Oklahoma City Technician Course scheduled

The Oklahoma City Autpatch Association will conduct a Technician License Course beginning on Thursday, 7 January, 2016 running eight weeks to Thursday 25 February, 2016, 6-9 PM.


 The classes will be held at the Oklahoma School of Science & Math (OSSM) Library, 1141 North Lincoln Blvd, Oklahoma City.  Students should use the parking lot entrance on NE 10th Street.


 Point of contact for the course is Dave Duskin, NE5S.  Dave can be contacted at 405-386-6739


 Students should bring photo ID for access to OSSM library facility.


 Student must obtain their own copy of the ARRL Technician Class License Handbook.  The license handbook is available locally at Barnes & Noble or can be ordered from the ARRL Store (arrl.org).


 If possible, students should attempt to 'read ahead' in license handbook.



 Tech License exam will be administered at the of the course; there is a $15 exam fee.

W5MPY's Antenna down #ARRL #hamradio

Antenna fell over on the east end, the guy rope ring snapped in two, over she went into the other guy ropes resting in the tree. HF wire leg is also down too, HF radio inoperable for now.

Thanks to Ron AF5AS for this information

Lawton Parks on the Air announced

Scope: Activate all 69 City of Lawton parks to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and increase Lawton, Oklahoma’s visibility not only in SW Oklahoma, but to the State of Oklahoma and nationwide.

Goals:

1. Demonstrate portable operations in a remote, temporary setup via mobile or portable operations
2. Encourage radio amateurs in the Lawton metro area to participate and give out parks.
3. Present to the Lawton, Oklahoma community the capabilities of Amateur Radio
4. Enhance Amateur radio publicity in Lawton, Comanche County, and the State of Oklahoma
5. Promote the City of Lawton parks locally, county, and statewide

Dates/Times: 0001 hours UTC to 2359 Hours February 1 through December 31, 2016

Bands/Modes: 2m to 80M, excluding 12, 17, and 30m.  WARC bands will be excluded due to conversational value and protocol reasons.  May be reconsidered later.

All modes may be used; however, repeater, DMR, IRLP, Echo Link, and DStar contacts will not count.  

Power: Minimum power needed to make the contact.

Who may participate: Any licensed Amateur Radio Operator

Exchange:

US/VE and DX – Call sign, signal report, and state if US, province if in Canada, all else will just say DX

Lawton Parks Operator – “W5KS”, signal report and Park Name.  There will be a Abbreviation list for CW

Example Contact:

Cq Cq Cq, this is W5KS, W5KS, W5KS, Lawton Parks on the Air

           W5KS, W5KS, De AF5Q AF5Q 59 OK :  this is the USA portion

W5KS, W5KS, this is VE2ABC 59 Quebec   : this is for Canada

W5KS, W5KS, this is XE2MOO, 59 DX

All CW and Data modes are recommended to use full signal report, i.e. 599.  Please give the correct signal report as everyone will not be 59

When/Which parks will be on:  See website for schedule.  Parks will be scheduled for a whole week to give the radio amateur flexibility to operate contingent on their personal schedule.  Parks will generally be available between 0800 and 2000 hours.  There will be no overnight operations in any of the said parks.   

Parks should be listed on DX summit and those interested will be able to download a schedule for when the parks are on.  A city map of the parks can be found at http://www.cityof.lawton.ok.us/parksnrec/images/ParksMap.jpg

Inclement weather/Park unavailable:  There will be times when weather, esp. winter that park may not be available.  There could be also a conflict with scheduling if an event is there occupying the facility.  Our goal is to try to get each park scheduled twice so all can have an opportunity to work the park.  Some parks may have to be rescheduled.  If so, the schedule will be updated on the website.

