09-May-2008 ARLB009 FCC Looks to Raise Vanity Call Sign Fees 07-May-2008 ARLX003 Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test to Be Conducted 28-Apr-2008 ARLS004 Ten New Satellites in Orbit 25-Apr-2008 ARLB008 Court Finds FCC Violated Administrative Procedure Act in BPL 22-Apr-2008 ARLB007 New Section Manager Appointed in New Hampshire 13-Mar-2008 ARLB006 FCC Fixes Typographical Errors in Part 97

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June 2007 RARS Exciter Article by Bob Conder K4RLC

The ham radio contribution to the 2007 Multiple Sclerosis Walk was a great success on many fronts. First, Phoebe, the MS Society Director, reported that this Walk was their best ever, with over 3,000 walkers raising three-quarters of a million dollars for research into a cure for this crippling and incurable disease of young adults. That really made all the work that Alanna K4AAC and I put into organizing the event terrifically worthwhile.

Second, we had almost 20 ham radio volunteers give their valuable time for this event. They were a fun and easy group to work with. And without the hams as part of the 200 overall volunteers, this event could not have happened.

Lastly, public service can be good practice for emergencies. This walk was a 5 mile event, covering a large part of RTP. Not all hams could hit the designated repeater, so we had to use simplex. Covering a large area on simplex with HTs can be challenging. A few used mobiles (Net Control and SAGs) and one ham used crossband from his HT at a rest station to his more powerful mobile. Others experimented with gain antenna for HTs. Another made a “possum tail” of 19-inch solid copper wire wrapped around the base of the rubber duck – this essentially made a vertical dipole, and increased the gain significantly over the basic HT antenna. Others provided relays when none of the above worked. All these creative and practical solutions are exactly what hams do in real emergencies.

In summary, Alanna and I want to thank all the volunteers for making the 2007 MS Walk a great event and hope to see you next year.

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