Tuloso-Midway vs San Antonio South Side
Posted by Perrin Derrick On January 14, 2023
1993 Playoff basketball game
Ham Radio / Video
Posted by Perrin Derrick On December 12, 2022
Since high school, I have been into radio scanning. in 1996 I bought a study guide for ham radio. I believe it was the “No-Code” edition from Radio Shack. That is the test change that let non-morse code kids get a ham ticket.
It took me 21 years and Hurricane Harvey to get serious about getting my FCC license. Thanks to my wife for the surprise birthday gift! My first radio was a Baofeng walkie-talkie radio. Ham radio has been a good learning experience.
The video in this post is a combination of my video production merging with my ham radio hobby. Baofeng was looking for some product videos from youtube and we were happy to put this video together.
73s – (that is ham talk for see you later)
Derrick Perrin KG5YBU (that is ham talk for my license number with the FCC)
1949 Sugamo Prison Football Team
Posted by Perrin Derrick On August 25, 2021
From the banquet program from 1949, the US Army’s Sugamo Prison Football Team was quite the competitor.
Name | Position | Number | Height | Weight | Home Town | State |
Barber, Francis C | RH | 10 | 5’8″ | 180 | Kelso | Washington |
Young, Harry | RH | 11 | 6’0″ | 175 | Mansfield | Ohio |
Korgie, Leonard F | LH | 12 | 5’9″ | 175 | Columbus | Nebraska |
Starnes, Donald L | QB | 13 | 5’9″ | 155 | West Carlton | Ohio |
Stanton, Raymond B | Coach | 14 | 5’9″ | 188 | Flint | Michigan |
Frank, Ernes | QB | 15 | 5’7″ | 175 | Enid | Oklahoma |
Hageny, Kenneth | RHB | 16 | 5’8″ | 160 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
LaFavor, Donald | QB | 17 | 5’6″ | 160 | Saint Paul | Minnesota |
Carter, Johnny | LHB | 18 | 5’9″ | 160 | Sand Springs | Oklahoma |
Oliver, William | RHB | 19 | 5’8″ | 140 | Palatka | Florida |
Costa, Edmund | LHB | 20 | 5’10” | 160 | Honolulu | Hawaii |
Belback, Arthur | FB | 21 | 5’10” | 185 | Cloverdale | Pennsylvania |
Bransburg, Richard | LHB | 22 | 6’2″ | 175 | Pottstown | Pennsylvania |
Rice, Melvin | FB | 23 | 5’11” | 205 | Tulsa | Oklahoma |
Mannio, Anthony | FB | 24 | 6’0″ | 201 | Staten Island | New York |
Soto, Lee | FB | 25 | 5’10 | 215 | Los Angeles | California |
Sinda, William | C | 26 | 5’11 | 206 | Dong Island | New York |
Maskevicius, John | E | 27 | 6’0″ | 165 | Baltimore | Maryland |
Cobb, Clinton Wayne | E | 28 | 6’1″ | 180 | Kilgore | Texas |
Baxter, Don | T | 29 | 6’0″ | 194 | Wakame | Washington |
Sherves, Eugene | C | 30 | 5’10” | 190 | Washington | D.C. |
Farmer, Richard | C | 31 | 5’10” | 220 | Ironton | Ohio |
Malkiewicz, Robert | G | 32 | 5’9″ | 180 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
Singleton, Eugene | E | 33 | 5’9″ | 165 | Middleton | Ohio |
Ruddock, Jules B | T | 34 | 5’11” | 185 | New Orleans | Louisiana |
Huff, Jack | G | 35 | 6’0″ | 197 | Stevens Point | Wisconson |
Miller, Robert | T | 36 | 6’3″ | 245 | Quincy | Illinois |
Perry, Robert | E | 37 | 6’1″ | 172 | Clare | Michigan |
Hopson, Travis | E | 38 | 6’1″ | 182 | Dallas | Texas |
Stepnick, George | T | 39 | 6’0″ | 180 | New York | New York |
Compton, Arnold | G or T | 40 | 6’0″ | 199 | Chicago | Illinois |
Hickey, Joseph | E | 42 | 6’1″ | 170 | Syracuse | New York |
Lewis, James | E | 43 | 5’10” | 163 | Albany | California |
Murphy, Robert | G | 44 | 5’9″ | 205 | Minneapolis | Minnesota |
Puccini, Leslee | T | 45 | 6’1″ | 250 | Fresno | California |
Phillippa, Teddy | T | 46 | 5’9″ | 200 | Detroit | Michigan |
Howard, Roberts | RH | 47 | 5’10” | 140 | Charlotte | North Carolina |
Greiwahn, William | G | 48 | 5’10” | 170 | Adrian | Michigan |
Coffil, James | G | 50 | 5’8″ | 175 | Beverly | Massachusetts |
Dearman, Alfred V | QB | 49 | 5’11” | 150 | Elida | New Mexico |
Team Manager | ||||||
Sears, Ernest E | Washington | D.C. | ||||
Co-Captains | ||||||
Ernest, Frank | Enid | Oklahoma | ||||
Eugene Shreves | Washington | D.C. |
Just look at those big numbers on the board. Undefeated in the year 1949. Did Yokohama Area Enginers show up to the game?
