Rural radio fun ahead

 Sunday or Monday (11/3-4/24) we're heading 84 miles from Idaho Falls west out to Craters of the Moon National Monument to spend a few days camping in the old lava flows.

There's not too much to do at Craters and that's the way we like it.  Most folks think Craters is in the middle of nowhere and that's the way we like it.  The middle of nowhere can be especially fun if there are a couple of 2 meter repeaters somewhat close by.

And sure enuf, the Jump Off Peak repeater near Howe, Idaho, is a mere 30 miles northeast and the Mt. Harrison unit is only 80 miles to the south.

Both repeaters are kept in great shape by their respective custodians and both are part of the Intermountain Intertie.

That means I will get to fiddle with my Wouxun HT and try to see how far along I can get with the Intertie.  We're sure looking forward to it!

The line-of-sight graphs were produced with this online app:
https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/

The Mt. Harrison repeater is at 9,300 feet so it's NO problem for line-of-sight.
Here's some more info on Mt. Harrison
http://minicassia.club/?harrison

We initially thought Jump Off would be blocked by ridges east of Arco, Idaho. 
Nope. No way.  It's a clear line of sight to Jump Off.
Scroll down on this page for more info on Jump Off:
https://utahvhfs.org/other_rpt.html

WSEW366

 YAY!  We received an early AM email October 1st, 2024, with your GMRS license & call sign.  We REALLY like the call sign!

GMRS license

 I thought this would be totally EZPZ and straightforward.  HAHAHA!  WRONG!

It was Anything BUT!

Of course, I keep my FRN and account login data at my fingertips.  But that didn't do ANY good whatsoever.  My once reliable FC login data failed miserably and I had to create a new account from scratch.

By and by, I "got 'er dun" but it was a real chore.  Eventually, I was actually able to find the right portal to pay my $35 license fee.  Then I actually received a payment confirmation and transaction code.  I felt like I'd crossed the FCC Rubicon!

Seriously, if you already have an Amateur Radio License, it shouldn't be this hard.  But we're OK and "good to go".

So, why did I feel like I needed a GMRS license?  Well, it's because I am a "goodie two shoes" when it come to obeying laws.  I made up a little kit of two TidRadio TD-H3's and was going to have my wife contact me via SIMPLEX when she'd go on a hike in some campground.

Of course, that would be illegal since she doesn't have a HAM Tech License.  So? What to do?  Why STAY LEGAL and get a GMRS license and configure the TD-H3's properly for those frequencies,

I just didn't figure the FCC would be such an "issue" as it turned out to be today.

The Next Experiment

 This sure sounds like a stretch to me but we're going to give it a try.  We're going to try to connect from a spot east of Idaho Falls to one or more members of the Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society in the Gila Valley area.

First, we will reach the Jump Off Peak repeater near Howe Idaho.  It will be 63 miles from our Idaho Falls location.  Supposedly, Jump Off will connect to the Intermountain Intertie and them to Rimlink in Arizona.  If all goes according to plan we will apparently connect to one or more EAARS members view the ARA repeater on Pinal Peak just south of Globe, Arizona.  That's The Plan, anyway.  The photos and graphics attempt to help understand The Plan.

It ain't much but I love my little outfit.  I have to drive a few miles east of town to gain elevation.

It's 63 miles from my spot to the Jumpoff Peak Repeater.  Scroll down for a nice writeup on Jumpoff:

https://utahvhfs.org/other_rpt.html

Here's a closer view of the "new & improved" dipoles on Jumpoff.

The Intertie access codes appear to be here: https://w7ara.org/pdf/ARA-Repeater-Info.pdf

It will be more than 1,000 miles---"if" The Plan works.  That's a dang Big IF!

I really don't know how the signal will thread the various Utah repeaters.

To read a little bit about them see: https://utahvhfs.org/snowlink.html

At some point, the signal will interface with the Arizona Repeater Association's network.

And that's when it will theoretically connect to members of my new club--EAARS!

Jumpoff is 63 miles away out in the haze.  It's an ambitious Plan for sure.
Equipment: Wouxun KG-UV8D Plus with an MFJ-1714 Long Ranger antenna.

We have reached the Jumpoff Peak repeater before so we know that part can be done.

EAARS - ERARC -ARA

EAARS & ERARC & ARA

We are dues paying members of three amateur radio clubs: The Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society, the Eagle Rock Amateur Radio Club and the Arizona Repeater Association.  All three clubs have been around a long time.  First, let's introduce EAARS with their 50-year history as published in the club's September 2024 newsletter.

Here are the two links you need to know for EAARS: Website: https://www.eaars.com/

and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EAARS

We're a tad bit confused by the plaque shown below.  It was passed around at the September meeting of the Eagle Rock Amateur Radio Club as if it was just received.  Clearly, it marks 50 years affiliation  but it's dated 1967.  We presume ERARC started up in 1967 but will have to check.

Website: https://www.erarc.org/home  Club does not appear to have a Facebook account.

The Arizona Repeater Association dates back at least 50 years as well.  The club runs quite a network of Arizona repeaters.  Since their Mt. Org repeater will be our "goto" repeater during Snow Bird Season, it's a unwritten but MAJOR rule that we pay our dues!

ARA Website: https://www.w7ara.org/z/Welcome.aspx  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArizonaRepeaterAssociation/

Note: The map below will be very hard to read in this blog format.  Here is the original page:
https://www.w7ara.org/mbk/ARA_Map_2023_11_29.pdf

Post settings Labels No matching suggestions Published on 9/18/24 2:05 PM Permalink Location Options Post: Edit

Pinal Peak & Mt. Ord

During the Snow Bird Season we trailer camp at Roosevelt Lake's Windy Hill Campground.  There are only two potential repeaters we could possible reach from that location: Pinal Peak near Globe and Mr. Ord east of Punkin Center in Tonto Basin.

It now looks 98% likely that we won't be able to reach Pinal Peak.  There is simply too much topography between Windy Hill and Pinal Peak.  However, Mt. Org is total line-of-sight with now obstructions and a mere 23 miles distant.  So, we will spend time between now and our Snow Bird Season studying up on what sort of events we can expect from the Mt. Ord repeater.

Many Thanks to Roger Rugg for the source used to create attached graphs: https://www.scadacore.com/

The above graph is Windy Hill to Pinal Peak.  You can easily see there is a LOT of topographical interference between the two locations. The graph below is our campsite to Mt. Ord. CLEAN!

Amazing Simplex Record

 Dear Friend W7FSI notched a possible SIMPLEX record.  He was on 444.600 using a Wouxun KG-UV8D 5 watt HT and a Nagoya NA-771 15.6-Inch antenna to reach at LEAST 140 miles between Idaho's Pinyon Peak and War Eagle Mountain!  Bear in mind, this was NOT through a repeater.  This was SIMPLEX, mano-y-mano!

 Congratulations to W7FSI and AI7ID for pulling off this awesome achievement! 

Pinyon Peak is @ 10,000 feet.

War Eagle Mountain is 8,051 feet.

As nearly as we can figure, it's 140 miles between the two.