WEBVTT 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:13.199 Thanks for tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:31.140 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:31.140 --> 00:00:33.899 tuning in. HamTalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:34.179 --> 00:00:50.619 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:50.619 --> 00:00:54.500 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:01:01.320 cables, and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:06.260 pl -259 .com. and by Spring Hill Suites Dayton 00:01:06.260 --> 00:01:09.939 South Miamisburg, the Hamvention home for HamTalk 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:14.060 Live. Reserve your rooms now at Marriott .com 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:51.939 or call 888 -850 -6391. Hey, I hope you're having 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:57.099 a great day. It's time for another episode. I 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:00.959 am talk live. It's episode number 51, the expedition 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:05.700 logistics with George Nicholson in for GRN recorded 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:11.240 live on Thursday, February 9th, 2017. I'm your 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.860 host, Neil rap WB nine VPG. Thanks for tuning 00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:18.789 into this episode. of HamTalk Live. Tonight we'll 00:02:18.789 --> 00:02:23.129 be joined by George Nicholson in for GRN. George 00:02:23.129 --> 00:02:25.590 is the go -to guy for packing up equipment for 00:02:25.590 --> 00:02:29.229 those big top 10D expeditions and handling all 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:32.030 the logistics for the trips. And so we're going 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:35.389 to take your calls live in just a few minutes. 00:02:36.110 --> 00:02:40.169 Last week on HamTalk Live, Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB 00:02:40.169 --> 00:02:43.659 was here to talk about as a visit to the new 00:02:43.659 --> 00:02:47.360 home of the Dayton Hamvention and also talk about 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.319 the new Bayou jumper kit. And if you missed that 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:54.060 show, you can listen anytime on demand at HamTalkLive 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:58.120 .com or you can listen to the podcast on iTunes, 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:01.259 Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, SoundCloud, or 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:05.099 just about any podcast service and also over 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:08.360 on YouTube. Do want to remind everybody that 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:13.080 next week is school club roundup. week. I'm in 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:15.439 a good mood today because we got our antenna 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:19.960 back up finally and got everything up and running 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:22.479 and we just got a couple of little things to 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.259 fix and and we can get through school club round 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:29.060 up with with where we're at. So I'm excited about 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:31.599 having the stepper back up and getting on the 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.520 air next week with the kids. And so give us a 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:38.080 call. You know, give these schools a call. They'll 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:41.539 be on all week Monday through Friday next week. 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:45.919 There will be a lot of activity between 14 -250 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:50.520 and 14 -280 and you can see all the recommended 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:56.159 frequencies over at the ARRL website. Just look 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:01.240 for School Club Roundup on there. If you want 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:03.680 to hear more about School Club Roundup, go back 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:06.139 in the archives on HamTalk Live. We did a show 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:10.639 back in October with Lou into our queue and I 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:14.139 know he's going to be on as well. So hopefully 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:18.319 you guys can. Get on School Club Roundup next 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:20.839 week, and there will be a little feature from 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:25.100 Lou on Amateur Radio Newsline, which came out 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:27.339 just a little bit ago, actually. It came out 00:04:27.339 --> 00:04:30.480 a little early, so you can check that out as 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:33.439 well. All right. Well, get your questions ready 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:36.779 to go on how all these de -expeditions get all 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:41.720 that stuff to the middle of nowhere. After we 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.459 do a little interview with George, you can call 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:49.160 us. The telephone number to call is 812 -NET 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:54.519 -HAM -1. 812 -638 -4261. Or you can give us a 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:58.399 call on Skype. That's where we're at, and that's 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:02.439 at HamTalk Live. You can send a question via 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:05.339 Twitter as well. If you've got Mike Fright, our 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:08.779 Twitter handle is at HamTalk Live. You can catch 00:05:08.779 --> 00:05:11.000 us there too. So I'll be... back with George 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:14.139 right after this word from Tower Electronics 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:18.939 right here on HamTalk Live. This episode of HamTalk 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:22.019 Live is brought to you in part by Tower Electronics. 00:05:22.220 --> 00:05:24.639 Tower Electronics has been the Ham's Dime Store 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:28.040 since 1978. When you need connectors, mobile 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:31.300 and handheld antennas, cables or adapters, visit 00:05:31.300 --> 00:05:34.879 Scott or Jill at a HamFest near you. Or you can 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:41.079 order online at PL -259 .com or call 920 -435 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:46.100 -2973. Stock up on those supplies like PL -259 00:05:46.100 --> 00:05:49.360 and end connectors, SMA adapters, audio cables, 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:52.819 soldering supplies, mobile antennas, and hamsticks. 