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Posted By Lamar KC5AOI

 It's with a very heavy heart that I bring the news of the passing of a long time friend Jack Pitcock K5JRP. Jack was a wonderful man with a caring heart that loved his fellow man. He served and retired with Baytown EMS. He had a passion for for playing the trombone and other wind instruments especially playing Jazz and the blues. Jack loved HAM radios and was a part of Eastside Amateur Radio Service and could be heard on our local repeater and joining in on our nets. But, his true love was his family and would speak proudly of them. I know I will truly miss my friend. Prayers for his family and many friends. 

REMEMBERING SANDY KG5TJV

9-19-22 KG5TJV Silent Key

We are saddened by the news that we have lost a fellow ham.  Sandy Bryson KG5TJV passed away last week.  


Sandy got his ticket in May 2017. He was a regular on the 145.310 machine.  We gave him the nickname Time out Sandy because he timed out the repeater a lot.  

Sandy enjoyed rag-Chewing on HF, 2m simplex and was active one the 145.170 machine. Sandy was an ARES Member and helped  out with local events like Field day.   He loved to ride his motorcycle with a Yaesu FTM-400 mounted on it.  He rode it unless the weather did not permit.  If you needed help you could call Sandy.   One time Tim KG5LPH had a wreck and Sandy drove over from LaPorte to pick him up and take him to the rental car location.   


Our prayers go out to his wife and family.  


RIP KG5TJV


Service for Sandy September 26th at 3pm


Kyle and Tonya Bryson

4418 Honea Egypt Road

Montgomery, Texas 

Tuesday Night Net - 9-20-22

Part 1 of the final call for Sandy KG5TJV

Tuesday Net - 9-20-22

Final call for Sandy KG5TJV

Part 2

Belton Fall Hamfest

One of the best Hamfests in Texas! We hope to see you there!

 

Saturday, October 1, 2022 Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas (301 West Loop 121) From Interstate 35 take Exit 292.

About this event

  • Saturday, October 1, 2022 Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas  (301 West Loop 121) 
  • From Interstate 35 take Exit 292 to the Dome (1/4 mile west of I-35)
  • Only 50 miles north of Austin
  • Just 130 miles north of San Antonio
  • 140 miles south of Dallas / Ft. Worth
  • 165 miles northwest of Houston
  • Approximately 80 percent of the population in Texas lives within 200 miles of HamEXPO!

ATTENTION  --

HamEXPO! -- Your opportunity to sell product or distribute information to motivated buyers on a Saturday morning.  Most indoor spaces have free electricity. There are a limited number of spaces against the wall.

ADMISSION FEE for the public is $5.00 per person at the door (children under 12 free). Includes one free raffle ticket (a $2.00 value). 

Loud Noise & Strobe Light Use

Due to complaints from HamEXPO participants of high noise levels in the exhibition hall, we request vendors and participants to not demonstrate or use devices that make loud noises such as sirens, bells, whistles and amplified speakers.  We also recommend that caution should be taken in the use of strobe lights.  Bright strobe lights are known to trigger seizures for some people.  The HamEXPO staff requests your cooperation.  

PRE-REGISTRATIONS are for PARKING LOT SELLERS, NON_COMMERCIAL SELLERS, or COMMERCIAL VENDORS.

The DEADLINE for pre-registering online is 1:00AM, Monday, September 26, 2022

Reserve your space at HamEXPO! -- the Belton Hamfest -- today.

CANCELLATIONS: Reservations canceled before Monday, September 26, 2022, will receive a full refund minus process refund fees. Reservations canceled on or after that date will receive a 50-percent refund minus refund fees.  Cancellations made on Friday September 30, or after will not be issued a refund. Notifications will be excepted by US Mail or Email.

Questions?  Please e-mail hamexpo@tarc.org  P.S. Check the HamEXPO! link at www.beltonhamexpo.org -- See you at Belton!

PARKING LOT SELLERS

$5.00 DONATION is requested per seller, whether setting up Friday or Saturday. May pre-register. NOTE: Parking Lot is not an 'official' part of Ham Expo. Does not include inside admission.

