Tag Archives: DMR

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – November 2023 edition

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 Tom – WB8LCD 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 Tom 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 Ohio 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 click the Login button.
  • Login
  • When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name.  Click your Name.  This will take you to the “My Account” page.
  • On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
  • To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
  • Check the box next to “Division and Section News.”  If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
  • Click Save
  • There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.”  You’re all set!

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at:

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

Hey gang,

Pi-Star was great. It solved big problems for hams wanting to use VHF and UHF digital modes around 2016-2017. Personal hotspots were becoming popular. Consisting of a digital interface (modem) board capable of transmitting and receiving digital modes such as DMR, D-STAR, and System Fusion. These transceiver options are low power at about 10mW. The modem interfaced with software to manage network connections. Many devices were created for the popular Raspberry Pi or Arduino single-board computers using the GPIO headers. Others were USB-based devices that could be used with a desktop computer running any operating system or plugged into a Raspberry Pi.

The hardware was pretty solid. Software, not so much. Nearly each group attempted to make their own software distribution. In general, this failed as users couldn’t get the software to work consistently and settings didn’t work as expected – even across users with similar setups. Many didn’t have monitors connected. VNC, a remote desktop sharing application, was used. VNC generally works well desktop-to-desktop, but not desktop-to-mobile. These problems weren’t helping promote digital modes and personal hotspots.

Then along came Pi-Star. Created and maintained by Andy – MW0MWZ, it solved nearly all those problems. On the hardware site, Pi-Star supported every digital modem in a single platform. MMDVM is the software capable of “speaking” different digital mode protocols and managing network connections. It came with a web front-end that did everything needed to configure and manage devices, update network settings, update device firmware, and have a nice usable dashboard. Ultimately, the Pi-Star platform superseded all previous attempts at a viable interface for digital ham radio hotspots.

On the Pi-Star site, version 4.1.5 dated October 2021 is the latest image available for Raspberry Pi. However, 4.1.6 is available through the update sequence pistar-update then pistar-upgrade at the command line, both prefixed with sudo. Pi-Star 4.1.5/6 release is based on Raspbian 10 (buster) which has reached end-of-life. Raspbian, the standard Raspberry Pi operating system, follows the Debian release schedule. Debian 10 is out of standard security updates and into LTS (long term support). Raspbian does not offer LTS.

If you’ve read my column long enough, you know the majority of vulnerability issues can be avoided by keeping systems updated and patched. I’m also reminded of the time when I went searching and found there are Pi-Star’s accessible directly from the Internet, with the default password. What could possibly go wrong?

By all accounts, and as of this writing, Andy is no longer maintaining Pi-Star. Looking at his post count in the forums: zero in 2023 and ten in 2022. There are very few updates to GitHub repositories in the last two years, which are used to update Pi-Star devices. I’ve seen references to lack of updates due to lack of interest. Pi-Star is also lacking the latest additions to MMDVM including M17 and FM for boards that support those modes (usually through firmware updates).

The next iteration of Pi-Star (or fork) comes to us via W0CHP, called “W0CHP-PiStar-Dash (WPSD).” I learned about WPSD when AmateurLogic ran a segment in January on this new offering. I started using it shortly after. Though it was early on in the project, WPSD was labeled “not for the faint of heart” by the author.

It was really rough around the edges. I had to debug scripts in order for updates to run successfully. The dashboard would show the modem in “TX D-STAR” when only P25 was enabled. There were issues with the configuration file manual editor too.

Regardless, development is very active. WPSD has become much more stable and now considered the Pi-Star replacement. Alot has changed in the time I’ve been using WPSD and presume things will continue to evolve.

One such change, there was an option for installing WPSD on top of an existing Pi-Star installation. That option is no longer available or supported. The distribution must be flashed directly to an SD card (flash memory), exactly like Pi-Star.

I always recommend using a new card or different SD card from the current, existing installation until everything is working as the user expects. Having the old (original) card available allows switching back easily in case of problems or need to reference something from the previous installation.

Pi-Star with Nextion display (ailunce.com)

A recent blog post by the author called out people who claim WPSD is an “overlay.” At one point, it could have been installed on top of an existing Pi-Star installation. WPSD is not an overlay. It is its own software distribution.

WPSD works with most Raspberry Pi offerings (Zero, Zero 2, 2, 3, 4, …) including the Orange Pi and Nano Pi Neo variants. The Raspberry Pi Zero W 1.1 is not really recommended for use but it will work. The Zero W 2 is recommended instead. A Zero W 1.1 needs extra configuration steps after flashing the SD card. These include: creating a wpa_supplicant.conf and placing it in the /boot partition. Waiting at least 30 minutes for the image to boot and configure itself before accessing the dashboard. Steps are detailed in the link above.

While using WPSD with my Pi Zero W 1.1 it is quite a bit quicker, taking about a minute to save changes on the configuration page of the dashboard. Compared to the Pi-Star which took two to three minutes to save changes. Pi Zero W 2s are still very hard to find. If you can find one, a male header strip still needs to be soldered to the GPIO. Pre-soldered ones are nonexistent.

Not only is WPSD on a supported operating system (bullseye, Debian 11) but there are a TON of enhancements and updates over Pi-Star. Though the visual layout has changed, it’s intuitive enough for any existing Pi-Star user. Changes I noted right away were the addition of M17 support (though I don’t have any capable devices) and Nextion support built-in. Nextions are displays and/or touchscreens that can be attached to the modem or added through a TTL serial converter, such as those based on the CP2102 chipset. Adding Nextion support to the original Pi-Star was a terrible experience using hacky scripts that had to be run a couple times before the drivers and software could be usable.

WPSD Live Caller mode

Non-exhaustive list of enhancements: full APRSGateway support. DGId support. DMR Roaming Beacon Support for repeaters. Caller details include name and location. Talkgroup names are populated. On the fly changes of talkgroups/rooms/reflectors/networks including ability to pause networks for attending nets or quieting a busy mode. Live Caller mode which is a browser based (virtual) version of a Nextion display. Ability to disable cron (scheduled) updates. Updated dashboard including wider, bigger, updated fonts, user configurable options including CSS styling and fonts. Full dashboard display or Simple View with only RF and gateway activity. Configurable number of last heard stations. Configuration/Profile Manager, similar to OpenSpot, where the user can save multiple versions of a setup and restore them based on use.

A Profile Manager feature was added to WPSD, which did not exist in Pi-Star but exists in the OpenSpot devices. This allows the user to save device settings into a profile to be recalled later. These could be travelling profiles, or ones specific to a mode, network, or configuration for a net. Initial implementation of this feature did not backup saved profiles when using the Backup/Restore feature. Only the current active profile would be backed up or restored. Now, within the last two months, Backup/Restore saves ALL device profiles in the backup archive.

That is an example of the constantly evolving nature of this new WPSD distribution. Updates happen quite frequently. WPSD was updated nearly daily for a long time. Updates still happen quite frequently but at the pace of about once a week, maybe more.

Speaking of backups, it’s not recommended to use migrated configuration files or backups from Pi-Star, due to differences. If Pi-Star files are used with WPSD and there are issues, the user will be required to begin configuration from scratch.

One change I do not particularly care for is the requirement to use DMRGateway. In Pi-Star, I used Direct Mode which is the selection of a single DMR Master. For example: select BM_3104_United_States for Brandmeister and TGIF_Network for TGIF as the DMR Master. I liked this for two reasons: this functionality is similar to how a repeater would operate and it simplifies codeplug programming for talkgroups with the same TG ID across different networks. Ohio Statewide is 3139 on multiple networks meaning I only had to setup Ohio Statewide once. Though it seemed most users did use DMRGateway in Pi-Star.

DMRGateway supports simultaneous connections to six networks. With all those network connections there must be a way to differentiate which network is to receive a transmission. That way is through “prefixes,” a single number prepended to the talkgroup number. DMRGateway doesn’t appear to use a prefix for Brandmeister, 3139 would remain 3139. TGIF talkgroups are prefixed with a 5. 3139 would become 53139. HBLink prefix is 8. My HBLink would be 831983 instead of 31983.

WPSD Dashboard

If you’ve programmed a codeplug for a DMR radio, it’s not as easy as just making a new contact with the prefix. Adding the contact to an RX group, creating new channels, and reorganizing or creating new zones are all needed. Maybe I’ll purge the ‘nice to haves’ in my codeplug as I typically only use a handful of talkgroups or just make a new simplified codeplug for use with WPSD.

Changes have been made to the scripts and tools. Commands rpi-rw and rpi-ro have been removed. These were used to switch between a read/write file system and a read-only file system. There has been debate whether a read only file system corrupts any less or shortens the lifespan of the SD card when left in read/write mode. Pi-Star was constantly changing from read only to read/write during settings changes, updates, and hostfile update cycles. Mine seemed as though it could never successfully change from read/write back to read only after an update. Eliminating those scripts just ‘fixed’ those resource busy messages.

