We had another great net tonight, with several newcomers! The main topics of interest were Alan Du Brul's HF antenna, and the Nixa ARC's new 3-repeater VHF / UHF linked repeater system to cover Southwest Missouri. The following 9 folks were on the net tonight, with Gary Doucy, N0IRN, acting as Net Control:
Dick, KC0FDF - Wheatland
Alan, K0AWD - Springfield
Bill, KC0TCF - Bois d' Arc
David, WB0QIR - Springfield
James, KB0NHX - Lees Summit
Patrick, AC0SR - QRP - Springfield
Tom, N0CSA - Marshfield
Peter, KD0AA - Nixa
Gary, N0IRN - Springfield
Next week, Randy Jordan, KC0UKB, will be the acting net control station. We invite everyone to check into the net & enjoy the company!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
6-Meter Net - Monday, 1-9-2012
We had a great net this evening. Thanks to the following 10 check-ins tonight -
KC0FDF - Dick - Wheatland
K0AWD - Alan - Springfield
N0IRN - Gary - Battlefield
KC0WSE - Robert - Republic
KC0TQD - James - Springfield
KC0TCF - Bill - Bois d' Arc
W0KRB - Ken - Springfield
KD0KNL - Louis - Marshfield
K0RIC - Rick - Richland
KB0NHX - James - Lees Summit
James, KB0NHX, was the NCS for this evening's net. Everyone raved about how awesome the OMAR hamfest was this past weekend, how they enjoyed seeing folks and what a great turnout they had.
The main topic of discussion for the net were backup power for our ham shacks. Seems like most like the battery backup variety, some with trickle charging, some with solar. One problem that was brought up was the inability to find a good inverter to use for AC / DC conversion. James pointed folks to check out http://www.analyticsystems.com/ for their pure sine wave inverters. They are commercially made for commercial RF tower sites, and he has had good luck with his that has been in use for several years.
Several of the check-ins were using new radios, and took the the time to figure out how to program them before the net as well. We also heard about Gary, N0IRN, and Robert, KC0WSE's, emergency HF and VHF-UHF go-kits for emergency ops, bike rides, etc.
We also heard a funny story from Dick in Wheatland about why such a small town has two water towers - one for hot water and one for cold water! What's funny is someone was listening to him on the scanner, and went to the El Dorado Springs ham group meeting and asked why El Dorado couldn't get the same setup! You never know who's listening!
Announced on the net was that the Nixa ARC will be participating with the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club in the "Winter Field Day" on Saturday, January 28, 2012 starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Red Cross building in Springfield, the location SMARC normally holds their summer ARRL Field Day. Everyone is welcome and invited to attend. There will be a station set up in the building, and SMARC is bringing out their tower trailer for the event. There will be no log submitted, we just hope folks will come out and enjoy the event and have a fun afternoon playing radio. We plan on continuing the event until interest subsides. Snacks and food are welcome, so if you're coming out, bring your favorite snack food, etc.
Next week Gary Doucey, N0IRN, is the net control for the Monday Night 6-meter net. We encourage you all to check in and say hello, and bring your discussion topics to the net, seeking answers!
73 till next time!
KC0FDF - Dick - Wheatland
K0AWD - Alan - Springfield
N0IRN - Gary - Battlefield
KC0WSE - Robert - Republic
KC0TQD - James - Springfield
KC0TCF - Bill - Bois d' Arc
W0KRB - Ken - Springfield
KD0KNL - Louis - Marshfield
K0RIC - Rick - Richland
KB0NHX - James - Lees Summit
James, KB0NHX, was the NCS for this evening's net. Everyone raved about how awesome the OMAR hamfest was this past weekend, how they enjoyed seeing folks and what a great turnout they had.
The main topic of discussion for the net were backup power for our ham shacks. Seems like most like the battery backup variety, some with trickle charging, some with solar. One problem that was brought up was the inability to find a good inverter to use for AC / DC conversion. James pointed folks to check out http://www.analyticsystems.com/ for their pure sine wave inverters. They are commercially made for commercial RF tower sites, and he has had good luck with his that has been in use for several years.
Several of the check-ins were using new radios, and took the the time to figure out how to program them before the net as well. We also heard about Gary, N0IRN, and Robert, KC0WSE's, emergency HF and VHF-UHF go-kits for emergency ops, bike rides, etc.
