South Beach, OR - TT

Thursday - I tried the Mobilink TNC with the dual-band Anytone radio since I noticed that there was an RMS on VHF only a mile from the RV park. I was able to make a connection and retrieve the messages, but was unable to make a connection later on in the day. I probably need to connect a better antenna. The upper frequency limit of the JPC-12 6m so I would need to dig out a different antenna.

Friday - There was a morning test session today (he passed!), and I set up the HF antenna again to fetch my Winmail again, as I was expecting the confirmation email from Winlink Wednesday. It worked on 40m through the RMS in eastern OR. I tried the Mobilink and Anytone to the local VHF station at the airport, and it worked great. I’m not sure what the issue was yesterday, as the station is only a mile or two away. I may try that for the next Winlink Wednesday. I also tried it in the evening. If the antenna was in the window, it was able to make a connection.

A rear marker light that I thought was dead turned out to be intermittent. I cleaned the connector, and now it seems to work. I couldn't find anything wrong with the wiring and the light is a sealed unit.

Sunday - We walked to the beach and it was almost deserted. It was also windy and kind of cold. We didn’t stay long. 

I tried the VHF RMS station from outside the RV and got connected almost immediately. I will definitely be trying that for Winlink Wednesday this week. Though, I still plan to leave the 40m antenna set up as a backup. 

Centralia, WA and Newport, OR

Sunday - I packed up the ham radio gear as tomorrow is a travel day. Otherwise, it was a quiet day,

Monday - A modest travel day to the Oregon coast. The gps routed us through Corvallis to Newport, OR. The weather app calls this location South Beach but it’s only a couple miles south of Newport. It is much cooler, which feels nice.

Tuesday - I drove back to Corvallis to pick up an Amazon package. One of the taillights on the RV has a bunch of dead leds. Plus, one of the led marker lights has burned out. Both are easy fixes. 

I set up the JPC-12 antenna to try Winlink on 40m. I was amazed how well it worked even with all of the trees.

Wednesday - After the morning test session, we went into the touristy part of Newport to look around and find some seafood for lunch. I had some local oysters. Can’t say that they were the best I’ve had but not bad. 

I replaced both taillights on the class C and the Amazon replacements were easily swapped in. No wiring sheet but it was pretty easy to guess the right colors. The rear marker lights are red and I had ordered amber. I’m not going to return them as they are identical to the installed marker lights. 

Day 28 - 29 - Mt Vernon, WA

Friday - We drove north to Mt Vernon this afternoon with Dave and Ginny to go to the Seder-Woolley PRCA Rodeo where their daughter was singing the national anthem. There was quite a bit of traffic after going through Seattle. 

I haven’t been to a rodeo in quite a while. There was a lot of pageantry and celebration of the semiquincentennial (I think that’s the correct term). It wasn’t a huge rodeo but did have all of the standard events. 

I only took s handful of pictures as we weren’t really close to the action. But, it was entertaining. 

Saturday - It was a quiet, uneventful drive back to Centralia. Unlike yesterday, there was light traffic through Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. I guess people are where they want to be for the Fourth of July.

We made a chicken paella for dinner. Dave is a master with plenty of experience. Chicken thighs, peppers, cauliflower, tomatoes, green beans, and lots of garlic. 

Day 25 - 27 - Corvallis, OR to Centralia, WA

Tuesday - Another cool-ish day with a high in the mid-60s (°F). We spent most of the day visiting with family before getting ready to head out tomorrow. 

Wednesday - We headed out around 10 after filling the propane tank and adding some air to the tires to compensate for the cooler temperatures. It was hectic, as always, going through Portland. Fortunately, it was a short-ish drive day to Centralia, WA. We will be here through the holiday weekend at a friend’s home.

Thursday - This morning, I searched for a lab to do a blood test and send the results back to the clinic in TX. There was one about ten miles south and it was quickly and easily taken care of. 

I set up the JPC-12 antenna to fetch my Winlink mail just to make sure my message was received within the time constraints. It was and I now have seven logged. The initial goal is one hundred. I also quickly checked for any FT8 traffic on 40m but there was none. 

I finally finished a minor RV project. The TPMS system needs a repeater to reach the sensors on the Jeep. I mounted the repeater above the status panel and a latching, lighted switch (blue light) on the panel.