Friday, October 6 @1015 UPDATE:
The Fannin County Amateur Radio Club (FCARC) is still short-handed and scrambling for some additional people. Just 3-4 would get them over the hump. We currently have four (myself, Leo Salas, Cliff Leath and Kim Ledbetter) RRVARC members going. I have just talked with the FCARC president and the rally comms organizer and they even had me on a speaker phone call for a few minutes during the pre-rally meeting that started a few minutes before 1000. Here are my take away points:
• Kim Ledbetter has secured a “Support and Gear” (SAG) loaner truck from his employer Paris Chevrolet GMC. Kim, thank you for securing the truck. The FCARC is planning to pair Kim with a local ride ride-along to help him to navigate Fannin County.
• FCARC is still looking for a few additional people to help out so RRVARC will send another blast email in a few minutes. Look, we know tomorrow is a tough pull for some. TU/OU-OU/TU football game, Texas Rangers first playoff game, etc., but please set your DVR and sign up to help with this. You won’t regret it.
• Like with our Tour de Paris there are sponsors and the sponsors are responsible for their rest stop setup, supply and resupply. Having said that, they want radio operators to all to be at the Chamber of Commerce at 0730 (I plan to be there at 0700 to be sure I am on time.) and as a backup – A BACKUP – they may ask us to take supplies to our rest stop when we leave there.
• Personal suggestion: Take your own folding chair, food and water, notepad, pen/pencil, maybe field glasses, etc., so that you are truly independent. They want you broadcasting APRS at all times. If you don’t have APRS built into your radio please do not let that dissuade you from participating. Just get APRS/fi installed on your smartphone and set it up to broadcast your call sign. It is easy to configure and works beautifully to broadcast your location. But, please make sure you bring a charging cord and whatever adapter you need for your vehicle and a backup power source if you have one. APRS beaconing from a phone is a real battery hog.
They haven’t said anything about doing an ICS214, but when you got on location I suggest you call in and write down the first and last jersey numbers of the riders through your stop. I would also keep notes of generally how may calls you made for SAG, repair, etc., so if they later ask you can do the report.
Here is a link to the latest route map – updated nearly by the minute so check back often.
Please call, text or email me if you can help.
Phillip Beall (W5EBC)
secretary@wb5rdd.org
Cell: 214-729-6182