Loose Notes 2/20/16

  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.        

                               

"Emergency" repeater policies clarified...mostly

  Ever since I was first licensed, I've heard conflicting assertions over who can use the "emergency" repeaters in Hennepin County. By "emergency" repeaters, I mean the following repeaters: 145.430-, 146.700-, 146.820-, 444.175+, 444.200+, 444.500+. 

  These repeaters are either run under the signs WC0HC (RACES) or W0PZT (HCSO-CRT). They are taxpayer-supported, well-maintained machines with excellent coverage. In the past, "EmComm trolls" have chased me (or tried to chase me) off of the 145.430, 146.700, and 444.200 repeaters. Also, I've been been told by N0TNL (Matt) -- the official monitor -- that general use (i.e. conversations) is acceptable on these repeaters if users "yield to emergency traffic". Others have told me "over the top" spook stories about jail terms for even keying up on these repeaters. Other "EmComm types" have told me that some of these machines are "off limits" to mere mortals, while other repeaters are open for use by any licensed amateur. 

  About a month ago, I found a definitive answer for some of these repeaters on WC0HC.org. The 145.430- (127.3 PL), 444.175+ (127.3 PL), and 444.200+ (127.3 PL) repeaters are (per the people that run them) open for "general use". This means actual conversations with other hams over subjects that don't include life-or-death matters, disasters, or "I'm more deadly serious than you are" pissing contests. 

  The exception is the 146.700- repeater in downtown Minneapolis. From the website:

GENERAL QSOs DISCOURAGED: When not in use for RACES or SKYWARN operations, this repeater is designated as a CALLING AND EMERGENCY frequency. Several Governmental RACES stations, EOC centers, ARES, Hospitals, Disaster Relief and other organizations attempt to maintain a radio watch on this repeater in order to respond to emergencies. This radio watch cannot be done effectively if there is any amount of rag-chewing. The repeater should be KEPT CLEAR of general amateur radio conversation traffic AT ALL TIMES in order for the channel to be open and available for calling/ hailing/ distress and emergency reporting traffic. Amateur stations are welcome to use the repeater for calling/ hailing in order to make initial contact and make arrangements to move to another frequency but are asked to AVOID the repeater for any extended duration QSOs.

  Okay, that's pretty clear. 
"Their repeater, their rules", I suppose. If my Hennepin County taxes are supporting the 146.700, I should have some kind of limited use on it. And there is just that sort of limited use permitted -- calling and hailing. Personally, even if that sort of use wasn't allowed, I'd be okay with this policy because it unequivocally opens up three repeaters as it closes off one. 

  This should make the monitor's job easier, put some trolls out of work "guarding" the other repeaters, and give the most deadly serious people in town a place to not talk to each other, while being extremely pleased with that situation. It's a "win-win". 

  Still, this leaves two repeaters with unclear policies. What of the 146.820- and the 444.500+ machines run by (the apparently defunct) MARC? 

  I asked Dan Anderson, who is the repeater trustee for the WC0HC repeaters. He got back to me promptly, and referred me to SD Lt. Joe Sherohman. Joe is the Director of the HCSO-CRT (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office - Communications Response Team) -- the group that runs the W0PZT repeaters. 

  Joe's response is as follows: 

The W0PZT repeaters are for all practical purposes closed to general use and reserved for official Sheriff’s Office use only. I’m referring the final word to the trustee of these repeaters, Sgt. Peter Hall.

  Okay, this has got to be one of the best-kept secrets in local amateur FM, then. Even the "EmComm trolls" don't bother devoting their eternal vigilance to these two repeaters. I've used these two repeaters for as long as I've been licensed -- especially when I first got my licence -- because they're close, have great coverage, and work with HTs. Lately, it seems as if I'm on the 444.500 at least once a week because I can get into it virtually anywhere in Plymouth while driving and reach across the metro. I'm not the only one that uses these two repeaters, either. And, over the course of three years now, I've never heard any "official Sheriff's Office use" on them. Once, I heard some organisational SkyWarn activity for about 20 minutes, but that's as close to EmComm as I've ever monitored. 

  I'm still waiting for Sgt. Peter Hall to get back to me, but this strikes me as an unreasonable policy, and more restrictive than the WC0HC policy on the 146.700 machine. Certainly, any repeater can be designated as "closed" by those that operate it. I'll grant the HCSO-CRT that much. These two machines are now The Forbidden Repeaters, at least in my mind. 

EDIT: It's been over a week since Lt. Sherohman asked Sgt. Hall to confirm this policy, and four days since I followed up with a message of my own. There has been no response. I've been unable to find any public policy posted on the Internet, especially on the HCSO website. This is, indeed, a secret policy. I'm going to err on the side of caution and go with Lt. Sherohman's statement, but it seems more like nobody at the HCSO-CRT really knows what their policy is. 

*****
EDIT: On 3/19, Sgt. Peter Hall confirmed that the 444.500+ and the 146.820- repeaters are closed to amateur use. I'm going to update the RepeaterBook listings accordingly.
*****

  Aside from these repeaters being taxpayer-supported, they aren't even used for emergency communications. This is a "dog in the manger" policy that goes against the spirit of amateur radio. If I had ever heard any "official" communications taking place on this repeater, I'd feel differently. I see no reason why these machines can't be shared.

  Second, I'm confused as to why the County Sheriff would need even one amateur repeater, much less two. They have their own state-of-the-art digital systems that make these analogue repeaters look like toys in comparison. If these are backup machines, then close them off when they are needed, just as any other analogue repeater can be closed off for emergencies. 

  Third, these repeaters are both listed as "open" on the MRC's list, as well as on RepeaterBook. This is a poor way to communicate to licensed amateurs that they are, in fact, closed. I'd suggest correcting these listings, and also adding a voice ID stating the policy -- if the HCSO-CRT really cares about restricting use, that is. 

  Fourth, the HCSO-CRT is blowing an opportunity for outreach here. Do something with these machines to engage the amateur community, recruit volunteers, elicit support, and generate positive PR. Get these putative amateur operators from the Sheriff's Office on the air for a monthly net on The Forbidden Repeaters. Promote your mission. Disseminate your propaganda. Tell your stories. Make yourselves appear to be human. 

