On Being Disconnected from the Mother Ship

Happy Holidays!

It looks like my term has inadvertently extended itself, so as Acting ASC Radio Club President, I thought it would be nice to share some recent experience with you. Also, because of family obligations, I have not been able to check in and provide any traffic to you as N6ACS President on Mondays Nights but look forward to participating in the Net during the month of December, since those obligations are done for now.

For those of you who don’t know me, I am relatively new to radio so I have the exquisite joy and bliss of ignorance on my side. As somewhat of a toddler in this New World of Amateur Radio, by not knowing my limitations I may often exceed them. This naiveté brings with it a type of absolute faith unfettered by the doubt that “knowing too much” can bring.

Yet, as ACS Members we are surrounded by technical geniuses, engineers and seasoned radio operators. This climate brings me insight into my ignorance and it helps me stay more humble. It keeps my thirst for more knowledge strong. It keeps me moving forward and looking toward a future of someday really understanding my radios.

Reconnecting to the Mother Ship

This Fall I did a lot of traveling – to remote areas of Maine, Massachusetts & New Mexico and Texas. There were times that I was able to connect to the ACS repeater through Echolink (thanks to KE6DQR), which was a nice discovery and convenience.

I made another discovery while traveling. My perspective has changed and I now see sights anew; through the lens of a Radio Operator. So rather than counting out of State license plates during my long drives through Texas and New Mexico I counted HF, VHF and 2 meter set ups atop select roadside houses.

And while I did not bring any radios with me, radio remained in my mind and it didn’t stop me from fashioning my laptop into a makeshift radio. On Thanksgiving Day, while in a remote area of New Mexico, during a transient moment of antisocialism, I stole away to my rental car, fired up ye olde laptop and Verizon wireless card and reconnected to The Mother Ship.

Thank goodness data has a higher tolerance for weak signal strength than voice -- for as I sat in that dirt lot on a remote Texas ranch I was able to QSO fluently with my buddy Ralph (KG6WXY) through the repeater. All the while, a couple of my sister’s in-laws stood by car next to me in what I would later discover was awe. While I made my way back to the house they peppered me with questions like “How did I do that?” “Was that a repeater they just heard identifying itself in Morse Code? One of them, a retired Bronco Rider whose 6th in the World status segued him somehow into the communications industry in his later life was toying with the idea of getting a wireless card).

But the most memorable part of that moment was the absolute satisfaction and feeling of connectedness I felt. I was proud of being able to overcome both my self doubt and technology – to think outside of the proverbial Box of Old School Ham Radio. After all, by the time my daughter is surfing the Skywaves, Echolink may be considered Old School.

Ringing in the New Year

My hope for 2007 is that we draw together as a diverse population of Radio Operators and City Volunteers to share and celebrate our talents. The true sprit of Ham radio is one of sharing and collaboration and the City of Los Angeles needs quality volunteers such as us. Let’s do our best to contribute this year while maintaining a balanced personal life.

I look forward to meeting the New ACS Club Administration. The Club has so much potential to provide us with fun social and community outreach opportunities. I am proud of my membership in the ACS and hope to continue to contribute in the best way I can.

Sincerely,

Carolyne J. Keeler KG6TWQ
Acting President, N6ACS Radio Club


[Note: Many of you have asked “where have you been” and some have asked why the President’s Blog was removed for a time from the website.

In a perfect world, the entire Club and ACS would be of one mind or opinion; but as many of us know this is not a perfect world and our group has much diversity – which brings with it many diverse opinions. So when one of the Staff Members voiced his discontent with my picture and Blog being up on the ACS site, I suppose I erred on the side of conservatism and had the Webmaster remove it. After all, my official Term has ended, right….?]