Who's the backup?

It's easy to donate resource to ham projects.   What happens when you don't control those resources?  Who's the backup?   Who's the backup for the backup?

McHamming

How often do you eat at McDonalds?

Quick, easy, relatively inexpensive.   Why not eat there all the time?

Same can be said for Ham Radio over the Internet...   Quick, easy and inexpensive.  Who needs to bother with silly radios, antennas and all that stuff...


Or maybe it's just like cooking at home..   Better, healthier, learn more, more fun...   It's radio that makes what we do special.  When we bypass the radio - which is so easy to do these days - we lose all the opportunities that make make it so much more.

First Gigabit Link

Purchased a Netgear GS105Ev2, mostly for education about modern networking with VLANS - as described by AREDN.   Secondary was putting it to use right away on the new 'real-IP' home LAN.

GS105E or GS105Ev work.  Other similar models are not 'managed' and will not work.




Put the GS105Ev2 between connection to web switch in the computer nook and the upstairs home computer.  Noticed that both LED's were lit on the switch - left light is 100 MB, right light is 10 MB.  Both is 1000 MB or 1 GB.   Need to check that cable as it might not be CAT 5E or CAT 6.  Regardless it's showing as 1 GB and that's the first I've noticed a link like that even with all the various local network circuits.

It does have a nice web interface. The only trick is accessing it the first time (192.168.0.234?) in order to put it in DHCP mode so it can be accessed on the local LAN. Manually setting a system to the 192.168.0 net should allow access and that initial tweak. The web interface looks like a functional duplicate of the Windows management application.. So outside of the install issues and the byte counters that count bytes (instead of the much more practical petabytes) I'm still giving it a thumbs up.

AREDN - Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network documentation

• Device to Device linking
• Network Switch Configurations

Ken said:

Mine was already in DHCP mode and all I had to do was query the openwrt router for the assigned address. Pointed the browser at it and there it was.  Thumbs up here too.

Contest rules changing to allow use of 146.52

This is a really bad idea.... 


From The ARRL Letter for October 22, 2015‏:

The EC took note of the Programs & Services Committee (PSC) endorsement of a VHF and Above Revitalization Committee recommendation to end the prohibition to contest use of 146.52 MHz, the traditional 2 meter FM simplex "calling channel." Advance notification of the rule change has been communicated to the full Board, and the change will take effect in 2016, starting with the January VHF Contest.

• The simplex channel, 146.52, has always been a quiet watering hole for conversations during active contests.  That will be less possible if there are contests using the channel.
• It's good for hams at home and mobile to monitor the radio, usually 146.52, all the time.  A weekend of contest chaos blasting from a normally quiet radio will result in those radios being turned off - and probably not turned back on.
• The idea of Priority Tone 123.0 Hz use on 146.52 won't necessarily be affected by this.  Or even worse totally cluttered if somebody makes contest contacts with tone enabled.
• Summits on the Air (SOTA) activity is picking up and they make good use of 146.52.
• Contest folks NEED a calling channel on VHF two meters.  Some don't operate because they don't know where they should go.  That's easy to fix without cluttering 146.52 - use 146.55 for the contest calls.
• Contests need more activity.  Ham Radio needs more activity.   A different tweak to the operations would, in my opinion, get more folks on the air.  To Be Posted Soon...

ICOM IC-7100

Good reivew on the IC-7100 by M0ZZM

Learned:

• It does RTTY natively.   That's a big plus.  RTTY is one of the many Ham Radio modes I've never tried.  I did have a MARS provided 19" rack mount dual diversity tube decoder many many years ago.  I copied a few RTTY transmissions with it but never transmitted.  In the good old days it required adding small capacitors on the tuning VFO to pull the frequency.  Today it's just another program...
• AB4OJ 7100 notes

Portable Go Box

>> This is an nice post by VE6AB, the same author that had the article on
>> HF APRS in the last QST.
>>
>>   http://ve6ab.blogspot.ca/2015/10/scs-trackerdsp-tnc-for-hf-aprs_18.html
>>
>> My DSP TNC is on order.  Looking forward to exercising it on all band
>> with all modes once it arrives.

> Are you going to put it in your car, your boat or plane? What radio are you going to use?