Awards:  Awards for the Lawton Parks will be as follows:

US/VE/DX

1. Work at least 5 parks and qualify for the basic certificate.  Confirm contacts through LOTW. Number of parks worked will be printed on certificate.
2. Levels of parks worked
1. 5 to 25 – Scout Level
2. 26 to 42 – Explorer level
3. 43 to 68 – Expeditioner level
4. Worked all 69 parks – Fortune Hunter

LCPOTA participants –

1. Activate 3 parks to qualify for basic certificate
2. Level of parks activated:
1. Activate 3-8 parks – Nomad
2. Activate 8-17 Parks – Traveler
3. Activate 17-25 Parks – Expeditionist
4. Activate 26 parks and above – Traveler elite

Activation information:

1. Park must be in city limits
2. Be within 100 yards of the park.
3. Activate park for at least 90 minutes.
4. Post the activated park on DX Summit or  DX Maps when at location and please include the following:
1. Frequency
2. Split if operation that way
3. Park name
4. W5KS call sign (you do not have to use your own)

Legal Ramifications:

1. Park operators understand that park activations are at your own risk and self-decision.
2. Lawton-Ft. Sill Amateur Radio club assumes no risk for personal injury, loss, medical emergencies, theft, criminal actions, self-defense issues, death, damage to vehicle or equipment, etc. as a result of operation from a park.  If you are not sure if you wish to operate, then please do not.
3. Be licensed to operate W5KS on the frequencies within your current license class.

LPCOPTA Operators:

1. Email logs in .adi format to NL7CO for upload into the LOTW site.
2. When creating upload, please put park name and LCPOTA in the remarks to where the station confirming contact can get credit.  US/VE and DX , please put name of park in your remark block where you can get credit.
3. Please email the .adi file asap upon completion of the park activation
4. Please sign up on the sheet on the website You will be given your own password.  Your call sign will be your username.

Confirmation of QSOs and Certificates:

1. Primary confirmation of QSOs for certificates will be LOTW.  There will be no EQSL.  
2. Certificates maybe requested for the event.  We request a donation of $5.00 to cover postage and paper.

Comments and Questions:  Comments and questions may be directed to Ron Grossman, AF5Q,

Addendum:  We hope you have fun with this event and thank you for your interest and participation.

The year in Review

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Oklahoma Section!

Has it been a good year for you?  It has been a good year for the Section.

The Oklahoma Section had a 1.8% increase in League membership this year.  If you have not joined or renewed, the dues are going up January 1.  

The Section added a CW net, an Automatic Packet Reporting Net, a Digital Mobile Radio net, and a Voice Over Internet Protocol net to the mix.  Thanks to Howard, WD5IDB, the Tulsa Digital Radio Club, and others who have been moving these new projects along.

Speaking of Volunteers, in addition to the Amateur Radio Emergency Services crew, the Section has had a number of Official Observers appointed this year.  Please check out the posts available and volunteer for one.  There's plenty of work for everyone in the Section.

Your section leadership is looking forward to another great year!  Who are they?  The Oklahoma Section Page lists them.  Rest assured, they are more than willing to help with any issue you may be facing in amateur radio.  Your section manager can't be everywhere all the time.  This group is helpful in places where he is not.

Mary, KE5LTA reports net participation is up but also she reports there are openings for Net Control Stations on the various nets in the Section.  Please reach out to her to offer your support.

Division Legislative Liaison Eddie Manley, K5EMS was busy with the Generator Bill and he joined Public Information Coordinator Michael Dean, K5MFD to get your legislators to understand who would benefit and who would be hurt but the Text and Drive law.  Your section benefits from the work of these two.

Some are doing some interesting things in the Section.  The Batfish and Oklahoma memorial stations remain popular.  Route 66 and the Oklahoma QSO party are annual events.  The Lawton Parks on the Air will be coming up soon.  Of course the Section hamfests remain popular.

Each issue of QST lists Silent Keys.  Those numbers are offset by the number of amateur radio classes in the Section.  Thanks to all who help with the Volunteer Examination Program.

In reviewing the Section records, did you know there are as many active ARRL Affiliated Amateur Radio Clubs as there are inactive?  There are only three Special Service Clubs.  Can you help move the Section forward by joining your local club and helping them become active in the League, please?

While, personally, this has been a challenging year, as pointed out above, there has been TREMENDOUS achievement in the Section.  Keep moving forward, Oklahoma!

Need a New Year's Resolution?  If you are not an ARRL member, how about resolving to join?  If you want to make amateur radio a better hobby, how about volunteering with a Section appointment?

