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Author: BJ Watts
RARC “Elmer” Net on 147.255 – Mondays @ 7:00 PM
Reminder the Elmer net will be taking place today Monday at 8:30 PM on the 147.255 pl 100 repeater. Bring your questions, local radio information, and answers to questions.
2020 Simulated Emergency Test – September 19, 2020 @ 9:00AM
The Olmsted S.E.T. for September 19th is less than a week away. Here are some points of information to plan for.
The county aluminum tower setup is rescheduled for October 3rd at 10:00 AM for ARES training, not this Saturday as previously planned. The national S.E.T. is happening on October 3rd and 4th too.
The drill will start at 9:00 AM and end when the drill is completed or by noon if time allows.
There will be no EOC”s, maned, or ARES trailer used due to covid-19 regulations. All stations will be home base (sub nets, and monitor stations), mobile or portable (field units) for this drill. You will be asked questions for staging information when first checking in. Have your equipment and deployment list available to report in
All three repeaters will be used as follows:
- 147.255 pl 100 repeater is for checking in, for staging for resource requests , and for checking out of the drill. It will also be used for FLdigi information during the net.
- 146.820 pl 100 repeater is for the Olmsted net and sub NCS to send and receive voice information.
- 146.625 pl 100 repeater for emergency information, and over flow traffic from the 146.820 repeater.
VHF simplex frequencies will be used as situations dictate during the drill.
NOTICE: There will be no D-star, DMR, or Fusion modes used during this drill, only digital programs on VHF analog frequencies.
The programs that will be used are, FLdigi for multi county information resource and documentation , APRS for field units tracking and messaging (by phone app or by GPS radio), GRlevel monitoring for weather
monitoring, and monitoring the local ARMOR system for training purposes.
“IF” time and activities allow emails will be sent to hams stations by radio when requested.
NIMM’s protocol and ICS procedures and forms should be used, but not mandatory for those new to ARES listen to your NCS and have your go kit will be sufficient to use.
Field units will be requested for situation damage reports (TBD) by voice for Olmsted county. These will be explained to you by your net control operator on what to look for, evaluate, and report on.
We will discuss this further on tonight’s ARES net on the 147.255 repeater and again on the FLdigi net this Thursday evening at 6:30 PM also on the 147.255 repeater.
Tuesday Evening SE Minnesota 10 Meter Net 28.325Mhz USB – Tuesdays @ 7:00 PM
Organised by: Mark Kelm, K0GMK
WHEN: Tuesday evenings EXCEPT club meeting nights
TIME: 7:00 PM DST (0000 ZULU)
WHERE:. 28.325 MHz USB
The net is open to all classes of amateur radio operators.
If the net has started when you join just wait for the pause when we ask for additional check-ins and join in with your call sign.
Possible topics for discussion are:
- New rigs, antennas, equipment and etc.
- Technical Q&A
PLEASE NOTE: In the event of a SkyWarn activation or lightning in the area the net is cancelled without notice.
Repeater Upgrade – 146.625 Yaesu Fusion
Update September 24, 2020
Wires-X has been in testing for a little while and appears to be functional. This linking technology requires one to select between analog and digital at the time of configuration on the repeater itself. It is presently set up for digital only which means that analog traffic on the 146.625 repeater is NOT linked. I’ve been playing with which system to link 625 to by default or whether to let it simply disconnect after a period of inactivity, will be speaking to those who are currently using it to get a feel for how we’d like to have it set up going forward
Update: August 25, 2020
The YSF repeater is on the air! 146.625 has been upgraded and is running barefoot at this time at 20w. The amplifier requires a small modification in order to work with the new repeater, and that has not yet been performed. Wires-X/Internet linking is now available We have some additional configuration work do in order to bring that online. Stay tuned!
Update: August 12, 2020
Yaesu approved our application for the DR-2X Fusion repeater, shipped it, and it has arrived! The repeater accessories for Wires-X linking are in transit. I hope to have this on the air by the beginning of September, though Wires-X linking may take a bit longer. The repeater will be configured to default one of the Southern MN reflectors but users can change that as needed with a YSF digital radio.
We’re planning to run this repeater in its “Fusion” mode, where it will freely switch between repeating analog FM and repeating C4FM digital. This comes with a couple of side effects:
- When the new repeater is put into place we will definitely want to have tone squelch turned on for FM radios when listening to 625 unless of course you find C4FM to be a soothing sound, hi hi… Once tone-squelched, the FM radios will ignore digital transmissions.
- Additionally we’ll all need to learn to check the S-meter on our FM radios for ongoing transmissions so we don’t accidentally step on digital users.
May, 2020
It has come to the attention of the Tech Committee recently that we have a unique opportunity to replace and update the 625 machine. In the last several years Yaesu has been offering their “Fusion” repeaters at a fairly decent discount. Their play is to get Fusion digital repeaters out to as many clubs as possible in hopes that Fusion radio sales will follow, and it seems to be working..
We’re looking specifically at the DR-2X The benefits of this upgrade include:
- Modernize the repeater and increase stability, its last upgrade was 2004.
- Maintain Analog FM operation on 146.625
- Add the capability to pass C4FM Digital “Fusion” mode
- Add the capability to join Wires-X, via the HRI-200 linking with several other counties around us.
- Repeater will be frequency-agile and COULD be used on VHF or UHF if we ever desire to do so.
- Can be used with an external controller if we want to add bells and whistles.
Not all of the equipment will be replaced at this time. We’ll be using the existing:
- Duplexers
- Feedline
- Antenna
Resources to learn about the repeater, the Fusion system & Wires-X:
https://yaesudr2.blogspot.com/ – This website was most helpful
The existing KRP5000 repeater + CAT1000 controller was purchased in 2003. It has been a very solid machine and was recently re-aligned. The controller, while flexible, is also a bit dated.
Costs:
- DR-2X Repeater: $700
- HRI-200 Wires-X device: $125
- FVS-2 Voice Synthesizer: $35
- PC for Wires-X Linking: ??
- Shipping: ??
We expect all total to be under $1200 for this upgrade.
Repeater Update – 146.820 August 23, 2020
The antenna and feedline have been upgraded on the 146.820 repeater and early tests seem to indicate its working much better! Please do your best to use it for day to day traffic this week and in the coming weeks, report any deficiencies to the technical committee members. There will still be a few more tweaks done to the repeater in the coming days to peak the duplexers and make sure its up to snuff.
For the hams amongst us (hi hi..) the antenna data sheet