Helene Aftermath Update: Solar Power (Wednesday, October 9, 2024)

Good Morning, Friends,

If you haven’t read my previous posts, here’s the situation in a nutshell: we live in a rural mountain community in Swannanoa, NC, where the bridge connecting us to the outside world was swept away during the 1 in 1,000-year flood event caused by Tropical Storm Helene. We’ve also confirmed that a tornado swept through our valley, which explains the large number of trees down on houses and roads.

No Power Interruptions at Home Despite Grid Outage

Although the power grid on our road is down and likely will be for weeks, if not months, we haven’t experienced any interruptions in power at our home.

Living in a remote, rural community, most of our neighbors have some form of backup power. Many have either 1) whole-house propane generators that kick in automatically during outages, or 2) critical load systems that connect to portable generators for essential power needs. Very few homes lack integrated backup power.

Until March of this year, we relied on the second option: a 7,700-watt portable generator connected to the house via a dedicated 220V outlet. This primarily powered our well pump but also ran essential appliances like the microwave and lights.

We also had a dedicated 490W solar/PV system that powered our DC refrigerator and freezer, which were always off-grid, running on a 360Ah battery bank. When power was out, the fridge and freezer stayed operational, and we could use the generator when we needed water.

This system served us well for 13 years, although I had to frequently maintain the generator and deep-cycle flooded Lead Acid batteries.

The New Solar PV System

In March 2024, we installed a 10.13 KW grid-tied solar PV system, something we had dreamed of since we finished building our home in 2011. We couldn’t afford it back then, but we finally made it happen in 2023, after signing a contract in August.

We wanted to include a whole-house battery backup but were initially hesitant due to the cost. Our installer designed the system to allow for battery integration in the future. Then, in mid-January, while dealing with my mother’s final days battling cancer, we got an offer from our solar installer: a significant discount on Tesla Powerwall Version 2 units, as they were transitioning to Version 3.

Honestly, my wife and I had so much going on in the family, we had no bandwidth to do a cost analysis. We simply decided to go for it. We committed to purchase two Powerwalls, which was the minimum needed (for Version 2 Powerwall) whole-house backup.

Note that we originally preferred a Kyocera LiFePO battery system, but it was too expensive and complicated to install compared to the Powerwalls. Looking back, this decision has been a blessing for us and our community, especially post-Hurricane Helene.

Staying Powered During the Crisis

Thanks to the Powerwalls, we’ve had no power interruptions at home during this disaster. These two batteries have kept the lights on, the water pump running, and our satellite internet operational.

It’s worth noting, though, that our system wasn’t designed to keep us fully off-grid for weeks. Additionally, two of our solar panels were damaged when a tree fell on the house, reducing our PV system’s output to about 60%, likely because the failed panels also affected other panels in the same series.

Difficult to see in this phot, but the tree that hit our house chopped off the top portion of one of our panels and likely damaged a couple more.

By managing our energy consumption carefully, we’ve kept everything running.

Managing Power Consumption

Right after the storm, I shut off the circuit breakers for our HVAC system and water heater, the biggest power users apart from our well pump. I also appointed one of our daughters, “Phantom Load Czar” and gave her absolute authority to hunt down, turn off, and unplug anything that wasn’t necessary.

If we didn’t reduce our usage—if we ran the HVAC, water heater, and cooked all our meals on the electric stove—we’d only have 8-12 hours of battery life. But by cutting out those heavy loads, we can stretch that to nearly 48 hours.

The Advantages of Solar

Unlike our neighbors with propane generators, who have to ration fuel, our system recharges every day thanks to the sun. Even though our output is lower on cloudy days, we still get daily “fuel deliveries” from the sun.

Keep in mind that our road is in rough shape and most propane delivery companies will not refuel customer tanks at present.

Our two string inverters.

When solar production is lower–when it’s overcast or cloudy–we scale back by skipping hot water, cooking on a camping stove, and using minimal lighting. So far, we haven’t dipped below 50% battery capacity.

This week, we’re expecting clear skies, so by early afternoon, our batteries should be fully charged, allowing us to use excess solar energy to heat water for showers and run the dishwasher—true luxuries during a crisis like this.

Helping Our Community

As I mentioned, many of our neighbors with whole-house generators only run them for a few hours each day to conserve fuel. They’ve been bringing their devices to our home to charge, and because we have satellite internet, we’ve opened up free Wi-Fi. We’ve jokingly renamed our porch the “Witherspoon Internet Café,” where neighbors use our internet for everything from filing FEMA applications to contacting loved ones.

One big advantage is Wi-Fi calling, which has been crucial since cell service remains unreliable. While we now have some mobile voice and texting capabilities, the connection is unstable and frequently drops. Wi-Fi calling bypasses these issues, making it easier to deal with complicated phone trees and long hold times.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

One of the nicer patched-up parts of our road.

We’re preparing for the possibility of being without grid power for another two months—or longer. The road to our home, with a 1,000-foot elevation gain, was severely damaged, and nearly all the power poles are down. Some transformers are wrecked, and our local substation was wiped out by flooding.

Duke Energy will have restored power to 90% of its customers by next week, but we’re in the 10% that will take much longer. Our entire power delivery system needs to be rebuilt, and the road might need to be repaired first to make this possible.

