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On Saturday, June 1st at 9 am to 11:30 am, I'd like to get a few people to help look over the communications trailer. It will be light duty involvement like chasing antenna coax and power supply leads to figure out where they go. There is a couple repairs that need to be made but I'm not sure we'll get to that on this go around. If you feel like lending a hand for a couple hours, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Everyone, During the W?CRC Club Picnic… I was having issues logging into LOTW. I tried again today to log in there, but I’m still unsuccessful in doing so. If you’re doing FT8 or having auto updates to LOTW… I would double check that you most recent contacts got uploaded after LOTW has been restored to normal operation. Here is what I found on the ARRL website: https://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-systems-service-disruption ARRL Systems Service Disruption 05/17/2024 Updated 5/17/2024 Some members have asked whether their personal information has been compromised in some way. ARRL does not store credit card information anywhere on our systems, and we do not collect social security numbers. Our member database only contains publicly available information like name, address, and call sign along with ARRL specific data like email preferences and membership dates. Original story below: 5/16/2024 We are in the process of responding to a serious incident involving access to our network and headquarters-based systems. Several services, such as Logbook of The World? and the ARRL Learning Center, are affected. Please know that restoring access is our highest priority, and we are expeditiously working with outside industry experts to address the issue. We appreciate your patience. KB?DCO Thomas Gagnon Sent from my IPAD 4th Gen. Air Touch

Something else I have experience happened when I moved the Digirig to another USB port on my laptop computer running Win 11. When I restarted VARA FM the VU meter audio level appeared to be connecting then disconnecting. Right click the Windows icon then select System> Sound> You may notice the Windows Digirig ID has a number behind it indicating a 2nd installation. Scroll down to mic audio. Select OFF under the normal audio enhancements button. This turns OFF the auto gain for the mic input. That is what caused the problem.

When starting a previously working VARA FM program attached to a Digirig interface I've often encountered no receive audio showing on the VU meter. Before you go into Windows and start tweaking the audio settings... Try clicking on the VARA settings tab and then the SoundCard button. While there insure the input and output are USB Audio device, they probably are. Like magic, when you close the dialog box your audio is working! You're welcome. I have no idea why, but, I've seen it work too many times to ignore. 73 Mike N0QBH

SKYWARN Training Who: Kandiyohi County Emergency Management & National Weather Service What: SKYWARN Storm Spotter Training When: Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Two identical sessions offered. Session 1 – 1pm-3pm Session 2 – 6:30pm-8:30pm Where: Kandiyohi County Rescue Squad, 213 NE Lakeland Drive, Willmar How: Register with Melissa Kaisner at 320-235-5133 x 3804 or email Melissa.kaisner@... – be sure to specify which session you will attend. Cost: Free SKYWARN is a National Weather Service program designed to gather critical information during severe weather. SKYWARN volunteers receive training in storm identification and evolution, and when severe weather threatens they can become storm spotters and may report directly to the local NWS office. Storm spotters are the nation's first line of defense against severe weather, and they know that their efforts may ultimately help to save lives. Their information, when combined with sophisticated technology such as Doppler radar, satellite and lightning displays, helps NWS meteorologists in their primary mission - the issuance of warnings and advisories for the protection of life and property. A Warning Coordination Meteorologist from the National Weather Service conduct will conduct this training. WHO SHOULD ATTEND First responders including personnel from law enforcement, fire, EMS, dispatch, public works, public utilities, amateur radio operators, CERT volunteers. SKYWARN certifications are valid for three years.

Hello members, the next quarterly meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 30th at 6:30 pm. The meeting location will be at the Kandiyohi Rescue Squad building 213 Lakeland Dr NE, Willmar, MN 56201 There will be a short presentation and discussion on Winlink and the Vara modems with a demonstration after the club business is handled.

