Issue 2024-21

18208 Preston Road, Ste D9-552
Dallas TX 75252

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Whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.

Read this newsletter in PDF format for greatest clarity.

We made it! Can you believe it? I couldn’t, for a few days, but I’m happy to be writing this in a mood of hope. Our country seems to be pulling itself together again. No, the “bad guys” aren’t gone (they’re spewing nastiness to each other over on BlueSky, the pedo/LGBT Lefty social app). We all know that the fight for Middle Earth is not over, but we’ve had a bit of a reprieve to draw a long breath. Stay vigilant, fellow CORAC’ers, but don’t forget that this year, we have MUCH to be thankful for!

Opinions expressed in this newsletter, unless otherwise attributed, are my own.

Sheryl Collmer, editor
November 18, 2024
sherylc@coracusa.com

From the cockpit of the Subaru

CORAC founder Charlie Johnston travels from coast to coast in his trusty Outback to speak in person to those now weathering the Storm.

A SIGN OF HOPE

Steady On…

I spent much of last week euphoric and feeling that a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. more >

CHARLIE’S BRIEF

A Mere Dime

Some thoughts post election, the importance of not getting rattled as more dramatic challenges and disasters come... more >

NEWS

Was the Synod As Bad As We Feared?

Bishop Strickland was alarmed enough to issue a particularly pointed letter to… more >

J6 May Finally
Be Resolved

There are more and more calls for the truth to be told about January 6… more >

Media Blackout

What the media won’t tell us… more >

The Turning Begins

The endless Synod on Synodality has finally closed shop with the conclusion that what we all need is more synodality – without ever having given much of an explanation of what synodality is or is supposed to be.

The “spirit” of Vatican II was the old tire that kept ecclesiastical abuses rolling ever since the 60’s (even though nothing I ever saw justified by that “spirit” even resembled any of the actual documents from the Council.) But that tire had gone bald and then flat, wasn’t getting any traction anymore, so “progressive” clerics had to have something to keep those abuses inflated and rolling. Voila! We have synodality – a vague, hazy concept that can be formed and shaped to justify just about any abuse a conniving clerisy wants.

We have drifted quite far from the shore of the teaching of Jesus Christ, His Apostles, and the Fathers of the Church. But hey, the corruptocrats in the clerisy are having themselves a grand, old time rebuking the Master. Pope Francis, the chief of the clerical vandals, claimed that synodality would devolve power away from a centralized Vatican and empower regional communities. Strange thing…Pope Francis always talks about sharing power, listening, and accompanying people where they are, but his actions tell a different story. He has been the most dictatorial Pope of my lifetime, imperiously trampling all canons and safeguards to impose his will on the faithful whether they want it or not.

He has tried to wipe out the traditional Latin Mass, despite the love so many have for it – and over the objections of a great mass of faithful and Bishops. He didn’t touch on THAT in the synods. Wouldn’t get the answer he wanted. At the end of this month, Latin Masses in Tyler, Texas – a notable home of doctrinally orthodox faithful – will come to an end in the Cathedral. Coincidentally, just about a week ago the Vatican approved the ersatz Mayan rite in parts of Mexico. The Vatican asserts that that is what the faithful in Mexico want…so synodality says it must be given. As for what the faithful in Tyler want, they can get bent. Synodality does NOT apply to orthodox believers in Christ, Scripture, or the actual Magisterium.

Canon Law says the Pope cannot remove a Bishop without a solid, canonical reason. That is because the Dioceses of the world are NOT branch offices of the Vatican. They are independent sees, united in fidelity to the same Christ, the same Scripture, and the same Magisterium. The Bishop of each is the independent head of his Diocese, who cannot be removed except for cause. Just a year ago, Pope Francis illegally removed Joseph Strickland as Bishop of Tyler, Texas without citing any cause, as is required. At first I thought it an error. But then I came to believe the Pope did it illegally on purpose – to send a message to the rest of the American Bishops that he would not be bound by law, truth, or justice in dealing with Bishops who sparked his ire. Quite frankly, if Canon Law and the Magisterium mean anything, Strickland is still Bishop of Tyler. Synodally, whatever Francis wants, Francis gets. A cynical, Chicago political fixer could learn a few things from this Vatican.

