Category Archives: Ohio Section Journal

Articles published in the Ohio Section Journal available at arrl-ohio.org

One of the responsibilities of the Technical Coordinator in the Ohio Section is to submit something for the Section Journal. The Section Journal covers Amateur Radio related things happening in and around the ARRL Ohio Section. It is published by the Section Manager Scott – N8SY and articles are submitted by cabinet members.

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

You can receive the Journal and other Ohio Section news by joining the mailing list Scott has setup. You do not need to be a member of the ARRL, Ohio Section, or even a ham to join the mailing list. Please sign up!

If you are an ARRL member and reside in the Ohio Section, update your mailing preferences to receive Ohio Section news in your inbox. Those residing outside the section will need to use the mailing list link above.
Updating your ARRL profile will deliver news from the section where you reside (if the leadership chooses to use this method).
Go to www.arrl.org and logon.
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You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
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Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
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Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://arrl-ohio.org/news/OSJ-August-17.pdf

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Yaesu and System Fusion. I’ve talked about it before and mentioned the DR-1X repeater promotion some time ago. My recent dealings are leaving me more disappointed in the quality of the offering. With the announcement of System Fusion II, I hope they take time to finally fix problems with their implementation.

Around the beginning of 2015, Yaesu, in an effort to get their digital mode into the ham radio market, offered a promotional deal for their Fusion repeater at a cost of $500 (~$1,700 retail). The logic behind this is the shaver and blade principal: sell the repeater for cheap and make up the cost in selling radios. The repeater is dual-mode capable (C4FM digital and analog) featuring high power (50W) transmitter, switched commercial power and battery backup, integration with an existing repeater controller, all in a standard 2U rack unit. Not only could a club or individual purchase a digital repeater for cheap, it wasn’t a requirement of the promotion to enable any of the digital Fusion features. This meant it could replace aging analog repeaters. I’ve even heard old tube repeaters were being replaced as a result. Now, I’m sure they hoped owners utilized the Fusion features but either way, the program ended up being a huge success. In the Cleveland area, there are about 10 in operation that I’m aware of. Yaesu brought affordable and a somewhat-hackable (AllStar, MMDVM) repeater package to the market.

Then came the complaints. First being the DR-1X is two FTM-400 mobile radios linked with a basic controller. For some reason, many are surprised by this setup and thought better radios should be used. This is a common design that D-STAR and DMR commercial repeaters also rely on. However, this setup had a problem; the radios used were not designed to operate high power. Either through component design or improper cooling, the radios are not capable of operating 100% duty cycle at 50W. I have not heard of this being a wide-spread problem with D-STAR and DMR repeaters running high power. Yaesu updated their promotional form and website to say “Duty cycle is 50% at 50 Watts, 100% at 20 Watts in a climate controlled environment.” To get 50 watts or more, external amplifiers are needed.

Automatic Mode Select was one of the great selling points – a single repeater could switch between digital and analog depending on the signal. But reports of repeaters in AMS where locking up in a transmit state. It was discovered when the repeater had a signal on the input (digital or analog), if another signal was detected of the opposite type, the repeater would lockup in transmit. To reset, the power had to be cycled. A work around was to set the repeater in either analog or digital only mode or install a remote power switch. To my knowledge, this was never acknowledged and was deemed to be “environmental site issues.” That might be true or related to reports of poor selectivity on the front-end of the repeater. Filters and firmware upgrades helped solve some of these issues.

Other known problems include: external controller support is complicated – at best, receive PL decode problems, repeater identifications being cut-off, and the firmware. The firmware is absurd. There are three firmware “channels” (or tracks) for the DR-1X repeater. Each completely separate and not compatible with the other – that is you cannot upgrade the repeater firmware from one channel to another. For reference, these are the 1.00b, 1.00f, and 1.10D channels. Upgrading to a newer version (on the same channel) requires taking the machine out of the cabinet, unscrew about 18 screws to access the data port inside, upgrade the firmware, and put it all back. It is nearly a two person job as the thing weights 22 lbs.

My club in Cleveland, LEARA, purchased a DR-1X. I got it on the air with some help from Bill K8SGX (a section TS). It was on the air at 20 watts in digital only mode. We didn’t have any issues. One of the club members suggested “let’s connect this to the internet.” This is where my perception of Fusion got much worse. As confirmed by Yaesu support, to directly connect an HRI-200 Wires-X node, the DR-1X must have firmware 1.10J or later. Owners with 1.00-anything firmware MUST ship the DR-1X back to Yaesu for an upgrade at owner’s expense. 22 lbs shipping plus box and insurance, it was not cheap. Specific situations may vary and return shipping is covered. They will not let you swap anything yourself because they felt upgrades where beyond most owners’ ability. Owners on the 1.10D channel just need to apply firmware upgrades.

To be fair, an RF link to the repeater can be established with any firmware version. This entails setting up a HRI-200 on a Windows PC with an additional FTM-100 or FTM-400 radio at a location with a strong signal into the repeater. This setup acts like a local user of the repeater. Transmissions from the Internet are transmitted on the repeater’s input. Local repeater transmissions are relayed to the Internet by listening to the repeater’s output frequency. LEARA decided to directly link the HRI-200 Wires-X device to the repeater. Other devices like an OpenSpot or MMDVM could be used but would not provide Wires-X access as it is a closed network.

I haven’t followed the radio issues too closely. There have been 2nd generations of two Fusion radios this far. The FT1-DR was replaced by the FT1-XDR and FTM-400 by the FTM-400XDR because the GPS chip used had problems locking on to signals. I have the FTM-400XDR and picked up a FT2DR at Dayton. Both radios work and get the job done but I’m not blown away by either radio. To put the 400 over the top, it would need to operate Fusion from both A & B sides of the radio, at the same time. I’m underwhelmed by the FT2 screen as it’s not very sharp. I’ve always found Yaesu menu groupings and labeling confusing. The much-loved bank link feature of their analog radios, such as the VX-8, is missing.

Word of warning to anyone using Yaesu Fusion radios and is especially important for repeater owners and Wires-X node operators, keep up-to-date with firmware and program updates! It has been confirmed in the Yahoo Group, every time an FT-70 radio is keyed on a Wires-X node with software version v1.2 or earlier, the Wires-X node will crash.

In addition to all these issues, no full specification has been released for Fusion or Wires-X. Meaning if Wires-X gets shutdown, all nodes are offline. With an open source specification, a new network could be developed or rolled into the FCS reflector or YSFReflector networks. In true hacker fashion, much of Fusion has been reverse engineered so it’s probably more of a reality than I know.

A Reddit posting appeared proclaiming “System Fusion II” is coming with an accompanying info graphic and FAQ posted on the Yaesu System Fusion Yahoo Group. The info graphic states ‘firmware upgrades will enable System Fusion II compatibility with all existing C4FM products.’ I gather this doesn’t mean the radio needs to be sent back to Yaesu. The FT1-(X)DR is discontinued but the FAQ reiterates all existing radios will receive a Fusion II firmware upgrade.

At the center is the new DR-2X repeater – which supposedly resolves most problems of the 1X – and includes many new features. Originally, Wires-X was not supported at all on the DR-2X. This was stated many times by Yaesu. The FAQ indicates the 2X will support the HRI-200 (direct connect) OR IMRS (Internet Multi-site Repeater link) option. It will not support both. The IMRS option sounds a lot like DMR IP Site Connect where repeaters are linked over the Internet using Talk group-like functionality. There is another promotional program offering a trade-in path from a DR-1X to a DR-2X for $300 without the site linking option and $500 with site linking. See the Yahoo Group as I don’t see this promotion information anywhere else.

DSQ (Digital Squelch, squelch code) is replaced by DG-ID (digital group ID). DSQ has caused controversy even locally because it is a global setting in the radio, not per channel. This is a real pain if two repeaters in the area choose different DSQ codes. I left it disabled on LEARA’s allowing any Fusion user to use the repeater. A DG-ID use-case example on a repeater: use the repeater locally might be DG-ID 71. To use two IMRS sites might be DG-ID 90, and all sites DG-ID 99. A DP-ID is a priority override or used for remote control of the system on the 2X only.

Fusion up to this point seems rushed, untested, and like most companies today, driven by marketing. The mentality being: ‘get it out now, fix it later.’ I really hope Yaesu gets their act together soon if they want Fusion to survive. This will likely require drastic business and management changes within the company. As I see it, Fusion survival requires fixing its perception, fixing the software issues, producing better quality devices/radios including extensive testing, and showing commitment to the community and developers by releasing protocol specifications or open-sourcing the technology.

Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/6t8t5z/yaesu_system_fusion_ii/

Yahoo Group (membership requires approval): https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/YaesuSystemFusion/info

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – July 2017 edition

July 17, 2017 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://arrl-ohio.org/news/OSJ-July-17.pdf

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Have you recently built something? Came up with a solution to a problem in the shack? Achieved a milestone? Now, ask your club newsletter editor if they are looking for content from club members. I’ll bet they say “yes!” Hams are interested in good articles written by club members sharing their experiences with projects and adventures. You’ll be surprised to find out how many other people are interested in the same thing or how it will motivate others to experiment with something similar. Believe me, it happens. One of the reasons you see me here in the OSJ is because of articles Ken – KG8DN asked me to write for the LEARA newsletter a few years ago. If you don’t write articles as part of a job or for fun, the last time many of us wrote anything was probably in school. Those writing technique brain cells were fried long ago. I will cover techniques, ideas, and some lessons learned to assist you in putting together a fantastic article for the club’s newsletter.

First and most important, meet with the newsletter editor or shoot them an email letting them know the topic you want to write about and get an idea of their requirements. Requirements such as: how much space will I have, will there be room for pictures and diagrams, when is the deadline to have everything turned in. Page requirements will help you focus the article emphasizing certain topics and provide detail versus insignificant points that don’t fit with the rest of the story. The editor may have some general questions to help jump-start the process. This works too as stories wrote themselves with a question or three. Note these questions and refer back to them if you have writer’s block. If the topic isn’t exactly ham related or different than the usual type of articles found in the newsletter (ie: more public service than technical), ask about that too or write it with a technical focus.

