Life became interesting this year at the Region 2 EOC when I discovered that the Amateur Radio Station there was not functional on 440 MHz, and less that satisfactory on 144 MHz.

Since Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene and resulting damage to the West Haven 147.505 repeater installation, we have been using the W1WPD/r machine on 442.500 MHz in its place for West AREA and Central Area (mostly) communications, and to link to the Killingworth ".29" repeater.

Imagine my surprise on Thursday morning when I could not hit the W1WPD repeater. (YIKES!)
I went to Plan B... and used my car's radio and antenna in the parking lot and across the street. This way, I managed to conduct Region 2 Nets and perform the repeater linking/unlinking chores.

When Saturday arrived, I came prepared with my portable speaker tripod/16' extendable flagpole mast and 6 foot dual band (gain) antenna with 50 feet of LMR-400 FLEX coax, and ran that to my car's radio.

Notes:
- The Coax was secured both to the top of the mast with electrical tape to reduce strain on the coax fittings, and later (after the photo shoot) to the base of the mast.

- Could not safely extend mast to full height due to being too close to electric power lines at roadside.
Helpful Tip: Always be aware of your "fall line" distances.

Portable tripod/mast/antenna set up in front of Region 2 EOC


Sandbagged Tripod


The Antenna set up & The Little Black Box