Thanks to you all for your support of the American Radio Relay League and the BEST hobby on the Planet.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

73

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Oklahoma Section
Section Manager: Lloyd Colston, KC5FM
kc5fm@arrl.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------

W5KUB.com Show: Youth activities on USS Batfish; Antennas; and more kits

This week's W5KUB.com show (December 22nd) Emmett
Hohensee, W0QH, the chief engineer of Radiowavz,
will give us a report on youth activities on the USS Batfish
submarine, and will discuss setting up antennas. Joe Eisenberg,
K0NEB, will be back with us to talk about more kits.
After this we will open the show up to phone calls and talk to anyone
who would like to call in.


Be sure to send
your FCC related questions to Riley
Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, to AskRiley@w5kub.com.
Riley retired from the FCC's Compliance and Information Bureau as Legal
Adviser for Enforcement Program. He will be answering your questions every
few weeks on our "Ask Riley" segment



Remember our show is also on international shortwave radio station WBCQ out
of Monticello, ME on 5110 Khz, Please send a signal report to tom@w5kub.com.



Amateur Radio Roundtable is a live
weekly amateur radio webcast, held every Tuesday night
at 8 PM CT (0200 UTC Wednesday) at W5KUB.com.
The show covers a wide range of topics for ham radio operators
and electronic hobbyists; including balloon launches, satellite, go-kits,
emergency communications, SDR, digital modes, DXing, home brewing, hamfest
updates, and more. We also want to grow our shortwave listener base and will
be including programs that intrest those listeners as well. Viewers will
have the opportunity to ask questions via the chat room or telephone.



Since we changed our main video service to Youtube
Live, we have had almost zero complaints about buffering or freezing.
Quality and stability reports have been great. Because of
this, we will stop broadcasting on the back up server each night. You
will need to watch on the main server. If there are ever any problems
where we lose the main video server, we can quickly turn on the back up feed.
This will cut down on the double data we have to send out for each
show.



We need your help. If you use Twitter, please send out a tweet 15
minutes before the show or retweet our announcement. I suggest something like
"live #hamradio show starts in 15 mins on w5kub.com 8 PM CT".
This should help increase our viewer base.



Towards the end of each show, we provide a link and viewers who have a
camera, microphone, and a Google+ account, can join the show. Your video and
audio will be on the webcast. This part of the show is very informal
and up to 10 people can join. We talk about anything the viewers want to
discuss.



We would like to share pictures of your ham shack on the webcast. Send a
picture of your ham shack with a description and we will feature your shack
pictures on the show. In fact, if you give us your permission, your
shack could be used as the background of that week's webcast!



If you have a specific subject idea for a future show, send an email to tom@w5kub.com.



Forward this
message to a Friend will
allow you to share this message with your friends.



If you missed last weeks show, you can watch it here on our Youtube channel. Our shows are recorded and
placed on YouTube's W5KUB channel the following day.



Join us for fun and
interesting discussions!



Tom Medlin, W5KUB

New Oklahoma Section Net Announced #ARRL #hamradio

After discussion with the Oklahoma DMR group, we have determined that a "live" interlink between DMR and D-star/Echolink/IRLP would violate provisions of the DMR-MARC covenant that governs all of the Oklahoma DMR repeaters.

We will kick off the "OK ARRL DMR Net" this Monday, December 21st starting at 8:15 PM in the Oklahoma State Talkgroup.  It will be every Monday at the same time thereafter.  Net control will be AF5XC Dustin with AE5ME Jeff as backup.  Bring your questions about DMR.  If net control cannot answer it immediately, we will contact the appropriate persons during the net for help.  There will also be a "digital corner" portion of the net in which we cover an aspect of digital radio.

Of course, the OK ARRL Voice-over-IP net will continue at 9:15 PM.  if you are a D-star repeater, link to Reflector 052B (Oklahoma Reflector).  If you are an Echolink repeater, connect to conference 7203 (*WX_TALK*).  If you are an IRLP repeater, connect to IRLP 9219.  Net control will continue to be W5LHG Larry, who has done a wonderful job for the first two nets.  The 9:15 net will also have the "digital corner" feature.