With winter approaching, we’ll have shorter days and more overcast skies, which will further reduce our solar production. We plan to repair the damaged panels and hope that gives us enough output to make it through the colder months. Otherwise, we’ll have to be even more conservative with our power usage, possibly shutting off devices like our satellite modem during the day.

Before you ask: don’t worry about our heating during the winter. Our house is passive solar and we also built it around an efficient RAIS wood stove. We can typically heat our home on less than two cords of wood per winter. We’ve got plenty in stock and, in fact, will have a nearly unlimited amount starting in a couple of years when our sawed up wood has cured.

Change in mindset

We now know that we can live comfortably off-grid, and while we’d consider making it a permanent arrangement, our main reason for staying connected to the grid is to sell back our excess solar energy.

As long as our solar system continues to function, we should be in good shape until the grid is restored.

Four Words…

Thank you so much!

We feel so incredibly fortunate compared to many who have lost their homes, their businesses, and members of their family.

Once again, our family is overwhelmed by the kindness and love you’ve shown us.

We know many who live in Florida where they’ll soon be receiving the full force of Cat 4 or 5 Hurricane Milton. Know that we’re here for you too.

Have a wonderful day.

Best & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

VA2NW at Chillycon

Many thanks to Tom (VA2NW) for this report on Chillycon, aka Chilicon – Vince.

Canada’s capital, Ottawa, is the home of the Ottawa Valley QRP Society. The group holds an annual weekend camp-out at the Rideau River Provincial Park (POTA CA-0365) in early fall and it’s affectionately called Chillycon (also known as Chillicon). This year’s camp-out ran from September 20th through 22nd with some folks arriving a few days earlier. It’s a low key gathering which largely consists of casual operating, socializing, sharing tips and tricks, and checking out everyone’s portable radio gear.

On Friday morning I packed up my van with radio gear, camping equipment, and enough batteries to get me through a weekend of operating and cell phone recharging. Rather than tent camping, I decided to set up a sleeping pad in my minivan. The trip from Gatineau Quebec took a little under an hour, and I arrived just after 2:00pm local time.

Entrance to Rideau Provincial Park in Kemptville Ontario Canada

I brought my new toy with me, the Venus SW-6B (metal case + internal battery configuration). In just a few minutes I was on the air with the radio, an AlexLoop Hampack antenna, American Morse Equipment Mini-B paddle, and Apple EarPod wired headphones. I made several POTA contacts before it was time to start my shift as the Straight Key Century Club’s Canadian Straight Key Month special event station VC3Y/VE3. Conditions weren’t great and there wasn’t a lot of SKCC activity in the middle of a work day, so I only made one SKCC contact that day. After SKCC hour, I joined in on the weekly K1USN Slow Speed Test (SST). I contacted a few regulars, and then I returned to POTA and made another dozen or so contacts to bring the total up to 17 QSOs.

Reading ‘The CW Way of Life’ by Chris Rutkowski by the (citronella) candlelight

Continue reading VA2NW at Chillycon

Two in One Day for the POTA Babe

by Teri KO4WFP

After striking out at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, it was time for this POTA Babe to get back on track with my goal of 60 new valid park activations for 2024. As much as I enjoyed the historic sites and the refuge I recently visited, I needed to return to activating wildlife management areas.

Wildlife management areas (WMAs), properties set aside for conservation as well as hunting and fishing, are plentiful in the state of Georgia. Georgia has 163 WMAs and 38 are located within 75 miles of my home QTH. So it makes sense I would include those in my 60 new activations pursuit.

I set my sights on Morgan Lake WMA (US-9791) and Griffin Ridge WMA (US-3752) because  they are an hour’s drive from my home and across the road from one another. Talk about convenient!

map source: worldatlas.com

Daisy and I set out early Tuesday, October 1st. During the drive, I encountered two groups of ambulances moving north on Interstate 95. At a rest stop, several EMTs from one group were taking a quick break and wore t-shirts with “Disaster Relief” on them. It was a reminder of the recent events due to Hurricane Helene.

I chose to activate Morgan Lake WMA first.  According to the map, most of the property appeared to be wetlands but there is a boat landing for fisherman to access Morgan Lake. In fact, the road you use to reach the landing is built up a good 10-12 feet, I assume, to provide access even when the area experiences flooding.

boat landing and train trestle bridge

WMAs vary in their presentation. Some are nicer than others with shooting ranges and gravel roads. Morgan Lake was, frankly, on the dumpier side. This was not the place to come to commune with nature. But no matter. I was here to do an activation, so I set about getting my equipment up and running.

Map for Morgan Lake WMA. source: GA DNR

I opted for the Chelegance MC-750 today. Attempting two parks in one day meant I needed a quick and easy set up and a vertical would provide that.

Chelegance MC-750 with a train in the background
setting up on the gravel parking lot

Despite poor band conditions at some of my past activations, today the bands were great! (You’d really want that on a day you are attempting back-to-back activations.) Even better, I had internet access at this park, though it was on the slow side. I could spot myself (always a plus) and it wasn’t long before calls began coming in once I was spotted on the POTA website.

Forty meters gave me 15 contacts in 20 minutes – not bad! It was good to hear so many from the southeast, some I hadn’t heard from in a while. Given I had a second activation to attempt and I wasn’t thrilled with the site conditions at Morgan Lake, I called QRT after contact #15, packed up, and headed across the road to Griffin Ridge WMA.

