[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] June ARC SHORTS - Next Meeting

[Rick Bunn]

ARC-SHORTS

May 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 442.4125 +5Mhz Color Code 1.

NEXT CLUB MEETING

 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.  The next meeting is
June 8th and Rob Anderson will provide a program on early radio pioneers.
The next meeting is JUNE 8th. 

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 

WINLINK AND AREDN, Rick, N4ASX, who is our ARRL ARES EC, gave an
introduction to packet and WINLINK 2000.  WINLINK allows the use of Packet
radio (either Terminal Node Controllers (TNCs) or software packet programs
to send e-mail like traffic over VHF/UHF.  In addition to VHF/UHF gateways
via the internet, The WINLINK network also provides relay of traffic over HF
using several sound card or modem formats.  For MARS and MARITIME use PACTOR
4 is popular and a bit expensive.  For amateur use, there are sound card
protocols (WINMOR and others).  Traffic can be sent either like e-mail over
radio or it can be sent peer to peer.  Unlike packet of old (1980s) you
draft an e-mail and tag it as peer to peer and then start a peer to peer
session with the station you want to send it to.  So, draft your traffic and
send it to your outbox, start a peer to peer session in the mode you want to
use.  Once the program makes the connection via Packet, WINMOR, Pactor etc.
The traffic is sent automatically and then the connection is dropped.  Other
traffic can be addressed to an e-mail address and sent to either a VHF, UHF
or HF gateway which will then forward it to the internet or if the internet
is down to a station that has a WINLINK. ORG e-mail via radio.

After the program, there were discussions regarding the condition of the
repeaters.  

The Trustee heard about the issues and yes, it has taken a long time to get
these issues addressed.  Actions have been taken and will be reported on by
the EC and the Trustee at the next meeting.

Related to these issues is the need for NEW members to have access to the
repeater to help with maintenance.  We need to keep our presence to a
minimum due to the nature of our repeater's location.  To this end only the
EC, the Trustee and the four members who built the system have access.  All
of these volunteers have agreed to continue their support, so there is no
need for additional people on the list.  The location is provided in support
of ARES, we could not get these locations without the providing the promise
of support to the City, the Hospital and the Red Cross.

As for the performance of the repeaters, the Trustee will provide a report
at the next meeting.

73 Rick N4ASX

DAYTON (XENIA) HAMVENTION 

Many of our club members attended the Dayton Hamvention this year.  Lots of
rain, but I don't think I've ever seen so many commercial vendors.  Rich,
KA4GFY was our ring leader.  We left as a loose caravan on Wednesday and
most of us arrived around 4:30 PM.  The next stop was the local steak place
for dinner and on Thursday bright and early we headed for the Museum of the
Air Force to see the roll out of the "Memphis Belle" the B-17F that was the
first to complete 25 missions and then returned to the U.S. to be part of a
bond drive.   As one who use to see the Memphis Belle almost daily when I
lived in Memphis (72-76).  The plane was badly treated and much of anything
that could be taken was taken from the plane.  The Air Force took 12 plus
years to restore the plane and did a fantastic job.  Worth the trip.

Friday and Saturday were Hamvention days.  A great deal of the flea market
was in the grass so some of us did not see most of the flea market.   Still
it is and has been one of the greatest hamfests of the year with about
30,000 people attending.

Rich made the largest purchase, you'll have to ask him at the meeting.
Mark, Erik, Jay, Rich, Ted, Ian and a few I may have missed attended and all
had a good time.

Some of us visited the VOA museum, well worth the donation. 

KENWOOD TH-D74A Review (First Impressions)

Every once in a while, a new radio captures the community.  Kenwood jumped
into the ICOM domain with a radio that does D-Star.   For many years if you
wanted a D-Star radio you purchased an ICOM.  Kenwood was the main supporter
of APRS and Packet radios.   Kenwood's TH-F6A has been out for over 10 years
and was a great radio that provided THREE bands.  2 meters, 1.25 meters and
70 cm.  and you could get after market batteries that provided 3 AHrs of
capacity.  For the ARPS crowd Kenwood marketed the TH-D7, and TH-D72A,
handhelds with built in 1200/9600 baud TNCs and GPS receivers and they were
excellent FM voice radios as well.  So, Kenwood takes the tri-band feature
from the F6, the APRS functions of the 72 and adds D-Star and comes up with
the TH-D74A.  Not a cheap radio but does all of these functions well. 

