The Monthly Newsletter of the Tucson Rough Riders, Inc.tucsonroughriders.com/content/DocumentArchives... · The Rough Rider The Monthly Newsletter of the Tucson Rough Riders, Inc

The Rough Rider

The Monthly Newsletter of the Tucson Rough Riders, Inc.

April 2015

Volume 40 Issue 4

Upcoming Events 2 Meeting Minutes 3-4 Participation Report 5-6 Run Reports 7-12 Articles of Interest 13-16 Editor’s Corner 17 Club Officers’ email info 17

In This Issue 2015 Meeting Dates: January 27 July 28 February 24 August 25 March 24 September 22 April 28 October 27 May 26 November 24 June 23 December TBD Summer Picnic Jun 13 (Christmas Party) Trail Dust Days 2015 October 8—11 ASA4WDC Jamboree Cancelled

The Rough Rider is the official publication of the Tucson Rough Riders, Inc., P.O. Box 78726, Tucson, Arizona, 85703-8726.

The Tucson Rough Riders, Inc., is a rough-terrain vehicle club with the following goals: to enjoy and protect the natural environment, to provide social and recreational activities for its members, and to promote family togeth-erness. The Club assists the state and national resource management agencies and local community charitable organizations.

The Club’s general meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the U Like Oriental Buffet, 5151 N. Oracle Road, unless otherwise specified. The social gathering is from 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM, with the meeting starting at 7:00 PM. Members, guests, advertisers and the public are cordially invited to attend.

Membership in the Tucson Rough Riders is $40.00 annually, with $7.50 registration fee for the first year. To qualify for membership, a four-wheel-drive vehicle owner must attend two runs and two meetings. Anyone wish-ing to join the Tucson Rough Riders is encouraged to contact any of the Board members or write to the Club at the above post office box.

www.tucsonroughriders.com

The Rough Rider 2 April 2015

Plan to be at these events for a great time. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet

new people or spend time with old friends. Don’t have a ride? I’m sure someone

has a seat. Don’t forget your camera!

NOTE: PLEASE CHECK THE CLUB CALENDAR FOR UPDATES

May 2015

WALNUT CANYON May 2 8 AM—5 PM. Meet at Basha’s in Catalina. Run Leader: Tim Naylor (991-4155) Off Battle Ax Road 10 miles north of Kearney, AZ. Trail Rating 3.5.

MOAB, UTAH May 14 2 PM — May 21 Meet at the Chevron station at the Marana Road exit off I-10 at 2 PM May 14. Trail Leader: Phil David (235-7665). Spend a week wheeling in Moab, Utah. Leave Tuc-son from the I-10 Marana exit Chevron Station at 2 PM on May 14, spend the night in Flagstaff. Leave Flagstaff the morning of the 15th for Moab. Return from Moab on May 21. Let Phil or Tim [Naylor?] know who is going so we can get coordinated. Trail runs will be decided [in Moab]. Will be a choice of hard and easy runs.

June 2015

SUMMER PICNIC June 13 10 AM—1 PM The Ringtail Group Area in Catalina State Park. Run Leader: Malcolm (488-6052 or [email protected]) The club will provide chicken or steak. Please let Malcolm know which you prefer and for how many people.

September 2015

DUSY-ERSHIM TRAIL, CA Sep 14—20. Run leader: Rheal. In planning stages with people from Mesa 4-Wheelers. World class trail rated a 10 known for boulder crawling and beautiful scenery and some tight areas.

Have an idea for a run? Do you have an idea but don’t want to lead a trip, or you don’t know the route? Don’t worry! Just contact a Board member with your ideas. Please remember these trips usually are day trips which means to bring plenty of water.

Upcoming events


Meeting Minutes

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was given. By a show of hands, the membership approved the March meeting minutes as published in the Rough Rider.

President’s Report (Kevin)

Kevin thanked the Tucson Jeep Club for coming out and helping with the Rice Peak Work Run.

Land Use (Becky)

The state took most of the OHV Fund’s money to help balance the budget; there is about $4.2 million left.