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:55.220 Their silver -plated in -connectors are even 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:57.879 used on the International Space Station. Tower 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:01.720 Electronics carries MFJ, Comet, Daiwa, OPEC, 00:06:01.939 --> 00:06:05.220 Workman, and HamPro products. And don't miss 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:09.259 their 0 % off sale going on now! Tower Electronics 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:13.519 online at PL -259 .com Proud to sponsor this 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:24.750 episode of HamTalk Live. Thanks once again to 00:06:24.750 --> 00:06:27.589 Scott and Jill over at Tower Electronics for 00:06:27.589 --> 00:06:30.949 sponsoring the show tonight. They'll bring you 00:06:30.949 --> 00:06:33.889 ham talk live each week. There's the Orlando 00:06:33.889 --> 00:06:37.750 hamcation this weekend and then they'll be in 00:06:37.750 --> 00:06:41.110 Dalton, Georgia on February 25th in Cave City, 00:06:41.149 --> 00:06:46.269 Kentucky on March 4th. or give them a call. 920 00:06:46.269 --> 00:06:53.550 -435 -2973 or visit their website pl -259 .com 00:06:53.550 --> 00:06:56.629 and mention HamTalk Live. They'd like to hear 00:06:56.629 --> 00:06:59.110 that. HamTalk Live is on the air every Thursday 00:06:59.110 --> 00:07:01.750 night at 9 p .m. Eastern time at hamtalklive 00:07:01.750 --> 00:07:05.550 .com. And if you missed the show, all you gotta 00:07:05.550 --> 00:07:08.930 do is go to hamtalklive .com and pull it up or 00:07:08.930 --> 00:07:13.680 go to one of those podcasting. websites as well 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:17.500 and chances are we're there. George Nicholson 00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:23.060 N4GRN became a ham in 2003. George is a commercial 00:07:23.060 --> 00:07:26.660 contractor for both general and electrical projects 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:31.240 and specializes in adaptive reuse, historic renovations 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:34.040 at night clubs and restaurants and structural 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:37.860 restoration. So George put his contractor skills 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:40.980 to work in ham radio by taking care of the logistics. 00:07:41.629 --> 00:07:45.230 for many of the major top 10 needed de -expeditions. 00:07:45.709 --> 00:07:48.709 He's also gone on several of those de -expeditions 00:07:48.709 --> 00:07:52.850 to islands like Peter One, Desacheo, Navassa, 00:07:53.290 --> 00:07:59.230 Malpelo, and South Orkney Antarctica de -expeditions 00:07:59.230 --> 00:08:03.259 himself. Uh, he lives in Fairburn, Georgia with 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:05.360 his wife, Kim. And in addition to ham radio, 00:08:05.899 --> 00:08:08.720 George does a lot of, um, or did a lot of caving 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:11.560 and climbing, backpacking, skydiving and camping 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:14.459 in the past. And now he's, uh, doing some cooking 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:17.920 and raising some exotic plants. So we may have 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:21.459 to get into that. Uh, his homepage is at george 00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:25.660 dash Nicholson .com. So George, thank you for 00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:28.319 coming on the show tonight. It's a pleasure to 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.560 be on tonight. Well, we want to talk about some 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:36.279 of these exotic trips The D expeditions you've 00:08:36.279 --> 00:08:40.480 worked with Bob often and and Lynn Johnson and 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.639 Craig Thompson and a bunch of these guys that 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:47.659 that put together these big -time trips and trying 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:50.929 to pack is what we want to talk about tonight. 00:08:51.769 --> 00:08:56.370 You have the daunting task of trying to put together 00:08:56.370 --> 00:09:00.230 all this equipment and make sure you've got everything 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:03.690 you need over there and not too much because 00:09:03.690 --> 00:09:07.090 you got to pack it all and send it all and get 00:09:07.090 --> 00:09:10.450 it over there in the middle of nowhere. So tell 00:09:10.450 --> 00:09:13.409 us how you go about preparing for one of these 00:09:13.409 --> 00:09:17.340 de -expeditions. Well, the first one that I was 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:20.220 involved in was the Peter the First trip. It 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:23.720 was my first de -expedition. I'd only been a 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:29.940 ham for two years. I ended up on the team and 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:33.039 was asked to handle a lot of the logistics for 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.779 the project. And it turned out that I handled 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:39.700 everything in the end as far as packing. and 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:43.320 containerizing and getting everything to South 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:46.740 America onto the island, packed up and brought 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:50.559 back to the states. In the process of doing that 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:55.340 the first time, I spent a number of hours researching 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:58.940 every possible thing that we could need while 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:03.179 on the island. I prepared an Excel spreadsheet 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:09.820 that had 18 individual pages. And each page had 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:15.559 anywhere from 20 to 300 line items. And once 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:18.519 that was compiled and I felt that I had a pretty 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:21.940 good idea of what was needed, for example, the 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:26.799 radio tab would have all of the radio equipment, 00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:30.700 the transceivers, the amplifiers, bandpass filters, 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:34.340 everything that actually was part of the radio. 00:10:35.199 --> 00:10:39.740 table set up was in that first tab. Antennas, 00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:44.700 coax, was on a second tab. Once I got those set 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:48.039 up, I passed them out to the various team members 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:53.779 in charge of each category. Jerry, W9BZ, has 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:55.879 helped a lot with the antennas, he and Ralph, 00:10:55.919 --> 00:11:00.200 so they would tweak the antenna list. Craig, 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:04.980 Bob Alf, and Glenn would tweak the radio and 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:09.399 amplifier list. So after each list was tweaked, 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:14.399 I would clean it up, send it out again. Once 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.419 we got everything complete on the list, the next 00:11:17.419 --> 00:11:22.120 thing we do is we start assigning box numbers, 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:26.460 which is where my work really comes in. We generally 00:11:26.460 --> 00:11:29.720 have everything shipped to Atlanta. We'll have 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:33.080 it in a large storage building. And every item 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:36.440 is put into a box. The boxes are