On 5 March 2016, members of the Tri-County Amateur Radio Club – WC5C mounted a new tri-band antenna and ran cable at the Azle Fire Station in support of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Azle Fire Department Logo – Azle, Texas
Inside, we worked on getting the antenna coax from the communications room where the cable from the outside mast enters the building to the fire station’s training room.
Coax cable comes into communications room from the antenna mast, outside
Antenna terminations in the fire station communications room
Dan, AF5VM, working above the drop-down ceiling
Richard, KE5ZGZ, and Dan, AF5VM – “Hey! Where’d that cable go?”
There’s the cable! Can you tell which one it is?
While some of us were busy inside, many of us were also very busy outside! The weather for early March was excellent!
Azle Fire Department ladder truck helping us get to the top of the mast
Who’s going up there?
It’s going to be a long climb for someone!
Who’s that dashing young volunteer? It’s Paul, WB5IDM (much to the dismay of his wife, C.J., KD5NGX)!
And we’re off!
Almost there…
Boy! I sure could use a nap about now!
Oh, well! Time to get to work… (click image for larger view)
Paul wasn’t without plenty of supervision from the ground, however…
All together now… “You’re doing it wrong!”
Apparently, some of us were supervising harder than others
All-in-all, after several trips to the hardware store and a trip back to Paul’s shop, the new antenna was mounted to the mast.
Our installation team: (L-R) Randy, KF5RRF – Jay, KG5BZW – Kip, KF5WOH – Mike, KE5NCS – Bob, WD5ILB – Gene, KD5EMS. (Not Pictured – Paul, WB5ILB – Dan, AF5VM – Patrick, KB5TLH)
We still have some work to do – terminating the coax with connectors, installation of a wall-plate in the training room, and installation/programming of the new radios purchased for the EOC. We hope to have this done in the next month or so…
We’ll append this page with additional updates once the unfinished items have been completed. Additionally, if anyone who attended was left out, please use the contact form to let us know and we’ll make the appropriate update.
Special thanks: To the Azle Fire Department for the use of the ladder truck. Paul, WB5IDM, for climbing the ladder not once, but twice! And, to all our volunteers who helped make this hard day of work, fun!
