Election Results

The official announcement will come from ARRL very soon, but I heard today that I was elected Vice Director for the Great Lakes Division.  Thanks for your support.

Red Badges on the Air

For those of you who are trying to get more points in the ARRL Centennial QSO Party, here's a tentative schedule of when I plan to participate on Saturday, Nov. 22.  From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., I will try to be on 40 m SSB, somewhere between 7.210 and 7.190, depending on where I can get a clear frequency.  From 11:30 until noon, I'll be on six meters, for those of you near Cincinnati.  FM mode on the national calling frequency, 52.525.  If someone wants to do SSB, I can move down if you let me know.

From 1-3 p.m., I plan to be on 15 meters, on or near 21.335.

I can do digital modes, and if you contact me via e-mail I'll try to make a contact with you.

Putting the "Relay" back in radio

There were many, many variations of the "SET," simulated emergency test, throughout the Great Lakes Region this month, I'm sure.  And while I didn't get to many of them, I know you all found lots of good information about our preparedness as hams, a lot good, some not so good.  Systems we think work sometimes don't.  But the good thing is, we fix the ones that don't work.

The one drill I did participate in was with my home club, and it was to check out our various paths of communications back to the Red Cross in Cincinnati.  Red Cross has recently reorganized nationally, and states and regions are the way they are thinking.  So our Cincinnati-Dayton region has more than thirty-five counties to oversee.  Direct ham radio communication is not always possible, when your north-south distance stretches over 180 miles.  That's where the "relay" comes in.  For instance, I was in the far northern counties, 100+ miles from Cincinnati, and depended on the folks at the Dayton chapter for relaying information back to Cincinnati.  Other stations jumped in with relaying from their parts of the countryside as well.

Technology also played a part.  These new DMR radios that we have started playing with are great.  Using the Ohio Talkgroup, we were able to talk back and forth from the Chapter in Cincinnati to various mobiles throughout the area.  Nice stuff. 

So we have various paths to use.  If technology fails us, we can still do what Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW, taught us, and "relay" the messages.  But when the technology is up and running, that direct communication is powerful.

Whatever form your SET took, I hope you were able to participate and learn new things about ham radio.

The familiar, the old, and the really, really new

While Tuesday was quite a busy day for me in terms of amateur radio, that's probably not that much different than most of you.  But I wanted to reflect on what it means.

First, the familiar.  Was on 40 meter SSB with a new friend I met at the Kentucky hamfests I attended over the past several weeks.  Nothing remarkable there, except that's it nice that we have those bands and we can use them.  It's nice also to know that we can immediately find something in common with people through ham radio. 

The old has to do with repair.  Three of us tackled a project that needed to be done for our club.  The rotor stopped indicating direction, and we have an exercise coming up where we will need either all of the beams (6 meters, 2 meters and 440) or at least one of them.  Preparations are going on all over the country for the fall SET (Simulated Emergency Test) and sometimes that includes repair of equipment that has become faulty or balky or just plain doesn't work.  Not a remarkable circumstance in itself, but something that we just "do" as hams.  After all, as we've been pointing out to congressional representatives across the country, we maintain a lot of equipment for hams to use.  And we keep it in good repair.

Finally, last evening it was remarkable to see a dozen people in a conference room struggling to make sense out of programming for DMR radios.  Yes, it's hard and sometimes puzzling, but no one was giving up.  Instead, there is this desire among hams to learn new things, and to get the latest equipment --not just because it's new, but because it might lead us somewhere new.  We might be on the leading edge of something new for ham radio or science in general.  No, we won't be the individuals who make a discovery that no one else has made.  But in participating in these aspects of the hobby, we collectively make it possible for new discoveries to be made.  Which new technology interests you?

Maintaining what we've built

Interesting dialog at the ARRL Forum in Richmond, KY this past weekend.  It had to do with teaching new people about ham radio.  Not the usual "Elmering" to get someone a license.  But the stuff that we all have done, and learned, and the fact that it needs to be passed on.  Stuff like tower work.  Many of us are too old to safely climb anymore.  But we know how to do it, and how to instruct on safety.  We can still be "ground crew," while helping those younger and more vigorous people to change out antennas, etc., safely.

And repeaters.  Those of us who work on repeaters need to pass that knowledge along.  True, the equipment is less finicky, more reliable.  You don't have to tear into the guts of a repeater nearly as much.  But you have to know how it all goes together, and what parts do what.  And you have to know how to measure things like output and deviation.  And so on.

There are no simple solutions, but we as hams need a willingness from the older people to help share our knowledge, and a willingness from the younger ones to realize that all these things we built and put together won't last without someone knowledgeable staying with it. 

More Hamfests

This weekend (Sept. 13 & 14th) two hamfests to attend.  Already been to Richmond, KY.  Met some interesting people, and did some networking about how to help clubs and individuals with things they need for projects.

Will be attending Adrian, Michigan hamfest Sunday morning.  Looking forward to meeting people in the Michigan area.

Ohio State Parks On the Air

What a great little contest.  I enjoy working it from Indian Lake State Park.  This year, I couldn't,  but did have fun giving out a few contacts from the mobile.  Conditions on 40 meters weren't too bad, and I worked some of you.  Weather was great in many parts of the state.  Good day to be out operating in the State Parks.

Findlay Hamfest

Had a good time at the Findlay Hamfest Sunday.  Met a lot of people, and made some important connections between some groups in Ohio.  ARRL was well-represented by Scott, the Ohio Section Manager, Tom, the Vice Director GL, and Dale, the Director, GL.  Also a number of assistants and others were present.

Operating Systems

At the Kentucky ARRL/ARES Forum, there was quite a bit of discussion about operating systems, especially about XP going away, and Linux being a possible substitution.  We all probably need to talk more about this, especially hams who are expert in Linux.  There is an article on page 33 of the Sept. QST that might be a good introduction.

Kentucky

Great to see everyone at the Greater Louisville Hamfest yesterday. Special thanks to those who attended the ARRL Forum.  Sounds like everything in the KY Section is on track.  Nice meeting those of you who stopped by the table to chat.  I'll be back in Kentucky next weekend for the Richmond Hamfest.

Latest Schedule

Hamfests this weekend (Sept.6th and 7th)

I'm planning to be at the Greater Louisville Hamfest on Saturday.  ARRL Forum starts at 9 a.m.  Hope to see many of you there.

Next day, I'll be in Findlay, Ohio, for their hamfest.  Went for the first time last year, and found it to be a good show.  Again, looking forward to meeting many people there.

Repeater work

Well, it's in.  The Cincinnati FM club has a new digital repeater on the air, on 443.40 MHz, using the DMR protocol.  It took a while, as these things always do, but generally it wasn't bad.  Now we just need to get people to buy some new radios and get on the air.  Looking at the DMR-Marcs website, there are lots of things to do, and lots of people to talk to around the country and around the world.  Can't wait to get my new radio!

DMR

Latest technology!  The Cincinnati FM Club, of which I am a member, will be putting a new DMR repeater on UHF.  Work starts on configuring the repeater tomorrow, Monday August 25th.  Looking forward to getting the new repeater on the air, and getting a new HT to play with and use.