Equipment Needs for Baker to Vegas 1997

One of the biggest challenges we face each year, in preparing to support this race, is the immense task of soliciting the loans of equipment from our local Hams. For B2V 1996, we needed more than fifty 2-meter mobile radios, more than 25 TNCs, and more than a dozen dual-band mobiles! And, even though the race will not occur until April 11-14, we will need much of this equipment at least a month before the event.

One of the biggest changes for 1997 is that we are breaking our big group into tactical teams, to make it easier to manage the staffing, as well as the acquisition of loaner equipment.

There will be a Core Group team (responsible for the Net Control stations, and the voice and data networks), as well as teams to support each of the running teams. Each of these teams will be responsible for finding all the equipment that their team will need.

Each of the running teams will need to provide enough 2-meter mobile radios to support voice operations for all of the vans in which they plan to have voice operators. They will also need to solicit APRS trackers that meet our wiring and packaging specifications, or they will have to borrow equipment, and make the trackers, adhering to those specifications.

All Hams are encouraged to make cables for their own equipment that meet the power and interconnection specifications shown in the wiring overview. We have a couple of technical volunteers who can build cables for you if you provide the materials, or if you are willing to pay for them to buy the materials. If you are interested in this service, please email me with the radio or TNC model number(s).

If you are going to loan any equipment (for this event, or for emergency use), we also strongly encourage you to mark your equipment and accessories with your callsign now, before you loan it. This includes marking accessories like microphones, antennas, power cables, etc. We will be very careful checking in all loaned equipment, but other emergencies may not. Labeling your equipment will greatly increase the chances that it will all get back to you quickly after the event.

General Equipment Needs [C] = Core Group, [T] = Team
500-Watt (or greater) 110 VAC generators [C]
2-meter band-pass filters (50-watt minimum) [C]
TNC's! (1200 bps; TNC-2 clones, AEA PK-12 or 9612, KPC-2, etc.) [C, T]
GPS receivers with power/data cable harness (Garmin 45, 45-XL, Trimble, Sony, etc.) [T]
2-meter mobile radios (25-watt or greater) [C, T]
2-meter/440 MHz dual-band mobile radios (25-watt or greater) [C]
Computers for APRS (Macs and PC) [C, T]
Cables, connectors, etc.for making cable harnesses (We *ARE* a non-profit group now!) [C, T]
Mag-mount antennas (we prefer the NMO mounts, with BNC on the cables) [T]

You can read the original chronicle of the Ham Support for the 1995 B-to-V Challenge Cup. This story was submitted to QST magazine, and the version that appeared in print was a bit shorter...

Team Pages: [The Core Group] [Team Fremont] [S.F. F.B.I.] [Alameda County S.O.]
Other Links: [Wiring Overview] [Tracker Packaging] [Equipment Donations] [CLUES]
[the Staffing Mailbox] for questions, fill out a [Volunteers Form], and the [Headquarters Page].