There is still grant money available

Our Land Use Fund is needed. The BLM is surveying and closing roads that aren’t on their maps. Closed roads are not marked except on the BLM maps.

State Report (Rheal)

ASA4WDC Quarterly Meeting will be held on May 9, in Wickenburg.

The ASA4WDC Jamboree was cancelled due to per-mitting issues. Planning will have to start earlier next year to make sure there is time to get all the neces-sary permits.

Adopt-A-Road (Rheal)

The Rice Peak work run included both TRR and the Tucson Jeep Club, for a total of 13 vehicles. They re-paired a washout with two fences and filled most of the holes. There was a good view from the peak. It was great to have the extra help.

Membership (Tim)

Justin (JD) Fitzgerald was voted in as our newest member. Welcome!

Safety and Education (Chris)

Chris gave an excellent presentation about CB radios, standing wave ratios (SWRs), antennas, and more. For a full report, please see elsewhere in this issue. The presentation was followed by a discussion of ham radio, including the possibility of designating a club frequency—it may be worth it to do it.

Editor’s Report (Dave)

Deadline for anything in the newsletter is the Saturday night following the meeting. Please submit your run reports in writing—this would greatly help the secre-tary as well.

Website (Tim)

The login ID and password for the members-only area on the website has been changed. The information went out to the Yahoo! Groups list; if you don’t have it,

please contact Tim directly. His email is listed on the last page of the newsletter.

Speaking of Yahoo! Groups, we have 53 members on the list but 64 club members. If you are one of the 11, email Tim to get yourself added to the Ya-hoo! Groups list.

We are starting to prepare for Trail Dust Days.

If you want to add something to the Website, email Tim.

Participation Report (Miles)

The full report is elsewhere in this issue; please check it for accuracy. The points leaders are as follows:

18—Tim Naylor

15—Larry Narcus

14—Malcolm Leslie

11—Paul Siskind, Rheal Tetreault, Chris Rich-ardson

9—Robert Cristia, Andres Sacio, Michael Yo-vanov, Stan Fetherman

8—Leo O’Campo

7—Erwin Greven, Ben Knuckles

6—Mike Collins, Bob Hval

5—Phil David, Mike De Maria, Brad Harford

Old Business

New, updated flyers have been printed. Nice job, Bob (Hval)!

The new location is better. Thank you.

New Business

ONXmaps. Support Garmin units; show land own-ership and hunting maps. Email [email protected]

Trail Dust Days is fast approaching; Kevin Fitzger-ald needs leads.

Options for donations to community organizations.

Women’s shelter—Brewster House (http://www.thebrewstercenter.org/)

Hope Animal Shelter—No kill. (http://hopeanimalshelter.net/)

Wounded Warriors of Southern Arizona (NOTE: This is not the national Wounded Warrior Pro-ject)

SAAVI—Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired. Most of the staff are volun-teers. A donation of $300 was proposed, moved, seconded, voted on, and passed.


Meeting Minutes (Cont’d.)

Veterans run. May be a good idea for the club; insur-ance was an issue for a similar run in New Mexico.

Allen Connor—Farmers Insurance (Mesa, AZ) Good coverage for older vehicles.

Guests

*** Welcome*** ☺ My apologies in advance for any misspelling.

Sandra and Bart Hogan. TJ (2) 1997 and 1999

Mike and Judy Safarewitz Wrangler 2013

Stanley and Shirley Seward. Rubicon 2003

Storen and Charleeroe Hoppz Cherokee 1987

Kena and Donna Taylor Tracker 1995

Conrad and Gayle Masterson Wrangler 2011

Dean and Sue Nelsen Wrangler 2010

Run Reports (For details, see elsewhere in

this issue)

Stan Fetherman - Tortolita Pass. 24 vehicles. Easy run. 8 guests, kids. Good time. Robert did a great job at the back. Keep watching the vehicle behind you. This will pace the run and make sure no one gets separated. (Also try to keep up with the vehicle ahead of you, if possible—it works both ways.—ed.)

Malcolm Leslie—Gardner Canyon. Great day. 17 vehi-cles; grew to 19. Still house. Snyder mine. Aliso springs. Great lunch spot.

