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The topic of this essay is Meshtastic, an open source suite of programs designed to communicate using LoRa as the modulation type and mesh as the methodology. Although it not Ham radio directly, it's components use Amateur shared frequencies within the ISM bands (433 & 915 MHz), making it open to all. Ben W0AYE turned me on to this facet of the hobby at our last meeting with a couple of Blackberry like communicators that we texted back and forth with. While this was using the technology at it's simplest form - simplex communication, adding one or more Meshtastic devices(s) creates a basic mesh network. The is because unless explicitly told not to, all LoRa Meshtastic devices relay all packets up to 3 "hops" to all of the other users on the channel. To that end, I purchased the $35 WisBlock basic hardware combination for LoRa and solar charging. It's inside a weather tight enclosure with an external N connector jack for the Lora 915 MHz antenna and a weather tight power cable from the solar panel. I now have a Meshtastic remote relay mounted up on my tower acting like a digital repeater. The first thing I noticed is I have a "neighbor" using meshtastic to report weather. I'm still trying to figure out who Sunset Hillbilly is... Reading below may explain why... My other LoRa radio is called a T-Deck and it looks like a Blackberry from 20 yrs ago (same as Ben had to the meeting). In a short drive test today it sent and acknowledged all four transmits which were simply text of where I was when it was sent. I started at about a mile then 2 then 3. Today I tried sending a message from a town hall 4 miles distant and it was in the log when I got home. Yea! The real point to this post is to gauge if there is interest to discuss this mode further and perhaps, provide a place for us share what we know. At this point, almost anyone into Meshtastic knows more than I, so the stupid question doesn't exist. 73, ???????Mike N0QBH
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The previous map with a roughly 30 mile radius circle from Willmar gives a pretty good representation of a modest station's expectation of Winlink service. My test rig is a Toyota Corolla with a Yaesu FTM-200 radio to a mag mount dual band antenna on the trunk with about 3 dBi gain. I used a laptop computer with a Digirig interface. I ran 25 watts of power and always faced the back of my car towards Willmar. I tried to think like a good Ham when choosing my parking spot. Publicly accessible and out in the open if possible. Avoid nearby buildings between you and the other end. In an emergency situation not all of this may be possible. Then you do the best you can. Home stations with a reasonable outdoor 2m antenna can probably add 10 - 20 miles to the circle, depending on terrain. In conclusion, the coverage of this system is all I had dared hope for and more. :) 73 Mike N0QBH
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900 MHz Proposal to the FCC
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I will find a link to the FCC website for comments and leave it in a future reply to this post I urge everyone to make a comment in regard to the infringement of unlicensed users (Meshtastic, RFID) on 900 MHz as well as the secondary use of these frequencies by licensed radio amateurs. NextNav petitions FCC for new spectrum band April 23, 2024 - By Jesse Khalil Est. reading time: 1:30 NextNav has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to add a new spectrum solution in the Lower 900 MHz band (902-928 MHz band) to complement and backup GPS. The Lower 900 MHz band plan aims to give access to 15 MHz of low-band spectrum for 5G services. The company filed a rulemaking petition to the FCC, proposing to rearrange the band to facilitate a terrestrial positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) network and broadband. The petition specifically asks the FCC to reconfigure the band plan and adopt new rules, including enabling a high-quality terrestrial complement and backup to GPS for essential PNT services and providing 15 MHz of low-band spectrum for use by mobile broadband networks. The proposal, according to the filing, “enables high-quality terrestrial PNT, with the potential for widespread and inexpensive adoption in many use cases because it will use the 5G standard.” Because the company’s NextGen PNT solution uses a small amount of capacity in the 10 MHz downlink, mobile network providers can use most downlink capacity for broadband, “making the spectrum appealing for integration into existing networks and thereby accelerating the availability of terrestrial PNT services.” According to the filing, “The 15-megahertz band plan is necessary for this broadband deployment, which enables an at-scale PNT network to be deployed efficiently, providing a unique path to resolving the coverage, cost, and user device issues that have prevented broad terrestrial PNT usage to date.” NextNav recently signed an agreement to acquire spectrum licenses covering an additional 4 MHz in the lower 900 MHz band from Telesaurus Holdings GB and Skybridge Spectrum Foundation. In March 2024, the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Alameda, issued an Order approving the Receiver’s request to sell all of its Lower 900 MHz spectrum holdings to NextNav, allowing the parties to move forward with obtaining FCC approval. The company plans to partner with mobile network operators or others interested in commercial deployment in the band for 5G and will ensure incumbent operations are protected. According to the company, it has used its existing licenses to develop PNT expertise and products, but, because of a legacy band plan and rules that limit the use of the spectrum for 5G, much of this band is underused. The NextGen PNT technology and network are designed to use 5G and offer a 3D positioning solution with single-digit accuracy. The positioning solution is available indoors and outdoors and in urban corridors. It also seeks to provide wireless distribution of precise, resilient timing. The current Lower 900 MHz Band is “not conducive for either terrestrial PNT or mobile broadband,” according to the filing, with shortcomings that include fragmented geographic licensing arrangements, outdated command-and-control requirements and other restrictions. Consolidating the geographically licensed spectrum blocks into a 15MHz nationwide configuration for both PNT and 5G broadband changes. This allows the band to support better use cases and serve as a high-performing complement and backup to GPS.
