Black Rock Amateur
Radio Association
The 2011 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 special featuress of our radio repeater!
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Welcome to the Black Rock Amateur Radio Association
2011 Fundraising Drive!
What a difference a year and a half makes!
By the end of 2009 -- when we last asked for your money -- we had set up our "ham radio base camp" in Gerlach, Nevada: a UHF repeater, UHF and VHF IRLP nodes, and an APRS digipeater. The installation in Gerlach provided Amateur Radio voice communications and GPS position reporting both for convenience and public safety. Whether you're were just trying to find your friends camping on playa or were 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.
It formed a solid foundation for Amateur Radio in the Black Rock desert.
In the 18 months that followed, we've built like crazy on that foundation.
Phil, N6TCT, and Michael, KI6TYV, working on the new repeater in the mountains high above the Black Rock desert.
We're looking to raise $5,000 by the end of the year to support our current and ongoing efforts to improve and expand the footprint of Amateur Radio in the Black Rock desert.
Accomplishments of the last 18 months include:
- Securing a lease with the Bureau of Land Management for a mountaintop repeater site overlooking the Black Rock desert -- a vantage point that significantly improved our repeater's coverage.
- Deploying a solar-powered UHF radio repeater and APRS digipeater at the site. Our mountain-top site is inaccessible by vehicles, so this necessitated five trips over the course of three days to lug solar panels, a deep-discharge battery, radios, and other equipment up the mountain -- on our backs, dripping with sweat each step of the way. But it was worth it: as a result of our new location, you could communicate from virtually anywhere in the Black Rock with just an HT.
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Improving our Internet infrastructure. Our mountain-top solar site has a high-speed wireless data microwave connection back to Gerlach, some 15 miles south. In Gerlach, our radio and computer setup now features multiple backup radio links on different frequencies. The result is that our emergency phone patch, IRLP, EchoLink, and APRS connections are more reliable than ever.
The BRARA Founders Plaque at our Gerlach base camp.
- Our new repeater did a great job for the attendees of the 2010 Burning Man event, as well as for hunters, campers, amateur rocketeers, and other users of the Black Rock later that fall. But we weren't satisfied. In early 2011 planning for "version 2.0" of our repeater began in earnest. In May 2011 we hiked the mountain again, this time to deploy a next-generation repeater with significantly more functionality (e.g., EchoLink) and on a frequency that is less likely to experience interference.
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While all of this was going on we also hosted two "ham crams" and license exams with our colleagues at Friends of Black Rock. Thanks to these classes more than 40 people have joined the ranks of Amateur Radio or upgraded their licenses. (Maybe you're one of them?)
Happy graduates from our first ham cram and exam!
The upshot of all this? We've made a heck of a lot of progress. It's been a heck of a lot of work and a heck of a lot of fun.
But it's also cost a heck of a lot of money.
Fortunately for you, it's too late to lug solar panels and batteries up a steep mountain in triple-digit temperatures. But it's not too late for you to lend a hand in another significant way: by helping pay for it. We welcome your financial support at whatever level you can afford; membership begins at the Supporter level for just $20 and, for those who are licensed Amateur Radio operators, includes access to a special feature of our repeater. An additional special feature will be shared with those joining at the $50 Patron level. (Interested in really earning our undying love? Allow us to suggest the $100 Benefactor membership level!)
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 your support.
Sincerely,
Phil Lapsley, N6TCT
President
P.S., We're still waiting to hear back from the IRS regarding our application to establish our status as a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization. We will let you know as soon as we hear something.