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2720 discussions

NPOTA
by Bill Talanian 04 Jun '16

04 Jun '16

To: Interested parties The below group will be coming to Santa Barbara from Arkansas to participate in the 100 th year of the National Park Service. All during 2016 National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) will be celebrated by participants contacting as many stations as possible within the park boundaries. Santa Barbara has a unique grid square on one part of Santa Rosa Island, CM93. This rare grid operation is by special arrangement with the local NPS office. If you have an interest in participating with operations on Santa Rosa from CM94 at the pier then get in touch with me or Mike Wapner K6QD. Note: The actual 100 th year date is August 25. Bill Talanian -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Re: Fwd: General Question Date: Fri, 3 Jun 2016 09:28:42 -0500 From: David Swanson <dave(a)druidnetworks.com> To: Bill Talanian <w1uuq(a)cox.net> CC: K6QD <k6qd(a)cox.net>, Wyatt Dirks <wyattdirks(a)msn.com>, Brian Milburn <brian(a)k6bpm.com>, Al Soenke <ajsoenke(a)aol.com> Bill et al, I've exchanged emails with Ian, and he has given us the go-ahead for our operation on Santa Rosa Island. We have to follow a few rules, but they're all things we can easily accommodate within our plans. I wanted to give you a special thanks for referring us to him, he was very understanding and immediately recognized what we were trying to do with the rare grid, and encouraged us to move forward with our plans. In fact, he wants to know our final QSO count once we're done :) So I guess at this point just let us know how much/how little the club would like to help out. Even something as simple as jumping on a repeater at some pre-arranged times to relay an email to our forums would be a tremendous benefit. Thanks again, 73! -Dave, KG5CCI

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Tinnerman nut
by Bill Talanian 31 May '16

31 May '16

WANTED 12-24 screw size Tinneman "U" type clip nuts for 19 " rack mounting electronic units. This clip is not found in stores.... industrially they sell for ~.50 cents each. Need about 50 each. Single Thread Wide Panel Range with U Design (EFC 01658)

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Lou Frenzel
by Darryl Widman 25 May '16

25 May '16

The Shack Is Back May 24, 2016 by Lou Frenzel, W5LEF, in Communiqué The exterior of a typical free-standing RadioShack store in Texarkana, Texas. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) Back in February 2015, Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy. Many of us feared that we had lost a popular source of electronic products and parts. Well, in case you didn’t get the memo, Radio Shack is alive and well as a new company. It did not come out of bankruptcy as is the usual case. Instead, Standard General, a New York hedge fund, bought the assets and brand and formed a new company under the ownership of General Wireless with the name Radio Shack. It retained about 1,700 of the original 4,000-plus stores. Roughly 1,400 of the 1,700 are co-branded with Sprint and the telecommunications giant will sell cell phones and subscriber plans on-site. More Blog Posts from Lou Frenzel DIY Makers, Hobbyists, and Experimenters Get Professional Software RadioShack: Tragedy or Inevitable? The Future of AM Radio Radio Shack is now a greatly scaled-down company and more focused on building a new business model around its stores and a greatly expanded online presence. It will continue to sell popular consumer electronics items, but also will take advantage of the growing DIY/Maker niche. Look for a growing number of Radio Shack smaller electronic kits in stores in the months to come. What they really need is a few signature larger kits to generate some significant buzz and dollars. Drones and robots come to mind, but that has been done. How about more radio products? Why not ham radio products, as this is a known and growing market? Besides, the former ham kit company Heathkit is not doing anything. Radio Shack is also pursuing an educational approach to the hobbyist market. It plans to participate in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) movement in schools to introduce students to these technical fields. It will also offer in-store learning sessions and demos. I urge them to do even more educational projects like offering books, learning kits, and online webinars. I am glad to see the survival of Radio Shack. It will continue to be a valuable resource for parts and accessories that many of us have come to rely upon. Let’s hope it flourishes with the new focus and direction. Check out the new website for an update. The whole Radio Shack bankruptcy and re-emergence took place in less than a year. Yet here we are many years later still waiting on Heathkit to come back to life as the premier kit maker. So far not much is happening. A few years ago, Heathkit conducted an extensive survey of old and potentially new customers to find out what they wanted. What came of that was a $149 AM radio. A TRF rather than superhet version at that. Battery powered with no tuning dial or speaker. What were they thinking? Who is the market for this anyway? Kids? Really? People still do listen to AM radio, but mostly in their cars. It is an adult news and talk radio business. Kids and millennials listen to online sources mostly and FM if it is radio. Anyway, what’s up with Heathkit? Such a great name and reputation is just going to waste. We all know that designing new kits is not easy, especially the larger and more complex kits Heathkit is known for. But how many years does it take? Is it a cash problem? Or maybe the new owners do not believe they can live up to Heathkit’s glorious past or new customer expectations. Whatever. Hey, Heathkit guys, do something soon. Radio Shack is already showing you up. There is a single individual who claims the assets of Heathkit and as near as I can tell he is trying to make a business out of selling copies of Heathkit manuals for those of us trying to resurrect older units that we acquired sans manuals. There are a few Ham radio oriented sites that sell NOS or salvaged parts for Heathkit as well. In any event the market may indeed be ready for another Heathkit style company but I think the old one is moribund and stifled by the low aspirations of the current owner of the Heathkit assets. We used to have Knight Kits (Allied Radio) and Eico Kits too (Lafayette Electronics?) Maybe Allied Electronics, with its interest in supporting the MAKER phenomenon, could be encouraged to bring back Knight Kits. Amateur Radio, Electronic Test Equipment, and Embedded computer applications come to mind as likely markets. My 2 cents worth. Lou Frenzel Lou Frenzel, W5LEF, writes articles and blogs on the wireless, communications and networking sectors for Electronic Design. Formerly, Lou was professor and department head at Austin Community College...

