WrightwoodCalif.com Forum
Public Forums => Radio Talk => Topic started by: Wrightwood on Apr 13, 07, 03:45:29 AM
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Well folks...
After "dusting off" my radio, which hasn't been used in quite some time, it appears that its just time for a new radio. So, it looks like I'll miss tonight's net.
But the good news is that I'll be replacing the radio, and will be ready for the next time you have a net.
Bob
KN6EZ
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The feed should be on the online scanner at this point.
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Ok folks... so my HT is a Kenwood TH27A, so all have an idea of how long its been, since I've purchased new equipment.
So, since my radio now appears to be dead, I will be purchasing a new one tomorrow. I figure I might as well get one of those new fangled triband HT deals.
I do require aviation receive, and CAP, with my next purchase.
So, who's the popular leader in HT equip these days?
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Great job on your first net control tonight John!!! You sounded like an old pro and sounded pretty comfortable in your new role.
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Congratulations John!!
I think the net went well, I have to say I'm a little jealous of some of the equipment in use out there... ;D
The net proved we all can learn something.
Good job and thanks, for once again stepping up to help out our community.
When are we going to have that antenna class? ::)
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Echoing BB's sentiments exactly. This will go a long way towards making us all better operators. I know I need the practice...
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Wow... It was great start tonight :thumbs:
We had 18 people check in ranging from Wrightwood to Walker Basin near Tehachapi and 11 of them were from Wrightwood.
The net lasted a total of 32 minutes and we had people who made their first contact using a ham radio and others that were very experienced.
I learned a great deal that should help in the future.
Thanks to everyone that checked in!
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Sorry I missed it. I had a other commitments.
Same time next week?
Maybe I can remember which radio does what by then. ;)
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It's the black colored radio you own ;D
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They're both black.
I'll just turn them both on and pray.
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The 2 meter is the one that says Vertex on the front and has two knobs on top.
(I knew they were both black and was checking on you ::) )
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Great job, John. You sounded like an old pro. :2thumbsup:
I was able to copy most of the net from down here standing in my back yard, but not with full quieting. Sorry I couldn't check in. I can't even begin to reach the Table Mountain repeater from here with my HT. I was using my Vertex VX-150 with a MFJ-1710 3/8 wave vertical antenna instead of the "Rubber Duck".
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Jack,
It's sound like you could use a J-pole down there.
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More feedback has come in this morning and there were a number of others that attempted to check-in or listened in.
We will continue to make this net as user friendly as possible and not a rigid military type drill. The newbies may come out of the woodwork and give it a try. Last night was the first time a number of them had ever talked on an amateur radio even though they've had their ticket for a while.
Having a topic of the week will get more people to talk and add input and also makes the net longer which I think is a good thing for a number of reasons.
One of the big problems we discovered were many peoples inability to clearly pronounce their information and waiting after keying the mic, for the repeater to activate. Fortunately I recorded the net two different ways and we were able to play it back and figure out each and every persons identity and verify them in QRZ. It was really tough to do but it worked. In the future we will work on that aspect in both the Net Control script and while check-ins take place.
As I had mentioned on the net we now have an application in for a Club Call sign for the Wrightwood Communications Group. Once that's approved we'll get a vanity call sign. That way we can use it for the net, events, etc. Thanks to WB6K for making that happen!
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Thanks to WB6K for making that happen!
And thanks to Clint for giving up his free time to teach new hams so we have someone to talk to! :2thumbsup: As well as all the new hams that realized this communication method is more than a 'hobby'!
[Say, somebody gimme a kleenex, it feels like there's something on my nose...]
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I couldn't agree more that there's been a lot of effort put into getting this town ready to respond when a major event does take place.
We are a lot closer to being prepared than we were 3 or 4 years ago when all the effort first began.
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The formation of the Wrightwood Communications Group is underway. We've held our first Net and will continue on a weekly schedule each Sunday at 6pm.
The group now has an official call sign: KI6JDZ
The club call sign will be used for events such as the Net, community functions, field days, etc.
The next order of business will be to get a vanity call sign as the KI6JDZ is a tongue twister.
In early June the first gathering of an organizing committee will meet to help layout the structure and goals of the Wrightwood Communications Group.
I would anticipate that by late June a community meeting will be scheduled between all local area amateur radio operators, agency representatives and communication experts in this area.
John - KG6ZEP
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Jack wrote:
"I was using my Vertex VX-150 with a MFJ-1710 3/8 wave vertical antenna instead of the "Rubber Duck".
John wrote:
"Jack, It's sound like you could use a J-pole down there."
