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I'm gauging interest in having an impromptu SSTV net after the W0SW net on Sunday evening to exchange a few pictures.
I'd like to host the net on the 147.03 repeater to let more folks tune in and copy the signals S-9.
We used to do it 30 years ago without issue.
Slow scan FM is no different than voice communications from the repeater's standpoint.
However, I thought it would be a good idea to get some club member input first.
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Leon KF0OUA and myself have done some SSTV simplex on 146.550 and it works well between us because we have fairly tall antennae.
Doing over the repeater just lets more folks get good copy.
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Opinions? Questions? Answers? :)
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73
Mike N0QBH
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Re: Solar Mesh node power experiment
#Meshtastic
Solar Mesh node update.
The thermal switch has worked exactly as expected opening at freezing thus isolating the solar panel from the charge circuit and the battery.
This is done to prevent damaging the LiPo battery.? Charging when the cell is below freezing is a no-no.
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So far, the longest "off" period was almost a week before the weather warmed and the sun recharged the 3.7 volt 3 Ah LiPo battery.
Fortunately, the node is lightly used and very frugal with it's Watts, so it stayed on with some power to spare (30%).
The next goal is to use the solar electricity to heat the battery up, allowing it to charge when the sun is shining on those below freezing days.
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After some trial and mostly error, I believe I have a circuit simple enough for others to make.
The idea is to sense when the thermal switch has opened isolating the solar panel from the charging circuit.
This, in turn, shunts the solar panel current through a 20 ohm resistor at 5 volts generating 1.25 Watts of heat.
The resistor is a larger surface mount variety laying on a double sided copper clad circuit board which becomes a heat sink.
Some short wires soldered to both sides transfer the heat to the pcb bottom and the battery.
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By using a P channel MOSFET I was able to do it all with one device, an IFR9530 3 legged TO-220.
It's gate senses the volts on the thermal switch out, turning on hard when the switch turns off and vice versa.
The 100k pull down resistor insures the MOSFET gate goes low while a blocking diode built in the node's solar charge circuit prevents any back flow from the battery.
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Here's the yet to be populated circuit board as it would sit next to the thermal switch atop the battery.
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Here's a crude schematic of my idea.
It worked FB on a breadboard so I'm taking the next step.
Once the resistors show up I'll be able to finish building and install it.
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Here's where the completed heater circuit will be spliced in and mounted on the battery.
I'll lay a toothpick between the sensor and the heater to keep it from warming the sensor directly.
The battery lays on a foam pad to insulate it from the case.
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Next installment will have the heater installed and running.
Then test to fail.
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73
Mike N0QBH
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ARRL 10m Contest
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Re: Winlink county specific weather report
I found a reason for the clipped emails
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If your group has public archives, the domain information is automatically stripped from the online message archive. This is to keep spammers and bots from mining your public messages for valid email addresses. The exception is any post with the groups.io domain, in which case it is retained. If absolutely necessary, try posting it like this:? myemail(at)domain(dot)net [or something to that effect]. I've found that most human beings are sharp enough to figure out what that really means, while (hopefully) the bots might struggle with it a little bit. |
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Today's installment is on the Digirig USB sound card interface.
It's very popular due to it's large cable assortment for various radio models including the Baofeng handhelds.
The first link is the Digirig's setup page for folks like me who like to read instructions slowly and digest them.
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The second link is to one of YouTube University's instructional videos from Dennis, K0TX.
In this video he goes over connecting the Digirig to the computer and radio.
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?In this video which is very similar, the radio is a Baofeng handheld.??
If you decide to go this route be sure to look into a better antenna or a coax adapter to use your outdoor 2m antenna.
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73
Mike N0QBH
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Re: Winlink county specific weather report
I didn't catch that while I was posting the Info. Kandiyohi should look exactly like this-
Copy and Paste this to your templates if you live in Kandiyohi County-
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Type: Winlink To: nws.ftpmail.ops@... Subject: Kandiyohi County MN Weather Report msg. open cd data cd forecasts cd zone cd mn get mnz057.txt quit? |
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Winlink county specific weather report
I copy and pasted this info from the EAST-COAST Winlink net but I thought this is too good to not pass along.
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This week, we are going to help you get a weather report that is only for your specific County or Weather zone. We are also going to help you create a Template in Winlink, so in the future, the weather report for your specific county or area will only be a few mouse clicks away. ?Don't worry, it is not a complicated project! I am going to talk you through it, step-by-step in this message.?
