Starke County Amateur Radio Club	Newsletter

January 2006

Web address: www.w9joz.org
W5YI VE Team Testing
January 19, 2006 Club Meeting

For Sale Items - Amateur Radio Shirts
Reference Material for Emergency Communications
Special Events on-the-air

Repeaters – what are they and how to use them?

Enter repeaters. A repeater receives a signal and re-transmits it, usually with higher power and from a better location, to provide a greater communications range. Often located atop a tall building or high mountain, VHF and UHF repeaters greatly extend the operating range of amateurs using mobile and hand-held transceivers. If a repeater serves an area, it's not necessary for everyone to live on a hilltop. You only have to be able to hear the repeater's transmitter and reach the repeater's receiver with your transmitted signal.

Article Continued

Don't use the word "break" to join a conversation -- unless you want to use the repeater to help in an emergency.
Above article borrowed from ARRL web site.

Until next month 73.

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6	Type Title Here

The Club meeting will be held at the American Legion post in North Judson at 7:00 pm.

Guest speaker is Dean Shinneman, N9ZLS.

He will be talking on how to make wire antennas for HF and some VHF communications.

Dean is active on HF, especially 40 meters. He enjoys operating at Field Day and has conducted several Field Day events from various locations.

He lives in Delong, Indiana and has decided to join the Starke County Amateur Radio Club to enjoy the Ham Radio more.

He will have examples of the wire antennas at the meeting for all to see, so that you can understand how they work.

The VE team will conduct Amateur Radio licensing testing on January 11 at 6:00 pm. The location is the Starke County Public Library on West Culver Road in Knox, IN. The fee for each test is $14.00.

The team allows for you to take the test a maximum of three times. However, be advised that it will cost you 14 dollars each time you take the test.

So if you fail the first time, you can pay to take another version of the same license class test. If you pass the first test, then you can take the other two without an additional charge.

There are only three license classes currently available to be tested on in Amateur Radio: Extra, General, and Technician.

A 5 word Morse Code test is still needed for General and Extra classes to operate on HF frequencies.

If you have any questions you can e-mail w9joz@w9joz.org or call John, KA4HWX at 574-772-2772.

We hope to have a big turn out for the testing session.

When you have the correct frequency dialed in, just key your microphone button to transmit through ("access") the repeater. Most repeaters are open -- that is, available for use by anyone in range. Some repeaters, however, have limited access. Their use is restricted to exclusive groups, such as members of a club.

Such closed repeaters require the transmission of a continuous subaudible tone or a short "burst" of tones for access.

These are called CTCSS (continuous tone-coded squelch system) or PL (Private Line PL is a Motorola trademark) tones.

So, if you wanted to use the repeater in the preceding example, you would switch your transceiver to the duplex mode and dial up 223.92 to listen to the repeater.

When you transmit, your rig will automatically switch to 222.32 MHz (1.6 MHz lower in frequency), the repeater input frequency.

The Milwaukee Radio Amateurs' Club has a complete revision of the rules and regulations

for their annual FM Simplex Contest. Although they are oriented toward the Milwaukee

area, which is fortunate to have the intersection of four Grid Squares, the rules can easily be adapted for use anywhere. The event will be held on Sunday February 12 between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. The goal of the contest is to encourage folks, especially the newly licensed, to upgrade their stations and find a life beyond repeaters. Therefore, feel free to download the contest information from http://www.w9rh.org

Sherm, kb9q@arrl.net.

An interesting book was discovered on Emergency Power for Radio Communications, by Michael Bryce WB8VGE.

Explore the various means of electric power generation - from charging batteries, to keeping the lights on. This book covers the foundation of any communications installation - the power source. Use this book to prepare ways to stay on the air when the weather or other reasons cause a short term or long-term power outage. ©2005 ARRL.

Each of us at some time will lose commercial power and usually it is during a violent storm. This book will tell you how to prevent from losing contact during those times.

It is available from Universal Radio Inc. at http://www.universal-radio.com/index.html

The cost is $19.95.

At the Christmas Dinner some wives mentioned they were interested in knowing where Levi got his shirt. Come to find out that our speaker for this month was the contact.

Dean’s uncle makes the shirts and you can contact him at 574 542 2584. Just mention that Dean referred you.

Tony, KB9TBO found another source for shirts.

You can see what they have to offer at http://www.hamthreads.com

They have hats, shirts and jackets. They also offer several different custom-embroidered designs.

