[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] ARC SHORTS February 2018

[Rick Bunn]

ARC-SHORTS

FEBRUARY 2018


Club Repeaters: 147.315 (PL 107.2), 444.6 (PL107.2), 224.82 (PL107.2), 53.13 (PL107.2) 927.6 (-25Mhz, PL107.2), and 1282.600 (PL 107.2), DSTAR 145.38Mhz, 442.060, and 1284.600 ALL 
ARE UP AND RUNNING – HAM IT UP! Get on the air!
SPECIAL NOTE:  DMR IS UP AND RUNNING

NEXT CLUB MEETING

Our next meeting is February 9th, our program will be provided by Mark Braunstein WA4KFZ. Mark used MESHNET as an experiment during the last MCM.  Our meeting is held on the 2nd Friday of each month at the Alexandria Police Dispatch Center at 3600-Wheeler Ave.   Just off Duke Street just east of Quaker Lane.  Meeting starts at 7PM and ends at 9PM.  Many of our members have dinner at Atlantis Restaurant in the Bradlee Shopping Center on the south side of Rt 7 just east of 395 most arrive around 5:30. Our program presenters are invited to join us.

LAST MEETING 

Our January meeting did not have a program, but it was an important business meeting with Ian, N8IK going over our 2017 finances and reviewing his proposed 2018 budget for the club.  Due to the past dues process, the majority of our members renew their memberships in January.  Dues are $25 per year.  All who use DMR and DSTAR are encouraged to make a donation to support the DSL line that makes DMR and DSTAR possible.  We pay $70 per MONTH for that internet connection and we also have some other yearly expenses to support DMR and DSTAR.   If you use or plan to use either mode please consider making an additional donation.      

Meeting Minutes

Date: January 12th, 2018
Time: 7:00pm
Presentations: None, but anyone who had projects shared what they had or were working on

Reports:
Treasurer: Dues collection, the annual budget was discussed and approved of
Membership: 55 current members (not including any new members)
Repeaters: All up and running
Training/Education: Next class is soon
Trailer: All good and running

Net Controls:
1/18/18: Young Ian, KM4KLD
1/25/18: Rick, N4ASX
2/1/18: Rich, KA4GFY
2/8/18: Zea(the Bonanno Clan), KM4GMP(and Q)

Other Business:​ D-star talk/conversation and discussed the President's Day Parade

-Casey Bonanno  aka KM4GMQ/Midna

President’s Corner

Many of you have already paid your dues at January’s meeting and I thank you for that.  The services we provide as a club (our numerous repeaters, classes, testing, fully equipped radio trailer, public service events, table space at hamfests, etc.) are not free, and we rely on membership dues to continue to support our community. 

Annual dues are $25, and membership runs month to month, meaning if you pay in March you are covered until next March.  Our treasurer, Ian N8IK has made it so easy to pay your dues, if you can’t make it to a meeting you can use PayPal (http://w4hfh.org/join) and if you find yourself at a meeting without cash we also have a Square account to accept your credit card. If you haven’t joined already, please consider it.

Also, our numerous repeaters are getting lonely!  They need some RF to keep them warm and happy.  Please use them frequently and often, just think about those poor electronics sitting out in the cold just waiting for your signal.

Speaking of sitting out in the cold, the GW birthday parade is coming up on Feb. 19, and they need hams.  Details on volunteering coming soon.

73,
Monica, KC2IAY

P.S.  Here’s another silly video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OidowSpbxJo&list=PLLJ9vid785-aVathnNkd0lsIsoHLnrk9_&index=6

Richmond Frostfest

We had a great club turn out at the Frostfest.  Nice day for a drive but a bit cold, but the Frostfest was in doors, so…

DMR was selling well, but the price of mobile DMR is not as cheap as the handhelds.  Many of us in the club used both the DMR digital simplex frequency 441.0 and it’s value added to add 440Mhz analog (FM) channels to your code plugs so that you can talk to those who do not have DMR.  We have a default FM simplex on the output of our 440 repeater 444.6 it also worked well at the hamfest.

Lots of older gear for sale and a good showing by commercial vendors.   Seems like most of us left at different times.  Jack and I took the scenic route back going up US 1 and stop by Green Top to look at toys for our other hobby.   

