Category Archives: Tech

National Preparedness Month – Ham Radio Supply List

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FEMA Recommended Go Kit

https://www.ready.gov/kit

Here we go into another Winter and what will this Winter bring us?  With looking back over this last year people in our area where without power for days this last spring. So if events repeat itself again this year are you ready?

FEMA has always recommend that you are able to survive for at least three days on your own.  Since that is the normal amount of time before support can arrive in your area.  As Ham Radio operators we have to take the extra steps be be able to communicate during those three days.

Click on the above link to learn what you need for your family to to survive for those three days, and as a ham radio operator continue to read below for items you will need to be be able to continue to communicate during those three days.

  • Alternate power sources: Batteries, Generator, Solar
    • 100 Amp Hour LiFePO4 battery have gotten cheaper
    • Generator: Set up away from building for CO2 issues
    • Solar: Keep all your batteries charged
  • Hand Held Radios {HT}: Already programed with ALL neighboring repeaters
    • Programed with the ARES repeaters
    • All National Simplex Frequencies
    • Programed with ALL LOCAL repeaters just not your home repeater
    • Programed with remote location repeater where you might travel to
    • Programed with the National Weather Service Radios channels
  • Back Up Antennas: Those POTA antenna are good for emergencies
    • Can you replace any antenna damage by storms?
  • Extra Batteries: Keep your HT running when your power is out
    • Pick up a spare battery for your HT and keep it charged.
  • Paper Maps: How good is Google when there no internet
    • And know how to read them
  • Full Charged Cell Phone:  Make sure its charged before the storm
    • Charge it before them storm leave them disconnected during the storm
  • Battery Banks: For personnel electronics
    • recharge your phone or kids games
  • Lighting Sources: To operate in the dark
    • Flashlights & Battery Power Lanterns
    • 12V lights that plug into that 100ah battery
    • Gas or propane lanterns – Watch for CO2
  • Paper & Pen: For keeping notes and traffic
    • Be able to keep notes and instructions
    • Be able to leave notes
  • Software: Laptop already loaded with software and knowledge how to use it
    • Winlink: Great program let you send/received email anywhere
    • FL Digi: Digital program that lets you communicate
    • RTTY: An oldie but stilled used for text communications
    • Storage: For documents, instruction manuals, phone list

BUSINESS MEETING MOVED!

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Map to Eat N Park Robinson: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GaU3KnMk6L2AMTdA6

Business Meeting Starts At 7:00 PM

Come Early To Get Food

FIRESTONE BLVD IS CLOSED
Good morning to all and hopefully it has been a peaceful New year for everyone.  Unfortunately, January has presented us with some  interesting weather as well as a deep cold snap that doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon.  Ironically, it appears that this month brings us to the second week “Bum of the Month” on Monday, as well as the third Wednesday of the month business meeting.
      In looking at the driveway to the clubhouse as well as the updated weather forecast for the week, it does not appear that it is a safe option to get up to the club for a meeting.  Too many chances for mishaps on the hill or even possibility of slip and falls in the lot.  It is not worth getting anyone or anything hurt in the process of a meeting.
     Therefore, we are going to hold the meeting at the Eat and Park Restaurant on Steubenville Pike (Rt. 60) in the Montour Trail room off to the side.  This is located across the street from Staples and Kohl’s just at Park Manor Drive leads down to Robinson Towne Center and the mall.  Time will be at 7PM as usual, if you care to eat then go ahead and come a early.
     Since the group usually has over 20 for meetings, I had to make a decision on three specific menu items.  The choices are burgers/salads/spaghetti dishes.  Each can be ordered with any side or the salad bar.  This is to not place a burden on the kitchen that night with an expected crowd.  That is the restaurant policy.
      I hope to see you there at the meeting and look forward to an exciting year ahead as we plan out some interesting ideas, classes and projects to work on throughout the year.

Happy Birthday Oscar 7

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Happy Birthday Oscar 7 now 50 years old and still going.  Here is a nice story of the long life of one of AMSAT earliest satellite.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMSAT-OSCAR_7

AMSAT-OSCAR 7, or AO-7, is the second Phase 2 amateur radio satellite constructed by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). It was launched into Low Earth Orbit on November 15, 1974 and remained operational until a battery failure in 1981. After 21 years of apparent silence, the satellite was heard again on June 21, 2002 – 27 years after launch. At that time the public learned that the satellite had remained intermittently functional and was used surreptitiously for communication by the anticommunist opposition Fighting Solidarity during martial law in Poland.[1]

Turn your Android phone into a HT

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FROM THE: https://www.kv4p.com/

kv4p HT is a homebrew VHF radio that makes your phone capable of voice and text communication completely off-grid with at least a Technician class amateur radio license.