Pi-Star scripts that began with pistar- have all been removed and replaced with a smaller set of wpsd- scripts. It was great because all WPSD updates were taken care of by going to Admin -> Update. Though, a recent change has removed operating system updates from that feature. Admin Update only updates WPSD currently (probably due to those lengthy Raspbian kernel updates). To update the operating system, SSH to WPSD or go Admin -> Advanced -> Tools -> SSH Access. After logging in (same credentials used to login to the Admin or Configuration dashboards), at the command line, enter (capitalization is important):

sudo UP_OS=1 wpsd-update

As with Pi-Star, if an update fails or installation becomes borked, re-flashing the SD card with the latest available image will bring the device to a known working state. Remember to save a new backup before updating! WPSD images are updated more frequently than Pi-Star. Updates released since the image was published won’t take quite as long to apply.

There is a lot to read, including some edge features that have been removed, on the WPSD page (linked above). Comparing WPSD to Pi-Star (‘this used to work on Pi-Star,’ ‘when I revert back to Pi-Star this thing works,’ etc.) is verboten when asking for support. The main page on W0CHP’s site is a blog detailing direction and state of the project as well as reasons for changes. I recommend Pi-Star users update to W0CHP-PiStar-Dash – if nothing else, for the supported operating system and OS package updates though there are many improvements and welcome features.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – August 2022 edition

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 Tom – WB8LCD 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 Tom 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 Ohio 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 click the Login button.
  • Login
  • When logged in successfully, it will say “Hello <Name>” in place of the Login button where <Name> is your name.  Click your Name.  This will take you to the “My Account” page.
  • On the left hand side, under the “Communication” heading (second from the bottom), click Opt In/Out
  • To the right of the “Opt In/Out” heading, click Edit
  • Check the box next to “Division and Section News.”  If it is already checked, you are already receiving the Ohio Section Journal.
  • Click Save
  • There should now be a green check mark next to “Division and Section News.”  You’re all set!

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at:

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

Hey gang,

When it comes to digital communications, especially in the Ohio Section, efforts have been focused on DMR. Repeaters are pricier than other digital modes. An abundance of end-user devices available from a variety of vendors, at fairly inexpensive prices, is a winner for users. DMR, being a commercial standard, was adopted to ham radio. Those that have not spent time to understand how a codeplug works and how to modify them ‘are just a bunch of appliance operators’ is a common argument. To link the majority of Ohio’s DMR repeaters, a network had to be chosen. Ohio standardized on Brandmeister.

What is BrandMeister? “BrandMaster/BrandMeister is an operating software for Master servers participating in a worldwide infrastructure network of amateur radio digital voice systems.” Stating that amateurs can and do use it for D-STAR and Wires-X, its main focus and selling points are related to DMR linking.

In the early days of DMR in ham radio, networks were setup identical to their commercial system counterparts. Repeaters had certain talk groups on specific time slots. Limited to 16 talk groups because that’s how many channels were available on the radio’s selector knob. Owners had little to no options for customizing talkgroup offerings. For example, if you were in eastern Ohio, a repeater might have Indiana statewide whether you wanted it or not. There were no such things as hotspots, at least as hams know and understand them. Like most new things, early adaptors did this for fun and no one really knew if DMR would take off and be accepted by the masses.

Three things helped DMR take off in ham radio: cheap radios, hotspots, and Brandmeister. Brandmeister turned commercially implemented DMR networks on their heads. Made it more like ham radio. A repeater owner could put any talkgroup on any time slot. Any user could make private calls to other users on any timeslot. Even make up a talkgroup number, hit transmit, and if another user was on that same talkgroup number, communication happened automatically. Later, simultaneous data messages and APRS were implemented. Being able to use ham developed gear, like the DV4mini and OpenSpot devices, was a huge draw. Hams familiar with commercial implementations of DMR were questioning ‘how could Brandmeister pull this off without causing chaos in the ham radio streets?’ Especially the ‘pick your own talkgroup number.’

With the explosion in popularity came use and abuse. Brandmeister had to start making decisions and decided to follow the strictest definitions of standards. You can still make up your own talkgroup but it is generally frowned upon. DV4Mini sticks were banned due to poor software – this was reversed after G4KLX wrote compatible software. There was a hissy fit Brandmeister threw about using DMR IDs starting with 1. Everybody and their mother, brother, and daughter requested talkgroups. No more 5-digit talkgroup numbers are assigned. Bridging to other digital modes, networks, and analog systems is verboten, explicitly forbidden on world-wide, regionals, and statewide talkgroups. Brandmeister considers 3, 4, and 5-digit talkgroup IDs under their control, as defined by the MCC numbering standard. 6-digit repeater IDs or 7-digit user IDs, the assigned owner can do whatever they want as Brandmeister sees themselves as “guests” for those IDs. There are more do’s and don’ts in the BM USA wiki.

For a good long time, development and, I would argue, interest by the development team was stagnant. There were long standing issues with many parts of the system, including the online audio web portal, Hoseline. For years it would not work correctly, had long audio delays or no audio at all, or the URL would simply be unavailable. Around June 2021, a new and much improved Hoseline appeared. Featuring a new and modern interface with the ability to monitor multiple talkgroups at a time.

Improvements in the name of security were made later the same year. Each Brandmeister hotspot user needed to generate a “hotspot password” for each DMR ID. This change impacted every Brandmeister user. I was contacted well into 2022 about users whom were unaware of this change.

Not-so-well-known changes affected some misconfigured hotspots and users of DVSwitch and MMDVM bridging. Master servers started checking parameters such as RXFrequency and TXFrequency in MMDVM. If the device was a hotspot, Brandmeister logic said if those two fields are not the same value, the device it must not be a hotspot because hotspots are simplex. If a hotspot (or DVSwitch/MMDVM Bridge) had RX Frequency not equal to TX Frequency, the device would be blocked from transmitting because it was deemed misconfigured. In order to work, they both had to be the same. Also, if either parameter was 0 – as in no RF output, such as an Internet link – also no work-y.

It’s their network and I really want to like them. Their decisions are making it hard for sysadmins to continue using Brandmeister. Communication regarding nearly all back-end changes have been poor to nonexistent. Changes affecting all users are publicized, even though a good percentage hit me up months later saying ‘all of a sudden my hotspot doesn’t work anymore.’ Sure, some changes might only “affect a small number of users,” post something in the groups.io. Instead admins are left to figure out, on their own, why the Brandmeister link is not functioning without being aware of changes on their end. Something about not peeving off your users, which they seem to be doing a lot lately. I get that they’ve had to make hard decisions and many policies are a result of the users whom abuse the system. Brandmeister probably received pressure from other network and talkgroup owners who want to quash analog cross linking. When the Brandmeister network was originally a ‘do-anything network,’ it’s not easy when they start pulling-back on those abilities.

August 19th, a major code upgrade was rolled out which implemented additional changes paving the way for better dashboard integrations, APIs, and hopefully more new features. If you setup your hotspots or applications with a Brandmeister API key prior to August 19, 2022, new keys are required. I was able to generate Brandmeister API v2 keys for Pi-Star: 4.1.6 / Dashboard: 20220819 and OpenSpot3 with firmware v62.

I was not able to save the API v2 key on an original OpenSpot (1) with the latest firmware available (0142). I was seeing the error message “Couldn’t save API key (Bad Request).” According to the support forums, they won’t be getting support for v2 either. New keys are supported on the 2, 3, and 4 OpenSpot models. If you had previously generated a v1 API key, it will continue to work for as long as Brandmeister allows.

I do not know if previous versions of Pi-STAR have been updated to support v2 API keys. To update a Pi-STAR to the latest revision, backup the existing configuration, download v4.1.4 on the Pi-Star site, flash to a new or the existing SD card. When configured, run update/upgrade and repeat, from the Configuration -> Expert option, until there are no more updates for both tasks. Pi-STAR cannot be upgraded version-to-version through the updater/upgrader.

Go to Configuration -> Expert -> under Full Edit, BM API. If you have an apikey entered these need to be updated, specifically apikeys that are 128-characters. It will look something like:

MWaztB3EcHWBEW@D$2gb89Y2kvvE4leSr.33Gey74d0IYVSKU58YGMSFmPHD.Q1fECUkIcj7E4leSr.33Getkjshdf987ywe2irligr908SFIdlsfkj08934sasdlveg

The 128-character API keys will continue to work for an undetermined amount of time. Follow the Brandmeister blog post to generate updated API keys. If you don’t have an apikey entered and don’t want one, you don’t need to do anything.

What alternatives are there to Brandmeister? Networks such as DMR+ and FreeDMR are popular in Europe/UK. HBLink reflectors are available but only offer a few select talkgroups. TGIF is a smaller DMR network implementation. They do not have many restrictions on device configuration. Though TGIF does have an “Ohio” talkgroup, it’s not the same everyone knows and loves on Brandmeister. As an admin, TGIF is much easier to work with. Running a linking system that has links to Brandmeister, TGIF, and HBLink, users don’t use alternative options, even though they complain about Brandmeister. Brandmeister is what they know and love. They won’t venture out to use other, more stable options, therefore remaining appliance operators.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Ham radio VoIP and K8JTK Hub DVMIS Presentations

Presentation on Ham radio VoIP (Voice over IP) modes and the K8JTK Hub Digital VoIP Multimode Interlink System which integrates many Ham radio modes, both analog and digital.

Framework

The framework I chose to use for the presentation slides is called reveal.js. It is an HTML framework meaning it will run in any HTML 5 capable browser. Looks a little better than a PowerPoint presentation.