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UC Remote Receiver
by Bill Talanian 14 May '16

14 May '16

The TZ .19 Remote Receiver at UCSB is back on the air. Persons operating a 1/2 watt HT from Goleta should be able to be heard 100% thru the downtown Mesa TZ .79 repeater. Thanks to Matt Lechliter, W6KGB, and Calli Marquez, KD6OVS, for their work in aligning the Mesa Voter and link radio system with the GE M3 Repeater.

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Yaesu System Fusion Repeater Up
by Brian Milburn K6BPM 10 May '16

10 May '16

Hi All, We are testing our Yaesu 440 FM and digital repeater up at the La Vigia site for a couple of weeks before it goes back to it's permanent location at the WB6OBB site on Broadcast Peak. The repeater does both regular FM and Yaesu System Fusion digital voice. We are inviting everyone to give it a workout whether you have digital capabilities or not. The frequency is: 449.300 - minus offset - PL 131.8 Several of us will be monitoring as time allows. There are quite a few of us in the local area who do have Yaesu digital radios and it is a really different experience! Join us on this repeater if you can! 73 -- Brian - K6BPM

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System maintenance schedule.
by Bill Talanian 04 May '16

04 May '16

Folks: This coming Friday Calli Marquez, kd6ovs, and Matt Lechliter, w6kgb, shall be conducting in-depth fine tuning adjustments of the 19/79 Mstr III repeater and GE Voter at that the Mesa site. The repeater may be off the air from 1000- until completion. Please disregard any unusual on-the-air test activity unless the tech's request an outside response. The refined tuning and limited controller script additions should improve overall user functions as we move forward. Thanks for your consideration.

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Re: [Sbarc-list] Remote receiver
by Bill Talanian 04 May '16

04 May '16

Ken, Part of the process at Gordon's will be to perform any alignments during the transition. He has antennas up so not an issue. Your only a block away from Bruce and also in a good location. But we sure appreciate the offer of SB Electronics and keep that in mind for any future build-outs. The Chatsworth racks are what I'm looking for. I'm partial to a 7 footer with 12-24 mounting holes if you have one. Thanks for the offers. Bill Talanian On 5/4/2016 6:50 AM, Ken Alker wrote: > 1) You are welcome to locate the receiver at Santa Barbara Electronics > Supply (roof) in the Magnolia Shopping Center as well. Bruce may > already have a better solution, but I figured I'd throw that out there. > > 2) I will donate a 19" open-frame rack if you need one (I am pretty > sure I have a few Chatsworth racks I'm not using). > > Ken > > --On Tuesday, May 03, 2016 10:19 PM -0700 Bill Talanian > <w1uuq(a)cox.net> wrote: > >> >> Folks: >> >> For over 20 years SBARC has operated a linked remote 146.190 MHz >> receiver >> at UCSB. The coverage enables low level signals from Goleta to be voted >> along with the main input at the Mesa site. Recently UC rebuilt the >> electric power transformer and switch room where our equipment enclosure >> bay is located. The expansion in this utility room now leaves no space >> for the enclosure which requires us to completely remove the enclosure. >> In its place I am proposing an open bay 19 inch rack pending approval by >> UC facilities. During the process of performing all this mechanical work >> the remote receiver will be removed and temporarily located at the >> QTH of >> Bruce Gordon, N6OLT. Gordon's location is near the Magnolia shopping >> center. Since this is to the west of Campinal Hill it should cover many >> parts of Goleta. However, this location may be less than what we have >> seen from UC. The system should be down not longer than two days during >> the relocation process. >> > > > >