To paraphrase Gandalf the White, a great storm is coming in the Church, but the tide has turned. The people of the world are tired of being abused – and incensed that the worst abusers claim to be committing their offenses in those very peoples’ names. To abuse is one thing: to rub our nose in the abuse and claim that we were the authors of it is an infuriating outrage. Those clerics – in and out of the Vatican – who seek to topple Christ from His throne, have badly misjudged the situation.

Our own Sheryl Collmer, editor of this newsletter, penned a stark cri de coeur in Crisis Magazine on the subject. Then, last week, like St. Boniface chopping down the pagan sacred oak tree, Bishop Joseph Strickland took an axe to the dictatorial synodality too many of our Bishops have tried to stay clear of rather than push back on. Just as the woke American left thought this election would clear the way for them to consolidate their authoritarian power forever, so the clerical vandals thought they could topple Christ from His throne and take over His vineyard permanently with their gambit of synodality. Already the process of turning both into so much wrecked flotsam and jetsam floating on a sea of orthodoxy and truth has begun.

The battle awaits – but the tide has turned.

If communication goes out for any length of time, meet outside your local Church at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings. Tell friends at Church now, in case you can’t then. CORAC teams will be out looking for people to gather in and work with.

Charlie’s Latest Blogs

Steady On…

Steady On…

2024-11-11

Tyler, Texas – Well, I killed another computer going into the end of...

Insurrect This!

Insurrect This!

2024-10-26

Canterbury, New Hampshire – I am a fan of Harry Bosch, the tough,...

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2024-11-13

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NEWS

Was the Synod As Bad As We Feared?

Read this thoughtful analysis >

Bishop Strickland was alarmed enough to issue a particularly pointed letter to the Synod participants before the session began.

…and another letter to the American bishops after the Synod had concluded.

Bishop Strickland reading the letter outside the USCCB annual meeting in Baltimore last week.

It’s hard to know where to take this. The very person who is meant to guard apostolic authority has jettisoned it. What now? We can’t vote out bad prelates the way we can bad government. I daresay God will show us what we must do, but for now, it’s a bit murky.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider responded to the issue of obedience here >

Ongoing War on the Latin Mass

Tyler, Texas is the latest diocese to fall under the Vatican pressure to close down the Traditional Latin Mass. Even Novus Ordo Catholics are dismayed at what looks like persecution, especially after the faceslap of a “Mayan Rite” Mass being approved.

My take on the injustice in Tyler >

Cardinal Robert Sarah had this to say: “Banning or suspending the Extraordinary Form can only be inspired by the devil. I am of the opinion of Benedict XVI: what was holy and sacred yesterday cannot be condemned to disappear today. What harm does the Traditional Mass cause? What harm?”

J6 May Finally Be Resolved

There are more and more calls for the truth to be told about January 6, 2021 and for the victims of the ambush to be pardoned and released. One thing we can all do is sing the Star-Spangled Banner at 9:00 Eastern every evening, in solidarity with the J6ers in the Gulag. They’ve been singing at that hour from the very beginning, and their families caught on. Now it’s our turn!

Sing the National Anthem at 9:00 Eastern, video it, and post to social media with the hashtag #sing4freedom. It’s a show of support for the wrongfully imprisoned and their persecuted families.

#SING4FREEDOM

I frankly think that the whole rotten J6 story will come out once there are no more patriots left in captivity. Prepare to be shocked. The charges were made up, the judges were corrupt, the sentences unconscionably long. The conditions of their imprisonment have been unconstitutional, inhuman, and hopefully actionable. Some of them will never regain their health after years of cruel and unusual punishment, including isolation, starvation, beatings, withholding of religious services, chaplains and Bibles, black mold and raw sewage in the cells, and psychological abuse by guards. One man has been in prison now for nearly 4 years, and still hasn’t had a trial. (See Sixth Amendment). One man lost an eye. Several do not receive essential medical treatment for grave conditions.

Do you still wonder why it happened? On January 6, four years ago, something had to be done to shotgun the certification of an election that had raised many questions. Some Congressmen were planning to register their protests, but the “insurrection” closed it down, and forced a hasty vote. Once the media had most of the public convinced that the J6ers had committed a national terror event like Pearl Harbor or 9/11, no one was willing to speak up. Touching the J6 issue was political suicide.

Listen to Rep. Clay Higgins explain. This is one of the best things I’ve heard on the debacle of January 6.

We can now see that the fabled “81 million votes” in 2020 were way out of alignment with historical trends.

CORAC Radio Contest

The National Comms team has just concluded our first CORAC radio contest, with ham and non-ham divisions. There will be another contest in the new year.