I've only had the radio for a few weeks, so this is a FIRST LOOK.  It's easy
to program the VFO and putting the VFO into memory is not too bad.   Audio
is clear with good reports on the other end.  Dual watch (ability to receive
two channels at once) is nice and if your using APRS you can have your
second channel on you voice frequency.

The APRS display is very nice and as complete as the mobile TM-D710A.  The
D-Star has good sounding audio both on receive and good reports back from
other D-Star stations on audio quality.  Batteries come as 1.1 Amp-hour and
1.7 Amp-hour.  My radio was provided with a 1.7 Amp-hour pack.  I purchased
the drop-in charger and a spare battery with the radio.  The radio itself
was "on-sale" for $509.95 but after 'other items" I dropped a few hundred
more.  Hard to leave the candy store without spending money.   

My first impression was that the radio did everything as advertised and did
it well.  I use the RT Systems software and I love their products.
Programming the radio with the RT Systems is a breeze.  I copied my data
from the F6 program updated a few repeaters and then added the D-Star from
the ICOM ID-51A.  Another point is that RT Systems has a D-Star calculator
that makes using D-Star reflectors much easier, but that for another
article.

One caveat is that running the GPS and APRS (assume your beaconing) will
drain the battery.  When you're not using APRS or DPRS you can turn off the
GPS and the TNC.  Another nice change is the battery clip is secured to the
RADIO and not to the battery pack.  I still found that I would rather have
the radio in a pouch then hanging on a belt, but..  The data interface on
the radio is a regular USB port, so you can program it and link it for
digital communications without a special cable.  HOWEVER, you will need to
go to the Kenwood website to get the drivers for the radio to use the
interface.   If you have the Mirage BD-34 amp you can use it on 2 and 440
but NOT on 220Mhz.   

There are not many 220 repeaters in our area, but our own 224.82 (107.2 PL)
still works but the audio is way down.  Its coverage is better than some of
our other repeaters due to 220MHz propagation.  Up until recently, NVFMA had
a repeater up on 224.1 that was linked to the machine in Bradenton Florida
and its coverage was good all the way to Quantico and covered most of
northern Va.   The 74 is capable of 220 D-Star, but so far, no repeaters are
up for that in our area.  I understand that the NVFMA machine was moved and
is in a temporary location with a much lower antenna height. 

To make a long article short ---  I do really like the radio and its no more
expensive then the ICOM dual band handheld.  If your NOT into
APRS/Packet/D-Star then I would look for a TH-F6A.  If your not interested
in 220 Mhz then there are a great deal of great dual band HTs, BUT if you
want one package that lets you play on three bands, and provide good D-Star
and APRS/Packet functions then the TH-D74A is hard to beat.

73 Rick N4ASX


President's Corner
Field Day is almost here!  FD has always been the highlight of the year for
me in ham radio.  I remember getting on HF for the first time when I was 12
at a Field Day in New York.  Sleeping in a leaky tent and getting a thousand
mosquito bites was well worth the memories.  Every year I get to learn
something new, I can't wait to see what I learn this year and I hope to see
you all there.
73
Monica, KC2IAY

REPEATER ETIQUITE 
We've had a lot of folks saying the 2-meter repeater is not working as it
should because they have a hard time getting into the net on Thursday
evening.   The last two nets were full of many people keying up at the same
time.  FM works on capture by the receiver of the STRONGEST signal.  It's
also good to remember that as you jump in to check in the net control
station is trying to write down your call sign, you name and any other
items.   Listen first!  The net is not a DX contact and the net control
station will keep asking for check ins until there is no one left to check
in, but if three check in at once only ONE signal gets in or if they are
equal strength then it's garbage.  Remember that we encourage new net
control stations and it is a learning experience. Be patient, take a turn on
check-in and you will get two chances to speak.
73 Rick 
N4ASX (ARES EC)

Field Day 
June 23/24 10AM Saturday to 3PM Sunday at the ball fields on Eisenhower Ave
across from the regional park.
This is an annual 24-hour event where we operate HF (VHF/UHF/Satellite/ and
anything else) in emergency conditions.  Antennas must be temporary and
assemble on site.  Power is from generators or alternate sources (computers
and lights may be run on commercial power), with the idea that we can
communicate "in the field" for 24 hours and to prove our effectiveness Field
Day looks like a contest.  But what better way to show that you can
communicate anywhere in a disaster then to spend a weekend exercising in
emergency conditions.
Erik is our Field Day chairman this year.  We have the club's trailer and
generators and generators from some of our members.  Antennas are up to the
5 band captains

Future Programs
June 8, 2018- Dayton Hamvention, Bob Anderson program, Field Day Prep
meeting, Post HAMVENTION reports.  Repeater Issues.
July 13, 2018 -  Post Field Day.  Mark on Linex.
August 10, ,2018 - Mark on Linex..
September 14,2018 --  City Emergency Service and ARES 
October 12, 2018 - Planning for 2019, Nominations, budget etc.
November 9, 2018 -- Elections
December 14,2018 - Annual Holiday Party.   (Fiona's ??)

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 -
 
Just in time for those last-minute Field Day needs, is the Father's Day
Hamfest in Upperco, MD on June 17, 2018.  It's sponsored by the Baltimore
Amateur Radio Club.  The location is the Arcadia Volunteer Fire Company
Carnival Grounds in Upperco.  Talk-in will be on the Baltimore ARC's 146.670
MHz repeater (PL 107.2 Hz).  Here is the link:
http://www.w3ft.com/BARC%202018%20Hamfest.pdf

The nest hamfest in our area is the Berryville hamfest, sponsored by the
Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club.  It's a very nice hamfest under the
trees at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds, just off Route 7.  Talk-in
is usually on the 146.820 MHz repeater (PL 146.2 Hz).  Here is the link:
http://svarc.us/hamfest/

Training -

Our recent class finished on May 8.  Here are the new hams:
Benjamin Edelberg		KN4MHZ
Zachary Leushner		KN4MIA
Zane Phipps			KN4MIB
William Ho-Gonzalez		KN4MIC
George Spack			KN4MID
Davina Fournier		KN4MIE
Drew Coble			KN4MIF
Edward Weigman		KC3LLW
Bianca Prince			KC3LLX
Carlos Williams		KC3LLY

Be sure to welcome them to our hobby when you hear them on the air.  Many
thanks to the teachers and Volunteer Examiners for a job well done.
Plans are underway for the next class starting in early October, 2018.  
Contests -

*	June 9 thru 11 - ARRL June VHF Contest.  50 MHz and up.  Exchange is
4 character grid square.  Most of us are in FM18
*	June 16 and 17 - West Virginia QSO Party.  Exchange is RST and
state. 
*	July 14 and 15 - IARU HF World Championship.  Exchange is RST and
zone.  We are in zone 8.
  

Don't forget, be sure to send in your log within 5 days after the contest
ends for all ARRL sponsored contests.
June 17 is not only Father's Day and the Baltimore hamfest, it's also Kids
Day on amateur radio.  This is the perfect opportunity to introduce kids to
the world of amateur radio.  If you hear them on the air, be sure to work
them and send them a QSL card.  You never know, we might be talking with
them again at some point with their own call.
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.
In case you missed it, there was an article on the ARRL website about an
editorial from the chair of the IARU Region 1 VHF/UHF/microwave committee,
about the threats to the amateur radio spectrum above 30 MHz.  Commercial
interests will gladly take any spectrum we aren't using and turn it into a
profit center. 
While we all look at cell phone companies as being the big threat, many of
us remember the threat from a certain well-know software manufacturer who
had an idea for low earth orbiting satellites on our 2 meter band.  They
claimed hams and the LEOs could co-exist without any problems.  Fortunately,
ARRL and other organizations proved them wrong and the company finally
backed down.   
By showing we use our spectrum, other services will have a hard time proving
that we don't use our spectrum and it's up for re-allocation to someone
else. 
Though not a contest, don't forget ARRL Field Day.  Its our chance to show
the public what we can do after a disaster.  Field Day is on June 23 and 24.
We will be setting up at Joseph Hensley Park, just off Eisenhower Avenue in
Alexandria, across from the animal shelter and the water park.  The ARRL
webpage has details and a link for information and look here in ARC Shorts
and on the club webpage for the Alexandria Radio Club's Field Day
information.
Repeaters - 

In addition to the regular Thursday night net on the 147.315 repeater, there
was a proposal in the February ARC Shorts to do a follow - on net on other
ARC repeaters.  The rotation would include other analog repeaters as well as
the digital repeaters.  This will not only provide a little activity on the
other repeaters but will also help everybody with the year-long Worked All
ARC Members contest.  Each new band and mode counts as another contact.     
The club repeaters are all up and running.    As always, ham it up and get
on the air.
73, Rich, KA4GFY
Social Events

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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