[Milsurplus] Ivan attends MRCA Meet

[Robert Flory]

Hi All,
I skipped the first day of the Military Radio Collector's Association
conference on Friday, since camping was the plan that night.  I got up
early on Saturday to go for the day, since I was committed to make a
presentation and wanted to visit with military radio collecting comrades. 
My drive was uneventful, except for seeing the biggest electric power arc
of my life.  I think it was right behind me, lit up the ground like
daytime, except it was a bluish-white color.  The circuit breaker reset
several times as I proceeded down the highway.  Three times I saw the
lights come on, the sky light up behind me, and the lights go off.

I arrived at the fairgrounds to find the power out, a lot of soggy campers,
and the building where our meeting is held full of water, running in one
end and out the other.  Those who spent the night were a little dazed and
focused on securing their gear. I improvised a dam on the upstream side of
the building with a cinder block and some straw, leaves, and plastic bag. 
Inspired by Norm, who had grabbed a broom, I  found a short 2x4 and helped
him push water out the downstream end.  Al joined in and after about a half
hour there was 90 percent dry floor in the building.  Unfortunately, the
video projector had gotten wet, so even though the power came back, the
medium for most of our presentations was literally dead in the water.

Folks made the best of the situation and a number of battery and
hand-cranked radio contacts were made, pictures shown, and stories told.

Rob Flory
K2WI