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| Number | Question |
| 1 | What is up with all these acronyms? What do they mean? |
| 2 | What are the restroom facilities like and where are they located? |
| 3 | What is the availability of food and drink at the event? |
| 4 | I have prescription medicine... what do I do about that? |
| 5 | Do I need a 4X4 vehicle for this event? |
| 6 | I only have an 11m single crystal radio with a broken coat hangar for an antenna and pinched coax, can I still participate? |
| 7 | Hey, I worked El Tour de Tucson with my 0.03 milliwatt crystal/galena/tube hybrid software defined radio on my iPhone!! Why do you think you need more radio than El Tour? This event is not even half the size of El Tour!! And further more, why do you think you need PL tones on SIMPLEX frequencies? Don't you know that PL Tones are just like D-Star and are only used on repeaters!? |
| Number | Q/A | Comments |
| 1 | Question | What is up with all these acronyms? What do they mean? |
| Answer |
Acronyms are a necessary evil. Here is a list of the more commonly used
acronyms/terms used at this event- 24HOP - 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo ARO - Amateur Radio Operator EACPOC - Expo Area Coordinator Point of Contact Handy-Scratchy - My preferred term and very accurate description of Handy-Talkies. MPOC - Medical Point of Contact NC - Net Control POC - Point of Contact, this is a person that you need to contact for some specific issue. SARA - Southern Arizona Rescue Association, this is our medical support folks TBD - To be determined /F - Foot Rover /D - Dirt Bike Rover /A - All Terrain Vehicle Rover /V - Vehicle Rover OST - Oscar Sierra Team |
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| 2 | Question | What are the restroom facilities like and where are they located? |
| Answer |
The only "facilities" provided are "Port-O-Potties". They are located throughout 24 Hour Town.
There are NO facilities available on the bike route for stations in the field. If you intend to use these "facilities", I HIGHLY recommend you do as I do when you must use these things. I.E., bring a BIG can of Lysol or some equivalent, use it LIBERALLY before you touch anything and then be sure to bring your own toilet paper. I consider these "Port-O-Potties" as highly septic birthing areas for disease. Thus, I personally will try my best to avoid them by going to a remote/private location and do my business in the "woods". The "woods" are MUCH cleaner, MORE private than "Port-O-Potties" and can benefit the local plants over time. I do realize that majority of our "modern" society has been culturally indoctrinated with an irrational disposition for the use of these disgusting contraptions called "Port-O-Potties". Thus, if you MUST use these "Port-O-Potties", please take the appropriate precautions!!! |
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| 3 | Question | What is the availability of food and drink at the event? |
| Answer |
The Event does have food and drink vendors but their schedule is unknown. In the past it seemed
as if they were really only available during high volume times (i.e. no vendor stayed opened
overnight during "off hours") Remember, this event is in the middle of the desert. Expecting a "Macaroni Grill" to be available at the event site is just is not a reality. These vendors also spend significant time and $$$ to come out and set up shop in the middle of the desert. So, do not expect the vendors to give their food away. They are there to provide a service and make a profit. Indeed, they deserve a profit for their services. Thus, do not be surprised if their food might be pricey. In short, if you are not prepared to pay a premium for food service, then be prepared by bringing your OWN food and drink that will sustain you whilst in the field. |
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| 4 | Question | I have prescription medicine... what do I do about that? |
| Answer |
If you have MEDS, bringem' and usem' them as directed by your doctor!! If your meds impair
your ability to work in the field, then let Net-Control know the details. They will respond accordingly. So BY ALL MEANS, take your MEDS as directed by your doctor. If you fail to take your MEDS and it results into you developing medical problem then you have just become a senseless burden and liability to everyone. |
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| 5 | Question | Do I need a 4X4 vehicle for this event? |
| Answer |
NO, but it does not hurt. For field work, you do need at least a two wheel drive HIGH
CLEARANCE vehicle for basic transportation. The ONLY station that is remotely "NICE" for low clearance vehicles (i.e. Honda Civics et. al.) is Net-Control. So if the only vehicle you have is a low clearance vehicle... you are probably gonna be stuck at Net-Control. |
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| 6 | Question | I only have an 11m singal crystal radio with a broken coat hangar for an antenna and pinched coax, can I still participate? |
| Answer |
The short answer is YES! The long answer is that you technically do not need a radio or even a license. If you fail to provide yourself with the mininum necessary radio equipment and/or license, NO PROBLEM. We will simply pair you up with someone that does meet all of the requirements for our operations. |
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| 7 | Question | Hey, I worked El Tour de Tucson with my 0.03 milliwatt crystal/galena/tube hybrid software defined radio on my iPhone!! Why do you think you need more radio than El Tour? This event is not even half the size of El Tour!! And further more, why do you think you need PL tones on SIMPLEX frequencies? Don't you know that PL Tones are just like D-Star and are only used on repeaters!? |
| Answer |
Wow, is that a loaded question or what... but indeed... I have been challenged with similar questions as this. Alas, me being a person of infinite patience and humble disposition, I shall endeavour to answer this question to the extent that I can. There are multiple reasons why PL Tones and dual band radios are required in this event. A) The most important reason is that as Communications Coordinator, I make the decisions about what is required to achieve an effective communications network which is based on my history with this event. The buck stops with me and these are the decisions I have made. There is no democracy here. B) El Tour is a city event that has literally dozens of repeaters to support it. So handy-scratchies can be "easily" used for El Tour. 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo is held out in the middle of the desert and has VERY limited repeater support. As such, repeater owners are not thrilled to have their mountain top repeater transmitting net traffic all over Southern Arizona for 24+ hours. Nor am I in the mood to try and convince them to let me clog up their repeater for 24+ hours. Thus we are relegated to simplex frequencies. If you are a savvy Amateur Radio Operator, you can still enjoy the convenience of a handy-scratchy with the effectiveness of a mobile rig by simply crossbanding. This makes a very powerful one-two punch out in the field. Please Please Please, if you decide to crossband, do not be a LID and crossband both designated UHF and VHF frequencies together at the same time. C) Net-Control is located in a fairly RF active area and can be subjected to intermod and/or de-sense problems. Having a second band available whilst using PL Tones affords Net-Control the flexibility to mitigate if not eliminate all intermod and/or de-sense problems. |
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