Found a video from the WWII museum on one of the guys listed on the roster: Dearman, Alfred V QB #49
Ham Radio Field Day 2021
Posted by Perrin Derrick On June 25, 2021
My first Crack At Field Day
After a hurricane his south Texas in 2017, a lot of folks broke out their books and studied up to be an armature radio operator. I was one of those folks. After acquiring a few pieces of gear and mounting an antenna on the house I was all set. Time went on, we moved away from Corpus Christi, but I still kept tinkering with my ham gear. Field Day (ARRL Field Day) has been on the ham radio to-do list for a while and since I’m working at the Communication Center at a hospital I figured it would be a good year to start.
METEOR SHOWER CALENDAR 2020
Posted by Perrin Derrick On April 21, 2020
2020 April Meteor Shower
Protected: CV-19 Videos To Watch
Posted by Perrin Derrick On April 14, 2020
Ham Radio On The Trail
Posted by Perrin Derrick On March 20, 2019
Who can use a ham radio?
The simple answer is licensed amateur radio operators.
A few years back I rode in the AZT300. It is a self-supported bike race in southern remote bits of Arizona. After 8 days on the Arizona Trail, I came home with questions about emergency communications. What would happen if my spot GPS and I became separated? At the time I was not an amateur radio operator and sat there wondering what all the antennas in the distance were for.
Some were for radio and tv, but some are for the department of transportation, amateur radio, and GMRS repeaters.
How could people on the trail use these in an emergency situation?
Can you reach them with a HAM radio? Who can use a ham radio?
The real answer to the question, “Who can use a ham radio?” comes from the FCC test bank for the technician level ham radio license.
FCC Question T2C09 – 12. Are amateur station control operators ever permitted to operate outside the frequency privileges of their license class?
- A. Yes, but only when part of a RACES emergency plan
- B. Yes, but only if necessary in situations involving the immediate safety of human life or protection of property
- C. Yes, but only when part of a FEMA emergency plan
- D. No
So if you are studying for your technician license you do not have a license at all. So this question is for everyone. The answer is “B”.
The key to the answer is that if all other communications have been tried then you ‘yes you, as in anyone without a license’ can use a radio to make emergence communication calls. Any radio, any frequency,
§ 97.403 Safety of life and protection of property. No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available.
We
How does this help on the trail?
A good cheep radio like the BTECH UV-5X3 has 128 programmable channels that can be setup for everything from ham radio repeaters to Motorola Blister-pack family radio channels to a mix of other municipal frequencies.
Family – FRS & General Mobile Radio Service GMRS Bands
Just like the ham radio bands there are repeaters for the blister-pack radios. You can Google search you area for local GMRS repeater networks. Here is a video showing how to program these bands into your hand held radio.
Do Your Homework – Read and find out what might save your ass on the trail.
- https://www.itstactical.com/digicom/comms/ultimate-radio-communication-guide-what-to-look-for-in-a-handheld-transceiver/
- http://www.craigwilliams.com/radio/miss.htm
So the main concept here is getting your hands on a radio and prepare by learning how it works and how you program it. I use chirp to program my handheld 2-way walkie talkies. The frequencies you put into the radio will be important. You can also program channels for scanning only. If you want to listen to the national weather service, you can do that.
Radio Frequencies I would use for the Arizona Trail.
