Update

There’s been a lot of activity in the past month in several different areas regarding communications support.

• On 23 May 2009 the *KANSAS*, *NEBRASKA* and *WYOMING* were all put to use in support of ARMAD 2009.  We were able to express our appreciation to those that serve in the Military as well the First Responders.   ARMAD 2009 provided another opportunity to test the networks in a real time situational event.   Definitely appreciate all those that helped.

• Severe Weather 15-18 June 2009 there’s been a number of weather fronts that have moved through the Great Plains lateley.  Seems that the *NEBRASKA* is getting the most utilization when it comes to severe weather nets.   *KANSAS* is getting some usage as a relay point, but there are still some issues that appear to need to be addressed (the network resources are working fine though).

• There’s been some discussion about the possibility of having a Asterisk Server Party where we can build up some Asterisk RF Gateways for easy deployment to repeater sites as well as having transportable server that can be used in emergency operations.   For those that may not know, Asterisk  is a software package that has the capability to manage radio and telephone communications.  With all the many features available Asterisk has become to be known as a Communications Tool Chest.   For more information about Asterisk RF Gateways visit AsteriskRadio.net

• The Digital Exploration continues,  we now have access to D-STAR via a private node configuration.  It can be accessed via radio and phone.  For more information please contact us via InfoQuest.

• Range Test - we need some operators in the Wichita area that can help us with some range testing of the 145.470 and 147.060  Let us know where you are able to reach the systems.  Remember a kerchunk won’t work, a voice transmission is required before the system will respond.

Thanks again to those that are helping with everything.

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ARMAD 2009

It’s time again for Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day (ARMAD) on 23 May 2009, here in Madison/Huntsville, AL.  We will be setting up at a new site this year.  When more information come available we will announce the site location.

The Asterisk Amateur Radio Network will be join with the Drake State Technical College Amateur Radio Club promoting the use of amateur radio along with giving thanks and appreciation to our men and women who have served and who are serving now in the Arm Forces.  This will be a great day for all to come out and support the troops on a job that continues to be at the fore front of our mission for the country and the world.

We hope to have HF/VHF/UHF radio system setup for operations. Making contact to other ARMAD or any amateur radio stations. We will also use VoIP systems such as Asterisk, IRLP and Echolink for those who would like to call in. There is also a special IRLP reflector for all IRLP station to call into. This IRLP reflector is experimental node 0011.  This is a special IRLP reflector and you will need to make sure your IRLP node are setup to make the call into.  More information will be put out on these special parameters in a few days. So stay tune.

For Asterisk call in, one can call in on AST node 2048, this way you will be able to talk to IRLP and echolink nodes alike. For Echolink nodes one can call in on the Kansas Reflector, node 44445 and W4WWM-L, node 54572. Any of these connections will be fine.  We would also like to try something new. We will have a control Ham Radio operator standing by for third party calls. This way we can also show the power of Asterisk PBX. So look for more special information on how this will happen here on this site.

Anyway we will look for all to come out and support this great day for ARMAD and to make radio contacts using our hobby, amateur radio to communicate.  73 and Stay tune for more info!

Will / W4WWM

Posted in Communications, General, Operations, Support, Training | 1 Comment »

DARN is near …

The Digital Analog Radio Network is near.

DARN defined as “to mend by weaving thread across a gap” that is what is being done.   Those that want to see flexibility will go with the DARN approach, as a improvement while there will be others that find it to be just annoyance.   DARN definitely fits the new Digital Analog Radio Networks.

Sometimes logic can indeed be simple (send in most potentially linkable exchange).

Posted in Communications, Emergency Response, RF Gateways, Repeaters, Resources, Wireless | Comments Off

Maxon SP-7000 Series Portable

Maxon’s latest compact, full featured portable is now available. This feature rich portable is sure to satisify nearly everyone’s needs. Just a few of the features included are 2-Tone encode/decode, scrambler, Selcal, ANI, alpha-numeric display and 255 channels.

Maxon SP-7000 Series Features Include: 255 Channels with Dynamic Grouping 7 Programmable Buttons 8 Character Alpha-Numeric Display Voice Actuated Transmissions (VOX) Compandered Audio Inversion Scrambling Keypad Lock Password Protection 2-Tone Encode/Decode, 5-Tone Encode/Decode DTMF Encode/Decode along with AN Selcal, 2-Tone and 5-Tone Emergency Calling Talk Around Mode 1500mAh Li-Polymer Battery Meets Military Standards 810F-IP54 OTAR - Over The Air reProgramming

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Nothing is really free …

Nothing is really free …

So why is it that independent groups have such a hard time getting funding in good time and definitely during tougher times?

There are many agencies and organizations that benefit from the support resources of these independent groups. Yet there are those that will frown at the idea of not having control over the independent resources and go as far as to make sure that the funding that independent groups are eligible to receive never gets to them. As time has progressed there are those that are saying that it is getting harder to find good volunteers, rural fire departments are suffering, some services are even going as far as securing their doors and ceasing operation due to the lack of resources.

Yet there are those that are willing to help, they want to be independent in nature so the resources can be utilized by any agency that needs it without having to have the approval from a controlling agency first. There are those that have said they would be glad to help, but they can not afford to leave their work and when they can leave work, who covers their expenses for them?

We want instant access to the many support resources that are available, yet in order to have the resources available on short notice those that respond to the call need to know that expenses that they have will be covered. The challenge of maintaining equipment and the cost of transportation is definitely part of the problem. What about the cost of training and making sure the necessary equipment to provide a proper response is available? Then when the equipment is available what about the people that will operate the equipment, will they be able to handle the cost without some support financially?

The resources are present but what about the funding?

Nothing is really free …

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