QSO Map for Morgan Lake WMA (by home QTH) source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/

Griffin Ridge is a much larger WMA than Morgan Lake. The park has two access points from the road and I chose the one farther to the north as it looked the more inviting of the two.

Map for Griffin Lake WMA. source: GA DNR

Again, given I was short on time today, I found a little area off to the side near the information kiosk by the road. If I visit this WMA again, I’ll drive further in and find a place away from the road noise.

entrance to Griffin Ridge WMA

The little place I found was somewhat shaded which Daisy and I needed given the warm weather. The day had been mostly overcast; however, I’ve learned to not trust that will persist. Nothing like being in the middle of an activation and the sun comes out from the behind the clouds to roast you.

the spot I found just perfect for parking Kai

For the North Carolina trip this past July, I purchased a Mountain Laurel Designs shelter. It was handy for my SOTA activation at Black Balsam Knob. I figured it would also be useful for POTA activations in the heat. Since I can activate next to my car for POTA, I used the front and rear wiper blades as well as the roof rack to attach three sides of the tent and the surrounding foliage to which to attach the other two. My hiking pole was not tall enough to support the center, so I used the outer rear door handle on the car to elevate the bottom of the pole to give me enough height so I could sit in my Helinox chair under the tent. It was not the best setup but good enough for today. I need to give more thought how to better support and use the tent as a shelter with my car.

Daisy relaxing

We all know band conditions fluctuate throughout the day and I hoped they would hold up for my second activation. Guess what? They did!!!

I opted for 20 meters given it was nearly noon and had 39 contacts in a little over an hour. I was thrilled! That is a “good” thing about bad band conditions. When the bands behave, you really, REALLY appreciate it.

QSO Map for Griffin Ridge WAM (by home QTH) source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/
view from under the tent at my QTH

As I packed up my equipment, I reflected on the two activations. Of the two, I would return to Griffin Ridge. The foliage and landscape reminded me of Canoochee Sandhills WMA; however, it was nicer than Canoochee and not nearly as remote, which could be considered bad or good, depending on your perspective. I would definitely set up farther inside the property to avoid the road noise unless it had rained a lot prior to my visit. The road into the property was quite sandy and soft and deep in some spots. My car might not be able to navigate those conditions after a heavy rain.

A valid activation at these two parks put me at 41 out of the 60 new park activations for which I am aiming in 2024. There are only three more months of this year so I am running out of time to reach my goal. It would be easy to accomplish my goal if life didn’t keep getting in the way, right?

There are still plenty of wildlife management areas to consider as well as properties closer to the coast as I continue my pursuit. Where will I show up next? Stay tuned…

For those interested, visit my YouTube channel for a video about this activation.

Equipment Used

[Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.]

Helene Aftermath Update: Community, Coordination, and Misinformation (Monday, October 7, 2024)

Good Morning, Friends,

If you haven’t read my previous posts, here’s the situation in a nutshell: we live in a rural mountain community in Swannanoa, NC, where the bridge connecting us to the outside world was swept away during the 1 in 1,000-year flood event caused by Tropical Storm Helene. We’ve also confirmed that a tornado swept through our valley, which explains the large number of trees down on houses and roads.

Community

The reason why I, along with all the households on our one-mile stretch of road, now have egress is because our community came together to make it happen. As I mentioned in previous posts, when I first surveyed the number of downed trees on my driveway and on our road, I thought we would be blocked from the rest of the world for at least a week. Instead, our neighborhood mobilized and cleared everything ourselves.

People we barely knew 10 days ago now feel like family. We all feel this way.

On Saturday at 13:00, we gathered for another neighborhood BBQ. This time, we enjoyed barbecued ribs, and they were exquisite—three different types: blackened, jerk, and extra spicy, both dry-rubbed and marinated.

These neighborhood barbecues give us a chance to relax and have casual conversations, rather than just focusing on work like fixing chainsaws and coordinating home repairs. It’s also practical: sharing meats that were thawing out in our freezers ensures everyone enjoys them before they spoil.

We had so much food that we also invited neighbors from the lower part of the road, as well as the National Guard, FEMA, and others working on our road. Of course, they declined, not wanting to take any resources from us (plus, they had packed their own lunches).

My wife spoke to a neighbor who joked that he wants to print T-shirts that say:

“I Survived Hurricane Helene and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
(And a Tighter Community)”

That pretty much sums up how we all feel.

We did have a little drama at lunch. One of the National Guard’s RSVs (Re-Supply Vehicles) developed a flat tire. They had to deploy the outriggers and lift the truck to replace it, which completely blocked the road for a while.

Evidently, there’s no easy way to replace a tire on one of these, and each tire must weigh over 200 lbs. Unfortunately, one of the soldiers helping to maneuver the tire fell unconscious, and the tire hit him in the chest as he collapsed.

Fortunately, one of our neighbors is a trauma nurse and jumped into action. The soldier was stabilized and re-hydrated. They quickly finished the tire replacement and took him into town for a proper medical checkup, but fortunately, he appeared to have no major injuries.

We are incredibly grateful for all the hard work of the 5th Battalion 113 Field Artillery. They’ve been amazing.

Coordinated Efforts and Misinformation

Speaking of outside help, we’ve received and been offered more than we could ever take. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s been humbling to be on the receiving end of so much generosity.

Lately, I’ve had almost no time to catch up on messages or news because I’ve been so busy. Yesterday, however, I checked in on Mastodon and a few news and social media sources.

