Question for the HAM operators

[w squared]

The recent trip out to Waiparous by STARS got me thinking...what would have happened if those folks had not been an area where they could get a cell phone call out?  In that case, it would have been a long, uncomfortable Jeep ride out with a compound fracture. Not a good thing...and even worse if his injuries had been worse.

I've been wheeling out in waiparous with a HAM operator (Tinkerer if I recall correctly), and during the trip he was able to raise one of the repeaters near Calgary. I'm assuming that this was VE6AUY (Wildcat Hills), but I'm not sure. How hard do you have to work while in the foothills areas near Calgary to raise one of the repeaters? Are we talking about only a few hills having the nedded elevation, or do you have a reasonable chance of raising a repeater unless you're in a deep valley?

I know enough about VHF signal propogation to know that there are a lot of variables (elevation and interfering terrain being key), but I don't have any experience of the real-world abilities of a 2 meter radio.

[w squared]

Well...hitting VE6RYC from the park gates and Nanton...not too shabby

To me, that's a pretty good sign that a 2 meter rig would probably do the job for foothills wheeling in McLean/Waiparous.

I know that if I want to be able to get REAL distance I need to start looking at 20 meter rig, probably running up around 100 watts. There are certainly mobile units that are shiny and sexy and will do that, but at three times the price of a 2 meter setup. And two antennas. And a tuner. And...

While being able to run 20 meter and even lower frequency mobile really appeals to me, the sticker shock of a mobile unit that will do UFH/VHF/HF is significant. A VHF unit alone is far more approachable.

Any specific features that you'd suggest looking for on a VHF unit?

[w squared]

I just took a look at a post on nwham - I see why you said it was funny that you saw my post this morning 

[yyc_tbird_sc]

I've been out to McLean a couple times, and I have not been able to hit VE6RYC (located on nose hill in calgary), although I did not try any of the other repeaters. I was able to hit the wildcat repeater reliably the last time I was out in Waiparous. I believe that the Wildcat repeater is an autopatch, which connects back to the RYC repeater and CARA system.

There will be dead spots, and there will also be days where you can talk over long distances. This is due to propagation (the ability of signals to be carried by atmospheric conditions over distances).

PS...I believe there are maps of repeater coverage available on CARA, SARA, and FARS webpages. I may also have a map with alberta repeaters on it around here somewhere that I can scan and post up.

[Hi Lo Silver]

Just a fyi. I was able to hit the Nose Hill repeater from the very last turn before you get to Waiparous Falls as well as hitting it from the Ghost River road.

[w squared]

I've been doing more research (and studying for the exam too).

Does anyone care to comment on whether or not 6M and 10M bands are worth having on a mobile rig? I'm probably looking at an additional $300 to get access to those bands (Yaesu 8900 and a specific Quad-Band antenna vs 7800 and a dual-band whip).

My mind tells me that 10 meter should be able to do some things that 2 meter won't in terms of DX...but I have not first person experience to back this up.

BTW...I'm also more than willing to hear about great DX contacts you've made on 10 meter - that might justify the dollars right there.

[Elsifer]

I've been able to hit RYC from pretty much anywhere in Maclean. Obviously in the bottom of a valley is not the best spot. And if there are issues, a quick wheel up the nearest hill will allow for getting to RYC.
As for Waiparous, I can't remember the repeaters; but I do carry a clipboard in the heep with repeaters, freq's, and DTMF codes necessary for the repeaters where there is wheeling (nwham link above works great).

I use an Icom IC-V8000; 75w max 2m only rig, and a "very" nicely tuned 5/8 wave whip for the middle of the 2m band. I went with over 1/2 wave due to groundplane issues (unless the antenna is in the middle of the hood, a wrangler has no appropriate ground plane).

Same with my CB, I use a 5/8 wave whip, "nicely" tuned for channel 19.
Both antenna's are mounted on my spare tire carrier, on the tailgate. No extra grounding from the carrier to the frame.
Both work redonkulously well! Plus being Stainless steel whips allows for plenty of tree bashing, with no damage.

Going HF for emergency issues (in my opinion) is spotty. Back in the bush, you could get propogation issues out to saskatchewan, and then what is the listener there going to do?
Best bets (in my opinion) are a 60+ watt 2m or 2m+70cm rig. VHF is pretty quiet, and with "decent" line of sight, you could hit a repeater downtown calgary. (But who listens to VHF anyways!  )

If you can hit any repeater, and get a confirmation tone back, you can get help. Even if there is no activity on that repeater, a "PAN-PAN" or "EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY" will get a response. If the repeater has an auto-patch, ultra bonus. 911 dispatch will send STARS.