Tony asked me to post a reminder about the new Tuesday evening informal chat on the club's 147.030 repeater. Tentative time is 7 PM CDT and everyone with a Ham licence is invited. 73 Mike N0QBH

HAMSci amateur radio operator John Landrigan, KA4RXP will be operating Maritime Mobile off the Mazatlán, Mexico coast at the beginning of the total solar eclipse as it transits to the Maritime provinces of Canada. The 2024 total solar eclipse will begin at the following UTC times on April 8, 2024: Partial eclipse: 15:42 UTC (11:42 AM EDT) Total eclipse: 16:38 UTC (12:38 PM EDT) Greatest eclipse: 18:17 UTC (2:17 PM EDT) Total eclipse end: 19:55 UTC (3:55 PM EDT The maximum eclipse will be at 12:17:19 local time and totality duration will be 4m 29s. The HamSci organization is seeking to measure and record the ionospheric radio propagations that are influenced by this solar event. In order to do so, KA4RXP/MM will be operating as a special event station, seeking your signal reports from all locations, especially in the 70-mile-wide path of the eclipse, during this rapidly changing ionospheric propagation spectacle. To maintain a sense of continuity, all radio activity will be confined to the 20-meter Amateur Radio band at approximately 14.265 MHz. Just a simple signal report and Maidenhead Grid Square location is all that’s requested. The data will then be collated and analysis of the signal reports and their locations will be done in the post Eclipse interval. The station will be operating with 100 Watts of RF power and recording the entire session to make a continuous log, keeping details as seamless as possible. Contact via ka4rxp@...

In an earlier mini essay, I made the proposal to convert the WILMAR 400' packet radio station to an APRS digipeater on 144.390 MHz. In this one, I'll discuss the reasons why we might consider keeping it on 145.670 MHz and changing it to a Winlink Gateway. The first point needs to be emphasized - how under utilized this asset is as a packet radio node. It's height and quality installation give it coverage over a wide area surrounding Willmar, yet it has no users. This day in age, packet radio is simply too primitive and too slow to attract new users or to be useful in emergency communications. Since the money spent for the packet station came out of 9/11 Homeland Security funding, it would seem logical they intend this to serve in emergencies. In 2004, packet radio was the logical choice. In the twenty years since, software has evolved, giving us several better options to move information via radio. Winlink has become a popular choice because it has a simple and versatile format, email. As one of the better thought out solutions, in my opinion, Winlink offers each user a number of methods to send and receive their email, depending on what's available. The built in options range from Telenet (Internet), Packet, Pactor, Ardop, VARA (voice radios) and Iridium (satellite). Because the Winlink emails are the same format, they can move through any of these modes on their way to the destination. Flexibility is key and Winlink has it in spades. It's also free to use as is the VARA modem software. What it needs in this area are experienced operators. We gain this experience by doing (operating). In the case of Winlink, an easy way to fulfill your training is to use it for your Ham radio related emails. Normally, the local Winlink gateway is connected to the Internet. The emails you send and receive thru it via radio will use the Internet from there on. You are allowed attachments up to 120 kbytes total message size. However, only VARA FM will transfer data fast enough to do this with your 2m transceiver. Presently, we have a Winlink VARA FM gateway station located in Willmar on a 60' tower. It's accessible to Hams with a line of sight path and an outdoor antenna, mostly within a 15 mile radius. Having a gateway on the 400' tower would at least double the radius, making access reliable for a much larger area. Along with a much larger coverage hopefully comes more users. If it becomes too busy, we can expand another gateway on another frequency and or location. Usually, a FM gateway will respond to either VARA FM or Winlink packet connections on it's frequency. Once the connection is made the process is automatic. The user can abort the connection if something goes wrong or hangs up. When the message transaction(s) are done, Winlink disconnects, making way for the next user. To summerize, we have an outstanding resource in the WILMAR station that is underused. I am presenting options to change that and still remain true to it's purpose. 73 Mike N0QBH