The winners in the ham division were:

  • Chris Godfrey IN, the Radio Cowboy award for overall points
  • Deacon Rick MN, the St. Maximilian Kolbe Award for recruitment of new comms members
  • Gary Kizior IL for encouraging others to participate
  • Bill Kavner MI for digitally re-imaging St. Maximilian Kolbe
  • Greg Whittaker VA, for most contacts to the Liberty Center in Texas

The winners in the non-ham division were:

  • David Fisher TX, for making himself an expert in order to teach others
  • Steve Maas TX, for faithfully pushing forward the Tyler radio network

Did you know that Fr. Kolbe was a ham radio operator? His call sign was Sierra Papa Three Romeo November. He is the new patron of the Comms Team!

A digest of the daily emails for non-hams appears at the end of this newsletter, in the Appendix.

Predictions From CORAC Leaders

Our electoral prediction contest gave us the following insights that were, in fact, realized.

First Place, for being daring enough to declare for a landslide and accurately predicting the Lefty Meltdown

Kris from South Dakota: Trump in a landslide, and the left will lose their collective mind.

Second place, for correctly predicting the fall of the Blue Wall

Mick from Michigan: Trump wins by comfortable margin, 300+ electoral votes, including WI, MI, PA.

Third place, for accurate numerical specifics, at least before the cheating machine swung into gear

Ed from Texas: Trump wins in a manner too big to rig, up 5% in the popular vote, and 300+ electoral votes.

Operation Mountain of Hope

Please don’t forget the people of western North Carolina as the holidays approach. Many don’t have homes, and will not be able to stay in tents or temporary shelters once the mountain winter sets in. Disturbing reports of children being taken by CPS from families without permanent living situations are emerging, as well as rumors of bodies being left, bulldozed over or stacked in warehouses. As recently as last week, new bodies were discovered, the latest being a mother with four children in a vehicle buried by mud. There are also rumors of land being appropriated by quasi-governmental agencies from traumatized residents with no remaining resources. A nightmare is going on in Appalachia that the bloody media is never going to cover.

Watch General Mike Flynn’s summary of one relief effort > 

They need volunteers, if you can spare some time >

Samaritan’s Purse seems to be the best organized large-scale relief. Check them out here >

They also need volunteers. More info and registration here >

The Catholic Vote

As a body, we voted more in keeping with our faith in 2024 than in most of the recent past. What made Catholics “wake up” this time around? Read more >

Inside the Demonic World

This is a 3-hour interview of exorcist Fr. Dan Rehill with Shawn Ryan. I have not listened to it yet, but it has been recommended by people I trust. Watch video >

Martyrs Corner: Saint Stephen the New, Defender of Icons

Two Saint Stephens are celebrated in December. The more well-known, St. Stephen the proto-deacon is celebrated on December 26, and St. Stephen the iconophile (icon lover) is December 11. St. Stephen the New, more well-known in the Orthodox tradition, lived and died in the 8th century, before the East/West Schism, so he is “ours” as well as “theirs.”

Stephen was an opponent of the iconoclastic (icon breakers) movement which arose in Christendom after Mohammedans covered much of Europe. Islam forbids the use of images in art and worship. It resonated with some Christians, who began to destroy religious images in obedience to their conception of the first commandment.

Stephen lived as a hermit in the mountains at this time, in prayer and poverty. As followers flocked to him, he established monasteries, where icons were venerated as a central part of worship. Many miracles were attributed to Stephen, and he was highly regarded among his monks. The iconoclasts were determined to bring him down by false accusations, exile, imprisonment, and finally, execution. In 767, he was dragged across the city, his body cut into pieces and thrown into a pit.

Twenty years later, the Second Council of Nicea resolved the issue, proclaiming: As the sacred and life-giving cross is everywhere…a symbol, so also should the images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, the holy angels…those of the saints and other pious and holy men be embodied in the manufacture of sacred vessels, tapestries, vestments…and exhibited on the walls of churches, in the homes…to be revered by all who might see them.

When you pray gazing at a statue or icon to aid you, thank St. Stephen, the iconophile. It’s not just a matter of focusing devotion; the sacredness of images is an affirmation of the physical world and the sacrament of the body. St. Stephen the New is always pictured with an icon. Learn more >

PRAYER

November Prayer Intentions

  • That, after November 5, 2024, CORAC members move in the Holy Spirit with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22–23) ~ to be signs of hope for those around us.

