Equipment inventory -- not done, but close
My plan was to do a little programming today but that didn't happen. Instead, I spent nearly the whole day with the scale and bags again. I'm still over my weight budget, but things are looking much better.
One of the things I've decided is that it is easier to do one of these things by yourself. No, not because people are difficult to work with. The problem is antenna placement and planning for inter-station interference. When I went to St. John, there was only one transmitter (mine) and all the antennas were mine. I could use a single feed line and connect it to different radiators when I wanted to change bands. I had the whole place to myself. This will not be the case on Montserrat.
Paul will be running QSOs on the digital modes while I'm running SSB (and the occasional CW, should I develop the courage). For this to work properly we both need the proper filters, we need to space our antennas as far apart as possible, and I can't just change bands or steal a piece of coax on a whim. I'll need to coordinate with Paul (and any other operators) on bands, operations, and equipment.
One of the things I like to do prior to arrival is do a survey of the property (with data from photos or experiences from other visitors if possible) to determine where I will place the antennas and how much feed line I might need to support that placement. With multiple operators, these are not just my antennas anymore. I'll need to do a site plan that provides for good band coverage for multiple stations, separates the antennas if possible, and reduces the amount of "rewiring" one might need to do to connect a particular antenna to one of our stations. It quickly becomes apparent why some DXpeditions measure the amount of coax they bring in kilometers! I don't have that luxury.
Meanwhile, back to the scale. Below is the rough list of the equipment. It is not complete (I have things missing). It is too much (I am still over-budget on the weight). The spreadsheet we are using for planning purposes has columns for a unique identifier for each detail line (to assist the inevitable discussions), an identifier for the bag containing it, an indication of the item's owner, a serial number for the item (if applicable), and its weight. Weights are also summarized per bag. Here is the list with just the item names.
Pelican 1610 case
Eddie Bauer red duffle
The Northern Face Backpack
Carry on bag ARRL (black)
In tomorrow's conference call, I'll see if we can't either redistribute some of this weight by having other team members that are traveling light do some bag sharing, or reduce the amount of stuff I'm bringing because somebody else stepped up and claimed an equivalent item it their own equipment list.
Just 15 days to go until the staging in Orlando...
One of the things I've decided is that it is easier to do one of these things by yourself. No, not because people are difficult to work with. The problem is antenna placement and planning for inter-station interference. When I went to St. John, there was only one transmitter (mine) and all the antennas were mine. I could use a single feed line and connect it to different radiators when I wanted to change bands. I had the whole place to myself. This will not be the case on Montserrat.
Paul will be running QSOs on the digital modes while I'm running SSB (and the occasional CW, should I develop the courage). For this to work properly we both need the proper filters, we need to space our antennas as far apart as possible, and I can't just change bands or steal a piece of coax on a whim. I'll need to coordinate with Paul (and any other operators) on bands, operations, and equipment.
One of the things I like to do prior to arrival is do a survey of the property (with data from photos or experiences from other visitors if possible) to determine where I will place the antennas and how much feed line I might need to support that placement. With multiple operators, these are not just my antennas anymore. I'll need to do a site plan that provides for good band coverage for multiple stations, separates the antennas if possible, and reduces the amount of "rewiring" one might need to do to connect a particular antenna to one of our stations. It quickly becomes apparent why some DXpeditions measure the amount of coax they bring in kilometers! I don't have that luxury.
Meanwhile, back to the scale. Below is the rough list of the equipment. It is not complete (I have things missing). It is too much (I am still over-budget on the weight). The spreadsheet we are using for planning purposes has columns for a unique identifier for each detail line (to assist the inevitable discussions), an identifier for the bag containing it, an indication of the item's owner, a serial number for the item (if applicable), and its weight. Weights are also summarized per bag. Here is the list with just the item names.
Pelican 1610 case
Alinco DM-330MV 32A Power Supply
Audio mixer and accessories-Targa Tunda case
LDG AT-7000 autotuner
Icom 7000 transceiver
MicroHAM CW keyer and accessories
Heil Traveler Dual headset in bag with accys
Newton branded accessory bag
# ICOM hand microphone
# RIGrunner 4005
# ICOM 7000 power cord (short)
# ICOM 7000 power cord (long, fused)
# RCA stereo patch cable
# RCA to 1/4 stereo jack patch cable
# Power supply feed spades to PowerPoles
# Super Whatt Meter
# RCA to mono 1/8 patch cable
# PL-259 to PL-259 patch cable 3-foot
# Pen, pencil, mini-screwdriver
Red accessory box
# LDG autotuner to radio cable
# Magnetic base for 2/440 antenna (whip in lid)
# one foot PL259 patch cable
# Stereo RCA patch block
# PL-259 to BNC adapter
Radio Amateurs World Atlas
Nifty manuals, guides, logbook
Shure Microphone and cord in zippered case
Two foot peddles
First aid kit
Montserrat flag
P3 Solar Power Pack 15w Model 16009
Bencher paddles
SLA charger 1A
MFJ 259B Analyzer
SunSaver-6 Solar charge controller in Caselogic
Belkin power strip
First aid kit
Power inverter 110v from 12v 100watt
Small photographic tripod
Eddie Bauer red duffle
Sony digital video camera bag
Box of video tapes
Bachman bag w/ 25 and 75 feet coax RG8X
Camera monopod
Buddipole system
Buddistick system
Spinner bag
# MFJ-16010 tuner
# Buddipole TRSB
# Opek coax switch
# Car adapter to PowerPole cable
# Bag of RF adapters
# Numeric keypad
# MFJ dual clock
# Hat
Hiking shoes
The Northern Face Backpack
First aid kit
Garmin eTrex Vista GPS
Highgeer field compass, therm
Hat
ARRL Repeater Directory
Yaesu VX-5R handheld radio
Olympus digital camera
"The Vault" hard-sided golf bag
Black widow fishing poles (4)
Mast 33 feet
Walking sticks
Document tube with 2 posters and map
Sun bag with dipole and wire spool
ARRL Bag
# Bungie cords
# Ground stakes (6)
# EB 1 Balun
# Center insulator
# Unidilla balun
# Buddipole standard Tee
# Buddipole VeraTee with adapter
# Two clipclamps
# Bag of dacron rope - 300+ feet
# Tool bag with…
# Radio shack VOM (2)
# Rip tie wraps
# Stanley 12 foot tape measure
# Leatherman knife and tool set
# Wire cutters
# Electrical tape (2 rolls)
# Radio Shack 11 piece tool kit w/ soldering iron
Carry on bag ARRL (black)
Apple MacBook computer
Clothes
In tomorrow's conference call, I'll see if we can't either redistribute some of this weight by having other team members that are traveling light do some bag sharing, or reduce the amount of stuff I'm bringing because somebody else stepped up and claimed an equivalent item it their own equipment list.
Just 15 days to go until the staging in Orlando...
posted by NE1RD's Blog at 11:26 PM
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