The antenna he is using (a 3/8 wave ground plane) has better gain and is less effected by surrounding objects than a J-Pole. Jack just lives in a location that is not good for TMO which has avery narrow path path into the LA basin and only works well away from the mountains. Even a yagi would not do Jack much good.
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I won't be able to check in on tonights net, as the Cub Scout pack meeting is the same time.
Enjoy all!
Matt
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Matt,
Sorry to hear you going to miss what sounds like will be a great weekly topic. We are having a discussion about Table Mountain Repeaters.
If you're available earlier - do an early check-in. I'll have the radio on around 5pm.
Order of business:
- Opening
- News and Announcements
- Weather Briefing with Phil Dupree KG6ZHW (SB Cty ECS Weather)
- Check-ins
- Weekly Discussion Topic (Everything you want to know about Table Mtn Repeaters - With Q/A session)
- Questions or Comments
- Close
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Will you have the Streaming Scanner locked on the channel so those of us off the hill and listen in?
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There should be a Paypal coin slot appear on the screen - 15 minutes prior to the start of the Net ;D
Seriously...
Yes, it's in the script, on the list of things to do, before the net begins.
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Great Net. I was there via the Streaming Scanner. Heard the callout for the need for more L.A. County NWS Spotters and recieved Curt's email as well.
Wish I could hit Table from the Valley, but there is no way. Very Interesting info on The Table Mountain Repeater. I like the Generator backup vs a Battery Backup.
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the net tonight was very informative...
I learned allot about the Table Mtn. repeater..
any chance of a field trip to see it? ;D
Great job John
And thanks to Mike WB6K for getting the radio club call sign. :2thumbsup:
KI6CXD
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Sorry I missed the Net tonight. We have out of state guests and I was ORDERED to turn the radio off. >:(
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Great net tonight. John, an excellent job!
Sorry that I couldn't check in but I'm out of tx range. The discussion about the T.M. repeater was very interesting and informative.
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The net is off to a good start.
Here's some stats for the first 3 nets we've held:
Total checkins = 57
Total Wrightwood checkins = 37
Total other areas =20
Total checkins for each of the 3 weeks were: 18, 18, and 21.
Each week I've received a good number of emails and pm's on people who have had radio issues, no radio, can hear it but can't reach the repeater, forgot and various other reasons.
Another Ham wrote:
hi john,
i'm working 7 days a week for a couple of months more. it's a fine idea,this sun. eve. net. as soon as i can(mobile? i'll check in.
Tonight we had 6 people listen to the on-line Steaming Scanner feed with one of those being SB County Fire Chief Pat Dennen.
Here's what Chief Dennen emailed 5 minutes before the net started:
John, I am on-line listening to your check in from Needles. Great job folks. We absolutely appreciate everyone's efforts. We (government) cannot be successful in disaster management without the help from our dedicated citizens. Please pass along my sincerest thanks.
Pat Dennen
15 minutes later after I announced what the Chief had said:
Thanks. John. I appreciate you reading that message. You guys are great.
Pat Dennen
Here's what Curt Kaplan from NWS in Oxnard said in an email:
This is Curt from the NWS in Oxnard. Unfortunately, I am not able to reach Table Mtn.
Do me a favor and pass along the NWS thanks for good spotter reports. The majority deal with San Diego office, but the few spotters we have spoken with have been very helpful.
Curt
I like having Phil on board with the weekly weather briefing and his short discussion on lightning tonight.
W7FTT did a great job talking about the Table Mountain repeaters. There was critical information given that will indeed help in emergency communication planning for this area. I think the facilities generator system being powered by propane and the size of the storage tanks surprised a number of people.
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I'll get there some day... Looks like the online scanner will be my only hope for a while. :-\
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Funky, send me a PM with your exact location.
Clint
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And why can't you hear it on your scanner?
(plus you'd hear it about 7-8 seconds sooner. No... that's not a delay because we are worried about what Bob might say 8)
I'll get there some day... Looks like the online scanner will be my only hope for a while. :-\
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The net was very informative. :)
(I had an idea for powering the repeater, but we'd have to switch off on who ate the beans.)
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Total check-ins for each of the 5 weeks have been:
18, 18, 21, 19, 27 (on Mother's Day)
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Question about the simplex portion of the net...
I didn't catch the entire frequency for simplex operations at the start of the weekly WW net. But I did hear the conversation between John and Chris (?) about using 146.050 for simplex operations. John mentioned something about the above frequency (if I have it correct) being designated for Wrightwood simplex by San Bernardino County.
My question has multiple parts:
1) Do I have the county-designated frequency correct? If not, what is it?