Please park in the half of the parking lot that is closest to Loop 121. Please leave parking spaces close to the building for Ham Expo attendees.

INSIDE NON-COMMERCIAL SELLERS

Inside Non-Commercial sellers: Set up on Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Two choices:

 (1) Indoor Vehicle Space (sell from your trailer, truck, etc.) $15.00 per each indoor vehicle space.  Tables are not included with vehicle space. If extra tables are available they may be rented for an additional $10 each. Best choice is to bring your own tables if you need them. Admission is included but no raffle ticket.

** OR **

(2.) Indoor Non-Commercial Vendor Table, $15.00 each.  Admission is included but no raffle ticket.  

Free electricity is available near most Non-commercial locations.

FRIDAY is setup day for pre-registered non-commercial sellers from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Building will be closed and locked after 9:00 p.m. 

If you need to set up on Saturday morning, please arrive no later than 6:00 a.m. for setup if you need to bring a vehicle into the event building.  All  vehicle leaving the event building before the main entrance is opened to the public must exit prior to 6:45 a.m.

If not pre-registered, Indoor Non-Commercial vehicle SPACES or table(s) if available may be bought at the door on Friday, 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. or Saturday morning, after 5:30 a.m. -- $10.00 each on a first come, first served basis.  Admission is included but no raffle ticket.

COMMERCIAL VENDORS

Commercial Vendor spaces with tables (8’): $20.00 per table. Set up on Friday between 12:00 noon and 9:00 p.m. You may drive your vehicle inside to unload. Free electricity. Overnight security guard.  

 Commercial Vendors Lunch(s) may be purchased to be delivered to their booth for $7.50 per meal.  Each meal includes a drink.

If you need to set up on Saturday morning, please arrive no later than 6:00 a.m. for last minute setup. All vehicles leaving the event building before the main entrance is opened to the public must exit prior to 6:45 a.m. ATTENTION COMMERCIAL VENDORS: Please use the QUESTIONNAIRE on this Registration to list the NAMES of each person in your group who will need a floor pass--even if it is just yourself. Passes will be waiting at the Registration Table. Floor pass does not include raffle ticket.

P.S. Most commercial vendors donate a door prize or two. If you have something, please bring it to the Registration Table with your business card attached so we can send winners to visit your display. Thanks!

HamEXPO! -- the Belton Hamfest

PARKING CHANGES

Ham Expo is asking all vendors, outside tailgaters and attendees with RV's or travel trailers to make note of location changers in the parking lot.

A few years ago the Bell County Expo Center relocated its main entrance gate. This relocation reduced the number of parking spaces directly in front of the Exposition Building. In order to provide close parking for handicap and elderly Ham Expo asks that vendors, outside tailgaters, RV's and travel trailers park to the right of the main entrance as you drive toward the building.

On the photo below you can see the old and new entrance locations and how it affected parking. Ham Expo wants to thank everyone for their understanding and consideration for making Ham Expo more accessible to the handicapped and elderly.


Ham EXPO Fall 2022 -- The Belton Hamfest -- October 1, 2022atBell County EXPO Center

301 Loop 121, Belton, TX 76513

Temple Amateur Radio Club -- Temple, Texas

Organizer of Ham EXPO Fall 2022 -- The Belton Hamfest -- October 1, 2022

HamEXPO! -- sponsored by Temple Amateur Radio Club (TARC).
     E-mail to hamexpo@tarc.org

Please direct all questions to expo@tarc.org.

Talk-In: 146.820- (Tone 123.0)

Organizer website

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Wings over Houston 2022

Wings Over Houston Amateur Radio Communicators is looking for volunteers in Community Help.

 

Time to start thinking about this year's Wings Over Houston Airshow.  To be held October 29-30 (Special Show Friday the 28th).  Email K5JIN@ARRL.NET to volunteer please.  We'll need many Communicators as the Blue Angels will be our guests for this year's show.  Always record breaking if the weather cooperates.