With the editors’ requirements in mind, make an outline (bullet point list) of general topics to cover. What do you see as the major milestones of the project? Maybe something like: design considerations, building, and operating. Once the main points are established, include a few detail points. For a build project, this might look something like:

Design
- Power source (AC, DC, USB, car, battery)
- Inputs (radio audio, computer audio)
- Outputs (radio audio, computer audio, line monitor)
- Connections (speakers, headphones, USB)
- Indicators (LED: power, audio level, PTT)
- …
Build
- Placement of components (circuit board, level adjustments mounted on the side)
- Connectors (USB, serial, audio)
- Sizes (hidden switch, large lighted switch, large LEDs)
- …
- Housing (Altoids tin, wooden box, oil pan, baking tray, hobby store find)
- Mounting (wall, portable, back of radio)
Operation
- Testing (digital net, friend over the radio)
- Tweaking (changed component values)
- Adjustments (audio level knobs in front, manual pot inside)
- …
- Anticipated results (clean audio on PSK)
- Actual results (splattered across the entire band – only kidding)

After the general outline is assembled, it’s time to start thinking about the details. People have different writing styles. Some plan the entire article top to bottom and write as such. Others start with the detail points and form a story around it. Some just write their stream-of-consciousness then add or delete details in revisions. Whatever your style, introductory paragraph should have generalizations about the topic giving the reader something they can relate to: “have you ever heard…,” “did you ever wonder about…,” “I first learned about…,” “while I was doing X, I heard about Y,” “when I first got my license I was thinking what about doing Z.” The first paragraph or two should illustrate the topic in “broad brush strokes.” No specific details about the topic, yet. Quaky antidotes are always good. The last sentence should setup the specific topics covered in the article. This is referred to as the thesis. The thesis can outline specific topics: “I’m going to talk about experiences designing, building, and operating my new widget.” Or general: “here’s how I got this project off-the-ground” with specific topics detailed in the article. Either way, the main bullet points created earlier should form the thesis and drive the main topics covered in the article.

After topics are established for the reader, start by first talking about the problem you were trying to solve. Talk about things like: “I wanted to add JT65 capability to my QRP rig,” “I’ve used available interfaces before and wanted mine to do A and B because C,” “I wanted to learn Linux so I used a Raspberry Pi to make a portable NBEMS station,” “I wanted to learn Python and now the club’s station can be operated remotely.” Fill in the details about how you went from a problem to a working solution using the detail bullet points outlined earlier as a guide. Was the solution similar to another design found online or did you create one from scratch? Why did this solution work for you? What value did it add for you? What lessons did you learn about your chosen path? What problems did you incur and how did you solve them? Describe to the reader the functions of different pieces or purposes of the different stages. Example: “this stage takes the audio from the radio and amplifies the level for the computer,” “this takes the computer audio and drops the level for the radio.” When in doubt, answer the 5Ws: who, what, when, where, why.

It’s incredibly easy to get wrapped up or focused on the details. Remember your reader probably doesn’t have the same level of experience and is only mildly interested in your project. Bombard them with minute details and their head will explode. Give them some table scraps, they’ll find something interesting and keep reading. Don’t rattle off specifications like: ‘I choose the ARM v5 blah blah processor because flux capacitor blahs blahs +1,000,000,000V than the equivalent direct-conversion Arduino ATmega2560 16 MHz blah blah PWM at 4097 bit encryption…’ No one cares. Concise descriptions in (mostly) plan English are always better: “I wanted an audio path between the radio and computer that keyed the transmitter from the software. It must be isolated to prevent buzzing and hum noises from potential ground loops.” Most hams know what those terms mean. If some technical detail is paramount to the story, relate it to something most non-technical hams would understand: “the Raspberry Pi hard drive is an SD card, which is the same type of storage used in nearly all cell phones and digital cameras.”

If space allows, note any other solutions researched and discuss reasons those alternative methods where abandoned. Take a position then argue with yourself: here’s my idea, here were other possible solutions and why I didn’t accept them or why they didn’t work. An absence of supporting facts shows a lack of critical thinking and understanding of the subject. The closer the audience is to a subject, more convincing and disproving other theories will be required. Use of snarky comments shows arrogance, so leave them out.

Finally, wrap it up. Include anecdotes, accomplishments, funny stores, or final comments about the project. Were you happy with the results? What do you use the device for? Did you find other or different uses for the project than you envisioned?

Pheew! Now I’m done right? Well, far from it. The article is written, now revise, revise, and revise. Re-read your work to make spelling, grammar, and context corrections all while making sure it flows well together – does anything I wrote make sense? The free LibreOffice Writer is great but Microsoft Word has a phenomenally better grammar checker. For me, it works best to print the entire article, read it, make revisions on paper as I go along, enter them into the computer, print it out again, make more revisions, put it down for a few days – repeating this process about 5 or 6 times. Printing takes me away from the computer allowing me to focus on the article. I picked up this habit in grad school when I got a C on a paper. I knew if I spent more time revising, my grade could have been better. Whether I’m not in the right mindset, got a lot going on, stressed, or not committed, my revision regiment eventually produces something I’m proud of. If you’re not good with revising, ask a buddy or spouse to help you out.

The newsletter editor is there to give you some direction. Don’t expect them to do all the work. They have enough to do. Unlike news or publishing organizations that have paid staff to scrutinize the article, the editor probably has little experience or standing with your topic. If they offer to proof read and make suggestions or comments, utilize it. Don’t expect them to validate every detail, statement, correct every spelling mistake or grammar error. Don’t take offense to their feedback either. They’re trying to help by providing constructive criticism while making the newsletter appealing to readers. Don’t send them a bunch of pictures without relating them to the work. It will be embarrassing when they put the wrong picture in the wrong section because ya didn’t make it clear!

For images, designs, or facts found elsewhere, give credit to the source of that information. You wouldn’t like it if someone stole your design and claimed it as theirs. In school, they made this big deal about using specific style guides for a bibliography. I haven’t used any of that stuff. I’ll make a note, usually with a website or URL, in line with the text or put a section at the end giving credit for their hard work.

Personally, I love to see pictures of the device in operation, installed, or the person working on it. Leave out anything more than basic diagrams and schematics. Details in those images will be lost when sized for the copy. Detailed images, documents, diagrams, and videos can be uploaded to a website, if available, or use a free online storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox. Both have provisions to create a shared directory that others can only view (that is important!). Link to that folder or specific file at the end of the article: “for more pictures, a more detailed write-up, or schematics, go to this URL.” Videos are good if they’re kept to about 2-4 minutes in length showing the person using their project and talking a little about it. These can be uploaded to YouTube for exposure or to the online storage folder. Longer detailed videos or build videos should be separate. If the viewer wants to learn more, they can check-out the longer versions.

While the examples provided here were geared toward a build project, this outline can be used for sharing knowledge on a software defined radio dongle you picked up, a new digital mode you learned, operating adventure, or new toy many have yet to see. If you’re still looking for more methodology ideas, grab any issue of QST and follow the format of a similar article to yours. With a little work, you can become a published author and help your club out in the process!

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – June 2017 edition

June 16, 2017 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2017/06/june-edition-of-ohio-section-journal.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Another Dayton Hamvention is in the books. Yes, despite the arguments – ‘it’s not in Dayton anymore blah blah blah’ – the program guide still says “Dayton Hamvention.”

My dad, N8ETP and I have been attending Hamvention consecutively for the past 3 years. I’ve gone down a couple years by myself, stayed at numerous hotels in the area, bummed rides off friends, taken bus trips, and even stayed at the dorms on the University of Dayton’s campus. Returning back each year quickly brings back memories of routes in and out of the arena along with familiar eating and travel destinations. The layout inside rarely changed. You knew where the prize booth was located along with favorite dealers, vendors, clubs and organizations. The entire back parking lot was the flea market. There was the usual selection of arena eats – burgers, nachos, hot dogs, pizza, and ice cream – that often benefited a local school or community organization.

Now, everything is different.

The Hamvention committee should be commended for the monumental task of moving the event from the now closed Hara Arena to the Greene County Fair Grounds in Xenia, Ohio within 9 months. I can’t even imagine what it takes to setup an event that draws 25-30,000 people let alone move it to another location quickly.

Buildings at the new location are less than 20 years old. They were rebuilt after a tornado hit the fairgrounds in 2000. RV parking and an on-site bathhouse were available. There was ample parking on the grounds and at three remote locations with shuttle transportation. Quite different compared to the dilapidated arena where there always seemed to be a haze indoors due to the lack of air flow, falling ceiling tiles with mold and probably 30-year-old dust, and septic system with a propensity to explode.

Atmosphere of was more “fair” than “convention” because vendors and exhibitors were spread out over separated buildings (themed Maxim, Tesla, Marconi, and Hertz), displays were in outside tents, and an abundance of food trucks and carts similar to that of any county fair was seen. More eating area was needed compared to the amount we were used to at Hara. There were long lines and the limited seating, for maybe 50, filled quickly. I had an enjoyable standing lunch with members of the Wood County ARC.

If you were lucky enough to be there Friday, you were greeted by the “Welcome to Xenia” signs quickly followed by break lights and miles of cars waiting to get into the fairgrounds. Even the shuttles were stuck in traffic. The reason was discovered once we arrived. Cars were being parked at a rate of nearly one-at-a-time. Time was wasted waiting to see which isles were full and which ones had room for additional cars. This was quickly remedied Saturday as cars were being parked in multiple locations at once, effectively eliminating the traffic issue from Friday. Scratch that issue off the list.

In general, Hamvention is smaller. I knew this going in from vendors indicating they weren’t going to have the space they were used to. Vendors made the most of it and generally seemed to work. As a result, vendors couldn’t bring the usual amount of stock. Show specials for things like the very popular TYT MD-380, you could purchase one but couldn’t leave with one. In one case, it would be shipped and arrive the following Tuesday. Kinda a bummer as many hoped to leave with a new toy. Vendors in the outside display tent got washed out with storms that rolled through. Not good for computers, sensitive radio equipment, and video cameras I saw out there. I was not able to find Mendelsons – a long time staple of the Hara flea market. I heard others asking too if they had been spotted.

Lastly, mud. The flea market and parking lots were in grassy areas, or at least started out that way. Friday wasn’t bad as the ground was soft in a few areas of the flea market. Saturday morning, with the help of overnight storms, large farm tractors used for transporting patrons were contributing to the problem of turning the grassy parking lot into a mud pit. After everyone took shelter for even more storms Saturday morning, allll bets were off. The flea market isles were mud tracks. A good pair of rain boots were needed to help manage. It was funny watching rented scooters trying to manage a couple inches of mud. Not wanting to get our clothes dirty, we headed out about 3pm on Saturday and learned the parking lot suffered the same fate as the flea market. The committee, I think, anticipated this because they had rope and skid loaders for cars that needed assistance. We exited without assistance but still need to get our car washed twice to get MOST of the mud off.

