Black Rock Amateur
Radio Association
The 2009 Fundraising Wattmeter:
| Raised so far: | $ |
| Our goal: | $5,000 |
Donations may take 24-48 hours to be reflected above.
Donation Levels
| Supporter | $20 | |
| Patron | $50 | |
| Benefactor | $100 | |
| Other amount | ||
Donations are securely processed by PayPal (and no, you don't need a PayPal account to donate!).
Amateur Radio operators who donate will receive access to a special feature of our radio repeater!
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Welcome to the Black Rock Amateur Radio Association
2009 Fundraising Drive!
We pegged the meter! Our 2009 fundraising drive was an incredible success: in the final days of 2009 we blew past our goal, raising a total of $5,650! Many thanks to our generous supporters for their help in building a solid foundation for amateur radio in the Black Rock desert!
2009 was a big year for us. What started as just an exciting idea kicked around camp fires has become reality: a significant Amateur Radio resource has been established at the gateway to the Black Rock desert for use by all licensed Amateur Radio operators. (Huh? What?) This installation in Gerlach, Nevada provides Amateur Radio voice communications and GPS position reporting both for convenience and public safety. Whether you're just trying to find your friends camping on playa or desperately seeking help for someone lost or injured in the desert, the Black Rock Amateur Radio Association's radio resources are there for you -- 24 hours a day, 52 weeks a year.
Normally the series of events in a project such as this are: raise some money to buy equipment and supplies; gather volunteers; work hard. The excitement and generosity of a core group of people who came together for this project led to the inversion of the usual model: equipment and facilities appeared first, and through some hard (though fun) work, the resources were put in place in time for the 2009 Burning Man event and are up and running 24/7 today. These Founding Members have committed their time and in some cases not-insignificant amounts of money to make this happen because they believe in it. Dozens of people, hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars have come together to build a important public safety resource -- and a great foundation for the future of ham radio in the Black Rock desert.
Michael (KI6TYV) and John manhandle the balky trencher to dig a 200' long trench in 110 degree weather
Fortunately for you, it's too late to dig a 200' trench in 110 degree weather; or to raise an antenna 60 feet above the surface of the playa in 40 mile-per-hour winds. But it's not too late for you to lend a hand in another significant way: by helping pay for it. The Founding Members have invested their dollars and sweat to create a strong foundation. Now that the groundwork is largely complete, we'd like to broaden the financial base of support. We're looking to raise $5,000 by the end of the year to support the current and ongoing efforts to provide Amateur Radio coverage of the Black Rock desert.
The simple fact is: we could have asked for your money earlier, but instead we just got to work.
The accomplishments of 2009 are probably too many to list here (or for any of us to remember completely), but the significant ones have been:
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The generous offering of space, facilities and hospitality during work weekends at Ranger Outpost Gerlach: Crow and Keeper (along with Khaki and Miya, and even Buffalo in spirit) have provided a home for this effort and are a beacon for this new, mostly-virtual community in the desert. In a more concrete sense, they provided space in a storage container on their property for radios, computers and our now-familiar tower; without their support, this project would never have seen the light of day.
Phil (N6TCT) on the tower working on the antenna. (Winds were calm when this photo was taken but that hasn't always been the case!)
- The project really got underway in earnest during May with a site survey, requirements analysis, and the establishment of a temporary beachhead of resources: an IRLP simplex node on VHF; an APRS digipeater; and computer and network infrastructure to get it all on the air. Range was limited, but having a few capabilities deployed emboldened the cadre.
- Off-playa preparations continued until mid-July when a concerted effort resulted in a 200' trench to bring power and lighting to the container. A hole was augered and our donated tower was raised and fastened to the container. Air conditioning was cut into the wall of the container, and a single multi-band antenna was deployed to the top of the tower. Woo-hoo!
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In August we completed deployment of additional antennae; finalized the power infrastructure for the container; added emergency battery power for the radios and computers in case of blackouts; added lightning protection; and spun-up the current VHF IRLP node, a UHF repeater IRLP node (with a phone patch for emergency 911 use), and an APRS digipeater: we were finally really on the air! Initial range checks on-playa with Burning Man participants were encouraging, and somehow we also found time to deploy a "no-pay" payphone for free use by visitors.
The "no-pay" phone awaits your calls!
- In late September a final trip resulted in some reconfiguration of the radios/computers and strengthening of the tower with guy wires to combat the approaching winter winds; the building and deployment of sensors and software for remotely monitoring the the facility's temperature and power; putting up a donated weather station and beginning to collect data; and generally buttoning up for the winter. Signal reports started coming in from other users of the playa including amateur rocketeers and camping visitors.
- In October, the Black Rock Amateur Radio Association was incorporated in the State of Nevada, and the (surprisingly substantial) paperwork for becoming a 501(c)(3) was initiated. We established a website, opened a bank account, linked into Paypal and received our first outside donations. The next steps will to be a formal affiliation with the American Radio Relay League, the national membership association for Amateur Radio operators; and planning for the future.
We're continuing our outreach efforts via this website and hope that the coming year sees the broader use of the resources. Talk is circulating about the establishment of a Black Rock Search and Rescue organization that would be helped by the use of the radios and the coverage they provide into the playa and canyons, and there are plans to assist with additional Amateur Radio repeaters covering the Black Rock. Excitement about Amateur Radio in the area seems to grow daily.
We welcome your financial support at whatever level you can afford; even $10 will help. For those of you who are licensed Amateur Radio operators, a special feature on the repeater will be shared with all those who contribute a donation.
So please, take a moment to scroll up and look at the donation levels to the right, choose an amount, and then make a donation to the Black Rock Amateur Radio Association. We're counting on you.
Sincerely,
Phil Lapsley, N6TCT
President
P.S., We're pleased to report that we've submitted our paperwork to the IRS to establish our status as a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization. We will let you know as we receive news about the status of our application.