THE BAARC DID IT AGAIN!

The BAARC worked communications and safety for the Mid Minnesota 150 Sled Dog Race on Saturday, February 11th, 2017.

We had the COMM Trailer located at the Village Inn in Outing, MN. Terry KIØFW and Shirley KØDCW worked net control. We had 14 – six dog teams and 6 – eight dog teams. The six dog teams started from the Village Inn at 12:30 PM and the eight dog teams started at 1:00 PM. We had twelve Ham Radio Operators that did a great job working communications for the entire race. We did not have any injuries or run away dog teams this year. The last dog team came into Remer, MN at 4 PM.

Thank you to the following ham radio operators: Rob KDØVJM, John WØWY, Bob K6RCO, Doug WØDWB, Ron KØGOP, Mitch ADØHJ, Roger WRØG, Judi KØJLL, and Leon KEØAFY. All of these operators worked checkpoints or the finish line. Terry KIØFW and Shirley KØDCW worked net control and Al WØRC was our rover, radio man and transported the club trailer to and from Outing. Thank you for working this event. The organizers were very happy with the job we did.

We also want to thank everyone that helped set-up the trailer, start the generator and put-up antennas. We used our 147.225+ repeater and the Grand Rapids repeater 146.88- for the race checkpoints station reporting. Thank you to the Grand Rapids club for letting us use their repeater.

We also want to thank Steve NØCRM for creating the spread sheets for time recording for net control.

Al WØRC & Shirley KØDCW

On Sunday January 22^nd, I needed to make a quick road trip to Alexandria for a meeting my wife was going to attend. I needed to find an activity to do for about 4-5 hours that day. I researched the Alexandria area and tried to find something interesting to do. I like to take snowshoe hikes and combine that with photography activity. I packed a small Duluth Pack bag with hiking essentials and my camera and lenses.

As you may recall the weather that weekend was extremely dreary and was not overly conducive to snowshoes with the warmer temperature, along with that we had heavy fog across most of the northern part of the entire state. As a backup plan, I decided to bring a portable HF rig and a portable Buddipole antenna and possibly set up camp somewhere and operate.

That day I found myself very close to the Lake Carlos State Park and decided to venture into the park and see what way they led me. After stopping and talking to the Park Ranger at the entrance, I discovered that there was probably not a lot of nature photography to be had with the heavy fog and damp conditions. I decided to go to the farthest end of the park where a day use area was available. There were vault style toilets and warming house for cross country skiers. After exploring the resting area, I was pleasantly surprised to find a lit fireplace and an area with a picnic tables inside this warm area. I immediately decided that I would operate from that location. After unloading the portable radio and antenna, I set up the antenna in a dipole configuration and tuned to the 20-meter band. I tried both 40 and 80 meters that day but the bands were taking very large dips and did not cooperate very well.

Nonetheless, I found myself lost in the world of portable operation and have already started thinking about making the trip again next year and possibly tying it into the annual ARRL Winter Field Day event.

Please see the pictures below of my Lake Carlos State Park HF operation.

Park Map and location I set up in.

The Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club worked communications for the Brainerd JC’s Ice Fishing Extravaganza on Saturday, January 28, 2017.
We would like to thank the following members that worked the event. John WØWY was our shuttle driver getting BAARC operators picked up from and delivered back to the parking lots. Michael KEØAFZ and guest worked center ice keeping us informed of what was going on; Terry KIØFW was our medical tent operator; CJ WØWUH, Leon KEØAFY, Bob KR6RCO, Nick WØNY, and Dave KDØVJL covered our bucket checkpoints. Mark KEØLFQ covered the bus stop for us. Dave KEØIUZ worked at the handicap access area. Al WØRC was our ‘on-ice’ rover and ATV transporter of operators to and from center ice. Alan AAØAS and Shirley KØDCW were our net control operators for this event.
The BAARC and its operators were thanked by the JC’s for a great job well done. Thank You to everyone that worked this event.
Al WØRC & Shirley KØDC

No Pictures of the event were available at posting time.