put into larger 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:41.159 boxes. Sometimes the larger boxes are three foot 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:45.779 by three foot square cubed. And every box that 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:48.980 size is assigned a number. A pallet will be assigned 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:52.700 a pallet number. And every item is listed as 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:56.460 to what box and what crate or pallet the box 00:11:56.460 --> 00:11:59.740 is in so that we know exactly where every piece 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:03.980 is. That takes a considerable amount of time 00:12:03.980 --> 00:12:07.299 to inventory every item and exactly where it 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:13.320 is in every box in every crate. It's a real intense 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:16.779 task, takes a lot of time. We're very fortunate 00:12:16.779 --> 00:12:21.580 here with the SEDXC club in Atlanta. A number 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:25.259 of the club members have worked with Bob and 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:30.409 I on the weekends preparing For example, we'll 00:12:30.409 --> 00:12:33.769 take the stepper antennas and assemble every 00:12:33.769 --> 00:12:36.190 one of them to make sure we've got all the components 00:12:36.190 --> 00:12:39.549 to make sure everything is fitted properly. Then 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:42.889 we disassemble it, package it back up, number 00:12:42.889 --> 00:12:46.830 the package, inventory the package, and we do 00:12:46.830 --> 00:12:49.809 that with everything. Craig takes all of the 00:12:49.809 --> 00:12:52.429 transceivers and amplifiers, burns those in, 00:12:52.529 --> 00:12:55.820 tests those. So everything is tested before we 00:12:55.820 --> 00:12:59.460 go. And then once it's signed off on, it's put 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:02.779 into a container and stored until we actually 00:13:02.779 --> 00:13:04.899 get ready to package the shipping container. 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:10.340 Uh, it's, it's a rather intense process. Yeah, 00:13:10.340 --> 00:13:14.679 that's, that's very intense. So do you have any 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:20.419 numbers on like how long that takes and how much 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:24.529 stuff you, you have to pack for that? Yeah, we 00:13:24.529 --> 00:13:30.049 generally start well for example bouvet We are 00:13:30.049 --> 00:13:33.289 beginning to start working on the list now Ralph 00:13:33.289 --> 00:13:37.529 has had the list for a while and I've had the 00:13:37.529 --> 00:13:41.370 list Bob's got it Glenn's got it. We are working 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:44.549 on various components and Putting it together 00:13:44.549 --> 00:13:47.029 now for bouvet, which is coming up this time 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:51.429 next year So a year ahead we start actually acquiring 00:13:51.429 --> 00:13:55.299 materials and deciding how we're going to ship. 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.620 Once we've got the list pretty well tweaked, 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:01.500 we know who's donating equipment, what equipment 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:03.740 we're taking, how many stations we're setting 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:07.519 up. At that point, I start thinking about the 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:10.679 actual shipping and logistics. I start researching 00:14:10.679 --> 00:14:14.840 pricing from the various ship lines, start talking 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:18.059 to various customs agents in the US and South 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:21.220 America or New Zealand, depending on where we're 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:24.769 shipping to. And that takes three or four months 00:14:24.769 --> 00:14:27.789 to acquire. There are portions at times that 00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:30.889 I get involved with, such as arranging for the 00:14:30.889 --> 00:14:33.210 fueling for the ship when it arrives at port, 00:14:33.330 --> 00:14:35.669 arranging for the pilot ships when they come 00:14:35.669 --> 00:14:39.830 in. That's all worked through the customs agents 00:14:39.830 --> 00:14:45.409 in South America and New Zealand. So I get to 00:14:45.409 --> 00:14:49.070 move from the packaging into those other areas 00:14:49.070 --> 00:14:52.940 about halfway through the actual inventorying 00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:55.740 and packaging of the merchandise before it leaves 00:14:55.740 --> 00:15:00.539 the states. The line items, for example, the 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:04.259 Amsterdam list I was looking at yesterday, there 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:09.039 was 1 ,042 individual line items on the customs 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:13.200 list. Each of those line items has got a box 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:17.500 number, a crate number, a weight, a size, who 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:21.309 was responsible for getting it to the container, 00:15:23.230 --> 00:15:25.909 whether it's completely packaged or whether there's 00:15:25.909 --> 00:15:28.690 parts needed. All of that's in the inventory 00:15:28.690 --> 00:15:31.950 list along with a cost for customs and a weight 00:15:31.950 --> 00:15:34.990 so that when we get ready to set up the helicopter 00:15:34.990 --> 00:15:38.070 sling loads we know how much each box weighs 00:15:38.070 --> 00:15:40.789 so we don't have to physically weigh boxes on 00:15:40.789 --> 00:15:43.529 the ship before we take sling loads to the island. 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:50.580 So it's a lot of items. The 142 items may not 00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:53.740 just be individual items. One item could well 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:57.399 be interface boxes for the rig. Well, the interface 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.980 box would have a USB cable, possibly a serial 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:06.039 cable, RGA cable. That could be a number of cables 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:11.669 that are in that one line item. It's really more 00:16:11.669 --> 00:16:14.830 than 1 ,042 items that were there, but that's 00:16:14.830 --> 00:16:19.190 the breakout that we had. For example, the plastic 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:23.149 bag would hold all of those cables. So one line 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:28.269 item might have 10 individual items in it. And 00:16:28.269 --> 00:16:32.009 it's critical that we know which box every item 00:16:32.009 --> 00:16:35.690 is in, because if Customs decides to open up 00:16:35.690 --> 00:16:39.480 a box in the container at the port, and the box 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:42.059 does not have what's on the inventory for that 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:46.419 box, then it leaves them with possibly opening 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:49.519 up a lot of containers. And you really don't 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:51.620 want that to happen when you start worrying about 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:55.440 items disappearing or getting damaged, not being 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:59.480 properly stored back. So you've got to make sure, 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:02.759 I try to make 100 % sure that every box has got 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:09.730 exactly what's on the inventory in it. Wow. That's 00:17:09.730 --> 00:17:13.049 just, that's a lot of work. And of course you've 00:17:13.049 --> 00:17:15.789 got the rigs and the antennas and the supports 00:17:15.789 --> 00:17:19.450 and the interfaces and all that. Uh, what about 00:17:19.450 --> 00:17:21.829 living arrangements or are you taking care of 00:17:21.829 --> 00:17:24.250 all the shelters and food and water? Do you do 00:17:24.250 --> 00:17:26.289 that too? Or you have somebody else that does 00:17:26.289 --> 00:17:32.170 that or. Well, it's broken down. There's a lot 00:17:32.170 --> 00:17:36.299 of help involved. For example, the bouvet trip, 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:42.559 Glenn Johnson, WZROGJ, he's been doing most of 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:46.819 the research on shelters this time. He and Ralph. 