Deputy Fife: Radio Operator
Some of my ham radio habits are focused on operating mobile. Some of this probably came from watching the Andy Griffith show when I was a kid. Deputy Fife is a great role model. Click here to watch the video.
VHF/UHF
VHF SOTA: Abajo Peak (W7U/SU-014)
While on a canyon country hiking/Jeeping trip in Utah, Joyce/K0JJW and I decided to do a couple of Summits On The Air (SOTA) activations. Abajo Peak (W7U/SU-014) showed up as a suitable target, being an easy-access drive-up summit at 11,360 feet, just west of Monticello. While the forest service map shows this as a 4WD … Read more
Return to SOTA Summit W0C/SP-094
Back in the summer of 2013, I did the first Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation for W0C/SP-094. This is an unnamed summit (10350) near Trout Creek Pass not far from our cabin. Although I did activate it, I only made two radio contacts from the summit (so no activator points awarded). A thunderstorm had … Read more
Rescue on Uncompahgre Peak (1992)
I came across this story in my archives, written by me way back in August 1992. This was before mobile phones were commonly available, so ham radio turned out to be critical in this incident. Even today, there are many places in the Colorado backcountry where mobile phones don’t work but amateur radio can communicate. … Read more
A Better Antenna for Dualband Handhelds
During a discussion of various VHF radios and antennas on the SOTA reflector, Phil/G4OBK recommended this antenna: TWAYRDIO RH 770 SMA-Male Dual Band Telescopic Handheld Antenna. I have used this antenna on several SOTA activations and have found it to work quite well. Not having to worry about whether I’m operating on 2m or 70 cm is a big plus.
VHF FM: The Utility Mode
I’ve been referring to the VHF FM as the utility mode for quite a while now. I picked this up from Gary Pearce/KN4AQ when I inherited the FM column from CQ VHF magazine (no longer being published). Gary recently filled me in on the origin of this term, which he captured in his first FM … Read more