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 Previous: ARRL Files Federal Appeals Court Brief in Petition for Review of BPL Rules |  Next: Surfin': It's Only Software |
By Gary Hoffman, KB0H
Contributing Editor
May 25, 2007
In my jump bag, I discovered a wad of used “Caution” tape — definitely a bad sign. Some housecleaning and reorganization clearly were in order.
Last time I talked about how I discovered that my emergency preparations had, essentially, “unprepared” themselves. I went on to describe how I had to relearn how to set up a digital field station. This time, I’ll reveal what else I discovered regarding my alleged “state of readiness.”
Last time I said: “My go-bag had unzipped and unpacked itself.” But I was being too kind to myself. My jump bag was never in any shape to be deployed. Moreover, its contents were less a result of careful planning and more a matter of impulsive buying. If I saw something at a hamfest or even at the $1 store that looked like it might be vaguely useful, I would buy it and toss it into my bag. It wasn’t a jump bag so much as it was a dump bag. Thus my understandable dismay when I eventually got around to inventorying it.
Let me be clear: There is not a single go-bag but three of them. The first, and oldest, consists mainly of personal gear. There are spare eyeglasses, a compass, a whistle, waterproof matches and all that camping and hygiene stuff you see on lists of items recommended for your go-bag. I went nuts in a Bass Pro Shop one day and bought everything in sight. I won’t say this bag is complete, but I believe it’s in reasonable shape.
The second bag was intended to hold radio-related hardware. At some point I bought a smaller bag for tools, intending to put it in the larger bag. But the larger bag quickly ran out of space, so the tool bag is now bag number three.
When I inspected the three bags, it was the radio-related hardware bag that seemed to be in the worst shape. Here’s what I found:
What else?
So that was it for the radio-related hardware bag. Some of you are shocked, no doubt, at the absolutely vital stuff that I don’t have in there. Feel free to write and tell me (gently, please). I’ve only been on one practice deployment, so I haven’t learned much yet.
The tool bag contained every wrench I might need to put up and take down my field antenna. It also contained more random tools that I picked up at the $1 store. Startlingly, there wasn’t a single screwdriver. I quickly corrected that oversight, but I suspect that the bag will never contain all of the tools that I’ll really need in the field.
You know, I’m beginning to believe that I’m going to have to purchase bag number four.
Editor’s note: ARRL member Gary Hoffman, KB0H, lives in Florissant, Missouri. He’s been a ham since 1995. Hoffman says his column’s name --“The Amateur Amateur” -- suggests the explorations of a rank amateur, not those of an experienced or knowledgeable ham. His wife, Nancy, is N0NJ. Hoffman has a ham-related Web page. Readers are invited to contact the author via e-mail.
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