Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net – 6/17/2021

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The audio archive of this net can best be followed by downloading the .mp3 file for the appropriate date here and listening with the media player of your choice. You can move the progress slider forward or backward to the subject of interest to you.

We had another interesting net tonight with 8 check-ins plus net control Dave, AI6VX. Tonight’s topics included:

  • Yaesu FT-818 mount for car.
  • Yaesu FTM 400XDR GPS Compass feature.
  • Tube driven ham radio gear.

Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting ham radio questions might arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week.

General Club Meeting – June 18th, 2021

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SBARC repeater sites offer our members a lot of choices in how we communicate with each other. When we have a QSO with another ham or participate in a net, it seems so simple – all we need to do is press the PTT button. Right? Well, there is a lot more to it than that. Many of our members, especially new ones, have no idea of the complexity and effort required to get our signals from point A to point B.

Join us for a virtual tour of our repeater sites and see the amazing level of sophistication we have available to us. You’ll be surprised at the quality of workmanship, the equipment, and the huge number of related parts that go into running just one site. And we have three, all linked together. We’ll also talk about all the individual repeaters we have available, what they are used for, and leave plenty of time for questions.

The virtual doors will open at 7:00pm and the meeting will start at 7:30pm. Hope to see you there.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkKlb_wSIGY

Zoom Information

Topic: General Club Meeting – June 18th, 2021
Time: Jun 18, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86770092292

Meeting ID: 867 7009 2292

Post expires at 1:57am on Saturday June 19th, 2021 but will still be available in the archives.

Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net – 6/10/2021

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The audio archive of this net can best be followed by downloading the .mp3 file for the appropriate date here and listening with the media player of your choice. You can move the progress slider forward or backward to the subject of interest to you.

We had another interesting net tonight with 12 check-ins plus net control Frank, K6FLD. Tonight’s topics included:

  • Laptop mouse locking up during FT8 operations.
  • Under-shelf mounting of Yaesu FTM 400XDR control head.
  • Analyzing Diamond CP22E antenna failure.

Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting ham radio questions might arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week.

Technical Mentoring and Elmering – Net 6/3/2021

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The audio archive of this net can best be followed by downloading the .mp3 file for the appropriate date here and listening with the media player of your choice. You can move the progress slider forward or backward to the subject of interest to you.

We had another interesting net tonight with 8 check-ins plus net control Brian, K6BPM. Tonight’s topics included:

  • PreciseRF.com HG3 QRO Magnetic Loop antenna.
  • JS8Call.

Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting ham radio questions might arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week.

Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net – 5/27/2021

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The audio archive of this net can best be followed by downloading the .mp3 file for the appropriate date here and listening with the media player of your choice. You can move the progress slider forward or backward to the subject of interest to you.

We had another interesting net tonight with 12 check-ins plus net control Ken, KA6KEN. Tonight’s topics included:

  • New Ham looking for suggestions on HF rigs/antennas (comprehensive discussion ensued).
  • HF rigs for sale by Hams on the net tonight (Levi, K6LCM and Frank K6FLD).

Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting ham radio questions might arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week.

Technical Mentoring and Elmering Net – 5/20/2021

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The audio archive of this net can best be followed by downloading the .mp3 file for the appropriate date here and listening with the media player of your choice. You can move the progress slider forward or backward to the subject of interest to you.

We had another interesting net tonight with 11 check-ins plus net control Dave, AI6VX. Tonight’s topics included:

  • Tram 1465 Ground Plane kit with NMO Mount.
  • If one purchases a mobile ham radio that comes with an antenna meant for it, so you need to put the antenna on an analyzer?

Tune in to the SBARC TM&E Net every Thursday at 8:00 PM local (2000 Hrs) and see what interesting ham radio questions might arise or ask some of your own! All club members and visitors are encouraged to check in to the net each week.

FM Simplex Node Frequencies in Santa Barbara

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Over the past few months there has been a renewed interest in AllStarLink FM simplex nodes among our members. These low power devices allow users to connect to remote VoIP nodes and repeater systems using an internet connection and an HT. Most opt to buy or build a device on 70cm.

A couple years ago, during the initial DMR hotspot craze, SBARC expert consultant Matt W6XC identified a few frequencies around 431 MHz that were useful for digital hotspots like the OpenSpot and ZumSpot. HOWEVER, these frequencies are NOT appropriate for analog FM nodes. We must use a different part of the 70cm band for FM emissions.

Matt suggests the following options for low-power, analog FM usage:
440.000/445.000; 446.860/441.860; 446.880/441.880 may be used as pairs for a low-power duplex node or as separate simplex node frequencies. Please listen to these frequencies with low squelch settings and no CTCSS for a few days before permanently parking your node here to see if and how these frequencies are used. FM simplex nodes are best PL/CTCSS protected, especially if they are left connected to a system like K6TZ or WIN System.

Definitely avoid 446.000 altogether. This is the National Calling Frequency for 70cm. 446.500 and 446.520 are “General Simplex” frequencies. Others many want to use these for simplex QSOs or other itinerant purposes so please don’t park your node on any of these three frequencies. Also note that 432.000-439.999 MHz is allocated to weak signal, Amateur Television and digital emissions only. 440 is tough given the lack of simplex allocations. It’s a truly stuffed band!

Perhaps just as important as which frequency you choose for your node is setting the PL/CTCSS tones. In Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, DO NOT use 131.8 or 88.5 127.9 Hz as a tone for your node. Picking almost anything else will ensure that you don’t inadvertently open the receiver of a repeater on the same or nearby frequency.

If you are interested in these FM VoIP nodes, consider the ClearNode and SHARI projects.

 

Levi, K6LCM
K6TZ Trustee