All-in-all, I’ll call it a success. Out of the things that could go wrong, these issues were the harder ones to plan and tackle. The traffic issue was resolved the next day. This shows they are already learning from the problems that came up during the show. It was a suitable location for a venue change in 9 months. Anyone who is thinking of going next year, you should make your reservations now. The camaraderie, meet and greets, and running into fellow hams was as exciting as ever. If any of the planning committee is reading, I have an idea for a bigger location… just sayin’.

If you didn’t catch the June 7th episode of Ham Nation, Michael Kalter – W8CI was the featured guest for the Hamvention recap. They talked issues and plans for the future. If you think they’re only working on minor changes, you’d be wrong. More: https://twit.tv/shows/ham-nation/episodes/303

There wasn’t a ton of major announcements at Hamvention. Some of the more technical things I did pick up on:

ICOM had a prototype of their latest direct-sampling SDR transceiver, the IC-7610. It resembles the IC-7600 with the SDR features of the IC-7300. They’re looking at late summer availability once approved by the FCC.
Kenwood featured their TH-D74 APRS & D-STAR 144/220/430 HT. This radio has been out for some time but were touting D-STAR has seen a resurgence because of this radio. I don’t think people are going to start putting up D-STAR repeaters again because of one radio. Kenwood is looking for feedback from customers to see if there is interest creating an equivalent mobile radio to the D74.
220 MHz DV access point (DVAP) for the D74 and 4 new “DV AIR” devices by Robin AA4RC. AIR series are embedded devices supporting the DV Dongle, DV3K, and DVAP eliminating the configuration and need of a Raspberry Pi to make those devices portable.
Yaesu had their new DR-2X repeater on display.
Flex Radio has four new SDR radios. Two models integrate the Maestro control panel (touch screen and controls) into the radio. If you ever thought ‘real radios have knobs,’ there you go.
Just before Dayton, Connect Systems shipped the first batch of CS800D DMR dual band mobile radios. There is a waiting list for the next around assuming no issues with the first. Check the Connect Systems store and look for the ‘CS800D waiting list’ option for instructions.

The 300th episode of Ham Nation was the week before Dayton. I attended the Ham Nation forum which was still standing room only in the new room. I got to be apart of the forum promoting the D-STAR After Show net. Show hosts and net controllers were invited to the ARRL booth afterward to get our picture taken with Tom Gallagher – NY2RF.

With the highlights and festivities around Dayton Hamvention, the special event commemorating 300 episodes of Ham Nation kicked off the following Wednesday with episode 301. For one week, show hosts, after show net controllers, many with 1 x 1 special event call signs where on the HF bands and digital modes. With nearly an estimated 10,000 contacts made, digital didn’t get the numbers we hoped. There were pileups for the nets but quickly dropped off for the remainder of the week. The idea for digital was to involve more hams that don’t have privileges or means for an HF setup. Those that participated were happy digital was involved.

If you participated in Ham Nation 300, send your QSL card with an SASE to the stations worked. A commemorative card will be returned. The logs are being compiled for the certificates which will be available in the future, catch the show for details. Lastly, the points challenge is going on until August so you still have time to get involved if you missed the special event stations.

Last month, I started out with an introductory series on terminology used in ham radio DMR. I finished a second writeup on programming a code plug from scratch. Programming is focused around the TYT MD-380 but should apply to other CPSes too. It covers a fictitious repeater example, hotspot configuration (even for the DV4Mini), and simplex operation. Check it out and get familiar with your DMR radio by programming it! http://www.k8jtk.org/2017/06/11/dmr-in-amateur-radio-programming-a-code-plug/

Not at Dayton but shortly after, I saw a hands-on review of the new Tytera (TYT) MD-2017 DMR dual band hand held on Ham Radio 2.0. You heard right, a DUAL BAND DMR HT! I was excited for this radio even though there are not many VHF DMR repeaters – unless you’re in New England it seems. The review indicated the channel selector knob was replaced with a Blackberry Curve-style roller trackball. My enthusiasm quickly deflated. WHY??!! I had a BB Curve. The trackball was a nice idea at the time but it was overly sensitive, got gummed up quickly – especially in a dirty environment, was hard to clean, and had to be replaced about once a year. The radio itself is similar to the MD-380 but differences include programming cable, software, code plugs, and a VFO. An MD-380 code plug won’t open in the MD-2017 CPS. I’m sure a hacked program will be available to load code plugs on different radios. Seemed like a good radio otherwise, though I won’t be getting one. Ham Radio 2.0 Episode 99: Debut of the TYT MD-2017 Dual Band DMR HT: http://www.livefromthehamshack.tv/2017/05/29/episode-99-debut-tyt-md-2017-dual-band-dmr-ht/

The next big ham holiday, Field Day, is right around the corner. Get out and join your club or find a club to join if you’re not a member of one. It’s a great time to bring friends and get them excited about ham radio. Hams that come out get bitten by the bug to expand their station or learn a new mode. Check the Field Day Locator for operations taking place near you: http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator. Sending 10 messages over RF from your site gets you 100 points – including Winlink messages. I love to receive messages about your setup, stations operating, or social activities taking place. These can be sent via the National Traffic System (NTS) or Winlink – K8JTK at Winlink.org. Winlink post: https://winlink.org/content/field_day_send_11_winlink_messages_200_points

With July around the corner, the 13 Colonies special event is coming up (http://www.13colonies.net/) along with the RAC Canada Day contest (http://wp.rac.ca/rac-canada-day-contest-rules-2017/).

Note: Ham Nation pictures taken by Tom – N8ETP.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – May 2017 edition

May 15, 2017 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-ohio-section-journal-hamvention.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

DMR: you’re hearing a ton about it from the Ohio Section and the number of repeaters has exploded with nearly 60 in the state. DMR saw growth due to inexpensive offerings of quality radios at last year’s show. I suspect this year will be no different with new offerings from vendors, possibility of dual band radios around the corner, and many more groups supporting DMR.

How many of you know the terminology and could program a DMR radio from scratch? Passing around a code plug makes the mode seem plug-and-play and it’s a great way to get started. Relying on existing code plugs leaves most of us unable to change the configuration of our own radios or even know how it works. What happens if you need to change programming, add a repeater, the code plug information is old, or wrong?

When I started last year, I found there was very little information available on DMR in ham radio. I learned DMR by doing a couple things. First, I looked at the code plug I downloaded for my TYT MD-380. I got a lot of knowledge playing around with that. There were a couple things I wasn’t quite sure about. When I got together with a buddy who was interested in DMR, we further played around with the software, tried different settings, and I filled in those gaps.

With the continued support from the Ohio Section, one of our Technical Specialists, Dave – KD8TWG has been giving training presentations on radio programming and he created a DMR Learning Series explaining terminology and etiquette: https://kd8twg.net/category/dmr/dmr-learning-series/.

I put together a paper with the goal of explaining DMR to the person just starting out and include some more technical descriptions. It started as an idea to write an article or two for the OSJ around Dayton time so anyone jumping in would have good information. After starting the project, it quickly became much bigger.

The first writing talks about the DMR standard and compares it to other made-for-ham-radio modes like D-STAR and Fusion. One topic that might be of interest is the section on ‘is it legal?’ I’ve heard this question come up frequently and even clubs in the section are questioning the legality. Radios, CPS, code plugs, registering for a DMR ID are all discussed. I talk about repeaters, c-Bridges, networks, and some of the issues one might encounter. Terminology covered includes time slots, talk groups, reflectors, contacts, RX Group Lists, channels, zones, scan lists, and hotspots: http://www.k8jtk.org/2017/05/10/dmr-in-amateur-radio-terminology/.

The second will deal with creating a sample code plug for a factitious repeater, tying all the terminology together. Afterwards, you will be able to create and update your own code plugs! Stay tuned to next month. DMR repeaters in Ohio: https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/feature_search.php?state_id=39&type=DMR.

At the request of Cuyahoga County Skywarn, Technical Specialist Dave – KD8TWG has installed a Sage EAS ENDEC device on the 146.76 repeater in Cleveland. 146.76 is the primary Skywarn repeater for Cuyahoga County. The device is the same used by radio and television stations to broadcast Emergency Alert System messages. It monitors NOAA weather radio frequencies and broadcasts tornado watches/warnings, thunderstorm watches/warnings – for Cuyahoga County, and the weekly EAS test. It’s been performing flawlessly!

The data and attention tones are the same everyone is familiar with. These are the same one would hear tuning to a broadcast radio or TV station during an event. In order to not clobber an existing QSO, the device will delay playing the alert until the repeater is free. DTMF tones are available to Skywarn NCS’s to disable the alerts if it begins to interfere with the net. Some innovative working being done here. Thanks for the hard work Dave.

Anthony – K8ZT, our ASM for Educational Outreach, shared some links with me from his site. He has put together lists of great resources for doing projects, ideas for the class room, training classes, and build projects a group my want to coordinate:

www.k8zt.com/tech – electronics, kits, homebrewing, calculators, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi.
www.k8zt.com/electronics – learn about electronics and radio basics.
www.k8zt.com/building – kits and homebrew.
www.k8zt.com/ard-rasp – projects and instructables for Raspberry Pi and Arduino.
www.k8zt.com/calc – calculators, spreadsheets, data analytics, and reference tables.

After my write up of podcasts last May (http://www.k8jtk.org/2016/05/15/ohio-section-journal-the-technical-coordinator-may-2016-edition/), I try to catch ones that feature a ham in the Ohio section. QSO Today episode 144 featured John Ackermann – N8UR. John was a past president of TAPR (which I’m a member) and is a big proponent of open source hardware and software (openly sharing designs that make the community better). Eric and John talked about his usage of SDR radios and this collection of test equipment. He’s done alot of experimenting with APRS and shares some of his lessons learned. I especially liked his idea that hams can achieve much greater data transfer speeds in the 3 GHz portion of our spectrum. Maybe others in the section will develop technology to utilize that spectrum more than we are currently. The podcast is available on your favorite podcast app by searching for “QSO Today” or by going to: http://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/n8ur.