Looking forward to participation from the DMR stations in our statewide net!

--Jeff AE5ME 

Editor's note:  DMR repeaters in Oklahoma are listed on RepeaterBook.

Oklahoma Climate Information

I found the following site when looking for some other weather stuff.

You might find it interesting, also!

(http://climate.ok.gov/index.php/site/page/climate_of_Oklahoma)


Thanks to Mac, K2GKK/5 for this information.

Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Space Weather News for Dec. 13, 2015
http://spaceweather.com GEMINID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight, Dec. 13-14, as Earth passes through a stream of gravelly debris from "rock comet" 3200 Phaethon. Dark-sky observers in both hemispheres could see as many as 120 meteors per hour during the dark hours between local midnight and sunrise on Dec. 14th. Last night, Dec. 12-13, NASA's all-sky meteor network detected 15 Geminid fireballs over the USA. That number will surely increase tonight when the shower peaks. Visit Spaceweather.com for more information.

MAGNETIC STORM ON A COMET: Earth isn't the only place with geomagnetic storms. Comets can have them, too. Such a storm appears to be underway in the sinuous blue ion tail of Comet Catalina (C/2013 US10). Observers with backyard telescopes are monitoring the event with photos highlighted on today's edition of Spaceweather.com


I don't know if weather will cooperate for Oklahoma tonight,
but here's the info from spaceweather.com


* * * * * * * * * * *
* 73 - Mac, K2GKK/5 *
* (Since 30 Nov 53) *
* Oklahoma City, OK *
* USAF, Ret'd 61-81 *
** FAA, Ret'd 94-10 *
* * * * * * * * * * *

Net sends #helpwanted message #ARRL #hamradio

Quick reminder that the statewide APRS net is coming up this Saturday,
December 12th at 1 PM.  Net control will be KD5NJR.


We will be conducting the net from the TDRC presentation on APRS and
UZ7HO soundcard modem at the Broken Arrow Central Library at 300 W.
Broadway in Broken Arrow.  If you have never used APRS, this is an
excellent opportunity to see someone in person running a portable APRS
station and soundcard modem combination.  Scott will be more than happy
to answer any questions you may have.


To assist the net in having maximum coverage, we are asking for
"associate net control" stations in the following locations:


OKC Metro, within 30 miles of W5LHG IGATE.
Guymon, within 50 miles of KB5IIM-15 IGATE.
Enid, within 30 miles of  K0WHN IGATE.
Bartlesville, within 30 miles of KE9XB IGATE.
McAlester, within 30 miles of W5CUQ-10 IGATE (believe it is still an
IGATE).
Buffalo, within 50 miles of WL7II IGATE.
Altus, within 50 miles of N5VX-10 IGATE.


You main job will be sending out an APRS bulletin announcing the net
and directing check-ins to the KD5NJR net control station.  Not every
location is served by bi-directional I-gates, so this will be a way to
serve the outlying areas and insure the net control message is making
it to those areas.  If you are interested in being an associate net
control for one of these locations, please email me at ae5me at yahoo
dot com and I will provide you more details.


--Jeff AE5ME

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Oklahoma Section
Section Manager: Lloyd Colston, KC5FM
--------------------------------------------------------------------

What can you do to #FightTheFlu

Flu News You Can Use

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), winter is the typical season for influenza activity, but outbreaks can happen as early as October. Flu symptoms can include: a sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, and fatigue.

Fever is another symptom of the flu, but the CDC notes that not everyone with the flu will have a fever.

While anyone can get the flu, some people are at high risk of developing serious flu-related complications. People who are at high risk include young children, pregnant women, people age 65 years and older, and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease).

The CDC recommends the flu vaccine as the best way to prevent this illness. There are several vaccine options, including the flu shot and nasal spray. If you are sick with the flu, avoid spreading it by:

• Covering your mouth with your elbow when you cough or sneeze;
• Washing your hands often with soap and warm water; and
• Staying home.

For more information about the upcoming flu season and how to avoid spreading this illness, take a look at this CDC resource guide.