00:17:47.220 --> 00:17:51.200 And we're still looking at shelters. It's sort 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:54.220 of a joint effort. We all talk about it. We run 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:56.640 things by each other. But Glenn has been doing 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.940 most of the phone calling on shelters this time. 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:02.519 We're looking at some shelter options for this 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:06.920 trip. Previous trips, Ralph had actually bought 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:10.359 the shelters, had shipped them to Atlanta. We 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:12.640 built the floor systems for the shelters here 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:18.460 in Atlanta. And the rigs, like I say, the rigs 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:22.640 are, I guess the last two trips, Craig has dealt 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:26.359 directly with the manufacturers on the rigs and 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:28.740 has had those shipped direct to his location 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:31.200 where he burns them in, then he ships them to 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:35.490 me. and we package them up into Pelican cases. 00:18:36.309 --> 00:18:41.630 What I try to do is take a complete station and 00:18:41.630 --> 00:18:46.029 put in one Pelican case. It would generally have 00:18:46.029 --> 00:18:51.609 a K3, an amplifier, one or two bandpass filters, 00:18:52.329 --> 00:18:55.009 all the interface cables needed, and a power 00:18:55.009 --> 00:18:59.440 supply. We'd have to that way you could take 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:01.299 a Pelican case you could put it on the floor 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:04.000 beside a table and Everything could go on the 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:05.680 table and just be put together and you didn't 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:08.240 have to run from table to table looking for cables 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:12.299 a complete Station would be in one Pelican case 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:16.859 that also diversifies the load In the event that 00:19:16.859 --> 00:19:20.440 you lost a box or a sling had to be dropped from 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:23.799 the helicopter because wind was Tossing it around 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:25.619 and it was too dangerous and the helicopter had 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:28.839 to drop the sling You don't want to lose all 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:31.420 of your bandpass filters or all of your patch 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:35.579 cables So everything is diversified into a number 00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:39.099 of boxes so that you never Are out of business 00:19:39.099 --> 00:19:42.329 if you lose one or two boxes That's all part 00:19:42.329 --> 00:19:45.130 of this inventorying and packaging that I do 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:48.430 is make sure that we don't put all of the tarroids 00:19:48.430 --> 00:19:52.470 in one box. We spread them out. We don't put 00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:55.950 all of the patch cables in one box. That way, 00:19:56.109 --> 00:19:58.150 like I said, you're not out of business if you 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:01.569 lose one or two boxes or a full crate or a full 00:20:01.569 --> 00:20:05.549 sling load. Same with food. Same with safety 00:20:05.549 --> 00:20:11.410 equipment. Everything is diversified. You know, 00:20:11.410 --> 00:20:13.789 we have to when we go to go on these trips to 00:20:13.789 --> 00:20:15.609 these islands. We have to take everything we 00:20:15.609 --> 00:20:19.269 set up a complete infrastructure to Completely 00:20:19.269 --> 00:20:23.890 support the team for two weeks So we've got shelter 00:20:23.890 --> 00:20:31.950 food medical and safety Sanitation You've got 00:20:31.950 --> 00:20:34.890 your you know, you should be shelters your bedding 00:20:34.890 --> 00:20:37.369 and then you've got all of the ham radio stuff 00:20:37.369 --> 00:20:41.200 plus the power infrastructure all of the antenna 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:45.339 towers and poles and it's a massive amount of 00:20:45.339 --> 00:20:48.460 material. I think we actually had the weights 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:52.500 on two of the trips and it was around 18 to 20 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:57.539 tons of equipment packaged that was helicoptered 00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:02.539 to the island. Peter I, we had 26 helicopter 00:21:02.539 --> 00:21:06.900 sling drops each direction. That's a lot of helicopter 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:09.789 flights getting material to an island. And I 00:21:09.789 --> 00:21:13.150 know that from watching the video and talking 00:21:13.150 --> 00:21:17.849 to some of the people on the trip that you weren't 00:21:17.849 --> 00:21:21.950 able to finish all of those coming back quite 00:21:21.950 --> 00:21:26.589 all at the same time. And that was interesting. 00:21:27.769 --> 00:21:32.730 Yes, we actually left the island a few days early 00:21:32.730 --> 00:21:35.809 because of an impending storm that was coming, 00:21:35.849 --> 00:21:40.609 a huge storm. And we were down to the last two 00:21:40.609 --> 00:21:44.089 or three large boxes were left on the island, 00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:49.210 along with the helicopter, two man support crew 00:21:49.210 --> 00:21:52.470 and Charles Thiele, the world's most traveled 00:21:52.470 --> 00:21:56.150 man who was on the trip with us. Charles became 00:21:56.150 --> 00:21:59.609 a real hardworking team member and helped with 00:21:59.609 --> 00:22:02.569 a lot of the infrastructure building. He just 00:22:02.569 --> 00:22:06.609 chipped in and helped. So Charles and two of 00:22:06.609 --> 00:22:10.549 the helicopter crew were on the island. The storm 00:22:10.549 --> 00:22:13.750 rolled in early. The helicopter had to leave 00:22:13.750 --> 00:22:17.450 and leave them on the island. They were there 00:22:17.450 --> 00:22:21.390 a number of hours without shelter, without food. 00:22:22.809 --> 00:22:25.869 It was a little scary and a little interesting, 00:22:26.369 --> 00:22:30.869 but everything worked out. Got a