This web domain exists to support the efforts of Amateur Radio operators in the San Francisco Bay Area who are supporting some of our local Law Enforcement Agencies which are participating in the 1997 Challenge Cup Relay.
About the Challenge Cup Relay
This is a 120-mile foot relay race, consisting of 20 segments. It begins in Baker, California, the gateway to Death Valley and the California Desert. The race ends in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.
The race teams come from Law Enforcement agencies around the world. There were nearly 200 teams participating in 1996. Each team has 22 runners, for the 20 stages in the race. Some teams represent combined agencies (2-3 smaller departments), while others are representing their own divisions, competing against other divisions of the same Department. Some are specialty teams, such as retired judges, bailiffs, and some are coed teams.
In 1997, the race will happen on the weekend of April 12-13. The first runners will start on Saturday about 9 a.m., and most will have finished by Sunday morning at 7 a.m.
Race Communications Support
Communications for the event has been handled a variety of ways. At one time, the event communications was handled by a single coordinating body. More recently, there is a core net for the Race Coordinators, and for Medical Emergencies, leaving individual teams to provide for themselves.
The Tri-Cities ARES group (Fremont, Union City, and Newark, California) had participated under the earlier coordination, in support of the teams from their cities. In recent years, we have taken advantage of the ability to operate independantly, and enhanced our operations. It is now one of the best communications exercises we take part in each year, and we draw in hams from around the state to participate with our group.
If you are interested in our Ham Radio Support efforts, please look at our main page.
If you are interested in ARES wiring standards, APRS (vehicle tracking via packet radio) and our efforts in this area, please look at our wire and cabling overview, and our specifications for common APRS tracker packing.
If you have comments regarding this site, our it's content, please contact the webmaster.