There are rumors going around about major clashes between government agencies and private organizations, groups, and individuals trying to help out here in western North Carolina. This simply isn’t true—not in the way some on social media are portraying it.

Keep in mind that fear, anger, and drama fuel likes, views, and search algorithms, which is why these “news” sources tend to paint everything in the worst possible light. It’s in their best financial interests to create drama where there is none.

Here on our road, we’ve met and worked with our rescue task force, four different FEMA teams, the Sheriff’s Department, the Forest Service, the National Guard, a private-sector ex-military helicopter team, church groups, numerous NGOs, arborist companies volunteering, and countless individuals, friends, and families.

In fact, they’ve all been working together, sharing ATVs and trucks, to get up and down our road. They’ve even coordinated and shared their observations and findings.

Anyone who has been monitoring the N2GE (Mount Mitchell Repeater) will hear coordination efforts between both public and private entities.

The only issues that arise, and where volunteers are turned away, happen when people try to enter areas en masse where access is limited, and their vehicles block the way of search and rescue teams or supply deliveries. Many of our mountain communities only have two-lane access roads, and when these are blocked, it creates serious problems.

Authorities have also asked some individuals to leave when it’s clear their intent is more about disaster sightseeing for their YouTube channels than helping out.

There’s also concern about looters targeting abandoned homes and businesses. If someone shows up in an SUV, ATV, or motorcycle without any sign of delivering supplies or assistance, they’re likely to be turned away. We actually requested law enforcement presence on our road to minimize the number of vehicles traveling across our precarious, temporarily-repaired road. Some groups have shown up in high-performance ATVs just for the thrill of navigating our damaged road. Seriously.

All this to say: don’t believe what you see on social media. It’s not telling the full story. The only people being turned away are those who aren’t really here to help in the first place. Genuine volunteers being refused would be an extreme rarity and likely only because they would be interfering with search and rescue ops.

SITREP (Situation Report)

Yes, trees have been completely removed from the Subaru!

As of now, our neighborhood feels like it’s in a semi-stable place. We have egress and ingress, we’ve cleared our road and driveways, and we’re working together to overcome the challenges we’ve faced.

At our community meeting yesterday, we even discussed how we could help others who still need their roads or driveways cleared. We have a tractor and a dozen people with chainsaws and ATVs.

Thankfully, most communities around us have already been cleared, which is wonderful news. There’s still months of debris cleanup ahead, but most places around us now have access in and out.

We’ll find other ways to give back to the community.

The power grid is still down, and I imagine it will be for weeks. Duke Energy announced that most people in urban Asheville neighborhoods will have power restored within a few days or by the end of the week. My buddy Vlado (N3CZ) had his power restored last night in south Asheville, which is a good sign.

However, there’s still a lot of electrical infrastructure to rebuild, and rural communities like ours will likely be a lower priority because the work needed benefits only 40 or so households instead of hundreds.

And none of us here take our road for granted. One heavy rain could wash out the temporary repairs or the makeshift bridge that connects us to the rest of the world.

The road is currently a one-lane, steep, and curvy path with no guard rails and steep drop-offs. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s what we’ll have to live with for months until the DOT can properly repair it.

We’re lucky to have fresh water, unlike many urban neighborhoods. We rely on well water, and as long as our well pumps have power, we have water. Additionally, we have a creek running through the valley that we can use to flush toilets or even drink from (with proper filtration).

Those on city water aren’t sure when service will be restored. Asheville’s water treatment facilities and reservoirs were all damaged by the storm, with two suffering severe damage. The North Fork facility, which supplies water to about 80% of Asheville, requires rebuilding a 36-inch bypass line that was destroyed. Access to the damaged areas has also made progress slow.

Water service restoration is the top priority, but there’s no estimated timeline yet. Thankfully, water distribution sites are available across Asheville, so getting drinking water hasn’t been difficult for most.

Updates

In my next update, I’ll explain the details about our solar power system here at the QTH. Many of you have asked for information, so I’ll dedicate a post to it.

Thank You

Hazel posing with the sign my daughters made for the neighborhood. They drew caricatures of all of the dogs in the neighborhood!

Once again, our family is overwhelmed by the kindness and love you’ve shown us.

Thank you so much!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Best & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

Seven Summit road trip with Canada’s first Double Goat

Many thanks to Malen (VE6VID) – Canada’s first SOTA Double Mountain Goat – who shares the following article about his trip in Alberta, British Columbia, Washington and Montana. Malen and I work together and I can read this in his voice – including his laid-back “Oh well…” – Vince.

As a SOTA activator I challenge myself for certain goals every year. This year was SOTA completes where I chase and activate a summit. I had time off work so I figured, why not a short roadtrip from Alberta to BC to WA, then MT and back home? After some searching I figured 5-7 Completes in W7W land and at least 2 more in W7M lands as well as numerous points in VE7 land along the way. Was I ever wrong…..

Day One

After a trip to the post office, I departed Strathmore heading for PlumBob Mountain VE7/EK-026, a 6 point drive-up summit. Google told me 4 hrs, 42 minutes, I planned for 5 hours. It took closer to 8 hours due to traffic.