See you in October!

NAsa on the air

updated 4-21-22

Several of the NASA Center's ham radio clubs will be getting on the air for select milestones in space history this year.  We're kicking it off with the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 16 mission, which launched from Cape Canaveral, FL on April 16, 1972 and splashed down in the South Pacific on April 27, 1972.   See https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo-16 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_16 for more info on the Apollo 16 mission.    We'll likely do additional special events in the future for Apollo 17, the Artemis I launch, and something for the James Webb Space Telescope, but TBD for now...still being discussed amongst the clubs.   The Kennedy Space Center (N1KSC) will be on the air starting this weekend at 1400Z.  Other centers are planning to be on the air starting next weekend (April 23rd) including the Johnson Space Center (W5RRR), Glenn Research Center (NA8SA), Marshall Space Flight Center (NN4SA), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (W6VIO), Ames Research Center (NA6MF), Stennis Space Center (N5SSC), Armstrong Flight Research Center (NA6SA), and Goddard Space Flight Center (WA3NAN).  I also plan to get on some satellite passes as W5RRR from the Johnson Space Center.  Operations will wrap up on April 27th for this event.  As was done for previous NASA On The Air events, we'll have a Certificate that can be downloaded with custom stats for how many NASA Centers were worked.    More info at https://nasaontheair.wordpress.com/ We will try to post activations/frequencies to https://twitter.com/NASARadioClubs (@NASARadioClubs) but the DX Cluster is probably the best place to find us.   

Learn More

NASA is on the AIR this weekend! You may not be able to hear W5RRR on 20m (too close) but please do call in to the other NASA centers on CW, FT8 and SSB. We will open up 40m from 4 pm and also may be on SIMPLEX 145.52 (still being debated).

Find out more

BVARC Tailgate Event 4-16-22

Some of us went to the BVARC tailgate event on Saturday April 16th.  It was a great event and the folks at BVARC did a real nice job.  We got to meet 2 new hams and their father Ted.  Charlotte KI5TRQ pictured on the right just upgraded to Extra class.  Her sister Ruby is a technician.  They are both active in CW.  Charlotte has  performed the duties as net control station for the BVARC stir crazy net a few times.  As ham radio enthusiasts its great to see new young hams getting into the hobby.  Great job ladies!  keep up the great work.  



Below are a few pictures from the BVARC tailgate event.

    EARS VE Team holds Testing session

    2022 VE testing underway!  Our VE's present were Jason N5HSE Extra, Robert N5BSB Extra, Wes W5WES Extra, Lamar KC5AOI General, and Ryan KI5RDH General

      KI5GNL Ron upgraded to Extra

      Congratulations Ron!

      Ron took the test at the Belton Hamfest on Saturday March 26th.  Ron is one of our club members.  We all respect and admire him for his amazing skill and ability to troubleshoot and repair anything.  It does not matter if it is electronic equipment or an engine, Ron can repair it.  He is also a computer expert.  We are all blessed to have a club member like Ron.  


      N5BSB and upgraded to EXtra

      Congratulations Robert!

      One of our club members N5BSB successfully passed the Extra exam on Wednesday 3-30-22.  Jason N5HSE, Wes W5WES, and Cy W5DXE were the VEs who administered the test.  If you are interested in upgrading your license please contact Jason N5HSE for our next VE Testing session location time and date.  


      For all who have been asking.....the ham shack belongs to David NE5TX.  

      Remembering Frank KG5TEF

      KG5TEF SK

      KG5TEF went home to be with the Lord on January 14th 2022.  Frank was loved by all of us here in the Eastside Amateur Radio Service.  Frank was always on the air up in the Piney Woods to keep us company and to keep the repeater finals warm.  


      We all remember Frank as the most enthusiastic ham radio operator on the air.   Frank loved the lord and always thanked god for letting him discover ham radio.  One thing we all knew however was that Frank loved his dear wife Evelyn.  She always came first.  When it was time to go take care of his wife  Frank would sign off  "this is KG5TEF in the piney woods signing off to go sit with momma".  


