Morning Fewbie Plus Drive - Drive & Dive Faqa - Dubai - 28 Apr 2024

[Marek]

Intense drive, thank you all! @Looper, awesome mix of tech and fast driving!

[Looper]

Deserts in Dubai have become very unpredictable. Normally we revisit tracks once every few weeks, and between drives they those areas become unable to be driven. The vegetation growth is mind blowing. Areas that were prestine deserts look like gardens now. I started to do Faqa’a from the east from Abu Dubai.  I wanted to go besides the solar park area this week, but alas, looks like the Phase VI has started and the area has also become super bushy. So had to drive back to the useual track. 

a very happy belated birthday @Imran Asghar. I hope you had some fun.

This will be the summary of the drive:

Glad we saw the couple of water bodies.

Later in the evening at car wash they took an hour cleaning all the dirt.

[Looper]

@Imran Asghar, @Stumpy, @Dodi Syahdar, @Gary F, @Senthil Kumar. One more thing I wanted to highlight - till this drive I never had any issues with the radio, this is the first drive I was told that I am unaudible at the back.

[Gary F]

@Looper it seemed in those straight stretches at fast pace when the convoy was spread out I could not hear you at the back , unless we were taking bends . I tried both radios Crony and Baofeng same result. There was also multiple times @Imran Asghar radioed and we could not tell if there was a response. 

[Marek]

to be fair, @Looper was often replying to you guys while my baofeng (with antenna) was only receiving static. And I was in 2nd position:

- [somebody]: shhh shhs shhs
- [Looper]: copy that, slowing down
- [somebody]: shhh shhs shhs
- [Looper]: it's OK, standing by

 

[Looper]

1 hour ago, Marek said:

to be fair, @Looper was often replying to you guys while my baofeng (with antenna) was only receiving static. And I was in 2nd position:

- [somebody]: shhh shhs shhs
- [Looper]: copy that, slowing down
- [somebody]: shhh shhs shhs
- [Looper]: it's OK, standing by

 

Interesting… What you are saying is that you were able to hear me but not the guys at the back; while I was able to hear what they are saying. I could often hear and understand their displeasure with my radio 😝. 

It could be some kind of solar flair interaction with our radios.

@Simon D would you like to weigh in?

[Gaurav]

@Frederic might weigh in better as well.

[Luke K P]

last faqa drive i dont think you were getting most of our messages from the back either.. no replies.  maybe too much squelch applied filtering out 'staticky broadcasts'