Slides:  What Else Can I Do With Amateur Radio

Jan (KD7ZWV) talks about time, clocks, synchronizing time, and why we (amateur radio operators) care (or should care).

Slides:  Its About... Time.pdf

Jan (KD7ZWV) continues the APRS Deep Dive with a discussion of some advanced APRS usage, including APRS-IS services like EMAIL-2, WXBOT, WHO-IS, and WLNK-1 and web-based tools like aprs.fi and findu.

Slides:  APRS_Deep_Dive.pdf

Jan (KD7ZWV) revisits his introductory APRS presentation as a start to the next "deep dive" series for our advanced topics classes.  We'll be digging into APRS over the next few months.

Download the slides here:  APRS Introduction - Updated

Or review the presentation below:

Dan (N7XDL) talks to us about ham conventions in general and HamCon:Zion in particular.  HamCon:Zion was held in St George, UT on the 12th and 13th of July, 2024.  For more information about HamCon:Zion, please see HamCon:Zion.  Presentations were recorded and this post will be updated with a link to them after they have been published.

Slides are available for download here: HamConZion_PostAnalysis

Or read them on the site right here:

Dan (N7XDL) briefs us on using your radio and building your radio skills through Public Service events and also talks about Utah SAG, an organization devoted to connecting amateur radio volunteers with the organizations that need their services.

Download the slides here:  Public Service Events and Utah SAG

Or view them directly:

We had another Winlink session this week, with a concentration on P2P with packet.  P2P is peer-to-peer, sending messages directly from one Winlink client (i.e. Winlink Express) to another without going through an RMS or the CMS.  Five people brought their equipment this week, and we successfully accomplished P2P message transfers between three of them.

Next month we'll be playing catch up, trying to get everyone up and running with working Winlink accounts, getting RF working, and getting P2P working with both packet and VARA FM.  If you're planning to attend the Advanced Topics class next month, please plan to bring your radio(s), computer or other computing device, and an interface if required (some radio/computer combinations do not require an interface device).  If you need help figuring out what you need, let Jan (KD7ZWV) know or use the Contact Us form.

Our ultimate goal is to be able to haul our gear out into the wild and pass messages with Winlink.  To that end, we want everyone comfortable with the following:

• Winlink Account Creation
• Telnet Connections
• RF Connections to the CMS via an RMS
• RF Connections P2P with packet
• RF Connections (to RMS and P2P) with VARA
• Using Winlink Forms

Being comfortable doesn't mean you are ready to teach someone how to do it, but it does mean that you're able to get your own setup working.  You're encouraged to practice using Winlink often, send messages to each other, take your setup apart and put it back together, and understand the Winlink concepts.  If there are any of these you're uncomfortable with, come to the meeting in June and ask!

The fifth session of the Getting Started With Amateur Radio series, this session covers actually getting on the air... that includes things like finding frequencies, nets, repeaters, and other amateurs in your area, getting your radio set up, and the most dreaded first you will ever experience as an amateur radio operator:  pushing the PTT button for the first time!

Download the slides here:  Get On The AIR!

Or look at them right on the site below.

This week we continued our 2024 advanced topics program with a Winlink workshop.  Last month, we introduced Winlink and got people set up with the software, got Winlink accounts created, and made connections using "Telnet" protocol.  This month our focus was on getting people working with RF!  We had about ten folks show up with computers, radios, and interfaces and got most of them going on VHF, using both the Crossroads club's gateway (K7XRD-10) and West Valley City's gateway (N7WVC-10).

Next month we'll continue the process of getting everyone working on RF, and we'll experiment with P2P and other techniques.  If you're just getting started with Winlink, we'll help you get going from the ground up.  If you've had Winlink for a while but not used it much, we'll show you some things you can do.  If you're having trouble getting Winlink to work with your radio, bring it to the meeting and we'll help you get it running and working.

The fourth session of the Getting Started With Amateur Radio series, this session covers programming your radio.  We start with talking about various settings and configuration options, diving into detail on what each of the options are and why you would choose one setting over another.  We continue with a discussion of programming in frequencies (and where to find the frequencies to program in).  Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we got into the demos, so we'll continue this session next time, which will be April 4th, 2024.

We continued with a discussion of programming the radio's VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator) manually from the front panel and saving that information into a memory, then covered programming via software with the manufacturer's software, CHIRP, and RT Systems.

Here's the video from the second session:

Download the slide deck here:  Programming Your Radio

Or view the slides right now: