This was my first effort as a rover in a contest, and since this the first
sentence of what may turn into a tome, let me start by giving a big hug and
kiss to my wife Eileen, who was my pilot/chauffeur for this little
extravaganza. She didn't complain once about my cryptic navigational
notations, and most importantly of all, allowed me to put my tri-magnet base
with a Hustler MO-2 (the long one that breaks over in the middle) and a 40M
resonator on the roof of her beautiful blue mini-van! (There will be more on
this later.) There were so many lessons learned, and there are so many
tales to tell, where do I start? Fair warning for you wizened veterans:
better make sure you have a full supply of smirks and elbow nudges; I'm sure
I pulled all of the classic "newbie" stunts, but maybe I invented a few news
ones too. It's hard to fault someone for over-planning, but I guess I
"overthunk" this thing on an exponential scale. Anyway, off we go:
Lesson Learned Number One: It's just a day trip!
My plan was to wander through 8 different counties in North Georgia between
the hours of 14:00 and 22:00 (local). In the process, I would find an ideal
location in each county, work from there for about a hour or two (until the
three-deep pile-up thinned out - yeah right!), pack up and then continue
operating the pile-up while enroute to the next location. In my enthusiasm,
I guess I overlooked the whole time-and-space continuum thing.
Next time: Three counties in nine hours, pre-plan the operating positions
for optimal effectiveness, and give them each the quality time that they
deserve.
Lesson Learned Number Two: Mobile means "moving"
I wasn't a Boy Scout for very long, but I guess they did a good job of
indoctrinating the whole "Be Prepared" concept into my skull. I had a long
extension cord so that I could "borrow" power from a convenient outdoor tap,
a generator that I had borrowed (thanks 'QO!) and at the last minute (so
"she" couldn't protest) I pulled a temporary wire from the mini-van battery
from under the hood, over the rear view mirror, in through the driver's
door, tucked under the door trim, and to the back of the vehicle.
Ultimately, we abandoned the idea of stopping and plugging up to "shore
power" or using the generator in favor of keeping the wheels turning (see
Lesson One).
Next time: Since the car didn't catch fire, the battery didn't drain down
and leave us stranded (we kept the engine running), and the four horsemen of
the apocalypse didn't pay us a visit, hooking a wire directly to the battery
will be the sole power plan (but I may still pack the power supply and an
extension cord just in case).
Lesson Learned Number Three:
I have a trusty voltage inverter rated at 300Watts that I
have used to power my Laptop while travelling before, and since my laptop
only requires 100W or so, I had planned to operate two laptops on the
inverter, as well as miscellaneous other low wattage "wall warts" for
accessories. As I plugged in Laptop number two, the inverter started
shrieking like a "lid" tuning up his rig with the 2kw Alpha at full output.
Next time: Don't believe the hype. A close (very close)
examination of the "mice type" on the bottom of the inverter box that also
contained a six inch jumper with two small alligator clips revealed that it
would only supply 300 Watts of power if the alligator clips were attached
directly to the vehicle battery. Using the accessory outlet will yield a
maximum of 140 Watts of power - less than half of the amount noted in big
bold letters and numbers on the unit.
Next time (2): Since I'm going to pull power directly from
the battery to the vehicle cabin anyway, rig up a terminal block or posts
for the alligator clip connections so that I can get the full measure of
available wattage.
Lesson Learned Number Four: Multi-mode is not for Neophytes
If you are still paying close attention, you may be
wondering, "Why would he want TWO laptops in his car? Was he THAT PARANOID?
Well, the answer is yes, and no; Mostly no. In addition to operating
three-deep pileups, I had also envisioned running mobile PSK-31 in my "spare
time" also. I also packed my electronic keyer and BY-2 paddles as well.
What I lacked was a computer-keyer interface to allow me to auto send
everything with keyboard function keys, and oh yeah, the ability to decipher
Morse code at faster than single digit speeds. But just in case I was
suddenly empowered via a bolt of lightning or other means, I was ready!
Next time: pick a dance partner and stick with her. The
matrix of bands and modes is not for the meek or Morse-challenged. In fact
they made a movie trilogy about it oddly enough called "The Matrix."
Lesson Learned Number Five: Multi Band Mobile is not for the MO-2.
If there was one thing that was indeed comical about the
entire drama, it was watching the MO-2 with the "magical triangle" on top
loaded with 75, 40, and 20, flop over when I screwed it into the 6" coil
spring. That much weight, that high, was more than the spring could handle.
Timberrrrrrr! Trying to get it to stay erect. let me stop right there.
Plan B was deployed - use the Hustler MO-4 (the short white mast) with the
"candelabra" of resonators. I have come to the conclusion, that at least
for me, the "magical triangle" is indeed just an illusion. After about
fifteen minutes of fruitless calling, I switched to the aforementioned MO-2
with a single resonator. Initially 20M was too noisy so I opted to switch
to 40M and never stopped long enough to switch resonators and move to other
bands (again, see Lesson Learned Number One).
Next time: Accept that there are no short cuts that don't
also have pitfalls as well. Leave the advanced, multi-band antenna set-ups
to the experienced. This is one time where I should have remembered the
caveat, "kids, don't try this at home" (or while roving).
Thus endeth chapter one. I still have more to share, but the alarm clock
goes off in a few hours and I need to be in bed when it does. Only 365 more
days until GQP '09!
73 (for now),
Scott KB4KBS
------------------------------------------------------
Scott Straw, CTS-D, CTS-I, EMT-I
scottstraw at mindspring.com
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