Navigation

Useful navigation keys in the presentation. In addition to navigating with the keys below, you can swipe (tables/smartphones) or use the navigation arrows on screen in the lower right.

Toggle full screen: press [F11].

Advance to the next slide: press [n] or [SPACEBAR].

Go back to the previous slide: press [p] or press and hold the [SHIFT] key while pressing the [SPACEBAR].

Display presentation overview: [ESC] then use the arrow keys or mouse to select a slide. [ESC] again will exit overview mode.

Links

Clickable links are colored in brown text.

Presentations

Three variations are available: presentation version is viewable in a browser. Printable version for printing or saving in a different format (Chrome, Chromium, and variants compatible only). Finally a PDF version.

They may take some time to load because I left original images untouched and some were a couple MB in file size.

Slides

The presentation is around 60 minutes in length.

Version 3

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

This presentation was given at the following meetings:
West Chester Amateur Radio Association on 7/6/2023.

Version 2

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

This presentation was given at the following meetings:
West Chester Amateur Radio Association on 5/6/2021.

Version 1

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

This presentation was given at the following meetings:
Portage County Amateur Radio Service on 3/8/2021.

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – December 2020 edition

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.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at:

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

DSCF5081 K8JTKHey gang,

One of the things I’ve been working on during my time at home is the Digital VoIP Multimode Interlink System (DVMIS), also called the K8JTK Hub. About a year-and-a-half ago, I came up with this bright idea to setup a system that would interlink many different ham radio VoIP (Voice over IP) modes for interoperability and experimentation. Through trials and tribulations, it’s experiencing some success, caught the interest of some nets, and a podcast.

Many digital modes sit on their own island and are restricted from crossing over to the analog world or to other digital networks. Some may say this is for quality-of-service but does nothing for interoperability or the ability to link and communicate across different systems. Original D-STAR DPLUS reflectors banned analog connections. My Hub supports ham radio experimentation by allowing hams to discover ways of utilizing a system that can link different modes. Utilization of ham radio spectrum is a priority through the use of hot spots and repeaters. Connections without RF are not a priority. Hamshack Hotline was provisioned because of use in Emergency Operation Centers. Many times, I’ve been asked about stations that don’t have access to RF hotspots or radios. They still have options including the Echolink app on Android and iOS devices, Hamshack Hotline phone which can be purchased for $30 (I’ve heard deals as low as $5 for a compatible phone), or the DudeStar app. The servers are hosted in a Chicago data center to provide resiliency against hardware, power, weather, and Internet outages, but still be fairly inexpensive.

All this is possible through integration of open-sourced packages including: AllStarLink which is a world wide network of Amateur Radio repeaters, remote base stations and hot spots accessible to each other via the Internet and/or private IP networks. Built on an open-sourced PBX system called Asterisk, Jim Dixon – WB6NIL (SK) built the apt_rpt module emulating functionality of a repeater controller. Jonathan – G4KLX authored programs that support D-Star, DMR, System Fusion, P25, and NXDN which are utilized in MMDVM devices like most hotspots. DVSwitch is a suite of applications for provisioning and operating Amateur Radio digital voice networks maintained by Steve – N4IRS and Mike – N4IRR. The DVSwitch Mobile app was designed to operate analog and digital modes utilizing an Android phone in conjunction with server applications running on a Linux server or Raspberry Pi. The ASL to DMR documentation (groups.io account required) got me started experimenting with these applications and ultimately lead to the build out of the system. XLXD is a multiprotocol reflector server for D-STAR by Jean-Luc – LX3JL & Luc – LX1IQ. Skip – WB6YMH & others maintain thebridge, an Echolink compatible conference bridge.

Originally, hosted on 2 servers, after troubleshooting some issues, it was more reliable to host everything across 3 VPSes (Virtual Private Servers) running Debian Linux. Parts of the system can go down and individual parts will continue to function. Aside from the VPSes, a Raspberry Pi with a Northwest Digital Radio DV3000 provides D-STAR audio transcoding to the system. Wires-X is available through the use of additional remote hardware. Wires-X is proprietary to Yaesu radios and repeaters. Wires-X is not available through open-source implementations such as YSFReflector or MMDVM without additional devices. I’d like to get the DV3000s in a reliable data center but doing so is prohibitively expensive. AllStar Link is the “Hub” that provides connectivity and linking control between all networks.

Putting all of this together provides a system with access to ten different networks and eight different modes! Any user on one network can communicate with users on other networks. Access is available through these nodes and connections:

  • AllStar Link: 50394
  • DMR: Brandmeister Talk Group 3172783
  • DMR: TGIF TG 31983
  • D-STAR: XLX983A (A = Analog Bridge. Pi-STAR = DCS983A, OpenSpot = XLX983A)
  • Echolink: *DVMIS* conference 600008
  • Hamshack Hotline: 94026 (*99 – TX, # – RX)
  • NXDN: TG 31983
  • P25: TG 31983
  • YSF: K8JTK-Hub 31983
  • Wires-X: K8JTK-ROOM 40680 (available upon request)

Dashboards:

Amateur Logic episode 149

Building this system has not been without problems. Luckily, I’m able to work around known issues. In order from least frustrating to most frustrating: all programs use IP addresses and ports to communicate, keeping all of that straight was a challenge initially. Using IPs allows for great flexibility utilizing network links such as private networks and VPNs. Dependency hell as a result of additions and changes to programs made a constant deployment from one day to the next an issue. XLXD changed its implementation to include YSF which then conflicted with the port used for the YSFReflector. Changing the YSFReflector port required propagation to Pi-STAR host files and OpenSpot DNS. DVSwitch has been rewritten two times since I’ve implemented it and they’ve released another round of changes. Data center provider choices resulted in issues with packet loss. Moving the servers to another provider yielded much better results. The previous provider finally acknowledged and supposedly resolved the issue a year after it was reported, and after I moved.

Use of physical hardware for D-STAR. OP25 software codec can transcode D-STAR but “you won’t be happy” to quote a post in the forums. D-STAR looooves IP addresses. DNS is great for switching IP addresses easily (like when moving data centers or spinning up different servers). However, D-STAR relies only on IP addresses. As a result, reflector IP changes take about a day to propagate to online hotspots/repeaters. Using AMBEServer with the DV3000 on a remote device resulted in very choppy audio. After some time, had the idea to move Audio Bridge to the same device as the DV3000 then use IP routing to send audio to and from AB. Worked great.

In order to compile AllStar Link from source takes a lot of time to get right and includes A LOT of dependencies. Finally, one that drove me crazy was the chan_echolink module for AllStar which provides Echolink connectivity natively to AllStar. When load testing with many connections, something was making stations sound as though they were transmitting underwater. After observing patterns, determined it was audio originating on the Hub being sent out to Echolink connections. Incoming audio from Echolink stations was OK and audio sent to all other nodes was also good. The problem seemed intermittent until I consulted groups.io and further determined chan_echolink has audio quality problems when more than three EL stations are connected simultaneously. Not ideal for a hub. Best workaround was to implement an Echolink Conference server. Then only allow chan_echolink connection to that conference server. Echolink users would then connect to the same conference server. This issue took a lot of time and a lot of hair pulling but implemented a workable solution that offers a quality system. Root cause is still unknown as an AllStar developer hadn’t chimed-in with any suggestions or possible reasons.

K8JTK Hub/DVMIS connections

The DVMIS hub hosts a couple nets. Tuesday nights at 9pm eastern, since about the first-time stay-at-home orders were put in place, is the Amateur Logic Sound Check net. The net encourages checkins to utilize as many modes as possible during the net to test equipment. If you haven’t seen the Amateur Logic podcast, it has been going for over 15 years and they release two shows monthly. The regular podcast has segments about technology and Ham Radio. “Ham College” is an educational show for those wanting to get licensed or upgrade. The guys asked me to put together a segment for the show. My segment can be found in episode 149. A huge thanks goes out to the ALTV crew and everyone checking into the net which helped me identify and resolve system issues. They’ve also been great in keeping up with all the changes over the last 9 months. At the end of December, I’ve been testing with the West Chester Amateur Radio Association – WC8VOA to add digital modes to their net on Monday evenings at 8pm.

Around the time my segment was airing on ALTV, Brandmeister did not approve of the linking method and linking to other networks. Brandmeister uses the MCC standard and they manage talkgroup IDs consisting of 3, 4, or 5 digits. 6- or 7-digit IDs are repeater IDs and user IDs respectively, and can be used however the assigned owner would like. The BM TG in the ALTV episode is now 3172783 and is correct in the listing above.

The Hub is open for all to use in testing equipment, software, or linking up with friends. I keep status updates listed on the page linked at the beginning of this article. For this and any linked system, please remember a couple practices. When keying your radio, pause a second or two to allow all links to rise, otherwise the first couple words maybe lost. Pause a minimum 3-5 seconds between transmissions to give time for links to reset and other stations to break in. Do not “tailgate.” Enjoy and join the nets to get a feel for the Interlink System’s capabilities.

