Amateur Field Day

I attended my RACES 2009 Field Day operations at Craig Park today.

Made contacts with stations in Colorado and Alaska, with the help of my friend Brian Turner who wants to join RACES also.

It was fun actually making a live distant contact after upgrading my license.

H2O Gun Configured

Finished watergun setup with reservoir in Alice backpack, and gun shoulder strap.

Shoots a 1 second torrent of water 30 feet.

Tt

Homemade H2O Gun - the Instrument of Justice

I just finished construction on an air-pressure homemade (APH) water gun, from a design posted on the internet by water warrior enthusiasts, who boast of its superior power - greater than the infamous SuperSoaker CPS 2000.

This obsession for a more powerful water gun was spurred on by my preparations for attending Youth Camp in a couple weeks, where water skirmishes occur daily and the Great War happens on a Thursday - 300 kids against 30 staff (and I'm on staff!).

To explain the design (see picture), water from a resevoir is drawn in the lower right barb through the first one-way 'check' valve by pulling out the plunger along the bottom, then pushed up through the second check valve when the plunger is pushed in. The two check valves are integral to this design and the basis of many SuperSoakers.

The water enters the black pressure chambers on top with subsequent pumps and pressure builds. When ready, the ball-valve at top left is opened and pressurized water jets out the final nozzel at the end of the pipe.

Next is field testing! If web claims are correct, it may prove to be the most powerful gun on the battlefield!

3rd DAT Call - Kitchen Fire

My next DAT call came when I was meeting my friend for breakfast this morning.

There was a fire in the kitchen of the residence. The family said they had just left their house and one of the daughters thought she forgot something and they went back.

The kitchen was gutted. Luckilly they had insurance to cover the loss. The bedrooms were relatively undamaged; washing clothes and linens should help.

2nd DAT Call - Mobile Home Fire

Tonight I was attending a Red Cross Communications meeting at the Chapter office, and a DAT call came in. Myself and Ray Heaney were Disaster Action Team(DAT) members and were called to respond.

We came to the incident of the mobile home fire, which happened earlier in the day around noon. The client was going to cook on the stove and put oil in the pan, then stepped outside to take a cellphone call. She heard crackling and came in to find the stovetop engulfed in fire. She tried using the home phone but fire must have melted the line. She grabbed her purse and got out the front door, and her neighbor called for help.

When I looked at the remains tonight, I saw the unit was completely destroyed, the home gutted, blackened walls and charred remnants of furnishings. An empty shell. All that remained of the 50" LCD TV was a stiff upright backboard. So sad.

I tried to relate and make a connection with the client, and related how my father went through similar medical conditions as she had. She shared how she loved to read and had 500 books. She grows and sells fruit and sends money back to her home country to help the poor.

We finished up paperwork at a nearby Starbucks and chatted.
My senior partner, Ray, has been on the DAT team for 8 years and has responded to an amazing 114 calls! He shared that one time there was a house with four rooms with 7 people in each room - and they all spoke Spanish!

Passed the General Class license test

Yay - I passed the test to upgrade my amateur radio license from Technician to the General level!

Now I have priviledges to operate on the worldwide high frequency bands. If I only had $1000 for all the gear! (But how much would I use it to actually get on the air?)
Met some interesting people in the class whom I may network with later.

The photo shows myself and Gordon West, the class teacher. 'Gordo' is a great teacher - funny, informative, lively; I recommend taking his classes to get a license. You can't help but get interested by his enthusiasm.
TT