Note from the webmaster: Bil Munsil, K1ATV sent these videos along to promote amateur TV. Look for further info on ATV for the group. Also take a look at amateur television network website.
I’ll keep the news short since it is bad news – but first class postage rises to 46 cents. They are going to start offering forever international stamps, which I think is great. $1.10 for those. Full details can be found here. https://www.usps.com/new-prices.htm
Thanks to Jamie, KD4RJN for sending this to me. This is a club in PA that has an amazing repeater system, and they showcase details of it in this video. Check it out.
(Reprinted from a post by WB4KXS on the Richmond 900 yahoogroup)
Richmond’s first P25 digital repeater is… the same Richmond 900 MHz repeater that you are already using (927.050 MHz, WA4FC/R).
If you transmit into the repeater with an analog signal, the repeater transmits an analog signal. If you transmit using P25 digital, the repeater transmits P25 digital. This is known as “mixed mode” operation, and it works great!
When you use analog voice on our repeater, you must use 100.0 Hz PL just as you always have. Digital signals do not use PL, so digital signals will not be heard on analog radios unless you turn off the PL on your receiver. Therefore all the TK-981, TK-481, GTX, MTX, and any other radios you have been using will continue to work exactly as they always have.
When you operate in digital mode you will notice that you no longer hear the “ticks”, or the “horse galloping” background sound produced by the (very) nearby Motorola Canopy system. Also, the “swishing” noise on mobile and portable signals is gone.
EF Johnson 5100 portables are available on eBay right now for less that $100. The 5100 can operate in P25 digital mode, and it can also operate in analog mode.
The 5100 is, for the most part, a Motorola XTS-5000 re-branded and re-cased by EF Johnson. It uses the same accessories as the XTS-5000. Please don’t wait too long, since most of these radios have already been sold.
On a cool note, our old 6 meter beacon hardware (modified FT-690R pictured at left) will be placed into service in Michigan. K8JA/B will operate on 50.062 Mhz from EN82. This should be easily copied here in central VA when the band pops open later this year. It’s cool that not only are we able to upgrade our gear, but help get another beacon on the air.
The WA4FC/B station is a unique dual band system. The hardware, built by Dave, N4MW is part of an old MRI machine. The unit served as the synthesizer. Please see his beacon webpage for info on his systems.
One transmitter will handle transmissions on both 28.231 and our new 6m freq of 50.078 MHz. There is also only one keyer that will handle ID’ing, and it is arduino based. Speed will be about 15 wpm, power from amplifier (see below) will be five watts on both bands (up from 2w on 6m previously). Stay tuned for more details as we deploy the hardware.
WA4FC/B on 50.079.5 MHz is off the air until further notice, pending a move to a new location (200 feet up) and new hardware. It’s gonna be really cool. Stay tuned for further.
NXDN (aka NEXEDGE for Kenwood, and iDAS for Icom), is gaining traction on the amateur radio bands, thanks to the hard work of a few software gurus around the country. They have managed to build a software solution, that overcomes the 15-site limit that is built into Icom’s (and probably Kenwood’s) linking hardware. Thanks to their efforts, NXREF, a worldwide reflector for NXDN users, has been running for about three months. At the present time, there are about a dozen repeaters on the network, in the USA, Canada, and even Turkey. Plenty more are on the way.
Not only does NXREF carry voice traffic across the network, but it also allows for GPS-equipped radios, to be gated to the APRS network. These users are automatically given an SSID of 6. As long as the radio is programmed to transmit GPS data, the network does the rest.
Currently, there are no NXDN repeaters in the Richmond area. However, there are a few resources available to you, should you be interested in learning more about the technology, and the work that’s taking place:
First, there’s a WordPress site, at www.nxdninfo.com. This page will contain the most up-to-the-minute information about new repeater sites, and further development of the linking technology.
Second, there’s a Google Group, called NI4CE NXDN Users. Despite its name, the group hosts discussions from NXDN users worldwide. All are welcome.
Finally, you can hear it for yourself! NXREF is also streamed at http://w7qo.dyndns.org:8000/NXDN.mp3. It’s receive-only, but it will give you an idea of the type of traffic that goes across the system, as well as the voice quality. It’s not always busy, but listen in when you get the chance.
The Zed can be full of all kinds of stuff – people bitching about CW, no code techs, etc. But you can catch breaking news over there from time to time as well.
The USPS is discontinuing the sale of IRC’s officially. Personally, they have been a pain to find for many years anyway. Discussion is at this link.
The second thing is that it seems Icom is trying to breathe life into their suite of DSTAR equipped rigs (yawn) and offer the ability to operate DSTAR on HF, 10 and 6. That stuff can be found at this link.
Would love to see comments from you on your thoughts on both.
Glad you could make an appearance, Doug. 
AI4FO
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Richmond Weather ARRL News Announced DX Operations
