Making a 12 hour drive can be hard. Good to know there are friendly hams out there to make it a little easier.
Yesterday I set out to drive from Dallas to Huntsville, Alabama, about a twelve hour drive. I've made the drive lots of times over the past 15 years, many times with a 2m rig in the vehicle, and only once have I ever found anyone to talk to beyond regular repeater traffic. The obvious drawback to repeater use when you're driving through town is by the time you get an answer and strike up a QSO, you're moving out of range!
Well yesterday that all changed. I was rockin down the interstate and passed a big rig...with a screwdriver antenna mounted on the cab! I picked-up the mic, tuned to 146.52 and threw my call out there. Immediately Allan, KA9EFD, came back. He was indeed the driver of the big rig. He saw me pass (with several antennas, ARES & RACES stickers in the back window, and amateur plates on the jeep) and turned his radio on too.
We talked for the next 5 or 6 hours as we drove through Little Rock to Memphis. Alan stopped in Memphis to spend the night and of course I kept driving through but it was a really great QSO! We talked about lots of things and nothing, the same kind of things you talk to any of your buddies about.
This is just one example of how ham radio can really come in handy, giving you a pleasant way to pass the time, help if you run into trouble, or giving you a way to connect even on the road. So get out that 2m rig, tune it up to 146.52 and see who's out there. You might be surprised!
