[aprssig] AT Golden Packet - TN / NC / VA

[Bob Bruninga]

QST APRS operators in E-TN, SW-VA or W-NC:

We may need a new volunteer on Roan Mountain.

The present team (a club) made the mistake of asking for permission to do an "event", and may be embrolied in bureaucracy or have to pay a $100 "event" application fee.  This may be a dead end.

BUT this is -not- an event in the sense that the park ranger is interpreting it, it is ONE person, one car parked in a parking lot with a D700 mobile radio.  There is no way this is illegal or in any way impacting the park which has room for problaby 200 cars plus a half dozen buses!
 But I can see the hesitancy of the club to then go do it once they have opened pandoras box and been "denied" an "event"..

Even better, would be someone with a D700, and an 8 amp-hr battery to go hike 100 yards into the woods and put the radio at the highest point that is totally hidden by trees and not part of where the public goes.  Here is my latest post to the Roan Team:


>   At 12:34 PM 7/10/2009, you wrote:
>
>     Roan Team:
>
> I did a site visit to Roan last week and 
> the place is clearly a tree coverd dome 
> and there is no location that is ideal 
> in all directions...  BUT, I found the 
> next best thing!
>
> About 100 yds to the NE of the southern 
> parking lot location (by the restrooms) 
> is a nice trail through DENSE trees
> to a huge 20'x20' flat top concrete 
> water tank on the highest point of the 
> entire area.  The tank itself is about 
> 6 feet high so that further elevates
> operations and requires 6' less mast to 
> get above the trees.  
> 
> This site is at least 20 feet higher 
> than the parking lot.  I would think 
> about 15 to 20' mast would give 360 
> degree horizon and the tank top is
> a great operating location.
>
> http://aprs.org/hamtrails/roan.html
>
> The #1 advantage of this site is that 
> it is completely out of sight of the 
> ranger or any park visitors, so even
> without explicit permission, you can 
> operate backpack portable here completely
> legally and undetected.  You just need 
> a portable power system.  Being only a 
> 100 yard walk back to the car, I would 
> think that carrying a big battery or
> doing battery charge-and-swaps would 
> do fine.
>
> Bob, Wb4APR