New Oklahoma Section Net announced #ARRL #hamradio @arrl

There was a good turnout for the FIRST Voice Over Internet Protocol net!  As with all first 

things, there were some hiccups but those were quickly overcome.


Thanks to Dave, K5RAV for checking into the net.  It is always good to

The Oklahoma Section Voice-over-IP net will be held  on a weekly basis

have ARRL leadership supporting our various efforts in Oklahoma.

Please remember to check into the net which is set to occur every Monday night at 9:15 PM.




Many thanks to Larry W5LHG, who will be net control.  Thanks also to

the Tulsa Digital Radio Club for use of the temporary VOIP bridge that connects

D-Star to the VOIP Skywarn group ... www.voipwx.net  Thanks to the leadership of the VOIP Weather Net for the use of their resource.

Local repeaters are encouraged to link into the net on IRLP or Echolink.

Other VOIP systems will be supported upon request. 




Echolink:  7203 the *WX-TALK* conference

IRLP:  9219 

D-Star Reflector 052B (Oklahoma Reflector)




Individual users may also connect using D-star dongles and hotspots connected to Reflector 052B.  Echolink applications are available for the IPhone, Android OS, and Windows OS that also allow individual participation via internet.




Thanks to all hands who are making this a wonderful Statewide experience.





73

ARRL Oklahoma Section

Section Manager: Lloyd Colston, KC5FM

Very High Frequency enthusiasts announce meeting #ARRL #hamRadio

The OKLAHOMA CENTRAL VHF CLUB Meeting is set for December 9 at 11 am at 

 

LOCATION: GOLDEN CORRAL, 5702 NW EXPRESSWAY ST, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK

             

 

BRING A FRIEND AND ENJOY THE FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP!!

 

Thanks to Roger, K5RKK for this information

Bell Ringing in #AltusOK #ARRL #hamradio #RedKettle

Section Manager Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, has a bell in one hand
and a walkie-talkie in the other as he spent some time with a
Red Kettle in Altus.  (James Molledahl, AB5FS photo)

The Altus Bulldogs also took State in 5A Football.

What are you doing in your community?  Let us know, please.

Oklahoma FM Simplex contest announced

On Saturday December 12, 2015 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM the  Edmond Amateur Radio Society will host a 2 Meter FM simplex Sprint!

 This contest is open to all amateur radio operators and is intended to promote the sport of amateur radio competition and to simulate a repeater outage during an emergency.  This is a great exercise to test how far one can reach with a handheld, mobile, or base station.  The focus of this contest is to introduce everyone to amateur radio contesting and invite them to attend our free General license class beginning March 8, 2016.

The contest instructions and rules are:

Edmond Amateur Radio Society

2 Meter FM Simplex Sprint

A Contest for Everyone

Welcome to the second Edmond Amateur Radio Club 2 Meter FM simplex Sprint. This contest is open to

all amateur radio operators and is intended to promote the sport of amateur radio competition and to

simulate a repeater outage during an emergency. Furthermore this is an exercise for all to test how far

one can reach with a handheld, mobile, or base station on 2 Meters. Simplex is also the common mode

of voice communications for SSB HF when contesting, operating digital modes, and for general

conversing. Local events such as the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April utilizes both 2m FM

simplex and repeaters. The goal of this contest however is to introduce newly licensed Technicians to

amateur radio contesting and invite them to attend our free General license class beginning March 8,

2016. For more information tune-in to our weekly information net, see our club website, Facebook

page, or e-mail our class coordinator, cqN5ZY@GMAIL.COM.

For amateurs in the Central Oklahoma area to work as many fellow amateur stations as possible using

our list of simplex frequencies, raise awareness of effective ranges of antennas and wattages, and to

Saturday, December 12, 6:30 to 8:30 PM CST

Consider operating from a remote location, high point or perhaps a roving mobile; Mobile stations can

re-work and be re-worked when they have relocated to a different zip code.

The use of the national simplex frequency of 146.52 is not permitted for contesting. The contest will

take place solely on the 2 meter band using simplex mode; (e.g. no repeater contacts). According to the

ARRL band plan, these frequencies (between 146.40-146.58 & 147.42-147.57) are for simplex use. For

this contest, we will use only these 8 frequencies with a convenient 20 kHz separation.