Don’t forget #HamNation300 special event is starting the Wednesday following Dayton. There will be stations operating D-STAR, DMR, Echolink, possibly Fusion, P25 and anything else we can get our hands on – in addition to SSB. I will be doing D-STAR, JT65, and maybe PSK too for some HF digital contacts. Points challenge is available for those who enjoy the social aspect of a special event. Tune in to Ham Nation (twit.tv/hn) every Wednesday evening. Details can be found on our event page: https://www.hamnationdstar.net/2017/04/05/ham-nation-300-special-event/. I will also be participating in the Ham Nation forum at Hamvention on Saturday, 10:30a in Room 1.

The show featured the digital net controllers this past Wednesday (5/10). My ugly mug was featured along with my good friend Andrew- WA8LIV from the DMR net and Dave – N3NTV from the Echolink net. You can watch the segment if you dare: https://youtu.be/afWX5kQSBAg?t=1h11m27s or download it at: https://twit.tv/shows/ham-nation/episodes/299. There’s a reason (more than one?) I stayed behind the camera when I worked TV production. I kid, check it out and join in the fun of #HamNation300.

That’s about it for this month. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you at Dayton (er, Xenia) this year. I’ve heard there were a record number of ticket pre-orders which I hope means a successful year for Hamvention. One thing I can guarantee for this year: it will be different for all of us. I’m excited to see what’s in store at this new venue. Get your shopping lists ready…. and see you at Dayton! Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – April 2017 edition

April 14, 2017 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2017/04/april-edition-of-ohio-section-journal.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey gang,

Since the last couple months have been feature articles, this month will be odds-n-ends.

Maker Spaces & Faires

I got positive comments on last month’s article about Makerspaces and Maker Faires. I hope it gave clubs and groups ideas to get younger makers into our hobby. Not only did the January edition of QST have the article on Maker Faires but it was the focus of ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher – NY2RF’s note in April. I’m happy to say these types of things are on the radar of the League and they’re focusing efforts on this new generation of Ham Radio operators. According to Tom, the ARRL plans to be at the three national maker events this year.

AllStar

I learned the creator of AllStar Link, Jim Dixon – WB6NIL, passed away at the end of last year. Jim is the creator of “app_rpt” which allowed the open source PBX system, Asterisk, to function as a repeater controller. In doing so, created one of the most impressive and versatile solutions for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) in ham radio. Having played around with AllStar on my own node, nodes can be linked together directly through the public Internet, private network, point-to-point network, or really any combination of methods. Hubs are systems with greater bandwidth allowing for multiple simultaneous connections – like “reflectors” on IRLP or “conferences” on Echolink. One of my buddies who spoke with Jim commented that he was the smartest, nicest guy you’d meet and [he] would be doing well if he retained even half of what they talked about. Jim will be missed but the AllStar project will live on. AllStar Link: https://allstarlink.org/, Raspberry Pi & BeagleBone image: https://hamvoip.org/

Fldigi & Flmsg

W1HKJ and the contributors to the Fldigi project have been busy (http://www.w1hkj.com/). A new major release of Fldigi was made available at the end of March. This brings both Fldigi & Flmsg up to version 4.0.1. Technical Specialist Bob – K8MD messaged me about the update. My response: ‘crap, I just updated the screen shots from the previous changes the weekend before’ (3.22.x). I was hoping there were no new changes. Of course there were! Now my newly updated instructions are dated again! Those instructions were getting stale because of significant program option changes since I made them available about two years ago. They are on my site (up to Fldigi v3.23.21 and Flmsg 4.0.1) at http://www.k8jtk.org/2015/04/16/getting-started-with-fldigi-including-flmsg-and-flwrap/. Written for the LEARA Digital Net, they do focus on NBEMS operation.

Check them out and do some practice nets. From experience, it’s best if ALL participating stations are using the same program versions. There are fewer issues with forms because newer forms are included in later Flmsg versions that were not in earlier ones and everyone can be on the same page when going through settings.

Over that same weekend, I wrote up tutorials and hacks you can do with Flmsg. We’ve all been there. You missed receiving part of an Flmsg message because of being off frequency (radio or waterfall), in the wrong mode, or not paying attention. The issue is quickly corrected and most of the message is still received. However, Fldigi doesn’t know what to do with the form because some of the headers are missing. When headers are missed, Fldigi can’t open the form because the message won’t checksum. The checksum is used to verify the entire message was received. I wrote up a tutorial how to recover a partially missed message: http://www.k8jtk.org/2017/03/25/recovering-a-partially-received-flmsg-message/.

The last is more of an Flmsg hack. When an Flmsg form is received, NBEMS standard is to have the ‘open in browser’ option enabled. As expected, this will open the received form in the default browser. Many don’t realize that any web programming code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) sent as part of the form will be interpreted by the browser. This means you can send clickable links, link to an image, redirect to websites, and change background colors. Just about anything that can be done on a webpage can be sent as part of an Flmsg form and rendered when opened in the browser. Find out how at http://www.k8jtk.org/2017/03/25/flmsg-forms-rendered-as-web-pages/. Standard squid disclaimer for both: this is for fun and not NBEMS compliant.

OpenSpot

If you have an OpenSpot hotspot, there was a major firmware update for the device in February and subsequent update in March to bring the current version to 108. The changelong has – in the neighborhood of – 80 (yes, eighty) fixes and enhancements. Previously, I wasn’t using this device to run the Ham Nation D-STAR After Show net. However, since they added a nice web interface with call log and export feature, it’s now my device for running the net. If you’re looking for a ham radio digital mode hotspot, check out the SharkRF OpenSpot: https://www.sharkrf.com/products/openspot/

One of the SharkRF connector options is their own IP Connector Protocol Server (https://github.com/sharkrf/srf-ip-conn-srv). The Connector Server is used to create a network of OpenSpot devices and it can be implemented in other hardware/software as it is open source. Like AllStar, it can accept public internet connections, run on a private network, or mesh network. I haven’t tried but it may even compile and run on a Raspberry Pi.

The Connector Server repeats any digital transmission sent to it. All modes can even be simultaneously connected. D-STAR connected clients will only hear D-STAR transmissions because there is no transcoding of D-STAR data streams. DMR and Fusion streams can be transcoded. DMR streams are transmitted to modems set to DMR and converted by the OpenSpot to Fusion for Fusion modems. Similarly, a Fusion stream is transmitted to modems sent to Fusion and converted to DMR for DMR modems.

I’ve setup a Connector Server that is open and there to mess around with. In the OpenSpot configuration:

In Connectors: under Edit Connector, select “SharkRF IP Connector Client.”
Click “Switch to selected.”
Once changed, enter your TX/RX frequencies.
Server address: srf-ip-conn-srv.k8jtk.org
Port number is in ‘Advanced mode’ but is the default, 65100.
ID, use your CCS7 DMR ID.
No password.
Enter your Callsign.
Click “Save.”
In the Modem options, select the desired mode.

The dashboard is: http://srf-ip-conn-srv.k8jtk.org/. The server will remain online if it continues to see use. Otherwise, it could disappear at any time without use 🙂

Ham Nation 300 (#HamNation300)

Last but certainly not least, yours truly has been on the planning committee for the Ham Nation 300th special event. Ham Nation is an audio and video podcast recorded live and available at https://twit.tv/shows/ham-nation. The program records at 9:00 p.m. eastern time every Wednesday evening. Following each episode are the “after show nets” which are round tables discussing the show or ham radio. These nets include: 20m, 40m, D-STAR, DMR, and Echolink.

After each 100 episodes, a special event is planned to commemorate another 100 episodes. In the past, these have been geared around HF. The show is not only for the General/Extra class licensees and not everyone has the ability or desire to operate HF. This year’s festivities have something for everyone including the chance to make digital contacts for the special event and a summer long challenge.

Ham Nation 300th special event runs the week following Dayton, May 24-31, 2017. Full details can be found on any of the 1×1 special event callsigns on QRZ or at https://www.hamnationdstar.net/2017/04/05/ham-nation-300-special-event/. Please join in and help make this event successful. Follow it on social media: https://twitter.com/hashtag/hamnation300 and https://www.facebook.com/HNonTwit.

That’s about it for this month. Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – March 2017 edition

March 15, 2017 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2017/03/march-edition-of-ohio-section-journal.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey Gang,

Ever heard of a makerspace? I hadn’t until one of the podcasts I follow, Hak5, talked about the concept and visited a couple. Following that, the “QSO Today” podcast (episode 75) talked about a connection to ham radio and the January 2017 edition of QST gave ideas for clubs participating in “Maker Faires.” Makerspaces, sometimes referred to as hackerspaces, hackspaces, or fablabs are shared resources for creative DIY types where people can gather to create, invent, and learn. Sound familiar? It should. Those are the foundations of Amateur Radio.

“These spaces combine manufacturing equipment, community, and education for the purposes of enabling community members to design, prototype and create manufactured works that wouldn’t be possible to create with the resources available to individuals working alone” states makerspace.com. Makerspaces are a relatively new idea with a leaning toward younger individuals. Spaces can be setup by a group of individuals, nonprofit company, or for-profit company who host spaces in rented buildings, schools, universities, libraries, or anywhere else the community decides to meet.

The business model is similar to that of a gym membership where users of the space pay a monthly membership fee – somewhere in the neighborhood of $30-$50. This gives members access to the facility and its resources. Those resources may include: machine shop, wood shop, welding shop, electronics lab, 3D printer, laser engraver, art supplies, blacksmithing, molding and casting, robotics lab, CAD software, glass blowing, space for experiments, and even entrepreneurship classes. The possibilities are endless. This model works because purchasing even one piece of equipment will run an individual more than the cost of a membership fee. Experts and instructors are available to help others learn how to use the equipment – on-site or through training classes.

When you think about it, hams have been doing this for decades: borrowing radios, borrowing test equipment, and pulling knowledge from the larger community to accomplish a task. The community, as a whole, is a much more powerful resource when each individual shares their own knowledge with the community and builds encouragement for others. Look at all the aspects of the ham radio hobby. Some hams are good at soldering, surface mount, climbing towers, programming, tuning repeaters, fabrication, digital operation, software defined radios, Internet linking, portable operation, award chasing, DX, CW, QRP, building antennas – no one ham can do it all. It’s the reason most of us join clubs. Contribute to the community and learn from others.

