Need a place to gather and talk ham stuff? Click the Ham Chat link in the nav bar on the top of the page. I’ve set up a W9WSW channel via mibbit, one of the premiere internet relay chat providers, and it’s all yours. I have a trivia bot running in the background but it shouldn’t get in the way of your conversation. If the channel starts to get a lot of use, I can shut the bot down.
IRC was one of the original real-time Internet applications and is still the gold standard for us true geeks. I’m working up a bot to auto post weather stuff and am thinking about integrating a UIView feed there, too. What do you think? Too much? Too Little?
Be sure to set your nickname before you enter to something your friends can recognize.
Enjoy!
Scott W.
For those of you that could not attend the Duke City Hamfest banquet, here’s the MP3 of the presentation by Dennis Dura, K2DCD, ARRL Emergency Preparedness & Response Manager.
Listen Now - 16MB MP3 34 MIN
By Scott Westerman - W9WSW
“It seems to me…”
I saw an interesting poster at the recent Duke City Hamfest. It was an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper on which was printed the following: “Echolink is a nail in the coffin of amateur radio!” Juxtapose that with Bob Bruninga’s fascinating article in the September, 2008 QST, entitled Maximizing the Mobile Motorist Mission. As he talks about all the things we can do with an APRS enabled radio (Yup, I sold most of my VHF gear and will be buying a Kenwood 710 this week), the aggregation of wired and wireless communications to facilitate amateur communications is breathtaking.
These two divergent opinions exemplify the debate about what our hobby is and should be.
There are self-described purists who still believe that we should withhold operating privileges from those who can’t demonstrate Morse proficiency. They share our precious bandwidth with people who can communicate internationally on a hand held via IRLP.
With Fay bearing down on my kids in Florida, I’m listening to the hurricane net on 14.325 (nothing heard), watching the Ham generated spotting information pop up in real time on my WXSpots application and listening to Amateur manned EOCs talk to the NHC on the WX_TALK conference room on Echolink. Licensed Amateurs are donating their time, talent and treasure via all of these applications. And as the technological arts continue to evolve, Hams will likely be at the forefront, even as the radio-only crowd contends that anything that doesn’t involve an RF carrier isn’t Amateur Radio.
So here’s my definition of a Ham:
We are Communications Solutions Specialists who serve the public good by deploying robust, survivable telecommunications systems in time of need.
What does this mean? It means that when disaster strikes, Amateurs are among the first on the scene to set up emergency FM repeaters, long range low band (and satellite) communications systems and wireless broadband networks to seamlessly interconnect emergency services personnel and impacted citizens with the critical resources they need to ensure health and welfare. We are the common communication mechanism that can interconnect diverse emergency services organizations. We can provide expertise on everything from prorogation to CAT-5 and we have a McGyver can-do spirit that keeps the information flow going, no matter what.
In almost all disaster situations, the traditional communications and utility infrastructure is compromised. Hams have the technology and the expertise to quickly deploy applications that can re-connect effected areas with the telecom grid. It may start with FM and HF, but our HSMM laptops can relay email, pictures, video, data and voice communications even more effectively, using interfaces that are familiar and easy to operate. As WB4APR reminds us, we have our own unique text messaging infrastructure that can mirror the button punching we do on our cell phones. With an IGate, those messages seamlessly move from our spectrum to the light speed fiber optic networks that are the backbone of the Internet.
When Dennis Dura, K2DCD spoke to our hamfest banquet, The ARRL’s emergency preparedness and response manager cautioned us that the frequencies we use are worth billions to a government who likes to sell our resources to the highest bidder. The foundation of our small foothold in this space, he said, is Amateur Radio’s unparalleled record of community service.
This is the story we need to keep telling over and over.
Just as spark evolved to modulated carrier, Amateur Communications in the 21st century must inevitably become an ever expanding suite of wired and wireless applications, aggregated to best serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.
Our hobby has room for everyone and this definition should not stop you from banging the Vibroplex, if that’s your passion. But we should change our mindset of who we are, from Amateur Radio to Amateur Telecom.
Hams have been connected with every technological innovation from CW to the Internet. We will invariably be at the forefront as the paradigms of amateur telecommunications continue to shift.
This is the magic that attracts new blood to the hobby. And it can be the secret sauce preserves and expands the five pillars that are the foundation of the American Radio Relay League: Public service, advocacy, education, fellowship (membership) and technology.
