MARC members met and discussed our club's involvement with the Great Utah Shake Out, scheduled for 20 April 2023.  We identified several action items (see below) for the club to work on.  Here is a recording of the presentation:

Here are the action items we discussed:

1. have a presentation about the SAFE Neighborhood program and the JIT kits located at each school

   I have put together a very short presentation... please consider printing it out, taking it to your local school, and presenting it to your school's principal and/or PTA.  You can find the presentation on the club web site here:
   https://www.murrayarc.org/introduction-to-the-safe-neighborhood-program/

2. provide access to the SLCo ARES collection of files and materials that were distributed last year and should be included in each JIT kit:
   https://www.murrayarc.org/salt-lake-county-flash-drive-contents/
3. have an emergency procedures net on the day of the ShakeOut

   Please check out our eComms Protocol page on the club web site.  On the day of the Shake Out (this Thursday, 20 April 2023 at 10:15 AM) we will begin a drill emergency net as described here:  https://www.murrayarc.org/radio-resources/ecomms-protocol/

4. talk to the city engineer about the stability of our repeater tower
5. talk to the city council/mayor's office about our emergency power plan for the repeater
6. survey our membership:  who has equipment that will operate on 1.25m (i.e. our club repeater) AND who doesn't

   we took an informal survey during the last Sunday evening net and also would like people to fill out this form:  https://forms.gle/RFn126roP44n3GJTA

Dan (N7XDL) takes on repeaters in a way that is understandable to the new ham.  Have you ever wondered just what components go into a repeater system?  What the heck is a "cavity" and why doesn't my dentist care about it?  Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System vs. PL Tone?  Dan has the answers.

Jan (KD7ZWV) continues the presentation from two weeks ago, detailing Q-codes, Prosigns, and other code words used in Amateur radio, followed by some comments on everybody's favorite, Technobabble.

NOTE:  this is part two... the first half of this presentation can be found here:  Slinging the Lingo - Understanding the Old Men - part one - 2 March 2023.

Jan (KD7ZWV) lays out the language of the amateur radio operator. If you've been studying for your license (or have recently ... or not so recently ... received it), and you've been monitoring the local repeaters, you'll have heard several things that you may be unfamiliar with. This presentation will help you to gain an understanding of some of the words and phrases you are likely to hear on the air.

NOTE:  this is part one... we had so many comments and questions that we only made it about half-way through the presentation!  Tune in in two weeks for part two.

Paul (AE4KR) talks about WebSDR, which is software defined radio attached to a web site where multiple users can access it.  Here in Utah, we have an extensive WebSDR site available to all at https://www.sdrutah.org/ which is located near Corinne, UT.  This site has several receivers and several antennas available for your use.  Check it out!

Learn about different events and the roles and responsibilities of amateur radio operators.

Links from this presentation:

• Wisconsin and Idaho Stories
• Logan Canyon Story
• El Dorado Search and Rescue
• Timpanogos Emergency Response Team
• LOTOJA Frequency Map
• UtahSAG
• RATPAC Presentation on ICS Forms
• Links to previous classes mentioned in this presentation:
  • Go Kits
  • Cross-band Repeat
  • APRS
  • Tactical Call Signs

Dan (N7XDL) teaches us the basics of several common handheld radios.  Basic concepts are covered including turning your radio on (and off), switching between VFO and Memory Channel, and programming your radio for repeater use (including offsets and PL tones).  If you are a new ham, just getting used to your equipment, and you don't have an Elmer to ask, this presentation will get you on the local repeaters and operating your radio!

Radios covered include the typical Baofeng, Yaesu FT-60R, Yaesu VX-6R, and TYT TH-350.

Jan (KD7ZWV) briefs us on some of the gateways and services that we can access via APRS.  NOTE:  this is NOT an introduction to APRS briefing... for that, take a look at  Training Class - APRS which was presented via Zoom back in 2020.

Here are the slides for anyone looking... APRS_Gateways_and_Services.

Relevant links:

• SMS Gate (SMSGTE)
• E-mail Gateway (EMAIL-2)
• AP Spot

Not much of a turn out for the finale of RATPAC's Beginner's Guide to HF tonight, but we had some good conversation around a lot of the points.  This week's presentation covered setting up an HF station, including things like where to put it, what equipment is needed, antennas and grounding, power, and other requirements.  You can watch the video on RATPAC's site or right here:

The slides are available here:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zw217051om5lxtu/AACiqQxRS3DG9J9HDudQiSuIa?dl=0

Slide deck:  Packet Revisited