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2024Antique Car Run 8/10/2024
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On Saturday, August 10th 2024 the Maple Grove Radio Club will be using the 146.910 repeater to coordinate West Net Control for the 2024 Antique Car Run that goes from New London, MN to Long Lake, MN in New Brighton. They will be using the 146.910 repeater from 6:30AM to 1pm or until they switch over to East Net Control. Please refrain from regular use of the repeater until they are done or until after 2PM.
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Comms trailer work day 8/10/2024
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On Saturday, August 10th from 9 am to 11:30 am, I'd like to get a few people to help with testing antennas(SWR) and hooking up a few dual band radios. If you feel like lending a hand for a couple hours, it would be greatly appreciated.
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I took a drive west and north today to test the radio path between my car and the new VARA FM gateway at the 400' HHS site. The red arrows are places I stopped and sent an email to Tony & Ben using Winlink and VARA FM from a laptop in my car. The antenna is a dual band mag mount w/ 3 dbi gain and the radio is running 25W. The yellow dot in lower right corner is the HHS site. The lower right most is the Murdock beet pile on hwy #40. Next to the left is Hwy 40/29 intersection. Mid left is outskirts of Benson Hwy 9. 2nd from top is Rolling Forks cemetery on Pope county #19. Topmost is west of Gilchrist Lake on Pope County #19. 73 Mike N0QBH
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Digital Repeaters - and the radios that love them.
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The Frugal Ham here. Yaesu seems to be leading the charge in digital FM radio these days and they are making it possible for cheapskates like me to participate. Almost a year ago I bought a Yaesu FTM-200 mobile and paid a little under $400. Liked it so much I bought another for $380 new. It's the low end unit that does it all. Digital audio, APRS and Winlink. Now I see they are selling for $300 bucks. Ouch! 73 Mike N0QBH
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Kandiyohi County Fair
#help
The Kandiyohi County Emergency Management (KCEM) department is asking for our assistance during the Kandiyohi County Fair, Aug. 7-10, 2024. Ace needs our assistance to man the KCEM booth during the Fair. We can use this opportunity as a way to make our organization more well known in our area. The booth will be in the SW corner of the Hall of Commerce & Industry. It will be next to the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office booth. There will be literature about KCEM available at the booth to hand out. We can also hang a club banner and collect names of persons interested in Amateur radio. I am asking for that you let me know if you can help by spending some time in the booth. It would be great to more than one person at a time there. I will share more information as it becomes available. Thanks.
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Kandiyohi County Fair
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We have an opportunity to assist Kandiyohi Emergency Management (KCEM) during the upcoming Kandiyohi County Fair, August 7-10, 2024. KCEM needs assistance with manning their booth. I will meet with KCEM deputy director, Ace Bonnema, on Friday to learn more about their needs. I think this is a great opportunity for the Willmar Area Emergency Amateur Radio Club have a presence at the Kandi County Fair. We have wanted to do this previously but have been prevented from doing it due to the expense and insurance requirements. This will not be our own booth but it is a way to get our club, and amateur radio, some positive exposure in our community. You'll hear more as soon as we know more. Thanks.
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#APRSThursday Net
#APRSThursday
For anyone interested- WHAT: #APRSTHURSDAY net WHEN: 25-JULY-2024 00:00 - 23:59 UTC WHERE: APRS HOW: Destination Station = ANSRVR HOW: Message body = CQ [space] HOTG [space] your text check-in message of choice. *APRS operators in Alaska needed* When checking into the net, please disable any automated responses your APRS client may be configured to send after receiving a message. Excessive and unnecessary network traffic can result from Auto Answer APRS messages. On the PinPoint application, the function can be turned off by going to Tools/Options/Misc and unchecking "Auto Answer APRS Messages." To check in: 1) There are two (see A and B) ways to check in as an "in and out" that will limit unnecessary traffic after your check-in. A) Station: ANSRVR. Message body: CQ HOTG followed by your check-in message of choice. Once you receive your ACK from ANSRVR send the following follow-up message to ANSRVR: U HOTG. This will "Unjoin'' your station and prevent additional traffic from being routed to you and eliminate unnecessary traffic on the system. B) Station: APRSPH. Message body: HOTG followed by your check-in message of choice. Note the absence of the CQ. This will log your check-in on the APRSPH system only. Your check-in will be counted and included in the summary but will not be broadcast by ANSRVR. 2) For stations wishing to monitor the check-in traffic from other stations, continue to check in as you always have. Station: ANSRVR. Message body: CQ HOTG followed by your message of choice. WE ASK HOWEVER when you are done monitoring, PLEASE send the following command to ANSRVR. U HOTG. 73 Mike KC8OWL
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Now that we have a tall Gateway/digipeater running at the HHS site on the north side of Willmar I will show you one way of using it. Since in it's present configuration we have no Internet connection, many of the Gateway features are turned off. Ben W0AYE has a Internet connected gateway running at his QTH near Olivia. Normally, that would limit access to users in his local area. However, by using Willmar's new digipeater, we can expand access to a 30+ mile radius! Below is a screen shot showing the way you do it. Instead of selecting "direct connection" you select Digipeater and insert N0QBH-4 into the via callsign. Then when you click on Start, it will use the tall site in Willmar to make your connection. From there it's all automatic. Good luck & 73 Mike N0QBH
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W0SW quarterly club meeting 7/23/2024
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Hello members, the next quarterly meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 23rd at 6:30 pm. The meeting location will be at the Kandiyohi Rescue Squad building 213 Lakeland Dr NE, Willmar, MN 56201 We will be holding our annual officer elections during this meeting.
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Winlink on at HHS 145.070
Ben W0AYE, Tony WD0HXV and myself N0QBH swapped the Kantronics packet TNC out for a Winlink VARA FM gateway today at the HHS site. As I mentioned before, we don't have Internet access at this site yet, so it will act as a mailbox and a tall VARA digipeater for local users. The Gateway callsign is N0QBH-10 and it's frequency is 145.070 MHz. The radio has 50W power out to an antenna at 400'. The digipeater call is N0QBH-4 and can be used to access the W0AYE-10 full service gateway near Olivia or other user stations in P2P mode. Simply connecting to N0QBH-10 for an email check will add your call to the local white pages allowing others to send email to you here at N0QBH-10 and vice versa. 73 Mike N0QBH
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Short notice POTA
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Leon KF0OUA and I will be doing a Parks On The Air activation at Monson State Park at 9am 7/14/24. We're going to try to do a 10m activation so anyone with their technicians license is welcome to come try their luck at the park as well. Everyone else is welcome too. I will be monitoring 146.520 simplex for a talk in frequency if anyone gets close and wants directions. 73
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Tall Winlink
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I'm kind of excited to announce the club has been given the go ahead to shift our packet radio station on the 400' HHS tower to a Winlink Gateway running VARA-FM (callsign W0AYE-10). I was able to locate the Kenwood TKR-750 radio programming software and with lots of help from Tony WD0HXV, we were able to reprogram it with 16 frequencies in the 2m digital portion of the band. Presently, it's back on 145.670 (the MN packet freq), but will switch to 145.070 (MN VARA FM freq) when Ben W0AYE connects his gateway to the radio. With 50 Watts 400' up, we should be able to solidly serve our present and new users over a much wider area. Purpose: Winlink VARA will allow it's users to send and receive emails including attachments up to 100k via 2m voice radios and a Windows pc with free software. They can also transfer mail and larger files directly between two stations using a peer to peer mode. It's very automatic and fast! This isn't meant to replace your present email, but to give you another way to connect to the rest of the world. I use mine for anything Ham related. That way, I stay proficient in it's use and spread the word with my @winlink.org address. There is also a separate VARA Chat program that lets two stations keyboard and transfer files as well. While sending and receiving email may seem old hat, remember, we are doing it over radio, quickly - look Mom, no wires! Stay tuned... 73 Mike N0QBH
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Signal conditioning and FM radio
Sometimes as Hams we hear the terms pre emphasis and de emphasis and how it improves our audio quality. This is the best, short description I've seen for us laymen. In signal processing, pre-emphasis is a technique to protect against anticipated noise. The idea is to boost (and hence distort) the frequency range that is most susceptible to noise beforehand, so that after a noisy process (transmission over cable, tape recording...) more information can be recovered from that frequency range. Removal of the distortion caused by pre-emphasis is called de-emphasis, making the output accurately reproduce the original input. For more info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emphasis_(telecommunications) What they don't mention is the process also distorts the phase of the signal. This is why we bypass these circuits when we want to do high speeds like 9600 baud packet or fast VARA FM. 73 Mike N0QBH
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Update on LOTW!