Future Programs

February 9, 2018 -- Washington’s Birthday follow up, After action on Marine Corps Marathon use of MESHnet.
March 9, 2018 – VA QSO PARTY Program
April 13, 2018—  WINLINK 2K, WINLINK RMS and WINMOR
May 11, 2018 – Dayton Hamvention
June 8, 2018— Field Day Prep meeting
July 13, 2018 – 
August 10, ,2018 –
September 14,2018  --
October 12, 2018 – Planning for 2019, Nominations, budget etc.
November 9, 2018 -- Elections
December 14,2018 – Annual Holiday Party.  

Let me know what you want to hear about.  HELP!!!!  If you have an idea for a program, please let Rick know and he will try to find someone to provide the program.  If you know someone you would like to have present a program, let me know Rick, N4ASX
Hamfests –
 
The next hamfest on the calendar is the Vienna Wireless Society’s Winterfest on March 18, 2018.  It’s located at the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College just west of the beltway on Little River Turnpike (Route 236)    It’s a nice hamfest close to home.  If you have equipment that needs a new home, we always have a few tables to sell your excess equipment. Here is the link:  http://viennawireless.net/wp/events/winterfest/

Its not too early to start think thinking about Hamvention.  This year’s event takes place May, 18, 19 and 20.  For many years, it was held at the Hara Arena in Trotwood, OH.  It moved to a new venue, the Greene County Fairgrounds and Convention Center in Xenia, OH in 2017.  As might be expected, there were a few bumps in the road, but those are being addressed.  A few of the Alexandria Radio Club attendees appeared in a picture on EHam after last year’s Hamvention.  Here is the official Hamvention link:  http://hamvention.org/

As an added bonus, the US Air Force Museum is rolling out the restored B-17 bomber “Memphis Belle” in a ceremony on Thursday, May 17.  So, Thursday is museum day.  Here is a link about that event:      http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Boeing-B-17F-Memphis-Belle-Exhibit-Opening-May-17-2018/.  

It always amazes me the number of hams who visit the Air Force Museum on Thursday and not just from the US.

As of press time, I have four rooms booked at the Hampton Inn Fairborn, which is right down the road from the UASF Museum and a short drive from the Greene County Fairgrounds.  I plan to order the tickets by April 15 or when the rooms are full.  Let me know ASAP if you are planning on going.
  

Training –
Our next class is scheduled to run from Tuesday March 6, 2018 through May 8, 2018.  If you know of someone who wants to be a ham, send them our way.  We are already getting inquiries about the next class and a few people signing up.  I can’t help but think some very positive news items about hams has raised awareness about what we do. 
Contests –
*	February 12 through 16 – ARRL School Club Roundup.  Exchange is RST, class and state.
*	February 17 and 18 – ARRL International DX Contest, CW.  Exchange is RST and state.
*	February 24 and 25 – South Carolina QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and state.
*	March 3 and 4 - ARRL International DX Contest, SSB.  Exchange is RST and state.
*	March 10 and 11 – Oklahoma QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and state.
  
Don’t forget, be sure to send in your log within 5 days after the contest ends for all ARRL sponsored contests.
REMEMBER to support the CLUB’S score for contests by providing Ian N8IK your info (Name, Call sign and Grid Square location) and submit your scores for the contests you play in.  Contesting is one way we show that we are using our frequency allocations.
Repeaters – 
Our DMR repeater is now on the air.  We opted to partner with DMRVA, so we have the standard DMRVA talkgroup lineup.  The VA Statewide talkgroup appears to have quite a bit of activity, so finding somebody to talk to isn’t much of a problem.  There are even a couple of local talkgroups which mimic any other local repeater.  
Don’t forget DSTAR.  Our DSTAR repeaters do get a lot of traffic, particularly through the reflectors.  Changing reflectors is fairly easy, so if there is one you want to listen to, feel free to change it.  All we ask is you change it back after you are done.   
As I have been learning more about the workings of DMR, I see a major difference between DSTAR and DMR.  DSTAR was written by hams, for hams, while DMR was written for the commercial world.  It’s a very different environment.  However, in true ham fashion, we are making it work for us.  
Be sure to use the club repeaters and log those contacts with other club members for the year-long club QSO Party.  Each band and mode count as a separate contact.  
The club repeaters are all up and running.    As always, ham it up and get on the air.
73, Rich, KA4GFY
WORKED ALL ALEXANDRIA RADIO CLUB MEMBERS VHF/UHF CONTEST
Our club has MORE repeaters then just about any other general interest radio club. Look at the banner at the start.  BUT, if you listen to the repeaters they are so quite you wonder if they are working.  Rich, KA4GFY and I (N4ASX) came up with an idea.  Lots of folks played with the ARRL’s National Parks On the Air.  This was a yearlong contest so there was no rush. So we think a contest that get’s folks in the work each other and others over a year would be fun.
To make the contest fair, we will have classes for each type of operator: 2 Meter HT only, Dual Band (2/440) only, 2 Meter Mobile/Base only, Dual Band Mobile/Base only, All bands.  Points are awarded for working club members who have been (within the last two years) or are club members.  You can work club members on each repeater, on simplex on each VHF/UHF band and work them on any mode (D-Star, Packet, PSK-31, CW, SSB, AM, etc.)  So, you can work a member many times but only once per band using the same mode.  We will go from June 10th 2017 to June 10th 2018.  We encourage the use of LOTW, but you can use any logging program or paper.  For those who are not members they too can participate but points are awarded for working Alexandria Radio Club members.  A club member will get a point for non-members they work on our repeaters.
Hope your keeping your logs up to date.  This contest is open to all.
73 Rick N4ASX