With spring arriving our winter temperatures return. Perfect time to start thinking about Field Day. There are no major changes this year. Reminder the GOTA station now isn’t limit on the amount of QSO’s they can make. In the past sites would hit the maximum limit and shut down the station, reducing the opportunity to expose visitors and beginners to operating a ham radio. Now you can keep the GOTA station on the air and active all weekend earning you points for every contact they make. There is a new bonus this year, 50 points for a Site Responsibilities person. I looked at the check list, and it still needs some work. The intent is to have a person responsible for making sure the site is welcoming to visitors and guests, information about amateur radio and your club is available, you have a way for people to get directions such as a talk-in frequency that is monitored, etc. So, watch for changes to this check list in the weeks to come. While you are at it make sure you get the appropriate local officials invited to visit and have someone ready to give them a tour around the site explaining what is going on. The last key thing is to make sure you get your Field Day operation on the ARRL Field Day Site Locator. This is helpful for people traveling to an area to find a site as well as myself and your section managers to find your site. I suggest getting information listed as soon as you know your group will be doing it. The 2024 Field Day website is functional so check it out now www.arrl.org/field-day . 73 Bill AC?W Special Events: 4/19 – 4/22 Celebrate founding of Minnesota State Parks - N0P Lake Region ARC 4/26 – 4/28 Handiham Program 57th Anniversary W0ZSW Help Courage Kenny Handiham Program celebrate its 57th anniversary by working W0ZSW, https://handiham.net/ 5/4 – Milwaukee Road Railroad Newport Tower Anniversary – N0T 1400 – 2000 UTC; CW 7.040 & 14.035, SSB 7.220 & 20 meter 14.260 South East Metro ARC; Contact KD0IRF@... 5/11 – Minnesota Fishing Opener – N0F 1400 – 2000 UTC; SSB 7.255 & 14.255, FT8 7.056 & 14.091 Operating from Ham Lake Park Anoka County RC; anokaradio.org 6/6 – 80th Anniversary Commemoration of D-Day 1500 – 2000 UTC; CW 7.040 & 14.040, SSB general portion of 20 & 40 South East Metro ARC; Contact n0bm@... 6/8 – MN Parks On The Air - 8 AM to 6 PM Help make this first-time event a success, get out and active a park or work one of the many park activations that day. This day is MN State Parks free admission day. Stillwater ARA. More details http://mnpota.com/ Hamfests (all times local time): 3/23 – Buffalo, MN; 8 AM – Noon; Midwinter Madness; Maple Grove RC; https://k0ltc.org/midwinter-madness/ ; ARRL reps present (Director & Section Manager) plus QSL card checker for all awards Classes: Technician Class March 26, 6:30 – 9:00 PM, In-Person Brainerd Fire Station Training Room Brainerd, MN Contact brainerdhamradioclass@... Brainerd Area ARC Technician Class March 26 to April 18, Tue & Thur 6 PM, In-Person Owatonna Fire Department Owatonna, MN Contact oscarhamradio@... Owatonna Steele County ARC Technician Class Starts Saturday April 6, 2024; 9-11 AM, 6 weeks In-Person Roosevelt Education Center Fergus Falls, MN Contact kd0oix@... Lake Region ARC VE Test Sessions (all times local time): 3/19 – 8:30 AM Mankato, MN; Mankato ARC; contact wx0mik@... ; must preregister hamstudy.org/sessions/MARC/all?includeFull=1 www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/mankato-mn-56001-9999-7 3/19 – 9:00 PM Mankato, MN; Mankato ARC; contact wx0mik@... ; must preregister hamstudy.org/sessions/MARC/all?includeFull=1 www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/mankato-mn-56001-9999-7 3/23 – 7:30 AM Buffalo, MN; Maple Grove ARC; contact mwmve@... ; must preregister k0ltc.org/midwinter-madness/ 3/23 – 10:15 AM Minot, ND; American Legion Post 26; contact newdesignsbbs@... ; must preregister www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/minot-nd-58703-268 3/25 – 6:00 PM Chanhassen, MN; SMARTS & Eden Prairie RC; contact kdzerob@... ham.study/sessions/KD0B www.arrl.org/exam_sessions/chanhassen-mn-55317-9999-78 3/26 – 6:00 PM Bismarck, ND; Central Dakota ARC; contact VEteam@... www.