  Last, if the HCSO-CRT is not going to enforce this (secret) policy, then drop it. Designate troll-guardians with special authority to speak on The Forbidden Repeaters to guilelessly chase away intruders, for a start. If you're going to go down this (frankly ridiculous) road, then go "all in". Put up the radio equivalent of a "No Trespassing" sign. Anyone that operates a closed repeater knows that it needs to be defended, at least with a token gesture. Otherwise, you're daring the worst elements to abuse it. Indeed, I've heard some of the worst elements abusing it in the past. 

  If the HCSO-CRT confirms this highly-restrictive (and ill-conceived) policy, I'll abide by it and warn others not to use these two repeaters. That doesn't mean that I agree with it, however. 

  Being more anal than the worst of the EmComm crowd in the metro should serve as a warning to the HCSO-CRT that they're being unreasonable.

Loose Notes 2/12/16

  I'm just catching up on the developments over the past couple of weeks. Some interesting stuff has been going on, and a few minor developments are worthy of mention. 

FM Repeaters 

• Per K0UMM (Travis), the VHF SuperLink repeater on 147.015+ in Collegeville (near St. Cloud) is "sickly". Travis rang up the machine for a "noisy S1" from less than 13 miles away. More troubles for the crumbling SuperLink network. Even worse, he also noted that the 146.940- in Sauk Rapids is "off-air". No mention of these problems on the St. Cloud ARC's website, but it appears that they're raising money for a new repeater. No mention as to which repeater they are raising money to replace. 

• Near Albert Lea, the 146.880- (100.0 PL) wide-area two-metre repeater is back on the air. Also in that same area, the 443.525+ (100.0 PL) is reported as back on the air. 

• The 462.675+ GMRS repeater in Crystal is down. Per N0RVY (Steve), the transmitter has failed. No timetable for restoration at this point. 

DMR 

• The big news in the local DMR world is that N0AGI (Nagi) and N0BVE (Don) have moved the 442.175+ machine in Prior Lake to Faribault. More information can be found in Nagi's blog post on the subject. Don and Nagi were reportedly able to access the repeater continuously on the drive back to Prior Lake using an HT and an external mobile whip. The site in Faribault is much higher in elevation and the tower is higher than the (currently abandoned) site in Prior Lake. A Yagi is currently beaming the signal towards the metro, but that will switch over to an omni vertical in a few months. This move comes as a big surprise, but the Prior Lake site didn't really reach well north of the Minnesota River. It's possible that operators just south of the metro will have to upgrade their rigs and/or antennae once the repeater switches to a vertical -- especially as the leaves come in. 

APRS 

• W0YC-5, the major metro APRS gateway, was down for about two days last week. Fortunately, tropospheric conditions weren't overloading the metro with distant traffic, and we've gained adequate redundancy to handle these failures without collapsing. 

•  AE0MT-10 is back on the air as an RX-only I-Gate in Coon Rapids after an absence of just under two weeks.  

• Though the month of February is still young, two RX-only gateways have racked up impressive stats. KE0NA-11 in NE Minneapolis has gated over 1300 packets so far, while N0KFB in Mounds View has handled nearly 5000 in the same period. Both of these gateways are operated out of homes with rooftop antennae. It really can be done.             

Loose Notes 1/24/16

  I've been unable to access my outdoor antennae until recently, due to the cold weather. The door to the balcony froze shut, which meant that I couldn't set up any of my Yagi beams or swap my exterior whip for other bands. Fortunately, the whip that was outside when the cold snap hit was reasonably good on 2M, and I've been able to operate my 5W APRS beacon. Other than that, I've been limited to indoor antennae until this past Friday... so mostly it's been DMR or local UHF for me. On top of that, the battery for my Nexus 7 tablet is at the end of its useful life, and that's what makes my APRS beacon work. It now takes two days to charge it for every one day of use. A replacement is on the way, and I'll have my beacon back on the air soon.

Satellite

• Those six Chinese SSB satellites (XW-2A - XW-2F) are still having trouble. 2B and 2D only have their CW beacon working, and nobody's heard from 2E in weeks. XW-2A generally has a good morning and evening pass locally, with about half of the 4-5 daily passes being too low for anything but an "egg-beater" antenna with a good horizon to work. XW-2C doesn't have many high passes (mostly below 30 degrees), but you'll have about four passes a day (about ten minutes each) if you can work with the lower angle. Remember, these are not FM satellites -- SSB, CW, RTTY, or PSK only. 

 

DMR

• The third local DMR repeater (443.425+) is scheduled to go on-air today (1/24) sometime before noon. N0YNT (Matt) has said that he expects a straightforward installation. The site in Oakdale has hosted an analogue UHF repeater on that frequency for several years, so he basically just has to swap the analogue machine for the digital. Hopefully, there are enough DMR operators with updated code-plugs out that way to test the new repeater's coverage. 

• Per an on-air QSO with K0LAV (Paul), I've learned that a two-metre DMR repeater might be coming on the scene this year. Paul envisions a more limited array of talk-group options than the current UHF network, and a dedicated time-slot for local operation. With TS1 devoted solely to local traffic, TS2 would offer three state-wide TGs: Virginia, Pennsylvania, and D.C. Since all DMR rigs are monoband, you'd need a second radio to access both networks, but there's a significant faction of local operators that don't much care for UHF and this could be just the development to spur wider adoption of the mode. There are currently no plans to link this VHF DMR repeater with the other local UHF DMR repeaters.

• Minnesota has been gaining new DMR operators fairly quickly, judging by the additions to the DMR-MARC database. It seems as if we are adding at least two a week, as far as IDs go. Getting a DMR ID is one of the first steps to getting on the air, so this is a decent indicator of the mode's adoption. Code-plugs for several different models and makes are available, and you'll need the programming software and a cable to program your radio and add your ID to the code-plug.  

• The local DMR network (K4USD) has added a few new regional talk-groups recently: Mid-Atlantic, South-west, Mountain, and Southern Plains. These are all PTT TGs, meaning that you need to key up on the talk-group first to get the repeater to connect to it. A few new state-wide talk-groups were also added a couple of weeks ago: Maryland, D.C, and Pennsylvania. Make sure that your radio has the most current code-plug so that you can access these new (PTT) state-wide TGs. 