The plan now is to build it into a portable communications Go box.
It'll have the good old ICOM IC-706Mk2, a small switching power
supply, manual tuner and basic netbook for controlling the radio and
talking to the TNC.

So the next time I'm visiting Montana or Seaside I should be able to
check in to the Traffic Net or Noon-Time-Net or voice, run Robust
Packet for tracking on 30 meters and access the local 9600/1200 packet
infrastructure on VHF/UHF.

It's a fun little project that may turn out to be very useful...

Emergency Channel 9 for Two Meters

CB has channel 9 that is supposedly monitored by folks for emergency traffic.

We have nothing similar for our Ham frequencies.

Scanners would allow picking a channel and watching it.

Many rigs have Priority channel checking even when another discussion is being followed.

My suggestion is to use the calling frequency of 146.52 as our emergency channel - but do it with a tone of 123.0 Hz.


Three memory channels.

• 146.52 with no tones for general operation
• 146.52 with 123.0 Hz tone receive (CTCSS) for quiet monitoring of priority traffic
• 146.53 with 123.0 Hz tone transmit only but receive with no tone.

The CTCSS would be used for monitoring.   CT on transmit for making a call.  May work better to leave the CT transmit memory in a different bank so it's not taking a spot during normal scanning.

It's a Priority plan, not necessarily Emergency.  Use it for Important traffic but don't over use it.

Use it as a calling channel - not working frequency - unless it's an Emergency.  If an Emergency - it takes precedence.

The MickeyD Effect

It tastes good.  It's handy.   It's a know quantity that you know what you get where ever you're at.  It's even economically reasonable.

And in the long term - it's not a good thing.  (I'd use stronger words but McD would probably not be amused.)

How's that apply to Ham Radio?   I suggest we have McD services and, in the long run, that's bad bad bad for the community.

Pacific Northwest VHF 2015 Convention

I wasn't sure I wanted to go.  Boy would staying home have been a mistake this time...  

Many details to fill in here but this gets it started.

• Designing antennas with EZNEC
• DXpedition to the Falkland Islands
• More VHF activity by Kermit x9xx
• We need a contest log on line.
• xxx
• to be carefully presented to Kermit - link to page on getting the ARRL to not support ham actives on the Internet when there are Ham radio alternatives.
• Lunch
• ARRL Meeting
• Is there an Amazon Smile account for the PNW Division Scholarship Award?
• Club meeting and awards
• Prizes - X Engineering 222 MHz 10 element Rover Beam
• Prizes - Icom All Band All Mode Radio

We Need Radios - Data Radios!

We Hams need more radios..    Not big fancy expensive shortwave radios.   Not cute little cheap walkie talkies.   We need data radios.   It's the data age yet for ham radio the good stuff was on the market twenty years ago.

Options

• UHF, VHF, 50 MHz, 144 MHz, 222 MHz or 440 MHz..   We need them all!   Various bands have different rules and characterists.   Given that, 440 MHz would be the best start.
• Variable programmable frequency operation please.  Crystals are so expensive and so slow to order.   Ideally frequency could be set by program operation but that's a Want and not a Need.
• Power - not a lot, not a little..   5 watts might be low.  Couldn't go wrong with 10 watts.
• Voice and Data.   Older radios had voice modes.  That's nice but not needed.
• Examples of the past
• Kantronics D4-10   10 watts on 440 MHz.   9600 or 19200 modulation. Add programmable frequency operation and a reasonable price - this would be a break through product.  Febo Notes
• Kantronics D2-2
• MFJ 9641  (220, 144, 440)
• Ritron embedded radio - http://www.ritron.com/pdf/dtxpl.pdf
• 1200 baud support, like voice, would be nice but it shouldn't distract from the primary goal of a good reasonable speed data radio.

Other Notes

• Can any of the existing radios with 6 pin DIN data jacks support speeds higher than 9600?   For example, will the Kenwood D700 or D710 support 19200?
• Alinco single band radios with 9600 data input/output - 
• Modems for higher speed radios:
• SCS DSP Tracker TNC - 19200 G3RUH - Farallon  (free shipping and same price at HRO)
• UZ7HO Soundcard - http://uz7.ho.ua/packetradio.htm

Wetnet Brunch 26-Sept-2015

Thanks Ken for the NC@40 and NO@45 temperature switches.  Handy gizmos that I didn't even know existed.