News

SKYWARN Recognition Day

The National Weather Service in Ruskin is holding a SKYWARN Recognition Day 2019 here at the office on Saturday Dec 7 from 8am through 7 pm. Everyone is welcome to come into the office or check in from home.  We will be monitoring the NI4CE repeater system but we do not plan to schedule a formal net. 

More information is available here: https://www.weather.gov/media/tbw/topnews/srd2019.pdf

Thanks to Richard Rude – KE4EXL – Meteorologist at the National Weather Service – Ruskin for information about Skywarn Recognition Day.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS
By Paul Toth-NB9X

Say goodbye to yet another swath of RF spectrum assigned to Amateur Radio.  The FCC has announced its intent to strip the Amateur Radio Service of its operating rights and privileges on the 3.3 GHz to 3.5 GHz band.  This action, coupled with another FCC effort to clear and sell off part of the C-Band Satellite band is just one more indication of how powerful the cellular industry and “Big Tech” are in this country.

Fifteen years ago, working as a member of the ARRL’s HSMM Working Group, I helped develop a vision for the development of the 3.3 GHz band.  A plan to channelize this RF spectrum for broadband use by Amateur Radio was floated.  The effort didn’t get any traction, in part, because it proposed a coordinated effort in the Ham community, something that runs against the grain with too many Hams.   (..more..)

-December 2, 2019

 

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WE LOVE 70 CENTIMETERS!

Many Hams have asked us “Why are so many of the NI4CE Repeaters on the UHF Band?.  One reason is frequency pair availability.  Another reason is the ability of UHF signals to penetrate Florida building construction, both business and residential.

Amateur Radio repeaters traditionally operated in the Two Meter Band (VHF).  Thar’s because VHF equipment was more readily available when repeaters started operating back in the 1970s.  The Two Meter Band is an Amateur Radio Primary Allocation.  (..more..)

NXDN (Almost) Everywhere: Increase coverage with Hotspots
Part Four: Use and Interoperability
By Jason Triolo, KD4ACG

After configuring the hardware and software on your new hotspot, and getting it connected to the Internet, you’re ready to get on the air.

Exactly what you can reach from the hotspot, depends on the digital mode you’re using. Each mode provides access to talkgroups or reflectors that are native to that mode. NXDN users have access to our most common talkgroups, such as 1200 and 65000, through the use of reflectors. These are third-party interfaces that provide a link between the talkgroup user, and the NXDN network. Through this system, NXDN hotspot users can communicate with users on traditional NXDN repeaters. A current list of available reflectors can be found at www.nxdninfo.com. Simply program your radio to the simplex frequency that you defined in the hotspot, tune to that frequency and talkgroup, and begin transmitting. You’ll be connected to the NXDN network automatically.   (..more..)

-November 23, 2019

NXDN (Almost) Everywhere: Increase coverage with Hotspots
Part Three: Software and More
By Jason Triolo, KD4ACG

In Part Two, we gave a brief explanation of the hardware that makes up a digital hotspot. Hardware is only half the solution. In order for the hotspot to function, you’ll also need software. For most devices, it’s as simple as a free download.

One more note: This is by no means intended to be a full tutorial on the setup of a hotspot. There are plenty of resources available for detailed instructions, particularly on YouTube, social media, and the Pi-Star website. Those interested in setting up a device are encouraged to visit those sites for more detailed instructions and demos.

Virtually all hotspot hardware uses the MMDVM (Multi-Mode Digital Voice Modem) software, developed by Jonathan Naylor, G4KLX and others. While you can build everything on your own from the ground up, from the Raspberry Pi OS to the MMDVM software (and the author of this article has done that in the past), it is much simpler to install the Pi-Star software, available free of charge at http://pistar.uk.   (..more..)

-November 17, 2019

NXDN (Almost) Everywhere: Increase coverage with Hotspots
Part Two: The Hardware
By Jason Triolo, KD4ACG

Now that you have a brief background on the concept of a digital hotspot, you may wonder what it takes to get started?

Of course, you’ll need a digital radio, which you probably already own. Ideally, the radio should operate in the digital mode that you plan to use. (In a future article, we’ll discuss this in more detail.)

The foundation for virtually all hotspots is a Raspberry Pi. Almost any model will work, from the ultra-compact Pi Zero to the more powerful Pi-3 or newer Pi-4 models. Although any model provides the same audio quality and on-air performance, those who prefer to have both wired Ethernet and Wi-Fi capability should opt for the Pi 3 or 4, as the Pi Zero only has Wi-Fi built-in. You’ll also need a microSD card for the Pi, which will hold the operating system and software for the device.     (..more..)

-November 10, 2019

NXDN (Almost) Everywhere: Increase coverage with Hotspots
Part One: Introduction and Brief History
By Jason Triolo, KD4ACG

Several years ago, as digital modes were becoming more popular on Amateur Radio airwaves, we started to see a small number of Internet-connected devices arrive on the market. These devices were typically a USB stick, designed to connect to a Windows PC. They enabled a user to access a D-Star network, even if a D-Star repeater was not available in his/her area.