The radio simply plugs into the USB C port on your Android smartphone and transforms it into a fully-fledged handheld radio transceiver. It’s completely open source (GPL3): the Android app, ESP32 firmware, PCB designs, and 3D printer files.

It’s small enough to fit in your pocket and take anywhere, and since it has no internal battery it’s the perfect radio to put in a go-bag or your car’s glove compartment.

NOTE: kv4p HT is an open source project you build yourself and has absolutely no warranty, or guarantees on functionality or reliability! That said, have fun. 🙂

Field Day 2024 @ Club House

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Join the Steel City Amateur Radio Club On June 22-23

For out biggest event of the year. Field Day 2024 will take place this Saturday June 22 from 2:00 PM though 2:00 PM on Sunday the 23rd.  The club house will be in full operations during this time.  We will have CW, Phone, and Digital operators on the air.  The public is welcome to attend to check out our operations and join in on the fun.  See our operators work every state in the country in 24 hours.  Food will be served for Saturday Dinner, Midnight Rations, Sunday Breakfast, and Sunday Lunch. Not only will we be on the air at our station we will be showing off our portable setup also while we try out some of our new POTA antenna’s at the club house.

 

Solar Eclipse – April 8th – Make Plans Now

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The Case Amateur Radio Club, W8EDU, the club station at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, is asking for amateur radio operators to help with a research project centered around the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse.

W8EDU club member Adam Goodman, W7OKE, said the project centers around studying the effects of the eclipse on propagation to better understand the recombination time of the ionosphere.

“To do this, we are recruiting North American amateur stations interested in recording the Canadian time standard station CHU (Canada’s WWV) for two weeks surrounding the eclipse,” added Goodman. “Anyone with a KiwiSDR or a rig that can interface with analysis/recording software such as Fldigi is encouraged to reach out to us to participate.”

Read The Full Article Here:
https://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-operators-needed-for-help-with-solar-eclipse-project

Other Solar Ham Radio Projects:

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/nasa-funded-science-projects-tuning-in-to-eclipse-radio/

https://hamsci.org/eclipse

https://www.onallbands.com/ham-radio-and-the-april-8-solar-eclipse-qso-party/

Interactive Map Of Eclipse Path:
https://nso.edu/for-public/eclipse-map-2024/

Pittsburgh, PA: Partial Eclipse 97%
Meadville, PA: Total Eclipse Duration 2m 50s
Erie, PA: Total Eclipse Duration 3m 44s

How To View The Eclipse Safely:
https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety

NASA Need Ham Radio Operators

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The HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science will occur October 14, 2023 and April 8, 2024 during spectacular North American solar eclipses.

​The Festivals will consist of multiple events, each with a goal of increasing our understanding of sun-ionosphere-earth relationships. ​Participants will include volunteer amateur radio operators, short wave listeners and science researchers from multiple US universities.

HamSCI FoEIS Events in which you can participate

  • The Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP)
  • The Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenge (GSSC)
  • Learn how to participate by visiting the HamSCI FoEIS Contest Info Page
Planned Events – Details To Be Announced at a Future Time
  • Doppler Effects on the Reception of WWV and CHU Utilizing the Grape 2 Low-IF Receiver
  • The Use of Time Delay of Arrival (TDOA) Measurements to Profile Ionospheric Layer Height Changes During Solar Eclipses
  • Tracking Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Using Doppler-shifts of AM Broadcast Stations
  • ​VLF Reception Exercise

Read More about this here:
https://science.nasa.gov
https://hamsci.org/eclipse

Software Defined Radio

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Did you know that the club has an Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR available for use by the public? What better way to see how propagation conditions look than to listen in or even see the traffic on the map.

Check the propagation across North America, or the world with FT4 and FT8.

Or perhaps you’d rather listen to air traffic from KPIT? Or listen to KDKA? Whatever your interest, our SDR may have something for you.

Give it a whirl!
https://www.w3kwh.net/openwebrx/

PS – Click around the dial as you like, but don’t forget that if you change bands, you do so for all other connected users. So, be sure to have a look at the bottom of the page. “Clients” will tell you how many listeners are connected.