• We can always use help maintaining code-plugs. With three repeaters now, and more different models than ever being supported, it's a big job to keep all of the code-plugs up-to-date. Essentially, you would need to add any new TG to the contacts, create a channel (just copy and paste an existing channel and edit it), add the channel to an existing scan list and zone, and do this for all three repeaters (copy/paste, and edit the frequency). You can also add any new DMR IDs to the contact list (name, callsign, ID). If this is too "technical" for you, then help out your fellow operators with programming their radios to get them on the air or keep their radio updated. 

 

APRS 

• I've noticed that some of the old reliable digipeaters and gateways have stopped working and no longer receive. The KG0QR-1 gateway in southern MN hasn't received any packets in well over a month, and no longer transmits. It's basically just an icon maintained over the internet. The WR0P digipeater near Cambridge is now just an RF beacon, and hasn't received any packets in nearly a year. In the north metro, the TX I-Gate KD0RVY-1 hasn't received nor transmitted anything in three months. The N0DZQ-10 TX gateway has also just been nothing more than an icon for the past three weeks. 

• The WB0MPE-7 digipeater outside of Rochester is now back on the air. Now if we can just get a gateway set up in the Rochester area, things would look a lot better to the south. 

• The N0HOY-10 digipeater is back on the air, after a few days of down-time.

• The (sorely-needed) RX-only gateway west of Hibbing, K8IRC, has gone dark. Northern MN is another area with a lot of digipeaters and few gateways. The Hibbing N0AGX-12 TX gateway has handled over 23K packets so far this month, and the Knife River KC0MKS-1 I-Gate has handled over 34K. Up in the far NE corner of the State, the KB0BDN-10 gateway has handled over 10K packets. Somebody in Duluth, Grand Rapids, or Bemidji really needs to step up and operate an RX-only Raspberry Pi gateway to reduce the load. You can't just keep throwing digipeaters on the air without something to actually gate the packets. There are four digipeaters around Duluth alone, and not a single I-Gate. 

• By comparison, the W0YC-5 gateway in Minneapolis, with a much greater population density, handles over 37K packets a month. The N0AGI-5 gateway handles over 27K packets each month. Even the N0FKB RX-only gateway gates over 10K packets. We gate our own traffic. That's as it should be.

FM repeaters 

• The MARA 444.800+ (114.8 PL) is back on the air, after being down for a couple of weeks. Per K0LAV (Paul), the board connections on the old Micor repeater had become oxidised. A little TLC in the form of spraying De-Oxit brought the machine back to life earlier today (1/24). 

• The 146.730- (114.8 PL) in Forest Lake is also back on the air, courtesy of K0LAV. The repeater itself needed replacement in this case. Currently, the AllStar service hasn't been restored, but there's a possibility of this machine being linked to the 146.610- (141.3 PL) in Isle in the future using AllStar. 

• I've been watching the new 444.875+ (114.8 PL) repeater in Spring Lake Park for a while now. N8AGJ (Rock) set this up at his home, and coverage appears to be spotty and favouring the west and south-west. It comes in quite well here in Plymouth (about ten miles away), but operators in nearby Mounds View (for example) have had difficulty getting in. My impression is that the machine transmits better than it receives. It takes at least ten watts for me to "ker-chunk" it, but it comes back S9. If you can access the .875, consider posting a propagation report to RepeaterBook to give the local amateur community a better idea of this new machine's real-world coverage. 

• The 442.175+ (114.8 PL) Fusion repeater in Prior Lake is switching over to digital-only operation this week-end. It's nice that there's a sufficient System Fusion user base in the metro to make something like this viable, and it seems to be the vision for the future, at least locally. We could use a few more analogue repeaters with WIRES-X (HRI-200) implemented to continue to give analogue users access to the growing SF network as the trend to digital-only goes forward. I'm no Fusion expert, but I understand that supporting the hybrid (analogue and digital) model puts significant limitations on the digital potential of Fusion repeaters. The 223.900- and 145.230- repeaters currently "translate" analogue traffic to SF digital format. KE0NA (Dave) is looking at an RPi solution that would allow operation of the HRI-200 (WIRES-X) box without the necessity of a dedicated PC, and this could be an easy way for several more analogue repeaters to help ease the switch to digital-only Fusion in the metro. 

• I'm not exactly sure of the details, and the club website is devoid of any mention, but it seems as if the TCFMC 444.100+ repeater has some kind of a remote base connected to the internet. I've been hearing operators from the East Coast on the "dot one" morning roundtable, along with vague mentions of the capability. Apparently this remote base also provides access to HF, too. I've been unofficially invited to "stay the hell off" all of the TCFMC repeaters for years now, due to (honest and accurate) blog posts putting the TCFMC in an unflattering light, so I'm unable to confirm or glean any more information about this development. Still, it sounds like an excellent and novel idea. It's even better because the TCFMC EchoLink node hasn't been logged on for years now, so this remote base (or whatever it really is) is the only way to open up the club's resources to the rest of the world.

Loose Notes 12/6/15

  Not much happening in my radio world this week. I

I've been brushing up on my code skills a bit. I have a "box" that connects to a keyboard, allowing me to avoid using a key whatsoever (aka 'cheating'), but this box also has a "learn" mode that tests your skills. It's pretty demanding, since it requires you to send with a machine-readable "fist". I can do 5 WPM -- which is as far into "the code" as I care to go -- but I've hardly paid any attention to the details (spacing, weighting, etc.) since I first started working a straight key as a kid. I bang out (what I consider to be) perfectly good code, and the box gives me the equivalent of a blank look. So I'm forcing myself to raise my fist to machine-readable standards; improving the quality, rather than the speed. 

  For better or for worse, I see "machine" CW as the wave of the future -- for whatever 'future' you may see for CW. It's simply too easy to type into a box and get perfect code at upwards of 30 WPM. Likewise, it's absolutely simple to get another machine to read machine-generated code. It takes a moment to lock in to the speed, but the speed (or any other aspect) doesn't change once you are locked in. My Android phone has the Morse Decoder app, and it reads machine-generated code flawlessly up to 50 WPM. Reading human-generated code is less reliable.