Getting ham clubs affiliated with makerspaces will promote the maker mentality of ham radio in a space where people who make stuff are already gathering. A club could hold licensing classes or a build project in the space. Others would see those sessions posted around the space, promoted on the website or Facebook group, or in an email to the makerspace members and community inviting others to join in. One club in our section is doing just that. The Wood County Amateur Radio Club has partnered with the BiG Fab Lab in Bowling Green, Ohio. I am a Life member of the WCARC and joined this club while attending BGSU in 2002.

About the BiG Fab Lab from their website:
BiG Fab Lab, LLC is an open-access 24/7 workshop (or “Maker Space”) that serves people in the Northwest Ohio region. We provide the equipment, classes, private storage and studio space, and personal assistance to a membership community that allows them to prototype and develop any idea they can imagine. We are targeting people, schools, and businesses who have an interest in hands-on skills in a variety of crafting, design, manufacturing areas, and business incubation. We also provide retail space so that our members can test market and sell their creations! … Could you imagine the power of bringing business, students (K-12 & university), and community members together into one place? No walls, no silos, each sharing and collaborating with others to innovate, educate, and collaborate. Perhaps we could transform our region and maybe the world!

Located in the Woodland Mall off North Main Street, the $40 membership fee gives access to: a wood shop, machine shop, engravers, 3D printers, plotters, laser engravers, an arts and crafts space for ceramics, large cafeteria style meeting room, and they’re not done yet! Training classes are held for each piece of equipment in the lab. Once a member is trained and demonstrates the ability to safely operate the equipment, an achievement is added to their member swipe-card giving them access to that equipment 24/7.

The BiG Fab Lab will be featured in an episode of the PBS show “The American Woodshop.” Scott Phillips, host of The American Woodshop, and the crew from WBGU-TV (a former employer of mine), taped episode 2409 set to air this month (March 2017). If you missed the show or it’s not carried by your local PBS station, past episodes can be found at http://www.wbgu.org/americanwoodshop/ and look for “Watch Episodes” near the bottom.

In one of my return trips to visit the club, I got a tour from Bob Boughton – N1RB and Bob Willman – WB8NQW to see how this partnership came to be. Mark Bowlus, Founder and Director of the BiG Fab Lab, wanted to strengthen the presence of electronics in the lab. Doing some research, he reached out to the Wood County Amateur Radio Club. Over the past few years, the two have partnered and are developing a relationship promoting electronics and ham radio. The club established a station at the Fab Lab which and will include VHF/UHF station and HF station. Of course, the work is never done and more is being added all the time.

WCARC couldn’t be happier about the cooperation they are receiving from the Fab Lab. To date, there have been two ham radio licensing classes; one Technician and one General. A second Technician class was started in February of this year. The turnout has been better than expected because the BiG Fab Lab is promoting these classes on their calendar and Facebook group. Participants come as far away as Michigan. Students are charged $30 for the training manual, exam fee, and a monetary fee charged by the lab to use the space.

Future plans include building out the electronics area with test equipment. The club hopes to offer regular electronics and license training classes. Once the training classes are in place, the Fab Lab has offered to waive the lab membership free for WCARC members! Additionally, the club plans to use the station as a base of operations, being more out in the public, in case of an emergency.

Issues the WCARC had to address are: legal agreements and unauthorized access to the station. Legal agreements are incredibly important. Their agreement spells out and covers both the lab and club should either entity disband, dissolve, or go out-of-business; for example, what happens to the Club’s equipment. A club seeking to do the same would need legal counsel or know one willing to do pro bono work to write up a legal agreement.

The BiG Fab Lab is a 24-hour facility. Having a station control operator at all times is unreasonable. The club, with the help of a partnering company, developed a method to allow the equipment to be turned on for anyone to listen. To inhibit transmitting, the microphone port will be disabled by default. Once a lab member becomes licensed or holds a valid amateur license, that achievement will be added to their access card just as if they were qualified on any other piece of equipment. When the member swipes the card with that achievement, the microphone port will be enabled allowing that licensee to transmit.

Having access to a full shop is an amazing resource and opportunity to get ham radio out in front of like-minded people. If a similar shop is not nearby, opportunities for clubs to participate in “Maker Faires” are available too. The article in QST describes them as “one part festival, one part flea market, one part rock concert.” Makers are brought together in a hamfest-like environment to display their projects including: 3D printing, electronics and microcontrollers, robotics and drones, music and dance, homemade electric vehicles, art and textiles, cooking, science, woodworking, and blacksmithing.

One theme that kept popping-up in the article: focus on making, not operating. Visitors are not interested in watching a ham making contacts or ‘get licensed’ pamphlets. Take an indirect approach to ham radio. Makers want to see Wi-Fi and Bluetooth used for wireless data links, long-range data systems (data modes, packet), microcomputers and inexpensive tablets, ADS-B, weather satellite receivers, spectrum analyzers, cable and antenna sweepers, and SDR – to name a few. Makers are already familiar with these technologies. Promote these topics – which lead to discussions on getting licensed. Explain ways ham radio can add value to their projects. A new wide area network technology called LoRa has makers really excited to be able to send bidirectional wireless data between 0.3 kpbs and 50 kbps over long ranges. Hams have been doing similar networking with packet and mesh.

Each year, do a different project to keep people coming back. Some examples of projects include demonstration on the relationship between wavelength, frequency, and changes in VSWR. Explain how communication efforts in a recent natural disaster could have benefited by building an NVIS antenna for a particular band. Have a display prepared on antenna resonance with some hands-on activities. An SDR, antenna, and computer could show different signals on a spectrum display. Bring lots of Raspberry Pis, Arduinos, and circuit boards. Be patient as it may take some time to get a maker licensed. Who knows, they may become your club’s most active member.

I challenge clubs to contact these organizations and form a partnership with a local makerspace or participate in a maker faire. I found a number of maker spaces throughout the section including the Columbus Idea Foundry, dubbed “the largest makerspace on the planet” by Tech Crunch. Doing some searching on the Internet leads to maker faires in different parts of the state. Not only is the Wood County Amateur Radio Club pioneering in the maker arena, the Alliance and Massillon Amateur Radio Clubs are involved with the University of Akron Wayne College 3 (UAWC3) Lab.

Efforts to get ham radio into schools for younger adults is great. I think the buy-in from administrators is far too high because it does not fit into their method of teaching to the standardized tests. I’ve been a part of conversations where the feeling that recruitment in scouting programs has not been as favorable as anticipated. Efforts could be better utilized by sharing our hobby with makers, who tend to be younger adults and college aged students with a similar mindset.

Below are links related to makerspaces and faires:

Wood County Amateur Radio Club: http://wcarc.bgsu.edu/

BiG Fab Lab: http://bigfablab.com/

Ohio Hacker/Makerspaces: https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/Ohio

Other locations: https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/List_of_Hacker_Spaces

Makerspace directory: http://spaces.makerspace.com/makerspace-directory

Maker Faires: http://makerfaire.com/map/

That’s about it for this month. Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – February 2017 edition

February 15, 2017 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2017/02/february-edition-of-ohio-section-journal.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey Gang,

On Sunday, February 12, I connected up with the Central Ohio Radio Club located in, you guessed it, central Ohio! They have a Tech Net most Sunday evenings at 7:30pm. They asked me to be the featured guest on one of their nets. Some of you might realize this causes a problem since I live in the Cleveland area. Enter the technical side of the hobby and IRLP. IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) is a service that connects amateur stations together using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Different from other ham radio VoIP services, IRLP requires the Internet link be connected to an RF link, usually a repeater or simplex node. Using the LEARA 146.880 repeater in Cleveland (a club which I’m Vice President and a bunch of other stuff) and Internet linking technology, I was able to join their net as if I were local to Columbus.

The CORC Tech Net contacted me looking for information on technical resources available in the section. I got the chance to do an introduction about myself – we’ll quickly move past that 😉 Then I talked about how the technical resources fit into the ARRL organizational structure. If you’re new or haven’t looked at it before, at the top are the ARRL Officers: president, first & second vice presidents, COO, etc. The ARRL Board Committees include the Executive Committee, Administration & Finance, Programs & Services, Public Relations, DX, LoTW, etc. Then Divisions, of which there are 15 total, with Director and Vice Director positions. In Ohio, we’re included in the Great Lakes Division. Finally, our section is the Ohio Section where Scott – N8SY is our fearless leader and Section Manager (SM).

Below the SM are their appointees who may or may not include (depending on the section): Section Traffic Manager (STM), Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC), Assistant Section Manager (ASM), Official Observer Coordinator (OOC), Technical Coordinator (TC), Affiliated Club Coordinator (ACC), Public Information Coordinator (PIC), State Government Liaison (SGL), Section Youth Coordinator (SYC). If you’re reading this, the people above and below me in this Journal make up this list. I won’t spend too much time here as details can be found on the “About ARRL” page at http://www.arrl.org/about-arrl.

As the Technical Coordinator, I’m responsible for the Technical Specialists. The Specialists and I are here to promote technical advances and experimentation in the hobby. We encourage amateurs in the section to share their technical achievements with others in QST, at club meetings, in club newsletters, hamfests, and conventions. We’re available to assist program committees in finding or providing suitable programs for local club meetings, ARRL hamfests, and conventions in the section. When called upon, serve as advisors in RFI issues and work with ARRL officials and appointees for technical advice.

The Technical Specialists really make all this happen. In the Ohio Section, there are about 20 qualified and competent Specialists willing to help. They meet the obligation of advancing the radio art bestowed to us by the FCC. The TSes support the Section in two main areas of responsibility: Radio Frequency Interference and technical information. RFI can include harmful interference (interference that seriously degrades, obstructs, or repeatedly interrupts a radiocommunication service) from bad insulators on telephone poles to grow lights and poorly made transformers, RFI direction finding, or assist in locating bozo stations. Technical information is everything else from building antennas, repeaters and controllers, digital, computers, networking, and embedded devices.

How can we help? The knowledge and abilities of your Technical Specialists are quite impressive. Here are some examples of the knowledge the Technical Specialists provide:

Documentation and training.
VHF/UHF portable operation.
Antennas (fixed, portable, and mobile).
Batteries and emergency power.
Experts in RFI from powerline and consumer devices.
VHF/UHF/SHF contesting.
Experts in test equipment.
Automotive electronic compatibility (EMC) and interference (EMI).
Repeaters.
Digital modes (D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, P25, APRS & IGates. HF: MT63, JT65, Olivia, PSK).
Computers and networking (VoIP – AllStar link, software engineering, embedded systems – Raspberry Pi, Arduino).
Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) members knowledgeable in interference problems.