      We will miss Franks gracious ways and his regular quotes  "KG5TEF in the piney woods",  "I guarantee 100%", and "let me push this little red button".


      Godspeed Frank.  We will be listening for your CQ on those upper bands!  


      Update 2-11-22


      There will be a Memorial service for Frank on Saturday February 12th.   The location is 949 County Road 2061 Hull Texas 77564 - Please come out and show your support for our dear friend Frank  - 73

       

      Learn More

      For more info on the services and Franks Obituary page please click below to find out more

      Find out more

      Ryan KI5RDH got his general Today!

      Way to go Ryan - updated 2-5-2022

      Congratulation to Ryan KI5RDH for passing the general class license exam.  You have something to be proud of.  Hope to hear you tearing up the HF bands Ryan.  Also a shout out to David N5KWD and the group for making the testing session available.   

      THE HISTORY OF THE 146.88 REPEATER IN HOUSTON

      History of the Houston Radio Relay Club and Repeater Station - Written by W5VCE in 1968 

      Submitted originally by Pump WA5CYI in 1996 Re-posted  9-16-2021 


      The date of this writing is May 7, 1968. This will explain why some of the early dates are difficult to establish. It should be mentioned also that great care was taken to avoid publicity, written records, and any specific knowledge of a repeater station in Houston prior to July 14, 1966.


      It is difficult to establish what triggered the interest in 2 meter FM.  There were a dozen or so stations operating on 147.3 MHZ FM on January 1, 1965. This activity was primarily started by Pasadena for RACES. At about this time Bill, WA5BSB, and Jerry, K5IHK, turned up with Bendix FM rigs with 146.88 MHZ crystals. 


      A small group started looking for rigs to start a new FM frequency for Houston. We finally got Motorola to agree to let us have nine FMTRU80D's for $30.00 each, as is, while Karl, WA5ABA, was in Dallas attending a Service School. Karl brought the rigs back to Houston and the serious work of the new net began. 


      These nine rigs were obtained February 25, 1965. Thirty more were obtained March 26, 1965. Bill, WA5BSB, Forrest, WA5BSD, and Jerry, K5IHK, made a trip to Dallas to get the 30 rigs. Ed Bailey got one of these 30 and once we got Ed on 2 meter FM, a repeater wasn't far behind.


      Eight more rigs were obtained April 23, 1965; then the last twelve on May 25, 1965, making a total of 59 rigs obtained from Motorola. After the first group of rigs were acquired, there was so much interest that it became necessary to keep a list of people who wanted rigs so that as they became available from Motorola, they could be distributed fairly. Jim Shotwell, WA5BUV, got this thankless task of keeping the list and distributing the rigs. By December 6 of 1965 there were 82 active stations on 146.88 MHZ FM with 40 mobiles represented.  


      Interest and discussion of a repeater station had developed to a point that a rig was chosen out of the 12 units received May 5, 1965 for conversion to a repeater station. It is difficult to comprehend why there were two dozen or more mobile stations by this time, because the range was sure nothing to shout about. Any way, it was evident that a repeater station was sorely needed for any reasonable mobile performance on 2 meters.  For mobile to mobile it was a must.


      By this time, we had Ed, W5SDA, interested in the technical aspects of a repeater, so the unit was turned over to Ed. Everyone who had any of the parts needed to convert the old mobile rig to an A.C. repeater station contributed to the cause and crystals were ordered to set the repeater up 

      for 146.28 in and 146.88 out. On approximately May 15, 1965, the repeater was ready for trial, set up at Ed's house. The antenna situation was real "Mickey Mouse", but the test was highly successful. 


      Then came the big problem. How could we get this illegal contraption on a high building downtown where it would do some good. Ed finally convinced Bert, W5HJL, into sneaking it up on the Gulf Building where he was the engineer of a FM station. This installation occurred in July, 1965, as near as I can establish. Just about the time we were getting all the bugs ironed out, we got the news that everything had to be cleared off the Gulf Building to make room for the "big orange lollipop" (Gulf Sign). 