Bob Hval—Music at the Cottonwoods. 10 people, good time.

Michael Yovanov (official leader; Larry Narcus report-ing) 14 vehicles. Very good run. The Bond family ran the post office. Erosion is making the buildings disap-pear.

Run Announcements

See “Upcoming Events” on Page 2.

Land use Donation

$183.29 was raised this month! Good job, everyone!

Raffle

Raised $53

FireStik antenna—Jan Fetherman

Hazard light—Kevin Kennedy, Bob Hval, June Leslie

Work light—Dean Nelson

Battery tray (grand prize) - June Nelson


2015 Year-To-Date Participation Points – by Miles Weigold Your Tucson Rough Riders Board of Directors voted to track member participation in club events begin-ning 2014. The objective is to recognize those with the highest point totals for the previous year. Points are awarded as follows: - meeting attendance 1 point - run participation 1 point - run leader 1 point As of 4/26/2015 we have had 19 runs in which 161 members and 106 guests have participated, totaling 267 participants. Plans are to track # of vehicles on each run going forward. If you believe you were not given credit for participation in a run or a meeting, send an email with details to [email protected]. Hope to see you on the trails! 2015 Year to date points as of the 4/25 Tortolita Pass run are:

Participation Report

Lname Fname Meetings Runs Run Lead Total Naylor Tim 3 10 4 17

Narcus Larry 3 11 1 15

Leslie Malcolm 2 10 2 14

Richardson Chris 3 9 0 12

Tetreault Rheal 3 4 4 11

Sacio Andres 2 7 1 10

Siskind Paul 3 7 0 10

Archer Steven 2 7 0 9

Cristia Robert 3 6 0 9

Fetherman Stan 3 4 1 8

O'Campo Leo 2 6 0 8

Yovanov Michael 2 4 2 8

Collins Mike 3 4 0 7

Greven Erwin 3 4 0 7

Weigold Miles 3 4 0 7

David Phil 3 3 0 6

Hval Bob 3 2 1 6

Knuckles Ben 1 4 1 6

Nezelek Vaughn 2 4 0 6

Harford Brad 1 4 0 5

Kennedy Kevin 3 2 0 5

Larabee Constance 3 2 0 5

Di Maria Mike 1 3 0 4

King Loren 1 3 0 4

Peterson Dave 3 1 0 4

Pitts Mike 2 2 0 4

Ulrich Bill 1 3 0 4

Antle/Tetreault Becky 2 1 0 3

Farley Scott 0 3 0 3

Hockwitt Mel 2 1 0 3

Long Bill 1 2 0 3

Ratzlaff Bill 1 2 0 3

Rinehart Parks 0 2 1 3

Williams Mike 1 2 0 3

Ambler Tom 2 0 0 2

Bunch David 0 2 0 2

Cameron Scotty 2 0 0 2

mailto:[email protected]


Participation Report (Cont’d.)

Lname Fname Meetings Runs Run Lead Total Conrow Sherman 1 1 0 2

Cugini Greg 0 2 0 2

Di Maria Brandon 2 0 0 2

Drenten Lon 2 0 0 2

Eve Rick 1 1 0 2

Fabiano Gary 0 2 0 2

Finstad Paul 2 0 0 2

Fitzgerald Kevin 0 2 0 2

Harrison Rick 2 0 0 2

Hill John 0 1 1 2

Levine Larry 0 2 0 2

Nepsa Kimberly 0 2 0 2

Raya Mike 1 1 0 2

Stites James 1 1 0 2

Thacker Brian 1 1 0 2

Adams Brian 1 0 0 1

Fitzgerald JD 1 0 0 1

Whitlock Jim 1 0 0 1

Batorson Steve 0 0 0 0

Beyer Steve 0 0 0 0

Bockwaldt Walter 0 0 0 0

Dean Mike 0 0 0 0

Ford Jeremy 0 0 0 0

Frankenfeld Fred 0 0 0 0

Franzen Norman 0 0 0 0

Johnson Bob 0 0 0 0

Purscelley Howard 0 0 0 0

Stinson Bryan 0 0 0 0

Wells Charles 0 0 0 0

Zimmerman Scott 0 0 0 0


Gardner Canyon (Apr 4) [Editor’s note: The audio portion of this report was totally garbled, unintelligible, or otherwise unusa-ble—in other words, I didn’t get a run write-up. Please enjoy the photos.]