ARES

Our next ARES training / Public Service event will be the Washington’s Birthday Parade on February 19th (on the Monday president’s day holiday.).  I don’t think we will do the order of march this year, but I would like to set up APRS using APRS HTs and a display at the reviewing stand.   I have not talked to Joe Shumard (city coordinator) yet, but will do so this week.

We will be using 2 meter HTs and the Trailer at the beginning of the parade and a mobile station at he reviewing stand.  Could use about 10 operators.  We will meet at the Fire Training Center (Nanny J Lee Center) off Franklin Street at 9AM to coordinate assignments and provide the latest handouts.  Need to be on site at Parade Start/Finish by 11AM when the police close the roads down. Parade will start at 1PM  (between 12 and 1PM we will help the parade marshals coordinate the parade order and who shows up and who does not show up.

We hope to get permission to use the Mt. Vernon 146.655 (PL 141.3) repeater for the parade, but we will also use 147.315 both repeater and simplex as needed prior to parade start.  With DMR in the trailer, we may also set up on Alex Local to see how well it covers Old Town as an experiment.  

The parade ends around 2:30 or so and the club budget includes lunch afterward.  We will try to meet after the parade at Atlantis Restaurant.

More details at the club meeting this Friday.

Communications for ARES

As amateur operators we get caught between the need to use new technology and the cost of that new technology.  One of these new technologies is DMR.  This has the ability to allow us to communicate over a network that works Statewide when needed using a DMR UHF handheld, we can also use it like a local UHF repeater.  The drawback is that is a bit more complex then regular FM.

If you have a packet TNC in your shack, and some of us use it only for APRS, you also have the ability to use WINLINK 2000.  We will have a program on WINLINK in the near future, but it’s a way to send e-mail via your packet station into the internet and receive e-mail sent to you once you are registered into the WINLINK system.  WINLINK also has HF gateways that are used when the INTERNET GOES DOWN and can also be used via internet FTP if radio fails.  TNCs can be had inexpensively and attached to your standard 2 meter FM radio.  The WINLINK EXPRESS program is free, but they would like a small donation to register.  

MESH net uses WIFI channels and modified WIFI routers to create a network covering a very wide area.  We will hear more about that at the next meeting.   Your radio for this would be your laptop with WIFI.

Just some thoughts on the progression of the hobby.

73 Rick
N4ASX

Social Events

PROPOSAL We have MORE REPEATERS than any other club in the area, but they sit unused for days even months at a time.  In order to get those who have the gear up on the air I would like to suggest that we set up a time after our Thursday night net, for each repeater.  For those who don’t know our NORMAL CLUB NET is each Thursday at 8PM local time on the 147.315 repeater.  I know that the most of our members do not have radios for all of our repeaters, but I’m going to suggest the following schedule:  THURSDAYS 9PM

First Thursday of the month – 444.6 (107.2)
Second Thursday - 224.82 (107.2) and / or DMR (Alex Local).  The net control can work both and relay
Third Thursday – 6 meters (53.13, 107.2) many of you have HF radios that work on 6 meters.
Fourth Thursday – D-STAR 2 meter 145.38Mhz W4HFH..C
Fifth Thursday –  no second net.

Monday Night Burgers – There is a group that gets together at 6:15 PM on Mondays at a local burger joint.   Mark up on the 147.315 repeater and join them for the fun.  Mark up on the repeater about 6PM and join the group.  The location does change!  IF you have a good spot, you might suggest it to the group..


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