Slow Scan TV has become big over the last couple years due to ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) events. One of the longer events will have begun before OSJ publication: starting December 24 at 16:40 UTC and continue through December 31 ending at 18:15 UTC. Dates are subject to change due to ISS operational adjustments. Images will be downlinked at 145.800 MHz +/- 3 KHz for Doppler shift and the expected SSTV mode of operation is PD 120. Radio enthusiasts participating in the event can post images they receive at the ARISS SSTV Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/. After your image is posted at the gallery, you can acquire a special award by linking to https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ and follow directions for submitting a digital copy of your received image. Even an HT can receive images from the space station. If you would like to receive images using MMSSTV on Windows, head over to my tutorial.

Congratulations to Scott Yonally – N8SY who won his election as Great Lakes Division Vice Director! Since he cannot hold more than one elected position at a time, he will be stepping down from his current Section Manager position when he assumes the Vice Director position on Jan 1. I wish him nothing but the best in his new role as he has done a lot for the Ohio Section during his tenure. We will then welcome Tom Sly – WB8LCD who will be appointed the new Section Manager for Ohio!

Thanks for reading. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
73… de Jeff – K8JTK

K8JTK Hub DVMIS Presentations

Presentation on the K8JTK Hub Digital VoIP Multimode Interlink System which integrates many Ham radio modes, both analog and digital.

Framework

The framework I chose to use for the presentation slides is called reveal.js. It is an HTML framework meaning it will run in any HTML 5 capable browser. Looks a little better than a PowerPoint presentation.

Navigation

Useful navigation keys in the presentation. In addition to navigating with the keys below, you can swipe (tables/smartphones) or use the navigation arrows on screen in the lower right.

Toggle full screen: press [F11].

Advance to the next slide: press [n] or [SPACEBAR].

Go back to the previous slide: press [p] or press and hold the [SHIFT] key while pressing the [SPACEBAR].

Display presentation overview: [ESC] then use the arrow keys or mouse to select a slide. [ESC] again will exit overview mode.

Links

Clickable links are colored in brown text.

Presentations

Three variations are available: presentation version is viewable in a browser. Printable version for printing or saving in a different format (Chrome, Chromium, and variants compatible only). Finally a PDF version.

They may take some time to load because I left original images untouched and some were a couple MB in file size.

Slides

The presentation is about 10 minutes in length which aired on the AmateurLogic.TV podcast on 11/13/2020 for episode 149.  It includes additional slides referenced in the video segment.

Presentation version
Printable version
PDF version

Segment:

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – March 2020 edition

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.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at:

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

DSCF5081 K8JTKHey gang,

Now that we’re all sequestered to our homes, what the heck do we do to not go iNsAnE? Idle down time is an opportunity to learn something new, catch up on lingering projects, or improve operating skills – all while staying sane. Improve operating skills can mean getting on the air, making conversation with new friends, checking in on our brethren, or practice being a better operator.

Ideas for learning something new: study for a license or upgrade, learn a new mode or Morse Code, configure your station for digital modes and get on the OHDEN net, make or update a DMR code plug, setup a hot spot, configure a Raspberry Pi to learn Linux or Python, make an APRS RX IGate with an RTL-SDR, setup Hamshack Hotline, make an AllStar node, or learn about MakerSpaces and how we can draw like-minded people into the hobby.

Free time is a good time to tackle the “I’ll get around to it” tasks, aka “the to do list.” That maybe fix/repair/replace a broken antenna, spring cleaning of the shack, selling or getting rid of unused equipment, organize or clean out junk piles, install that new radio, configure the new radio, figure out a lingering problem, clean out old data files and documents on a computer, phone, or cloud storage account, or purge and clean out email messages.

Pirates

While everyone has downtime, not everyone is using it for good. I’ve received reports since the imposed staycation of what can be described as pirate “preppers” appearing on local repeater systems and simplex frequencies. Preppers, as they are often referred, sometimes called survivalists, “is a movement of individuals or groups who actively prepare for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international.” Survival preparations range from job loss to stockpiling supplies to building self-sufficient structures. They appear to be “testing” and asking for text message signal reports from their buddies. The have also been holding informal nets on simplex frequencies. It’s funny they want to communicate off-the-grid but are using the grid to receive text messages. Obviously, they don’t present a call sign and do not properly identify. One can only speculate that they obtained a wonderful (read: crappie) BaoFeng radio for a couple bucks, figured out how to program it or are passing around a codeplug someone found or programmed for them.

When these stations appear, first kindly remind them they are using a licensed service and obtaining a license is easy. Provide them resources for obtaining a license through the ARRL study manuals, an online resource like HamExam or Ham Test Online. While they maybe illegally transmitting now, encouraging them to take a license exam will strengthen numbers and get them legal regardless.

If, after repeated attempts of encouragement to become licensed, they continue to appear on frequencies, politely ask them to immediately stop transmitting. Keep calm, cool, and collected on the air. DO NOT become irate. Continuing to transmit in this manner qualifies as willful or malicious interference. Do not engage them further. Contact the repeater owner or control operator and see if disabling the repeater is an option. If shutting the repeater is not desired, see if the owner wants you to document incidents. If they do, you are the repeater owner/control operator, or they are using a simplex frequency, record audio as part of documenting process. The FCC requires specific information that includes dates, times, and frequency(ies). Audio recordings dramatically strengthens the case. A VOX activated recording program with logging, such as Scanner Recorder, and feeding the audio into the computer from the radio’s speaker jack makes this easy. Scanner Recorder automatically logs the date and time of the recordings. Verify the audio is clear and understandable by doing a sample recording.

KerberosSDR

Locating the offending station will take some work. Contact someone who has access to direction finding equipment. Some of our Technical Specialists have access to this equipment. KerberosSDR is a low-cost direction-finding alternative option which employs four RTL-SDR devices. There are a number of YouTube videos on setting up and using the KerberosSDR on their site. It might be “good enough” but not as good as professional equipment.

Do not indicate to the other station they are being tracked or located as they will likely cease transmissions, preventing an accurate location fix. Multiple readings and triangulation techniques will be utilized to pin-point the origin. If a location is determined, DO NOT engage. Document the findings and file a complaint with the FCC. Local authorities will likely be of little help unless one is active in the ham community and really understands the situation.

Windows 10 Free Upgrade

I ran into my neighbor, John WG8H, who is a long-time friend of my dad, at a local hamfest before they were all canceled. He said ‘I read your article on Windows 7 but couldn’t find anything about taking advantage of the Windows 10 free upgrade.’ I found references online that indicated the upgrade was still active and available but had not gone through the process recently. Figured the ‘out of support’ messages that appeared in Win7 would instruct a user how to do this. They did not.

Officially, the free upgrade program has ended. However, this process gave me an upgraded version of Windows 7 to Windows 10. It’s really in Microsoft’s best interest to have as many machines upgraded as possible. Check this forum post for more details or if you run into issues. As always, backup first! On a Windows 7 machine you wish to upgrade, it must have Internet access.

  • Go to: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
  • Under “Create Windows 10 installation media,” click Download tool now
  • Signed in with an administrator account, run the downloaded Media Creation Tool on the local machine. “Run as administrator” will not work and it will tell you to sign into an administrator account first.
  • When the tool starts up, accept the license agreement
  • On the “What do you want to do?” screen, select Upgrade this PC now
  • Click Next
  • Follow the rest of the on-screen prompts to completion

I was testing on a machine that had an unsupported Win10 driver. If this message appears where drivers are not supported in Windows 10, I clicked Confirm and it proceeded. Upgrade these afterwards.

When the upgrade to Windows 10 is complete:

  • Click Start
  • Click Settings (gear)
  • Click Update & Security
  • Click Activation
  • Confirm the resulting window shows “Activation: Windows is activated with a digital license.” If activation failed, there was not a valid key installed on Windows 7 prior to upgrade.

Click Windows Update and apply updates – including the cumulative optional updates.

To tie the activation to you and the PC requires signing into Windows 10 with a Microsoft account. On the Settings home screen, click Accounts and follow the links to create a Microsoft account or login to an existing account. Otherwise, try following Reactivating Windows 10 after a hardware change if activation fails after a reinstall or hardware change.

It might be possible to update a Win7 machine that does not have Internet access by selecting the Create installation media option when prompted in the Media Creation Tool. Though I did not validate this.

K8JTK Hub Interlink System

Anyone wanting a place to meet-up for checking on friends and fellow hams or looking for something to do can use a system I’ve been working on the last few months. Currently, it offers 6 full-time ham radio VoIP modes interlinked for interoperability. Ways to access the system:

  • EchoLink: K8JTK-R 233196
  • AllStar Link: 50394
  • Hamshack Hotline: 94026
  • DMR: Brandmeister TG 31983
  • D-STAR: DCS/XLX983 A
  • YSF: K8JTK Hub 17374

Since I’m working from home, I’ve linked up my Wires-X room: K8JTK-ROOM 40680

More information or updates on the system: http://www.k8jtk.org/ham-radio/k8jtk-hub-digital-voip-mutimode-interlink-system/

Thanks for reading, stay sane, and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – October 2019 edition

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.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at:

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

DSCF5081 K8JTKHey gang,

I received a question last month from Andy – KD8SCV on setting up a digital hotspot transmit frequency compliant with “Line A.” I’ll address these as two separate issues. If the hotspot or simplex node is within the correct ranges of the band plan, Line A doesn’t matter. You’re going to need your copy of Part 97.