Valid Contest Frequencies

147.420 147.440 147.460 147.480

147.500 147.520 147.540 147.560

Callsign, Name, EARS Member and 5-digit zip code. Rover stations should use the zip code of their

current location at the time. Record EARS membership status as “--” for no, “M” for member, “B” for

board member and “O” for officer. Use a zip code map to plan your strategy, such as:

http://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/

Examples of common contest operating practice:

In this example we have one station who has decided to stay on one frequency and call CQ while

another operator has decided to constantly scan each of the valid contest frequencies and respond to

Example of a Stationary Exchange:

Station calling CQ: “CQ CQ AE5MT Contest”

Station responding: “AE5MT from KM5GZ, please copy Bob, a Board member, from 73013”

Reply from AE5MT: “KM5GZ please copy Brian, a Member, from 74834”

Closing comment from KM5GZ: “QSL, 73”

Station resumes calling CQ: “CQ CQ AE5MT Contest”

Example Mobile/Rover Exchange:

Station calling CQ: “CQ CQ AE5MT Mobile Contest”

Station responding: “AE5MT/M from KM5GZ, please copy Bob, a Board member, from 73013”

Reply from AE5MT: “KM5GZ please copy Brian, a Member, mobile from 73012”

Closing comment from KM5GZ: “QSL, 73”

Station resumes calling CQ: “CQ CQ AE5MT Mobile Contest”

Work as many different calls and locations as possible exchanging information as presented above.

Work each station once per ZIP Code — i.e. Mobiles can be re-worked whenever they change locations.

Use the log scoring sheet that will be available in MS Excel or Adobe Reader or Google Docs.

Each non-EARS member contact is worth 1 point

Each EARS member contact is worth 5 points

Each EARS board member is worth 10 points

Each EARS officer is worth 20 points.

Mobile operators operating from more than one zip code are awarded 200 bonus points!

a. The number of unique 5-digit zip codes

b. Stations running <= 10 watts power: multiply score by 3

Stations running => 11 watts power <=50 watts power: multiply score by 2

Stations running => 51 watts power <= 100 watts to the antenna: multiply score by 1 (e.g.

Final Score: # QSO points X zip code multiplier X power multiplier

Logging and Log Submission Deadline

Contest log sheets can be downloaded in MS Excel or Adobe or Google Docs format. Logs must be

submitted on paper at our board meeting, by U.S. mail, or e-mail. The score section must be completed

when you submit your log; we will not calculate each score.

Hand-deliver paper logs January 12 to the EARS Board Meeting which begins at 7:00 PM at the

Edmond Downtown Community Center, 28 E. Main St. Someone will be there at 6:30 PM to

Others must be postmarked no later than December 31st. Mail logs to EARS 2M SPRINT, P.O.

Box 48, Edmond, OK 73083-0048

E-Mail logs may be scanned to PDF and submitted to cqN5ZY@gmail.com no later than

Certificates will be awarded in the following categories:

Low Power operator of 10 watts or less

Medium Power operator of 11 watts to 50 watts

High Power operator of 51 watts to 100 watts (please stay below 100 watts)

Edmond Amateur Radio Society weekly information net, open to all: K5EOK repeaters Mondays at

8:00pm on 147.135+ and 443.425+ (2m and 70cm repeaters are linked during the net). A PL tone is not

Edmond Amateur Radio Society Monthly Elmer net, open to all: K5EOK repeaters at 7:15pm on the first

Facebook: Search for “Edmond Amateur Radio Society - EARS”

General Class Coordinator: N5ZY, or cqN5ZY@gmail.com

2016 Spring General Class will be Tuesdays 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM March 8 – May 3.

All exams are offered the first Saturday of every month, RSVP only.

