ExPo Radio Chat

[1leglance]

Dave it is interesting that you should mention this because I have very much run into this feeling from the "old timer" pure ham folks....also a feeling that I am playing around with ham since it is secondary to my traveling.
No worries from me as since ham is a self regulated hobby there will end up being ruler enforcer types.
I want to get the regular radio net going to give myself and other new folks air time to practice with our radios but with topics not ham related. All the nets I have joined in on locally are ham guys talking ham topics and I just don't know enough to join in so all I do is listen which makes my ham radio no more than my am/fm
For me ham serves 3 roles:
On trail rig to rig comm that is clear and has great range
During trip comm with the wife at home when I don't have cell coverage, depending on if a repeater in the area has open autopatch (I would also like to look into arps to give her gps data on my location, still learning)
Emergency Comm in can of disaster (I am a RN at the biggest hospital in the area and 1 of the few hams who will be able to use the new repeater they are installing)

I agree that in case of a major poop hits the fan deal like Katrina I won't have a HF radio or antenna to reach out to the world if irlp/echolink/winsystem is down...but hey I might have other worries and at least I can talk to other hams who should be able to relay comm for me....in the end that is the least likely form of useage for me.

Luckily I have come across some ham guys that are willing to teach and help even though I am only into ham as a secondary hobby or extention of my travel goals.

My first use of irlp last night was not succussfull so I will have to play more with it today and try to get it going for Monday. I might have to go to the local Ham Radio Outlet and drool over the 7800 more and slide in a talk about irlp and get help

Oh and on the issue of asking the western reflector owner,,,,I went to the website for the node and they mention it as an open reflector anyone can use. Now to make sure I understand how to open 1 of the unused channels that way we aren't in the middle of other conversations.

Everyone keep trying and post the nodes you are hitting in case someone else in your area want to try also.

Thanks eveyone

 

[DaveInDenver]

I want to get the regular radio net going to give myself and other new folks air time to practice with our radios but with topics not ham related.

Hope you didn't take it wrong, I think this idea is awesome and look forward to trying to get in. Just wanted to raise the point just informally.

 

[1leglance]

no no taking it wrong at all..
I was glad to see that the responses I got from some of the old timers in the area here are the same in other places...
I understand their feeling in a way...if someone told me the wanted a 4x4 to get out of town in case of emergency I would tell them to go wheel regularly inorder to understand the ride and not kill themselves in that emergency..Of course I would try to draw them into this hobby and that is all the old timers are doing with their hobby of ham.
As for the no code thing now...well I am not sure even the military teaches everyone that and while I see that it has value I am glad I didn't have to study it
Good points Dave and glad you brought them up....Ham is self run and self policed and since the repeaters and link are put up by others (I don't plan to have a huge antenna in my backyard) I have to become part of the ham community and respect it to use it.

On the chat topic
If it turns out that too many folks have trouble with irlp we may have to either try winsystem (req $$ for reg use) or start with folks who can reach each other with repeaters in thier are and expand from there....I am still playing with irlp and anyone else please post your results between now and monday to help the rest of us.

 

[BogusBlake]

I did some experimenting last night with the IRLP nodes in Tucson. I couldn't hit either the 3033 or the 3892 directly from my driveway (on the NW side), so I drove in closer to town and tried to find some high ground to transmit from. I could hit the 3033 which is all the way across town but I had to use a lot of power. I made contact with the owner of the node, he was monitoring it, and he explained how it works. He was impressed that I was able to hit it at all from where I was. He informed me of a link between the 448.350 repeater up on Mt. Lemon and the 3892 node's repeater. We had a big storm last night and the owner of that machine had shut down the link temporarily. He said I should try using the node through that linked system in the morning.
From Grant and Silverbell, I was able to hit the 3892 node, but again, only talked to the owner who happened to be monitoring. He said he had the antenna down so the signal wasn't the best then either, but his node is a good one for most "in town" stations to access.

This morning I was able to connect through the linked repeater. That thing has fantastic coverage. I opened the Williams, AZ node just to test, and that worked great. No one was on, but that's sort of what I was hoping would happen in case I screwed something up. I closed that node, and connected to the Western Reflector (9250). I got a confirmation message from the reflector, but surprisingly, there was no traffic on the main reflector channel at the time. I didn't listen very long though.