What is Line A? It is an approximate border between the U.S. and Canada that varies in exact location but is most often 75 miles (about 121 km) from the border. According to Part 97.3(a):

(30) Line A. Begins at Aberdeen, WA, running by great circle arc to the intersection of 48° N, 120° W, thence along parallel 48° N, to the intersection of 95° W, thence by great circle arc through the southernmost point of Duluth, MN, thence by great circle arc to 45° N, 85° W, thence southward along meridian 85° W, to its intersection with parallel 41° N, thence along parallel 41° N, to its intersection with meridian 82° W, thence by great circle arc through the southernmost point of Bangor, ME, thence by great circle arc through the southernmost point of Searsport, ME, at which point it terminates.

This is the same wording as Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 90.7. Doesn’t tell you much, like why does it exist? This information is a little sparse. Possibly to protect land mobile stations in Canada. Land Mobile Service (or LMS) is defined by the ITU as communications between base stations and mobile stations or between mobile stations. Think public service agencies and even private companies to coordinate people, resources, safety, or security. Amateur Radio is allocated secondary status on most U.S. allocations above 1.25m or the 220 MHz band. 420-450 MHz is shared with federal agencies and military for radar applications such as PARCS located in North Dakota near the Canadian border. As it pertains to the Amateur Radio service:

(1) No amateur station shall transmit from north of Line A in the 420-430 MHz segment. See §97.3(a) for the definition of Line A (Part 97.303(m)).
Line A (maroon) overlay. (FCC)

For stations in the western part of the state north of 41° N, no transmissions between 420-430 MHz can be made. This includes the cities of Ottawa, Findlay, Tiffin, Willard, New London, and Lodi. Close to the intersection of State Route 83 and Interstate 71, near the cities of Lodi in Medina county and Burbank in Wayne county, is where 41° N and 82° W intersect. From that location, Line A takes a northeast trajectory to Bangor, ME. North of Line A constitutes Medina, much of the Cuyahoga Valley, Hudson, bisects Streetsboro and Mantua, Hiram, West Farmington, North Bloomfield, and Andover.

For those wondering, there is a Line B, Line C, and Line D. In Canada, Line B is opposite to Line A while Line C and D divide the Alaskan border with Canada. There is no mention of Line C in Part 97. Land mobile stations licensed north of Line A or east of Line C requires additional coordination with Canadian authorities.

PARCS Radar station (Wikipedia)

The FCC has provided a couple resources that depict Line A and check Line A coordinates. The checking site won’t accept Google Maps coordinate format. It requires NAD83. I found a converter that worked well. On a Google Map, left-click until a small gray marker appears on the map. Coordinates will appear in a pop-up in the lower-center of the map. 41.460459, -81.911875 for example. Copy them. Go to the West Virginia coordinate conversion website. Paste them under “Input Coordinates.” “Lat/Lon WGS 1984” should already be selected. Under “Output Coordinates,” select “Lat/Lon NAD83.” Click Covert. Copy the output coordinates (removing the negative symbol and spaces) into the FCC Line A check site. Example Lat: 412737.6, Lon: 815442.7. The site will return “North of Line A” or “South of Line A” for the relative location.

As a general rule, don’t transmit 420-430 MHz within 80 miles from the Canadian border and you’ll be golden.

For everyone, the following applies in Part 97.303(m):

(2) Amateur stations transmitting in the 420-430 MHz segment must not cause harmful interference to, and must accept interference from, stations authorized by the FCC in the land mobile service within 80.5 km of Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit. See §2.106, footnote US230 for specific frequencies and coordinates.

(3) Amateur stations transmitting in the 420-430 MHz segment or the 440-450 MHz segment must not cause harmful interference to, and must accept interference from, stations authorized by other nations in the fixed and mobile except aeronautical mobile services.

80.5 km is a little more than 50 mi. Check the FCC or Radio Reference sites for issued licenses between 420 and 430 MHz in Ohio. Many licenses are assigned in the Cleveland and Toledo areas.

My OSJ article last year, though pertaining to hotspots and satellites, addressed the hotspot frequency question nicely. I’ll reiterate because this is important. Under Part 97, hotspot devices are considered an auxiliary station. In general, advice would be to ‘check with the local frequency coordinator’ but experience with the coordinating group indicates they won’t be of any help. Where should you operate a digital hotspot or digital simplex node? I do like the ARRL’s Band Plan because it spells out many details not included in graphical representations. Note: this advice only applies to the U.S. band plan. The band plan has allowances in the following frequency ranges for simplex, auxiliary stations and control links:

  • 146.400 – 146.580. Usable (at 12.5 KHz spacing): 146.4125 – 146.5675
  • 433.000 – 435.000. Usable (at 12.5 KHz spacing): 433.0125 – 434.9875
  • 445.000 – 447.000. Usable (at 12.5 KHz spacing): 445.0125 – 446.9875
Raspberry Pi Zero ZUMspot

“Usable” indicates the lower and upper frequency limits that can be used and programmed into a digital hotspot. Don’t forget to stay away from the national calling frequencies of 146.520 and 446.000. Some of these ranges are shared with repeater links so remember: it is your responsibility to ensure correct operation of your equipment and find a frequency not already in use before using it! There is NO excuse for not adjusting frequency to eliminate interference with other operators and equipment! Listen to the desired frequency by setting up a radio or scanner with the volume turned up. If you hear any kind of obvious traffic, data bursts, or digital screeching, pick another frequency then rinse and repeat. Notice none of these allowances include frequency restrictions imposed by Line A.

Every hotspot user and repeater owner reading this needs to verify your operating frequencies and take corrective action, if required. Auxiliary stations cannot operate within the satellite sub bands. Many hotspots are operating there illegally. Satellite sub bands for 2 & 440 are:

  • 2 m: 145.800 – 146.000
  • 70 cm: 435.000 – 438.000

If your hotspot is operating near edges where deviation would fall into an unauthorized band segment, operating “out-of-band” (ie: weak-signal, satellite), or operating 420-430 MHz and located “North of Line A”, you need to take corrective action now! Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!

Yahoo! Groups is going away! Since 2001, the service allowed users to “build relationships, stay in touch, share ideas, and discuss interests through the convenience of popular e-mail and Web-based tools.” Many ham radio groups over the years have used or are using Yahoo! Groups to coordinate and collaborate.

An SSTV Net in Cleveland used Yahoo! Groups to share received pictures and offer support for stations having trouble with their setup. It was the first time I used the service. Special interest groups formed on a wide variety of topics including scanner information, D-STAR, DMR, and System Fusion.

A note sent to users laid out the time line of the impending shutdown:

Beginning October 28 you won't be able to upload any more content to the site, and as of December 14 all previously posted content on the site will be permanently removed. You'll have until that date to save anything you've uploaded.

Moving or saving data needs to happen relatively quickly should you or group members want to keep the information. Read this knowledge base article to understand the changes and information on how to save content from your groups. Steps don’t seem quick or easy.

An ARS Technica article provides more details on the shutdown. Citing a successful service with 110 million users in 2010, Yahoo failed to adequately compete in other areas after being acquired by Verizon. Verizon responded by cutting budgets and staff.

I mentioned Groups.io in July as a service I joined earlier this year to keep updated on different ham radio projects. Feedback has been positive and many are recommending it as a place to transition before the shutdown. Groups.io doesn’t serve ads, track users, and has a better reputation than Facebook, which I neither use nor trust. Featuring a modern platform for communities to connect through messaging, calendar, chat, polls, databases, photos, wiki, and integration with a list of other platforms. Great place for projects to post documentation and offer support or as a platform to keep in-touch with club members. Some indicated greater engagement with club members and more attendance.

A wiki article posted contains instructions for moving content to Groups.io. It indicates transfers need to be initiated before December 1, 2019 to guarantee the transfer of content from Yahoo! Groups to Groups.io – though Yahoo was having issues with Photos.

Last month, I was invited to give a presentation at the meeting of the Lake County Amateur Radio Association (LCARA). The presentation was about, well, me. I talk about my biography including schooling, how I got involved with groups, jobs, and other presentations I’ve put together. Most importantly, talk about the duties and responsibilities of the Ohio Section Technical Coordinator and technical resources available to hams in the Ohio Section. I had a great time as I don’t get out to Lake county often and it was a fantastic day for a drive. The club was very welcoming. LCARA has many members passionate about different aspects of the hobby and they report on each during their meeting. A good time was had by all.

If you would like to know more about the TC position within the Ohio Section or want to know more about the technical resources available in our section, contact myself or a Technical Specialist.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – October 2018 edition

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.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…


Read the full edition at: http://arrl-ohio.org/news/2018/OSJ-Oct-18.pdf

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

DSCF5081 K8JTKHey gang,

Digital mode access points, often called hotspots, have been in the news lately. Those are the 10mW personal devices used by digital operators to cover a relatively small area like a house, car, or hotel room. Instead of tying up a gateway repeater, which largely connects local users to the Internet, many have opted for these low-powered devices to provide similar functionality. Advantages over a repeater are the hotspot owner has complete control over which reflector, repeater, or talkgroup their hotspot is connected to. They are not beholden to the preferences of the repeater owner and have the flexibility to use their hotspot however they’d like. Many use them mobile in the car or take them on a trip allowing them to enjoy their favorite digital modes where there may not be repeater coverage.

