I'm going to attempt to catch up on another week's happenings in the metro amateur radio scene. Let's hope this works...
FM repeaters
- RepeaterBook questioned whether the 146.985- (no tone) in Hastings was on the air or not this week. This is a repeater that I haven't even ker-chunked in over a year, and I was always under the impression that it was in Inver Grove Heights instead of Hastings. Maybe it's moved. Either way, 25W into a three-element Yagi brought back a nearly full-scale signal. I updated the listing to show it as "on-air".
- The 224.500- (100.0 PL) 1.25M repeater in Columbia Heights has been down for a couple of weeks now. The 224.940- (100.0 PL) in New Brighton also seems to only be working infrequently. Of course, the TCRC's 224.540- (100.0 PL) machine has been down for several months now.
- Per N0AGI (Nagi), the System Fusion repeater that was formerly on 442.175+ will not be going back on the air. When a DMR repeater was installed on the same site, the idea was that the Fusion machine would move to a different site at some point. That isn't going to happen. The repeater was sold to another amateur operator to use as a testing platform. There's still a UHF Fusion machine in Burnsville (444.300+) and a VHF machine in Eden Prairie (146.880-), so that area still has coverage.
- Speaking of the 146.880- C4FM repeater, I've noticed that they dropped the CTCSS tone on the input. I've always wondered why this machine didn't use tone squelch to prevent analogue users from hearing digital traffic. Removing PL tones on a VHF repeater seems equally bewildering to me.
- There is still no word on the club website as to the apparent remote base linked to the TCFMC's 444.100+ (114.8 PL) repeater.
- The traffic on the morning drive-time "nets" (actually roundtables) has dropped off steeply over the past two weeks or so. I'll usually monitor the 146.850, 145.370, and 444.100 repeaters as I'm getting ready to for work, and I can't help but notice the declining activity.
EchoLink
- The EchoLink node on the 444.425+ (114.8 PL) has been down for over a week now, as N0YNT (Matt) is not in town to give it a kick. The node for the 224.660- (100.0 PL) repeater is back on, after several days of down-time. I haven't been able to connect to the node on the 145.290- (114.8 PL) repeater for over a week, though it shows up as "logged in". And the node for the 145.370- (107.2 PL) is now "listen only" -- which I've never seen on any other repeater. Of course, the TCFMC maintains it's perfect streak of leaving their node logged off for well over two years now, in spite of mentioning it on their website.
DMR
- Big news for the local DMR scene! Per N0AGI (Nagi), a fifth DMR repeater is going on-air in the metro -- perhaps this weekend. Running on 443.125+, it will be at the same site as the 442.175+ machine used to be (before it moved to Faribault). More info and photos are available here, but it will be a 50W machine with a six-cavity duplexer -- all brand-new gear. We already have a fairly decent idea of the coverage, since an identical 50W machine was operating at this same site for a couple of weeks. The plan is for the Faribault repeater to switch to an omni vertical antenna, which would cut down the coverage of the 442.175+ for the south metro considerably -- especially when the vegetation returns. The addition of this new repeater in Prior Lake will assure continuous coverage for the south metro when the Faribault repeater switches over to normal coverage. This means that the south-west and southern freeway approaches to the metro will, in all likelihood, be HT-mobile accessible. Coverage of the south-eastern approaches will probably require more power than a 5W HT can provide, but reception should be no problem in that part of town. This arrangement will leave the 442.175+ repeater in Faribault free reign to cover southern Minnesota, and probably reach to Mankato and Rochester with a full-powered rig.
- There is a new DMR website for you to check out: MNDMR.net. The twintrbo.com website remains alongside this new site. MNDMR.net will be the place to get updated code-plugs, get information about repeaters, coverage maps, and talk-groups offered. Discussions are carried out on this forum.
- The Doers Co-op and the MN DMR Enthusiasts will have a booth at the upcoming Mid-winter Madness (March 12) in Buffalo. Stop in to check out DMR, APRS, and other nifty projects. You can also get your DMR radio programmed, too. A TYT MD-380 DMR HT will also be given away, courtesy of N0AGI.
- I am now officially out of the DMR code-plug business. I've been maintaining the Connect Systems code-plugs for the metro network for some time now, and the vast majority of operators with CS rigs are now able to keep their own radios updated. Those that can't perform this task will simply need to learn, instead of scapegoating me. Writing and updating code-plugs is a tedious and thankless task as it is. When operators that have never even seen the Connect Systems software start telling me what's inside it, and demanding "proper" programming, then it's time for the Big Experts to take over. The latest CS code-plugs are still available, and they can be used as a template to build your own 'proper' version. I've written blog posts in the past giving instructions on how to edit various aspects of code-plugs: adding channels and editing scan lists and zones. I'll probably add another post in the future explaining how to add contacts.
