I checked into the Grayson County ham club’s information net on Sunday, March 2nd, just as I normally do. I don’t have a station built in my house yet, so I used my HT in my upstairs office. When I was called upon to talk about what’s been going on over the past week, I hit the PTT button and spoke like I usually do. When I finished, someone responded that they heard a few words, then a carrier signal but not my voice. I moved closer to the window and tried again, but the second time the report was even worse – no carrier. Within seconds I received both a text message from Wade KF5AUD and a phone call from Rick K5ECX confirming what they did (or rather didn’t) hear. Wade suggested switching to the secondary repeater and testing again. I moved around to other parts of the house, and he was eventually able to hear me but the audio was weak.
I started checking the HT. I had not made any programming changes, and it had been sitting mostly unused since the last time I checked into a net. The only thing I had done recently was purchase a new high-capacity battery pack, which I had charged up and was using for the very first time on this net. Following a hunch, I decided to swap out the new battery pack and use an older one, asked for a recheck with the net, and was told I had a perfect signal – full quieting into the repeater. When I explained what I had done, Paul K1PKZ responded with “sounds like you’ve got a bad cell in that pack…”
As Rick likes to say, I think there is a lesson here.
I had made a fundamental mistake: I assumed that since it was a brand new battery pack it would work perfectly, and so I didn’t bother to test it. All I had to do for testing was to get on the repeater and ask for a couple of signal reports, but instead I waited until I needed to use the radio…and suddenly learned it didn’t work. Fortunately, this happened during an informal net and I had both the time and assistance to troubleshoot the problem. But what if it had happened during an ARES or SKYWARN event? Net Control is responsible for keeping up with everyone who checks in, and if they suddenly lost contact with me they would have to turn their attention from the event to figuring out what happened to me and if I needed help. I would instantly become a liability, and in a major situation like a big storm that could put even more people at risk.
The takeaway is this: check your equipment BEFORE you need it. Any time you get a new piece of gear – whether it’s a battery pack, an antenna, or an entire rig – take a few minutes after you set it up to make sure it works properly. It’s also a good idea to keep rechecking on a regular basis, especially during the upcoming storm season. The GCARC and ARES nets on Sunday nights are a great way to do this…and if you run into a problem, there will usually be several folks on the net who can help you work through it.
By checking in advance to make sure your equipment is working properly, you are helping to keep both yourself and your fellow ARES members safe, which in turn allows everyone to do their best in supporting the communities we serve.
73
Mike KF5NPM
AEC, Public Information & Safety
Grayson County ARES