Digital Voice 2m Communications – First Impressions

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If you get QST Magazine, it is hard to miss Yaesu’s push for their 2m/440 digital/analog radio offerings. They have been taking out 2 page ads right after the cover for some several months now. Yaesu  digital radios use the C4FM modulation method. It is currently only compatible with other Yaesu radios.

FT1DRYaesu’s base HT radio, the FT1DR, has become very reasonably priced, with most outlets selling them for less than $300. First, they are full featured dual band analog HT radios with all the features you would expect from Yaesu. But there’s more. A lot more. This radio also has digital capabilities, GPS, and APRS.

Levi K6LCM and I decided to take the plunge and order a pair of these powerful little radios. They operate just like any other quality HT on VHF and UHF analog so they are great for every day communications. Levi and I tried our first experiment with digital using simplex between his home QTH on the far western end of the ocean side of the Mesa, and my QTH on the far eastern end of the Riviera. Between us there are two hills to overcome, so we hooked our radios to our rooftop antennas and used 5 watts of power.

Wow! The first thing I saw was Levi’s callsign come up on my radio. His voice was completely natural and absolutely clear. No static, no background noise, just an absolutely clear voice as if he was next door.

There are all kinds of other cool features we have yet to experiment with, like seeing the other person’s location and relative distance. For now the bottom line here is that digital communications is not a gimmick. It really works. We’ll continue to explore the capabilities of these little radios and post more in the future.

If you want to learn more about digital voice radio, tune into the ATV Special Modes Net on Tuesday at 8:30pm. We will be discussing this more there this week.

ATV Special Modes Net – January 27, 2015

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Even though the net was lightly attended, we nonetheless had another good discussion on antennas and using JT65. We operated locally on 6m for awhile, then moved to 40m and carried on a couple of QSO’s so that we could compare our long range signal propagation on PSKReporter.

JT6520mmap

Map of stations that heard K6BPM using JT65 on 15m at 35 watts

PSKReporter.info is a web site that aggregates signal reports from hundreds of digital mode operators all over the world. Almost all digital mode software applications automatically report this information to PSKReporter whenever the application “hears” a callsign. So whenever you transmit in a digital mode, and another station hears your signal, your callsign and signal report are reported in real time. This is called “spotting”. It enables you to immediately see where your signal is being heard, and how strong your signal is. Data is displayed on a world map and you can easily see where and when your signal is being received. The PSKReporter site is also great for finding out where all the current activity is, and what modes are being used.

Our Shackmaster Dave is usually very busy on Tuesday nights while the station is open. Nevertheless, he tries to tune into the net and follow along with whatever mode we are working. He will have all the activity displayed on one of the shack computers. So, if you get the chance and want to see what this is all about, drop by the shack during the ATV Special Modes Net, and follow along or participate in the action!

Great Discussion Today on Morning Net

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We had a great discussion with Brian, K6BPM and Levi, K6LCM, the creators of the new SBARC Web site project and this new site.  If you have any questions about the site, register for an account on the right side of the site and then login to post your comment on this post.

Join us on the air every morning from 7am-8:30 on 146.79 – Pl 131.8.

Post expires at 11:59pm on Tuesday January 27th, 2015 but will still be available in the archives.

Morning Net Board of Directors Meeting Reports

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A report on the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Board of Directors meeting will occur at 0700 to 0800 during the Cuckoo Net on the normal repeaters on the Thursday following the second Wednesday of the month.

At this time, messages, suggestions, and comments will be transcribed , and these will be presented to the board at the next board meeting.

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SBARC VE Test Sessions

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Sessions will take place at the Mental Health facility off of San Antonio Road on the second Saturday of odd numbered months.

Please check the club calendar for upcoming dates and times. More information is also available here.

The ARRL VE charges $15.00 for administering each test. You pay the fee for, and can take the test for as many license levels as you want in the time allotted. If you fail one test, you can arrange to take a different version of the same test for an additional $15, up to four of them !!!

Ventura County does VE sessions during evenly numbered months on the second Saturdays or Sundays.

Additional VE Sessions may take place at the end of any classes, such as for the Technician, General or Extra level licenses.

Again, contact Darryl Widman, KF6DI, at 969-2326, kf6di@sbarc.org, to pre-register for an upcoming session and to get hold of other particulars.

Also, alternate contacts are as follows:

Mike, K6QD, k6qd@cox.net,   680-2382 or

Tom, N6YX, tsaund@cox.net, 967-7351.

Monthly Six Meter Net

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The Six Meter Net meets on the first Tuesday of every month.

The time is 2000 hours, or 8 PM, PT, on 50.125 MHz., upper sideband mode.

The nets starts on this frequency then after about 15 minutes it may or may not move to 50.145 MHz. USB to avoid prolonged interference on the National Calling Channel.

For upcoming dates, please check our events calendar.

All stations using the upper sideband mode (vertical or horizontal polarization) are welcome to check into the net.