HAMming it up at the State Park...

A relatively new contest for HAM radio clubs is the "Ohio State Parks on the Air." It is a contest of sorts where the amateur radio clubs throughout the state set up operations for a 12-hour period at one of the state parks in Ohio and operate their equipment. Although contacts are not limited to just operators in these parks and are likely to come from HAMs throughout the country, the objective is to make a contact with someone in each of the parks. This is sometimes more difficult than it sounds because the locations from which the HAMs have to operate in these parks are often down in valleys, or in areas where radio wave propagation might be hampered by forests, hills, etc.

In our case, the Shelby County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (S.C.A.R.E.S.) has some pretty nice equipment and the park where we set up operations (Lake Loramie, Ft. Loramie, OH) is a very nice and really pretty flat. Everyone has a heck of a time with cell phones over there, but it works out well for us. This picture shows one of the two mobile units we have. This unit also serves as a Shelby County EMA mobile command post in the event of a disaster which affects wide-scale communications.

The contest is actually a pretty cool way for us to talk with other HAMs in Ohio. A side benefit is that we usually draw a lot of curious on-lookers. These mobile communications sites are pretty impressive looking, and whenever people come wandering by to check us out, we give them a tour of the facility and explain our mission and how we support Shelby County. The units are capable of operating as stand-alone sites with the ability to communicate locally, long distances, around the world and via satellite.

Anyway, on the contest day, we were able to make contacts with 10 parks. After having said all that about our capabilities, you might think that this is a small number, and it probably is. The fly in the ointment was that it rained most of the day, and a lot of the HAMs didn't want to run antennas outdoors and get soaked, so some of them were operating on very low power with low range on their antennas. The weather also affected us in that we closed up operations at 3:00 p.m. I think the Ohio State Game had an impact on the willingness of a lot of the guys at various sites to tough it out the rest of the day.

Anyway, it was fun, and I got the chance to work the 80-meter band some. My antenna at home isn't set up for that band. I also cooked the hot dogs and brats on the grill that we ate for lunch. No sense in wasting a day at the park. While I was cooking, Grant (N8KZL) and Joe (KC6NLX) took a turn at calling and logging.

S.C.A.R.E.S. is a pretty active club in terms of Amateur Radio services. The very next day, we worked with the Sidney/Shelby County Applefest Parade committee and made sure all units in the parade were present and in place prior to the start of the show. There were probably a dozen members there who were able to maintain communications with the command unit and the parade officials.

For a retired guy, this is a pretty cool hobby. I sometimes sit up in my "shack" and just spin the tuner dial, day or night, wondering where in the world I'll end up. It's kinda like that Forrest Gump line -- it's kinda like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're going to get.

Some experiences weave burlap into the fabric of our lives, and some weave gold thread; but both contribute to make the whole picture beautiful and unique.

Hooah