I setup my HF station (KX2, EFHW) and got 4 contacts, packed up and onto another 6 point drive-up summit, VE7/EK-040 Peak 23-35. This peak I landed 6 contacts between 20 and 40 metres, packing up as the sun started to go down. I had planned to spend the night here, so I had a late supper, made my bed and crashed for the night. Sleeping like an old over the hill baby I woke as the sun was coming up.

I awoke to this broken window on my truck cap

Day Two

However I had woken up to a broken window on my canopy. I’m not sure what happened but it was open for the night. After many curse words I made breakfast and coffee, then I relaxed slightly while Googling auto glass places in Cranbrook. After packing up and a quick phone call, I am off for repairs. Estimate was 2 hours for the repairs, it took just 1.5 hours with tinted plexiglass installed. I had planned for a 3 summit day, so I lost 1, Mount Baker, a 8 point drive-up, oh well.

The view from Eagle Hill was nice

Off to hike Eager Hill VE7/EK-048 4 points. Straight to setting up and getting the required 4 contacts before packing up and charging on with my day. After a Timmies pit stop and topping of the truck with diesel, I am off to the next summit.

Continue reading Seven Summit road trip with Canada’s first Double Goat

Helene Aftermath Update: Egress, FEMA, Resource Organization, and the National Guard (Saturday October 5, 2024)

Good Morning, Friends,

If you haven’t read my previous posts, here’s the situation in a nutshell: we live in a rural mountain community in Swannanoa, NC, where the bridge connecting us to the outside world was swept away during the 1,000-year flood event caused by Tropical Storm Helene. We’ve also confirmed that a tornado swept through our valley, which explains the large number of trees down on houses and roads.

It’s Been One Week

Honestly, time has no meaning these days as everything blends together. At our community meeting yesterday, someone asked what day it was, and we all looked at each other for a few seconds before someone finally chimed in, “I think it’s Friday.”

That said, it’s been one week (and one day) since the remnants of Helene hit our region of western North Carolina. Looking at the progress we’ve made together—along with generous outside help—it’s hard to believe we’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time.

Egress

Yesterday morning, it was confirmed: a construction crew came up our road with special equipment (like track hoes and a dump truck that can dump over the cab) and patched it up. They’ve made temporary repairs, allowing vehicles with reasonable ground clearance to pass.

We are over the moon about this.

The day before, the Sheriff’s department had knocked on all our doors advising us to evacuate, warning that our road would soon be gone. Being the proactive community we are, we scouted out an old Forest Service road to see if it could serve as an alternate egress. Unfortunately, that road was a no-go—it had been hit hard by the winds and would have been a monumental task to clear.

So discovering yesterday morning that the road had been repaired enough for us to drive out was a huge morale boost. It’s nice to know that getting off and on the mountain no longer requires a two-mile hike with a 1,000’ elevation change!

That said, the repair work is temporary. FEMA has labeled it “unpassable” because it doesn’t meet any DOT standards and is not for the faint of heart. One neighbor managed to convince a propane truck to fill his tank yesterday, but the white-knuckled driver said the company wouldn’t send any more trucks up our road until it’s permanently repaired by the DOT.

In our family, we’re aware that portions of the road could disappear again due to weather and/or heavy use.

Still, we’re so relieved to have egress again.

Amateur Radio: A Superpower in a Disaster

Using amateur radio, we had arranged for a helicopter drop of supplies to the upper part of our road. The team behind this effort was absolutely amazing. They’re mostly ex-military volunteers who use their skills to get aid into areas quickly.

This was all arranged with one call on the Mount Mitchell repeater on Wednesday evening. Dennis (N4DIN), stationed at the Swannanoa Fire Department (our local command center), put in the call, and Ed (N4EDX) arranged for Mike and Jay from the team to hike up our road and survey a potential landing site.

I took Mike and Jay to a site on our road so they could evaluate it for a helicopter delivery.

Arrangements were made for a Friday helicopter delivery.

However, since our road was patched up late Thursday, we felt the helicopter delivery of aid would be better used elsewhere, as so many other communities are just as bad off—or worse—than we are.

I mention this because, during our Wednesday evening neighborhood meeting, we agreed a helicopter drop would be ideal, as most aid was being delivered at the bottom of our road, and we had no idea when or how it was coming.

Someone asked, “How do we even request something like this?” I told them I’d ask net control on the N2GE repeater. By the time I got back to the house, everything had been arranged—within 30 seconds of my request on the N2GE (Mount Mitchell) emergency net.

Since our amateur radio emergency communications team is directly connected to our local emergency services command center, you can make requests for aid directly to the source. There’s no email, text message, or phone call to get lost in the shuffle—it just happens, without hesitation.

As it should.

FEMA

This week, two FEMA teams also visited us. They documented the damage at each property, accounted for everyone living here, and even brought a K9 team in case searches were needed.

I spoke with four different FEMA personnel, and they all commented on how self-reliant our neighborhood was compared with so many others they had surveyed—especially those in more urban areas. I’ll admit we’re lucky to have neighbors with so many practical skills. As I’ve mentioned before, preparedness is a way of life in a mountain community like ours.

One small example: I don’t know a single person on our road who doesn’t own at least one chainsaw and know how to fuel it, sharpen it, and service it. It’s a necessity. A tree can fall any day of the week and block a road or driveway. Chainsaw skills are essential and that’s why we so easily worked together to completely clear our road in short order.

5th Battalion 113 Field Artillery

Speaking of sawing, yesterday a crew from the Army National Guard showed up with three RSVs (Re-Supply Vehicles) and a Humvee, asking how they could help.

