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.