Chapter 18

[Preservation – Jim in Salt Lake City]

The next morning, we went on the Internet to search for a source of coax in the area. We found a potential store and mapped it and a few more hams on the way. We would go out there this morning and get enough coax or pick some up from the hams we had listed. I didn't want to splice but I could.

We headed out to the store. It was good for parts and we picked up a bunch of stuff that, as new parts, would be easier to use than older, used stuff. There were two five hundred foot rolls of coax. We also picked up every connector we could find along with plenty of MFJ parts and equipment. There were plenty of VHF antennas and we got a bunch. We stopped by the hams' houses and plundered those for VHF radios. We could mount those as mobiles. The Colonel could use them to maintain contact. The military radios they had were too short range and did not make good connections into Salt Lake City. We returned to Dugway with a good load of equipment.

Upon our return, we set the vertical and ran radials out from it. Then, we hooked up our long coax for the dipole. Bill climbed the tower about thirty feet carrying the center point with wire, the coax, and a HT. He stopped there while we tuned the antenna with the analyzer. Then, he went on to the top. When he got to the top, he set the center point in place. I then had him put a few turns of coax for a slight coil and tie it all together. The wire ends were hanging down. We had tied small rope to it and had stretched the ends with small weights. With that in place, Will and I each took an end and stretched them into the classic "vee" shape. We tied them off and checked with the analyzer. It was still good. Will called and Bill started down. He stopped and called, "Guys, there is smoke rising directly to the east! It's a lot of smoke!"

Will answered, "I understand. Hang on a sec." He ran over to the truck and pulled a map. "Bill, how far away do you think it is?"

"Pretty far. There's a lake over there and it's on the other side of the lake."

"Okay, I have an idea as to location. Come on down. I will tell the Colonel what you saw and that we're going to investigate." He left me and ran toward the Colonel's office. He came back without the HT. "I gave the HT to the Colonel so he can talk to us and get a real time report. I changed frequencies to the better repeater like you showed me."

Bill came running up. "What are we going to do?"

"The Colonel approved us going to check it out. We'll take the truck. He has an HT so we can report in real time."

We left quickly. We had to go south first before we could turn east. Bill was driving as fast as was safe until we came to I-15 and headed north. He could really put on speed because the road was wide and you could see ahead easily. We could now see the smoke and it seemed to have spread or was burning more.

As we approached, we saw signs for Home Depot and quickly realized that that was the fire. We stopped and looked. Will pulled a pair of binoculars from the glove compartment and looked. He said, "It looks like a SUV was at the front and there are doors open on it. Someone must have had an accident. The building looks to be fully engulfed." He passed the binoculars to me and I looked. I saw what he described. I saw what looked like a body at the front door but wasn't sure. A moment later, flames covered the door area. I handed the binoculars to Bill and he went over the area of the fire. I decided not to say anything. There was no rescue possible even if there had been someone and they had been alive then.

Will got off the radio with the Colonel and returned to us standing watching. We could feel some heat even at this distance. He said, "The Colonel says that we should watch it and not do anything unless it poses a danger beyond where it is now or unless we can rescue someone."

I wasn't sure what we would do if it looked like it would spread. It was burning but, after the flare up just after we stopped, it seemed to steady and simply burn where it was. I saw no sign that it would spread further since there was plenty of empty land all around the store. I said, "It's unfortunate because all that building material might be useful at some point.

We watched for a while and noticed that, though still burning, there was a slight diminution in the fire. It wasn't spreading and would eventually burn itself out. We got back in the truck and returned to base.

We had reported by radio to the Colonel and went straight to the radio room. There we completed our hookups and began to test the HF rig. I had to read up on the amplifier before using it. It was a type with which I was unfamiliar. It could output up to two kilowatts. I only planned to use five hundred. That brought a question as to why. I said, "It's a matter of need. I didn't have an amp on my base and could talk to here from home on twenty meters easily if propagation was right. If it wasn't, power wouldn't get it here. Stepping up power from the standard of one hundred watts that most rigs put out doesn't bring big results after the first few hundred." I showed them the "S" meter on the radio. I said, "That meter on receive measures the strength of a received signal. If someone reads 'S-9' on it and then they double their power, it will only increase the reading by a few db. Antennas and propagation are much more important. A good antenna is worth a good two hundred watts or more in relative signal strength. That's the reason we tuned the antenna so carefully." I tuned to twenty meters and to 14.300 MHz. "This is a primary frequency for maritime and has lots of activity normally. Now, listen. CQ, CQ, CQ, this is KG4AZQ calling CQ from Salt Lake City, Utah, Any station, please come in. CQ, CQ, CQ, this is KG4AZQ calling CQ from Salt Lake City, Utah, for any station. Over."

We all listened with hope but heard nothing but static. I switched to the vertical and called again. We listened again and heard nothing. "Okay, that's not a total surprise. There were never many hams and we have to assume that they were decimated by the virus just like everyone else. Let's tune a bit." I began to slowly twist the VFO knob which changes frequencies within a band. I went up slowly and, having heard nothing but my recorded signal, quickly moved back and then began to slowly go down frequency. At 14.255 MHz, we heard a faint station. I grabbed the mike, "Station on 14.255, this is KG4AZQ in Salt Lake City, Utah, returning. Please respond. Over."

Over the speaker, we heard a gradually strengthening signal saying, "Utah, AZQ. This is Juan in Madrid, Espana. Over."

"Juan, this is Jim in Salt Lake City, Utah, US. We just got this unit operational. It's good to hear you. How are your conditions? Over."

"Jim, it's good to hear you. I have a beam pointed your way now. There are very few people alive. The virus kill most. I am amateur but this is not my station. I came here after my wife died to find people. We are twenty now. Over."

"We have fifty in Salt Lake City. Living conditions are good. We are preparing for winter and for when food stocks run out. Over."

"Yes, we worry about food. None are farmers. Winter is okay here. Is there a government there? We have nothing here. Over."

"I understand. No government here. We are isolated in western US. We will move soon or wait until winter is complete. Over."

"I understand. You have big country. What about Indians? Over."

Will, Bill, and I chuckled. I keyed the mike, "I have not seen any. The virus was very hard on them. Most people died of sickness. Some have died since then. Over."

"Yes, I understand. We had some bad men come uh-three weeks previous. They killed three of us before we stopped them. It was bad. There is enough for all. It will go rotten first. Over."