  I've spent my fair share of time on HF in CW mode, and I'm sick to death of the "code snobs". Morse code is, as I've I've mentioned before, closer to a language than a mode. Imagine trying to learn Spanish and finding other Spanish speakers giggling at you or flatly refusing to converse with you until you reach fluency. That's the situation that we have now. You are expected to devote long hours to perfecting your code skills before you dare to have the temerity to actually get on the air and insult your elite masters with your inadequate skills. Don't even bother until you can send and receive flawlessly at 15 WPM minimum. This is serious business, after all. We snicker at you because we care so much. 

  Given this horrible environment, I've set my own standards of high-quality, straight-key 5 WPM. It's more of a personal goal, because nobody will ever descend from their lofty perch and have a QSO at that speed. Back in the day when I learned the code, there weren't these boxes, and you relied on actual humans to figure out what you were keying. Nowadays, the humans suck and the machines are the ones that you need to satisfy. So, my goal is to do machine-readable code at 5 WPM. Anything more than that is left to the box. This is the world that the code snobs have created, and I'm just living in it.  

  Outside of this, I've tried to receive the new Fox 1-A (AO-85) FM satellite over the weekend using  a vertical whip. Local noise levels prevented me, but N0AGI (Nagi) was successful in getting about five minutes of a fifteen-minute pass yesterday listening to 145.970-145.980. 
If you want to try to receive the new satellite with your vertical ground-plane (or whatever) go to http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/index.php and choose "AO-85" from the drop-down and enter your grid-square. This will give you the times (in UTC) for the passes. Choose passes with higher "Maximum Elevation" (at least 30 degrees) and tune in to 145.97 - 145.98 during that window. Don't forget to subtract five hours from UTC for local time. Or use one of several apps that use your current location to calculate passes. If you use an HT, remember to angle the antenna towards the ground. 

  If you want to hear more than five minutes of the pass, you'll need a hand-held VHF Yagi tracking the "bird" from one horizon to the other, rotated as needed for best polarisation. And actually transmitting will require a hand-held UHF beam, rotated for best polarisation, and using 435.170 to 435.190 with a 67 Hz PL tone. Start at 435.170 and move upwards as the pass progresses. It's best to listen a few times before you try to transmit, though, so take advantage of the strong signal to receive AO-85 first. There are a few passes every day. 

  Also, I've neglected to mention that the 442.025+ DMR repeater in St. Paul is back on the air. This machine currently operates out of N0YNT's (Matt) home near Como Park, but it's slated to move to the St. Paul campus when internet connectivity issues (and a new frequency pair) can be worked out. The St. Paul campus site would be directly in the path of the MARA UHF remote receive site link, and it's believed that all of the interference issues plaguing the East Bank site would re-appear at the Gortner Ave. site unless a new frequency pair is used. MARA has been completely unwilling to do anything to ameliorate this situation, alternately demanding extensive "proof" with statements that it's obvious and unavoidable that the link is interfering. And always falling back on the "we were here first" defence -- the rhetorical equivalent of an extended middle finger. So everything will need to re-tuned on two repeaters, assuming that a suitable UHF pair can be found, to avoid even the hint of inconvenience to MARA -- if we want any DMR capacity in the metro whatsoever. I'm hopeful that MARA will find this to be an acceptable solution. 

My mobile future

   My current project is making preparations for my new mobile arrangement. I've ordered a 45W UHF monoband mobile (CS-800) that operates on analogue and DMR. 

  I've never had a "real" mobile rig, instead using various HTs connected to various exterior-mounted mobile whips for a long while. Then, I put the Leixen VV-898 in my car about a year ago. It's a 10W dual-band rig that's worked okay for local use and even road trips. Most hams would sneer in derision over such a feeble mobile setup, but I actually spend very little time in my car, so I don't need much to reach a few favourite local repeaters. 

  Using DMR, however, has made the deficiencies in this mobile setup painfully clear. My DMR HT (CS-700) doesn't really reach the 442.425+ repeater at the East Bank campus of the University, though it receives very well. It's only a ten or fifteen mile distance in my driving range, but the de-sensing of the repeater's receiver from the MARA UHF remote link demands a stronger signal. Also, UHF coverage is highly dependent on topography. In a year or so, the situation should improve considerably with the addition of the Dayton site and the use of new frequency pairs on the other two sites. Even with the potential for improvement, I'd really like more reliability in my UHF coverage -- both for DMR and analogue. Improving my mobile rig is something that I can do on my end, rather than waiting for others to make my life easier. 

  Making a change like this has required me to think long and hard about the various trade-offs, and about what I really want and need in a mobile setup. The CS-800, as I said, is a monoband UHF rig. It will most likely let me get into most of the metro UHF repeaters reliably, wherever my local travels take me, but I'd be giving up two-metre FM entirely in my car.  

  For a lot of hams, that would be a big deal-breaker. For my uses, however, it's not that much of a sacrifice. My 2M FM activity is almost entirely limited to the 145.450 HandiHam repeater in Minnetonka and (to a much lesser extent) the 147.000 repeater in Maple Plain. And, as I mentioned, I don't really spend even two hours in my car total over the course of a week. My (very infrequent) road trips would be the major consideration, as VHF rules outside of the metro. My experience over the past three years has been that these rural and out-state 2M repeaters are pretty dead, though. On a camping trip this past Spring, I went to a fair amount of trouble to reach the Rush City 145.330- repeater from the campsite -- only to discover that there was absolutely no activity on this machine over the course of the entire weekend. In the same situation (where I hung a roll-up J-pole from a tree and ran it into my 10W mobile), a 45W UHF mobile would have allowed me to reach the (linked, but similarly dead) 444.575+ UHF repeater in Hinckley. 

  There's something to be said for having 2M FM simplex capability when travelling outside of the metro, of course. A full-powered dual-band analogue rig would cost about as a much as the monoband DMR rig, after all. Hence, my dilemma. I reconciled this by realising that I could always put my Leixen dual-band in the stash box on road trips. 10W isn't much on two-metre FM -- just about enough to get you laughed at -- but it would be better than nothing. Plus, I could leverage that with a beam when I was stationary if there was sufficient local VHF activity to warrant it. My tape-measure Yagi doesn't take up much space in the trunk when it's broken down and folded up. Even if I didn't want to bother with the Leixen, I always take along a 5W dual-band HT on trips. Putting a dual-band whip in the trunk isn't much trouble.

