[Elecraft] DZOTA: Dead Zones On The Air

[kd4iz at frawg.org]

Love this idea Wayne! 
Thanks for the [poke]... This "event" fills a fun nee. It is not just for
those "flat landers" who are close enough to get to the large DZs, but also
to those of us living back east who live in those little pockets of
territory that is not served by cell service. 5G??? Who are they trying to
fool? Would be happy with 3G some days.
Jack - KD4IZ

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On
Behalf Of Wayne Burdick
Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2019 09:46
To: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Cc: Elecraft-KX at groups.io
Subject: [Elecraft] DZOTA: Dead Zones On The Air

Have you seen those cell-phone company maps showing how much of the country
they cover? Inevitably, they reveal a patchwork of Dead Zones (DZs): places
where coverage is not just bad...it's non-existent. 

In such inhospitable realms, your choices are smoke signals, sat phone, or
ham radio. This smacks of an opportunity. Hence DZOTA.

DZOTA places are often DeZerted. In fact, they are often in dezerts, in
contrast to many of the conspicuous high places typical of SOTA. This may be
a benefit to outdoor radio enthusiasts who, when hiking, prefer level ground
or even a gentle downward slope. And in an emergency, those hikers might be
the only ones around with comms.

Where are the most notorious DZs? I have a few tiny cell network black holes
in my urban neighborhood, thanks to AT&T. But the truly inspiring DZs are
far from civilization, covering tens or hundreds of square miles. Typically,
they're also far from sources of noise.

I have no illusions that DZOTA sites will be officially tracked and chased
anytime soon. Still, the "NO SIGNAL" icon on my phone now has new meaning.
It's a bug you, too, can change to a feature just by keeping a radio in your
vehicle at all times. 

In my case, it's the spare KX2 and AX1 under the driver's seat.

73,
Wayne
N6KR



______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message
delivered to kd4iz at frawg.org