[Elecraft] DZOTA: Dead Zones On The Air

[Fred Jensen]

and most of Nevada too.

73,
Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 12/10/2019 7:12 AM, Joseph Street wrote:
> DZOTA  so....most of Canada then.  This jives perfectly with my desire to go hike where nobody else wants to go.  I might just get bitten by this bug along with a few thousand mosquitoes and blackflies.  One problem though, I've never owned a cell phone.  I need some other way of knowing when I'm in a dead zone. Any suggestions?
>
>
> Joe ve3vxo
>
> ________________________________
> From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> on behalf of Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com>
> Sent: December 10, 2019 9:46:09 AM
> To: Elecraft Reflector
> 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
>