Hotspot devices in general are about the size of a deck or two of cards and require an Internet connection, computer to run the software, application or web browser for configuration, and a radio capable of operating each mode. An Internet connection can be your home WiFi or cellphone hotspot (as in WiFi-hotspot). The original OpenSpot was the only device that required a wired Ethernet connection. A PC computer may serve as the Internet connection for USB access points. The computer could be a Raspberry Pi in many cases or might be completely self-contained. A web browser or application is needed to make configuration changes and adjustments such as call sign, transmit frequency, mode, or network. These hotspots are the RF gateway to the internet which means a radio capable of transmitting and receiving that mode is also required. Few hotspots today are single mode like the D-STAR DVAP. Nearly all on the market are capable of operating multi-mode and connecting to associated networks. To operate DMR the user would need a capable DMR radio, a capable Fusion radio for the Fusion networks, and so-on.

Hotspots can utilize the many available modes & networks:

  • DMR: BrandMeister, DMRplus, XLX
  • D-STAR: DCS, DPlus, XRF, XLX
  • Fusion: FCS, YSFReflector
  • NXDN: NXDNReflector
  • P25: P25Reflector

A keen eye might ask about Wires-X, P25net, or DMR-MARC. Those networks cater to a specific manufacturer of equipment and are often closed to other vendors. You might be able to reach resources on those networks because someone has cross-linked a closed network with an open network, usually at the point where digital signals turn into analog audio. This is how a user can be on Wires-X America Link and talk with a DMR user.

Hotspots and satellites

Not the Dave Matthews Band song Satellite either. A major issue for other hams has been caused by hotspot users. Every hotspot user and repeater owner reading this needs to verify your operating frequencies and take corrective action, if required. Under Part 97, hotspot devices are considered an auxiliary station. Auxiliary stations cannot operate within the satellite sub bands. Many hotspots are operating there illegally. Satellite sub bands for 2 & 440 are:

  • 2 m: 145.800 – 146.000
  • 70 cm: 435.000 – 438.000

If your hotspot is operating within those frequencies or near the edges, within the weak-signal sub bands, or any other sub band likely to cause issues, you need to take corrective action now!

In general, advice would be to ‘check with the local frequency coordinator’ but experience with the coordinating group indicates they won’t be of any help. What should you do? Note: this advice only applies to the U.S. band plan. Every band plan I’ve seen has the satellite sub bands defined. I do like the ARRL’s Band Plan because it spells out many details not included in graphical representations. The band plan has allowances in the following frequency ranges for simplex, auxiliary stations and control links:

  • 146.400 – 146.580. Usable (at 12.5 KHz spacing): 146.4125 – 146.5675
  • 433.000 – 435.000. Usable (at 12.5 KHz spacing): 433.0125 – 434.9875
  • 445.000 – 447.000. Usable (at 12.5 KHz spacing): 445.0125 – 446.9875

“Usable” indicates the lower and upper frequency limits that can be used with a digital hotspot. Don’t forget to stay away from the national calling frequencies of 146.520 and 446.000. Some of these ranges are shared with repeater links so remember: it is your responsibility to ensure correct operation of your equipment and find a frequency not already in use before using it! There is NO excuse for not adjusting frequency to eliminate interference with other operators and equipment! Listen to the desired frequency by setting up a radio or scanner with the volume turned up. If you hear any kind of obvious traffic, data bursts, or digital screeching, pick another frequency then rinse and repeat. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!

OpenSPOT2

Right after Dayton I started hearing rumors that the OpenSPOT was discontinued. Not the news you want to hear if you just purchased one at Dayton. The website eventually confirmed the rumors and that another device was to be announced “soon,” which turned into months. Finally, the SharkRF OpenSPOT2 was announced. This replacement addresses many issues of the now legacy device including the need for a wired Ethernet connection, limited portability, and lack of newer digital modes.

Feature-wise it is nearly the same but includes a much-needed internal WiFi antenna and support for NXDN and P25 (two up-and-coming digital modes in ham radio). It includes POCSAG which I’m not familiar but told is a paging standard. Those under 35 have no idea what a pager is. The device operates off a USB-C cable (included) and looks to be about the size of a computer mouse. It will still have cross-mode support for DMR and Fusion radios and networks. As with the previous, you will not be able to use your D-STAR, NXDN, or P25 radio in cross-mode. Release date is expected before the end of 2018. Stay tuned to their website and social media portals for exact date.

ZUMspot review

At Dayton I added to my hotspot collection. On my shopping list was a ZUMspot or something I could use with the Pi-Star software. I picked up a ZUMspot kit and case from HRO. The kit lists for $130, $110 without the Pi board. The case adds $15. The kit came with the amazingly small Raspberry Pi Zero W (W for Wireless) and the ZUMspot modem board from KI6ZUM. You’ll need to provide a Micro-USB cable which powers both devices. I’ve seen demos and received feedback saying Pi-Star was a great application to use – and is stable. Many had issues with the DVMEGA (in particular) getting a good distribution that worked reliably with that device. Pi-Star is software written by Andy – MW0MWZ. It is distributed as a Raspberry Pi image for use with Digital Voice modems.

All configurable options are available through the web interface. It’s convenient and you don’t have to mess around with multiple interfaces or carrying around a screen for the device. Services like SSH are available but generally not needed.

Before I tried to use the image, I knew I had an issue. Since this was my first Pi device without a wired connection, I couldn’t edit the WiFi settings by wiring it to my network. Instead I mounted the SD on a Linux system and edited the /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf to include my WiFi information. Booted the ZUMspot and it connected to my wireless auto-magically. The Pi-Star site has a utility to help create the wpa_supplicant.conf file.

I’ve primarily used the ZUMspot on D-STAR and DMR but it supports all modes and networks mentioned earlier in the article. It doesn’t do as well as the OpenSPOT when D-STAR stations are marginal into their gateway. There’s more “R2D2” on the ZUMspot in that respect but it’s a minor issue. Pi-Star can enable multiple digital modes at one time. This is a great selling point and works great if conversations happen at different times on different networks. It is a “first wins” scenario. If a D-STAR transmission ends and one on the DMR network starts, nothing will be heard on the D-STAR radio until the DMR transmission ends. In other words, parts of an otherwise interesting conversation maybe missed. The case is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle but it’s fairly easy to figure out from the picture that was provided. The ZUMspot is an excellent little device and I’m happy with it.

Technical Specialists report

Dave – KD8TWG has been very busy recently. He was again in charge of the communications and networking for the Great Geauga County Fair where they run APRS tracking of their golf carts, setup a phone system and IP cameras to cover the fair. At the Cleveland Hamfest he gave his presentation on Digital Modes. He compared and contrasted modes available to ham radio operators, including quality and radio options. Updated for this year was information on digital scanners and receiving the MARCS statewide digital system. Coming up on October 30, he and a few buddies will be putting on a “Test and tune” night for LEARA. It’s a great opportunity to check operation of radio equipment and make sure it is not transmitting spurs and harmonics (*cough* *cough* Baofengs *cough* *cough*). Contact Dave if you’re in the Cleveland area, or myself for the rest of the section, to have a similar program at a club meeting or hamfest.

If you were involved with the State Emergency Test, Black Swan exercise the weekend of October 6 & 7, you likely received bulletins from The Ohio Digital Emergency Network (OHDEN). Eldon – W5UHQ and crew gave up a good portion of their weekend to help with this event. They did a fine job of handling bulletins from the EOC and those stations that came through on the wrong communication channels. Join them for the OHDEN net on 3584.500 USB using Olivia 8-500 set to 1500 Hz on the waterfall each Tuesday at 7:45 PM eastern.

WB8APD, SK

Cleveland Hamfest – 1999, hac.org

I received word that Trustee Emeritus and past long-time Treasurer for LEARA, Dave Foran – WB8APD became a Silent Key on October 10, 2018. I knew Dave for about 10 years as a member of the LEARA board and mentor but knew the impact he made on the Ham Radio community long before I was a ham. In the time I knew him, Dave was always a behind the scenes guy – rarely getting on the radio. He was instrumental in getting repeater sites and maintaining equipment for LEARA including having an input for one of the repeaters at his house. Stories have been told that his basement was the print shop for the club’s newsletter when the club had 400+ members no-less. Dave was incredibly smart with technology and the Internet before most of us knew what it was. He worked for the phone company and the joke was “Dave had half of Ma Bell in his basement.” Internet linking was something he was into early on with his own IRLP node. He owned a server that, for a long time, served resources for the Cleveland area – not only ham radio clubs but community organizations too.

HamNet BBS before closing

Maybe you even dialed into the old HamNet BBS system located in Dave’s basement (yet another reference those under 35 won’t understand). Dave was my mentor with technologies LEARA was using as I was going to be helping or taking them over. He is the reason I’m into digital modes. Cleveland’s first D-STAR repeater was in-part Dave’s doing. Of course I had problems at first and he was my go-to for questions. The little space here covers only a fraction of his involvement and lives he impacted through his countless contributions. Goodbye and 73, Dave.

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – November 2017 edition

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.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…


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

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

DSCF5081 K8JTKHey gang,
I’ve been playing around with a couple new radios. With the holidays approaching, these will make great gift ideas.

