[W8MWA] Road map to the future?

Tue Sep 22 21:02:15 EDT 2015

Hello Josh,

Please see my comments inline again.

Josh Smith
KD8HRX
email/jabber:  juicewvu at gmail.com
phone:  304.237.9369(c)

On Mon, Sep 21, 2015 at 4:31 PM, Josh Prichard <wvunderground at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Thanks Josh....
>
> I'm hoping I didn't come off as harsh as that was not my intention.
> Sometimes I do have problems getting my thoughts out correctly.  If so I do
> apologize.
>

You didn't come across as harsh.  No need to apologize.

>
> This is the club I'll join.  It seems like a club with good users.  Sure
> there is a difference of opinion but that is any club.  Everyone was nice
> and friendly.  I think the club has a good future.  Just gotta get everyone
> back to being excited about it.
>

Thank you for joining our club.  I think you'll find its a good club and
worth the investment of your time and effort.

>
> Being everything to everyone is kinda hard to do in a club setting.
> Everyone has different ideas on what the club should be.
>
> The future for the repeaters and etc... it would be nice to hear some
> activity on the repeater.
>

I agree it would be nice to hear some activity outside of the Monday
evening net, I have no room to talk here though because I am as guilty as
anyone of not using the repeater.

>   I know with cell phones, ham radio is starting to taper off on usage.
>

I agree with this with respect to the local repeater as a means to foster
communication amongst hams in the local area.  I also think that the
ubiquity of emaill/instant messaging/text messaging has as much or more to
do with this than the cell phone does.  Just think 10 or 15 years ago we
would probably be having this discussion on the repeater instead of over
email.  I don't necessarily think this is all a bad thing though.  At least
email is easier to store and keep a record of for later reference.

> This is the reason why I was talking about echolink.  Since I'm not
> usually in town but will be moving in soon.... I had a want to talk on the
> local repeater up there.  Would have been nice to be able to remote into
> the repeater and strike up a convo about local stuff and start to make
> friends.  If someone is traveling that would also be a nice addition as
> well.  Echolink is now on smart phones so one can download it and boom
> instant radio that works away from home.
>

Echolink is definitely interesting and a useful mode.  I've experimented
with it in the past and useful to access a local repeater when away from
the area.  Unfortunately as you've noticed there isn't much activity on our
repeater currently so I'm not sure how much luck you would have had
striking up a conversation even if it were accessible via echolink.

>
>
> As of right now the digital repeaters in WV are as follows.....
>
> *DMR which is separated into two different link networks.*
>
> *DMR-MARC network - uses motorola dmr repeaters - has been active in the
> states for some time*
> Bluefield, WV 1 repeater
> Beckley, WV 3 spread out to cover a lot of area.
> See here for current map:  http://www.dmr-marc.net/repeaters.html
>

Thanks for the information and the link to the map.  I am glad to know
there is a presence in the Beckley area as it is where I am originally from
and still travel there often to visit family.  I may try to pick up a cheap
DMR HT before I head down there the next time and try to access them.  Do
you have any recommendations for such an HT?

>
>
> *DMRPlus - uses hytera dmr repeaters*
> None yet in WV but its just now getting started in the states.
>
> *FUSION*
> Clarksburg 1 repeater
> Pt. Pleasant 1 repeater
>
> *DSTAR*
> Mount Hope 1 repeater
>
> Digital offers some nice features.
>

It's definitely more bandwidth efficient and I also like the slow speed
data and text messaging capabilities present in most digital solutions.

> In doing some more research on fusion... i agree with you that it would be
> nice to leave the current analog system online and put a digital system in
> place as another repeater.
>

I think this is a requirement not just a nice to have.  Like it or not
Analog has too large of a footprint to just do away with anytime in the
near future and its proven technology.  I know our repeater has been used
more than once to coordinate communications to areas otherwise cut off due
to winter storms even as recently as 4 or 5 years ago.  I was
(un)fortunately out of town when that storm hit and was not able to
participate so someone else on the list can provide more details of this
event.  I think until such time as everyone has digital radios and the
system has proven itself to be as reliable there will be a lot of
reluctance to get rid of the current analog system.