Silent Key Antenna Items for Sale

Cushcraft R-6000 Vertical
6, 10, 12, 15, 17, and 20 meters.
$200 (MSRP $430)

Cushcraft R-7000 plus R-80 80m Add-on Kit Vertical
10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 30, 40, and 80 meters.
$210 (MSRP $470)

Mosley RV-6 Vertical
10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 40 meters.
$225 (MSRP 482)

Cushcraft A147-11 Beam
2m, 11 element Yagi.
$40 (MSRP $140)

Cushcraft A449-11 Beam
70cm, 11 element Yagi.
$25 (MSRP $120)

Above antennas need "cleanup" and some minor repairs
which are factored into asking prices.

Several 1 1/4 inch, 10 foot "TV" mast sections.
$5 each

Several "tripod" roof antenna mounts.
$5 each

Glen Martin Engineering 26 foot, rooftop tower
with rotor mount and thrust bearing.
$1,000 (MRSP $2,185 without thrust bearing)

A few of the Stainless Steel bolts and nuts got lost
in the grass when we took it down but are available
at Ace Hardware stores.

I'll deliver within OKC metro area.

All other items are local pickup ONLY in SE OKC.

Please use email for initial response.



* * * * * * * * * * *
* 73 - Mac, K2GKK/5 *
* (Since 30 Nov 53) *
* k2gkk hotmail com *
* Oklahoma City, OK *
* USAF & FAA (Ret.) *
* * * * * * * * * * *

Something new in APRS land. #ARRL #Hamradio

The next Ham DTMF satellite is on the air for testing in Annapolis.

Anyone can use this transponder from their DTMF radio. (don’t need an APRS radio).  Just enter your DTMF callsign and GRID into a DTMF memory (formatted per the web page below) and send it on the 144.33 uplink and listen for the voice response on 144.39 (amongst all the packet clutter too).

Not only does it convert the DTMF to a voice CQ, but it also sends back an APRS packet copy of the CQ on 144.39  into the global APRS system.  If successful, you should see it in the ten minute Bulletin update:

http://aprs.fi/info/a/QIKCOM-2

So just program your DTMF memory once, and try it any time you drive by Annapolis (its on my building roof at USNA). 

And not only can you send your grid, you can send any of the ARL radiograms both emergency and general, but any of a few dozen more typical messages just by entering the 2 digit message number in DTMF followed by your DTMF callsign….

See how on http://aprs.org/qikcom-2.html

We just delivered the flight unit to the launch integrator 18 Nov, and so now we can sit back and actually TEST the prototype on the air and see how it works under user load.  It is only 4 Watts, so you probably have to be within a few miles or so.  Something to entertaiin you while sitting in traffic.    I have worked it from a high spot in Glen Burnie (bridge over Rt 10) about 12 miles away, but you have to have a good shot to Annapolis.

You only have to enter your grid and call into your DTMF memory once.  Then, anytime you are mobile near the Severn bridges or near the Academy, just send out the DTMF memory and listen for the response.

If there are thunderstorms in the area, I should disconnect it… but will try to leave it on.

 -----------Now the new idea! --------------

But here is the NEW idea of how to use its 2 digit message capability locally...

1) Have it listen from a very high central metro area location for DTMF on 146.58

2) The two-digit messages (01 to 99) can be used to trigger the APRS and voice response of "CALLSIGN, LISTENING ON XXX.XXX MHz"

3) then ALL APRS mobiles in the area will see the message on their radios

4) AND he messages goes worldwide in the APRS-IS system

5) You could be called back via Echolink for example

6) AND if anyone is monitoring 146.58, they will hear EVERYONE on the air and where they are listening.

In our area with over 50 repeaters, we are so spread out, hardly any repeater is being used.  But this way, everyone's "presence" on the air is announced on APRS and the single 146.58 just like APRS was always intended to be... a single clearing house channel for everything happening in ham radio.

But now you only need a DTMF radio.  Not a full APRS rig.

Oh, we just make a local list 01 to 99 of the different frequencies.  Every local list is different, but so are the repeaters in every local area...  Though I am starting to think it can be quite universal!  Wow, Il start now... for example 76 is 146.76 and 94 is 146.94, etc!

You just program  your DTMF memory with the few repeaters you use, and then sending out your message is just one button.  Send the DTMF memory with your chosen "monitoring frequency!

for more info on APRStt see http://aprs.org/aprstt.html

Bob Bruninga, WB4APR

USNA Satellite Lab