The first thing you will need to do is visit this website: ?
Once you are on this website, find your State or area in the list, and click on either the PDF or JPG highlighted link. (My preference is for a PDF file). ?Once you click on that file, a map of your state or area will show up. Each County or area will have a 3-digit number. Either print out the map, or write down the 3-digit number for your County or area. ?
Now you want to go back to your Winlink program and click on MESSAGE to expand the list, and scroll down and select TEMPLATE MANAGER. ?For most of us, 3 choices will appear, which are Standard Templates, Global Templates and a choice with your Call Sign Templates. You want to click one time on your call sign templates so that it is highlighted. After your Call sign Templates is highlighted, go to the top of that window and click the word ADD. ?A new window opens, and you are asked to Name your template. I suggest that you name it with the name of your County and state and the words Weather Report behind it. (Example: Renville County MN Weather Report) You should leave the little radio button for Call Sign Specific highlighted and click the CREATE button.
A new window will open, and you will need to enter the information below in that window: (The information below creates a Renville County MN Template. For your personal template for your County or area, you will change the Subject name, the cd state abbreviation, and where it says get mnz065.txt, you would enter your 2-letter state with the letter z followed by the 3-digit code followed by .txt ) Type: Winlink To: nws.ftpmail.ops@... Subject: Renville County MN Weather Report msg. open cd data cd forecasts cd zone cd mn get mnz065.txt quit? ?
After you have entered the above information (edited for your County or area) you want to click SAVE and close out the window.
To use your new Weather Template, Click ?MESSAGE ?like you were starting a new message, then click SELECT TEMPLATE, then click the + sign next to your call sign and look for your County Weather report that you have created. Double click on it so that it opens. When your message template opens, just click POST MESSAGE, and then open or run a Winlink session to exchange your message. ?Wait a few minutes and open another Winlink session to check for mail, and your new Weather Report message should be there.?
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After I got done telling the net about visiting winlink.org I did just that and realized it might be a bit intimidating because it's like a big box store for emergency communications.
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The two topics and programs we are interested in are:
Winlink Express - the email client program for Winlink users.
VARA FM - the modem over radio program.
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On the top bar of the Winlink home page is a button named Download. Clicking it gives a choice between sysop programs, user programs and VARA products.
Under user programs click on Winlink Express install to download the Winlink Express zip. Remember to extract it before trying to install it.
After installation read the help section. It answers most questions.
At this point, assuming you have an Internet connection, and you've installed the Winlink Express program, filling out the pop up form gets you registered with Winlink as a user.
It's free, however they do ask for a $25 donation. Don't worry about it for now.
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Under VARA Products you will want VARA FM setup zip.? Again, extract before installing as admin (right click mouse).
It's free, however they do charge $70 for a full speed lifetime licence. Don't worry about it for now.
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These are the two programs that make it all happen. An email program and a modem program.
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VARA FM will require a sound card interface. I recommend Digirig ($50).? Signalink USB also works well ($125).
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The next installment will discuss connecting the interface and getting it running.
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73
Mike N0QBH
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Re: Winlink Nets and Check-In info
Here's a couple more nets to check out if there's anyone interested-
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The Northern California WinLink net welcomes check-ins from Sunday afternoon through Thursday evening each week and even outside of those days without net control managers complaining too much - heck, we all like to run up the numbers! :-) ... no geographical restrictions and about 10% of each week's check-ins come from outside of the region.
If interested in participating in the NorCal net: (1) Send check-ins to:?NCALWLINKNET@...? (2) Format message text with Callsign, First name, City, State abbreviation in CAPS (ie CA), session type, client program used if other than Winlink Express, thru gateway, and band used if by HF radio or frequency if by VHF/UHF.? Example:?? K6KEC, Ken, Folsom, CA, Packet Winlink thru NC6J-10 via WG6D-5 on 144.910 MHz? (Note: the via WG6D-5 indicates the use of a digipeater) ?
Ohio Winlink Net:
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Re: W0AYE-10 gateway move 11/22/24
It's a done deal and is working FB!
W0AYE-10 is now a full service gateway at the Willmar HHS site. ?
In the days ahead we will discuss the various services available to Winlink Hams via the gateway.
I might add the sailor in me soon discovered Winlink tolerates no profanity in it's emails, so keep you comments in the "G" rating zone.
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73
Mike N0QBH? |
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WD0HXV Tony LaPatka
W0AYE Ben Wussow
N0QBH Mike Berg