Lots of vehicles A bird in the woods

Water, water everywhere! People and a building

More people, another building They found a hole!

Run Report(s)


Bull Springs Trail (Apr 11) Fourteen vehicles, with 11 Tucson Rough Riders members and 8 guests, left the McDonald's in Sa-huarita for the Bull Springs trailhead off of I-19. The day was bright and sunny and the weather the whole day did not disappoint. We exited I-19 and headed for Elephant Hills Road, the trailhead. The group then proceeded to explore several mines in the area. A few brave souls ventured into the mines when possible for a little more exploring. The views on this trail in several areas are really stunning, especially to the west, with the group being able to see well past Arivaca. We then arrived at the ruins of the old post office/general store/homestead on the south end of the trail. Time is taking its toll on the old adobe structure due to rain/wind erosion and I only hope it is around for many more years for others to enjoy. We had lunch at this location and were treated to a short lecture by Erwin Greven about the ruins and the inhabitants of the past era. Thank you Erwin. We then proceeded to go south toward Patagonia (about 7-8 miles) to air up and head home. A great day was had by all; the trail and group participants were very enjoyable indeed. Thanks to Ben Knuck-les for leading the run and Stan Fetherman for watching out for lost souls as Tail-gunner. I must add that the trail has seen some side erosion and is a bit "rockier" than last year, but is still a fairly easy trail, requiring 4 wheel drive high only on a few uphills.

Run Report(s)


Music in the Cottonwoods (Apr 17) We met at Basha's in Catalina at 7:00 Signed in and visited. Ten people, five vehicles drove down to the cottonwoods on Sutherland Wash, set up chairs, got the campfire going, and settled in for an evening of good company and good music. Mark William entertained us for about 2 hours with songs and stories. We all had a great time and packed up, put out the fire and headed home about 10:00. Thanks to everyone for coming out. Bob [Editor’s note: I couldn’t find any photos posted anywhere, but Brad Harford shared a video with the Tucson Rough Riders group on Facebook. This is a direct link, but I don’t know whether it will work here. If not, feel free to copy/paste into your browser. https://www.facebook.com/wbharford/videos/o.412915712215692/10205032399664712/?type=2&theater]

Run Report(s)


Rice Peak Work Run (Apr 19) We started the day with 13 vehicles. There were 7 from the TRR and 6 vehicles joined us from the Tuc-son Jeep Club. They are an internet club. They approached Kevin about leading a run to Rice Peak and he talked them into joining us on our work run. The first stop was at the mine. The group checked out the horizontal shafts. The air coming from the shaft was nice and cool. The first one had water all the way across the entrance. Still a little run off from the rains. After that we worked our way up to our work location. I had noticed this rather large hole on the last work run. The water had started creating a big hole and it had worked up to the edge of the road. Instead of starting across the road the water then headed north along the edge of the road. The hole was a good 10-12 feet long, was about 4 feet wide at the widest and about 4 feet deep where it went off the edge. It quickly dropped from there. I decided we should put 2 fences in. The first was the fence where the water went off the edge. While the fencing was put in and anchored, the rest of the group started moving rock into the hole. It often seems that we are driving on a lot of loose rocks until you get to the work area and then you can’t find much in the way of rocks to fill the washouts. Things were better this time. There was plenty of fill mate-rial close by. I want to thank Mike Di Maria for bringing a wheelbarrow and some buckets to help move the rock. By the time the first fence was done, the hole was well on the way to being filled up. I moved over to installing the second fence just below the first fence. Hopefully, it will keep the first fence from being undercut. When we were done, about 85% of the hole had been filled. We will let Mother Nature work on it and then we might add some more material if needed. I noticed several other washouts that will require our attention on upcoming runs. Miles had things to do and left after the work was done. The rest of the group worked our way up the hill to the top. At the turnoff for the top 4 of the vehicles decided to wait at the intersection. The rest made the peak with only minor difficulty. We enjoyed the views from the top, then worked our way down and out to the Control Road. Most of the group went up the Control Road and down the Mt Lemmon High-way. A few of us returned to Oracle. Overall it was a great day on the trail with a good group of people. I want to thank everyone who came and helped out with work. The trail work we do is very important to keep these trails open. While the For-est Service might eventually repair the road, it could be some time before they have money to make the repairs. I also want to give special thanks to the Tucson Jeep Club members who came out. It was probably not what they expected for a 4 wheel drive run, having to pick up and move a ton of rocks. Thanks for the help. It was nice meeting you. See ya on the trail. Rheal