beautiful picture 00:22:30.869 --> 00:22:34.140 of Charles and the helicopter crew coming across 00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:37.140 the flight ramp when they got out of the helicopter 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:40.759 on the ship Carrying the American flag with this 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:45.880 big smile on their faces. Oh, I bet So so speaking 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:48.359 of coming back and unloading and then you got 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:51.359 to take care of all the You know things to put 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:54.839 the island back the way, you know, it was You 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:59.880 know with most of these trips Then you've got 00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:03.059 all of this stuff that you bring back. So what 00:23:03.059 --> 00:23:06.799 happens to all these antennas and radios and 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:09.720 everything once you're back from one of these 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:13.500 trips? Does it go on to the next group of people 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:18.160 going out on a trip? Well, various things happen. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:24.660 Sometimes Ellicraft will say if the team members 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:27.059 want to purchase the rigs they can purchase them 00:23:27.059 --> 00:23:30.480 at a small discount or if there are club members 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:32.539 that want to purchase them that have been involved 00:23:32.539 --> 00:23:36.079 and helped a lot. So some of the rigs are sold 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:40.160 some of them are actually sold pre -expedition 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:44.519 and the manufacturers especially Ellicraft have 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:48.240 been real good about configuring the rigs to 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:51.900 the specific needs on the island. And a lot of 00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:54.740 times those tweaked out rigs are things that 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.859 some of the big contest guys would like to have. 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:01.420 So Craig has bought a number off them, Jerry's 00:24:01.420 --> 00:24:05.839 bought some, I've purchased one. You have an 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:08.359 opportunity to do that. Sometimes the antennas 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:12.480 go directly on to the next expedition. Especially 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:15.000 things like the Battle Creek Special, it's always 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.339 cleaned up and prepared here in Atlanta. When 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:20.539 we get back, we clean it up and make sure all 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:22.240 the parts are in it and it's good and clean. 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:24.980 We'll hold it sometimes for a month or two and 00:24:24.980 --> 00:24:27.539 then ship it direct to the next Dexpedition team. 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.799 Sometimes it's shipped back and put in storage 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:35.319 with the owner. Same things with Dex Engineering. 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:38.519 We sometimes buy all of their stuff. Sometimes 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:42.339 it goes to the next Dexpedition. And sometimes 00:24:42.339 --> 00:24:44.359 we hold it in storage for the next one we're 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:48.059 preparing to do. We've still got some Force 12 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:50.779 antennas from Amsterdam that will more than likely 00:24:50.779 --> 00:24:52.839 be going to Bouvier that have been in storage 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:55.640 here in Atlanta. So it's a number of different 00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:59.599 things that happen. So you have to, when you 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:02.119 leave the island, you've got to package all of 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.200 this stuff back up and you have to make sure 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:07.059 you don't lose parts and you don't damage it 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:10.539 and you try to keep it dry. It's a task leaving 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:13.299 the island and then getting the stuff back to 00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:15.839 the states. And then when you get back, you've 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:19.160 got that task of uncrating it all and cleaning 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:21.759 it up and dispersing it to where it needs to 00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:24.400 go. So it's an ongoing process for about two 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:31.500 years. Wow. That's just amazing. You know, you've 00:25:31.500 --> 00:25:35.500 got all that work to do, but you can't just run 00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:39.759 out to the to the local electronics store and 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:45.079 pick up a plug? No, for example, Allocraft would 00:25:45.079 --> 00:25:49.900 always send a couple of extra boards, not that 00:25:49.900 --> 00:25:52.859 they have problems with their rigs, but boards 00:25:52.859 --> 00:25:55.759 that tend to have failures due to static and 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:58.920 things like that and that might damage easier 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:01.700 than other boards. They will send replacement 00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:05.460 boards or send replacement diodes in case we 00:26:05.339 --> 00:26:09.160 have an electrical storm. I know we lost, I guess 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:12.880 it was a couple of ICOM radios, we lost due to 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:15.240 static electricity building up in a storm one 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:18.299 night on a dipole and it wiped out some diodes 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:21.180 in the front end of the rigs during the night 00:26:21.180 --> 00:26:25.460 and we fortunately had spare parts and were able 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:28.559 to change those out the next day. So you've got 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:30.440 to carry, you've got to be sort of prepared for 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:32.859 those kind of things and every trip you go on 00:26:33.369 --> 00:26:36.829 there's always something new that comes up. We 00:26:36.829 --> 00:26:41.549 had on Malpelo two generators that died due to 00:26:41.549 --> 00:26:45.869 the heat and we actually had the tools and some 00:26:45.869 --> 00:26:48.630 extra parts with us and were able to disassemble 00:26:48.630 --> 00:26:51.369 the two bad generators and put one good one back 00:26:51.369 --> 00:26:55.349 together. So we try to carry all the tools we 00:26:55.349 --> 00:26:59.529 could need, all the parts within reason. You've 00:26:59.529 --> 00:27:03.630 got to weigh all of this extra stuff with how 00:27:03.630 --> 00:27:05.089 long it's