WinPak

Looks like WinPak is a popular program to use instead of Hyper Terminal.
http://www.winpack.org.uk/
http://www.apritch.myby.co.uk/uiv32.htm

Packet Station… COM 1 connection and ABAUD

Was able to mess around a little with the KPC-3+ at lunch. I need to take a look at my COM 1 settings.

9600 bits/s
8 data bits
no parity
1 stop bit
hardware flow control

There should also be a parameter to adjust the port on the KPC-3+ that connects to the PCs COM 1.

… yes there is… ABAUD. Default is 0, which does a self check. I need to set ABAUD to 9600.

Packet Station…….

I got the KPC-3+ operational with the FT-1500M. I did a soft reset on the KPC-3+ (as it was setup previously for APRS). Now I need to remember how I had the KPC-3+ settings configured when I was using it as a standard packet station. Here’s the settings recommended from NLARC, a nearby digipeater:

8BITCONV ON
AX25L2V2 ON
ABAUD 1200
AUTOLF ON
AXDELAY 0
AXHANG 0
BEACON EVERY 15 min
BKONDEL ON
BTEXT WB5POJ/KPC-3 (-1 PBBS) – Jim Byrd – jbyrd@members.vectec.org
BUDLIST OFF
BUDCALLS NONE
CANLINE $18 (CTRL-X)
CANPAC $19 (CTRL-Y)
CD INTERNAL
CHECK 0 (disabled)
CMDTIME 1 (1 sec)
CMSG ON
COMMAND $03 (CTRL-C)
CONLIST OFF
CONMODE CONVERS
CONOK ON
CPACTIME OFF
CR ON
CRSUP OFF
CSTAMP ON
CTEXT Hello – WB5POJ/KPC-3 – Jim Byrd – jbyrd@members.vectec.org
CWID EVERY 0 (disabled)
CWIDTEXT DE *
DAYTIME 11/21/01 08:26:37
DAYTWEAK 8
DAYSTR mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss
DBLDISC OFF
DELETE $08 (CTRL-H)
DIGIPEAT ON
DWAIT 0
ECHO OFF
ESCAPE OFF
FLOW ON
FILTER ON
FRACK 4 (4 sec)
FULLDUP OFF
HBAUD 1200
HEADERLN ON
HID ON
HTEXT
INTFACE TERMINAL
KNTIMER 15 min
LEDS ON
LCOK ON
LCSTREAM ON
LFADD OFF
LFSUP OFF
LLIST OFF
MONITOR ON
MALL ON
MAXFRAME 4
MAXUSERS 10
MBEACON ON
MCON OFF
MCOM ON
MRESP ON
MRPT ON
MSTAMP ON
MXMIT ON
MYCALL WB5POJ
MYALIAS
MYNODE WB5POJ-7
MYPBBS WB5POJ-1
MYREMOTE (you do not get to see this! hee hee)
NDWILD OFF
NEWMODE ON
NOMODE OFF
NTEXT
NUCR 0
NULF 0
NUMNODES 0
PACLEN 128
PACTIME AFTER 10 (1000 msec)
PARITY NONE
PASS $16 (CTRL-V)
PASSALL OFF
PBBS 5
PBFORWRD NONE EVERY 0 (disabled)
PBHEADER ON
PBHOLD ON
PBKILLFW OFF
PBLO NEW VARIABLE
PBPERSON OFF
PBREVERS ON
PERSIST 63 (25%)
PID OFF
PTEXT Hello from Jim Byrd’s KPC-3 – leave a message.
REDISPLA $12 (CTRL-R)
RELINK OFF
RESPTIME 5 (500 msec)
RETRY 5
RING ON
RNRTIME 0 (disabled)
RTEXT (you do not get to see this! hee hee)
SCREENL 0
SENDPAC $0D (CTRL-M)
SLOTTIME 10 (100 msec)
START $11 (CTRL-Q)
STATSHRT ON
STOP $13 (CTRL-S)
STREAMSW $7C (|)
STREAMCA OFF
STREAMEV OFF
SUPLIST OFF
SUPCALLS NONE
SWP 17,17,108
TRACE OFF
TRFLOW OFF
TRIES 0
TXDELAY 30 (300 msec)
TXFLOW OFF
UNPROTO WB5POJ VIA LARCND
USERS 1
XFLOW ON
XMITOK ON
XOFF $13 (CTRL-S)
XON $11 (CTRL-Q)

Packet Station: AD7MI-3

I’m trying to setup a packet station…. again. My initial attempt at packet was with my IC-706MKIIG and my Kantronics KPC-3+. It worked well, but now the IC-706MKIIG is dedicated to HF operations and I would like a stand alone packet station.

