K3MRI

360-foot tower in a low-lying coastal area? SWEET!!

Lucky lucky to have your own club repeater which, I assume, is well located. As I posted in another thread, mobile repeaters are sometimes an option.

Sounds like a great, well-organized, experience. Indeed, the HT challenges are often a problem, especially when repeaters are too far or if the distances are too great for simplex. Unfortunately, in many events, having a vehicle is a problem. One of the solutions we've implemented often is a mobile repeater. It works really well when it is properly located. Also of note in your post is how you were also picking people up. I have found that in most events, they do not want us doing that. It's more like... just do what you do... communicate. I default to wanting to help out in more ways that just keying up the mic, but sometimes that is all they want. Thanks for sharing!!

Welcome aboard Billy. Nice to have you join our small but growing community. 73, Jim

Now that is something I have seen done... 😎 I have also had the pleasure 🤔 of being 'inside' one of those, so to speak. We regularly trained inside altitude chambers like this one: https://www.etcaircrewtraining.com/altitude-chamber-military-training.html It's always fun to see the newbies. "When the explosive decompression hits, make sure your pant belt is loose and let the 'gas' out." Of course half of them don't. Not a pretty sight.

Hey Robert, welcome welcome. And that is one cool callsign. 73. Jim.

In this matter, that of QRZ and logging, I am not an expert. However, without getting into the bigger debate of the merits, joys, ethics, and all other considerations regarding remote operating, my simpleton logic would say that the transmitter is the contact location. That's a great poll question! Will have to post one. As for your last sentence, 100% agreeeeee and ROTFLMHO 🤣 ... "I'm not interested in how far I can send an email." Now that is funny.

Hey Greg. Welcome aboard. We're a small community but growing thanks to people like you joining in. Thanks again. And if you see anything you don't like, or if you have ideas on how to improve, share away. 73 Jim

Promoting this thread to the front page. It’s worth it.

Thank you for this, I think this is very valuable information and definitely food for thought for all those who use PVC compressed launchers. I know that I for one will no longer use one, thank you.

I don’t think I can unsee this picture

It does, indeed, seem like quite the honor in our practice.

Welcome Ed. Glad to have you aboard. We are a small but growing community of dedicated amateur radio operators. Anything you need, reach out. Jim.

I find foxes to be among the most elegant animals, right up there with eagles and maybe dolphins. And wait, one more, elegant but not friendly... the snake. C'mon, it's elegant!! Least elegant? Well, maybe not the least elegant, but clearly in a league of its own... the wolverine. It muddles it's way looking like a four-legged penguin, then looks up at you and without a beat says: "methinks I am now going to devour you, please stand by." 😁

Thanks for sharing Andy. This looks idyllic. I have such fond memories of Vancouver Island and in particular Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites. I forget which, but we presented the Flag at a ceremony sometime in the 80s. As I recall, it's the, or one of the, oldest lighthouses on the West Coast. You know, as I watch this image, I am reminded of how mysterious amateur radio really is. We never 'visualize' who we are talking to. Where are they? Are they indoor or out? Is their shack immaculate or a royal mess? Unfortunately neither activations nor contests are a great time to find out but on my next ragchew, I will definitely try to imagine, or even ask, something about the operator's shack, their city, etc. In fact, as I recall, that's what we used to do 🤔

Note to all. Previously, when you registered on Ham Community, your notifications would ‘include’ a variety of actions/activities on the Community. For instance, previously, you would be notified if there was a new image posted in a Ham Community Gallery, and more. We have changed this to a minimum. Now, if we’ve adjusted our settings properly, you will only be automatically notified of postings by New Members, so that you can join us in welcoming them, and of new Calendar entries in case they are time-sensitive. Otherwise, if we’ve adjusted the settings accurately, you will have to go into your notifications here https://hamcommunity.com/notifications/options/ and voluntarily set your notifications. If there is an issue with the way we’ve made the adjustments, please let us know. We really are trying to strike the right balance between being kept informed and useless information bombardments.

I have not received many complaints about notification emails from Ham Community to members. This said, full disclosure, I have had two, this from loyal members, and so I just want to know what people think. I’d like to know if you feel that Ham Community is sending too many notification emails. Be frank, but if possible, polite because I do not send them out intentionally or maliciously. The application we use for Ham Community is powerful but really does put the burden of notifications control in the users’ hands. You can control more than I can as the Admin. It’s done on purpose to give you more control but this means that some of you who might not drill down into the application may not see how to best control them. FYI, if you go to your account here: https://hamcommunity.com/notifications/options/ you will see many controls.

Congratulations and excellent. This is what Ham Elmers is hoping to accomplish. As you will see in coming ARRL newsletters, we'll be promoting Ham Elmers aggressively hoping to fuel our Ask the Elmers section.

Hi MaryAnn. I have not, or had not until today. Here is the link to the page that comes up on the ARRL: http://www.arrl.org/news/honoring-the-best-the-arrl-s-a-1-operator-club It’s a different concept, somewhat, but perhaps I could be accused of being inspired by A-1 to create The Elmers’ Circle. In either case, I believe in having a grouping of superior operators – in my case, I like the idea of ‘knowledgeable’ operators – not for the purpose of feeling good about one’s own achievements or capacity but rather for the purpose of sharing knowledge and inspiring others to improve and achieve. Stay tuned on this front, I ill be aggressively promoting it in coming weeks!

This gives me an idea... Back North I have an old Drake sitting around, it was my dad's. Paint it red? Do you think he'll come back from the grave and discipline me? Hmm... 🤔

Do you know that I never heard it called a wrist rocket? I figured it was a sling shot, but I still had to look it up 😩 Yup, used mine many many times. I personally prefer it to the usual compressed air PVC pipe launcher.

Hey Bill, quite the story. Quoting it below for those who want to read it. Incredible!

Congrats Jay. Next time you log in, do so with your new call sign!

I'm curious in what temperature ranges people operate portable. Obviously, temperature is not the only factor affecting a portable go no-go decision, but it's often a major one.

Sometimes the simplest stories are the most beautiful. I am especially drawn to the adrenaline of MaryAnn's first QSO and how she remembers the first contact. And wait, her first contact was also a savvy lady, awesome coincidence!! Wait, what, and she worked at ARRL? In short, a great, as MaryAnn calls it, red carpet welcome to the hobby. We're glad proud to have her among us!!