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MICROWAVE UPDATE 2003 - SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA page 3 |
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Every Update has something special that you never forget ... this year it was the amazing "rover" station belonging to Eric, KB7DQH Feast your eyes on the photos below ...... |
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No, your
eyes are not deceiving you"! This remarkable "rover"
setup, a very well worn, outwardly graveyard-ready VW Campervan,
was the centre of attraction in the hotel carpark. The van carries
antennas for 50MHz up to 2.3GHz, all rotatable and all in situ while
the van is being driven down the local freeways! Inside the van
is a large array of equipment.
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The most interesting item on the outside of the van was the chainsaw! Yes... chainsaw! You can see it here poking rearwards from the van's gutter. Eric assured me that it used only for removing offending tree branches that got in the way of his microwave signals when he was out in the hills doing a little portable work! As a proud owner myself,for nearly 30 years in the past, of two VW Campervans, I had great interest in Eric's van. He and I spent quite a time talking about the attributs of these classic vehicles. |
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Eric's van needed a little tidying up in the bodywork department. The paintwork had faded and there were areas where some Tender Loving Care might be applied one day! Neverthless, Eric seems to really enjoy his VW and is a well known rover operator in the Pacific North West Region. Rumours have it that he is also well known to the local Search and Rescue teams! |
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Here's the cockpit area of the van, stacked with modern transceivers. How he drives with this lot installed beats me! |
In the rear section he had a couple of microwave horn antennas, the big one here being for the 5.6GHz band, complete with its own transverter |
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