Ham Radio assisted Rescue
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Salty
Active member
Cool story. Probably would not be a bad thing for this ham to get a 2m handheld. My 40 yo Icom bit the dust years ago.
Great story. I haven't hiked with my 2M handheld transceiver since the early 90s. With the advent of cellphones, 2M repeater activity is really way down. I think he is very lucky unless that is a particularly active repeater. Once talked to a guy in the LL Bean parking lot from the summit of Katahdin with handheld.
Yes this is a very active repeater. It is on top of Belknap and is very actively maintained by the Central New Hampshire Raio Club. https://www.cnharc.org/repeaters/
Hope you have maintained your License. They are good for 10 years with a 2 year grace period. After that you have to test all over from the first level (Technician) and all the way up if you hold a higher license.
Yeah, they make you start at the beginning, but you can take all 3 exams the same day, assuming you pass each one. There are only 3 license levels now. When I started, there were 6 levels (but really only 5 since Conditional and General were basically the same). I understand that it is not all that uncommon to pass all three in one sitting, especially if the person has held a license before and let it expire.
I didn't think there were any really active repeaters in the area. I used to love bringing the HT to a place like Carrigain and be able to bring up repeaters in upstate NY. I carried a gel pack battery for extended time on the air. Judging by the pack, this is a very old pic
sierra
Well-known member
I didn't think there were any really active repeaters in the area. I used to love bringing the HT to a place like Carrigain and be able to bring up repeaters in upstate NY. I carried a gel pack battery for extended time on the air. Judging by the pack, this is a very old pic
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That picture is cool on multiple levels. I work for the State of NH and one of my employees was and still is a big Ham guy, he constantly tried to get me in his group and to get a license. I never pursued it, still might at some point.
ChrisB
Well-known member
I didn't think there were any really active repeaters in the area. I used to love bringing the HT to a place like Carrigain and be able to bring up repeaters in upstate NY. I carried a gel pack battery for extended time on the air. Judging by the pack, this is a very old pic
View attachment 6948
What a Great pic. I wonder, could you load up the Kelly frame on 10 meters?
What a Great pic. I wonder, could you load up the Kelly frame on 10 meters?
Thanks. I think it is a Camp Trails...supposedly same pack Jim Whittaker used on his first ascent of Everest. Couldn't afford Kelty when I got that...late 60s. Don't use 10M much, did work some stations during last week's contest. Hey, I was doing SOTA (summits on the air for the non hams reading this) before it was a thing. This pic is from Katahdin (Hamlin Peak) circa late 80s.
Sota is very active in the fall. Not sure where you are in Maine but Lots of operators use the 2M repeater on the Rockpile. Also the KQ1L network in Maine can see some use especially this time of year.I didn't think there were any really active repeaters in the area. I used to love bringing the HT to a place like Carrigain and be able to bring up repeaters in upstate NY. I carried a gel pack battery for extended time on the air. Judging by the pack, this is a very old pic
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The only repeater in the KQ1L network near me is on Mt Agamenticus, but I don't use 2M anymore, haven't in decades. My Kenwood TH-215A has a serious case of "key bounce" so as to be almost unusable. I just work 40, 20 and sometimes 15.
I’m with you. I mostly work HF. Got to get out back. My inverted V 160m thru 50m came down on one end after this storm. Hopefully it is retrievable. Maybe we can hook up on 40m sometime.
Salty
Active member
Absolutely, I'm determined to be the last Advanced class ham out there.
I've been largely inactive, but had a spurt of HF activity until something crapped out the audio (IC-756 Pro II). Of course, the circuit is under another board so debugging isn't pretty (tack solder wires on teensy bumps), and of course, it's the main board which is tough to find a replacement.
Salty
Active member
What a Great pic. I wonder, could you load up the Kelly frame on 10 meters?
I was thinking of a long wire strung between Carrigan and Lowell.
Although that's about a full wavelength for the 2200m band.
Lots of parts out there. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nk...MI27zO3JqL_AIVFZfICh0S0QsjEAAYASAAEgKJ3_D_BwEAbsolutely, I'm determined to be the last Advanced class ham out there.
There is a reason that they have wanted to put a repeater up there. Carrigan blocks a lot of line of sight transmissions. Unless of course your physically transmitting from the tower itself.I was thinking of a long wire strung between Carrigan and Lowell.
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LOL. I had an Advanced but eventually got the Extra. They say the Advanced theory was actually harder than the present Extra, but I don't really remember. The license renewal cost is up to $35, but if you upgrade I believe there is no cost except the VEC charge, then the license is good for another 10 years.
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I got my Extra about ten years ago. Never had Advanced but Extra was definitely harder than General. Also the question pool was changed for Extra about three years ago and the rumor is it is harder than what I took for a test ten years ago. Now to go out and hopefully unbury my long wire before it freezes in the ground this weekend.
