New Member from San Gabriel Valley

[Area45]

Hi there. I've been listening to the nets for a few months but live to far away to check in on the radio. Figured instead of just listening through the feed on the website I can at least participate through here on the forum.

I got my technician's license in October of last year. Right now I have a Yaesu FT1XD HT and hope to put a mobile rig in my truck someday soon. I just got a mag mount antenna so hopefully that will give me better reception on the HT for now.

I grew up camping, hiking, backpacking. We have a RAM 3500 with a Four Wheel Camper and I've done a couple classes with Tom of Badlands. I also have a motorcycle and I moto'd to Alaska a couple years back. Mostly I ride my bicycle around the city and enjoy camping off the bike whenever I can. I live in Alhambra right below the San Gabriel Mountains so there are a few campspots up there.

I went to the meetup at Ruby's a couple weeks ago and met some people there. That's kind of what prompted me to finally join up. Had a good time checking out Larry's FJ and he helped explain some HAM things I've been confused about. I was really interested in the tracking feature of APRS from the net a couple weeks back. Just discovered that my FT1XD supports APRS and I've been struggling to get it to work. I've managed to get 2 Beacons received and both were sent when I was up in Griffith Park. About 700-1000 feet up. Haven't had any luck while commuting. Figure that may be lack of power in my HT maybe?

Anyways, thanks for the group. Lots of good stuff here.

Errin,
K6FWC

[Voodoo Blue 57]

Welcome!!

Hope to see you at our Field Day event!
There will be plenty of help to get your APRS working.

Phil

Field Day Link:
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=4058

[KK6GFF]

Welcome!

I have the same APRS problem you're having with my VX8-DR, the low power doesn't get the signal up to the digipeaters. Years ago there used to be a digipeater at UCLA that was reachable from most of the LA west side, but now it's not there any longer and I can now only get to them from the hill tops (Balwin Hills, Griffith Park, etc).

Roger

[DaveK]

Errin

Welcome to Outdoor Adventure USA!!!

I came to know the San Gabriel Valley area very well, years ago (the city of San Gabriel, to be precise.)

With regard to 'your APRS issues, I think we all have them at some point in time. It seems to be part of the learning curve. We will have some very inventive APRS set-ups at Field Day this year, and a visit to the mountains might give you some good ideas of what will work best for you. Also, we have an APRS section here on the website and it is not only a good source of information but an excellent place to ask questions.

See you on the nets!

[Area45]

Thanks for the welcome. I would love to attend the Field Day event but we already have a bicycle tour planned that weekend. I did tell my wife that if things change I plan to head up to Frazier Park though.

[Jeff-OAUSA]

Errin,
Welcome! This is a great group.

I admired your truck and camper down there at Ruby's Diner....now I'm rethinking I'll ditch my travel trailer and go with the overland camper!!

WD6USA - Jeff