  • That CORAC members continue to seek and speak Truth, thereby helping to free our culture from the long oppression of lies.

  • For finishing touches, production, and dissemination of CORAC’s manual: Revival: A Handbook and Manual for Building Functional Communities.

  • For safe travels for Charlie in his trusty Outback and for all who attend his gatherings as he spreads the message: Acknowledge God, Take the Next Right Step, and Be A Sign of Hope for Those Around You.

  • That many people be healed in body, mind, and spirit through the online Physical Healing Prayer Session via Zoom, on the last Wednesday of each month; and through many other healing prayer ministries in which CORAC members are engaged.

  • That CORAC members may strongly desire and find the means to participate in financial support for our vital ministries.

  • For all intentions carried in the hearts of CORAC members and those posted on the CORAC Prayer Hotline, with gratitude for prayers answered in our daily lives.

St. Gabriel, enlighten us.
St. Michael, defend us.
St. Raphael, protect us.
Ave Maria, Stella Maris!

CORAC WEBSITE

Do explore the website! It’s rich with helpful information. Start on the home page.

Home Page

Quick-Start

A Sign of Hope

Reveille

Chating With Charlie

Gear

Support

APPENDIX

Members have asked to have a reprint of the Radio Contest daily emails. Below are the emails as they were sent out daily.

Day One

Listen to NOAA weather channel on your radio.

  1. Find the frequency of NOAA for your area then find your closest station.
  2. If you have a shortwave receiver, it will have a WX button and tuning is simple. My Crane does its own scan and automatically tunes the proper frequency.
  3. For those with Midland handhelds, hold down the MENU/WX button for 5 seconds. The radio moves into WX mode and scans all the NOAA frequencies, stopping on the one that comes in clearest. To return to GMRS mode, press your PTT button ( big talk button on left side of radio)
  4. For those with TID H8, push the lowest button on the left side of the radio and turn the volume at the same time. Alternatively, toggle the VFO/MR button to enter frequency mode. Use A/B button to toggle the lower frequency. Enter the proper frequency for NOAA in your area.
  5. For those with TID H3, toggle the orange V/M button to enter frequency mode. Type in the proper frequency for your local NOAA. Push orange button to exit back to GMRS.
  6. For those with Baofeng UV 5R, toggle VFO/MR button to enter frequency mode. Choose A with the A/B button. Toggle <Band> to 136.000. Use MENU button to toggle off TDR (function 7). Press MENU to exit. Enter your local NOAA frequency and assign it a channel number. Press MENU again to exit.

1 = 162.550

2 = 162.400

3 = 162.475

4 = 162.425

5 = 162.450

6 = 162.500

7 = 162.525

Tonight is Sunday, and the regular weekly CORAC call is tonight. Consult the website for time and frequencies.

If you’re interested in shortwave listening, check the reviews here. Many CORAC’ers have Tecsuns, but this review really praises the Sangean ATS909.

Day Two

Repeat NOAA weather broadcasts.

Day Three

New skill today: Email to SMS text. One more tool in your comms toolbox. Why would you need it? People read texts right away, usually much sooner than emails. That makes email-to-text useful for an emergency when you want people to get the info immediately.

Emails can sit around in someone’s inbox, or possibly go to spam. You’re more certain to get your recipient’s attention with a text. The open rate for texts is around 90%. Open rate for emails is much lower. You could just send an individual text, but it is easier to use a computer keyboard to compose than a phone keyboard. That makes it useful for group texts.

Depending on what coverage is out, an email-to-text might go through when an email or voicemail won’t. Even if it doesn’t go through immediately in a blackout, it gets queued up in a cache and will go out when there’s breakthrough coverage.

To begin, know your recipient’s carrier and find their gateway address. Here’s the Big Three:

AT&T txt.att.net

Tmobile tmomail.net

Verizon vtext.com

If you don’t know your recipient’s phone carrier, you can look it up here.

Compose a short message on your email program. It should be less than 160 characters, or it might not send.

In the TO: field, type the phone number of your recipient @ the gateway address for their carrier. Have a buddy confirm that they got it, and tell them how to email-to-text you back.

Day Four

GMRS

To begin, you need three things:

  • A license from the FCC
  • GMRS radios
  • A buddy to practice with

Let’s start with the license. It’s a multi-step process, and I have the impression that the FCC has either employed bargainbasement web designers, or has made licensing an obstacle to cut down on users. Nevertheless, we are not defeated by bureaucrats! Onward. Follow the steps outlined here.