going to take you to get it to the 00:27:05.089 --> 00:27:08.349 island, how costly it is to buy. And there's 00:27:08.349 --> 00:27:10.210 a number of things that you just have to juggle 00:27:10.210 --> 00:27:12.130 around to make sure you don't take too much, 00:27:12.190 --> 00:27:16.069 but that you've got everything you need. Wow. 00:27:16.150 --> 00:27:20.089 There's a lot of preparation into, into that. 00:27:20.089 --> 00:27:23.339 And I'm sure we could, we could ask a lot of 00:27:23.339 --> 00:27:28.039 things that are coming to mind on you know, how 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:31.259 all this actually works. So we're going to give 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:34.920 you, the listener, a chance to ask. When we come 00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:38.539 back, we'll start taking your phone calls at 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:43.819 812 -NET -HAM -1 and look at some tweets. You 00:27:43.819 --> 00:27:46.759 can catch us over at HamTalk Live, but we need 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:49.980 to take a quick break. We'll be back right after 00:27:49.980 --> 00:27:52.759 this message from Spring Hill Suites, Miamisburg, 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:56.299 right here on HamTalk Live. If you're going to 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:58.539 the Dayton Hamvention this year, be sure to join 00:27:58.539 --> 00:28:01.799 us for a live broadcast from Spring Hill Suites 00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:04.960 Dayton South in Miamisburg, Ohio on Hamvention 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:08.279 Eve, Thursday, May 18th. HamTalk Live will have 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:11.039 a live audience and we'll put some of our visitors 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:14.160 on the air to celebrate the annual migration 00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:16.890 to Dayton. and if you're still in need of a place 00:28:16.890 --> 00:28:20.349 to stay, Spring Hill Suites Dayton South Miamisburg 00:28:20.349 --> 00:28:23.490 still has some rooms available. Just 25 minutes 00:28:23.490 --> 00:28:26.529 from the new home of Hamvention in Xenia, Spring 00:28:26.529 --> 00:28:29.509 Hill Suites Dayton South Miamisburg is near the 00:28:29.509 --> 00:28:32.650 Dayton Mall, shopping districts, and restaurants. 00:28:32.930 --> 00:28:36.609 Enjoy fast wifi, an indoor pool, free breakfast 00:28:36.609 --> 00:28:39.609 buffet, rooms with microwave and refrigerator 00:28:39.609 --> 00:28:42.930 and sofa, and it's just minutes away from both 00:28:42.930 --> 00:28:47.420 I -75 and and I -675. Reserve your rooms now 00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:54.319 at Marriott .com or call 888 -850 -6391. Spring 00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:57.759 Hill Suites, Dayton, South Miamisburg. The Hamvention 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:02.180 home for HamTalk Live. You're listening to HamTalk 00:29:02.180 --> 00:29:06.220 Live with Neil Rapp. Yesterday, my XYL said she'd 00:29:06.220 --> 00:29:09.180 leave me if I didn't give up Ham Radio. Over. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:14.619 Join the conversation. Call us on voice with 00:29:14.619 --> 00:29:18.359 Skype at HamTalk Live or give us a call at 812 00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:24.779 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 -638 -4261. Now, here's 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:30.099 more HamTalk Live. Welcome back to HamTalk Live. 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:32.980 We're here at HamTalkLive .com every Thursday 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:36.039 night at 9 p .m. Eastern time. Check out our 00:29:36.039 --> 00:29:38.160 Facebook page and our Twitter feed. Just search 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:41.880 for HamTalk Live. And thanks to the folks at 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:44.279 Spring Hill Suite. So if you need a room for 00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:47.880 Hamvention, give them a call. We're going to 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:50.240 be there on Thursday night and have the live 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.799 broadcast. So I wanted to get that information 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.839 out to everyone. But right now it's time for 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:58.420 your calls. If you have a question for George, 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:02.599 give us a call at 812 -NET -HAM -1. That's 812 00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:08.509 -638 -4261. or you can Skype us at HamTalk Live 00:30:08.509 --> 00:30:16.329 and you can also tweet HamTalk Live as well. 00:30:17.109 --> 00:30:20.190 And we do have some tweets here, so we'll just 00:30:20.190 --> 00:30:22.349 go ahead and dig into those. I got a couple of 00:30:22.349 --> 00:30:26.289 things on my list here still, but let's get to 00:30:26.289 --> 00:30:32.329 some of these questions that have come in from, 00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:37.019 None other than Dr. Scott Wright, KZeroMD. He 00:30:37.019 --> 00:30:39.920 wants to know what's the toughest de -expedition, 00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:43.240 which one's been the toughest to organize? Was 00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:46.480 it Malpelo in the heat or Amsterdam in the middle 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:50.099 of nowhere or one of the Antarctics? And are 00:30:50.099 --> 00:30:53.519 there any left on your bucket list to organize 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:57.500 and operate from? And I think this is a loaded 00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:01.910 question. Here, George, it says, who has the 00:31:01.910 --> 00:31:05.289 loudest signal from your end of the pile up? 00:31:07.210 --> 00:31:10.910 I'm sure that's a loaded question. Uh, always, 00:31:10.930 --> 00:31:14.269 uh, we laugh about making sure that I listened 00:31:14.269 --> 00:31:20.690 for the, uh, K zero MD carefully. Uh, and I've 00:31:20.690 --> 00:31:23.309 been fortunate enough to contact Scott on several 00:31:23.309 --> 00:31:26.970 of the D expeditions. It's really odd how the 00:31:26.970 --> 00:31:32.589 propagation works on these trips. US can be coming 00:31:32.589 --> 00:31:34.970 in really strong and then all of a sudden it's 00:31:34.970 --> 00:31:40.349 gone. But you never know that the big guys with 00:31:40.349 --> 00:31:43.009 the big rigs aren't always the loudest sometimes. 00:31:43.369 --> 00:31:46.740 So it's interesting. what we get because we hear 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:49.720 much better a lot of times on these remote islands 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:52.500 than anybody else does in the big cities and 00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:55.279 even in the country because we've got no noise. 00:31:56.680 --> 00:32:01.599 So hearing is not a problem usually. But I do 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:06.279 listen for Dr. Scott. He's one of my favorite 00:32:06.279 --> 00:32:10.579 people as I listen for everybody. I think the 00:32:10.579 --> 00:32:15.670 toughest one That I've organized was actually 00:32:15.670 --> 00:32:20.849 the Navassa trip It was tough and that there 00:32:20.849 --> 00:32:25.349 was so many hurdles to go over with Immigrations 00:32:25.349 --> 00:32:29.509 and customs and US Fish and Wildlife It was just 00:32:29.509 --> 00:32:33.970 a constant battle For six or eight months trying 00:32:33.970 --> 00:32:36.650 to get everything in order so that we had no 00:32:36.650 --> 00:32:41.039 problems when we got there And we had some glitches 00:32:41.039 --> 00:32:43.799 when we got there. We had anticipated them. We 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:48.759 knew what to do. It went smooth after we got 00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:52.519 there. But that was the toughest one, I think, 00:32:52.619 --> 00:32:58.480 as far as organizing and pulling it off. Peter 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:03.900 the First was probably the most serious concern. 