APRS
- KE0CRW (Greg) has set up an RPi RX-only APRS gateway in Plymouth. KE0CRW-10 runs on DireWolf from Greg's home, and is still in the experimental stage. The metro really needs a gateway in this particular area, though it may not end up running full-time. The more people that gain the hands-on experience to create gateways and digipeaters, the more options that the local community has when key elements of the network fail.
- Also, a new APRS gateway has appeared in Circle Pines. KD0KZE is now covering the north-east and north-central metro, with very good direct reception coverage. When you include digipeated packets, this gateway is handling traffic all the way to St. Cloud. I seem to remember that KD0KZE was in operation at some point in the past, but went off-air. The loss of the WR0P digipeater in Cambridge has reduced APRS coverage in the rural areas north of the metro, so seeing new gateways pop up on the northern edges of the metro is an encouraging sign.
- N0DZQ is also back in action near Wyoming, MN. Previously, the machine had stopped receiving packets. It's now carrying the load for most of the traffic on 35W north of the metro, and even gating the N0HOY-10 digipeater in Arden Hills. Great to see this one back in the line-up!
- Likewise with KG0QR-1 in southern Minnesota. It seemed to have gone quiet for quite a while, but is now back. While this gateway is a local coverage machine for directly-heard packets, it's crucial for gating the digipeater-heavy southern Minnesota packet traffic. It's handled over 4K packets so far this month! We could use a couple more like this one down there.
Just a few scattered observations over the past week, none of which merit their own separate posts:
- I finally ran into someone on the Maplewood UHF .825 repeater! The 444.825+ (114.8 PL) is yet another "under-utilised" UHF machine in the metro, and one that covers St. Paul strongly. For whatever reason, St. Paul seems to have several great UHF repeaters that go unused. Last weekend, I had a nice conversation with WB0VHF (Ed) as he was on his way home from the gym. I was running 25W into an indoor mag-mounted whip here in Plymouth when Ed came back to my sign. The .825 is located on the 3M building in Maplewood, which is the same site that the VHF 147.120+ (no tone) operates out of. Per Ed, I was a bit noisy but readable. I've "ker-chunked" the .825 in my car with a 10W mobile many times, but never had a contact. Try it out and maybe submit a propagation report on RepeaterBook so that other people can get an idea of the repeater's coverage radius.
- After a day of maintenance, N0AGI's (Nagi) various machines are back on the air. Nagi runs a fantastic APRS gateway (N0AGI), a UHF C4FM repeater on 442.175+ (100.0 PL), and an APRS gateway for the International Space Station (ISS) on 145.825 from his home in Prior Lake. Nagi also supports the effort to re-vitalise the 1.25M band by cross-band linking his UHF repeater to the 223.900- (100.0 PL) repeater in NE Minneapolis through WIRES-X.
- KE0NA (Dave) has succeeded in his effort to put a Raspberry Pi (RPi) APRS I-Gate on the air. Combined with KC0VRV (Matt) publishing his instructions for setting up a RX-only I-Gate with UI-View and an analogue scanner, the mystery of establishing an APRS gateway has been demolished. Dave has taken extensive photos, and will probably publish his "how-to" over the course of the next month. His gateway, KE0NA-11, gated my packets last night through the K0YTH-13 digipeater. Dave is operating the only gateway in NE Minneapolis, which is serving as "proof of concept" for the Doer Coop. This inexpensive and simple design can be employed in many situations, including rural areas, to gate packets received by digipeaters. With the addition of a Bluetooth module, you could set up a temporary gateway at your lake cabin using a smart-phone. Anyone interested in EmComm should explore the RPi option for search-and-rescue APRS communications, and those interested in expanding packet APRS in remote areas as well.
- KD0LVH (Matt) has taken over Net Control (NC) operation for the Friday Night Tech Net on the HandiHam network. It seems that more than a few newer hams are stepping forward to take the reins locally.
- K0LAV (Paul) continues to tackle packet coverage issues, and he could use your help. He's on the the VHF .850 regularly, so volunteer to keep packet infrastructure solid into the future.
The Doers Coop has been in 'official' existence for about a year. I was there at the beginning, and I'm still part of it now, but I still don't know what to say when people ask me what the "Doers" do.