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Remote receiver
by Bill Talanian 04 May '16

04 May '16

Folks: For over 20 years SBARC has operated a linked remote 146.190 MHz receiver at UCSB. The coverage enables low level signals from Goleta to be voted along with the main input at the Mesa site. Recently UC rebuilt the electric power transformer and switch room where our equipment enclosure bay is located. The expansion in this utility room now leaves no space for the enclosure which requires us to completely remove the enclosure. In its place I am proposing an open bay 19 inch rack _pending approval by UC facilities._ During the process of performing all this mechanical work the remote receiver will be removed and temporarily located at the QTH of Bruce Gordon, N6OLT. Gordon's location is near the Magnolia shopping center. Since this is to the west of Campinal Hill it should cover many parts of Goleta. However, this location may be less than what we have seen from UC. The system should be down not longer than two days during the relocation process.

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Autonomous vessel
by Bill Talanian 18 Apr '16

18 Apr '16

Autonomous vessel under development to use AIS as one tool in ships identification. SBARC supports and maintains two AIS systems that cover the south coastal region. The two systems nominally pick up vessels from 300 to 900 nm out to sea. http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/military-robots/darpa-actuv-sel…

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QST
by Bill Talanian 15 Apr '16

15 Apr '16

QST Effective this date the former GE Mstr II repeater and its associated ACC RC-850 at the La Vigia site has been decommissioned. In its place is a GE MSTR III which will act as a surrogate system without any bells and whistles. It has the required time out timer and a CW ID. The remote TZ receiver at UCSB and voter will go away for the time being. All voice announcements has now gone away so personnel must make voice announcements as needed. The wide-band GE MSTR III will remain in place as a excellent standby system for the foreseeable future after system upgrade. As explained by Matt Lechliter, w6kgb, at last months club meeting, the Mstr II will be converted to a uMstr with the addition of a new RLC Club Controller. Essentially the former repeater retains the same electronic design configuration. However, all the mixed cabling used for multiple variants will be discarded which will make the system easier to maintain by improving the common interconnections. A single RLC controller is now capable of handling six serial interfaced independent systems, multiple macros, and planned system interfaces tailored to the needs of emergency services and daily users. Commonality of a single controller will have the capability to interface the six-meter repeater, 440 IRLP repeater, the UCSB remote link and voter, ELT receiver, NWS warning system, etc. Command integration of the 146.79 and 145.18 repeaters will now be possible via ethernet controls over the clubs microwave system. Most importantly the controller will be ethernet capable which will ease the load on control operators through remote configuration. We shall try to maintain the basic configuration of the previous club and ARES net functions as best possible. But no two systems have the same design features and capabilities so we must adjust and learn. As we move forward the first task is to upgrade the MSTR II to a uMstr. This should take about 2 months. Meanwhile the task of interfacing the six-meter and 440 system will be on-going. In time you shall see a much more capable system. A last word about the RC-850. The controller was way ahead of its time in the 70's. It has served the club extremely well by performing a myriad of timed macro's, voice synthesizer, paging variants, auto-patch capabilities, plus many control bells and whistles as a single system controller. The limitation of the 850 was interfacing of remotes or additional functions plus finding personnel who wanted to spend their time understanding the unique command software controls and becoming a good control operator-engineer. Hat's-off to the ACC people. They designed a controller that worked flawlessly for over 35 years. But time moves on. Hopefully the new system will attract competent technical people who love to work with systems integration. Bill Talanian

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