August AITP is next weekend

Just a reminder that the August installment of Aerials In The Park is on the 9th (next Saturday). 

With rain being the main feature of the previous two events, I think that we deserve dry weather next weekend. The weather forecast differs with that opinion, however. 

The two shelters are booked solid for the August and September events, which means that it's very likely that parking will be a problem once again. The place that we were at last month (next to the small picnic shelter) is less than ideal, though it had ample parking. There are hills on three sides, though it's certainly possible to operate on those hills. The small parking bays at the gate are actually at a slightly higher elevation than the Pavillion. The first parking lot (on the left) is a nice alternative spot with a lot of open space around it and it's fairly empty. I'm not sure why people insist on jamming into the Pavillion lot and risking a parking ticket, when there are other options. 

I'm still without my Yaesu FT-897D, as it's still waiting for someone at Radio City to look at it. That means that I'll be using my HT, or taking turns on other people's rigs. If nothing else, I'll be working FM repeaters and trying some 1.25M FM simplex. Anyone from outside of the local area can certainly EchoLink in to the UHF 444.425+ repeater (W0YC) or the VHF 145.290- (N0FKM node 268460) repeater. I'll be monitoring those machines, and pretty much everybody there has an HT. Officially (or as "official" as an ad hoc event such as this can be), the 146.670- (PL 114.8) is the "talk-in" repeater, but it has no EchoLink node. 

For non-hams, I plan to set aside a 15-minute slot to operate on the local 462.650+ (PL 141.3) GMRS repeater at the University of Minnesota. If you have a repeater-capable GMRS radio, then you can join in on the fun. Most Chinese HTs (BaoFeng, PuXing, Wouxon, etc.) will operate on GMRS, using a 5 MHz offset and a PL tone. Strictly speaking, these radios aren't certified for this use because of the presence of the "VFO" button on the front panel, but nobody is going to know how you are getting in to the repeater, either. Of course, someone in your family needs to have a GMRS licence for this kind of thing, and you should use their callsign. The specific time slot will be published here in the upcoming week as plans solidify.

I'd encourage anyone in the metro to come down to the park, even if its just to walk around and say "Hi!" to the various amateur radio operators there. Set up a card table and a folding chair, string up that wire dipole on a friendly tree, and start tapping or talking. Or just operate from your vehicle. For me, AITP is about experimenting and figuring things out from first-hand experience. For others, it's a chance to show off their radios or antennae. 

Maybe next year there will be sufficient organisation to come up with the $385 to rent the Pavillion. That's only $20 from 20 people, after all. 

The gang from the .425 hasn't had a chance to come up with a formal plan for the event yet, but I'll update this post (or create a new one) when we do. Of course, other "factions" will have their own plans. I can't speak to those, but they will probably involve the grassy area to the north of the Pavillion. It's a big park, and if you're willing to carry your gear you can easily find a shady spot on a hill and create your own scene. 

I'm told that there will a D-Star demonstration at the August AITP, but I'm without details as to time or specific location. 

EDIT:  Preliminary discussion with the .425 group places us in the Pavilion area, but we're discussing a back-up option should parking be too limited next Saturday. It will be another collaborative effort for the HF antenna, with KD0UIH (Chuck) operating portable PSK31 on a yet-to-be-determined band. KD0ZWN (Josh) will be operating SSB on 15M and 17M. It's possible that we will have a 1.25M FM repeater set up for portable operation (again). It would be operating on the SNP (Shared Non-Protected) 224.240- pair, since we don't have time to get something co-ordinated. Bring your 222 MHz HT and "ker-chunk" it, or give us signal reports from another location. More to come, of course, as a few other key players have yet to weigh in with their plans. 

EDIT: The event has now been moved to Turtle Lake Park. It's a lot smaller, but has a big open area off the main road and somewhat dipole-friendly trees near the parking lot.