We also heard a funny story from Dick in Wheatland about why such a small town has two water towers - one for hot water and one for cold water! What's funny is someone was listening to him on the scanner, and went to the El Dorado Springs ham group meeting and asked why El Dorado couldn't get the same setup! You never know who's listening!
Announced on the net was that the Nixa ARC will be participating with the Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club in the "Winter Field Day" on Saturday, January 28, 2012 starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Red Cross building in Springfield, the location SMARC normally holds their summer ARRL Field Day. Everyone is welcome and invited to attend. There will be a station set up in the building, and SMARC is bringing out their tower trailer for the event. There will be no log submitted, we just hope folks will come out and enjoy the event and have a fun afternoon playing radio. We plan on continuing the event until interest subsides. Snacks and food are welcome, so if you're coming out, bring your favorite snack food, etc.
Next week Gary Doucey, N0IRN, is the net control for the Monday Night 6-meter net. We encourage you all to check in and say hello, and bring your discussion topics to the net, seeking answers!
73 till next time!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The 6 Meter Net is Alive!
Look for the 6 meter net to be back on the K0NXA 53.27 repeater beginning in 2012! NCS stations will be James Adkins, KB0NHX; Gary Doucey N0IRN; and Alan DuBrul, K0AWD. The net will resume on Monday evenings in 2012 at the regular timeslot of 8PM local time. Watch for more information on exactly what date in 2012 the net will resume!
73,
6 Meter.Net
73,
6 Meter.Net
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Good Things Come in Sixes
This is a good article on the upcoming six meter season. While I don't really agree with the compromised antenna suggestions, the rest of it is informative.
Reprinted from the ARRL Contest Update newsletter
Reprinted from the ARRL Contest Update newsletter
If you haven't read Dave Sumner K1ZZ's editorial in the latest QST, you should. (It Seems To Us, page 9, April QST) Titled "Our "New" 6 Meter Band", Dave lays out the reasons for the "Magic Band" to be enjoying a resurgence of interest. For too long, fears of TVI to adjacent Channel 2 (54-60 MHz) kept many hams off the band. With the changing of TV broadcasts to digital HDTV, many stations moved their transmissions to UHF channels better suited for the subtleties of the complex digital signal.
This removes a significant barrier to 6 meter operation. In addition, many new HF transceivers include full 6 meter multi-mode coverage. All of the new and sophisticated receiver features can now be brought to bear on a band with a tremendous range of propagation modes, from sporadic-E, tropospheric and meteor scatter, to regular F2 skip anticipated in the coming years of higher solar flux. The band is no longer a poor cousin to HF, supporting interesting opportunities for grid-chasing and even DXCC.
The summer VHF+ contest season is imminent. The WSJT Sprint includes 6 meters, running on March 27 and April 24. May brings the 50 MHz Spring Sprint. June features the ARRL's VHF QSO Party and SMIRK QSO Party on back to back weekends in prime sporadic-E season. Field Day has special incentives to be active on 6 Meters, too. If you take a close look at the contest calendars, you'll also find many QSO parties include the VHF/UHF bands.
A whole new antenna complement is not required. Often times, your 40 meter antenna will load up on 6 meters just fine, it being resonant around the 7th harmonic of 7 MHz. There are loads of designs for small Yagis and quads for six meters, a CB whip can be cut down to work on 50 MHz, and even a dipole will get you a log full of contest contacts. Just think - a 6 meter antenna raised to 20 feet is about a wavelength high. That's hard to accomplish on most of HF!
As the HF bands quiet down a little for the summer, there is another exciting band just waiting to take their place in your operating schedule. Read up on 6 meter operation and band plans, tune around the beacon segment, and don't be afraid to call "CQ Six" from time to time. Behind the "50" button on your HF rig lies a whole new world.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Ham is a hobby best shared...
The quote below taken from a member post on eHam.net
"...What EMCOM has done, though, is bring literally thousands of people into amateur radio who have absolutely zero interest in it. I know some personally. These are people like cops, medics, firefighters, EMTs, and even highway department personnel, who have been told that amateur radio is the new 'utility' backup for public safety communications. While these entrants do boost the numbers, which is the ARRL goal, they serve no other purpose in amateur radio, except for frequent misuse of it...."
