Jun 25 2017

Field Day Was a Blast!

Brookhaven National Laboratory Amateur Radio Club

 

Been enjoying Field Day for about 30 years now and this year was no exception. Despite a family obligation I managed to squeak out around 150 CW Q’s!

 

This was my first year working split (so to speak). I attended the BNLARC / K2BNL Field Day with old (and new) friends on Saturday evening for around 4 hours.

KE2YK's KX3

 

Sunday morning was the first time working QRP CW from home! Unlike working Field Day from a picnic bench, this old geezer really appreciates the comforts of home. Worked class 1E in the central air… and you can’t beat that!

All in all despite the horrific WX Saturday morning on Long Island, Saturday evening at BNLARC was picture puuurfect. The WX was so clear I caught a faint glimpse of the Milky Way galaxy despite the light pollution.  A truly rare instance with humid Long Island summers!

72 and 73 KE2YK

 

 

 

 

 

Apr 23 2017

DMR Sites of Interest Around The Web

DIGITAL MOBILE RADIOIf you are new to DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) there are a ton of Web sites that provide helpful and/or interesting information.

This list is in no particular order and I do plan to update it as I find other sites of interest.

The folks who run the Brandmeister Network have developed many cool Web pages but one of particular interest to newbies is Hoseline.  You can actually listen in on QSO’s in progress. By clicking the Talk Groups drop down, you can change the TG you are listening to. You may use the Scan feature to listen in on several TG’s.

KG5RKI has developed DMR Netwatch Map which includes information from related sites. It’s a work in progress but well worth the visit.

N0GSG has developed free software called Contact Manager where you can maintain code plugs from various vendors all in a single app. Code plug conversions between radios are also possible.  As of this post Contact Manager works with the CS700/750/800 Tytera MD380/390/390GPS, Retevis RT3, and AnyTone AT-D858 Radios.

W2XAB published a rather comprehensive PDF in 2015 called the Amateur’s Guide to Digital Mobile Radio. It’s worth the read for anyone interested in learning more about DMR.

K2YO and the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club presented an Introduction to DMR which does an excellent job of covering DMR for the newbie.

KC5HWB is the creator of HamRadio 2.0. As of this post, Jason has published around 90 videos. Many of  his videos cover reviews of various DMR radios, code plug programming and HotSpot reviews. If you want to purchase ham radio equipment, check out Jason’s ham radio store at Grapevine Amateur Radio.

The PRN System offers a Wide Area Digital Amateur Radio Network which spans areas of North and South Carolina as well as areas of Virginia.  Their Web Site offers a Getting Started Page, Repeater and Talk Group Information, Code Plug downloads and more!

KC7JOE’s blog has detailed information Fusion, DMR, DSTAR and HF NETS. Check out his Amateur Ham Radio Net List.

N2NSA has detailed information related to repeaters which connect to the New York Metro DMR Repeater Network. 

Use my Contact Form if you have or know of a DMR site that would be of interest to others.

Enjoy! 73 Gary KE2YK

Apr 21 2017

How To Take Your SharkRF OpenSpot Portable!

Take Your Openspot Portable

Take Your Openspot Portable

I recently grabbed a SharkRF OpenSpot from Grapevine Amateur Radio. As of this post, Jason KC5HWB sells the units shipped for $215. What’s better than buying Ham Gear from a Ham! Jason does a video series on “What’s New In Ham Radio”. Be sure to check out his HamRadio 2.0 site for the latest and greatest goodies!

Since I already have a DVMega / Bluespot for the Ham Shack my plan was to set up the OpenSpot for portable operation.

Installed my Gatcepot 24000mAh 5.5A Universal 3-Port Ultra-High Capacity Power Bank , TPLink Nano Router and the SharkRF OpenSpot into the Pelican 1150 case and now go 100% portable by tethering the router to my iPhone 7.

With inspiration from Rob AK7RM’s how to (thanks Rob), I threw my How To version together with some extra info to help with the setup process. I also wanted to specifically cover the problem that hung me up for a bit. Check the note about the SSID value.

This how to is written specifically for use with the the TPLink Nano Router and an iPhone7 in Hotspot mode. However you can probably adapt it to any similar setup.

Get your copy of my OpenSpot Portable Ops document.

Enjoy! Hope To Catch you on DMR 73 – Gary KE2YK