Ridecamp: [RC] Tevis Radio guys

Joan writes:
> The radio guys referred to are the communications 
> people who man ham radios throughout the ride at 
> each of the vet checks.  These dedicated volunteers
> are there every year and we could not keep track 
> of the location of the riders, where riders are 
> pulled, etc., without them.  

Gosh, yes. If I wasn't so sleep deprived, I would have
managed to make more sense.

These radio guys are *great*. We'd be so far up the creek without
them, it doesn't even bear thinking about. Forget cell phones -
most of these canyons are so deep your phone won't even see the 
cell, let alone get a signal.

Many of them belong to local radio ham clubs and are a whole 
network of folk. They have multiple "radio things" <technical
term> linked up to get the signal out. To listen to their expertise 
is quite an education - or at least it would be if I understood
any of it. My basic understanding is that they rely heavily on
the Bald Mtn Repeater (Bald Mtn being a 4600' mnt to the east of
Georgetown and mostly south of the WST). I believe in some cases
they also "daisy chain" signals from one check to the next, so 
that the checks that can't "see" the finish but can see the next 
check along can link through.

My point was - as Joan says - "They are at the mercy of
what is put on the cards by the vet team."  Quite so. And
what they see is often ambiguous.

They too are sleep deprived and often dealing with stressful 
situations - having to call for emergency help (at least two 
ambulances were requested and at one point a helicopter, 
although that was later cancelled) - under these circumstances,
what "pull code" they use to get the pull information out is
the last of their worries - even if they did have good information 
to start with.

Communications folk rock!


-- 
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Lucy Chaplin Trumbull
Repotted english person in the Sierra Foothills, CA
elsie@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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