      The repeater installation had to come down approximately August, 1965. This was rather discouraging, but word leaked out the Wiley, K5DFZ, engineer at KPRC, thought it might be possible to get the repeater on the KPRC tower at DeWalt. This sounded too good to be true, but sure enough, by September 1965, there it was, 1500 feet in the air with a solid mobile range of 50 miles. Needless to say, 2 meter FM interest skyrocketed. The "nuts" who climbed around on that 1500-foot tower to install antennas were K5DFZ, WA5BSB, K5VQY, and W5SDA. Ed took care of the installation and service of the repeater for about 18 months, before the glamour was exhausted. Where upon, he insisted that some of us mere mortals could do it. He was tired. By this time a spare repeater had been installed with remote switching and instant servicing was no longer necessary. Ray, W5DLC, took over as chief technician.


      Everything was going smooth until July 7, 1966, when Dick Vaughn, FCC engineer, swooped down upon us. He insisted that this station emitting such a powerful signal on 146.88 MHZ had to have a license. He also mumbled something about wanting to know who he served the violation 

      notices to. When the smoke cleared, Ed, W5SDA, and Leon, W5VCE, were the recipients of real scary violation notices, and the repeater was real silent. In all fairness to Dick, although he wanted to see the repeater operation continue, he just wanted it to be legal. He insisted it wasn't 

      all that difficult to have a license, log and ID. During the next week Ed divided his time equally between reading that scary violation notice and building a robot which sent call letters in CW every three minutes. On July 14, Ed had the robot CW operator in place. Leon had a receiver 

      feeding into the tape machine at Police Headquarters for logging and Byrum, W5LGQ, had loaned us the SWARC Club call, K5YJG/5. 


      Everything was ready. Ed called the FCC office and meekly asked Dick if we could throw the switch. Dick seemed to be satisfied, providing the KPRC engineers acted as attending operators and turn it off, when not in attendance. So now we were back in operation again, at least part of the time.  


      The big push now was to get a club formed and get our own license with remote privileges to make for 24-hour operation. Also, something had to be done about securing our own logging recorder.


      The Houston Radio Relay Club was formed July 20, 1966, with directors as follows:

      President K5DFZ

      Vice-president WA5BSB

      Secretary WA5BUV

      Treasurer W5SDA

      Programs K5IHK

      Membership W5VCE


      License was applied for with W5SDA as trustee. As soon as the license returned, we were able to go to full period operation, since we now had remote control privileges. A tape recorder was found and rigged for logging, and the Houston Radio Relay Club now enjoyed a good, legal 

      repeater station. 


      The next several months were not completely uneventful, what with several exercises and a few emergencies proving the repeater to be a community asset, as well as a lot of fun. 


      An election of new officers on January 31, 1968, brought the following group into office:


      President K5VQY

      Vice-president K5DFZ

      Secretary W5SDA

      Programs W5DLC

      Membership WA5JDI


      This brings the back ground history up-to-date. There are approximately 230 operators using the repeater at this time. 


      Leon Vice, W5VCE/W5OBC


      May 7, 1968

      Following are notes received from Byrum, W5LGQ, in October, 1996. 


      It has been a long time since any entries were made in the Story of the History of the 146.880 and the 444.600 repeaters. Here are some of the events as I remember them. 


      We had a very active club back in the 60's and 70's, Suburban West Amateur Club, K5YJG, with about 50 members and there were several that were employed in electronics, so it was no surprise when the talk turned to repeaters. Some of those members that come to mind after more than 30 years are Ed, W5SDA, and Leon, W5VCE. I do remember Leon talking about the effort to enclose the cavities and he mention that one of their early efforts was to mount the filters inside a coffee can. I'm sure this wasn't their final effort but it showed progress.


      Now for continuation of the saga by Byrum, W5LGQ. 