I’ve heard many good things about the FT-1500M being used for packet and APRS, as it has a built in DB-9 data connection. So I was able to get an FT1500M off eBay and have it up and operational. I also fabricated a power cable for the KPC-3+ using the PowerPoles.

My last use of the KPC-3+ (before I took it down) was an APRS Digipeater.

I need to relearn my TNC commands and figure out how to do make the KPC-3+ sing again.

2M Mobile Install

I installed a 2M rig in the Toyota Avalon today. I got a Radio Shack HTX-242 off of eBay. For the mount I used a Diamond K601M UHF hideaway trunk mount and a Diamond dual-band antenna. From the tests so far, the rig works pretty well. For an older radio, the HTX-242 has all the features of the rigs that are out there today.

Special Events

Aug 8-Aug 14, 1300Z-1700Z, Sycamore, IL. Amateur Operators of the Northern Illinois Steam Power Club, W9S. 50th Anniversary of Northern Illinois Steam Power Show. 28.390 14.268 7.268 3.990. Certificate. Bob Yurs, W9ICU, 1107 Commercial St, Sycamore, IL 60178. www.w9icu.com.

Aug 11-Aug 13, 2200Z-1900Z, Oscoda, MI. Wurtsmith Division Yankee Air Force, W8Y. Annual Fly-in and Pancake Breakfast. 28.365 14.265 7.265. Certificate. Wurtsmith Division Yankee Air Force, PO Box 664, Oscoda, MI 48750. www.wurtsmith-yaf-museum.org.

Aug 12, 1300Z-2000Z, Baltimore, MD. Social Security Employees Amateur Radio Club, W3SSA. 71st Anniversary of the Social Security Act. 14.280 7.280. Certificate. Greg Stec, K3ANG, 1624 Pickett Rd, Lutherville, MD 21093. Electronic certificate available, e-mail ac3p@arrl.net.

Aug 12, 1330Z-2130Z, Hawley, PA. Science Camp Watonka, KB3BUM. 8th Annual Event. 28.440 21.340 14.240 7.240. Certificate. Camp Watonka ARC, PO Box 127, Hawley, PA 18428. www.watonka.com.

Aug 12, 1400Z-2000Z, Newark, OH. Central Ohio Operators Klub Extra-Novice, W8TNX. Commemorating Johnny “Shiloh” Clem, youngest Army NCO. 18.160 7.250. Certificate. COOKEN, 1010 Blacks Rd SE, Hebron, OH 43025. www.cooken.org.

Aug 12, 1500Z-2100Z, Van Buren, IN. Grant County Amateur Radio Club, W9EBN. 34th Annual Popcorn Festival. 146.79 14.260 7.260. Certificate. Bart Bartholomew, WA9SPT, 6981 N E00 W, Marion, IN 46952. www.grantarc.com.

Aug 12-Aug 13, 0000Z-2359Z, San Angelo, TX. AB5BG. Honoring the Native American Codetalkers of WWII. 40 20 15 meters. Certificate. Don Goff, 1210 Ardmore, San Angelo, TX 76905.

Aug 12-Aug 19, 0000Z-2359Z, Royal Oak, MI. K8W. 12th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise. 14.250 21.400 7.250 3.950. QSL. K8W, 27120 Barrington St, Madison Hts, MI 48071.

Aug 12-Aug 21, 1600Z-2000Z, Indianapolis, IN. Indiana State Fair ARC, W9ISF. 150th Indiana State Fair. 21.340 14.240 7.240 3.860. QSL. W9ISF, PO Box 18495, Indianapolis, IN 46218-0495.

Aug 13, 1400Z-2100Z, Punta Gorda, FL. Peace River Radio Association, W4DUX. Commemorating the second anniversary of Hurricane Charley coming onshore at Gilchrist Park. 20 m. QSL. Gino Gerranti, KE4TJO, 391 Kenova St, Port Charlotte, FL 33954. .

Aug 13-Aug 14, 1400Z-2359Z daily, Window Rock, AZ. Navajo Amateur Radio Club, N7C. The Navajo Code Talkers Days. 14.265 7.265. QSL. Herbert Goodluck, N7HG, PO Box 3611, Window Rock, AZ 86515.

W7 QSL Bureau

The Willamette Valley DX Club is also home to the ARRL 7th District Incoming QSL Bureau (http://www.wvdxc.org/buro.php). The Bureau’s manager Ken, K7IFG, brings thousands of cards to our club meeting every other month where they are distributed to the individual letter sorters. Card sorting begins at 6:30, one hour prior to the general meeting.

Note: cards are only sorted in January, March, May, July, September, and November during the low in the sunspot cycle due to fewer cards.

For more information, contact the sorter for your section. The first letter after your call area determines your section. For example, ‘W7AC’ would be in the ‘A’ section.