This impressive list of qualifications is available to all in the Ohio Section. Looking for help in one of these areas? Feel free to contact myself. My contact info is near my picture and on the arrl-ohio.org website. I’ll try to assist or get some more information from you and put you in touch with an appropriate Technical Specialist. One of the Specialists might hear a plea for help and reach out to you as well. If you would like to add your talents, check out the description at the ARRL site: http://www.arrl.org/technical-specialist and talk to Scott or myself.

Thanks again to CORC (http://corc.us/) for inviting me as the featured guest on their Tech Net and LEARA (http://www.leara.org/) for the use of the IRLP node to make this connection possible.

That’s about it for this month. Stay tuned for next month’s article, got something good planned. Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – January 2017 edition

January 16, 2017 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2017/01/january-2017-edition-of-ohio-section.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey Gang,

In early January I did some traveling. Both intrastate and interstate. Of course, I took my radios to play around and see what activity there was. The first trip was to western Ohio and the second to south-western Pennsylvania (Johnstown area). I have been a buff for keeping updated lists of repeaters between my usual travel spots. Places I don’t frequent, I’ve relied on Internet sites.

I’m always screwing around with programming in my radios and I have programming software for each. When traveling, I program repeaters along the way and near where I’m staying. My programming application of choice is the RT Systems programmer (https://www.rtsystemsinc.com/). Their solution is about $50 for an entire package including the cable ($25) and programming software ($25). However, 4 of my radios use the same cable so I only needed to purchase the cable once and the software for each radio. CHIRP (http://chirp.danplanet.com/) is another popular solution for only the cost of a programming cable (~$15 each), the software is free. CHIRP doesn’t manage radio settings like RT. I like this ability because I tend to have different profiles depending how I’m using the radio. Manufactures release their own software too. Some are free downloads, others a premium accessory. I gave up on these solutions because the couple I tried were horrible experiences and very barebones packages. They were janky to operate and didn’t have an, what I consider to be essential, import/export function.

RT Systems has a good importer where, in many cases, the output of a webpage can be copied and pasted into the programmer. It will attempt to determine the content of each column (transmit frequency, PL, etc.). It’s not always successful but the data type can be specified during the import process though, this needs to be repeated each time. If a CSV file (plain text file with comma separated values) is not available, I found it much easier to paste webpage results into an Excel spreadsheet. This will retain the data columns. Insert a blank row above the data and type in labels that match the column headers in the programmer. Other columns, like city or distance, can be deleted or left blank – and will be ignored. Copy all data including headers and repeaters from the Excel sheet and paste them into the RT programmer. The import wizard will appear. Check that the data is being detected correctly in each step. Clicking finish will complete importing the data into the programmer. This helps greatly in importing data straight from a webpage so I don’t have to assign data types each time I import data. This spreadsheet approach is not needed when using “External Data” sources built into the programmer. Here are some header conversion examples: the webpage column label is on the left and the spreadsheet (RT) header on the right:

Frequency -> Receive Frequency
PL -> CTCSS
Call -> Name
Notes -> Comment
Distance -> *delete column or no label*
City -> *delete column or no label*

Aside from the programming software, sources are needed for data. I’ll share my experiences with some that I’ve used. I used the Repeater Directory, Ohio Area Repeater Council (OARC) website, RFinder, K1IW Amateur Repeater and Broadcast Transmitters Database Websearch, RepeaterBook, Radio Reference, and the ArtSciPub Repeater database.

General comments about these sources: much of the information is old, dated, stale, or wrong based on information I knew about repeaters in my home area and observations about the resulting data in my travels. Most make some claim to pull data from a ‘number of sources,’ which almost always means the local repeater coordinating body for that area. In Ohio, that is the Ohio Area Repeater Council. Others take a crowdsourcing approach which enlists the services of a large number of people – or at least those who do contribute. Contributors can submit add/delete requests for repeaters as necessary, update call signs, PL tones, locations, features, network affiliations, Internet links, DMR Talk Groups, and so on. It appears the Repeater Directory is used as a starting point for most databases.

ARRL Repeater Directory and the Ohio Repeater Council website (http://www.oarc.com/): The Repeater Directory and OARC Repeater search are supposed to be one-in-the-same so that’s why I grouped these two together. The OARC is the source for the printed ARRL Repeater Directory. Recent updates may appear on the website with those changes appearing in the print edition a year or more later. I did find differences between the printed edition and online version. I’m unsure why but they should be the same. In both the printed and online searches, there are a lot of, what hams refer to as, “paper repeaters.” That is someone who correctly holds a repeater frequency pair coordination but does not have a repeater in operation on that pair. Repeaters in the testing phase or down for repairs are not considered paper repeaters, unless that time reaches 6 months of inactivity. This timeframe is determined by the local repeater frequency coordinator. Something else I noticed: there are repeater pairs turned over to the OARC, nearly a decade ago, that are still listed as active or coordinated. The OARC website is free to use and results can be copied and pasted from the webpage for importing. No export of the OARC database is available.

The Repeater Directory comes in pocket sized ($10.95 – https://www.arrl.org/shop/The-ARRL-Repeater-Directory-Pocket-size) and desktop editions ($15.95 – https://www.arrl.org/shop/The-ARRL-Repeater-Directory-Desktop-Edition). An electronic version is available through RFinder (see below). Importing from the paper Repeater Directory into programming software is, well, impossible without typing it in or utilizing character recognition. 🙂

RFinder (https://www.arrl.org/shop/RFinder-The-World-Wide-Repeater-Directory/): Also known as the World Wide Repeater Directory (WWRD). It started out as a project by Bob – W2CYK as the place to find repeater data. He has partnered with the ARRL, RAC, RSGB, and many other organizations throughout the world including software companies for the ability to import directly from the RFinder database. In partnering with the ARRL, RFinder is the online version of the printed Repeater Directory. There is an iOS and Android app available. The Android app is feature-rich which includes the ability to preload a continent (if you don’t or won’t have Internet access), different sort methods (frequency, distance), display estimated coverage maps, list Internet Linked nodes (EchoLink, IRLP, and AllStar), and ability to submit updates (crowdsourcing). In addition to the mobile apps, much of the functionality is available through a web interface. My favorite feature is the map displaying my current position and tower icons indicating repeaters nearby. Though not the best implementation because a city with multiple coordinated repeaters has the icons for each stacked on top of each other. A popup balloon listing all would have been more useful. A lot of work has been put into developing features but, the interfaces could use some fine tuning as the map was one example of multiple problems I encountered. RFinder suffers from paper repeater and stale data problems due to the source of the data. An annual subscription of $9.99/year is required with multi-year and lifetime discounts available. The Android app comes with a 30-day limited trial. Purchasing the iOS version includes a 1 year subscription.

K1IW Amateur Repeater and Broadcast Transmitters Database Websearch (http://www.amateur-radio.net/rptr/): This website serves a single purpose: find repeaters and/or broadcast transmitters (FCC listed AM, FM, and TV) within an area. Enter a city, state, radius, and select at least one band and the results will be a listing of repeaters within that radius – including Canada and DC. The search aggregates various coordinating organizations along with a couple other sources. Searching Toledo, Ohio brings up both Ohio and Michigan results. Usefulness of the results are based on accuracy of the sources. There are paper repeaters and stale data here as well. Resulting lists can be copied and pasted from the webpage for importing. This service is free.

RepeaterBook (https://www.repeaterbook.com/): RepeaterBook relies on crowdsourced data and not sources like the Repeater Directory. Upon navigating to a particular state, there is an extensive list of quick search options including: band, features (Autopatch, EchoLink, IRLP, linked), emergency service (ARES, RACES, Skywarn), coverage of a route (highway, US route, state route), town, county, and ratings. Advanced search options provide radius, nationwide, travel, niche (digital modes, linking), and frequency vacancies. Results can be copied and pasted from the webpage for importing. Creating an account will enable exporting to the software applications CHIRP, G4HFQ, RT Systems, and TravelPlus. Though most are CSV files, they nicely include the correct column headers and break the data into the correct fields like 146.610- into “Receive Frequency” and “Offset Direction.” Since the data is crowdsourced, the listings are not entirely accurate. I noticed a good number of repeaters in the Repeater Directory and on-the-air but, missing from RepeaterBook. When I brought up the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) for the jog around Pittsburgh, no repeaters were listed. The first one returned was nearly 3 hours east of the PA border. This means no repeaters in Pittsburgh have been submitted as covering I-76 which was incorrect seeing as I could hit a number of repeaters. The website can use some unification because different options are available on different screens. Mobile applications are available for iOS and Android and they support BlueCAT BlueTooth (http://www.zbm2.com/BlueCAT/) available for a limited number of radios. Clicking a repeater listing in the mobile app will tune the radio to that frequency and set correct offsets and PL tones. This service is free.

Radio Reference (http://www.radioreference.com/): Radio Reference is geared toward the scanner listener and contains mostly crowd sourced data for public service frequencies. Scanner listeners who are travelers have definitely used this site. Once you locate an area in the Frequency Database, often there will be a list of repeaters in the “Amateur Radio” tab. This list is minimal and not comprehensive but includes mostly popular, emcomm, and Skywarn repeaters. These will likely be ones of interest and will actually be on the air when you key up. Results can be copied and pasted from the webpage for importing. Downloading a CSV file requires a premium subscription of $15 for 180 days, $30 for 360, or by providing an audio scanner feed.

ArtSciPub (http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/): ArtSciPub stands for Arts & Sciences Publications. They started as a software company and now do science related publications. One of their projects is a repeater database. Start a search by selecting a state, entering a zip code, or frequency. The resulting list can be resorted by clicking any of the column headers. Repeaters can be added or modified without an account. This database is very old as changes that happened 15 years ago are still not listed. Results can be copied and pasted from the webpage for importing. A Repeater MapBook is available for purchase. A membership of $20/year will allow access to larger maps, customized content, removal of advertisements, and high-quality PDF maps.

In this realm, there are currently no great solutions with perfectly accurate data. Some repeaters never change, others are changing all the time – which is a reason why it’s hard to keep accurate records of such as large population of repeaters. I think my best option is using RepeaterBook in conjunction with the ARRL Repeater Directory or K1IW to get a good representation of the repeater landscape while traveling.