The NOAA weather radio channels for the area
Santa Cruz County 155.71500 – County Emergency Services – EMS Dispatch 155.02500 – SCRUZ-ROADS – Public Works 155.23500 – Santa Cruz Valley USD – Schools
154.40000 – Fire Department – F1 – Dispatch 154.43000 – Suburban Nogales FD F2 – Dispatch
Patagonia154.41500 – Fire Department – Dispatch
Sonoita Pima County155.22000 Sheriff- Search & Rescue volunteers 154.17500 – Fire Department – Dispatch
Mt Lemmon146.96000 – K7UAZ Ham Repeater 224.06000 – KA7LFX Ham Repeater 151.04750 – Air Evac Medical Helicopters 155.32500 – Air Eval Tuscon All FRS and GMRS including the popular repeater pairs. Any Municipal fire or EMS that operates on FM.
This is a short list of the frequencies you should be looking for. The little handheld radios are not that powerful. The best way to operate at long range is to have a clear line of site. Make sure nothing is between you and the receiver you are trying to hit.
There are ways to upgrade the radio by installing a better antenna, or a larger battery pack. As a bikepacker, or hiker you will have to weigh in on what is important to you.
I hope this helps stir up some ideas and other ways to stay safe on your next outdoor adventure.
Perrin Family Christmas Fun from 2015.
Posted by Perrin Derrick On December 16, 2018
Perrin Family Christmas Fun from 2015.
Hope you are all having a great time preparing for Christmas.
Camping – Dinosaur Valley State Park – Texas
Posted by Perrin Derrick On June 19, 2018
4 Days. and 3 Nights Camping at Dinosaur Valley State Park - Texas
I would like to start off this travel log with an apology to the people in hike-in site 1. Don’t know who you are, but I know we caused more havoc after 9:45 than you deserved. The little folding camp chairs sitting next to your fire ring were a cute reminder that your crew would be paying us back around 6:30 am.
And so we ran back to the parking lot twice trying to be as quiet as possible.
We set camp and were down by 11:30. Must have been 2 am when we had our first visitor, a raccoon. They would come to visit each morning between 1 and 2. They do throw a bit of a fit when you tie down the trashcan lid.
Day 2 at Dinosaur Valley State Park
I needed to go to the car and grab a few things to get breakfast going but wasn’t willing to do the walk of shame past campsite 1. So we waited till they packed up before we showed our face. We ate a big camp scramble using out turkey fryer and big castiron skillet.
Recent rain had brought the river level up a bit and provided the day’s entertainment.
We could not keep people from walking through our camp. This was really annoying. By day 3 we blocked off the makeshift trail from the river to our site. That night I had to be in Stephenville, Texas to shoot video for work.
Day 3 at Dinosaur Valley State Park
After a big breakfast, we packed up and hiked while it was cool. The first half of the hike was pleasant. Most of the hiking trails at the park are located on the other side of the river. So coming or going you have a chance to cool off. We hiked up a way and had lunch on the trail.
Once back at the tent we found a baby squirrel inside.
The afternoon was a repeat of the previous day.
Kids in water, then napping, then I head off to work on a video production.
I made it back to cook tacos for dinner and then hang out by the campfire till bedtime.
Once again the raccoons made a visit, but this time it was while Kendra and I were sitting by the fire.
This trip provided some of the best camping sleep I have ever had. It does help that we used the big camp cots. Grason chooses to be tough and sleep on the floor of the tent.
As people passed by the tracks close to our campsite we would overhear discussions. The best quote all week was,
“There is no way these are millions of years old, they would be washed away long before now.”
Camping at Dinosaur Valley State Park is Awesome.
This is not meant to be the worlds best travel log but a reminder to me and the family about the fun few days we spent on the bank of the Paluxy River in Glen Rose, Texas. The State Park was great and we will be back again to play in the dino tracks, hike and bike the trails.
Thanks for reading,
Derrick Perrin
Arizona Trail – Day 8 on a Mountain Bike
Posted by Perrin Derrick On June 18, 2018
Table of Contents
April 15 – Finish
12:00 am Tortilla Mountain 3249 Feet above sea-level climbing switchbacks.
2:15 flat out near Kelvin Florence Highway Trailhead – Not like I was pushing it flat out, but my back tire had a flat bad enough to break out a tube. A sidewall gash is a perfect reason to stop drop and sleep. But before sleep, I needed to do some work. After a new tube was dropped into the rear tire it was time to cook.
Oats, apple, cinnamon, quinoa was on the menu. This was the last camp meal I had with me. I heated up my water, mixed it in the bag and placed it between my ribcage and my right elbow. The alarm clock was set for 2 sleep cycles. I fluffed my hydration pack, placed my head on it as the warmth of camp meal bag added comfort as I nodded off.