Run Report(s)


Rice Peak Work Run (Apr 19) (Cont’d.)

Run Report(s)


Tortolita Pass Trail (Apr 25) We met at Basha’s in Catalina at 8:30, had a short drivers meeting and left about 9:00. We had a beauti-ful day with temps around 75-80 degrees and a slight breeze. We had a great showing with 25 vehicles, all well equipped for the trail. We enjoyed having 8 guests; thanks for joining us! It was also very nice to see quite a few ladies and some, if I may say so, well behaved children come along. Thanks, ladies, for the company! We stopped early on at the challenge hill—thanks to Tim Naylor for leading the way up the hill for several takers. We arrived at the well for lunch about noon. It’s in a nice canyon with lots of trees and plenty of shade. After about an hour of eating and sharing our “GPS stuff,” we headed out to travel the roughest end of the trail. We did have to spot a few through one area, no problems really, thanks to those who helped spot. We only had one mishap: a blown tire on a sharp rock. It was changed quickly and we were on our way. We arrived in Marana around 2:00, aired up, and traveled home. Thanks to all who helped me! It’s not as easy with a large group. I especially want to thank my tail gunner Robert, with his brand new Jeep, for keeping me in touch and closing the gate, and also for some great pics he sent

me. Thanks Rob, fine job! I think we all had a great day! Let’s do it again!! -- Stan

Run Report(s)


Trail Ratings by Tim Naylor

Trail ratings are used to inform you about what to expect before you start on a trail. Over time, different clubs and organizations have created different systems. Most of them use the basic 2 to 5 rating system. A few are using a 1 to 10 system. There isn't much difference between a 2 to 5 system and a 1 to 10 system because the 2 to 5 system uses ½ increments in its descriptions, such as 3½ and 4.5. The rating is usually made based on the most difficult obstacle on the trail that does not have a bypass. Sometimes the rating will come with a - or + or a ++. The plus and minus signs usually are just added for emphasis. The + and - lose their meaning in this case. Why not just give the trail a higher rating? One case I saw a trail rated 5+++. This was because there is no 6 in the rating system they used. Use of the + and - made more sense in one of the rating systems I saw; the plus and minus signs were used to give an idea of just how many of the most difficult obstacles there were on the trail. For instance, in the past, we have rated Charouleau Gap a 4.5. Using the plus and minus signs, we would rate it a 4.5 -, because the Step is the only 4.5 obstacle on the trail. Highway to Hell, on the other hand, would be rated a 4.5 +, or a 5 + because there are about 6 really hard obstacles on that trail. A 5 rating means that there is a good chance that a winch will be required. Using the - & + signs in this way has never caught on, but it is a good idea. Today we rate Charouleau Gap as a 3.5 because there is a bypass around the Step. Some clubs have quit using numbering systems altogether. Instead, they use terms like easy, moder-ate, hard, very hard, difficult, and extreme. These terms help give some sense of what to expect on the trail but they are very subjective and tend to lose their meaning. As an example, one trail rating descrip-tion labeled as "extreme" shows a picture of a stockish-looking Jeep about to drive over some moderate-size river rocks. Another uses "extreme" to indicate the trail is for rock buggies only. Both the Parker 4 Wheelers and the Lake Havasu clubs used that kind of system at events I have attended. Parker does not have their rating system posted on their site. To see the Havasu rating system requires a member’s password. A good trail rating description page should be accompanied by a list of suggested vehicle upgrades: tires, lockers, winches etc. Some of the websites show a picture (or pictures) of trails that match how they rate it. I like that a lot. (See the Bullhead City and Yuma sites). I intend to steal – I mean adapt – this idea for our website in the future. Over the last few years, the trails have gotten harder and the rigs are more capable and tougher and the typical old rating system just doesn't fit the need for this "extreme" or "technical" category. There is no official term that I know of to describe this new breed. “Rock Buggy” is the term most often used. A typi-cal rock buggy will have a Dana 60 front and GM 14 bolt rear axle (both of which are normally found un-der 1-ton trucks), full hydraulic steering, no real body (but all custom-built tubing), 40- to 48-inch tires, an Atlas or similar transfer case, and driveshafts that normally reside in one-ton trucks. I have not seen a formal graduated trail rating system for rock buggies. It's all just "extreme" or "technical" when describing those trails. At the annual Havasu 4 Wheelers run in 2011, the signup sheets said "Most Difficult" in de-scribing the rock buggy trails. There are some trails in the Mammoth, AZ area near Tucson I would rate as rock buggy trails: Seven Sisters, Portal to Hell, and Last Crusade. If you want to see what I would call “Extreme” trails, go to the Picture Gallery on our website and click the link for Tim Naylor’s picture al-bums. Look at 7 Sisters (Feb 17, 2013), Hard Core at Mammoth AZ (undated), Las Crucus [sic] New Mexico (undated) and Bad Medicine (Nov 2005). Check the "FunTreks" link (Tucson Rough Riders -> Trail Boss News [center of the page] -> Trail Rat-ings -> Funtreks) on the website to see a set of symbols associated with the trail ratings. A green circle is for easy, a blue square is for moderate, and a red diamond is for difficult. Using these symbols for trail ratings comes from ski trail signs, although most of the ski trails use a black diamond for hard and a double black diamond for very hard. On a ski trail, signs with these symbols can save your life. If you