They used the artillery crane on the back of one of the RSVs to remove a massive, splintered tree from a neighbor’s driveway.

They also helped clear the road, and when I got home, I found a team clearing the mass of trees blocking our carport and one of our cars.

They were incredible, and we are so grateful. What they accomplished in a few hours would have taken me days.

1,000-Year Flood Event

According to Jordan McLeod on Facebook:

“In the map below, locations covered by dark blue shading observed 3-day rainfall totals associated with Helene that exceeded an annual recurrence interval of 1,000 years. In other words, there is less than a 0.1% chance of these rainfall totals occurring in any given year. Pretty much a worst-case scenario in many areas of western North Carolina.”

While we were prepared for flooding in low-lying areas, we never expected what actually unfolded.

Donations

Many have asked where they can donate to help with relief in the areas affected by Helene. Here are a few NGOs that I’ve personally seen at work here in Swannanoa. There are many more incredible organizations, private groups, and individuals making up the relief efforts, but I feel confident your donations will be put to good use by these organizations:

There are many more local non-profits helping as well.

Continued Updates

I will continue to update and try to answer some of your questions. As of this morning, I have about 250 emails in the inbox. I’m reading them all, but my time is so limited that I simply can’t reply to each one.

Know that I appreciate every message and offer of assistance.

I had planned to cover a few more topics this morning, but I’ll save them for Monday. I’ve got some tasks to get started on this morning.

Again, we’re all safe and doing well. We have plenty of food, and thanks to our solar system (installed earlier this year), we even have power to keep the internet, fridge, and freezer running. We’re grateful for this, as our satellite internet has become a community resource—two neighbors are using our Wi-Fi as I type this.

Warmest regards & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

Sailboats at a lakeside activation

As always there are lots of links within the article. Click one! Click them all! Learn all the things! ?

by Vince (VE6LK)

In August and September 2024 I was travelling around Southern Ontario for some family matters and naturally I brought my radio kit with me to squeeze in some radio therapy stops along the way. This is the report of my stop at CA-5362 Fifty Point Conservation Area.

It’s my second to last day here in Ontario and, as I wasn’t needed for other things, it was time to do a POTA rove and make the best of my last full day. I’m always on the lookout for a park that is within striking distance of wherever I am that I have not activated before and/or has not been activated before in either SSB or CW. So I planned a route to get to 9 parks and managed to get to 7 and activate 5 before other matters called for my attention. All were planned to be drive-up activations given the area and time constraints I was working within.

In my day job, I’m a Project Manager in IT, thus my style is that I plan before I arrive. You’ve already seen evidence of this with my POTA and Checklist tools that I’ve spoken about before. I usually do an in-depth study of a site before I depart, including reviewing linked webpages from the pota.app site, a satellite view and street view of the entrance on maps.google.com, and if it’s available, a 3D view of the area from maps.google.com. Let me know in the comments about the other ways you review a park before your arrival.

However I was pleasantly surprised when I found picnic tables with a view of the water at more than one of them! Balancing the good with the not-so-good, there were also some frustrations… I could not locate one of my planned stops despite driving up and down the road with two different GPSs blaring at me. My experience has shown that the smaller the park, the harder it is to find mapping, and this one from the Conservation Authority was no exception, and thus I abandoned it and drove onwards. Another site was right beside the roadway and high-voltage lines, and I didn’t have time to do a walk-in and get away from the noise floor. I always have a back-up site in my list for situations like this.

The Hamilton/Burlington/Niagara area is very pretty and, with a late summer happening around the time of a harvest moon, I didn’t mind the extra driving. For those of you who have been to Hamvention at Xenia it will be somewhat familiar as the area is full of gently rolling hills and lush green pastures. The humidity is also familiar, ugh, and one of the main reasons I moved away from this area in 1997. But nothing beats the view of sailboats out on the water; I have always found serenity in this -even knowing I get boatsick if I get on board!

The view from my “shack” at Fifty Point Conservation Area looking northwards onto Lake Ontario. On a clear day Toronto can  be seen in the distance. Today wasn’t a clear day, but still quite serene.

Fifty Point is a sprawling 80 Hectare (198 acre) area located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario at Winona. It has a top-tier restaurant, multiple beaches, pavilions and 330 slips for boaters, along with a camping area. It truly is a multi-use area! You can read all about it here (.pdf warning).

After locating the day use/beach area, I found a table overlooking the lake. As it was a mid-week day, there were plenty to choose from. The view was quiet with a few boaters enjoying the beach in the small bay directly in front of me.

A slip loop style bungee holds the feedpoint in place on the picnic table. My new-to-me Tiger-Cats hat proudly on display.

I set up my 40-30-20m trapped EFHW given the solar conditions. I’m so very pleased with the performance of this antenna and it has become the one I reach for the most when activating on this trip. It is about half the length of a conventional 40m wire and is resonant on 3 bands. It has me musing about adding 17m and 15m to it… perhaps N7KOM will offer such a kit?

When I built this antenna, I tuned it so that best resonance was in the middle of the CW portion of each band, and with the feedpoint located just a few feet off the ground and then sloped upwards at the endpoint. That’s how I deployed it this time around. As you see in the prior photo, my newly acquired Fishing Butler bungee strap held the entire thing firmly in place without any movement once I set up the mast. You can get them at Fishing World in Hamilton as they ship around North America. They stock multiple sizes so a phone call may be needed as their online store shows only one size. Ask for the assorted pack.

