Mission 41 completed

Posted: June 27, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Well, that’s another mission in the books.  So many good things and so many bad things.  But that seems to be what makes these missions so interesting.  Kind of “…never know what you’re going to get.” theme.  I do want to remind everyone that if you made a contact please email us at skydivinghams@gmail.com so we can be sure to get you your one-of-kind QSL card.

Our next mission is scheduled for August 20.  So much to do, so little time to make improvements.  One last minute change was the use of Zoom for our streaming video.  Our viewer count went way up from previous missions.  We’ll probably stick with that for now.  I need to work on some video cabling issues….again, and figure out why I couldn’t hear anyone on my HF jump.  I plan to make some practice jumps before the next mission.  When I do I’ll post that here and on Facebook.

73 for now,

Rob, KC6TYD

Parachute Mobile Coordinator.

Mission 41 Log

Posted: June 18, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments

10:50 am – We are about to manifest for our first jump for Mark AF6IM for a VHF jump. Tentative jump time will be ~40 min.

11:31 AM – Mark AF6IM is out of the plane and under canopy. YAY! 147.570.

11:42 AM – Mark AF6IM is safely on the ground. Once Rob returns we’ll get a sense of when the next jump is.

1:15 pm – Rob KC6TYD is manifested for the next load in 15 min. He should be under canopy in about 25 min. for HF on 14.289.

1:34 pm – Rob is on board and on his way up. This is an HF jump: 14.289. He should be in the air in about 10 min.

2:03 pm – Rob KC6TYD is safely on the ground. YAY!

2:11 pm – Mark AF6IM will be suiting up for another VHF jump.

2:51 pm – Mark AF6IM is suited up and manifested. Plane should be departing in ~20 min. and he should be out and under canopy in another 10 or so.

3:29 pm – Mark AF6IM is in the air. He should be under canopy in around 10 min. VHF: 147.570

3:52 pm – Mark AF6IM is safely on the ground.

4:17 pm – Rob KC6TYD is manifesting for the next run. There is no departure time yet. Will keep you posted. Will be a VHF jump: 147.570.

4:28 pm – 19 min. to departure

4:37 pm – Here is the Zoom URL: https://coupa.zoom.us/j/94920887517

4:51 pm – Rob KC6TYD is aboard and the plane has departed.

5:27 pm – Rob KC6TYD is safely back on the ground after having to cutaway his main chute. We are thankful for reserves!

5:54 pm – Thanks to some very good directions, I was able to drive out to the end of the road, hop a gate, walk a hundred yards or so, and retrieve Rob’s chute. YAY! Got my steps in for today. Thank you all for joining us today. That’s a wrap! 73! ~Steve K6WW

—–MISSION 41 IS A GO—–

Posted: June 17, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The weather for Mission Day is looking great!
There are some changes to take note of:

  • There will only be two Jumper’s (skydivers) for this mission.  Mark, AF6IM, and Rob, KC6TYD.  Michael, KF6WRW, was not able to make it.
  • Please note that the over the last couple of missions we have been using new frequencies for both FM and HF contacts.  Our 2 meter jumps will be on 147.570 simplex, and the HF jump will be on 14.289.  Yes, that is an odd frequency.  Trying to avoid frequencies that end in a zero or a 5.  Hopefully there wont be anyone camped out there.  Carlos, KD9OLN, Parachute Mobile, Illinois, is going to round up some big guns to hold the frequency.
  • The live streaming video service we’ve used four years seems to be having some issues and it doesn’t appear that we’ll be able to resolve it in time for the mission.  So, we going to “Share” the video downlink in Zoom.  I think most of the world is now familiar with that.  Her is the link:    https://www.google.com/url?q=https://coupa.zoom.us/j/94920887517&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw3peAuaGniGv5VElrXnWbWr, and should be live starting at 10a.m. pacific time.
  • To find the jumpers on APRS simply search for Mark’s and Rob’s callsigns with NO SSID number at http://aprs.fi.
  • Even though we have onboard recoding, we still get a few missed calls.  If you make a QSO, or even a broken one, please send us an email to skydivinghams@gamail.com and tell us the time of the contact and which jumper it was, this way we’ll be sure to send you a QSL Card.
  • We will be shorthanded for this mission which means our social media updates might be delayed.  Sorry.  Parachute Control will be up on Mount Diablo on 145.570 simplex starting around 9a.m. to provide you with updates and answer questions throughout the day.
  • We hope to get our first jumper in the air sometime around 10:30a.m. pacific time.

That’s it for now.  More updates later so check back.