Articles of Interest


start to head down a trail and see a black diamond sign posted there, you better stop and think about where you are going. I think using these symbols to relate to Jeep trail ratings is a good idea. We have been using them on trail documents and signs for Trail Dust Days for several years. Using these simple symbols representing Easy, Medium, and Hard is very subjective, though; think of them in the context of the trails we are used to on our club runs. For links to the Trail Ratings samples mentioned in this article, go to the home page on our website. In the “Trail Boss News” box, check “more” and the link to “Trail Ratings” is there. (Forgive me the sloppi-ness of this page on the website. It has spelling errors and outdated information. I will update it soon.)



We Were All Beginners Once… by Becky Antle I am glad to see that we have so many new people interested in the Rough Riders. It is great to share old and new trails with people who have never been on them before. It makes those of us who have done these trails look at them a little differently. But we all need to remember: just because you have done a trail more than once and are comfortable with it does not mean that everyone is. Some people may have just gotten a new vehicle or done some upgrades, and they’re not sure how it handles. Or maybe they want to be careful getting that first Arizona pin striping. There are many reasons that people might not be as confident as others. Everyone sees the trails differently. Those of us who have a lot of experience and/or all of the equipment don’t see any difficultly on any trail; the more difficult it is, the more we are challenged. But not everyone is like that. What you see as easy might really be a little intimidating to others, or maybe they are not sure what line should be taken on an obstacle. The vehicle in front of them may be well set up and they try to drive the same line and find that it doesn’t work for them. Everyone needs a little reassurance once in a while. Let’s be the people who can hand that out easily. I am sure you can all remember the first time you did a difficult obstacle. Mine cost me $500. That is be-cause I put in a locker so I could make that obstacle the next time. [Editor’s note: Experience doesn’t always cost money. I remember very well the trail where I learned to air down!] We have all been there. Now it is time to share what we have learned with those who are just starting out. We need to help build each other’s confidence.

