147.225 Crosby repeater work

On Saturday December 17th, Mitch (AD0HJ) and Steve (N0CRM) went to the Crosby to adjust the repeater squelch level and load a new firmware update on the Fusion repeater.

There is a cyclic signal that is being seen on the input of the repeater. A slight adjustment to the Squelch level helped resolve the problem. The cyclic signal is still seen on the input, but the level change has helped

Both of the repeaters 147.225 on the bottom and 443.925 on the top.

imgp2212

imgp2210

Mitch AD0AHJ is loading new firmware updates into the repeater.
imgp2217

All Things HF (January 2016)

All Things HF
Sometimes to emphasize a point one can best relate to an experience. Case in point…you hear it all the time, the band is dead or there is nothing but noise. Last Wednesday I sat down at my station to work whatever was available. I checked the activity on my spectrum scope and sure enough the scope was flat lined across the 17-meter band. I like to use the phrase ‘nobody can here you listening’ so perhaps there is someone listening. The only way you’re going to find out is to call CQ and after 2 attempts (with my beam due east) a voice came back with a ZS2 prefix. Okay, that’s South Africa and the band is dead or is it?Its just like going fishing and snagging a big one. The remainder of the afternoon was spent doing QSO’s around the U.S. and Canada and I never changed frequency… I only adjusted my beam heading in order to accommodate the mini pileup on my call. Tip of the day: Please be sure to ask is the frequency in use (even though you hear nothing) and be sure to give your call. The FCC and those ARRL frequency cops will send you one of those nasty post cards if they do not hear your call sign. Do the right thing, its good for the hobby. See ‘ya next time and remember to call CQ because someone somewhere is listening.
Bob/W0ZPE

DX and the Paper Chase: The final chapter

DX and the Paper Chase
I’ve been writing this column for about 5 years and have
enjoyed it immensely. During that 5 year period I worked DX
and chased the paper (QSL cards) diligently until my goal of
working and confirming at least 300 countries and entities
was realized. My goal was reached this year with 10 countries
to spare. I’m in the ARRL DXCC at 310 confirmed. As I look
back from the beginning, 19 years have past since receiving
my first DX QSL card. Now I’d like to shift gears and share
my experiences in operating HF. Some of you old timers
already know the ins and outs of operating skills. Some of the
new Hams may not, so there’s where my focus will be. Sunspot
Cycle 24 was more or less a bust as compared to the sunspot
cycles preceding it. There are still 2+ years left in the
present cycle and it’s not pretty. Operating HF during this
‘minimum’ will be challenging to say the least, and DX a bit
more difficult. Hope to see you next month and don’t give up
on DX—-Best 73 from Bob/WØZPE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~