NY9D – Ham Radio Tower Trailers

Our Field Observer Program

A few years ago we held an exercise in our Downdraft series at the City of Cottage Grove – Washington County, MN. It was an HSEEP graded functional exercise, focused on disaster recovery from major flooding. We had Hams at City Hall (EOC) and the Volunteer Reception Center, as well as the Public Works centerContinue reading “Our Field Observer Program”

Solar Packet Node Construction

We run a good sized (~20 stations, covers most of the population centers in the area) “plain” AX.25 packet network in Minnesota. Actually we are involved in several networks- there is 145.01, APRS(r) and even some 9600 packet. Once in while we get access to a promising /free node site (elevated- could be a buildingContinue reading “Solar Packet Node Construction”

“Sleepy” a 10KW /30′ Magnum MLT 3080

We needed a trailer to support solar panels and batteries for our large, 30′ ex FEMA comms trailer. I just sold off my last broken diesel light tower, as there was no current use case for these. A nice, wide and sturdy Magnum MLT 3080 (10KW) was on offer in northern Illinois. It was reportedContinue reading ““Sleepy” a 10KW /30′ Magnum MLT 3080″

We Bought a TV News Van

I was sniffing around the various auction sites last week. We have acquired for our new VOAD adjacent disaster recovery radio club a 29′ ex FEMA house trailer, converted to a command center. It is around 7000 pounds and is reported to tow poorly due to wind area, etc. This is really beyond the scopeContinue reading “We Bought a TV News Van”

A Large Communications Trailer

I have written before on the many advantages of smaller communications trailers. Not long ago a group I am adjacent to, Minnesota VOAD (Volunteers Active in Disasters) sought out a large trailer for their Field Operations Teams. The idea is these individuals go out to track and report back on a range of disaster recoveryContinue reading “A Large Communications Trailer”

Mobile /Portable Solar At Scale

A few years ago we got into solar to power ham radio equipment. 18 Volt, 100 watt panels (name plate maximum 5A at 18 volts) were available, for $100, and we could power modest projects like remote packet radio nodes. These needed a deep cycle battery and semi smart charge controller, that would protect theContinue reading “Mobile /Portable Solar At Scale”

Three New D-Star ID-RP4010V Repeaters Purchased

Icom was having a closeout sale on the newest D-Star repeater modules. We bought three. We were actually saving up for one – they were $1600 retail. They have two key features for us- one they are controller less (takes up less rack space), and two they support FM. FEMA goes on and on about interoperability. The idea of theContinue reading “Three New D-Star ID-RP4010V Repeaters Purchased”

OSTicket – Ticketing

For many years hams in Minnesota have supported outdoor sporting events- marathons, ski races and charity bike rides. These regularly have “missing persons” – such as family members asking about a participant who has not finished the race on time. Are they injured or in a medical tent or the hospital? If you are trackingContinue reading “OSTicket – Ticketing”

The Dawg House – Video/Comms Trailer

As reported earlier, we got carried away and bought a lot of 30′ 6 KW diesel retired construction light towers and converted these for communications purposes. We signed an MOU with Minnesota VOAD and MNARES and were reminded that not all disasters happen on warm, sunny summer afternoons. We in fact got an email heads-upContinue reading “The Dawg House – Video/Comms Trailer”

The Dawg House- Comms Trailer Decisions

After studying the idea of a radio/video uplink trailer for some time in early 2020, Doug, N0NAS and I discussed at great length the use case for such a rig. It would be for events, where we needed an indoor, all weather operating space for a day or longer. In COVID, a large, multi-operator spaceContinue reading “The Dawg House- Comms Trailer Decisions”