Unfortunately, not all of the section managers have email addresses. To contact section managers without email addresses, send a letter using the US Mail to the bureau, with a SASE. The address is at the bottom of this page.

Please do not send applications, SASE’s or cash directly to the sorters, please send that via the WVDXC main address.

http://www.wvdxc.org/orderfrm.html

This weekend….

Got to do a recon up to the Misty Mountain Campground where I’ll be headed over Labor Day. The journey should not be too difficult. The campground looks nice. Tucked at the base of the Blue Ridge, it is a shady, quiet place – small pool and shaded areas where the RVs are tethered to their power and water supplies. There was a ham RV in the camp, but I can’t remember his callsign. Nice Class A motorhome with a small vertical antenna mounted on the back.

I got another envelope from the QSL bureau! It had about 4 or 5 QSL cards from Belgium. One had the special “OO” callsign from last year’s anniversary celebration.

Received a letter from Tom, AA4TB, in South Carolina that I asked about setting up a CW sked. A regular CW sked would really help me out and get me on the air practicing CW. I need to reply to him.

Been sampling the Samuel Adams Brewer Patriot Collection. Four 12oz beers come in a box. The flavors are interesting: Traditional Ginger Honey Ale, James Madison™ Dark Wheat Ale, George Washington Porter® and 1790 Root Beer Brew™. Now, understand that I am usually an adventurous beer drinker… but the Root Beer Brew was not good. Tasted like a juniper bush and licorious placed in a vat of otherwise unimpressive beer. The George Washington Porter was pretty good, although I’m not a huge porter fan. I haven’t got to the other two flavors yet… we’ll see.

The rest of today – I need to clean up the shack (… and the rest of the house!).

Radio club provides Boy Scout camp with electronics building

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
http://www.gtherald.com/

This summer, W8BSC was on the air.

Thanks to volunteers from the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club, Boy Scouts and Webelos camping at Camp Greilick this summer can earn merit badges in amateur radio, computers and electronics.

A new 384-square-foot building — dubbed the Radio Shack — houses a host of amateur radio, computer and electronics equipment. Over the past four weeks of Boy Scout camp, this equipment has kept interested Boy Scouts nearby, earning some the designation of Shack Lizard after they receive all three badges.

Using the radio equipment on one side of the building, Scouts have contacted HAMs both locally and around the country or practiced their Morse code skills. Workbenches along the other side of the building are filled with circuit boards, chips, soldering irons and other electronics paraphernalia.

“I’ve learned how to do QSOs and make the signal efficient,” said Alex Dewitt, a member of Troop 119 from Bay City. “I’m just getting into amateur radio. I’m still waiting to see if I can get anybody from Canada yet.”

Jill Raymer, a scout mom, volunteer staff member with the Scenic Trails Council and a volunteer with the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club, supervises the Radio Shack. Seemingly everywhere at once and with a great passion for both scouting and amateur radio, the Radio Shack is a slice of nirvana.

“What I like about the station is that we’re real busy: we went through 100 badges in a week,” said Raymer, a Manton resident who is also a member of the Wexaukee Amateur Radio Club. “Everybody is at least learning about radio even if they’re not earning a badge.”

Before the Radio Shack was completed in July, scouts interested in amateur radio previously used a Cherryland Amateur Radio Club emergency communications trailer. Raymer and club volunteers brought this trailer to the camp for a number of years. Then two summers ago, they moved equipment into a 100-square-foot building, whose frequent use demonstrated that there was interest in a permanent facility.

Members of the club worked out an agreement with the Scenic Trails Council to build an amateur radio, electronics and computer facility. They began gathering contributions for the shack in December of 2004 and finished building the structure last month.

“What happened was that some of the guys were out there for an open house or some darn thing and they said, ‘Wait a minute, let’s make this a little bit larger,'” said Chuck Mellberg, project coordinator of the Cherryland Amateur Radio Club, about the small building used two summers ago. “The scouting program has been very supportive of this.”

Club volunteers built the shack over the past year, aided by in-kind donations from area businesses. Members funded most of the cost, though they also received small grants from the Biederman Foundation, the Oleson Foundation, the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation and the Rotary Club Good Works Committee.

“I was surprised by the amount of funding we did receive,” Mellberg noted.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to get people interested in amateur radio and we took on this project as a way to get scouts interested through the merit badge program,” he added of the club’s commitment to the Radio Shack.

During the first half of the four-week Boy Scout camp that just ended, counselor-in-training Gus MacNeal, 14, taught an average of 30 scouts a day, about evenly divided between radio and electronics.

“A lot of the boys like taking these merit badges,” said MacNeal.

Raymer did note that boys are still boys: even with the new Radio Shack online, swimming is more enticing in the afternoons for all but the most devoted future amateur radio operators.

“We are very quiet in the afternoons during swim time so the kids interested can do the radio,” she said.