So, us Tucson guys can connect through nodes 3033 or 3892 (direct or linked from 448.350). I had QSO with the owners of each node and they assured me the nodes are open and we're encouraged to use them.

 

[1leglance]

wow serious progress sir and great info...
I still have to get a successful node and connect to the western reflector from here in phx..
I am going to the park with my son and while I walk the dog I will try with my handheld...
Keep the good info flowing folks and it seems like there is some great interest.
By the way..
the way I tried it was to key the mic announce my callsign then use the dtmf tones to try the node...is that what you did?
Thanks again and I hope to report good results soon

 

[1leglance]

ok update from Phx...
I feel like a little kid sometimes when something finally works right

I had to drive to the phx zoo...not far to get some high ground and reach the only 2 nodes that I could get to work on 2m...for some reason I can't get anything with 70cm (gonna go to Ham Radio Outlet and ask??)

Node 5990 in Mesa wouldn't let me link to 9250 of the western reflector but I could link to any channel on it that wasn't in use (9251-9257)...who knows but it worked

Node 3582 in Chandler let me link to 9250 but the sound wasn't very good at all..

Monday during the day I will go to Ham Radio Outlet..either it is me, or my 5watt max from my yaesu VX6R...another reason to step up to the 7800

At this point it looks like we got info for Tuscon and Phx...anyone else out there having any luck?

Lastly how about we shoot for 9255 on the western repeater or some odd number channel that is open so we have quite time for ourselves?

All thoughts welcome

 

[DaveInDenver]

Monday during the day I will go to Ham Radio Outlet..either it is me, or my 5watt max from my yaesu VX6R...another reason to step up to the 7800

Stock antenna, right? I have a VX7R and the antenna that came with it isn't much good on 70cm. Doesn't help that UHF is very much line of sight and doesn't have quite the range of VHF. I would get a better antenna for the radio and see if that helps (either a nice SMA antenna for the radio itself or just mount an antenna on the truck). The difference between a mobile and a HT isn't so much the power as the antenna. There's a fair chance that if you put 50W through that same antenna, you probably wouldn't hit the repeater, either.

 

[1leglance]

ok further updates from hells proving ground Phx...
I am not running a better antenna on the handheld and have an antenna setup on the FJC so no matter in or out it should be cool until I get the 7800 in a couple of weeks.
The guys at Ham Radio Outlet also chatting with me about using irlp and they helped me get on a couple more repeaters for my area so the phx metro area is well covered on 2m and 70cm.

I just checked the western reflector and no one is using 9255 (channel 5 so if that is the case then we could use it...or if in use go up or down odd numbers to 7 or 3 until we find something free.

for my own sake I will print out the list of names & callsigns since I am new and not good at keeping it all straight yet.

Anyone else a go for tonight at 8pm phx time, 7pm california and who knows when elsewhere?

 

[crawler#976]

Nuther option is the ARA ( Arizona Repeater Assoc - http://www.w7ara.org/Web/ ) for Phx to Tucson or Phx to Flag/Northern AZ via Mt Ord. I was able to contact DaveInDenver while he was in Phx via the Rim Link, and I was able to monitor traffic in Tuscon from Mesa from BX's via the ARA Pinal repeater. Wish the Tucson and Ord machines were linked, but that's not the case...

Wish I could use the reflector!!!

I'm usually scanning the ARA Rim Link, Bill Williams, the 2 repeaters on Mingus Mt., and the Mt Union machine on the way to and from work - 5:30 AM to 5:50 AM and from 16:30 to 17:00 PM.

Mark

 

[BogusBlake]

Anyone else a go for tonight at 8pm phx time, 7pm california and who knows when elsewhere?

I'm in from Tucson. If I can get on the node, that is. If I'm a little late, it's just because some long-winded guy was using the repeater at 8.

 

[DaktariEd]

OK, so I'm waaaay behind here...
How do I try to make contact tonight if I am free?
What frequency, etc?
Ant links to get me some info on nodes and such?

