[pct-l] FW: Emailing: ARRLWeb ARRL NEWS Montana Ham Assists in Rescue of Fellow Amateur 600 Miles Away

Thu Sep 25 02:45:14 CDT 2008

ARRLWeb: ARRL NEWS: Montana Ham Assists in Rescue of Fellow Amateur 600
Miles AwayHere is some data on the rescue.
Bob N5EW

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         Previous: Third Annual ARRL On-Line Auction Set for October
Next: Wireless History on East McCarty Street

  Montana Ham Assists in Rescue of Fellow Amateur 600 Miles Away

  Glenn Russell Ruby Jr, W7AU, of Corvallis, Oregon, broke his leg while
hiking in the Buck Creek Pass area of the Cascade Mountains. His call for
assistance was heard 600 miles away by Bob Williams, N7ODM, of Bozeman,
Montana. On Sunday, September 21, Bob Williams, N7ODM, of Bozeman, Montana,
was just tuning around on 40 meters, giving his rig a test just before a
scheduled QSO with his brother Rich, K7URU, in Spokane, when he heard a
faint CW signal around 1 PM (MDT): Glenn Russell Ruby Jr, W7AU, of
Corvallis, Oregon had broken his leg and was using a portable radio and
Morse code to send out a call for help. Williams said he was able to
understand the injured man's code even when his signal became very weak.

  "He called me. He must have heard me testing out the radio. When I
finished, I signed off with my call, and then I heard, 'N7ODM, this is
W7AU/7,' so I answered," Williams told the ARRL. "I told him to go ahead, I
had solid copy. He told me that he was a hiker that had fallen and broken
his leg. He identified himself as Russ, provided information as to his GPS
coordinates, the shelter, food and water on hand, as well as his detailed
physical condition. He told me exactly who I needed to contact for
assistance."

  According to Williams, Ruby had slipped on a wet rock and broken his leg
while out hiking in the Buck Creek Pass area of the high Cascades in Western
Washington, 600 miles away from Williams. "Russ really had his act
together," Williams said. "Before he even called for help, he set up his
tent. It was raining when he fell, so he climbed into his tent and got into
some warm clothes and had a snack of sunflower seeds and dried apricots.
After that, he strung up a wire antenna, fired up his Elecraft K1 and called
me." Williams said that Ruby told him he had a "couple of weeks worth of
battery power" for the radio.

  Ruby asked Williams to notify the Snohomish County Search and Rescue in
Washington State. "I didn't have their number, so I called my local 911
dispatcher. All they had was the info for King County in Washington, so I
called them and they gave me the number for Snohomish. When I got a hold of
Snohomish County Search and Rescue, they asked me to obtain additional info
from Russ, such as the color of his tent and if he was in a clear or wooded
area, and remain in contact with him as long as possible," Williams said.

  "Russ and I were able to maintain contact until about 8 PM on Sunday,
during which time I was able to pass additional traffic between Russ and
Search and Rescue, but then his signal got so weak where I couldn't copy it
anymore. Before he faded, we had agreed to try and make contact in the
morning. I tried, starting around 6:30, but he never heard me. I finally
heard him calling me around 9 on 7.051 MHz. We kept in contact until he was
evacuated from the site by Search and Rescue at about 10:35 AM," Williams
told the ARRL.

  On Sunday, rescue crews reached Ruby, who had set up camp on Buck Creek
Pass, at about 6000 feet just west of the Chelan County line. He was taken
to safety Monday on horseback. Williams said that bad weather Sunday
prevented a helicopter rescue: "It was snowing all night; Russ told me that
when he woke up Monday morning, his tent was all covered in snow."

  "I just happened to be at the same frequency," Williams said. "It's just a
stroke of luck that turned out great. It was quite an experience. I'm just
glad that he was a ham radio operator and that I was able to talk to him. It
made the difference for him. What I did was not anything special. I'd like
to think that any ham in Montana would've done the same thing."

         Previous: Third Annual ARRL On-Line Auction Set for October
Next: Wireless History on East McCarty Street

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Page last modified: 11:26 AM, 23 Sep 2008 ET
Page author: awextra at arrl.org
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