The 2024 Hurricane Season started of slow but boy did it pick up steam. Right now, the country has been rocked by the devastation left by Hurricane Helene and now Florida is bracing for Major Hurricane Milton. There are lots of good people doing lots of good things out there. I want to give a shoutout to AmRRon and Grindstone Ministeries for all the work they are doing in the Tennessee/North Carolina areas. You can find out more about these organizations at https://amrron.com and https://grindstoneministries.com.

I have been blessed in that both of these powerful hurricanes missed me. Helene about 40 miles to my east and Milton several hundred miles to my south. Just because I got lucky doesn’t mean I should sit back and rest upon my laurels. Contrary to popular belief, ham radio operators in the affected area are typically not able to operate after a hurricane passes through. Their number one concern is the safety of their family and the protection of their property. Many have left the area and are holed up in a motel somewhere or are with friends/family. This is the time and the place for those not affected by the storm to lend a hand. With families and property safe and secure, amateur radio operators can travel to, set up and operate their portable stations, relaying valuable information to public safety and/or nervous families wanting to know that their kith and kin are safe.

For those able to deploy, preparations should start long before you leave hearth and home. Radios and coax need to be checked for proper operation, antennas checked for damage? Are all of your batteries charged, generators serviced, and solar panels operating properly? Is your vehicle ready: tires checked, engine serviced, lights work? Do you have enough fuel for your vehicle and your generators? Do you have a place to sleep and something to sleep on? Do you have water and do you have food? Always bring food and always bring water, regardless of what someone promises you.

And what about you? Are you in shape? When was the last time you were to the doctors? Do you have any conditions that may affect you and are they serious enough that not being near an emergency room might kill you?

I’m not young anymore and my days of traveling to a disaster areas are coming to a close. However, I am ready; I keep a running talley on my gear. How? I practice with my gear almost everytime I go to park or a campground. The same gear I use in a park is the same gear I use for a disaster. I know how it works and I know I have what I need. I call this FunComm, which to me, is practice for EmComm. My field radio stays packed and ready to go. My basic kit looks like this.

The top box contains my radio and associated gear.

The bottom box, contains my batteries, power stations and a couple of solar panels. I also have 2 larger solar panels that I would also bring. I do not always bring batteries with me for FunComm but I see that they are charged up several times a year. Two notes. 1) Check your gear. Out in a disaster, you probably won’t be able to get whatever it is you left behind. I recommend that when practicing FunComm, you go at least 20 miles away from home. That is about the distance too far to drive back home again — either make do or call it a bust. 2) Solar power generation is iffy. On a good day, a 100 watt solar panel puts out about 6 amps. Your radio at 100 watts output consumes about 18 amps. That means for every hour of transmitting, it requires 3 hours of solar power generation at max efficiency. Don’t forget, you will have to feed you laptop, lights, cell phone etc. Yes, a cell phone has other uses besides a phone. My battery box looks like this.

You EmComm types may chuff at Parks on the Air (POTA), but they know their gear, because they use it often. Take the time now. Check your gear, get it ready, get yourself ready, sometimes, when they need you, they need you now. My prayers are for those in the paths of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and also for those souls who when the call came were ready. When the call comes, can you cry out “Here am I” 73 and God Bless de Scott

I’ve been busy lately, doing a lot of things for a lot of different people and even having fun with the process. I have been making some changes to the way I operate and how I am adapting to such things as getting older. The first change is I have added the remote VFO IC-RC28 to the shack. In the photo above, I have the RC28 next to my paddles. I like it there as I am often cruising up and down a band when doing activities like POTA. It is more comfortable with the dial being more horizontal and it is also enough out of the way when I am using my desk — well, like a desk. Just to he left of the RC28 goes my mouse. Everything right there one, two, three.

Another change coming to the shack is a new (to me) amplifier. I am getting an SPE Expert 2.0K-FA amp. This amp is capable of 1.8 to 2.0 KW of power and is set up fro general coverage (includes outside the ham bands). I normally never use more than 1 KW so what this gives me is a lot of headroom. The 2.0 is about twice as heavy as the 1.5 which I currently own. With the additional cooling I will be able to run digital modes up to 1 KW. However, I normally do not need anymore than 100-200 watts for CONUS coverage. I am adding an amplifier interface cable to the IC-7300 so both radios can each run the amp with a push of a button. The SPE Expert 1.5K-FA will be up for sale shortly.

Antennas. I’ll be putting up a new antenna. This is be a 203′ terminated end-fed non-resonant antenna. This will be a very broadbanded antenna and will allow me to operate on 60 meters. I also have some field antennas coming and I will post about them on a different post.

Power.

I added a 100 Ah battery to the list of portable power options. This battery will give me a full weekend of operating. This battery will also provide back-up power when black-outs or brown-outs occur. I have another set of solar panels on the way. This country is heading towards power shortages as fossil fuel plants are beign shut down and not being replaced. However, our energy usage is continuing to increase. Several parts of our country are already suffering from these outages.

I do have a couple of field trips planned in the near future and of course operating from home.

The wonderful thing about amateur radio is there are so many ways to enjoy the service. I do not call amateur radio a hobby as it is a service even we can enjoy it like a hobby. Until next time, get out there and get on the air, or stay at home. 73 de Scott