Cheap radios for new or young hams are hard to come by. Many opted for the under $30 Baeofung (or Pofung) UV-5R and for good reason. They’re cheap. Perfect options for new hams, young hams, or public service events were radios are prone to damage and misuse. Destroy it and its $30 vs a couple hundred, or 7, to replace. Cheap radios could replace older radios that maybe didn’t have PL, were lower power, or single band. You got what you paid for though. Inconsistencies in firmware versions lead to differing sets of features, programming software wasn’t easy to use, neither was installing the programming cable, complaints about the lack of support, and lack of a usable manual. I stopped using these radios because of the many tests proving they were good about transmitting everywhere at once (across the entire band). As hams we are given plenty of leeway in how we use our frequencies. It’s up to each of us to make sure our radios comply with Part 97 and do not interfere with other licensed radio services. The ARRL published their findings in a November 2015 QST article. Ohio Section Technical Specialist Dave – KD8TWG demonstrated this with a couple of radios he had purchased: https://kd8twg.net/2015/10/17/a-quick-and-unscientific-spectral-analysis-of-two-baofeng-radios/.

Ok, so don’t use these radios. What radio, that meets Part 97 requirements, is available for the price? This was a problem. There was no real option. About the cheapest dual-band radio was $150. DMR radios competed on price and features but, until recently, were only single band. I finally found a better option. Unfortunately, the company has “Baofeng” in the name which makes things even more confusing. A company called “Baofeng Tech” or BTech, is a US based company offering a similar radio called the UV-5X3 for under $60.

The radio looks and acts like a UV-5R. Baofeng Tech updates the firmware, modifies the radio installing better filtering on the transmitter, and includes an easy-to-read nicely printed 85 page manual. The UV-5X3 comes with all the same accessories including belt clip, antennas, charger, and ear piece. All original Baofeng accessories work too. To my surprise, they even squeezed in the 220 MHz (1.25m) band! Baofeng Tech assured me their radios meet spectral requirements for Part 97. I had mine tested at the Cleveland Hamfest by KD8TWG. On VHF the 3rd harmonic was a little higher than 40db down, UHF was spot-on. The CHRIP free programming software is the only programmer that currently works with this radio. RT Systems UV-5R programmer for the original Baofeng radios does not work with the UV-5X3.

Now there’s no excuse to get a very reasonably priced radio compliant with Part 97 spectral requirements. It even comes with free shipping if bought through Amazon. For someone looking to play around with 220, this is a great tri-bander radio. Check out this radio as an option, from a US company, for new or young hams: https://baofengtech.com/uv-5×3. Product images from Baofeng Tech.

I’ve wanted to install a dual-band DMR mobile radio in the shack. Yeah, all the DMR repeaters in the area are UHF. I like to have the flexibility of a dual-band. Connect Systems was one for the first, if not the first, to release a dual-band DMR mobile radio earlier this year. Talking with Jerry at Dayton (President of Connect Systems), they had just shipped the first batch of CS800D radios and were expecting to get another batch ‘in a couple months.’ I heard very good things from hams that have purchased from Jerry’s company previously. Connect Systems is accessible via email and social media for support, they worked to fully resolve product issues, fixed issues with firmware quickly, and let customers try out their new equipment while seeking feedback. I didn’t hesitate to get on the waiting list.

I finally got the radio at the beginning of August and I like it a lot. The radio itself looks like a Motorola CM300D or nearly identical in layout, including microphone, to the Kenwood TM-281A. Radio covers VHF: 136-174 @ 50W, UHF: 400-470 @ 45W. The head and microphone are removable and extendable with a cat5 Ethernet cable. It will hold 4,000 channels and 130,000 contacts with firmware updates – more contacts than the ENTIRE DMR-MARC user database! It’s got a couple quarks which I’m told are to be fixed in future firmware releases. Biggest annoyance being the display doesn’t always update after a button is pressed. The programming software is straight forward if you’ve ever programmed a DMR radio before. The Ohio Section website has a pre-built codeplug: http://arrl-ohio.org/digital/digital.html. N0GSG makes a great codeplug editor and codeplug converter that I found useful: http://n0gsg.com/contact-manager/. His editor now supports the CS800D, TYT MD2017 & MD9600.

The Connect Systems CS800D was a little pricey when I bought it ($399 + $15 for the programming cable) but has since dropped in price to $299. I feel this radio could have been more popular if the radio was not released in batches. Jerry was great about communicating and explaining the situation. Like any distributor, they were beholden to the timetables from their manufacturer. Nothing they could do about it. I think that allowed other options to enter the market sooner and resulted in lost potential sales. It’s a great radio and recommended for someone looking for a dual-band DMR mobile radio from a US based company. CS800D product page: http://www.connectsystems.com/products/top/radios%20CS800D.htm.

If you’ve picked up a CS800D, check the Software page for recent firmware updates: http://www.connectsystems.com/software/software%20CS800D.htm. Product image from Connect Systems.

Technical Specialist reports

Dave – KD8TWG has been busy as usual. In addition to testing radios at the Cleveland Hamfest, he tackled the issue of “operational security.” This has been a topic of discussion in the area as of late and on social media. He was seeing arguments that operational frequencies needed to be obscured for the purposes of “securing” an operation. Without encryption, there is no such thing. As Dave points out, any modern scanner can scan VHF and UHF bands within seconds. It’s even easier with SDR receivers that allow you to look at the entire band scope at once. Check out his post about Hiding Frequencies for “Operational Security”: https://kd8twg.net/2017/08/14/opsec/.

In October, another Section Technical Specialist, Jason – WG8B, gave a presentation to the Dayton Amateur Radio Association about his area of expertise: bike mobile operations. Jason provided feedback on his program:

The briefing focused on using bike mobile capabilities to support public service events and covered topics such as

  • Suitable antennas. Bikes are not good ground planes, and dual band antennas are important when supporting public service events from a bike since carrying extra antennas and swapping them out is not easy.
  • Speakers and microphones that work while bicycling while allowing you to safely operate a bike.
  • Properly mounting equipment to not only protect the equipment but also protect the bicycle and rider.
  • APRS operations from a bicycle

Most of the questions revolved around antennas. I won’t repeat specific questions to protect the innocent so to speak, so I’ll just clarify what I think good antenna requirements are for VHF/UHF bicycle mobile operations. First and especially when supporting public service events, omnidrectional antennas are absolutely required. On a bike, there is no practical way to steer antennas with directional patterns whether they be gain antennas or magnetic loops. You will be changing direction quite frequently, and you need to hit repeaters from any aspect. Second, high-Q antennas such as magnetic loops require precise tuning, something that’s not possible while on a bicycle. Stick to an antenna that does not require tuning. Your radio should be working for you while on a bike during public service events not the other way around. There’s already enough going on, and safety is first. Third, any antenna bigger or longer than a bicycle flag is not likely safe. There are balance issues with weight above the bike’s center-of-gravity, and just about the worst shape aerodynamically is an antenna. So how hard do you want to pedal? Also, I’ve had problems with low hanging branches with just a bicycle flag. Anything taller is going to be problematic. My recommendation is still to use a dual band J pole like Ed Fong’s DBJ-2 taped to a bike flag or a single band half wave dipole like Larson’s NMO 150B HW. While not the absolutely best antennas performance-wise, they will still hit every repeater in my local area and then some with a 5W HT. And these are very simple and small form factor antennas that just work and won’t get in the way when on a bike.

Finally, if you would like to see the briefing, I’ve made it accessible here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2Yn-_hki2v0blFnNVVRbW9kc3c

Jason’s presentation has lots of tips and pictures for making a bicycle mobile installation a success. If you would like to have Jason at your meeting, drop him a note!

Thanks for reading and 73… de Jeff – K8JTK

Ohio Section Journal – The Technical Coordinator – September 2017 edition

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.
Click Edit your Profile.
You will be taken to the Edit Your Profile page. On the first tab Edit Info, verify your Email address is correct.
Click the Edit Email Subscriptions tab.
Check the News and information from your Division Director and Section Manager box.
Click Save.

Now without further ado…


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

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

DSCF5081 K8JTKHey gang,

Last couple articles have been features so this month is a lot of odds-and-ends…

System Fusion

Last month’s article covering many System Fusion issues sparked some feedback as one might imagine. It was split.

One group in the section was using an external controller and was having a DR-1X repeater lock-up problem. They troubleshot the issue and with “additional circuity” resolved their issue. One disputed my assertion the repeater is two FTM-400 radios, but didn’t provide any details to the contrary. Having opened up LEARA’s DR-1X and upgraded the firmware, one radio looks exactly like the 400 (minus the speaker). Additionally, the firmware upgrade process was identical to my 400. Arguably, the transmit radio could be different but it’s hard to really tell with the heatsink mounted on top.

On the opposite end, a club in the section is completely frustrated with how Yaesu treated them as customers. They’ve attempted to call and email no less than 6 Yaesu representatives asking for details on promotions, hardware specifications, or answer to questions but never heard a word. They believe ‘Yaesu has lost any competitive edge they had by flooding the market with Fusion gear.’ Though I agree, I have not experienced this particular problem with my inquiries to support. My emails have been answered within a day or so – usually confirming suspicions I heard elsewhere. Seemingly ignoring customers is bad for business. Though customers feel they are being ignored, it may be a management attempt to better coordinate internal communication before going public. You’re doing it wrong, but it is a possibility. As pointed out previously, statements of fact made countless times are suddenly reversed and changed at release.