Trapped 20-30-40m EFHW to my Goture mast and spiral rod holder

Because I never was a Boy Scout and able to know where north is based on the position of the sun and time of day or how many chirps the cricket is giving <grin>, I consulted the compass on my smartphone. I unfurled my antenna and clipped it to the stop of the mast, walked the mast out to the length of the antenna and anchored it into the ground beside some Sumac bushes. With enough repetition, I’ve gotten pretty good at estimating where the far end of my antenna will be. It comes in helpful for parking lot activation and operating out of the trunk or your vehicle with a mast supporting the far end.

For these activations, and when I can, I’ve been orienting my antenna east and west so that it radiates broadside north and south so that I can capture the most number of hunters in North America. This is a contrast to how I normally operate from Alberta when my antenna is oriented to be broadside from southeast to northwest.

The activation itself was pleasant and I was surprised with visits from QRPer.com comment regulars KQ4CW and K5KHK – and I appreciate hearing from them often! 45 minutes after arriving I was packed up and on the road to my next stop.

List of gear used for these activations:

Note: All Amazon links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

Summary

We do POTA (and other programs) for various reasons. On this trip, it’s a break from life’s stresses. As I reflect upon my visits with various people, I realize that I’m quite blessed to know so many friendly hams no matter where I am travelling.

72 and dit dit,
…Vince

First introduced to the magic of radio by a family member in 1969, Vince has been active in the hobby since 2002. He is an Accredited examiner in Canada and the USA, operates on almost all of the modes, and is continually working on making his CW proficiency suck less. He participates in public service events around Western Canada and is active on the air while glamping, mobile, at home or doing a POTA activation. You can hear him on the Ham Radio Workbench podcast, follow him on Twitter @VE6LK, check out his YouTube channel, and view the projects and articles on his website.

Helene Aftermath Update: Aid, Community Resilience, and Egress/Ingress (Thursday, October 3, 2024)

Good Morning, Friends,

Today, I’m taking most of the day to focus on organizing, administrative tasks (FEMA applications, insurance, etc.), and some much-needed cleanup around the house. After several days of intense labor, we all need some time to recuperate.

Basically, we all smell like sweat and chainsaw exhaust.

If you haven’t read my previous posts, here’s the situation in a nutshell: We live in a rural mountain community in Swannanoa, NC, where the bridge connecting us to the outside world was swept away during the 500-year flood caused by Tropical Storm Helene. We also believe a tornado may have passed through our valley, which is why there are so many trees down on our houses and roads.

Since my last update, much has happened.

Helicopter Evacuation

I previously mentioned concerns for two elderly neighbors, one of whom was days away from entering skilled nursing care before the storm hit. The good news is they were safely evacuated by helicopter, thanks to the amazing team at SC-HART. They are now with family members and in a more stable situation.

Trees Cleared

By Tuesday evening, our neighborhood team managed to clear enough trees that everyone on the road now has at least a path wide enough for a car on their driveways and along the road.

We worked on the upper portion of the road, while neighbors on the lower portion cleared their section. Together, we cleared the entire road for vehicular access.

What really accelerated our efforts was the help of volunteers from outside the area. Family and friends of one neighbor came from Bryson City, full of energy and experience. Additionally, a group of arborists, who were going road-to-road offering help, assisted us for a day.

The bulk of the fallen trees were old-growth hardwoods like hickory, oak, and locust. None of these are easy to chainsaw. One of the 20-odd trees that fell on our driveway was 150 years old (we counted the rings). Our large, old hardwoods were unfairly targeted by the extreme winds because they still had a full canopy that acted like sails.

Had you seen the level of destruction on the road, you might have thought the cleanup would take a month, even with professional help. But everyone in good health on the road put in all their effort, and, together, we got it done.

Temporary Bridge

Thanks to a volunteer construction crew (friends of neighbors–the details are still unclear), a crew came in and shored up a temporary bridge, allowing larger vehicles to cross Bee Tree Creek.

This was a HUGE achievement, making it possible for volunteer crews to bring supplies to us. However, the bridge is covered in compacted dirt, and another strong rain event could wash it out.

Crumbling Road

For those of us living on the upper side of the road (about 1,000 feet higher in elevation than the lower section), we have another serious concern: one 30-40 meter section of the road is crumbling fast.

Both sides of the road are compromised, and there’s a 30 or more foot drop-off on one side. Driving across it is incredibly sketchy, but we’ve had to allow some vehicles to pass through to bring supplies up or evacuate.

After daily neighborhood meetings, we’ve decided that only ATVs or side-by-sides should cross the compromised part of the road. In just one day, we’ve seen how much damage larger vehicles can do.

The frustrating part? Some people have come up the road as disaster voyeurs—driving in cars and trucks to take photos and sightsee–which damages the road further. We’ve placed a sign at the bottom of the road asking to limit traffic to residents and emergency supplies. We’ll see if that works.

Egress and Ingress

The crumbling road is our top concern on the upper part of Long Branch Road.

Two construction engineers surveyed the damage yesterday and began planning repairs. Word has it that a crew could start within a few days, but resources in WNC are stretched thin, and we understand that other larger communities may be in need.

