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) and amateur radio given by David Kidd, KA7OZO, who also presented at Pacificon 2008. The subject matter was interesting and had many local applications as well. It seems to be a common concern that CERT teams are asking amateur radio operators for assistance during emergencies, but that some of them may not understand that there aren't enough hams to go around. I piped up and mentioned that amateur radio operators in Saratoga, California were solving that problem by training new hams out of the CERT graduates so that they could fill their own communications needs. This in turn puts less stress on the relationship between the ARES/RACES/ACS and CERT communities. (ARES, RACES and ACS are communications programs that activate in an emergency or for drills.) This is a great example of working together and developing the human resources that can be so critical in an emergency.

The evening's festivities included a banquet at which Riley Holingsworth, K4ZDH, formerly in charge of amateur radio enforcement at the FCC, was the speaker. He gave an excellent speech on the current state of amateur radio, its future, its culture, as well as band threats and other issues. Mr. Holingsworth is an excellent and eloquent speaker and I enjoyed his talk very much. Our dinner of roast beef, mashed potatos, etc., wasn't bad either! Damn! Still off my diet.

Later that evening I spent some time walking around the casinos, people watching, but not feeding the slot machines any money. I simply had no desire to gamble even though numerous opportunities presented themselves. I found myself wondering why people gamble. There's the excitement of it, but I think people don't realize that they are putting themselves into a situation that is bigger and often more powerful than they are. The excitement becomes a habit and the habit winds up becoming a problem. Gambling is marketed as entertainment and there is always the promise of something for nothing. Whatever the case, casinos exist to take your money, not give money away. If they paid out money to everyone, they wouldn't be in business.

I finished off the evening with a coffee ice cream cone. No, that's not on my diet either, but it sure was good!

Musical Cars

Today I played musical cars. I'm leaving for Reno tomorrow morning. It is expected to rain and God only knows what it will do in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Donner Pass.

I will miss this Saturday's Team in Training hike at Saratoga Gap. I've been planning to go to EmComm West, a gathering of amateur radio operators who are involved in emergency communications, for over a year now and had this weekend reserved long before I ever signed up for Team in Training. This year, EmComm West will be joined with Pacificon, the convention of the American Radio Relay League's Pacific Division, which includes us.


But before I can even think about driving my car to Reno, possibly in snow, I needed to make sure that it's safe to drive. I dropped off my Subaru Outback wagon at the dealership first thing this morning. Then I drove our son to school and then my husband to the Google bus in his car. Then back home where I did some housework while waiting for the dealership to call and tell me that my car was ready.


They did call at about noon, but they informed me that they wanted to flush the power steering fluid and that I needed new tires. They were getting bald. Hmmm... When would the car be ready? I was informed that it would be less than an hour. So I called Wheel Works to ask them a) did they have the same kind of tires we used last time in stock and b) if I brought the car in an hour from now, would they be able to change the tires today. It was yes on both counts. Awesome!


The problem, however, was how to get both cars to Wheel Works from the dealership? I can only drive one car at a time and Duane was at work. I drove Duane's car to the dealership, picked up my car and drove it to Wheel Works. Unfortunately, I didn't have a ride back to the dealership, so I wound up sitting in their waiting room for almost two hours with nothing to read. Ugh! I suppose I could have gone window shopping, but that's not really my thing.


While at Wheel Works, the mechanic tried to tell me that there was a problem and that I needed a new axle. A NEW AXLE?! I asked incredulously. I just came from the dealer and having the car serviced and they never said a word! I declined to replace the axle and, after the new tires were installed, I drove my car back to the dealership so their mechanics - whom I trust - could look at the car and confirm if there was really a problem. The bottom line was that the Wheel Works guy really needed to stick to tires - everything was fine. There was a minor repair item that needed to be done at the next service, but nothing that couldn't wait. My Subaru was fine to drive to Reno!


After dropping off my Subaru at the dealer a second time and switching back to Duane's car, it was time to pick up our son from school, so off I went again. And then to pick up Duane from the Google bus, after which I was finally able to hand over his car and collect mine once again.


The evening was spent doing the rest of the laundry, packing for the weekend trip, and making sure that Duane had all of the information he needed to be in the places that he needed to be on time.