Mosley Classic 33 Triband Beam 75 dollars. Contact Tom, WA9NGO at wa9ngo@hotmail.com

Wanted: 2-meter rig contact Bob Brown, N9CQD 574-772-5079 or email him at rbrown001@earthlink.net

To use a repeater, you must have a transceiver that can transmit on the repeater's input frequency and receive on the repeater's output frequency. The input and output frequencies are separated by a predetermined amount that is different for each band. This separation is called the offset. For example, the offset on 1.25 meters is 1.6 MHz. A repeater on 1.25 meters might have its input frequency on 222.32 MHz and its output on

223.92 MHz. Repeater frequencies are often specified in terms of the output frequency (the frequency you set your receiver to listen on) and the offset. Your transmitter operates on a frequency that is different from the receive frequency by the offset amount. Most transceivers designed for FM repeater operation are set up for the correct offset. They usually have a switch to change between simplex operation (transmit and receive on the same frequency) and duplex operation (transmit and receive on different frequencies).

More hams use frequency-modulated (FM) voice than any other communications mode. Most hams have an FM rig of some type. They use it to keep in touch with their local friends. Hams often pass the time during their morning and evening commute talking on the air. In most communities, amateurs interested in a specialized topic (such as chasing DX) have an FM frequency where they meet regularly to exchange information. At flea markets and conventions, hand-held FM units are in abundance as hams compare notes on the latest bargain.

Generally, it's a good idea to use VHF or UHF for all local communications. The HF bands should be reserved for longer-distance contacts to reduce interference on the HF bands. VHF and UHF FM voice operation takes two forms: simplex and repeater. Simplex operation means the stations are talking to each other directly, on the same frequency. This is similar to making a contact on the HF bands.

FM voice operation is well suited to local VHF/UHF radio communication because the audio signal from an FM receiver is not affected by static-type electrical noise. Car engines and ignition systems produce quite a bit of static electrical noise, and many hams like to operate their FM radios while they are driving or riding in a car. (This is called mobile operation.) An AM or SSB receiver is affected much more by static-type electrical noise. The communications range for VHF and UHF FM simplex is usually limited to your local area (5-15 miles). If you live high on a mountain and use a high-gain directional antenna, you may be able to extend your range considerably. Unfortunately, most of us do not have the luxury of ideal VHF/UHF operating conditions. Often, we want to make contacts even though we live in a valley, are driving in a car or are using a low-power, hand-held transceiver.

There are also some repeaters available for use by everyone that requires the use of special codes or subaudible tones to gain access.

Simplex Operation

After you have made a contact on a repeater, move the conversation to a simplex frequency if possible. The repeater is not a soapbox. You may like to listen to yourself, but others, who may need to use the repeater, will not appreciate your tying up the repeater unnecessarily. The function of a repeater is to provide communications between stations that can't otherwise communicate because of terrain, equipment limitations or both. It follows that stations able to communicate without a repeater should not use one. That way, the repeater is available for stations that need it.

Besides, communication on simplex offers a degree of privacy impossible to achieve on a repeater.

To make a distress call over a repeater, say "break break" and then your call sign to alert all stations to stand by while you deal with the emergency.

Use plain language on a repeater.

Courtesy Counts

If you are in the midst of a conversation and another station transmits his or her call sign between transmissions, the next station in line to transmit should acknowledge the new station and permit the new arrival to make a call or join the conversation.

Special Interest Articles

VE Testing is January 11.

Club meeting is January 19.

Individual Highlights

For Sale Items - Amateur Radio Shirts	2

Emergency Communications	2

Special Events	2

This month’s article is on Repeater Use.	3

Next month article will be on HF Operations.

“You never know who you'll run into when communicating with Amateur Radio.”

Finding a Repeater

Most communities in the United States are served by repeaters. While the majority of repeaters (over 6000) are on 2 meters, there are more than 1600 repeaters on 222 MHz, more than 5000 on 440 MHz, over 70 on 902 MHz and more than 200 on 1270 MHz. More repeaters are being put into service all the time.

Repeater frequencies are selected through consultation with frequency coordinators -- individuals or groups that recommend repeater frequencies based on potential interference and other factors.

There are several ways to find the local repeater(s). Ask local amateurs or contact the nearest radio club.

Repeater Operating

Before you make your first FM repeater contact, you should learn some repeater operating techniques. It's worth a few minutes to listen and familiarize yourself with the procedures used by other hams in your area. Accepted procedures can vary slightly from repeater to repeater.

Your First Transmission

Making your first transmission on a repeater is as simple as signing your call. If the repeater is quiet, just say "N1GZO" or "N1GZO listening" -- to attract someone's attention.

After you stop transmitting, you will usually hear the unmodulated repeater carrier for a second or two. This squelch tail lets you know that the repeater is working. Someone interested in talking to you will call you after your initial transmission. Some

repeaters have specific rules for making yourself heard. In general, however, your call sign is all you need. Don't call CQ to initiate a conversation on a repeater. To join a conversation in progress, transmit your call sign during a break between transmissions. The station that transmits next will usually acknowledge you.

“The ARRL Repeater Directory, has a comprehensive listing of repeaters”

“To call another station when the repeater is not in use, just give both calls.”

Starke County Amateur Radio Club

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2005-12-31

Microsoft Corporation