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Hey Everyone, Just found this out tonight…. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/arrl-cyberattack-takes-logbook-of-the-world-offline/ American Radio Relay League cyberattack takes Logbook of the World offline The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) warns it suffered a cyberattack, which disrupted its IT systems and online operations, including email and the Logbook of the World. ARRL is the national association for amateur radio in the United States, representing amateur radio interests to government regulatory bodies, providing technical advice, and promoting events and educational programs for enthusiasts around the country. On Thursday, the ARRL announced that it suffered a cyberattack that disrupted its network and systems, including various online services hosted by the organization. "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," explained ARRL in a press release. Amateur radio enthusiasts use three-letter codes that start with the letter Q, which are called "Q" signals, and they act as abbreviations for commonly used phrases in ham radio. For example, the code QSO is shorthand for "I can communicate with _________ direct," and is used to denote a direct conversation between two stations. At the same time, QSL means "I am acknowledging receipt," meaning that contact is confirmed. Logbook of The World (LoTW) is an online database that allows amateur radio enthusiasts to submit electronic logs of successful contacts (QSO) and confirmations (QSL) between other users worldwide. Enthusiasts can use these logs of successful communication on LoTW towards operator awards. In a Friday update, the ARRL took steps to allay members' concerns about the security of their data, confirming that they do not store credit card information or collect social security numbers. However, the organization confirmed that its member database contains some private information, including names, addresses, and call signs. While they do not specifically state email addresses are stored in the database, one is required to become a member of the organization. It is unknown if the organization suffered a ransomware attack or another cybersecurity incident. BleepingComputer contacted the ARRL with further questions, but a reply was not immediately received. KB?DCO Thomas Gagnon Sent from my IPAD 4th Gen. Air Touch On Sun, May 19, 2024 at 11:02 AM KB?DCO Thomas via groups.io <Kb0dco@...> wrote: 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
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DARC Room Bridge change
This was forwarded to me from Rick N0BJN and may be useful to anyone connecting to the DARC Room using YSF through a Hotspot. Hi Everyone, 6/25/24 19:09 You are being notified because your Openspot, Zumspot, Pi Star, Raspberry Pi or other Device was seen on the old FCS 004-29. The old FCS 004-29 is no longer Linked to the DARC Room 40012. The new DARC Room Bridge is on FCS 001-55 & is called the N?ANC-LINK. If you wish to get into the DARC Room 40012 with your Device, please Link it to FCS 001-55 & that will Bridge you into the DARC Room 40012 on Wires X Fusion Digital DN ( Digital Narrow ). The old FCS 004-29 is not linked anymore due to Outages 4 weekends in a row lasting over a day each. The new FCS 001-55 has been working good since 4/21/24. Thank you for being part of the DARC Room on the new FCS 001-55 N?ANC-LINK Bridge to the DARC Room. If you have any questions, please ask. Please join us for the DARC Digital Net Saturdays 8:15 PM Central Time in the DARC Room 40012 on Wires X or FCS 001-55 or N?BJN-L Echolink Node 925804. Any & all stations are welcome. 73's Rick Houle N?BJN ( alias Mark Adams ) Little Falls, MN
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Winlink temporary gateway N0QBH-10
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Due to an outage involving the Willmar EOC W0AYE-10 Winlink gateway, I have put my backup gateway on line here at my Ringo Lake QTH. Operationally the same VARA FM and the frequency is still 145.070. It's on a comparable tower a few miles north of W0AYE-10, so it should still work for most. 73 Mike N0QBH
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Considering our VHF and up communications are normally line of sight between the transmitter and receiver, here's why DX without enhanced propagation is so hard.
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Sat 8:39am
Sat 8:39am