Over the years, much has changed. When these “dongles” first arrived on the scene, D-Star was still the predominant digital mode in Amateur Radio. Now, these devices have evolved to support virtually every digital mode that’s present in our hobby. These include not only amateur-only modes like D-Star and Fusion, but also modes adapted from the commercial realm, such as DMR, P25, and most recently, NXDN.

While their capability has improved, so has their portability.   (..more..)

-November 4, 2019

CONTRAST AND COMPARE
By Paul Toth-NB9X

Comparing radios with one another is what a “Shootout” is all about.  It is a time tested method for evaluating the various offerings in the marketplace where apples are apples (so to speak), not oranges, apricots or grapefruit.

The advent and miniaturization of silicon components have allowed several manufacturers to cram so many features into very small physical packages.  Sometimes we lose sight of what is really important – voice and speech quality.  The ultimate test for any two-way radio should be how well it actually sounds.  All the fancy features don’t mean a hoot if the radio sounds like something that was just dragged through a swamp.

The ability of the radio to reproduce clear, intelligible audio is a by-product of the technology inside the chassis.  But that is not the only factor.  (..more..)

-October 29, 2019

PRIVACY
By Paul Toth-NB9X

The invention of high-resolution cameras, high capacity storage devices and networked transports that can carry large amounts of data from one place to another has enabled a whole new discussion about PRIVACY. This discussion, in many ways, has manifested itself in the framework of “Do the Good Guys have an inherent right to be safe and secure in their person and their property” versus “Do people who do not respect laws and any semblance of moral character have an overriding right to infringe on the safety and security of others in the guise of privacy”.

Questions about privacy are not new. Think back to the days when the telephone in your parent’s house was connected to a “Party Line”. When y folks moved to a rural area in Wisconsin in the mid-1950s, the only telephone service that was available was on a “party line” they shared with twenty-five other neighbors. An expectation of privacy – only in your dreams. The ole “party line” was Gossip Central!

Ham Radio communications have always been “open” and in the clear.  (..more..)

-October 13, 2019

THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
By Paul Toth-NB9X

If you are a Star Trek fan, like I and many other Hams I know are, you will recall one of the last movies the original Star Trek cast was center stage in, The Undiscovered Country. It was all about our inherent fear of the unknown and the reluctance of many beings, Humans, Klingons and many more to venture into territory and relationships we just don’t feel comfortable with.

Amateur Radio has traditionally been all about exploring the “Undiscovered Country” of RF right from its inception. Without those early explorers like Marconi, Bell (yes, Alexander Graham Bell was not solely into wired inventions), Sarnoff and hundreds more, we would not have most of the communications technologies we enjoy today. Amateur Radio has always been a place for discovery, innovation, creating and building the better mousetrap, so to speak. It has also been a place that has been open for a broad range of different interests and applications.

I would like to think that is still the case because, as I see it, there is still a lot of “Undiscovered Country” to be traveled and a lot of innovation to be embraced. That is why I find the ruckus that RM-11831 has created disturbing and potentially existential. (..more..)

-September 20, 2019

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
By Paul Toth-NB9X

Someone asked me the other day if I knew what the median age of the Amateur Radio operators in the U.S. was. I guess he must have thought my name was “Google”, or “Bing” or one of those Internet search engines.

If you take a look around at most Ham Radio clubs or at a Hamfest or two, you rapidly come to the conclusion the median age is probably something North of sixty-five. And if you believe the Internet, the median age of licensed U.S. Amateur Radio operators is eighty (80) years. Well, that makes me feel like a youngster (I think).

That begets asking the question, “Where is the next generation of Ham operators, RF Explorers to carry on our mission?” Maybe the question that could/should be asked is “Where are the next generation and their parents?”. I pose the question in that way because even though I had always had an interest in Ham Radio as a youth, my earlier years were spent in commercial broadcasting. It wasn’t until I was forty-five years old before I got my license. (..more..)

-September 6, 2019

THE INSIDE STORY
By Paul Toth-NB9X

Recently, on one of our Wednesday night TampaBay Area NXDN Nets, we talked about using your portable and mobile Ham Radios indoors.  By the way, if you don’t have a NXDN digital radio, you need to get one and join us every Wednesday evening at 8:00 PM on the growing six-repeater TampaBay Area NXDN Network, Talkgroup 1200.

Back to the topic at hand, INDOOR COMMUNICATIONS.  Using a radio inside your well-built, hurricane standard home or business can be a challenge.  Reliable VHF communications are particularly challenging because of the band’s longer wavelength.  But even on UHF, the four or five watts your radio transmits with can push the radio and repeater you are using to their respective limits.  The materials your home is constructed with act as a giant RF attenuator. (..more..)

-August 15, 2019

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