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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=614202412-29092008><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>This is an excerpt from the ARRL Letter, Vol 27, No 38 from
this past Friday. I thought the story was quite interesting and was worth
sharing. This goes to show that anytime you are on the radio, you stand
the chance of being needed. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=614202412-29092008><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=614202412-29092008><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Many of us use radio as a hobby and don't put much thought
into the possibility of it being someone's only means of communicating in the
highly connected world we live in these days. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=614202412-29092008>73, <BR><BR>Carey/AI4TZ</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT><BR><BR>==> MONTANA HAM ASSISTS IN
RESCUE OF FELLOW AMATEUR 600 MILES AWAY <BR><BR>On Sunday, September 21, Bob
Williams, N7ODM, of Bozeman, Montana, was <BR>just tuning around on 40 meters,
giving his rig a test just before a <BR>scheduled QSO with his brother Rich,
K7URU, in Spokane, when he heard a <BR>faint CW signal around 1 PM (MDT):
Glenn Russell Ruby Jr, W7AU, of <BR>Corvallis, Oregon had broken his leg and
was using a portable radio and <BR>Morse code to send out a call for help.
Williams said he was able to <BR>understand the injured man's code even when
his signal became very weak. <BR><BR>"He called me. He must have heard me
testing out the radio. When I <BR>finished, I signed off with my call, and
then I heard, 'N7ODM, this is <BR>W7AU/7,' so I answered," Williams told the
ARRL. "I told him to go <BR>ahead, I had solid copy. He told me that he was a
hiker that had fallen <BR>and broken his leg. He identified himself as Russ,
provided information <BR>as to his GPS coordinates, the shelter, food and
water on hand, as well <BR>as his detailed physical condition. He told me
exactly who I needed to <BR>contact for assistance." <BR><BR>According to
Williams, Ruby had slipped on a wet rock and broken his leg <BR>while out
hiking in the Buck Creek Pass area of the high Cascades in <BR>Western
Washington, 600 miles away from Williams. "Russ really had his <BR>act
together," Williams said. "Before he even called for help, he set up <BR>his
tent. It was raining when he fell, so he climbed into his tent and <BR>got
into some warm clothes and had a snack of sunflower seeds and dried
<BR>apricots. After that, he strung up a wire antenna, fired up his Elecraft
<BR>K1 and called me." Williams said that Ruby told him he had a "couple of
<BR>weeks worth of battery power" for the radio. <BR><BR>Ruby asked Williams
to notify the Snohomish County Search and Rescue in <BR>Washington State. "I
didn't have their number, so I called my local 911 <BR>dispatcher. All they
had was the info for King County in Washington, so <BR>I called them and they
gave me the number for Snohomish. When I got a <BR>hold of Snohomish County
Search and Rescue, they asked me to obtain <BR>additional info from Russ, such
as the color of his tent and if he was <BR>in a clear or wooded area, and
remain in contact with him as long as <BR>possible," Williams said.
<BR><BR>"Russ and I were able to maintain contact until about 8 PM on Sunday,
<BR>during which time I was able to pass additional traffic between Russ and
<BR>Search and Rescue, but then his signal got so weak where I couldn't copy
<BR>it anymore. Before he faded, we had agreed to try and make contact in
<BR>the morning. I tried, starting around 6:30, but he never heard me. I
<BR>finally heard him calling me around 9 on 7.051 MHz. We kept in contact
<BR>until he was evacuated from the site by Search and Rescue at about 10:35
<BR>AM," Williams told the ARRL. <BR><BR>On Sunday, rescue crews reached Ruby,
who had set up camp on Buck Creek <BR>Pass, at about 6000 feet just west of
the Chelan County line. He was <BR>taken to safety Monday on horseback.
Williams said that bad weather <BR>Sunday prevented a helicopter rescue: "It
was snowing all night; Russ <BR>told me that when he woke up Monday morning,
his tent was all covered in <BR>snow." <BR><BR>"I just happened to be at the
same frequency," Williams said. "It's just <BR>a stroke of luck that turned
out great. It was quite an experience. I'm <BR>just glad that he was a ham
radio operator and that I was able to talk <BR>to him. It made the difference
for him. What I did was not anything <BR>special. I'd like to think that any
ham in Montana would've done the <BR>same thing." <BR><BR><BR>Copyright 2008
American Radio Relay League, Inc. <BR>All Rights Reserved </BLOCKQUOTE><!-- END WEBMAIL STATIONERY --></BODY></HTML>