I am not here to bash anyone. I agree with the author's premise that uninterested masses do not help advance the hobby; however, I do feel having more folks is much better than the alternative, and I believe it does help to preserve the amateur service if only by increasing the bottom line numbers the bureaucrats see. I'm sure the author is speaking from his experience and when looking at a group of any size one can find a way to make the sample fit the conclusion. I choose to look for the good. Find the one in ten in then newcomers that does have a desire to pursue the hobby. Befriend them and help them out. Pass along the wisdom you've gotten from those that helped you. Take the effort you have gleaned from others and invested in the hobby and share it. It's one of the best parts of ham radio. The more you learn about something, the more you appreciate it.
"...What EMCOM has done, though, is bring literally thousands of people into amateur radio who have absolutely zero interest in it. I know some personally. These are people like cops, medics, firefighters, EMTs, and even highway department personnel, who have been told that amateur radio is the new 'utility' backup for public safety communications. While these entrants do boost the numbers, which is the ARRL goal, they serve no other purpose in amateur radio, except for frequent misuse of it...."
I am not here to bash anyone. I agree with the author's premise that uninterested masses do not help advance the hobby; however, I do feel having more folks is much better than the alternative, and I believe it does help to preserve the amateur service if only by increasing the bottom line numbers the bureaucrats see. I'm sure the author is speaking from his experience and when looking at a group of any size one can find a way to make the sample fit the conclusion. I choose to look for the good. Find the one in ten in then newcomers that does have a desire to pursue the hobby. Befriend them and help them out. Pass along the wisdom you've gotten from those that helped you. Take the effort you have gleaned from others and invested in the hobby and share it. It's one of the best parts of ham radio. The more you learn about something, the more you appreciate it.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Got Birdies... here's one valuable tip
I gleaned this from a Yahoo Group that I subscribe to. I tried this suggestion on my setup and it worked as advertised. Below is reprinted unmodified from the Yahoo Group post:
If you have BIG BIG birdies/tone on certain fixed freqs on 20 metres at approx 14.090/029/091/151 and 14.213mhz and other various freqs etc and you use cat5 cable network and you think it is from your modem... it probably is not, it is those very dirty 100mb NIC chips in your NIC in the computer. To fix it, try changing the speed to 10mb and it disappears instantly!!
CONTROL PANEL/SYSTEM/DEVICE MANAGER/NETWORK ADAPTERS... RIGHT CLICK ON NIC,/PROPERTIES/ADVANCED then possibly SPEED/DUPLEX SETTINGS [or similar words] snoop around to find the 10mb full duplex or similar setting and change the speed to 10mb full duplex, apply etc....VOILA! if it was the NIC the birdies have GONE. or use wireless LAN and it fixes it as well providing you have no other cat 5 in the NICS in the house running at 100mb cheers graham VK6RO
That's it! It worked for me. Not only on HF but 6 meters as well. Hope this helps anyone else running a wired home network like I do.
If you have BIG BIG birdies/tone on certain fixed freqs on 20 metres at approx 14.090/029/091/151 and 14.213mhz and other various freqs etc and you use cat5 cable network and you think it is from your modem... it probably is not, it is those very dirty 100mb NIC chips in your NIC in the computer. To fix it, try changing the speed to 10mb and it disappears instantly!!
CONTROL PANEL/SYSTEM/DEVICE MANAGER/NETWORK ADAPTERS... RIGHT CLICK ON NIC,/PROPERTIES/ADVANCED then possibly SPEED/DUPLEX SETTINGS [or similar words] snoop around to find the 10mb full duplex or similar setting and change the speed to 10mb full duplex, apply etc....VOILA! if it was the NIC the birdies have GONE. or use wireless LAN and it fixes it as well providing you have no other cat 5 in the NICS in the house running at 100mb cheers graham VK6RO
That's it! It worked for me. Not only on HF but 6 meters as well. Hope this helps anyone else running a wired home network like I do.
Monday, February 23, 2009
More SSTV
Just a few more images I have received at the QTH. These are all from the last week. Like Jeff commented on the net, it is amazing how vivid these images can be over HF. Most of these signals are no more than S5. The Star Trek images are from a QSO with Jean, VE2JCW who is NW of Montreal, Canada. What can I say but lots of fun!!
73,
James
KCØTQD
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