  So, with the infrequent road trip scenario addressed, I came back to the issue of local use. The state of local UHF repeaters has improved a lot over the past three years, though activity hasn't improved in a commensurate way. There are linked Fusion machines on the band that will soon provide continuous coverage almost up to Mille Lacs Lake. The local 442.075+ repeater links to the entire State of Wisconsin, as well as reaching the metro widely. There are several wide-coverage UHF repeaters, including the ostensible "emergency" repeaters. More importantly, the local UHF scene is still growing, while the local two-metre FM scene is locked into stagnation. New UHF machines can still be added, linked, and improved. Nothing will change on VHF in the foreseeable future, other than at the margins. 

  Here in Plymouth, I'm at the edge of the UHF world, however. Locking myself into one band is a gamble. The 444.375+ repeater in Plymouth is pretty much the western edge, and there's virtually no activity on it, though it has good coverage. The HandiHam 444.925+ repeater is not easily reached, and the 444.650+ machine has "issues". I could live with losing access to the (nearly dead) 147.000 2M machine, but giving up the 145.450 would be a sacrifice. 

  The solution that I've settled on is a bit unconventional. My plan is to add 1.25M capability with an HT that can go in the stash box. I may add a second mount in the future for a monoband 222 MHz whip, but for now my scenario is swapping out my UHF monoband whip for the monoband 1.25M whip when the need arises. I've been testing access to the 223.940- (100.0 PL) from my common routes, and the results are quite good with a 5W HT. The 223.940 is linked to the HandiHam network, so it's as if I'm accessing the 145.450 machine. Of course, this arrangement would also allow me access to three or four other nice 1.25M repeaters with good coverage in Plymouth. Yeah, those repeaters are dead, but somebody has to make the first move to make the 1.25M band viable locally. It's possible that one or two of these repeaters could be made cross-band in the future, too. The 1.25M FM band is wide open with more than fifty empty frequency pairs, affordable repeater solutions available, and more user radio options than ever before. 

  The only thing that I see in the future for the local 2M FM scene is more and more consolidation into two or three repeaters, with the remainder sitting unused (except for nets). The disdain for linking, EchoLink access, cross-band, and actual conversations is making the band irrelevant. Additionally, the insistence on a full-quieting signal as a requisite for a 2M FM QSO is slowly turning it into a swamp of boring elitists much more concerned with the rig an operator is using than what they actually have to say on that rig. Of course, "it's not everybody", but it doesn't need to be "everybody" to make something irrelevant. Most of the people who own two-metre frequency pairs are locked in to a world that only exists in their own minds and memories. I'm still hopeful that N0FKM (Dan), N0YNT (Matt), N0BVE (Don), the Richfield Radio Club (W0RRC), and the minds behind the K0MSP repeater can still do something innovative locally with their VHF frequency pairs, but the challenge is largely one of resources and time. 

  I'll still have access to 2M FM at home, of course. It's easier for someone like me to gamble on an unconventional mobile setup, and DMR figures largely in that picture. I'm choosing a path of future potential, and betting on the local amateur community to create the future-proof infrastructure (cross-band and linked networks, particularly) to make this kind of move viable.

Loose Notes 11/27/15

  There are a few interesting things going on, and I've been on the air enough to find out about them. So, let's just get right to it. 

Local Repeaters 

• Per N0YNT (Matt), he and NH7CY (Jason) are doing a site survey in Dayton for a new DMR repeater. Jason has had a third (30W) machine sitting around looking for a site, and I strongly suspect that this is the same one that currently hosts the 444.450+ (D023N) Fusion repeater. A new listing has shown up on RepeaterBook for a DMR repeater in testing on 442.850+, and it's sited in Dayton under the callsign KA0KMJ (John). Connecting the dots, I'd guess that the site survey went well and we can look forward to another DMR repeater coming on the air before very long.

• And it seems as if the 444.450+ repeater is currently down. Thanks to N0NCO (Joe) for confirming it. EDIT: Per AD0MI in the comments, this repeater is actually on-air, but apparently not reaching into the metro from it's new site and with its current configuration.

• Speaking of KA0KMJ, the 444.450+, and the Dayton site, I missed mentioning that the 444.450 machine has changed hands. The .450 Fusion repeater is now operated (officially) by AD0MI (Pete) KE0ATF (Steve). Judging by the performance of the 444.450 repeater, the site's coverage is very good to the north, and about average in every other direction. I've been able to get in to the .450 fairly well from 15 miles south using an indoor whip, so I'd expect that the DMR 442.825 repeater will have similar coverage. Meanwhile, the 444.450 machine is slated to move north to Zimmerman and be replaced by a 70W Fusion repeater on 443.250+ (D023N) at the same Dayton site. 

• The 444.975+ (114.8 PL) repeater in Ramsey has apparently switched over to System Fusion and sports an (actually working) EchoLink node (9975) under K0MSP-L. I'm unable to bring this repeater up from 15 miles away, even though it's very close to the Dayton site, so I can't confirm if it's on-air or not. Either way, it looks as if the north-west metro has some serious System Fusion coverage going on. EDIT: Using a seven-element Yagi and 20W, I was able to "ker-chunk" the .975 machine for a noisy S4. So I can confirm that it's on the air.

•  The Minneapolis 145.370- (107.2 PL) has changed it's tone squelch over to 107.2 from 118.8 Hz. I never understood why that machine had a different PL tone for receive anyway. Update your radios accordingly. 

• There's a new UHF repeater in testing on 443.875+ (114.8 PL), sited in Spring Lake Park. There are already several UHF machines within a half-dozen miles of the site, so I hope that some niche is being appealed to or some linking going on. We have a whole lot of "under-utilised" UHF capacity out there as it is.  

• RepeaterBook is wondering if the UHF 442.525+ D-Star repeater in Anoka is on the air or not. Also wondering if the 442.925+ Fusion machine in Crown is "on-air". If you know the answer, update the listing. I don't have a D-Star rig, and I've not been able to bring up the .925 in Crown for years -- but it's about 28 miles away from me. 

• There's a new UHF Fusion repeater in Mankato that's just come on the air on 442.825+ (136.5 PL). It looks like it's the first Fusion repeater, and the fourth UHF repeater, in a town that only has one VHF repeater to brag about. Count me as the first to suggest that this new repeater would link very nicely with the 442.175+ (114.8 PL) Fusion repeater in Prior Lake for more continuous UHF coverage of the challenging terrain in that area. 