To clarify a point, the FTM-400 radio does operate both A & B sides of the radio simultaneously. My issue is, for their high-end offering of a mobile radio, it should be able to operate Fusion from both A & B sides of the radio at the same time. It does not. The A side can operate Fusion digital or FM. B only operates FM. Operating Fusion digital from both sides is one nice feature of the FT2D.

It didn’t take long before I started hearing the DMR arguments. DMR does have issues too but I see them as growing pains. It’s not: ‘this crashes, this locks up in transmit, this doesn’t work until you get a factory upgrade, need to spend $$$ to work around a shortcoming, upgrade to get the full power output, something can’t be fixed because there is no published specification…’ the list goes on. I’ve covered DMR issues here before and have noted most of them in my DMR Terminology and Programming a Code Plug learning series: http://www.k8jtk.org/category/amateur-radio/dmr-in-amateur-radio/.

Background checks, public service, & saving lives

The era of submitting to a background and credit check before helping out with fund-raising public service events is upon us. The local Multiple Sclerosis Society in Cleveland hosts a 150 mile (or so) bike ride every year. This used to be called “Pedal to the [Cedar] Point” but was renamed “Buckeye Breakaway” when the ride changed destinations to Ashland University. Last year, the MS society pushed for all volunteers to run a full background check. This included all ham, SAG (Support and Gear), and medical units – whether they were mobile or stationary at rest stops. Failing to complete the required check or failing the check would mean that person couldn’t volunteer or participate. This request was sprung on the ham and medical coordinators a few weeks out form the event. Citing time constraints and the amount of push back from volunteers, eventually the required check was no longer required but not after some had already completed the investigation.

This year, the MS society required a background investigation and proof of liability insurance for SAG drivers. Though I was not transporting riders, I too had to submit because I was the shadow of an MS staff person for the event. The investigation service stated a ‘credit check’ would be part of the reporting, though the society said it would not be a factor for eligibility.

Like many organizations, the MS Society is going through its share of layoffs, reorganizations, and centralization. The Cleveland chapter had little recourse since the background check was mandated from HQ. I suspect this will become the norm rather than the exception in the legal, CYA, society we live in. It sure takes the fun out of doing a public service event and not sure I want to give up that much personally identifiable information again for a fundraiser event. Then again, Equafax hands out PII data to anyone who can gain access to their systems.

That issue aside, a real life threatening event happened. Ham and medical volunteers dealt with a roll-over accident involving one of the cyclists in the event, a utility pole, and a parked car – all because of an impatient driver. This happened in Medina County near Valley City. The accident was radioed in by a ham volunteer. Other hams were on scene along with the Northeast Ohio Medical Response Corps to triage the situation. NEOMRC is a group of volunteers who provide medial support services for events and nearly all are licensed hams. The injured cyclist was life-flighted to a nearby hospital. The driver, who caused the accident, left the scene. By late afternoon, the story was all over the local news: http://fox8.com/2017/08/05/cyclist-struck-by-car-during-race-in-medina-county/. Fortunately, no one was killed. Img: Brunswick Hills Firefighters.

ISS SSTV

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), a slow scan TV event was held July 20th and ran for 3 days. During these events, SSTV transmissions originate from the International Space Station as it orbits in space. No special setup is required to copy the images. To receive the best images, Yagi antennas on a tracking tripod is best. I just use my external VHF antenna and let the radio listen for transmissions. Images sent featured different ARISS activities over the past 20 years. Check out the images 34 images I received: http://www.k8jtk.org/2017/08/03/sstv-transmissions-from-the-international-space-station-july-2017-edition/. If you want to get started in SSTV, check out the links to my getting started tutorial of MMSSTV in that post. I will also be giving my SSTV presentation at the Geauga Amateur Radio Association meeting on September 25, 2017 at 7:30 in the Geauga County Emergency Operations Center. More on the meeting: https://geaugaara.org/.

2017 Eclipse & WSPR

I contributed to the radio sciences taking place around the solar eclipse. I didn’t get to travel to an area of totality or even take off work. Instead I worked a number of the special event stations in the surrounding days. Still have to send away for my certificate. Since I didn’t take off work or do anything unusual, my contribution to the “eclipse QSO party” was to leave WSPR decoding signals and upload the spots. Scientists are hoping to learn more about eclipses and effects they have on the atmosphere and radio propagation from those spots.

WSPR stands for Weak Signal Propagation Reporting Network. If you have WSJT-X installed, WSPR is included in that package. WSPR is intended to be a QRP mode because each receive and transmit window is 2 minutes. It works like a beacon network based on timed transmissions like JT65, JT9, and FT8. Each band has 200 Hz of bandwidth designated for WSPR. A transmitting station will digitally transmit their call sign, grid square, and dBm (power output). Similar to the JT’s, the signal report (DB), time difference between the two clocks, and drift are calculated by the receiving station. Decoded signals are uploaded as spots to the WSPR Net website. The data is crunched and used to draw real-time maps of propagation. More: http://wsprnet.org/

Technical Specialist Reports

In Technical Specialist news, Dave – KD8TWG held a “Test and Tune” night for LEARA. Communications and spectrum analyzers were brought in to tune radios that might be off frequency or show how much those Baofeng radios do transmit everywhere at once. Contact Dave or a section Specialist to bring this educational and eye-opening experience to your club meeting.

In addition, KD8TWG would like to thank everyone who came out and worked the 195th Great Geauga County Fair. Dave was in charge of the communications and networking for golf cart drivers who transported fair goers to and from their cars. Golf carts were equipped with APRS for location tracking. A WiFi network based on the Mikrotik NV2 protocol was built for two weeks. NV2 is a proprietary WiFi protocol based on TDMA in the 5.1-5.8 GHz range. The advantage of TDMA wireless is better throughput and lower latency in point-to-point or point-to-multipoint networks. Traditional WiFi is built on a Carrier sensed collision avoidance system where nodes transmit only when they sense the channel is idle. Dave points out, this is NOT mesh. Over the wireless network, they ran a phone system and IP cameras. The Sherriff’s Office was impressed with the video coverage and wants to run more cameras next year. By the numbers: 60 volunteers worked 1,284 hours, with just under 700 golf cart transports. Dave ate approximately 47,000 calories in fried food. Imgs: KD8TWG.

Technical Regulation Reform

An ARNewsline report (#2080) points out the FCC Technical Advisory Council is looking for opinions and suggestions to update existing technical regulations or to adopt new ones. “The FCC wants the council to single out any rules that are obsolete or in need of being brought up-to-date. The Council also wants comments on how the agency’s regulatory process on specific technical rules could become more efficient. The agency stresses that the issues being considered are those of a technical nature.” Thoughts or opinions can be filed in ET Docket 17-215 or with the ARRL. October 30th is the deadline. More: http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-technological-advisory-council-investigating-technical-regulations

Foxhunts

I’ve only participated in two Fox Hunts. The first time, I came in dead last. Second time, came in second. No idea how that happened because no skills were honed at all. The Ham Radio 360 podcast had an episode with Larry Jacobs – WA7ZBO talking all about Fox Hunts. Surprising to me was the Tape measure antenna is very popular even among serious hunters. As for gear, an antenna, attenuator, and radio are needed. In the absence of an attenuator, your body could be used to attenuate signals. Larry talked about some dos and don’ts. He encouraged hamfests to hold hunts to ‘whet the appetite.’ The most popular hunts are races with mileage and time restrictions to keep things safe. Don’t make the hunt too hard where participants get discouraged and don’t want to ever participate again. Always use public property. Use common sense and don’t be a wise guy. For example, a convention had the fox located near the hotel pool. When someone asked what everyone was doing with antennas around the hotel, someone responded with ‘a Soviet Satellite with a radioactive payload went down near here.’ Guests couldn’t check out of the hotel fast enough. The hotel asked this group not to return. While funny, don’t be that guy. Instead have ARRL handouts and pamphlets about ham radio when someone asks. The episode can be found at: http://hamradio360.com/index.php/2017/07/25/ham-radio-360-fox-hunting-transmitter-bunnies-too/

Last Man Standing & Frequency TV shows

Many have heard by now the Tim Allen show “Last Man Standing” was canceled by ABC and possibly looking for a new home. Tim Allen plays a fictional ham radio operator using the call sign KA0XTT. The show was popular among politically conservative individuals and ham radio operators. According to ARNewsline (#2069), talks fell through for the show and it will not be returning with new episodes. The show will soon be removed from Netflix as 20th Century Fox struck a deal with Hulu for exclusive rights to their catalog, which includes Last Man Standing. Hulu is a premium service for streaming TV and moves. Channels carrying reruns include: CMT, Hallmark, Freeform, and The CW. Also on CW was the TV spinoff of the move Frequency, it too was canceled.

TYT MD-2017 Broken Antenna Connectors

If you purchased an early Tytera MD-2017 DMR dual-band radio and the antenna connector broke, contact your dealer. This appears to be a first-run issue and TYT has shipped replacement connector parts to their dealers. Replacing the connector requires opening the radio and soldering. If you’re not comfortable, ask if the dealer will do the work or swap the radio.

Thanks for reading, 73, and Go Tribe!… de Jeff – K8JTK