Baker To Vegas Relay Race This Weekend Reminder

[NYECOGunsmith]

Just a reminder that the 28th annual Baker To Vegas Relay Race for charity will be taking place this weekend, Saturday April 21 and Sunday April 22.

The race starts at 0800 on Saturday out in Baker, CA at the high school and runs up CA 127 to the NV state line, then on down NV 372 into Pahrump, then onto NV 160 into Vegas.

So if you are coming this way, or going that way during these times, be prepared for slow traffic and watch out for the runners and the chase vehicles.

We are expecting somewhere between 250 and 300 teams to compete in this year's race so there will be somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 people following that route during the race and also coming and going over it the two days before the race and for a day or so afterwards.

If any of you want to participate and help out with the race, you are welcome to visit Stage 12, my stage, during the race.

The stage will be manned from approximately 1500 hours Saturday, 21 April, until around 0300 Sunday, 22 April.

I'm the stage lead HAM operator, and I will be easy to spot as I will be the big ugly guy running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to be everywhere and do everything at once.

Stage 12 is located at the intersection of Highway 160 and Dandelion Street, on the Eastern Edge of Pahrump as you are coming into town from Vegas.
Out near the Lewis Crane and Equipment Company for those of you who look for landmarks.

If you stop by, look for the white H1 HUMMER 4 Door Wagon, I will be somewhere near it most likely.

[bplv]

What frequency will you be on?

[NYECOGunsmith]

Originally Posted by bplv

What frequency will you be on?

Hi Brian.

Dedicated simplex frequency for my stage's 1 mile early warning communications, and a private linked repeater net for the race net control.

All top secret, if I tell you, you have to either work the race or kill yourself.
The latter option might be less painful! Gonna be a long night out in the desert.

We don't publish the frequencies because the few times that we did, we always had some HAM calling in on them asking what the heck was going on, and when told, they keep chattering instead of relinquishing the frequency back to the race as good radio manners dictate.

The early warning simplex frequency is used by two guys sitting one mile from the point where the baton gets passed.

As each runner passes them, they use that "unique to the stage" frequency to radio to two more guys sitting at the stage that runner number XXX has just passed the one mile out point.
They also write down the time and runner number for later use by the race officials.

Each stage gets three unique frequencies for the early warning comms, one in the 2 meter band, one in the 1.25 meter band, and one in the 70 CM band, the latter two are backups in case there is interference on the 2 meter frequency.

Those two guys sitting at the stage itself record the time that this message is received, and the runner number, and then using a PA system let the crowd know that team XXX's runner is one mile away, so that the next Team XXX runner can be ready in the hand off chute to receive the baton.

The baton has an RFID chip in it, and when it gets passed to the next runner in the chute, a machine records the ID number , which is assigned to the team, and the time it passed over the chute.
A pair of humans sitting there also record on paper the time and the runner number.

Another pair of humans sitting back about 20 feet also record the time and the runner numbers.

With all this time recording, the race can figure out who won, even if some discrepancies appear, or a stage's records get lost, etc.

The Net Control Frequency just gets used to report to the Race HQ in Vegas that the stage is open for business, the time and number of the first runner to pass through the stage, the time and number of the last runner to pass through the stage, and when the stage shuts down, and that's about it unless there is an emergency and we need an ambulance at the stage.

We have a pair of paramedics and usually a pair of nurses as well at each stage, but sometimes we have a heart attack, broken leg, etc. and need the ambulance, or a medevac flight, and all that traffic has to flow through net control.

This year they are making use of a private cross band repeater with D-Star technology, so I doubt you'd be able to hear it from Vegas unless you have the D-Star system available to you.

I know you won't be able to hear the simplex frequency, as we will have it dialed down to only 100 milliwatts on the handi talkies we use for that communications on both ends.

[crazynova]

It's a cool event to see. I drove follow vehicle for a team two years ago. Longest drive from Pahrump ever, but it was fun.