It started as we struggled to get The Aggrandizer on the air, after the TCRC bravely extended a middle finger in response to our offers to get a replacement 1.25M repeater for the 223.540 up. As we cast about for advice and tenable solutions, we found several people working on novel projects and experimenting with exciting solutions.
For some weird reason, clubs are now about the absolute most anti-experimenter faction in the entire hobby. Sure, they might have workshops every other year to build an antenna or something, but you'd better not colour outside of the lines or start getting ideas about different ways to do things. They've honed the art of detecting independent thought into quite a formidable skill, and they have glib, ready-made 'answers' for any ideas. Most of them are marginally-clever variations of the standard, "Shut the hell up, before we label you as a weirdo!" non-answer that most hams employ on a knee-jerk basis.
"The way that we've done things for forty years is just fine, and who do you think you are to have ideas about anything? Maybe you think you're smart or something. Eh, mister smart guy? I could give you a dozen reasons why your smart-guy idea wouldn't work, but I'm old and tired and think that you're really just an idiot, so I'll forget that you ever said anything. Fair enough, smart guy?"
And so we stumbled upon various people with novel ideas that clubs wouldn't touch. There were RPi (SVXLink) boards that could link repeaters without EchoLink. There were non-mysterious APRS solutions. There were people tinkering with controllers, and Arduino, and digital modes. But, most of all, there were people who could think outside of the goddamn box and find answers. They still saw exciting potential in the hobby, beyond collecting grid squares and having scripted thirty-second 'conversations' on HF. They were unafraid, and unaware of the stock solutions mindlessly parroted by their 'superiors' in the hobby.
This ad-hoc collection of experimenters became the Doers Coop. It's not a club. There are no dues, nor elected officers, nor club politics or club bureaucracy. You have an idea, and you throw it out to the group. If anyone else finds it compelling, they will join you. The others will remain open to any developments that could help you, and they will encourage you.
If you ask five people in the Doers Coop what it's all about, you'll get five different answers. From my perspective, it's about projects that involve making or re-purposing something that serves the amateur radio community in a way that isn't currently being addressed effectively. Everything is supposed to be documented and open, so that others can duplicate your solution and even build upon it. There are no secret projects. There are no egos in play, nor control freaks insisting that they get their way. What you learn, you share. And you remain open to other alternatives.
(EDIT: Just want to emphasise that this is my personal perspective, and that I am not speaking for the Doers Coop. Thought that was obvious, but it's not.)
One of the things that has slowly developed is a hazy idea of where we should be going, rather than just solutions in search of an application. This is the 'dangerous' part, to those dwelling in the past. Which areas of the hobby aren't being served, or aren't reasonably accessible to more than an 'elite'? What would you, ideally, want to be able to do as a member of the amateur radio community that you can't do now? Eventually, it begins to dawn on people what (and who) is maintaining these barriers to progress.
The Aggrandizer was the first project, with a goal of allowing virtually any ham to set up a basic and inexpensive repeater. From there, they could learn hands-on about controllers, duplexers, split site operation, propagation, antennae, etc.
Other projects were larger in scope, and will take time to develop, joining bits and pieces of the puzzle together. Some projects, such as N0AGI's ISS packet gateway, are just now springing into fruition. There are plenty of ideas just waiting for others to join in and get them "un-stuck".
Who doesn't belong in the Doers Coop? Personally, I'd say that if your first impulse is to write a big check for an off-the-shelf solution whenever you encounter a problem, then you don't have any business in the Coop. Likewise, if you want to play "The Great White Mentor" to the lowly, unwashed fools and explain the only 'right' and 'proper' way to accomplish something, then you should keep moving. You really have to be open-minded and collaborative, and think in terms of making things happen, instead of reaching for glib and smug reasons to not even try. And you have to be completely willing to give your ideas and solutions away for the greater good of the hobby.
Here's a simple test for your suitability. Suppose someone had an idea for an automated weather warning system that would operate on GMRS. Is your first impulse:
- listing three reasons why we don't need such a thing
- GMRS is stupid, and it's for people too stupid to get their ham licence
- if this really were a good idea, somebody else would have done it already
- sounds like a lot of work
- there's no money in that
- my answer depends on who is proposing the idea
If you answered with any of these, stick with your club. If you immediately started thinking of pulse circuits or relays that would be activated by a SAME-enabled VHF weather monitor, or ways to manipulate controller logic to trigger a warning, or backup power supply solutions, or remote access options, or what the coverage area might be...then you're on the right track to be a "Doer".