• The MARA 444.800+ (114.8 PL) was down for a bit, but is now back on the air. 

DMR 

• I've worked up a new code-plug for the Connect Systems CS-750 and CS-800 radios. KC0BBK (Galen) picked up a CS-800 mobile rig to get more power than his TYT MD-380 could give him, and I naively thought that I could just convert the CS-700 code-plug for him. Not so. The CS-700 isn't made any more, and the software for the CS-750 and CS-800 isn't compatible with the old code-plugs. It had to be done, so I overhauled the entire thing. It now runs DMR on the Minneapolis 442.425, the St. Paul 442.025, and the Ellendale 442.025 repeaters. In addition, it's set up to work every UHF analogue repeater in the State (plus a few on the borders). It looks as if I finished it just in time to re-work it again for the new 442.850 repeater. That's how it goes, I guess. If you've been considering the CS-750 HT ($239) or the 45W CS-800 mobile ($280), know that you'll have a nice code-plug to get you on the air right away. 

•  The new 442.850+ DMR repeater will probably occupy a lot of the spare time of the two guys that manage the entire metro DMR network: NH7CY (Jason) and N0YNT (Matt). Still, there are plans to move the 442.025+ (currently down) to the St. Paul campus -- which should result in a big increase in east metro coverage. And, there's been talk of changing the frequency pair that the 442.425+ repeater currently operates on to deal with the de-sensing caused by the proximity to the central MARA receive site. This would undoubtedly require a fair amount of work to accomplish, but -- if successful -- it would mean that weaker signals could access the repeater. This would have the effect of expanding coverage significantly. There's a lot of potential for major improvements in the metro DMR scene, but it'll take time to develop. The addition of a third repeater at a decent site should mean continuous coverage at 5W for a lot of the metro. A 30W repeater isn't exactly a power-house, but that's what is providing the current coverage, and it has a very good range for UHF. Realistically, somebody will probably come across a spare UHF PA at some point, besides. And RX pre-amps aren't a daunting expense, either.

• I've also heard rumours of the St. Cloud-based DARC considering the addition of a modest DMR repeater to their stable of digital machines. If this pans out, and the Ellendale 442.025+ ever comes on-air, we could have an actual network that would make the MN State-wide talk-group (TG 3127) viable. 

• I picked up a battery eliminator for my CS-700 DMR HT, and it's made operation a lot easier for me. I plug it in to a cheap 2A power supply that came with an electric pump for an air mattress, and I no longer have to worry about the battery dying during a QSO or making sure that a backup battery is charged at all times. And I can leave the radio monitoring without concern for running down the charge, or use it in my car. It was Jerry Wanger, of Connect systems, who told me about it. I contacted him to suggest that CS offer some kind of external power solution for their HTs, and he pointed me to EBay. $25 is about twice what something like this costs for other radios, but it doesn't get hot like the cheap eliminators do, either. If you own (or plan to get) a CS-700 or CS-750 HT, I'd recommend picking one of these up. The power cable comes out of the side, so the radio can still stand up when plugged in. You can leave your radio scanning and avoid coming up with a dead battery when you need to talk on it. 

• Just wanted to add that Bridgecom makes a $200 DMR monoband HT with a 2000 mAh battery. There are no local code-plugs available for this brand, so it's definitely a "roll your own" proposition.

 

APRS 

• The N0QHM-1 TX I-Gate has been in operation long enough to get a fairly good idea of its direct coverage. Records of gated packets show that the gateway directly receives packets through Edina, Bloomington, and Burnsville. Coverage drops off the south right where N9MEC takes over, which works out well. From there, the N0AGI-5 gateway and the Faribault digipeater take over. It's interesting that the coverage of the N0QHM-1 machine doesn't improve much when you include digipeaters, so this makes it a nice local coverage solution. 

• Another new RX-only I-Gate just came on-air in the past few days. K0UWC is operating in Bloomington, and is already gating packets. It's still too early to make definitive statements about its coverage, but it looks as if it mostly fills in the south-west. 

• And it looks as if the short-lived N0GEF-7 I-Gate is down for the count.

Satellite 

• Things still aren't looking great for the new Chinese SSB satellites. XW-2A, B, C, and D are still only operating as CW beacons. XW-2E hasn't been heard from in days. Only XW-2F (435.34 up, 145.99 down) seems to be actually working as a transponder. The metro gets three or four decent passes from this satellite every day.

• The Fox 1-A (AO-85) FM satellite is now officially in service for amateur use and out of testing. The results aren't exactly breathtaking. AMSAT lists a number of caveats about AO-85 here. Basically, the audio level sounds low (due to filtering), but the signal from the satellite is strong. The transmitter drifts, and the receiver has a hard time detecting the 67.0 Hz PL tone used to activate the repeater. When AMSAT has to remind hams that the primary purpose of the satellite isn't amateur radio, that's a discouraging sign. With such a good downlink signal, it would be worth your while to listen to 145.980 using your standard antenna. Good local passes (up to fifteen minutes long!) happen twice a day in the early morning between 5 and 8 AM. Check here to find out exact times for your location and choose AO-85 from the drop-down. Don't forget to subtract five hours to adjust for UTC. Good listening!                                         

Loose Notes 11/14/15

   It's been another week, and I'm ready to tell you what I've found out over the course of the week. 

• The TCRC's 224.540- (100.0 PL) 1.25M repeater is back on the air! KE0NA (Dave) and I gave it a test spin on Friday night (11/14), and it's working well. I was able to work the repeater with 10W into a tri-band whip on my balcony for an S8/S9 signal from here in Plymouth, and Dave got a similar signal in NE Minneapolis. Word on the street is that the TCRC bought a brand-new Bridgecom BCR-220 repeater. The BCR-220 is a relatively new product in a market where gear for the 1.25M band can be hard to come by -- even old stuff. For about $1000, you get a 30W repeater (including power supply, free programming, and battery backup). It even has a built-in CW ID, so you don't need a controller for basic operation. I know that the TCRC had a 75W PA for their previous repeater, but I'm unaware if that's being used or if the new machine is running on its own 30W output. With the challenges that the 147.210 has been facing, this very likely makes the 224.540 machine the TCRC's most reliable and widest-coverage repeater. 