I got the chance to finish up the project of getting LEARA’s Fusion repeater on the air New Year’s Eve. I mentioned the first in a series of tips back in November. With the help of Bill – K8SGX (Technical Specialist), we punched some holes, ran some jumper cables, and finally, the machine was on the air! Other DR-1X owners who are using the repeater in Automatic Mode Select were reporting the repeater locking in transmit when a digital and analog signal were simultaneously received by the repeater. Cycling the power would be required each time the repeater locked up. Our club decided to configure the Fusion repeater in digital only mode as a result. Today, it is a stand-alone repeater but things are looking promising for an Internet link. If you’re in the Cleveland area, try out the 444.700 YSF repeater on the west side. No tone, digital squelch, or digital code options are required. Thanks again to K8SGX and my dad Tom – N8ETP for their help with this project.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – December 2016 edition

December 16, 2016 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2016/12/december-edition-of-ohio-section-journal.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey Gang,

In October, I was invited by Medina County ARES to see a presentation about Winlink. I had heard of it as a way to send email messages over the HF bands. There were rumors around whether specialized hardware was needed and I really wanted to see what it was all about. Rick – K8CAV gave a great presentation on how it all works and some tips that really helped me get operating on Winlink.

Winlink, in short, is a way to send email via radio circuits frequently used by RV campers, boaters, and mariners where the Internet may not be available or reliable. It is a store and forward system meaning your messages will be held and delivered when you call into a gateway, much like the dial-up or BBS days. There are a number of ways the software will operate: connect to a remote gateway station over the air, operate peer-to-peer over-the-air, connect via the Internet using Telnet (yeah, yeah ‘telnet isn’t secure’ but neither is your email going out over the air), or webmail. Winlink has regional Central Messaging Servers (CMS) which connect to the Radio Messaging Servers (RMS) over the Internet. The RMS is the gateway your client connects to for sending and receiving messages over-the-air.

There is little privacy as other stations can read your messages but the intent is to have a worldwide emergency email messaging system. Messages can be exchanged with any email address (Gmail, your ISP) on the Internet using the assigned callsign@winlink.org email address. Stations conducting business will likely get blocked from the RMS gateways. Attachments can be included with messages but due to bandwidth, these should be kept to small files like CSV or TXT files – no multi-megapixel images or videos.

There are three pieces to the Winlink client software: RMS Express is the ’90’s looking email client, Winmor – the modem, and ITS HF Propagation is a third party software program that works with Winmor to determine propagation for connection reliability. I got Winlink setup and working with my radio and SignaLink so no specialized hardware is required. A lot of back-and-forth transmit and receiving happens between the client and gateway. The TX/RX turn-around time needs to happen quickly (under 200ms), longer will require a high number of retransmissions. One tip to help minimize the delay: set the SignaLink delay control no further than the second hash mark (8 o’clock position). To get started, go to ftp://autoupdate.winlink.org. Click “User Programs.” Download and install “Winlink Express Install,” and “itshfbc” to their default locations. To get an account created on the system, you need to send one email to an Internet address such as your personal email. In addition, Winlink has an “APRSLink” where you can check for messages, read, compose, forward, and delete all by sending APRS messages. Feel free to send me a message to “my call” at winlink.org. More: http://www.winlink.org/

I’ve also been playing around with a new device from Shark RF called the OpenSpot. It’s a small company with two guys in Estonia (South of Finland). Production is done on a batching basis so there is a waiting list. It seems like they’re shipping units close to once per month. Once I got the shipping notice, I had the device within a week. They say 3-6 business days shipping time and it arrived certainly within that range. The OpenSpot is a standalone digital radio gateway otherwise known as a hotspot. It currently supports DMR (Brandmeister, DMR+), D-STAR (DPlus/REF, DCS, XRF/DExtra, XLX), and System Fusion (FCS, YSFReflector). If the mode or network isn’t supported, they do take requests and will make additions available via firmware upgrades. Since it is a hotspot device a transceiver capable of operating that mode is required. They are doing something cool since DMR and Fusion use the AMBE2 codec. A DMR radio can be used to access the Fusion network and vice-versa (DMR Talk Groups with a Fusion radio).

The OpenSpot has a lot of flexibility, very well designed, and is superior to the DV4Mini. It doesn’t need different Raspberry Pi images for different modes like the DVMega. The device comes with everything: the OpenSpot hotspot, Ethernet cable, USB cable, USB power adapter, and antenna. It runs an internal webserver for device configuration. I even like how they do the firmware update process. The OpenSpot shows up as a drive to the computer and using the copy command – copy the firmware to it and voilà – done. For DMR, it will operate like a DV4Mini with the radio configured in TG 9 (talk-group) or it will operate like a repeater (my preference) where the Talk Groups are push-to-talk. All the TAC groups are available (310, 311, 312, etc) and call routing works. I could not get these to go on the DV4Mini. D-STAR works great too. You can link and unlink to reflectors using radio commands. It does not have a drop down for linking directly to a D-STAR repeater on the network. The only systems listed are reflectors. Forum posts describe how to link to a D-STAR repeater (like a DVAP or DNGL would do) using the “Advanced Mode” screens.

It’s not great for portability as it comes (in a car, for example). I have not tried any of the USB to Ethernet adapters with my smartphone or tried a Raspberry Pi as a WiFi to Ethernet bridge. OpenSpot requires an Ethernet cable connection meaning no WiFi though there are plans to add this and uses USB for power and firmware upgrades. As with these devices in DMR mode, they do not transmit a valid call sign. The radio ID is not valid identification. If you listen to a repeater in FM it will ID in CW. Unfortunately, the cost is about twice that of the DV4Mini 182.50 € which, when I ordered, was about $235 including shipping. More: https://www.sharkrf.com/

Other new tech (Christmas gifts?). With advancements in Software-Defined Radios (SDR) I’m seeing a new breed of devices hams can use as radios: your smartphone. Well, at least something that resembles a smartphone or tablet – still need the additional hardware. A device out of the UK called “MyDel Hamfone Smartphone Transceiver” is available. It offers a 3G cellphone, 70cm transceiver (500mw/1W) with camera, expandable SD card, and GPS. The few reviews are positive but there is some question if its FCC certified in the US. More: http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-handheld-radio-mydel-handhelds/mydel/mydel-hamfone-smartphone-transceiver-pd-6093.php

Bob – W2CYK and the guys over at RFinder (the online repeater directory of the ARRL) have released the “RFinder Android Radio.” Their device integrates 4G LTE & GSM cell technologies alongside FM (DMR is also available) radios into a device with the RFinder repeater directory database. The directory offers coverage maps and switching repeaters is a point-and-click away. They also boast the elimination of codeplugs for DMR. This is great as finding codeplugs, or the information for one, is not always readily available. More: http://androiddmr.com

This past month, the Parma Radio Club invited me to their meeting to give the Raspberry Pi presentation. There was a lot of good discussion and questions. This is always good to hear because you know the audience is engaged, thinking, and ultimately providing real-time feedback on the presentation. Thanks for having me at your meeting. More: http://www.parmaradioclub.com/

Don’t forget, National Parks on the Air will be wrapping up at the end of the year. According to Tom Gallagher – NY2RF, NPOTA is getting closer to #1MillionQSOs: https://twitter.com/hashtag/1millionqsos. Look out for those NPOTA stations to get your score up for your wallpaper (that is certificate if you don’t operate special events and contests).

Starting this past fall with the kickoff of new TV seasons, the CW is airing a show called “Frequency” loosely based off the 2000 Sci-Fi thriller of the same name. It starred Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel as father and son, Frank and John Sullivan. This was big with hams because the movie incorporated something that resembled ham-radio which allowed the father and son to talk 30 years into the past and future. The TV show has gotten positive reviews with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 74% with the biggest criticism being the back-and-forth between now and 20 years in the past. It airs Wednesday nights at 9pm (Ham Nation time so it gets the DVR treatment here) with the last couple episodes available on the CW website and on Netflix streaming. More: http://www.cwtv.com/shows/frequency/

Finally, don’t forget the HF Santa Net through Christmas Eve. Starts at 8:30 pm Eastern and can be found on 3916 kHz for the little ones to have a chance to talk with Santa! More: http://www.3916nets.com/santa-net.html

Thanks for reading. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Amateur Radio, ARRL Ohio Section, Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – November 2016 edition

November 16, 2016 Jeffrey Kopcak

Once my article is published in the Journal, I will also make it available on my site with a link to the published edition.

Now without further ado…

Read the full edition at: http://n8sy2.blogspot.com/2016/11/november-edition-of-ohio-section-journal.html

THE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Jeff Kopcak – TC
k8jtk@arrl.net

Hey Gang,

It’s been a rater busy month. End of the year projects and planning are in full swing. I ran the electronic voting for the LEARA Trustee elections. Voting ended in a never-before-seen tie between two candidates. It was a great slate of candidates and noted in the results because the race was close. There was a clear #1 and #2 winner. The #3 spot was a tie. All three candidates received more than 50% of the total vote. At the Trustees meeting, we sat the two winners then had a run-off vote among the Trustees. Since there were 10 Trustees, the run-off vote could end in a tie so a coin flip may have been the deciding factor. However, the run-off vote did not end in a tie and the 3rd person was seated.

Been planning and getting the end-of-year door prize ready for our Holiday Dinner meeting. Traditionally our club has given away a radio as a door prize at this meeting. For the past two years we’ve given away Baofeng radios. With the findings in the November 2015 issue of QST and similar tests run by other individuals (Dave KD8TWG being one) I encouraged the group to consider better alternatives. We settled on a Yaesu FT-60 HT holiday door prize.

Just this past weekend (10/12), Bill K8SGX with help from KD8TWG (both Technical Specialists) and myself made significant forward progress on installing LEARA’s Fusion Repeater. That project has taken a lot longer than I would like but hit significant road blocks in the original plan. Even installing the repeater at the site caused problems because the handles on the DR1X wouldn’t allow the cabinet to close. *Sigh.* Had to take out the unit, the 16 some screws for the top cover, remove the screws for the handles, and put it all back together. I think one more trip is required to drill some holes and install some jumper cables. Then, finally, it will be on the air *knock on wood.*

If that wasn’t enough, I participated in a DXpedition the weekend of October 22nd. Bob K8MD, Technical Specialist, wrote up an article.