      After I retired from CH 39 in 1982, I made my dream come true by moving to Sargent to spend most of my time fishing. The next priority was to put up a tower so I could use the repeaters in Houston. Several years past and my passion for fishing cooled a little so I found other things 

      to do. I was listening to Fred, K5MJA, and Frank, K5VQY, on 88 one afternoon and they were talking about some problems with the repeater. I listened for a while and then broke in and casually asked if there was anything that I could do to help? I soon realized that I had set a trap 

      for myself because after 20 years they were looking for somebody to carry the load for a while.. After some gentle arm twisting I agreed to become the trustee of the 146.88 and the 444.600 repeaters. That was July 10, 1987.


      We knew that the repeaters had few problems but we needed to take a good look at what we had gotten ourselves into. So Don, K5IXJ, my son, who would make many trips to the tower in the next 10 years, made his first trip up to bring both of the repeaters down. This was the start of an 

      interesting 10 years.


      After we got the old repeaters down we contacted Steve, K5LTK, who had been doing most of the maintenance, to get the spare parts and the documentation of the repeaters and also get a few pointers. Jerry, K5IHK, also was very helpful in getting over the rough spots. It took a while to learn the ins and outs of the repeaters but the day finally came to put them back into service. 


      Then Don was making his second trip up the tower, this time to re-install the repeaters. After making a few on the air tests, we realized that we already had hams standing by waiting for the word to go. So we turned them loose. Everything was fine for several years with only a few trips

      to replace relays and tubes until we ran out of good tubes. Often with day and night operation, the tubes wouldn't last very long. We had a wake up call when we went looking for replacement tubes and found that they were in short supply. That's when we began thinking of replacing the 

      repeaters with all solid state surplus commercial mobile radios. GE Master Exe II seemed to be the most promising. "We put out the word and before long Allen Fox, K5LKJ, on a hamfest trip to Austin came up with two Ex II's for two meters and it wasn't long before we had two more for 

      UHF, so now we had the radios, we needed to build four repeaters because we wanted to have a spare repeater for each frequency. 


      We soon got pointed in the right direction to make repeaters out of them. Even though we got a lot of basic advice, I still had to convert the radios for duplex operation and interface them to the other equipment. The S Com controllers sure did make our life much easier because I only had to supply inputs and outputs to it and it would do the rest. It gave us ID, Squelch delay, Time out, PTT, adjustable audio in and out, TX on and off, and PL input. These could be activated remotely without the need for a phone line. First we had to compile a list of material that we would need to build four repeaters.

       

      One 12-volt power supply that would deliver 35/40 amps. Supplied by W5GBR.

      Two S COM 5K Controllers.

      Four receiver crystals.

      Four transmit crystals.

      Two TS32 PL boards.

      This looks like a pretty short list but just wait until you get the bill. 

      On March 23, 1991, Don installed the new repeaters and retired the old 

      one after 20 years of service.


      Submitted by Byrum Huddleston, W5LGQ, and Don Huddleston, K5IXJ. 

      More, Unsigned, believed to be from Steve Davidick, K5LTK. 


      In 1969 I was introduced to 2 meters FM with my RCA carfone. I got to know Wiley Hamilton and Leon Vice a little better and before I knew it I was making trips up the big stick as a helper with various technicians. As time went by I acted as combination gofer and a minor maintenance tech myself.  


      In 1971 we had a change in club officers and trustee. The new trustee was Bill Benton, WA5DWX, and the new repeater call was WA5YUX. The license was good up to April 1973. Because of upcoming license changes and requirements. It was during this period of time that we decided 