I recently purchased a 4 pack of Fancasee 3.5mm TRRS solder on plugs from Amazon to convert a couple of cables for use with the Digirig USB soundcard radio interface. After I soldered up the cable to the connector and tried it out, I noticed transmit audio was coming thru the radio's speaker. Switched back to the Digirig factory cable and it went away??? The micrometer and a visit to Digikey to get the specs on a known good part showed a .050" difference in overall length - the cheap plug was too long allowing the TIP to touch R1 inside the jack. This, in turn shorts transmit and receive audio together. Hope this helps someone else. A $4 quality part beats a $2 cheapie most days... 73 Mike N0QBH

I couldn't resist posting on Leap Year Day (Feb 29). All the kids born today who only get a birthday every 4 years. I'll bet somewhere, for only $19/mo you can ease their suffering! This nice weather has me thinking of Spring fox hunting...I've only done it once, but, I had fun and would like to do it again. 73's Mike N0QBH

The local Winlink gateway has been on line for several days as I type this and it has been working well. I have been sending and receiving my Ham radio related emails in this manner and in the process, learning the ropes of operation. Presently, the only connections are VARA FM mode on 145.070 MHz. Ben tells me 1200 baud packet access will be added on the same frequency. Winlink packet is not quite the same as regular packet, but it uses the same hardware and can digipeat thru packet nodes to another Winlink station. Which brings us to "How do I do get and use Winlink?" You need a Windows 10 or newer computer to use Winlink and VARA. https://downloads.winlink.org/ The two programs are Winlink Express set up in the user programs area and you want VARA FM set up in the VARA products subdirectory. Both programs download as zip files. I recommend extracting while still in the downloads directory. The unpacked result is a installer program . The Winlink program will want to install in the root directory. Use it's recommendation. I learned the hard way that programs I installed in the program files directories are in protected memory. Windows won't let anything write in there, meaning saving configs that normally live with the program don't happen. To use Winlink you have to be registered (free). You register from within the Winlink Express program. It involves giving your valid callsign as your user name and you chose a recovery password. Then, assuming you have Internet, it will Telnet your application into headquarters and you are set. You will need a software modem to let Winlink communicate via radio. Around here VARA FM is the best method. VARA FM is downloaded and treated the same as Winlink - unzip and install it where it wants to go. You will need to run the installer as administrator (right click mouse) and select that option. Next, is determining how to connect the radio to the computer. There are several ways, I've tried many of them. Digirig is far in a way my favorite. Small, inexpensive ($50) and a great selection of cables for oodles of different radios, all under $30 ea. https://digirig.net/store/ USB soundcards can be intimidating to set up. Digirig's audio is "plug n play" - no drivers. The serial side is apt to need a driver download. Silicone Labs CP210x Universal Windows driver is what you will need. The install page on the Digirig web site shows how to install the new driver, if needed. It's important as it controls the PTT of the radio. It's a good resource and I recommend reading it first. https://digirig.net/getting-started-with-digirig-mobile/ Once you have your Winlink VARA FM station all talking to and hearing the radio, you will need to make a note of what USB port on the computer you are using. To keep life simple, always use that same port. If it isn't possible, you may need to reload the USB driver to the new port in order for the serial PTT to function. Another thing I've noticed with Windows and USB just seems to take time, sometimes :) Step away and have a cup of coffee and sometimes you'll return to working drivers. The last two steps before attempting a Winlink connection is to calibrate the audio levels in and out of the radio. Pretty easy usually. With the VARA FM program itself running, insure the squelch is open if you don't see any movement of the VU meter on the dashboard display. If your radio uses a RX data connection in the back, you only need to adjust the USB Soundcard mic in levels to get the VARA VU meter needle to the 2 O'clock position. If you had to open the squelch, you will also need to adjust the volume and USB Soundcard mic in to get the VU to the 2 O'clock level. This is because that audio is coming from the speaker. Setting the transmit audio level is done with another VARA FM station using the Auto tune function found in the VARA FM program soundcard button. Your frequency must be the same as the other station, around here we are using 145.07 MHz for VARA FM. When you start auto tune, your station will send a series of 10 tones at gradually louder levels. If the other station hears you, it answers back with a pass or fail and tells you what to adjust. It also sets the slider level in the auto tune display. Note, this adjustment is in series with the USB Soundcard Speakers (Digirig out to the mic) Windows slider. We normally use W0AYE-10 as the other station since it's who we'll usually be connecting to and it's a known good signal. That's all for this segment, next one will focus on operation. One of the best places for Winlink info is it's HELP menu. I will try to be available to talk someone thru installation and am usually listening on the 444.8 machine. Else try n0qbh@... 73 Mike N0QBH