—

K8JTK, WA8LIV, and myself: K8MD completed a “DXpedition” to South Bass Island to activate Perry’s International Victory and Peace Memorial (NM20) for National Parks on the Air. After an arduous boat ride (wind and waves were high!) we landed on the island around 1045. We started setting up the HF station on Saturday at approximately 1130. We operated for approximately 2 hours on 40m. Operating was great! Once we got spotted, we were frequently piled up. We were averaging over 100 contacts per hour. While the day was relatively sunny, cooler temps and a brisk wind coming off the lake kept us bundled up. The National Park Service was extremely welcoming and hospitable. They offered us tables and chairs, which we declined due to bringing our own. They permitted us to operate on the “back porch” of the museum. So the wind was mostly broke by the building, which was definitely appreciated by us! As long as we kept in the sun, we were comfortable.

The contacts rates never really slowed down much, but it was getting near the time they close the observation deck for the day. So we left the HF setup to head up to the observation deck at 317′ to try a few VHF/UHF contacts on 146.52 (didn’t have SSB capability). We made 7 contacts on FM and zero contacts on DMR. Zero contacts on DMR surprised us, as we had advertised the activation on social media and received responses that people would be out looking for us. We got on the DMR repeaters on the Ohio Talkgroup to try and set up simplex skeds. Even the repeaters were quiet. After coming back down from the observation deck, we operated HF for another 40 minutes until the park closed. At which point we packed up and got dinner. When the day was over, we made approximately 240 contacts on HF and 7 contacts on 146.52.

We returned to the park on Sunday and operated for an additional 3 hours. From approximately 1200 to 1500. The weather on Sunday was a significant improvement to Saturday afternoon. Sunny skies, calm winds, and temperature around 65. Operating during these three hours however, proved to be more of a duress then the previous day. Both operating and logging proved more difficult due to the lingering effects of the festive activities from the previous evening. When visiting foreign lands, I think it’s important to assimilate into the local culture. We found ourselves in a bar that was both red and round, consuming a strange carbonated gold colored drink, that was dispensed from a tap. Thinking this was just an unusual tasting local water, we consumed a great deal. We wanted to make sure we were properly hydrated and also remain assimilated with the natives. This was Halloween weekend on Put-In-Bay, and everyone was dressed up in costumes. The costumes were quite amazing! Despite the self imposed adverse conditions from our Saturday night activities, we were able to log an additional 100 contacts on Sunday, including DX: Croatia, France, Belgium, Mexico, and Canada. Again the National Park Staff was very warm and welcoming to us. This was the last day the monument and museum would be open this year. The park staff gave us free candy and free popcorn balls at no charge due to the expiration date happening before they reopen in Spring.

A few different antennas were utilized, as well as a few different methods to get the antennas off the ground. I learned that 40m and 80m dipoles fed with LMR-400 is a lot of weight for my Jackite pole. I need to cut a piece of RG-8X that’s the exact length to get to the base. Then use a connector to connect feed line to get back to the operating position. That should lighten the load on the mast. Despite being stressed, the Jackite pole performed excellent. So much easier to cart around then the military masts I had been using previously!

I fabricated an aluminum ground spike for the Jackite pole. Not a good idea: the aluminum ground spike bent under the weight. I guess aluminum was too soft. The point of the ground spike was to hold up the mast while I set the guy wires when operating by myself. We had three people, so it was easy enough for one person to hold up the mast, while the other two set up guy wires. I’m glad I tried the spike for the first time when I had other people around to help me, rather than trying the spike when I was by myself! My portable dipole is a 40m / 80m crossed dipole. The dipole legs are resonant 1/4 wavelength and also act as the guys for the mast. Perhaps I need to try a 40m vertical on the Jackite pole next? A single antenna wire might be more suited to the light weight jackite pole. We used the mast and dipoles on Saturday. Then we used LNR end fedz on Sunday. We used a slingshot / fishing reel to put the end fed into trees. The 40m end fed was up an impressive height. The single band end feds into trees was definitely more simple to set up then setting up the mast and dipoles, and I believe the end fed was just as effective. Both Saturday and Sunday a 20m LNR End Fed was set up vertically in one tree. Since it’s a half wave with match box, it does not require any ground radials. It performed very well with 59 reports into California and Oregon. It’s this antenna where we worked DX stations in Belgium, France, and Croatia.

A fun time was had by all, and we all look forward to similar opportunities in the future.

Bob Mueller, K8MD

—

This was a phenomenal experience for me as I’ve never done anything close to a DXpedition. Huge thanks to Bob – K8MD as he did much of the planning and most of the equipment used was his. Andrew brought his go box setup for the contacts on Perry’s Monument. We made a total of 350 contacts. Bob worked out the numbers for NM20. We made 3x the average number of contacts for all previous activations. Our contacts accounted for about ¼ of the total number of Q’s through our activation. Thanks to the National Parks Service for their gracious hospitality and putting up with us slinging wires and running coax around the park.

“All your lightbulbs are belong to us”

A pun on the ’90s meme “All your base are belong to us” has been used to describe what happened to the Internet on October 21. There as a massive DDoS attack on one of the companies that provides core services to the Internet. Dyn, formally DynDNS, was the target of this attack. They were known for providing the previously free, now paid, service of allowing automatic updating of DNS records without manual intervention. It was used by tech savvy people to access devices on their home network. I used this service when I ran my website on a server in my house. The Dynamic DNS service would update my URL when the IP address of the DSL modem changed. The company has rebranded to “Dyn” and shifted their focus to more commercial infrastructure products such as domain registration and email services.

Dyn provides DNS services to some of the largest companies on the internet: Twitter (social media), Reddit (social news aggregation), GitHub (code repository), Amazon (shopping), Netflix (movies), Spotify (music), Runescape (game), and its own website.

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) happens when criminals use a large number of hacked, ill-configured, or poorly secured systems to flood a target site with so much junk traffic that it can no longer serve legitimate visitors.

DNS refers to Domain Name System services. DNS is an essential component of the Internet. It’s responsible for translating human-friendly website names like http://arrl-ohio.org/ into numeric, machine-readable Internet addresses (74.220.207.99). Anytime you send an e-mail or browse the web, your machine is sending a DNS look-up request to your Internet service provider (ISP) to help route the traffic.

A DDoS attack effectively makes a site or service disappear from the Internet. Users cannot access the site because it is busy handling (what it believes to be) legitimate traffic but in reality, is junk.

With more and more multi-megabit connections into our homes and more consumer devices on the Internet, the amount of junk traffic generated in recent attacks has been some of the largest seen on the Internet. The availability of tools for compromising and leveraging the collective firepower of Internet of Things devices (IoT) has made these large-scale types of attacks possible. IoT being Internet-based security cameras, digital video recorders, baby monitors, lightbulbs, refrigerators, toasters, and Internet routers – to name a very few. Many of these devices are unpatched, not updated, poorly secured, and essentially unfixable. They’re rushed to market, made as cheaply as possible (which lends little credence to security), and not supported due to lack of resources or the company went out of business. On the flipside, it’s also applicable that users don’t know they need to secure their devices.

Criminals need to build and maintain a large robot network of these devices (known as a ‘botnet’) which is time intensive, risky, and a very technical endeavor. Botnet owners make their services available to anyone willing to pay a couple bucks for a subscription. With a few commands, they can leverage all devices under their control to attack a target. In general, with very few exceptions, owners of compromised devices have no idea their device is part of a botnet.

DDoS attacks are typically: retaliatory in nature – criminals get offended or upset at some comment, story, or statement and, in response, knock their service offline. Attempts at extortion – flood a service with so much traffic it’s unavailable to legitimate users and demand a ransom to stop the attack. Diversion – ‘hey look at this massive attack while we secretly do something else over here.’

It is believed the attack on Dyn was retaliatory in nature using compromised digital video recorders (DVRs) by XiongMai Technologies. The components that XiongMai makes are sold downstream to vendors who then use it in their own products.

A DDoS can happen to anyone or anything connected to the Internet.

I bring up this attack because our Section Manager Scott mentioned it in one of his mailings and I was discussing it with Bob – K8MD on our DXpedition. Bob indicated he was seeing a lot of posts online how something similar could disrupt ham radio digital modes and hams must stick to analog only modes. His response was: a digital repeater will still function without the Internet, which is true. D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, and probably any other up-and-coming mode repeaters will still continue to operate without an Internet link. Additionally, all of these modes will operate simplex without a repeater and without infrastructure. The Internet is for linking or sending your message to another endpoint. Then you have resources like PSK31 or Olivia that do not have any Internet infrastructure component. Digital modes, in particular on the HF bands, can reach out further than analog modes.

I think it would be possible to make a backup IP link over another transport (like Mesh) for those modes or use AllStar – which is great for linking over non-Internet based networks. To go even further with the dooms-day scenario: if anyone else can get access to your resources, they have the potential to disturb them. Analog repeaters too can be jammed, brought offline with a power outage, or sabotaged by a determined actor.

How can we fix DDoS attacks? We can’t. The Internet and the protocols in use today are not much different than originally designed. The protocols were not designed to handle this type of abuse. Strides are being made by ISPs so secure their networks as best they can. There is even dissent between providers as to what steps should be taken. Another suggestion is to create some kind of IP security association with published standards, auditing, and a certification process similar to an Underwriters Labatory “UL” sticker on a product. Another (less likely) is to hold companies financially responsible for attacks using their devices. Less likely to happen because it could put legitimate companies out of business quickly and would not hold fly-by-night companies responsible. Until then, these devices will remain a danger to others until they are completely unplugged from the Internet. That’s not going to happen. We like our stuff.

Coverage of the DDoS and resources used for my write-up:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/10/ddos-on-dyn-impacts-twitter-spotify-reddit/
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/10/hacked-cameras-dvrs-powered-todays-massive-internet-outage/
https://twit.tv/shows/security-now/episodes/583
img: http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/2340.html

Map is of the outages caused by the attack.

That’s about it for this month. Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Jeffrey Kopcak, MBA – K8JTK

Category Archives: Ohio Section Journal

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – August 2017 edition

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Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – May 2017 edition

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – April 2017 edition

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – March 2017 edition

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – February 2017 edition

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – January 2017 edition

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – December 2016 edition

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – November 2016 edition

Ham radio and tech.