MS 150 Minimum Radio Requirements

It is important to maintain reliable communications links during the ride. Each type of assignment will have differing minimum requirements.

It is the responsibility of the amateur operator to be sure he or she will be able to maintain contact, so the descriptions below are only guide lines. If you are sure your 300 milliwatt Alinco Credit Card transceiver will hit the repeater and you have battery power that will last for the entire assignment ... use it. Conversely, if you know a rest stop is way out of range of the repeaters using a HT, you'll have to take the lead in getting a mobile rig with some power to operate from that location.

Stationary Assignments

If you are assigned to a position at a single location (rest stop), you may use a Handi-Talkie if you are sure you will be able to hit the net control stations in your area on their repeater frequency. If you do a site survey prior to the event, don't rely on kerchunking repeaters, make contact with some station and verify that you are coming through with an easily readable signal. A little white noise is acceptable, but copy quality to the other stations on the repeater should be very good to excellent.

Mobile Assignments

If you are assigned at a mobile position and moving constantly over the course, then you are required to have a 2 meter radio, a mag mount antenna and a cigarette lighter to power your radio. It is VERY STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that all moving stations on the route use mobile radios with 45 to 50 watts VHF and 25 to 35 watts UHF output power. You will be traveling through country where even that may not suffice to maintain contact, however we won't require any greater capability than this configuration.

An HT operating through a rubber duck will NOT be sufficient for operations of this type. An HT with a mag mount antenna but no cigarette lighter adaptor may be insufficient for this type of operation if you can't get the full power of your HT (5 watts) on batteries. And a warning about that nasty terrain ... if you try and use an HT with 5 watts on a cigarette lighter with a mag mount antenna you will find you are often in areas where you can hear the repeaters, but your 5 watts just isn't enough to transmit back into the system. So, think hard and long about trying this configuration. Your ms contact may have some very important traffic to pass and it won't be awe inspiring to ask them if they would please drive to the next high spot so you can get into the net.

Hams Assigned to MS Officials

If you are assigned to an MS Official you will be required to carry a dual band radio. MS logistic radio traffic will occur on two meters, however, medical usually communicates over 70 centimeters. You will probably spend 99% of your time on two meters, however in the event of a medical emergency, your official may wish to monitor the medical net and perhaps even talk to the doctor.

You should also follow the above guide lines for mobile and stationary assignments above.

Power Requirements for ALL Positions

Regardless of your assignment, you should be ready to operate all day and have the ability to provide power to your radio for extended operations.

Folks using HTs, be sure to have enough battery power to get through the day even if you are called on to handle lots of traffic. Also, if you are assigned to a two day position, be sure you can recharge your HT batteries overnight or carry enough batteries for a two day stint. You might consider getting some form of external power, say a gel cell, which will carry you through the entire event.

If you are in a mobile situation, be sure to carry a cigarette lighter adaptor and use it to both ensure uninterrupted power operations and afford your ht the ability to operate at full power output (5 watts).

Maximum Radio Requirements

The most we require from an amateur is a dual band mobile radio capable of operating at high power (25+ watts) and a vertical antenna. If you have that basic setup and still can not make it into net control, move to a position where you can make contact and notify net of your inability to operate from that location. In that case we may try and find someone who can take over with beam antennas that may make the difference. Or, we might try some relay setup, or perhaps an alternate repeater.

We would appreciate it if you could go out to your assigned location prior to the event and do a site survey. If you know it will be impossible to operate from that location and tell us prior to the event we may be able to "fix" things in time for the ride.

Cigarette Lighter Adaptors

If you are in someone else's vehicle, be sure you do not try to draw more power from the cigarette lighter that it is prepared to deliver. Ask the car owner if it will properly power your radio at full power. If they don't know check in the car's owner's manual. If you can't find the answer to this question you will have to use your own judgment on how to proceed. Naturally the safest course of action would be to never operate at a power output of greater than 5 watts.

You might consider carrying a power cable which you can use to tap directly into their battery. If you make up your own cable, be sure to put fuses into it at the battery end of the cable. Also you should probably fuse both the positive and negative leads of the cable to protect the battery and vehicle to the maximum extent.

Always transmit at the lowest power that provides excellent copy. That probably means 5 watts for 80 percent of the course with only a couple of places that require a boost to full power.

Fuses

Take a couple of backups!

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