![]() ![]() ![]() The sign at the site indicated it was owned by American Tower Corporation, however it stated that an FCC registration number was not required. The majority of the stretch of dirt road leading to the peaks does not have cell phone coverage from my provider, Verizon.Īfter the gate was opened for the public, we continued to drive over the saddle and across the Maricopa/Gila county border, reaching an elevation of about 6000′ feet.Ĭontinuing a about a mile or so down Forest Road 143, I came across this communications tower, just 20 or so feet off the road:Ī quick hike up a trail nearby shows a better view: I camp and do some off roading in this area regularly, and I’m glad to know that I can have reliable 2m and GMRS radio contact for emergencies once I get above the smaller hills. Reception was a little bit spotty, but moving around along the western face of the Four Peaks from about 5000′ and above allowed me to have decently clear RX and TX to the AGRC repeater. I received a good signal report back, and I also made contact with another club member. The Arizona GMRS Repeater Club has a 50W GMRS repeater at a commercial site atop these mountains at about 4000′:Īs soon as I turned on the radio I heard another club member loud and clear and gave him a quick hello. I was also monitoring the GMRS band and had my main camping HT, a Btech GMRS-V1:įrom my location near the top of the peaks, I had a direct line of sight of about 75 miles to the White Tanks mountains on the other side of the Phoenix metro area. I was also able to hit the Arizona Repeater Association’s Mt Ord repeater on 146.36 MHz. I suspect there were not a whole lot of people out on the trails just yet, we headed out just hours after the USFS announced fire restrictions had been lifted. 147.52 MHz is a popular 4×4/offroad frequency for hams he in AZ, but I did not hear any traffic or make any contacts this day. I heard lots of activity on 146.52 MHz as usual for the Phoenix area, and it was easy to hear all the local simplex traffic at this elevation. I was monitoring the 2m band at this time as well on the Kenwood TM-281A in my truck. The ADFFM does a daily VHF broadcast of current fire conditions in the state – super useful for camping and offloading during the fire season. It contains lots of good information on the radio systems and common/mutual aid frequencies used by wild land firefighters throughout the state. I did not photograph him or his radio, but it appeared to be a large Motorola handheld with an approximately 3 foot whip on it – maybe a 1/2 wave for that band? For any Arizona folks out there, I would encourage reading the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management’s Wildland Fire Radio Communications Guide. ![]() This and FEDCOMN1 on 168.1 MHz are common channels used for communications between units that are traveling. I noticed that one of the firefighters working on the gate was radioing for some tools, and observed frequency 168.35 MHz and tone 123.0 Hz in use on the his handheld. Some firefighters in a UTV arrived to unlock it for the public, but some idiot had apparently shot at the padlock attempting to open it themselves and damaged it so that the combination would not work. The next day we broke camp and headed to the peaks, where we encountered a locked gate. We made it up about 3/4 of the way before sunset and made camp at about 4500′. This video from shows what the drive is like. After exiting the highway, it’s about a 20 mile drive on Forest Rd 143, which will take you all the way up to Browns Peak. ![]() For those unfamiliar with the area, about 30 miles north on AZ Highway 87 from Highway 202 in Mesa, AZ is the entrance to the Four Peaks Wilderness Area, part of the Tonto National Forest. The Tonto National Forest in Arizona lifted all fire restrictions on Friday morning, so me and a buddy threw the camping gear and some radios in the truck and headed up the Four Peaks Road. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |