[SMCARA] Interesting connection

[Sam Leach]

All

I had an interesting experience this morning.  Al, KB4RA, and I had been
watching the Hepburn tropo forecast map (www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html),
looking for a day when we might be able to talk via a single repeater hop
between here to Greenwood, SC (West central SC).  Today's forecast for 1200Z
looked pretty good and at 1228Z, we worked each other through the Myrtle
Beach repeater (W4GS, 146.805 MHz, PL 85.4).  I had to work past a closer
machine (that was using either Carrier Squelch or the same PL), but
fortunately it wasn't in use and its tail was short.  Straight line, we are
418 miles apart.  The dog leg path employed was 115 miles longer, albeit
broken into two segments (342 Miles for me and 191 for Al).  ... And, the
path we used is probably the easiest option, since for me, it is a coastal
shot (per the Hepburn site, it was the only option available this morning).
It was easier to do meteor scatter between here and Greenwood (50MHz) than
it was to make this repeater contact (20 minutes vs. several weeks). We
hunted around for a "common" repeater on several mornings when the forecast
looked favorable. We used echo link to coordinate frequency changes and to
indicate when repeaters were accessible.  We operated our respective link
nodes into a dummy load so as to not de-sense our primary receiver; we were
then able to coordinate using Handi-talkies. It should also be possible to
do this via an inland route, using maybe the Greensboro NC repeater. it's
just a matter of where the propagation is happening. I was running 85W and
an omni-directional antenna; Al was running 50W and omni.  If you have a
patient friend in MA, or GA ... it's a fun thing to try.  

73

Sam
K3KLC