Basically, you register with a user name and password, and apply for a FRN number. You receive it by email and sign in again with your FRN. THEN you apply for the license and go to a payment page to charge the $35 on a credit card. Throughout the process, the answers to questions are that you are an individual and are not applying for any exemptions or restrictions. During the license application, there’s a dropdown menu for type of license. GMRS is coded Z, and it is at the very bottom of the list.

Yes, you use your social security number and address on the application, but guess what? The government already has that data. I wouldn’t sweat it. Once you pay the fee, you’re done. Now sit back, and your GMRS call number and license will arrive to your email in a few days.

Your call number will be an alphanumeric with 4 letters and 3 digits. I made labels with my call number and affixed them to the back of all my radios. After you use it for a while, it will be as natural as your name.

Here’s a Reddit post from a survivor of Helene on October 1, a few days after the hurricane made landfall. This is WHY we go to the trouble of getting proficient on GMRS.

“Hurricane Helene and my TD H3: I’m just outside of Asheville North Carolina and we are in good condition. My TD H3 GMRS has been with me every day since Thursday. FM radio, first responder frequencies, aviation frequencies and both FRS and GMRS channels. My wife and I were able to keep in touch when I went searching for various family members. This little radio did it all and I’m so glad we had it.”

Day Five

We’re still on the topic of GMRS today. We covered the FCC license yesterday; today is equipment. Tomorrow we’re going to talk about backup power, because you want to be able to recharge your radio if the power is out for an extended time. Most people already have a source of backup power, hopefully. Now I don’t want to turn this into the Home Shopping Network, so please don’t feel like you have to purchase anything. I’m just giving recommendations. I think GMRS is foundational, but you do need to invest the time to make it effective.

There are lots of options for GMRS radios, but if you’re just starting out, I’d recommend these:

TD H8 – it’s a “cheap Chinese” around $100 for a pair on Amazon. The H8 is the second-generation TID, after the H3. It has 10 watts output as opposed to 5 watts on the H3. (as a result, the H3s are even cheaper, about $28) Both TDs have removable antennae, so you can swap out a longer “whip antenna” for the 6-inch factory installed one.

Midland GXT 3000 – a new model from Midland, around $150 a pair on Amazon. More expensive than the cheap Chinese ones, but American-made. These handhelds are repeater-capable, which is an improvement on the GXT 1000s, but are still lower wattage than the TD H8.

The Midlands have fewer buttons, which is less intimidating to newbies (fewer buttons because it’s a strictly GMRS radio, not straddling GMRS and ham). If I’d started my radio life on the TD’s, I might have given up by now, but I do think the TD wins overall. The TD can swap out antennae, and has higher output power. Boom.

Those longer antenna for the TDs.. $11 for a pair. These are compatible with the H8 and H3s.

Anyone who lives a long distance to the next nearest household is likely going to have to invest in a more powerful base station (50 watts as opposed to 5-10 watts on the handhelds) and a good antenna.

(Note that your GMRS antenna and a shortwave antenna are two different pieces of equipment; you can’t double-dip.

Midland GXT 500 50-watt mobile/base station $399 on Amazon. Comes with magnetic-mount antenna for the car. You can also install the base inside, power it from your household current instead of your car battery, and get an extender cable to mount the antenna high up on your house. (find adapters and extensions online)

Find a test buddy, and one of you go out in your car. Find the range of the GMRS set you have, in your terrain. Although they can advertise a range of 30 miles, GMRS radios get that range only on flat terrain over water… like the floor of Death Valley after a rain. In “real life” the range is more like 2-4 miles due to trees, hills, and buildings. Find out what your approximate range is.

High achievers who are restless with my pace, go to the Comms page on the website, and go wild.

Day Six

Newbies can feel funny at first on the radio with strangers. If you’re on a channel and hear someone else, just give your call number and say “radio check.” The other person will let you know if you’re clear or staticky. You can exchange more info if you want to, such as where you’re transmitting from, so that you can calculate range. It’s recommended to state your call sign every few transmissions. It lets people know that you are authorized to be using the frequency.

Your task for today is to review the CORAC GMRS Emergency Plan on the website.

For real-life viewpoints about GMRS, read this blog from a radio user in western North Carolina, Swannanoa, one of the hardest hit communities. They have shifted from search and rescue to the initial stages of rebuilding, and they wanted a way to keep the neighborhood updated and unified.