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:09.369 It was my first was one reason. The other reason 00:33:09.369 --> 00:33:12.789 is it was a dangerous location. We had to make 00:33:12.789 --> 00:33:16.450 sure we had everything we needed. We had to make 00:33:16.450 --> 00:33:19.049 sure we knew where it was. So it was a tough 00:33:19.049 --> 00:33:24.029 job packaging and things had to go in last that 00:33:24.029 --> 00:33:28.450 came out first. It was a real challenge to package 00:33:28.450 --> 00:33:34.009 that one. Malpelo, that was split up between 00:33:34.009 --> 00:33:37.809 the Colombian team and the U .S. team, making 00:33:37.809 --> 00:33:41.470 sure that we coordinated everything and Colombia 00:33:41.470 --> 00:33:43.869 had what they were supposed to have and we had 00:33:43.869 --> 00:33:47.769 what we were supposed to have. It was a little 00:33:47.769 --> 00:33:51.730 bit challenging to make sure that happened. They're 00:33:51.730 --> 00:33:54.930 all challenges in different kinds of ways, every 00:33:54.930 --> 00:33:58.319 one of them. The hot locations have got different 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:01.779 needs. You've got more water requirements. You've 00:34:01.779 --> 00:34:05.019 got to worry about generators overheating. You've 00:34:05.019 --> 00:34:07.380 got to make sure team members stay hydrated. 00:34:07.660 --> 00:34:10.300 We've got to make sure that we've got plenty 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:12.940 of electrolytes on the hot trips so that people 00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:15.820 don't have electrolyte problems. We almost had 00:34:15.820 --> 00:34:20.239 a few at Mount Palo. We found out into the... 00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:23.699 First week there that the ship that was preparing 00:34:23.699 --> 00:34:27.800 the food the shelf could not eat salt at all 00:34:27.800 --> 00:34:30.579 So everything he was preparing was being prepared 00:34:30.579 --> 00:34:34.360 with a salt substitute which we did not know 00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:39.079 and Dr. Gary found out one day that that's why 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:41.699 people were having cramps and we ended up getting 00:34:41.699 --> 00:34:44.699 out a bag of salt and Resalting all of our food 00:34:44.699 --> 00:34:47.239 as we got it. So wow, you know, those are the 00:34:47.239 --> 00:34:50.039 kind of things you don't think about sometimes 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:54.420 And you just have to make sure you've got what 00:34:54.420 --> 00:34:57.579 you need when those things come up. And the neat 00:34:57.579 --> 00:35:01.460 thing is the expeditions that Bob and Glenn and 00:35:01.460 --> 00:35:05.280 Ralph put together, the teams are such that we've 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:10.079 got a variety of skills and everybody has input 00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:14.139 into everything. And we can cover pretty much 00:35:14.139 --> 00:35:17.260 anything that happens on the trip and therefore 00:35:17.260 --> 00:35:20.670 prior to trip. I'm constantly getting feedback. 00:35:20.909 --> 00:35:23.289 Did you have this on the list? Has this been 00:35:23.289 --> 00:35:28.110 accounted for? I really enjoy doing it. It's 00:35:28.110 --> 00:35:31.409 very interesting putting these packages together. 00:35:32.309 --> 00:35:34.550 Customs and immigrations can be a real challenge, 00:35:35.449 --> 00:35:39.869 but the worst one was the Navassa trip in Jamaica. 00:35:40.250 --> 00:35:43.750 Jamaica was just a real hassle. Nice people. 00:35:44.300 --> 00:35:47.159 And in the end, it was not a problem, but they 00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:50.360 just had their way of doing it. And it was very 00:35:50.360 --> 00:35:55.360 difficult. And any on the bucket list, any that 00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:58.940 you still haven't done that you want to do? Well, 00:35:59.179 --> 00:36:02.039 my number one on the bucket list since Peter, 00:36:02.039 --> 00:36:06.659 the first has been Desacheo. So, uh, I haven't 00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:10.500 looked for the next bucket list yet. I had been 00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:13.210 looking toward. Desacheo, I mean, been looking 00:36:13.210 --> 00:36:18.469 for Choet Bouvet since Peter the First. I'm sure 00:36:18.469 --> 00:36:21.150 I'll have a new bucket list, but right now I 00:36:21.150 --> 00:36:23.269 haven't had time to think about the next one. 00:36:23.949 --> 00:36:28.909 Got a lot of preparation to do for Bouvet. Absolutely, 00:36:29.050 --> 00:36:31.849 and that's coming up just a year away and we 00:36:31.849 --> 00:36:34.690 look forward to that. We do have another tweet 00:36:34.690 --> 00:36:40.150 from Eric into KOJ and he wants to know what 00:36:40.150 --> 00:36:44.329 your favorite de -expedition was and what's your 00:36:44.329 --> 00:36:49.289 most memorable contact while operating on a de 00:36:49.289 --> 00:36:54.670 -expedition. Okay, those are good ones. I guess 00:36:54.670 --> 00:36:59.050 the favorite... Most favorite de -expedition? 00:37:01.510 --> 00:37:04.489 That's really hard. I don't know that I have 00:37:04.489 --> 00:37:07.949 a favorite. Peter the First, maybe, because it 00:37:07.949 --> 00:37:11.150 was my first and it was a big challenge. And 00:37:11.150 --> 00:37:15.949 we met a lot of very interesting people on the 00:37:15.949 --> 00:37:20.469 way there and on the way back. I think it's probably 00:37:20.469 --> 00:37:23.789 the one I remember the most. But they're all 00:37:23.789 --> 00:37:28.110 unique in their own way. And a big part of these 00:37:28.110 --> 00:37:31.949 large trips is the camaraderie of all of the 00:37:31.949 --> 00:37:35.610 people involved, not just the team, but the unique 00:37:35.610 --> 00:37:38.289 people that you meet in the Antarctic, the unique 00:37:38.289 --> 00:37:40.530 people you meet with the shipping companies, 00:37:41.969 --> 00:37:44.690 like the Braveheart crew, the DAP crew that took 00:37:44.690 --> 00:37:50.519 us to Peter One. It's just so many facets to 00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:52.820 it that it's really hard to say what the favorite 00:37:52.820 --> 00:37:59.900 is and as far as the most memorable contact Again 00:37:59.900 --> 00:38:03.480 that's hard to say when I sit down at the rig 00:38:03.480 --> 00:38:07.440 and I've got my three -hour shift It's gone before 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:10.780 I know it you get into a zone of just listening 00:38:10.780 --> 00:38:15.170 for call signs and there are times that I contact 00:38:15.170 --> 00:38:17.210 friends and don't even realize I've done it until 00:38:17.210 --> 00:38:20.630 I'm off the air. And somebody says, do you remember 00:38:20.630 --> 00:38:24.530 talking to KZeroMD, for example? I think I made 00:38:24.530 --> 00:38:27.510 a contact with Scott. I believe it was maybe 00:38:27.510 --> 00:38:29.949 Desacheo, and I didn't even realize I was talking 00:38:29.949 --> 00:38:32.889 to Scott at the time. I was just as rapidly as 00:38:32.889 --> 00:38:35.849 possible knocking them off the list as they were 00:38:35.849 --> 00:38:42.699 coming in. But I think maybe Some of the guys 00:38:42.699 --> 00:38:47.159 that I remember that in my first one or two trips 00:38:47.159 --> 00:38:50.619 that I had heard so much about like Marty Lane 00:38:50.619 --> 00:38:55.480 and some of those guys I remember my first contact 00:38:55.480 --> 00:39:00.559 with them from Peter the first star from Desacheo 00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:04.519 But I don't have a favorite contact. I don't 00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:06.980 guess I know a lot of people do but I really 00:39:06.980 --> 00:39:10.750 don't Okay, and Eric falls up with how about 00:39:10.750 --> 00:39:16.090 just as a ham operator in general anywhere? Do 00:39:16.090 --> 00:39:19.309 you have a most memorable contact most memorable 00:39:19.309 --> 00:39:25.210 contact ever? Yes, I actually I do I Had I had 00:39:25.210 --> 00:39:27.710 back back in high school in college I wanted 00:39:27.710 --> 00:39:30.750 to be a ham, but I had nobody living close to 00:39:30.750 --> 00:39:33.949 us I could not learn the Morse code by myself. 