Chapter 2

[West Georgia]

After breakfast, Shirley took all four of us into the radio shack and started going over how the radios worked and how to operate on the different bands for which we had antennas and could tune. Our current antenna was an inverted vee fan dipole with elements for eighty, forty, and twenty meters. Shirley explained that there were other ham bands, which we would use in the future when we could get antennas that would tune to them efficiently. She said we could tune to fifteen meters, also, with the current antenna. She taught us how to tune with the automatic tuner, which was easy to use. She showed us a “band plan” that showed the frequencies available. She then explained the two-meter radio next to the HF radio including their differences.

“Mary, you met Ted, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Call him on two meters.”

She slowly reached for the correct microphone and, pushing the PTT switch, said, “Ted, this is Mary. Do you hear me?”

“Hi, Mary. It’s good to hear you on two meters. Is Shirley teaching you how to operate the radios?”

“Yes, it’s not as hard as I thought it would be. How are you doing today?”

“Well. I’ve just been hanging around the house to answer the radios. I am tracking the local repeater as well as a couple of other repeaters in Atlanta on VHF. On HF, I am listening on 3.970 and checking on forty meters on a couple of frequencies every once in a while. I call every half hour to see if there is anyone out there.”

We heard the repeater go blank. “Hi, Ted. This is Shirley. Thanks for what you’re doing. Why don’t you monitor forty meters today and I will have Mary and Janice call on 3.970. We’re going shopping for a while and will monitor two meters as well as 3.970.”

“Roger, Shirley. Have fun. Ted clear and QSY to forty meters, 7.185.” We heard the repeater go blank again.

“Both of you,” Shirley said, “that is called ‘letting the repeater drop’ and it’s done to know that the other party has ceased to transmit and to let the repeater’s transmitter cool for a second. Most repeaters have an automatic timer and, after three minutes of steady transmitting, they will time out, or quit working and recycle. When you transmit, heat builds up from the power used to transmit and it allows the repeater to cool off for a moment.

“The term, QSY, means changing frequency. It’s called hamspeak and comes from the days when morse code was used exclusively. Code or CW is readable on weaker signals than voice. It used to be required knowledge for a ham license.”

“Okay, that means,” Janice said, pausing, “we shouldn’t talk for more than three minutes at a time.”

“Correct. You will find that is more difficult than you would think. Most people don’t talk that long without a pause to let the other person into the conversation.”

Mary said, “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Most people don’t. Not even experienced hams. They have heard it but don’t think about it on a regular basis.”

“Now, today, here’s what I want you to do. Listen on two meters. Jack or I will call you. On HF, call ‘CQ’ every five or ten minutes. I will show you.” Picking up the HF mike and pressing the PTT (push to talk) switch, she said, “CQ, CQ, CQ. This is K4SAA, Shirley in west Georgia calling CQ. K4SAA calling CQ and listening. Over.” She released the PTT switch and set the mike down. We heard nothing but static. “If someone hears you they will answer something like this, ‘K4SAA, this is WA4LBV responding. WA4LBV. Over.’ Once you hear that, write down their call, their name and location. If they don’t have a call, get their name and location. Tell anyone you talk to on HF that we have a net, an on-air meeting, at 8:00 pm. eastern time every evening on this frequency. You may talk to them as long as you want. Just remember two rules for now. Don’t tell them where you are more than ‘west Georgia’ and don’t give them details unless you feel really comfortable telling them and whoever might be listening and not talking that information. Radios are public. People listen and don’t talk. Be safe.”

Both Mary and Janice looked startled but nodded carefully. “No problem, Shirley,” said Janice.

“Okay, try it out. Be patient. Do other things and take turns. Both of you need to practice doing this. We will be back soon.”

We left the house for my truck but Shirley stopped me and said, “I have the information on water flow for power. Why don’t we measure our little creek up the hill?”

“Okay, Shirl, that’s fine. How are we going to measure water flow rates?”

“Good question. I know there are meters for that but have no idea where to look for them.”