Instead of waiting for the road to collapse, a four-person neighborhood team is exploring an old forest service road as an alternate route. While we wouldn’t be able to drive large vehicles on it, ATVs or hiking could be possible.

Helicopter Drops

We’ve been receiving supplies (food, cleaning products, gas, fuel, etc.) from numerous volunteer groups, churches, friends, and individuals. It’s simply amazing.

We are also receiving larger supply drops via helicopter (presumably from FEMA).

Being on the receiving end of disaster relief, especially from individuals and groups who give their time, hard labor, and even buy supplies on their own dime, is humbling. While the news often highlights the worst in humanity, from where we stand, we’re seeing only the best.

Why Not Evacuate?

One reader asked why we didn’t evacuate before the storm or why we don’t leave now.

It’s an easy question to ask from the outside, but this is a scenario you wouldn’t wish on anyone. We were warned and prepared for flash flooding and high winds before Helene’s remnants arrived–we’ve been through hurricane and tropical storm remnants before–but no one expected a 1,000-year flood event.

This map, via Brad Brewer on Facebook, shows the flood events in western NC. We are in the purple, 1,000 year flood event zone.

This storm far exceeded what anyone could have predicted. We planned for downed trees, power loss, and potential road damage—not the catastrophic destruction that came.

Evacuating now is also problematic. Many of us have safe/clean well water and electricity (via sporadic generators and, in our case, solar power). City water in Buncombe County is out and could be for a few more weeks, and most still don’t have power. While power restoration should expand to more of the urban areas soon, the damage to infrastructure is extensive and will take time to repair.

We are safe, and we’re staying put. We can do this because our neighbors are amazing: we work well together, we’re self-sufficient, resourceful, and we’re resilient. Frankly, preparedness is built into everyday life here on a good day. All our family members are in good health, and if necessary, we have several egress routes on foot where friends could pick us up. But we hope it doesn’t come to that.

Ham Radio’s Role

We are still using a simplex frequency (147.55 MHz) for communications in the neighborhood and another (146.52 MHz) for the Swannanoa area on the VHF calling frequency.

My daughters (K4TLI and K4GRL), along with my wife (K4MOI), are running net control and monitoring the radios throughout the day when we’re not all needed for other tasks. We take shifts. I’m simply amazed at how quickly my daughters have jumped into this role and learned the ropes!

We’ve also been using the Mount Mitchell repeater to pass traffic, get updates, and coordinate with the local fire department for helicopter drops.

Volunteers and Support

Quick note: We are currently receiving ample supplies for our needs. The generosity we’ve experienced has been amazing, though we do worry about the long-term situation.

Thank You

My daughters have been giving our neighborhood pets extra attention.

Most of all, thank you for the support and kind messages. As I mentioned before, I’ve been so busy with work in the neighborhood that I haven’t had time to catch up on messages. Thank you for understanding—I’m reading every message and comment, but I don’t have the time to reply at present.

I’d also like to give a big shoutout to Vince (VE6LK), who has stepped in to manage QRPer and much of my communications. Vince is a dear friend, and I can’t thank him enough. Like, seriously Vince, thank you!

Even though I’ve been on VHF more than ever, I still miss the field reports and articles from QRPer. They’re a great source of joy for me.

I’ll plan to post another update soon, and I’m pointing all inquiries to these posts as a central place to share updates.

All the best, and thank you for being part of this wonderful community!

Best & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

QRPer marches along

Hello All,

Our friend Thomas and his family are doing well as can be expected in the face of a 500 year flood, washed out roads and bazillions of trees downed around them. He has expressed a desire to post in the evenings after he’s done assisting others in his neighbourhood. I know he is thankful for all of your notes and comments expressing his well-wishes.

While he’s out keeping his community going, let’s keep this community going. Shortly you’ll see posts coming along from other contributors. I’ve been deputized to manage the posts and scheduling here, and I will keep tabs on the comment moderation as required. To that end if you are a regular contributor, drop me an email when you have a post ready for review and I’ll get it reviewed and scheduled to go. You can get ahold of me at vincedeon at gmail dot com and note QRPer in the subject line to get my attention.

Thanks … Vince

Experimental Antenna Reins-in Surprising Results

Editor note – Please enjoy this guest post from Jeff Bourgeois VE7EFF.

Today, September 6, I hope to POTA activate Inonoaklin Provincial Park CA-3626 in Southern BC, Canada, located on the shores of the Lower Arrow Lakes. On this activation, I will be using my novel experimental homebrewed Coaxial-Sleeve Dipole. The results were surprising!

We have been wanting to come back to this park since a brief visit to the area last summer.  I especially wanted to come back because, at that time, it had never been activated by anyone. I had plans to activate another park in the area that day.  Unfortunately, I was beaten to the draw just a few weeks ago by another ham.

The other reason I didn’t get here sooner was because it is a 3-hour drive east from our home in Kelowna, BC. 3-hours is pushing the limits of how far I’m willing to drive on daytrips, especially in mountainous areas. We rarely, if ever, do overnight trips.

We left the house very early in the morning on Sept. 6, 2024.  While the countryside is very beautiful enroute to the Arrow Lakes, I kind of dread the drive as the roads are often narrow, twisty-windy and up and down steep mountain passes.  At times it felt like being on a roller coaster.

Continue reading Experimental Antenna Reins-in Surprising Results

Connecting an international community through low-power field radio adventures.