> To have the fusion in place of the analog system you would have to run the
> output of the fusion in analog mode and the input in dual digital/analog
> mode.  That would almost defeat the purpose of digital as it adds an analog
> route in.  Sooooo my new suggestion based on the info I have acquired.
> Install a new fusion repeater and then perhaps link it into the analog
> system later on.
>

I like this idea.  Unfortunately I do not know if space is available at the
current repeater site or if we'd have to look for an alternate site to host
a new repeater.  It's something we should discuss as we go forward with
deciding what the future of our repeater looks like.

> Or perhaps start with a UHF DMR repeater then move to fusion a little
> later on.
>

We currently have an analog repeater that is in some form of disrepair.  I
really like the idea of making our UHF frequencies our "experimental"
repeater and I think we should investigate using any/all of the digital
repeater modes on this frequency.

> DMR we could also link into the analog vhf repeater.  Would be nice to get
> a dmr repeater on the air at the university club as well..
>

As you might have noticed from some of the discussions the university club
is pretty much defunct right now but Dr. Vanscoy is trying very hard to
revive it.  Hopefully she is successful and if she is we could embark on a
project like this.

> Could use the same talkgroups on both repeaters and have a wide link
> network started.
>

Just curious - I know that with some of the digital modes (DSTAR in
particular) linking over the air is not possible and all links must be over
the internet.  Is the same true for DMR or is it possible to link multiple
DMR repeaters using only RF?

>
> So yes.... I will try to put together an info packet/presentation on the
> digital systems for the next meeting.
>

Thank you very much for trying to put this together.  The next meeting will
be on October 20.  Would it be possible to let me know by the 13th if you
will be able to put together the presentation or not so we have a bit of
time to put together an alternate?

> I'm hoping my DMR dongle has came in by then.  If so I'll setup a DMR
> hotspot and let the group take a test drive.  I have been doing a few
> months worth of research into different digital modes so I do have some
> info handy.
>

Great.  I am very interested in theys technology and would love to see it
in action.

>
> As a side note.... how this reflector is setup.... its a tad hard to carry
> on a good conversation.  If you don't reply to the reflector you just reply
> to the user and no one else really sees the reply.
>

The reflector is set up pretty much identically to any email list I have
ever used and having been in the IT industry for a while I have subscribed
and continue to subscribe to lots of mailing lists.  Looking back at my
reply it went to both you (in the to: field) and the list (in the cc:
field) and looking at my email archive I did receive my reply via the list
so all subscribers should have seen it.  Please let me know if you have any
specific questions regarding the list.

> I'm in the process of setting up a DMR website that will hopefully group
> some info together for those interested in DMR and possibly other digital
> modes.
>

Great, I've spent some time reading a bit about DMR the past few evenings
and while there is a lot of information out there it seems to be scattered
all over the interwebs.  A central place that collects a lot of this
information would be very valuable.

> I'm adding a forum in as well.  I have a club forum setup on there as well
> that is only avail to members of the club if anyone would be interested.
> Otherwise perhaps we can setup a forum on the w8mwa page.
>
  It would allow everyone to discuss club business in a better format and
> have separate areas for members and non members of the club.  Plus an area
> to talk about anything and everything under the sun.
>

It's just my personal preference but I much prefer mailing lists for this
type of discussion but by no means does my preference cary any weight.

> Here is mine.... http://forum.dmrwv.com
> It's a work in progress as I just started it.
> Also if help is needed with the website I would be more than happy to
> help.  I have quite a bit of experience with websites etc.
>

Thank you very much for the offer.  Randy Crowe (N80ZY) and Bill Shultz
(W8RS) are the primary care takers of the website.  They are both
subscribed to the list and I'm sure will be reading this.  But do mention
it to them during the next club meeting.

 <snip>

Thanks,
Josh
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