• N0YNT (Matt) and N0GOI (Terry) fixed the antenna at the Falcon Heights remote receive site for the 145.170- (100.0 PL) St. Paul repeater. Hopefully, it will pay off with improved coverage. I have a hard time reaching the .170 with my marginal antennae. 

• Per N0MWM (Mike), Connect Systems (CSI) is now (once again) selling the TYT MD-380 DMR HT for only $130 (including programming cable). KE0NA (Dave) has a code-plug for this radio here. You won't find a cheaper way to get into DMR (and the international network of repeaters) than this deal. 

• Per N0BVE (Don), his 443.000+ (100.0 PL) SNP repeater now has an auto-patch. It uses DTMF tones to bring the patch up (*) and down (#). Many years before I was licensed, I would hear hams on my scanner using auto-patches. I've never used one myself. The auto-patch has a five-minute limit, per an on-air QSO with KD0VSU (Randy). The repeater itself is at Don's home in Minnetonka, and it has a problem where the TX power drops down dramatically after it's used for a few minutes. It also seems to have a relatively brief time-out, so be aware of those facts if you use it.

• I'm not sure of all of the details, but it looks as if a System Fusion repeater on 443.250+ (023N DPL) will be replacing the current Fusion repeater on 444.450+ (023N DPL) in a couple of months. The .450 will be moving north to Zimmerman, and will be linked back to the metro with WIRES-X. The new .250 repeater will run 70W and be linked to the Zimmerman Fusion machine for continuous coverage. I guess that the NW suburbs won't be losing any UHF coverage after all.

 

APRS  

  A few things are happening with the local packet scene: 

• The AE0RF-10 RX-only gateway is no longer on the air, but AE0RF (Justin) is proposing that the Richfield Amateur Radio Club set up a similar RX-only gateway at their repeater site. This seems like a great potential development to me, because these gateways managed by individuals tend to come and go. The metro needs reliable redundancy in the network. It's really good to have people experimenting with gateways and digipeaters, because they have the know-how to put those nodes back into action when need arises. But we really need some elements of the network that are solid and don't disappear on a whim, because when the major gateways fail (like W0YC-5 did this summer) something needs to be there to fill the gap. 

•  It looks as if N0QHM -1 is back in Bloomington, only this time with a transmitting I-Gate instead of the previous RX-only node. In its short lifetime, it's already covering the south metro free-ways nicely. 

• The W0LKA-2 digipeater near Roseau has hung in there, and it remains the northern-most part of Minnesota's APRS network. On the other end of the State, KG0QR-1 has lasted a few weeks as a transmitting gateway with direct local coverage, but also gating other southern Minnesota digipeaters. 

• Minnesota still needs "something" (RX-only gateways, digipeaters, TX I-Gates) in Morris, Alexandria, Wadena, Park Rapids, Bemidji, and Detroit Lakes. Maybe you can help. 

• It looks as if N0RUA (Tony) is experimenting with a RX-only gateway in the Highland neighbourhood of St. Paul. It would be great to get the mobile packets from the surrounding freeways gated before they get tossed around by the local digipeaters. EDIT: It looks like Tony got N0RUA-10 to actually gate packets in RX-only mode.

• The big N0AGI-5 gateway/digipeater has moved from Minnetonka back to its old home in Prior Lake. Per N0AGI (Nagi), the time spent at N0BVE's (Don) tower was an "experiment", and he now has an RX pre-amp on the gateway to increase his (already substantial) coverage. 

 

Well, that's pretty much it. I'm going to set up my new Arrow satellite antenna for some 2M SSB/CW "action" and I'll be on FM tonight.                   

Loose Notes 10/31/15

  Just another summary of things that I've come across this week in the radio world. 

• Kydera has two new DMR monoband rigs in the pipeline. The first is the KYD DM-880 HT, with a high-capacity 3000 mAh battery and optional GPS. There is a VHF and a UHF model, with 4W output on UHF. The second is the KYD CDM-550H mobile, with optional GPS and 40W output on UHF. There's also a repeater. These radios aren't available for retail purchase as of yet. I should also mention that PuXing has the PD-820 HT (with optional Bluetooth) for $205, too. 

• If you missed out on CSI's $130 deal for the TYT MD-380, you might be interested in 409shop's new deal on these DMR HTs. For $170, you get the radio (including battery and two antennae) and a programming cable, speaker mic, mobile charger, and a soft case. 

• Things are shifting around on the local APRS situation. The new N0AGI-5 gateway sited on the Chaska water tower hasn't been showing up lately. N0BVE (Don) briefly had an RF APRS beacon functioning for his 145.230- SNP machine yesterday, but not any more. AE0EE-1 made an appearance as an RX-only gateway for a few hours, but shut down. EDIT: N0AGI-5 is back up, though it looks as if it's moved to Minnetonka. N0BVE has an icon for the 145.230 again, but no RF beacon.

• Further afield in APRS, W0LKA-2 has quite recently come on-air as a digipeater in Badger, MN (near Roseau). It's about 27 miles from the gateway in Karlstad, so this new addition should be getting packets gated from Warroad and across the Canadian border. Just across the border in South Dakota, AE5ED has put up a gateway. This should handle the W0GC-2 digipeater, which helps to cover a big gap in western MN. In southern MN, KG0QR-1 came on-air last week as a gateway that helps to cover I-90 and the gap between the freeway and Mankato. Southern MN, like a lot of northern MN, is heavy on digipeaters but lacks redundant gateway coverage. 

• RepeaterBook is looking for someone to confirm if the 146.775- (no tone) repeater in Detroit Lakes is on the air or not. 

•  The UHF 444.450+ (D023N) Fusion repeater in Dayton will be moving north near Zimmerman in the coming weeks. In an on-air QSO with KE0ATF (Steve), he confirmed that the WIRES-X link with the Medtronic 444.525 will remain, as well as the WIRES-X link to the Beaumont, TX hub that connects dozens of other Fusion repeaters together. While the north-west metro (where I live) will be losing some UHF coverage, this move will link a lot of the northern metro to the urban core. It could even achieve the elusive goal of continuous UHF coverage to St. Cloud. 

• It looks as if the 146.730- (114.8 PL) machine in Forest Lake is now off-air. This repeater figured in a few linking schemes that never really panned out.