2) Is this the same frequency we will be using for our simplex practice operations?
3) I assume there are other designated frequencies for other communities. Does anyone know if there is a list somewhere of those frequencies, and if we can take a look at it?
I just came back from a seminar for this summers' Cub Scout camp in Running Springs, and I believe that Keller Peak may be the closest repeater to Running Springs. It occurs to me that I may want to pre-program some other 2M repeaters into my HT, as well as simplex frequencies for various locations, to be able to use it other than off the Table Mountain repeater.
(yeah, I'm a little slow in doing this, mea culpa).
Thanks!
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Weekly Disaster Preparedness Net continues to grow!
Sunday's 2 meter Repeater Net set a record for the most checkins so far.
The 2 meter Repeater Net had a total of 37 checkins with 25 of those being from Wrightwood.
The 37 checkins included 29 regular checkins and 8 new.
This weeks simplex testing (following the 2 meter Net) was also very successfull with 17 checkins.
The furthest simplex contact came from the Loma Linda area (100% full quieting)
There were a number of others that attempted to checkin to the simplex net and had a variety of issues and that's the entire reason for doing this testing.
Thanks to all who are participating!
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What radio, antenna, and power were being used to get in to Wrightwood simplex from Loma Linda?
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I was on a dual band Yaesu FT8800 with a Diamond dual band antenna and Mid power. I was monitoring both 2 meter simplex frequencies at once. Rick was very strong & clear and I believe I also heard Brian in Redlands but it was a tad confusing, at that point, with two checkins going at once 8)
Rick (KF6EBR) was in Loma Linda and was using a Radioshack 242 Mobile unit as a base, on 45 watts of power, with a j-pole on his roof.
Brian (KF6JCE) was in Redlands on his Kenwood, 25 watts of power, using a super j-pole on his patio (he lives in an apt. and cannot mount anything to the roof or building) .
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Okay, that helps. Redlands is no suprise at all. That's a pretty easy shot. But Loma Linda is tough. I figured he might have had a beam pointed our way. I'm suprised a J-Pole did it.
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Weekly Disaster Preparedness Net recap for Sunday June 3, 2007
The 2 meter Repeater Net had a total of 47 checkins with 27 of those being from Wrightwood.
The 47 checkins included 42 regular checkins and 5 new.
This weeks simplex testing (following the 2 meter Net) had 22 checkins.
Simplex testing in/out of Wrightwood included: Hesperia, Twin Peaks, Phelan, Littlerock, Loma Linda, Oak Hills and Pearblossom.
San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dennen continues to listen online and participates each week with comments by email.
Thanks to all who are participating!
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Is having so many Ham operators in a small community some kind of record?
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Probably not if you figure in Alaska.
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With your continuing classes we should be getting close though!!
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Yeah, I've thought about seeing if there is an ARRL award for most hams per capita. Problem we're not a city so it's tough to quantify.
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Weekly Disaster Preparedness Net recap for Sunday June 17, 2007
The 2 meter Repeater Net had a total of 43 checkins.
This weeks Simplex testing (following the 2 meter Net) had 31 checkins.
Last night's simplex testing in/out of Wrightwood included: Hesperia, Phelan, Littlerock, Loma Linda, Oak Hills, Apple Valley, Pearblossom, Little Rock, Victorville, Redlands and Adelanto.
San Bernardino County Fire Chief Dennen again listened online and participated with comments by email.
Thanks to all who are participating!
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I have a question. I notice operators often check in for other operators - spouses, I would assume. What is the purpose of checking in if you're not actually checking in personally? If my daughter is at work, should I check in for her?
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Cathy,
Courtesy checkins are helpful in showing a persons interest in the communications Net. When someone has a conflicting schedule, doing an early or late checkin, by email or by another person is helpful to show intent.
We are very pleased with the continuing interest in our Disaster Preparedness Net. We've felt from the beginning that having flexibility would be a key element in keeping the Net fun and interesting.
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Ahhh, thank you for clearning that up. Since we both are interested, I'll check in for her when she's unavailable.
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Jack wrote:
"I was using my Vertex VX-150 with a MFJ-1710 3/8 wave vertical antenna instead of the "Rubber Duck".
John wrote:
"Jack, It's sound like you could use a J-pole down there."
The antenna he is using (a 3/8 wave ground plane) has better gain and is less effected by surrounding objects than a J-Pole. Jack just lives in a location that is not good for TMO which has avery narrow path path into the LA basin and only works well away from the mountains. Even a yagi would not do Jack much good.
Jack,
It was amazing on how well that new J-pole worked from El Monte today :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:
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