      that I was wearing out the tower elevator and our repeaters were off the air too much when they were needed. So we bought a GE Master Pro Mobile unit. Wiley built up a power supply and a repeater package for it. On August 25, 1972 we put our new repeater on the air.  Shortly after we installed new antennas and replace the old RG-17 coax with Heliax cable.  A new control unit was built by Bill Bremer Jr., WA5RRR, to give us a more reliable control system with extra control functions. After the WA5YUX license expired, we had a new trustee Frank, K5VQY, that was in May 1973. He received the new license with the call of WR5AAA. Late that night the new ID was installed in the repeater. A lot of work went into getting that license by Bill Bremer, W5EKP. In January 1976 we installed our second GE Master repeater on 444.600. On 5/17/76 we had our first total failure on the 146.88 machine, it was a blown line fuse. This is one of two failures this machine has had to this date (6 years later). About week later we had our first failure on our UHF 444.600 machine. A bias protection relay vibrated lose from its socket. This is the only failure 

      this machine has had to the date (2 1/2 years of 24-hour operation).


      REPEATER TIPS BY BYRUM


      Just a few additional tips on some the problems that might be encountered if you are building a repeater using the GE Master Exec II or Master II.  You don't need the remote cable and control head, they just take up a lot of room. I removed all the wires from the cable plug except the two 

      large wires for + and - power and built the control head directly into the plug which is a trick in itself. It’s a pretty tight fit for volume,  squelch, speaker jack, on-off switch and two LED's.


      Using the original power wires was a big mistake. If you are installing a repeater in a nice snug air conditioned building, you would never have any problems, but at the top of a 1500 FT. tower where the temperature in the summer must get up to 140 degrees and humidity reaches 100% is a bad environment.


      After about five years of operation, we stared losing power output on one of the repeaters. Our first thought was that the final amplifier had failed, so we replaced it with the amp from our spare, and sure enough that restored output until a week or so later when we had the same problem.


      This went on for a while until we discovered that the harsh environment had caused the two pins that supplied + and - power to the final, which draws 10 to 12 amps and is in almost constant use, had developed enough resistance to cause severe heating to the point of melting the plastic 

      shell and cut off the power to the final.


      Don brought both repeaters down and I built and installed new front control panels and brought power to the final amp from the back using 10-gauge wire which eliminated the plug problem. 


        


      Hello KI5RDH

      Welcome to the Hobby Ryan

      Welcome Ryan Anderson to the Ham radio community.  Ryan recently passed the Technician test and was awarded his shinny new call sign KI5RDH.  

      Additional Information

      Ryan's mentor/elmer is Richard KG5RAA.  Thanks Richard for all you do in the hobby and for sharing your interest with Ryan.  Shout out to Ron KI5GNL for teaching Ryan some of the finer points of digital letting him build some Raspberry Pi-Star MMDVM hotspots. 


      We would also like to recognize Robert N5BUM,  Leona N5LMM , and Robert N5BSB for administering the test.  They all do a great job and are a credit to the ham radio community.  If you know of anyone who needs to get tested to get their license or upgrade you can call these great hams and they will set up a test for you.  For more info please contact N5BUM at bubmelton@gmail.com  


      Welcome Ryan and stay involved in this great hobby!!   


      De W5WES

      Ham Radio News

      Update on Amateur Radio Station on the IIS

       

      ARISS, NASA, and ESA Continue to Probe Amateur Radio Problems on ISS

      03/03/2021

      Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, reports that the ARISS team has been working closely with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to identify what may have caused what ARISS is calling a “radio anomaly” on January 27. The net result has been an inability to use the NA1SS ham station gear in the ISS Columbus module. For the time being, ARISS school and group contacts with crew members have been conducted using the ham station in the ISS Service Module. The radio issues came in the wake of a January 27 spacewalk during which astronauts installed new cables (essentially feed lines) to support the commissioning of the Bartolomeo attached payload capability mounted on the Columbus module. The job involved re-routing the cabling of the ARISS antenna to the ARISS radio system onboard Columbus.

      “Through a great deal of coordination with NASA and ESA, ARISS will be conducting a set of APRS [automatic packet radio system] tests to determine the operational use of the ARISS radio system in Columbus through employment of three different cabling configurations,” Bauer explained this week. “Over the next couple of days, ARISS will be performing a series of tests using our APRS capability through the standard 145.825 MHz APRS frequency. The crew will be periodically shutting down the radio and swapping cables, so ARISS can troubleshoot the radio system and the cabling.” Bauer said precise swap times will depend on crew availability and expected the tests to run through sometime on March 3.