00:39:33.949 --> 00:39:37.719 So I never got my license I had I had been prepared 00:39:37.719 --> 00:39:40.019 to pass the written test. I had built all the 00:39:40.019 --> 00:39:44.380 HeathKit stuff. And I remember when I got my 00:39:44.380 --> 00:39:48.420 ticket, I've got my novice ticket first. I was 00:39:48.420 --> 00:39:51.039 getting ready to go in for open heart surgery 00:39:51.039 --> 00:39:57.900 the next week. And my first contact was on, I 00:39:57.900 --> 00:40:03.380 guess it was, I think it was 50, six meters. 00:40:04.099 --> 00:40:09.780 And it was to Newfoundland. And that was my first 00:40:09.780 --> 00:40:13.860 contact ever on ham radio. Well, I had just purchased 00:40:13.860 --> 00:40:17.639 a home in Nova Scotia about a month before that. 00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:22.059 Turns out the contact in Newfoundland was a very 00:40:22.059 --> 00:40:24.219 good friend of one of the fishing families I 00:40:24.219 --> 00:40:27.500 knew in Nova Scotia. And I met him the next year 00:40:27.500 --> 00:40:30.019 when I went up and gave the presentation on Peter 00:40:30.019 --> 00:40:34.579 the first. So I well remember that I don't remember 00:40:34.579 --> 00:40:36.840 his call sign now. He's passed away. He was an 00:40:36.840 --> 00:40:39.199 old gentleman, but he was a Newfoundland guy 00:40:39.199 --> 00:40:41.800 and I made that first contact on six meters. 00:40:41.840 --> 00:40:44.420 That's probably the one I remember the most. 00:40:45.980 --> 00:40:48.840 All right. Very good. Well, we just have a couple 00:40:48.840 --> 00:40:51.739 of minutes left. So, uh, if you want to tweet 00:40:51.739 --> 00:40:55.340 us, uh, it's at ham talk live. Uh, we've got 00:40:55.340 --> 00:40:58.599 time maybe for one quick call at eight one two 00:40:58.599 --> 00:41:01.679 net am one. Uh, if you want to get that in, you 00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:04.340 need to do that right away. Cause we're just 00:41:04.340 --> 00:41:07.619 about out of time, uh, for this evening. But, 00:41:07.619 --> 00:41:10.550 uh, one of the things and I actually was asking 00:41:10.550 --> 00:41:14.190 about this before the show. Since we just got 00:41:14.190 --> 00:41:16.829 our stepper back up at school today. And I remember 00:41:16.829 --> 00:41:20.789 all the work that it took to, to get it put together 00:41:20.789 --> 00:41:24.710 and drill out the poles and route those out and 00:41:24.710 --> 00:41:28.989 all the shrink wrap and everything to get all 00:41:28.989 --> 00:41:35.489 that going. What exactly do you do a little differently? 00:41:36.550 --> 00:41:40.190 with those so that you can get those poles collapsed 00:41:40.190 --> 00:41:44.670 again after you test everything, put everything 00:41:44.670 --> 00:41:49.750 together so that you can pack those up and get 00:41:49.750 --> 00:41:53.349 them out and put them back? Well, we take them 00:41:53.349 --> 00:41:56.289 all apart as we do everything and assemble them 00:41:56.289 --> 00:41:58.750 here in Atlanta and test them to make sure they're 00:41:58.750 --> 00:42:01.619 working properly. make sure the control cables 00:42:01.619 --> 00:42:04.679 are all working properly, and then we disassemble 00:42:04.679 --> 00:42:07.079 and put back together. But, for example, the 00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:11.960 shrink wrap we do not use. We use the really 00:42:11.960 --> 00:42:18.019 good all -weather 3M electrical tape to tape 00:42:18.019 --> 00:42:21.300 those tubes together with. We've never had a 00:42:21.300 --> 00:42:25.059 failure with it. It's not your regular Scotch 00:42:25.059 --> 00:42:29.369 33 3M. It's a much more expensive professional 00:42:29.369 --> 00:42:32.230 grade tape that we use to put them together with. 00:42:32.309 --> 00:42:35.369 They keep it completely dry. It doesn't get really 00:42:35.369 --> 00:42:37.690 hard in cold weather. It doesn't melt in hot 00:42:37.690 --> 00:42:41.530 weather. So that's what we do with the steppers. 00:42:42.510 --> 00:42:46.769 And you don't tape the control cables. You don't 00:42:46.769 --> 00:42:48.590 use tape to tape those together. You put them 00:42:48.590 --> 00:42:51.650 together with zip ties. The tape gets all sticky 00:42:51.650 --> 00:42:55.050 in hot weather. You've got everything sticking 00:42:55.050 --> 00:42:58.710 to it. So we try to keep everything clean and 00:42:58.710 --> 00:43:01.769 packaged neat. And everything is tested at least 00:43:01.769 --> 00:43:06.360 once before it leaves for the container. Very 00:43:06.360 --> 00:43:08.679 good, George. Well, I've got more questions I 00:43:08.679 --> 00:43:11.980 could ask, but we're out of time. And, uh, I 00:43:11.980 --> 00:43:15.599 just thank you so much for giving us some insight 00:43:15.599 --> 00:43:19.360 on, you know, how to pack all this stuff up. 00:43:19.360 --> 00:43:21.659 And we think, you know, making a little go kits, 00:43:21.659 --> 00:43:25.880 a little tough, and this is the ultimate go kit 00:43:25.880 --> 00:43:28.739 here we're talking about. So thanks for all your 00:43:28.739 --> 00:43:32.190 work that you've done on, uh, these to make these 00:43:32.190 --> 00:43:35.530 trips possible and thanks for sharing all that 00:43:35.530 --> 00:43:38.489 information with us tonight and look forward 00:43:38.489 --> 00:43:43.130 to maybe having you come on again maybe after 00:43:43.130 --> 00:43:46.789 the next trip or leading up to the next trip 00:43:46.789 --> 00:43:50.670 and give us some more insight. I appreciate the 00:43:50.670 --> 00:43:53.070 opportunity to talk to you and be glad to come 00:43:53.070 --> 00:43:56.630 on any time. All right. Well, that is a wrap 00:43:56.630 --> 00:43:59.769 for this week's edition of HamTalk Live. I'd 00:43:59.769 --> 00:44:04.190 like to thank my guest, George Nicholson, N4GRN 00:44:04.190 --> 00:44:06.469 and everybody out there in cyberspace for listening 00:44:06.469 --> 00:44:10.050 and tweeting in and invite you back next Thursday 00:44:10.050 --> 00:44:14.969 night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time when Fred K4IU 00:44:14.969 --> 00:44:19.329 will be here to talk about DXing. And next week 00:44:19.329 --> 00:44:22.190 we celebrate being on the air for one year. So 00:44:22.190 --> 00:44:25.059 thank you all for listening. and tell your friends 00:44:25.059 --> 00:44:28.559 about the show, and here's hoping for an even 00:44:28.559 --> 00:44:32.519 better second year of HamTalk Live. For a list 00:44:32.519 --> 00:44:34.599 of all of our upcoming guests, be sure to visit 00:44:34.599 --> 00:44:38.599 hamtalklive .com. So for now, this is Neil Rapp, 00:44:38.760 --> 00:44:44.559 WB9VPG, saying seven three, seven five, and may 00:44:44.559 --> 00:44:59.579 the good DX be yours. Thanks for watching.