Tower removal:
Friday morning we removed a 40' tower from a business in downtown Amarillo. The most difficult part was removing the 20' mast with the DB228 loop antenna array. We had to remove each loop, then slide the mast down a foot to the next one.
KJ5DOG and his son hauled off their new tower at around 2:00 and the property owner was happy to have the tower removed.
We learned a lot about how to remove a vertical loop array, and I
finally learned how to tie a real knot!--skills that will come in handy
for the 100 footer we have to take down in Panhandle soon. princess
terra Seright, ke5zru, faced her fear and harnessed up to climb 20'!
Much thanks to the cast and crew today: KJ5DOG & wife & son, W5MJM,
N5BNU, K5ZKQ, KE5WXN, KF5GBL, KC2UZT, N5RNY, & W5CEH.
Results: Tour d Cotton 10/1/11
Saturday we provided ham radio communications for a charitable bicycle race to restore the historical Palace Theater in Chisdress Texas. Initially, the race coordinator was unsure of the benefit of ham radio communications in such a scenario. By the end of the race, she was raving about us and urged us to come back next year.
10 operators (6 from Amarillo & 4 from Childress) provided support communications for 31 cyclists covering 98 rural route miles by handling 97 pieces of radio traffic during the event which lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes. We truly showed the race staff and the community of Childress what amateur radio operators are capable of. For us, this was an excellent training exercise in emergency communications skills. But most importantly, WE HAD FUN!
I am grateful to all who participated: KE5ZRU, KE5WXN, N5LTZ, W5FQZ, KF5CBR, KF5CBS, N5OLP, AF5S, & W5VTH
Etc.
After the race, I stopped by the mobile home and RV parts store to pick up some plumbing fittings to repair a leak in the freshwater line on the back of commode. That repair went fairly well and easy.
Then I bought a can of R-134a and a hose assembly and recharged the AC on our little sports car. princess terra is much happier now that the AC works again.
This afternoon I am replacing the brake pads on our car, and applying some polymeric sealant to the seams in our fiberglass RV roof.
Whew! What a productive weekend!
73 de KE5ZRT y'all
dit dit
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Extra Class Amateur (Ham) Radio Operator, VE, SKYWARN Storm Spotter, ARES Volunteer, TSA Security Officer, Full-time RV dweller (Amarillo TX for now), webmaster www.PanhandleARES.org, Married to ke5zru!
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