      “We cannot guarantee that these troubleshooting tests will resolve the radio issue,” Bauer said. “But we encourage ARISS APRS operations in this time span.”

      Bauer said that if the tests are unsuccessful, “a contingency task” has been green-lighted for a March 5 spacewalk (EVA). “This EVA task would return the ARISS cabling to the original configuration prior to the January 27 EVA,” he explained, noting that a contingency task will only be performed if time allows.

      Bauer asked that APRS users not send “no contact” emails or social media responses, “as this will overwhelm the ARISS team.”

      “But, if you definitely hear the packet system working or are able to connect through it, let us know the date, time, and grid square of the occurrence,” he added.  

      Interest In Ham Radio Soaring as Americans Grip with Coronavirus Outbreak By Chuck Gysi

       

      WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — The number of Americans obtaining their ham radio licenses is soaring as the country comes to grips with the coronavirus pandemic. Just as shoppers are hoarding necessities and food in panic buying, more people have quickly studied to become amateur radio operators to ensure they can maintain communications with others in case internet or cell phone communication is disrupted. 

      More than 765,000 in the United States already have their amateur radio licenses from the Federal Communications Commission, however, data from the FCC indicates a recent uptick in the number of new hams, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide. In addition, we at HamRadioPrep.com have experienced a huge surge in new students in the past two weeks as news continues to evolve about the pandemic and we have taken any and all measures to increase the speed and accessibility of our online courses due to the influx, including scholarships for those in financial trouble due to the recent econmic turmoil.

      In a comparison of the time period from March 5-13, 2020, to the same days in 2019, the number of persons signing up for the amateur radio license courses has soared more than 706% since news of the coronavirus outbreak dominated headlines. At the same time, the FCC shows a 7.1% percent uptick in new amateur licensees in the first week of March in 2020 vs the same week in 2019. In the coming weeks, we expect to see the actual license numbers continue to increase rapidly from the FCC. 

      Americans are able to take tests to obtain amateur radio licenses from the Federal Communications Commission, allowing them to talk on a variety of frequencies and radio bands to other licensed hams for personal, not-for-profit communications and technical training. Communications can be around your city, around your state, around the country, around the world — and even into space. Many get their ham radio licenses just so they are prepared for emergencies and disasters and can provide communications for themselves and their families and friends when other communications networks are impacted.

      Amateur radio clubs around the United States conduct FCC testing for most seeking ham licenses, while Ham Radio Prep prepares persons with a unique online study system that includes videos, lessons, practice exams, and interactive content. Unfortunately, many in-person ham radio events have been impacted by COVID-19. The Dayton Hamvention was just cancelled for the first time in it’s 68-year history due to coronavirus concerns. For this reason, access to online study materials is more important than ever.

      In addition, Ham Radio Prep commends the Anchorage (Alaska) Amateur Radio Club Volunteer Examiner Coordinator program, which conducts test sessions for those wishing to become newly licensed ham radio operators. That organization’s board of directors recently voted to expand its unique and innovative remote testing program to areas outside of Alaska, including anywhere in the United States or Canada. This will bring easier access to those seeking to obtain ham radio licensing and who live in remote areas or have various abilities that preclude them from attending scheduled test sessions conducted by accredited local ham radio clubs that offer test services.

      The owners of Ham Radio Prep hope many who want to be prepared with emergency communications backup and even those now out of work or working from home because of the COVID-19 outbreak are able to become licensed hams.

      To learn more on how you can get your ham radio license, check out our guide on How To Get Your Ham Radio License. 

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      Hamfest Update 3-30-23

      We have been made aware that there is going to be some road construction in the immediate vicinity of the event.  We are monitoring the situation.  The talkin repeater is 145.310 -PL 167.9 -.60.  Our staff will be relaying updates and offering alternate routes to bypass the construction.