Just as our neighbors call us first for advice on how to set up the security on their Internet routers, they can also depend on us to be there with radios, routers, antennae, solar panels, batteries and brainpower, “when all else fails”.
Are you a weather geek who thinks that the stuff at weather.com isn’t nearly enough to satisfy you?
Help me add to this list of cool weather resources on the web and on the air:
www.twitter.com - Follow @hurricanes & @weather. There is a growing ham community there, too.
EasternUsWx.com - Is a group of weather forums with a focus on the Eastern US. Good hurricane discussions there.
VOIPWxNet.com - Explains how to hear the weather nets on the web.
EchoLink - Listen in on the WX_Talk channel. The hurricane nets are reflected there.
WeatherTap.com - conducted by the people who publish Trade-a-Plane and directed toward pilots. This pay site has the best weather radar on the web.
weather.unisys.com - When the NHC site gets slammed, these servers have all the latest advisories and imagery.
Weatherbrains.com - An interesting podcast on the subject.
wxspots.com - Features a downloadable application that allows you to file and read storm reports.
SkyWarnOnline.com - Aggregates skywarn information in a single location.
On the bands - monitor The Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325. N5GAR has this comprehensive list of low band hurricane communications frequencies.
Share your additions / corrections via email to w9wsw@arrl.net.
By Scott Westerman - W9WSW
We chauffeured W5FHA around town for 2008 Field Day operations in central New Mexico. Here’s a sneak preview of the piece we submitted for next week’s This Week in Amateur Radio program. You’ll hear many familiar voices!
By Scott Westerman - W9WSW
We’re in the keys at this place.
You all know what we all do the first moment we arrive at a QTH. Any QTH. We’re looking for places to string the dipole. Well this place was perfect. A southeastern facing with nuthin but ocean out the front door. There are two perfectly placed palm trees at the beach edges of the lot line and a center point on the balcony ideally situated to hang the balun. All I needed was an Icom-7000, an LDG AT-7000 auto tuner, power supply, some coax and a B&W BWD90 dipole antenna. Could have packed it in a separate suit case easily, along with my HT. Even with the sunspots as they are, I bet I could have snagged some DX along the way. Continue Reading “Reminder to self: Next time, take your rig!” »
In addition to the NASA. gov feeds that most people watch, you can see shuttle video here, and if you want to experiment, check out the new peer to peer feed here (MSIE browser only). W9WSW.com provides Albuquerque pass projections for the ISS. Look on the right side of the page for the information and links.
Editors Note: Received via the NM Section ARES / RACEs Yahoo reflector on 5/13. Despite the low sunspot activity, 20 Meters can still be a hot place for DX in the evenings. Be sensitive to our fellow hams who are helping with relief work in the aftermath of the earthquakes in China and avoid transmitting on 14.270 Mhz for the time being.
A Magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Sichuan, China on Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:04 UTC. Casualties and loss unknown up to now. According to Chinese Radio Sports Association, 14.270, 7.050 and 7.060 MHz are preserved for amateur radio emergency service in the rescue.
A group of radio amateurs is now transmitting from Wenchuan, the center of quake. Their signal is reported to be very weak. They tried to keep communication with BY8AA in Chengdu, seeking for all resources needed. During a contact finished a few minutes ago, they were asking for raincoats, water, tents, and outdoor living facilities.
Please spread this message as far as you can and keep the frequencies clear for emergency use. Thank you.
Michael Chen, BD5RV/4
Email:michael.bd5rv@gmail.com
MSN: bd5rv@jsdxc.org
Skype: michael-bd5rv
Most of us know the almost inaudible whistles of PSK31, since the practitioners all hang out on 14.070. But whats the difference between slow scan and fax, ascii and rtty? And what the heck is FeldHell? Here em all right here.
By Scott Westerman W9WSW
Being a recovering early adopter of cool geek stuff, I waited a full 90 days before buying a Chumby. This slick little wifi device has a 4 inch screen, internal speakers, a Linux operating system and a totally open source platform that allows users to design their own applications. Being a weather an public service enthusiast, I immediately went searching the widget database for cool stuff I could hack for the ham community… and found this. Continue Reading “Getting the word out: Alerting via the web and on the air” »