:sombrero:

 

[1leglance]

Here is the list, please help complete it:

name: Andrew Walcker KI6GRW
Location: Riverside
Freq: 2M 70cm

name: DatariEd KE7OEF
location: Tucson
Freq: 2m 70cm

name: \\'ander
location: Palm Springs
Freq:
has played on winsystem.org

name: SOCALFJ KI6LBB
location: Corona Hills
Freq: 2m
has hit repeaters in Sierra Peak/Catalina/Big Bear

name: crawler#976
location: chino valley az
Freq: 2m

name: BogusBlake KE7OLM
location: Tucson
Freq: 2m 70cm

name: 1leglance KE7NKP
location: Phoenix
Freq: 2m 70cm

name: pskhaat
location: Sonoran Desert
Freq:2m 70cm

If you want to learn more and see how it might work for you go to irlp.net and read a bit, then go to "node info". Here you can look at "connected nodes" and look at the western reflector, that will tell you if any repeater near you is already on the node. If not then go to "list of nodes" and see if there is anything near you and try to get that repeater to connect.

All thoughts welcome.

ok if haven't used a repeater (and I only have a bit) then here is some more info...
you need to know how to use dtmf tones on your radio (with my yaesu vx6r I set them to manual and just typed on the keyboard)
enter the freq of the node you want to connect to that is local to you...
then listen and see if it is being used...
if nothing then you can key the mic and give your callsign then while holding the mic open type in the 4 digit code of the node you want to reach...in tonights case 9255 (which is the 5th channel on 9250 the western reflector)...if that is in use or your can't connect you will get a verbal response usually...we will try 9257 then 9253 until something happens.

It will be up to each person to find a 2m or 70cm node they can log onto...

If for some reason we find that the majority of folks are having trouble we can explorer winsystem.org (cost $$) or something else. 1 thing irlp has going is that is is global and not just for AZ/CA or part of the country.

Ed you are in Tucson and there are post with some node numbers and info recently for that area.

Good luck everyone and at least we are building our skills....
Who here has experience and would like to play net control?

 

[1leglance]

I did some experimenting last night with the IRLP nodes in Tucson. I couldn't hit either the 3033 or the 3892 directly from my driveway (on the NW side), so I drove in closer to town and tried to find some high ground to transmit from. I could hit the 3033 which is all the way across town but I had to use a lot of power. I made contact with the owner of the node, he was monitoring it, and he explained how it works. He was impressed that I was able to hit it at all from where I was. He informed me of a link between the 448.350 repeater up on Mt. Lemon and the 3892 node's repeater. We had a big storm last night and the owner of that machine had shut down the link temporarily. He said I should try using the node through that linked system in the morning.
From Grant and Silverbell, I was able to hit the 3892 node, but again, only talked to the owner who happened to be monitoring. He said he had the antenna down so the signal wasn't the best then either, but his node is a good one for most "in town" stations to access.

This morning I was able to connect through the linked repeater. That thing has fantastic coverage. I opened the Williams, AZ node just to test, and that worked great. No one was on, but that's sort of what I was hoping would happen in case I screwed something up. I closed that node, and connected to the Western Reflector (9250). I got a confirmation message from the reflector, but surprisingly, there was no traffic on the main reflector channel at the time. I didn't listen very long though.

So, us Tucson guys can connect through nodes 3033 or 3892 (direct or linked from 448.350). I had QSO with the owners of each node and they assured me the nodes are open and we're encouraged to use them.

Ed here is the most excellent info by blake about your neck of the woods...

Mark-crawler#976 I will try to be on 1 of those repeaters if I can figure how to link from Phx some afternoon (not Tues as I work but wed/thur/fri)
Hey have you tried:
3182 W7JLC Prescott AZ USA 442.3500 100 17:36 IDLE 3 Hours 11 Mins
3727 K6JSI Prescott - WIN System AZ USA 445.3000 100 17:36 9453 17 Days 16 Hours (appears to be connected to winsystem.org)

 

[BogusBlake]

Ed, I'm going to try to open the node from the 448.350 (-) repeater on Mt Lemon. You can tune in there, or try 146.94.

-Blake

 

[DaktariEd]

Most interesting, guys! :jumping:
I tuned in a little late and could hear Lance and Blake clear as a bell. It took me a few minutes to realize they couldn't hear me, then a few more minutes to find my radio manual and set the CTCSS mode/frequency. After that I was able to chat briefly with Blake but not Lance...lost him somewhere. Then the repeater was shut down due to storm activity.
Not a bad start though. Let's see if we can get a regular net going...
I still have to read a bit to understand all this node stuff...

:sombrero: