[MNham] Next Packet & Radio Workshops SUNDAY April 1, 2007.

[Doug Reed]

Hello World!

Very few people seem to use the MNHAM reflector and if it isn't going to 
be used, I'll let QTH.NET remove it from the system to save resources. 
But if nothing else, it can be used for announcements of interest to the 
54 hams on the list. You may not want to travel to a distant hamfest, 
but at least you can be informed when something is happening.

This little announcement is for the little get-togethers I hold in 
Maplewood, east of St Paul. They are held as a general work party for 
whatever projects people care to bring. One of the sponsors is the 
TwinsLAN ARC so packet radio is spoken here. Another sponsor is Ramsey 
County Emergency Services, a RACES group, so community service events 
like the MS 150 Bike Ride and Twin Cities Marathon are supported.

The whole idea is to give people a place to get questions answered and 
where they can get help on a kit or other project. The packet workshops 
started out over 5 years ago as a club project to get packet stations on 
the air. Since then it has gone from 2 or 3 meetings a year to about 1 
every month. It is a way to bring scarce equipment and knowledgeable 
people together to help the larger ham community with projects or 
equipment or software that needs installation.

So even if you are not going to drive to St Paul for this workshop, 
consider starting one of your own in your area. It helps to have a club 
and lots of people to draw on, but all it really needs is one person to 
find a date and location, and to pull everything else together. It is 
nice to have a lot of test equipment but what is really needed is the 
knowledge of how things work and how to discover the answer to the 
problem. And besides, it is a lot of fun!

The next packet & radio workshop will be Sunday April 1. It seemed
appropriate. I'll be there at 9AM, but you can come when you are ready.
As usual we'll go till around 6PM or whenever we run out of people and
projects.

We had a very good turn-out for the last workshop. At least 2 dozen
people came and went, with about a dozen there at all times. We kept
busy all day and had several people bring their D-STAR radios and even
had a D-STAR repeater to look at. I expect we'll have another D-STAR
VHF-UHF repeater at the April workshop and I hope to have a 1.2G data
repeater there as well. I do expect to have the spec-an with tracking
generator available this time so we can check antennas and filters for
1.2GHz.

The purpose of the workshops is to help people who are interested in
packet radio and other digital modes, or just plain need a little help
with a computer or radio related project. The great thing about the
workshop is that we all help each other.

I provide some of the more exotic test equipment that might be needed,
you bring your project, the parts you'll need, and small hand tools. I
usually bring an oscilloscope, frequency counter, signal generator, RF
power meter, dummy loads, and a spectrum analyzer. The spec-an is great
for checking receivers and transmitters. If you need to work on anything
above 1GHz, please let me know in advance.

The location is 1177 Century Ave North (55119) at the Maplewood East
County Line Fire Station #1 about 1.5 miles north of I-94. Century Ave
is the same as Highway 120 and it is on the east side of the 3M Center
complex. If you found the Tailgate Swapfest site, you just continue east
to Century Ave and then go north to the fire station.

If you want a map, Google search for:
    1177 Century Ave N, 55119
If you look for the 80 foot tower on the roof, it will be hard to miss.

Park in the lot on the north side of the building. We'll be using the
training room in the north-east corner of the building. We'll probably
use the side entry door, the one without a door knob. Pound on the
door and we'll let you in.<g> The alternate entry will be the east side
doors nearest the flag pole but I'm not going to guarantee anyone will
hear you there....

If anyone does need to do a little drilling or solder some wires, I'll
put a table out in the garage bay for that. The difference is the
concrete floor. I really don't want any burns or scratches in the tables
or solder and metal bits in the carpet of the training room. If we mess
it up I don't get to use the facility again.

I'll have the coffee pot running and I'll probably bring some cookies or
rolls. Feel free to bring more treats. There are pop machines in the
station and a Holiday gas station store a block away. Bring your own
lunch or go out to eat. Usually we order in a pizza. We have Internet
available and cable TV to help keep kids entertained.

I hope to see you there! The next workshop after April 1 is
undetermined, but probably in early May. I'd also like to remind you
that the NLRS Aurora 2007 conference is April 28 in White Bear Lake. If
you are interested in weak signal, SSB, UHF+ and microwave, or building,
this is a great gathering. Registration is usually at the door. Follow
the link below and look under Club Meetings for more info.
http://www.nlrs.org/

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.