3:30 am ate a few bites of my camp meal and then was on the bike Rolling to the trailhead. I had a hope of something magical being in the lock boxes at the trailhead. It was full of empty bottles of water, empty bags of chips, empty this empty that. It wasn’t that I needed anything at that point in time. I knew from now until the end of the race there was one faucet and one dirty river water opportunity and no food. I closed the boxes and moved out. Next destination, water at the public works fence faucet.
The morning was crisp and chilly. I looked for a way to cherish it the best way I could. You want to cuss the cold while being thankful it is not blazing hot like it will be in a few hours. By 7:15 the sun had broken over the mountains and it was time to bask in the sunlight and brew a cup of Coffee. I mad soup out of what was left in my camp meal packet. That was the best Quinoa colored water a boy could ask for.
I inventoried and here is what I had
- A few baby food packets
- Some bee pollen,
- Chia seeds
- Dark chocolate.
- I was saving my nun tablets and my beat elite powder for the muddy water of the Gila River.
It looked like I might have a thousand calories for today’s efforts. My food every 15 minutes was not going to happen today. For the math folks out there I’m 6’4 and require a base of 3200 calories a day if I’m sitting at a desk resting. Today is not going to be one of those resting days.
The Gila section was a big surprise. I’m not sure why more people are not riding out here. It hugged the side of the hill curving back and forth.
9:30 am – Last waterhole on the Gila – Mud river fill up.
I used the cleanest shirt I had and filtered the water going into my bottles. At a few spots, there were families playing on the other side of the river. It looked like a great spot to play all day. My day was looking up…. up 2,000 feet and then down to picket post.
4 pm Passed on Tally Tank – Biggest mistake I made in the race. By this point I was out of food.
With 10 miles to go, I flatted out and had to put a tube in. This left one last tube in my kit.
A few miles down the trail, the replacement tube went out with a bang and left me down in the dirt where my Coast flashlight jumped off my bike and dedicated itself to the AZT. After 2 tubes I ran out of options and just started to push a flat bike to the end. I was running low on water but thought I could get to the end of the race ok.
The last water on the mountain bike trail
I picked up a 1/2 jug of water from a very suspect pool. The thinking was to have it if I need it. A wee bit longer and I treated it and started to drink it. Even though I was taking small sips, in time the water ran out.
Along the trail, I would pray and thank God for the opportunity I had to be where I was. Three short years before I was flushing chemotherapy out of my system and growing a new head of hair. This year I was hacking at completing the goal of making it to the end of the Arizona Trail 300 mile mountain bike race. There were people God had blessed me with that helped me get to that very spot. I gave him thanks daily for them.
He was looking out for me at the end of the race. I had a small nap before jumping into the Gila section. With little rest came slow reactions. I wasn’t sure why I sliced a tire and then proceeded to run out of extra tubes, but when I came walking around a corner to see a rattlesnake across the trail I knew exactly why I needed to be pushing and not riding a bike.
6:56 – Done
DONE
There is no band, no cheerleaders, and no trophy for completing the AZT. In fact, if you get there before the 750 folks get there I would imagine they might heckle you for not riding “A real distance” I wouldn’t blame them. Ahead lies more miles for them than they have just ridden and you are on your way to Waffle House while they keep trucking.
In the end, I did get a trophy.
My mother had picked up rocks along the way. She had all members of my family glue them up and now I have a trophy for my efforts.
Thanks Mom!
I owe a huge thank you to my wife, Kendra, for staying back and taking it in the face. Litteral puke in the face. Our 3 little ones were very unhealthy while I was on the trail. She is a rock-star mom and wife. I don’t expect for her to understand why anyone would want to get on a bike and ride off into the wilderness, but she gives me support to do it.
From fighting cancer to raising children, to working a business together there is no one I would rather have at my side. She is amazing day in, day out.
My final thank you goes out to the Ragan Family. They have been there for me and my family for years. Their son James opened doors for me that I never thought I would need to walk through.
2018 follow-up
I just saw my aunt Tish a few days ago. She is still recovering from her illness in Arizona. Her Texas doctor was truly surprised to see her walk into his clinic. As he put it to her, “By reading your bloodwork I just knew you were going to die in Arizona”
Well my crazy aunt is still with us and we are happy.
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