• N0BVE (Don) restored his SNP 443.000+ (114.8 PL) machine to the air last week-end. It had some initial problems with TX power levels, so it's currently operating out Don's home in Minnetonka. At some point, it will go back to its old home in Chaska. It's operating as a stand-alone repeater at the moment, though it formerly was linked to the HandiHam network and probably will be again. 

• Meanwhile, St. Paul's 443.000+ (118.8 PL) SNP machine has gone off-air again. 

• The Fox 1-A (AO-85) FM satellite is now available for use, although testing isn't over. 

• As the new Chinese SSB satellites (XW-2A to XW-2F) have been orbiting, they are separating more. XW-2A is much further ahead.  XW-2B, XW-2C and XW-2D are in the middle. XW-2F is bringing up the rear much further back. This makes them more useful, to my thinking, than the previous grouping where they were basically in a line spaced about twelve minutes apart.      

Loose Notes 9/26/15

   Just a few items related to what's been going on over the past week. 

• China has put four amateur satellites with SSB/CW transponders into orbit. Pass predictions for the XW-2A, XW-2B, XW-2E, and XW-2F can be found here. Locally, it looks as if the best we can expect are 11-minute passes. XW-2A has good passes in the early morning and roughly around 9 PM. XW-2E has passes somewhere around 8 AM and 7 PM. Really, there's not a big variation between the best passes of all four birds locally. They all tend to fall within an hour or two of each other. For each of the four, there are about six passes each day, but only two are high enough to even consider working. Remember, these aren't FM satellites and you will need a VHF/UHF rig capable of doing SSB/CW/digital to use them. For some reason, they only have an expected life of one year. 

•  The FM satellite Fox 1-A will be launched in less than two weeks (Oct. 8). Still no word on when the FM EO-80 will be turned on. In a few more months, two additional FM sats will launch (Fox 1-C and 1-D). There's still time to pick up that "eggbeater" antenna or Arrow/Elk portable beam. 

• Last Sunday, I had one of those nifty tropo adventures. With just a mag-mount whip on my balcony (and 50W), I reached the Red Wing 147.300- (no PL) repeater around 9 PM for a chat with KC5SAM (Virginia) and KD0LYL (Art). Virginia even graciously sent me a QSL card. 

• I'm not sure if it's tropo ducting or some improvement on the repeater, but this week I've been able to bring up the UHF Hugo 443.050+ (118.8 PL) easily with S8 or S9 using my whip. Just last month, I needed a six-element Yagi (carefully aimed) for a chat with N0SBU (George).  EDIT: In a brief QSO with George on the new 147.315 repeater, I learned that nothing has changed on his .050 machine. I also am now unable to bring it up. Must have been tropo. 

• For the past two nights, I've been able to bring up the 147.240+ (146.2 PL) machine in Ogilvie, as well as the 145.230- (146.2 PL) repeater in Duxbury. Though there's a repeater in Mankato on 147.240 + with a 136.5 PL, I can't get into it usually. Still, I can hear the Mankato machine while I'm on the Ogilvie repeater. Both are around 60+ miles away in opposite directions from me. The Duxbury repeater is on the same pair as N0BVE's WIRES-X hub (which uses a 114.8 PL), so it's hard to tell which repeater any traffic is on. 

• Just today I was finally able to bring up the new 147.315+ (91.5 PL) repeater in North Branch. It boasts a 40 mile coverage radius, and that would put me on the fringe here in Plymouth. Yet, I "ker-chunked" it for an S3 return using my exterior mag-mount whip. The .315 also has an APRS object that notes it's part of the MAGIC network. EDIT: Per N0SBU (George), I was not getting in readably with 50W into the whip.

• This week, I ran into KE0CRW (Greg) on the Maple Plain 147.000 repeater. He had just got a full-powered FT-7900 for his base rig, and we decided to test it out. Unfortunately, tropo ducting was non-existent that evening and we could only reach local repeaters. Since meeting Greg back in February (when he just got his licence), he's moved up from an HT with a duck, to an HT with a ground-plane, and now to a 'real' FM station. 

• After an antenna failure last weekend, N0BVE (Don) has set up a brand-new eight-bay commercial antenna on the site for the 145.450- (no PL) repeater in Minnetonka this week. If you've had trouble reaching the VHF side of the HandiHam network previously, try it now with this new antenna. I've noticed that I get in better with my 10W mobile now, and the .450 is now absolutely full-scale at home here in Plymouth. 

• A few more local repeaters now have APRS objects, joining the 442.075 and 147.090 on the map. Over the past few weeks, MARA's 146.850 object has disappeared. The .075 and .090 are RF beacons, however, while the four new additions are internet-based. Those repeaters would be the 443.575+ (114.8 PL) in NE Minneapolis, the 444.050+ (114.8 PL) in St. Paul, the 443.050+ (118.8 PL) in Hugo, and the 145.170- (100.0 PL) machine in St. Paul. All of these are associated with the MAGIC repeater network. N0GOI (Terry) has a master plan to link all of these repeaters at some point.

• Speaking of APRS, there's a new I-Gate that just appeared a day or so ago near Wyoming. N0DZQ claims a range of only 3 miles, but it's very near 35W and should prove very useful for mobile stations. Other than that, we've neither gained nor lost anything in the network this week.  EDIT: Today, the N0DZQ gateway has moved south several miles. I'm currently trying to contact N0DZQ (John) to clarify things.

• For the time being anyway, the same WIRES-X hub found on N0BVE's (Don) 145.230- repeater is also available on the KA0KMJ (John) 444.450+ repeater in Dayton. This hub links well over a dozen repeaters in scattered parts of the country (and England) together. The 444.450 has very good coverage to the north, while the 145.230 is in Chaska. This means that a whole lot more of the metro's operators now have access to the biggest of the WIRES-X linked networks, and the relatively high level of activity found there. 

• Per on on-air conversation with KE0NA (Dave) this morning, I learned that he now has one of the new TYT MD-380 DMR hand-held radios. We tested it out on the "Local 2" talk-group, and it sounded pretty good. Dave is currently working on a code-plug for the radio, which should make the MD-380 even more attractive for anyone thinking about trying out DMR. The $165 monoband would just need Dave's code-plug loaded (much like you would load a programming file of repeaters into any other other HT) to immediately access the international network and local channels.