The Story: It was suggested that the August meeting of
the
North Bay Amateur Radio Club would be held at Jen and Dave Dewey's home
north of Jenner (at Stillwater Cove) and be a combined barbeque & antenna
raising.
The participants hit the road from Santa Rosa within ten minutes of
each other and wound their way westward, with sporadic updates on position
via 5.35. As repeater coverage became spotty we moved to simplex, which
served a dual purpose later.
Jen had placed a NOBARC banner on the Caltrans sign in front of their
driveway. Ken N6MHG was the first to miss it (but not by much). Hearing
no reports regarding Dave KD6KWM, I assume he hit it on the first try.
I (AB6OL), however, while chatting with Ken, blew right past the landmarks
and proceeded north. It wasn't until he remarked on how my previously strong
(simplex) signal was getting much weaker that we deduced I had missed the
mark completely. Upon returning, I not only found the NOBARC banner, but
Ken's daughter and her friend - waving their arms and jumping up &
down.
As indicated by the photos below, the group went right to work. Dave
KD6KWM scampered up the tree and proceeded to remove one end of the dipole.
This feat was repeated at the other end, and with the center dropped he
began to renovate the connections. (You'll notice Dave mentioned a lot
here)
With the dipole reassembled it was decided that the antenna just wasn't
quite high enough. Unfortunately that was the case with the ladder as well.
When the tree had been trimmed all of the lower (climbable) branches had
been removed. That's where my pickup (and rack) were called into service.
A makeshift platform was assembled and the ladder strapped to it. This
gave Dave just enough height to reach the lower branches. Up he went, attached
one end, and we broke for lunch. (sounds easier than it was)
And what a lunch. Barbeque always seems to taste better at the coast.
We couldn't have ordered a better day for an outing. Clear blue skies,
mild temperatures, good company. It was hard to go back to work. But duty
called.
The ladder was raised and up went Dave (again). All the work (and the
food) was taking it's toll. He seemed to rise to the challenge a little
slower. But up he went. This time he had to do a little tree trimming.
For that, Dave Dewey added his assistance - climbing up to handle the chain
saw. The limbs were trimmed, the antenna hung, and our tree huggers came
down for dessert.
Good work, good food and good company. It was a day well spent. Enjoy
the photos.
