The National Hurricane Center conducted a communications test on Saturday, May 30. Their primary frequency was 14.325. Stations were instructed to check in and give their local weather. I imagine they had tons of check-ins.
They also were taking check-ins on IRLP Node 9219. I linked in to the NHC net using Kevin's (KD5RHF) repeater (Node 3487) on 146.535 simplex. This was about 2 pm Saturday afternoon.
The net control was DU2EX in Germany. When he called for check-ins, I answered with my call sign and he acknowledged me. I was not familiar with the process and gave my wx report too soon. DU2EX then accepted and acknowledged other check-ins.
At the end of the check-in list, he passed control to WX4NHC at the Hurricane Center. The station accepting WX reports then called me for my report. I gave my location and the temperature. He asked for my name and I responded that information. Then he thanked me and went on to the next station.
Very interesting support for the NHC when the next hurricane heads to the U.S.
I just want to thank Kevin (KD5RHF) for making this mode of communication available ... AR
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Radio Reference Web Page
Just re-reading some articles in my April CQ magazine and saw this article that I missed.
Check out this web site: RadioReference.com
I've just started looking around in this site and clicked on the Data Base line, Oklahoma, then Wagoner county ... the site listed frequencies used by the towns in the county and those used by the county as well.
You do need to join (free) but this looks to be an excellent resource!
... AR
And I quote: "For those obsessed with monitoring almost any type of radio communication, the frequency listings on the site are a great resource. Just to give you an idea of the tremendous scope of listings, here are some of those available: AM/FM/TV broadcasters, police, fire and safety, airports, railroads, military, sports and marine."
I've just started looking around in this site and clicked on the Data Base line, Oklahoma, then Wagoner county ... the site listed frequencies used by the towns in the county and those used by the county as well.
You do need to join (free) but this looks to be an excellent resource!
... AR
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Versatile Yaesu Microphone - MD100A8X
I've used the MD100A8X for the last 6 or so years on my FT840 HF rig. The FT840 is no longer offered by Yaesu.
I've made tons of contacts using it and I have always received good signal and audio reports.
The same mic is available for the FT857 and FT897 as well. Yaesu made the mic cord reversable to fit multiple radios.
From the pic at the top you can see the dual connectors on the base of the mic. On the mic cable, the 8 pin modular connector is on the left (top pic) and the 8 pin round connector is on the right (bottom pic). Also shown in the bottom pic is the HEIL AD100 cable. More on this one later.
For my FT840, the 8 pin modular connector is plugged into the mic and the 8 pin round connector is plugged into the radio. This also works for the FT1000, FT920, FT950, FT990, FT2000 and the FTdx9000 radios.
If the mic cord is reversed and the 8 pin round connector is plugged into the microphone, then the modular connector end is plugged into the radio. This works on the FT450, FT817, FT857 or FT897.
Very clever design. But, wait, there's more to the story.
For the last year or so I have been running a local 2M net on Thursdays using my FT1500 mobile unit. I use it as a base unit with a RS 3 amp power supply for power with a MFJ Ultralight antenna on the guttering outside my window. While this works fine, the mobile mic gets to me after a while because you have to hold the mic ptt down while talking ... my hand cramps.
I have often looked over at my nice base station microphone and wished I could use it with my FT1500 - they're both Yaesu, right? I have finally found an answer!
The HEIL company sells an interface cable for use with their microphones and headsets. They have a cable (the AD100) that connects a 8 pin round connector to a 6 pin modular connector.
Guess what? Yep, the FT1500 has a 6 pin modular connector! I ordered the cable and it works great! I can now connect my MD100 microphone to my FT1500 mobile for the nets.
I have an excellent quality microphone with a PTT that I don't have to hold down all the time. I should have a much better sound on the nets now and I son't have hand cramps to contend with -- a long search but well worth it!
This will also work with the FT8800, FT8900, FT2800M, the FT7800 radios. The HEIL conversion chart shows these radios also have the 6 pin modular connector as well.
Yes, there is a down-side ... my mobile mic has function keys that I use for DTMF tones, so I will lose that ability with the new mic. My workaround, however, is I can use my ICOM T7H hand-held for sending DTMF codes if needed.
... AR
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Healthy Hams
A 12-year battle with cancer that started as colon cancer makes one a veteran in the eating wars. My wife does make sure we eat healthy .. lots of fish, chicken, limited amounts of red meat, veggies, salads, fruits. I've learned a lot from her about what to eat and what to avoid. It has paid off for both of us, but we did get a dietary shock this week!
We monitored the trans-fats, the fat grams, and the sodium in our foods. But we had not really paid much attention to the sugar. So even though we were diligent, we were still surprised.
One of our favorite cereals (that we thought was a healthy choice) came up in a magazine article as high in sugar. It turns out that this popular and well-regarded cereal (KASHI brand) had the equivalent of 3.25 teaspoons of sugar in a 1-cup serving! Well, that is a lot of sugar to take in at one sitting, so we started checking out other things in our daily diet.
One of our other favorite cereals is Raisin Bran. Seems safe enough, right? Well the box in the cupboard showed 24 grams of sugar in one-half cup - YIKES! Just to compare, we did a little math and came up with 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon. So a 1-cup bowl of this cereal was a whopping 12 teaspoons of sugar.
We decided we would go back to our winter staple of oatmeal for breakfast and try to save the sugar for desserts!
So for Healthy Hams all around, check out the sugar in your daily diet - may not be earth-shaking, but this is something we can control!
...AR
We monitored the trans-fats, the fat grams, and the sodium in our foods. But we had not really paid much attention to the sugar. So even though we were diligent, we were still surprised.
One of our favorite cereals (that we thought was a healthy choice) came up in a magazine article as high in sugar. It turns out that this popular and well-regarded cereal (KASHI brand) had the equivalent of 3.25 teaspoons of sugar in a 1-cup serving! Well, that is a lot of sugar to take in at one sitting, so we started checking out other things in our daily diet.
One of our other favorite cereals is Raisin Bran. Seems safe enough, right? Well the box in the cupboard showed 24 grams of sugar in one-half cup - YIKES! Just to compare, we did a little math and came up with 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon. So a 1-cup bowl of this cereal was a whopping 12 teaspoons of sugar.
We decided we would go back to our winter staple of oatmeal for breakfast and try to save the sugar for desserts!
So for Healthy Hams all around, check out the sugar in your daily diet - may not be earth-shaking, but this is something we can control!
...AR
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Military Communications Test on May 9, 10
Had a good time trying to work the MARS stations on the air Saturday. I worked two of the Army stations (40M) and one Navy station (80M).
This event is always challenging since the MARS stations are transmitting on their allotted frequencies and listening on the legal Amateur frequencies. You have to listen to the MARS station and find out where they are listening. Then you call them on that frequency. Good practice!
I was not able to copy the message from the Secretary of Defense. This message is sent via RTTY, AMTOR, MT63 by various stations. If you copy it and send it in for verification, then you will receive a letter from the Secretary of Defense. I have qualified the past two years, but not able to copy this year.
Good event for practicing split operation as well as digital modes.
...AR
This event is always challenging since the MARS stations are transmitting on their allotted frequencies and listening on the legal Amateur frequencies. You have to listen to the MARS station and find out where they are listening. Then you call them on that frequency. Good practice!
I was not able to copy the message from the Secretary of Defense. This message is sent via RTTY, AMTOR, MT63 by various stations. If you copy it and send it in for verification, then you will receive a letter from the Secretary of Defense. I have qualified the past two years, but not able to copy this year.
Good event for practicing split operation as well as digital modes.
...AR
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