The organizers considered a variety of comms options and settled on GMRS, specifically using Baofeng UV-5G+ and TID H8s, which we featured yesterday.

Read more here >

Day Seven

Remember that the point of this contest is not just to win a cowboy hat, but to GET PROFICIENT. Radios can be lifesaving, but we have to be practiced enough that we’re not trying to learn under crisis conditions.

The big points are on the Sunday night CORAC net. You get 10 points for catching one of the three comms and getting the code word for that comm.

The schedule and frequencies are on the website. (Note that we’re on the Fall/Winter schedule now.)

This activity is for shortwave listeners and ham operators, not GMRS. Different set of equipment. Shortwave is very long range, and if you have a good antenna, you may be able to hear other countries.

A decent shortwave receiver is around $170. Some recommendations:

C. Crane SSB 2 $180 – Nicknamed “the Swiss Army knife of portable radios.” Crane is an American company, which I like. Paul, our radio guru in Dallas, really likes this one.

Tecsun PL 880 $170 – Many CORAC’ers are using the Tecsun in the same price range.

There are others. Just make sure they are SSB equipped.

Antennae:

  • “Baby Bear” – Crane $15 here (you get what you pay for)
  • “Mama Bear” – Megaloop $45 on Amazon
  • “Papa Bear” – AlphaDelta $180 here

Day Eight

Today is a learning day.

If you decide you would like to get started with shortwave, here is a consumer report on SW units.

Day Nine

Radio, at least for the electronically-challenged like me, is often a trial-and-error thing. It requires PERSISTENCE. If you’re having troubles, keep researching. Or post your problem to the CORAC Comms Helpline on Signal. You’ll get a knowledgeable response almost instantly with those folks! Request to be added to CORAC COMMS HELPLINE.

One good thing I’ve discovered about the radio world is that there is a workaround for just about anything. I do miss having those old Radio Shack stores, though; I could get a problem fixed with a person-to-person visit instead of holding my breath on an Amazon delivery.

Day Ten

Day off.

Day Eleven

Today we’re talking about repeaters. Repeater radios receive your transmission and rebroadcast it over a larger area, thus expanding your range. Whereas 5 miles might be great range for a handheld GMRS radio, a repeater could expand your reach to 30 miles.

You can find repeaters in your area on mygmrs.com. You need to get permission from repeater owner to use the repeater; don’t skip this. Repeater resources are limited since it only permits one conversation at a time.

Once you have permission, you need to program the repeater’s frequencies into your radio. Each repeater has both a send frequency (TX) and a receive frequency (RX).

The repeater we are using here in Tyler also has a privacy code (CTCSS / DCS). These codes, or tones, don’t actually give you privacy, but they filter out other traffic on the frequency that do NOT have the same code. Read the manual for your radio to program the privacy code for whichever repeater you’re using. “0” is the code for turning off the privacy code.

TID H8

TID H3

Baofeng UV-5R

The Midland GXT1000s are not repeater-capable, but the GXT3000s and the mobile base units are.

Midland GXT3000

Repeater functions on pages 17-21.

Midland MXT400 (the micro-mobile)

Day Twelve

Go online and find out where your nearest repeater is. Request permission to use it. Then you can practice programming therepeater.

For efficacy in an emergency, every family or network using GMRS should have a pre-agreed-upon plan for contact. You can’t keep your radios on 24/7 in a power-out situation, so agree on a timetable. In Tyler, we’re on the Angelus plan: 6-12-6. However, in a serious situation, the Rule of 3 would come into play: you turn on your radio 12-3-6-9-12.

Everyone in the network should know the frequencies, too. Print out the frequencies of your network and tape them up.

Day Thirteen

Another day off.

Day Fourteen

Tomorrow is the weekly Sunday night CORAC net, which is accessible to the hams, but can also be monitored on shortwave. The schedule and frequencies are on the website.

Radios:

  • C. Crane Skywave SSB 2 (not the Skywave 2, but the Skywave SSB 2)
  • Tecsun PL 880

Antennae:

  • “Baby Bear” – Crane $15 here
  • “Mama Bear” – Megaloop $45 on Amazon
  • “Papa Bear” – AlphaDelta $180 here

Installing the Mama Bear MLA-30 loop antenna or here

Installing the Baby Bear Crane long wire antenna

Day Fifteen

Tonight is the Sunday CORAC net

Specific help for listening to the CORAC net

Get Started in Shortwave Listening

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