WB2ZDH/AM <--- New challenge

[BARRYCHECK6]

Hello Gaggle:

I am an old time Ham and Pilot. I am getting back in the operation and would like to do something I only dreamed about when I was 11 Years Old... I want to operate AM... No you nimrods ;-) ... Aeronautical Mobile. I want to put a 2M antenna up in free space, at about 5,000 Feet, aiming back down at the earth and call CQ. How many states do you think we can contact in say two (2) hours of operation from that altitude?

Can I do this on my own? Maybe but I really do not want to. I would rather have a co-pilot / HAM operator sitting next to me to take on most of the HAM communication responsibilities.

Now for the bad news - I am located in Central New Jersey and would like to find someone local that I could work with. Some one with a lot of Enthusiasm and Knowledge for such an adventure. I don't think there are many HAMs out there that have worked a /AM station and even fewer that have BEEN the /AM Station. So here are a few ideas I had:
1 - ADVERTIZE this adventure - You will be responsible for compiling the How To of getting us advertized.
2 - Create a special QSL Card for those that have contacted us.
3 - YES - We can use BOTH our call signs and have BOTH on the QSL Card.
4 - I do not want an APPLIANCE operator for my co-pilot/HAM, I want someone with electrical knowledge on HOW we will set up the Rig and the Mic and the Headsets. It will also be great if you know about How To Remove Noise from the radio installation.
5 - The Rig - I have an oldie but goody - A ICOM 2100H. It is a 2M Rig capable of both Simplex and Duplex. It runs 5, 10 & 55 Watts Output. For this operation SIMPLEX would be the way to go. Not much of a big deal doing DX on Duplex. SOOoooo What SIMPLEX frequencies do you think would be best for this endeavor?
6 - Back to ADVERTIZING... It would be nice to let people know or general working area. I will supply GPS Lat & Lon. We could, SHOULD also let them know that THEIR Antenna would work best if they AIMED it UP at this general GPS Lat & Lon. I could give them the How To of calculating the ANGLE that would be best from Their location to out location and our Altitude.

So, How does this sound? Anyone interested?

Barry
Check 6

 

[n9mxq]

A friend and I did Field Day /AM years ago. DJ-F1T 5 watts FM simplex to a 1/4 wave antenna mounted near the tail..

Cruising at between 2k and 5k elevation around Northern Illinois we worked IL/IA/MN/MI/IN/MO/KY

As for "advertising" once people hear you're /AM it won't take long for contacts to find you. We felt like "rare DX" and had a pileup in a couple minutes.

Now, this was during a contest, so normal everyday use would be different. I'd use 146.520, and move somewhere else once the contacts start rolling in.

As for # 6 if it's a big deal, use APRS and include altitude. But trust me, they won't need to aim...

 

[jeepinjeepin]

WB2ZDH/AM &amp;lt;--- New challenge

That sounds great. I am not your co-pilot though. Do you have a flight plan in mind? Please say out and back starting in a SSW heading.

Edit: will you be flying the AA-5 Traveler? I overestimated your airspeed and underestimated the distance between us. It doesn't look like I'll make contact.