EXPERIENCE BUILDS CONFIDENCE; CONFIDENCE BUILDS EXPERIENCE



CB Radio Antennas by Chris Richardson This safety report is on Citizens Band (CB) radio antennas. There are several types of antennas used for CB radios. These antennas use the metal of the vehicle as a ground plane. The ground plane is what makes the signal from the antenna radiate out in a pattern. Where the antenna is mounted will make a difference in the direction of the strongest antenna signal. In order to get the best signal into and out of your radio you need to set the standing wave ratio, known as SWR. SWR is actually a measurement of how much of the available power from the radio is passing through the antenna and coax cable. The lower the number is, the better the transfer of power is. Any SWR below three is acceptable but lower is better. Any reading at three or higher will interfere with the radio transmitting and could damage the electronics in the radio. Magnetic mount antennas work generally well. Remove the antenna periodically and clean the grime from the mounting base and the mounting point. Fiberglass antennas are the most common on our vehicles but there are also metal antennas. The an-tennas need enough wire to make them equal a certain length of the signal wave length. For our fre-quency the wave length is 436 inches long. So a steel whip antenna that is 109 inches is referred to as a one-quarter wave length. Most antennas are made for five-eighths wave length, for a wire length of 272 inches. In order to put this much wire onto an antenna the wire is wound in a tight group somewhere along the antenna’s length. This tightly-wound area is referred to as the "load." There are three types of loads. One is base load where the most wire is coiled at the base. The second is the center load and the last is the top load. The top load antenna is more efficient than the center or base load. To get the best performance, the antenna should be mounted so that at least two thirds of the antenna is above the vehicle. It does not matter if the antenna is a short two foot or a long five foot. The antenna also must have a good ground to the vehicle. The coax cable should be in good condition with no coils or loops. The preferred length of the cable is said to be eighteen feet, although shorter cables (still in multiples of three feet – like 9 or 12 feet) seem to work as well as the full 18-foot cable. The two best known brands of antennas are FireStik and Wilson. I got this information from FireStik on their website. Adding or deleting anything in the coax or antenna will change the SWR. A spring, a rubber tip or tennis ball or most anything. Please visit the FireStik website to learn a lot more on this subject. www.firestik.com Chris


http://www.firestik.com


Board of Directors

President

Kevin Kennedy [email protected]

Vice President

Chris Richardson [email protected]

Treasurer

Malcolm Leslie [email protected]

Secretary

Lon Drenten [email protected]

ASA4WD Delegate

Becky Antle [email protected]

ASA4WD Delegate

Rheal Tetreault [email protected]

Non-BoD Positions

Editor

Dave Peterson [email protected]

Historian

Tim Naylor [email protected]

Membership Tim Naylor

[email protected]

Editor’s Corner

I don’t have any earth-shatteringly good wisdom to impart to you this month, so I’ll give you some mundane stuff.

First, thank you to Tim, Chris, and Becky for their “Articles of Interest.” I’m always happy to have club members help me do my job (even if, as with Chris, I have to ask!). It means I have to make up—er, write—less stuff.

Second, thank you to the run leaders! Your exploits are the best thing about the Rough Rider. Without them, this might be called the Tired Walker. Or Smooth Snoozer. So please continue to schedule runs (let’s make this year another rec-ord year for runs!) and please Please PLEASE send me a write-up afterward! (Remember, the deadline for everything you want in the Rough Rider is 11:59:59 PM on the Satur-day following the monthly meeting.)

Third, thank you to Kevin Fitzgerald, who seems to be han-dling Trail Dust Days all by his lonesome (at least for now). TDD is our big fun– AND fund-raiser, so if Kevin asks for your help, please give him your best.

Finally, thank you to the BoD (<- over there) and the non-BOD volunteers (Tim, Miles, etc.) - without your efforts to keep the club running, we’d be kaput.

The JeepMonster is progressing. Yes, that’s going to be its official name; I may even have it painted on the sides of the hood. And it’ll be registered as a 1957 CJ-6. I decided to make it a –6 because the registration for the tub/frame I bought is already valid, whereas I let the registration on my CJ-5 lapse about, oh, 10 years ago. Plus, it continues my pattern of going older every time I get a “new” CJ. Here’s a picture from the work done last Saturday.

You can follow its progress at “From The Ground Up” (https://gonzodave001.wordpress.com/).

Club Officers Editor’s Corner

Documents

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