“I have an idea. First, we can measure the depth at center and the width of the stream. We can assume two upside down right triangles. That can give us a good approximation of the area of flow. Then, we have to figure rate. If we put a float in the water and time it as it travels ten feet, that gives us a speed. Then, determining water flow becomes an exercise in math. It may not be exact but should give us a decent approximation. We can then figure if we’re in the ballpark or not.”

“Jack, that’s good. I knew my husband was good for something other than a bed warmer.”

“Thanks, I think. Let’s get what we need and pick a spot.”

We did just that and came up with a number that put us, according to the chart, able to generate up to five kilowatts depending upon the waterwheel and turbine used. Now we just had to make it all work. We had gone up the hill and then came back and went inside to the computer to work our calculations. Shirley said, “That’s the longer term solution. Short term, why don’t we start a tank farm and pick up two or three generators along with enough propane to drive the stove and heating system next winter?”

I replied, “As much as I would like to start a grand dam project, I think that order makes more sense. It’s going to take a while to get our power setup going. In the meantime, losing power this spring is all too likely.” We went out to the truck and started in toward the nearest little town. There was a propane dealer there. We could check his truck, fill it up and bring it back and park it somewhere. We could use it to fill the propane tank at the house. Our next stop would be for electricity, which would take us to a larger town for a fuel distributor for gas and a big box store for generators. I knew there was one in Carrollton. We were in luck, the propane truck was full, and the instructions on its operation were clear. We brought it back and parked it hidden from the road and the house. It was lunchtime and we were hungry. We pulled a disappointed Mary and Janice from the radios and all had lunch.

As we ate, Mary said, “No one answered us at all.”

“Don’t be too sad.” said Shirley. “There were only seven hundred thousand or so hams before the Day and you are only on one frequency on one band. After lunch, we will tune around on eighty meters and try a few more frequencies that I know were popular. Tonight, after the net, we will get into other bands and check them out.”

Both of them nodded. Janice said, “Well, what did you two do this morning?”

I answered, “We picked up a truck full of propane to keep us in gas for a few years, brought it here, and parked it out of sight. This afternoon, we are going after a generator or three and fuel for them. We are going to be prepared to get off the grid. Sooner or later, we will have the usual power outage from a thunderstorm. We are going to be ready. My real concern is that we will lose the Internet, also.”

Shirley’s head popped up. “I think I have a solution to that. There is a satellite service for the Internet. While we’re at it, we might as well set up for satellite service because if we lose the internet, we lose cable TV, also.”

“Mary, Janice, why don’t you come with us in your truck? It looks like we will be picking up a lot of stuff as we ‘shop.’” I said.

They were in favor of that and we cleaned up and left.

We drove into Carrollton together. We all had pistols. I had a shotgun and my rifle in my truck. We pulled into the big box home improvement store. We had seen no one and I hoped it would stay that way. We checked for generators and found two that were sufficiently powerful. We loaded one into Mary’s truck and hooked the other to the back of it as it was on wheels. Both were gasoline powered. That led us to the local fuel distributor. We saw that it had been looted some. I was guessing that Dad and his brothers had been here though my vigilance increased. We found a fuel truck and managed to figure out the pumps for loading the tank with gas and filling its truck tank with diesel. On the way home, we stopped and topped off both our pickups at a gas station. We saw no one out and heard nothing. I drove the fuel truck into the same spot as our propane truck and parked it. Then, I got in with Shirley and headed over to our home. It was time for supper. I felt like we were being watched the whole time we were in Carrollton. I never saw anyone but my shoulder blades itched. I asked Shirley and she agreed. There was someone there but they had remained hidden.

Shirley said, “Janice, would you and Mary prepare supper. Jack and I are going up the drive and block it. Jack, get the chainsaw.” I did and we cut a small tree back from the road and let it fall over blocking the road with us inside. Shirley had brought some grease and made the cut look old if you didn’t look closely. We loaded up and went back to the house for supper.