Radio users gather for training

By Hugh Fisher

hfisher@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY - Suppose the unthinkable happened. What if a tornado wiped out the major Salisbury Road Joplin, Missouri, was devastated last month?

Or if an emergency at McGuire Nuclear Station a forced evacuation, such as following the tsunami in Japan in March?

The first line of communication with the outside world would be amateur radio operators.

This weekend, a group of operators of local radio emergency service amateur radio, ARES or are organizing a competition for Field Day at Elizabeth Hanford Dole Chapter of the American Red Cross.

It's funny some part training for radio operators.

And it's a chance for the public to stop and see how radio operators can use a small amount of electronics to speak around the world.

Around the clock

The ARES Field Day is a 24-hour non-stop competition.

Use equipment, as well as what they would do in an emergency, radio operators to see how many other stations, they can communicate, and how far.

Outside the building of the Red Cross, an antenna wire, held in place by the cable extends along the length of the roof of the building a shed in the back.

Two other, smaller antennas were erected nearby.

Inside, a row of tables held radios, microphones, power supplies and laptop computers.

"November Four Tango, please copy," Gohlke said Jared radio operator in his microphone.

That's radiospeak N4T, the call sign for this field day.

A response back on his helmet.

"Roger," Gohlke responds, "We are two Foxtrot November Charlie."

It's his way of telling the person at the other end that the event is broadcast from North Carolina using the market power.

The group will score points for each of the contacts with operators across the U.S. and elsewhere.

During the afternoon, fans talked to local operators in Ontario, Canada and the United States as far west as Colorado.

They could hear the radio in Nicaragua and Puerto Rico, but could not get an answer immediately.

This sometimes happens, said Gary Lang, District Emergency Coordinator for Zone 11 - an area of ​​seven counties in North Carolina, including Cabarrus and Rowan.

It is also a volunteer for the Franklin Township firefighter and a spotter for Skywarn program, the National Weather Service.

Flagless Cell Tower Latest Version of T-Mobile's Bloomfield ...

Attorney James Pryor announced at last night’s Bloomfield Zoning Board meeting that T-Mobile’s application to build a 120-foot monopole cell tower at the corner of Broad Street and Bay Avenue in Bloomfield was being modified, and would no longer include the placement of a flag at the top of the pole. Pryor stated the pole will now be a “flagless flagpole.”

The original application, which included a flag, had raised many concerns at previous meetings, including questions about the raising and lowering of the flag, the noise produced by the flapping of the flag material in the wind, and the necessity of lighting the flag at night. Removing the flag eliminates these issues. However, the attorney announced that there would be testimony regarding previous questions about the flag.

Following Pryor’s announcement, two previous witnesses, the applicant’s site engineer, Anthony Barile, and the radio frequency engineer, Joseph Mineo, testified for about three hours, fielding questions from attorneys, an expert hired by the township, members of the audience and the board.

Barile began his testimony by addressing previous questions asked about the flag. He stated the flag would have been 15 x 22 feet, made of polyester, and would have been attached to the top of the pole with no means of raising or lowering it. To install it or remove it would have necessitated a man/lift mechanism and the flag could not have been lowered to half staff.

Because of previously-raised concerns about trucks or other vehicles accidentally hitting the monopole, if the application is approved, 3-1/2-foot bollards will be placed around the pole. Barile later testified that these bollards would be approximately three feet from the base of the pole.

He also addressed the issue of possible vandalism — which had been raised at the last meeting — saying that there are no locking nuts or bolts available for use on the monopole. However, the nuts and bolts that would be used are 1 to 1-1/2 inches wide and would need a very large, very heavy wrench to move them, making casual vandalism unlikely.

He also testified that the site of the monopole would be 1.6 feet above the 100-year-flood level, and the site is approximately 40 feet from the edge of the flood plain level shown on the map. Under questioning by attorney John Dusinberre, hired by the owner of the adjacent medical center, Barile said that about 100 feet of the deteriorating retaining wall that holds up the bank of the nearby Third River falls within the flood plain.

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