Iraq to Be Back on the Air Later This Month (Nov 13, 2007) — Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, President of the Iraqi Amateur Radio Society (IARS), announced today that effective November 20, all Amateur Radio activity will be “back to normal” in Iraq. Sayah said, “All Amateur Radio operators in Iraq who carry a valid Iraqi license will be able to use their radios according to regulations of IARU Region 1 and the IARS.” Amateur Radio activity in Iraq was suspended in March of this year, with the suspension affecting both Iraqi citizens as well as any foreigners — including military personnel and contractors — who have been on the air from Iraq. The request to halt all ham radio activity and the issuance of licenses in Iraq originated with a letter from the Iraqi Ministry of Defense to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as part of a new security plan, Sayah said.
Tag: yi9mi
Thank You AmateurLogic.TV!
My internet capability here is rather limited, especially when it comes to large downloads. I had seen a few episodes of AmateurLogic before I left the States and now I wanted more. But try as I might, the download usually timed out before I could get the whole episode. I sent Jimmy an 2GB SD card with a SASE and asked if he could mail me back some of the earlier episodes. Not only did he fill the SD card, but he included a CD with the complete collection of AmateurLogic episodes. You guys are great! He also asked if I could send a video clip of our radio activities here…. hmmm, maybe I can do a segment on my MARS station. More to follow…
AEN5AC
During my deployment to Iraq, I wanted to setup and operate a MARS station. I know that MARS is not nearly as well used by deployed soldiers as it once was to send MARSGrams and use phone patches to talk to family back home. Access to the internet and AT&T Call Centers now enable most soldiers to stay in touch. However, it is always good planning to have a back up for communications – and a MARS station provides that. I have been through initial MARS training back in Virginia, completing the basic course and participating in local nets. It was good to get that training because it provided me a better understanding of how MARS functions and well as educating me on basic net procedures. MARS nets are generally not procedurally similar to how military voice radio communications function today. It was good to be familiar with the differences.
Applying for a MARS callsign to operate in Iraq is straight forward. I contacted Mr. Daniel Wolff, AEM1WF, in Germany. Mr. Wolff processed my application and assigned me my MARS callsign as well as provided me with the regional net plans and basic MARS information for operating in the region.
For a station setup, I am using an ICOM IC-7000. The rig is a reasonably priced, full-featured radio with a modest size that lends itself to portable operations.
The primary means of moving MARS traffic in the region is digital, specifically Pactor using the WL2K/Airmail PMBO (Participating Mail Box Office) backbone. To add a Pactor capability to my station I initially chose the Kantronics KAM XL. Although this TNC is only capable of Pactor 1, it can do the job.
I wanted flexibility for the power system. We our currently on the Iraqi power grid which is 240V. At some point my team may relocate to a US-controlled area where the power source could possibly be 120V. I needed a power supply that was capable of using both a 120V or 240V electrical source – the Astron SS-30M suited this requirement nicely. For power distribution, I am using a RIGrunner which uses the Anderson Powerpole connectors. I’ve had past success using Anderson Powerpoles; they provide flexibility of operation and a dependable connection. The power grid here is up and down – I needed a battery backup to provide sustainable power during the brief outages. The solution was an 18Ah battery tied in through West Mountain Radio’s PWRgate. The PWRgate automatically transitions from the Astron SS-30M power supply to the backup battery should shore power fail and does so without a drop of supplied amps. I’ve been in the middle of a connection with the regional WL2K/PMBO when the power grid dropped and the PWRgate kept my the power coming without interruption.
I wanted a simple, efficient antenna that provided coverage from 80M to 10M with a modest footprint and that I could deploy with minimal assistance. A 130′ inverted vee was the solution. I am fortunate to be at a location where our one-story building has a high 20′ ceiling. There was also an unused 30′ OE-254 mast already emplaced on top of the roof that I could use to support the center point of the vee. Some more scrounging around the camp rewarded me with additional support polls that I used to get both ends of the vee 35′ off the ground. The building and surrounding structures allowed me to orient the antenna NE/SW, leaving the sides to face NW towards AEM1US in Germany and SE to AEN5QT in Qatar – the two nearest PMBOs. I used ladderline from the center point down to a 4:1 balun and into the LDG AT-200pro antenna tuner.
Installing Airmail (version 3.3.081) on my PC was straight forward with good directions provided by “Airmail for WL2K MARS_Basic Training. PDF” and additional help from the Yahoo Group. The KAM XL TNC (version 1.07050) is supported by Airmail and configures all the Airmail software settings for you. I did a hard reset on KAM XL then configured the KAM XL’s XMITLVL setting via Airmail’s Tools>Dumb Terminal. I used the CAL command and then the T command (send square wave) to create a signal into the IC-7000. I incrementally increased the XMITLVL value until I peaked the IC-7000’s ALC meter into the red. I then backed the XMITLVL setting down one. I make slight adjustments of the XMITLVL depending on the band I am operating on.
With Airmail, connecting to a PMBO is relatively easy. Bringing up the HF Module and selecting Mode>Monitoring Enabled allows you to see all communications between the PC and the modem.
Once you select Mode>Monitoring Enabled you’ll see:
cmd= MON ON/OFF
reply=MONITOR was OFF/OFF
Close the HF Module window and then go back to Airmail and select the HF Module again.
This time when the HF Module is stared, Airmail connects to the KAM XL and makes the following setting adjustments (which you can see because “Monitoring Enabled” is ON):
2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS KAM-XL modem initialized OK Next, select the callsign of the PMBO you are trying to reach. Combined with the integrated ITS HF Propagation software, it is easy to select the best frequency to attempt a connection. Airmail has the ability to control your rig directly and adjust the proper frequency and mode prior to transmitting. Adjustments can also be made manually by using the dial frequency/mode being displayed in the lower right corner of the HF Module window. When trying to connect, Airmail will make several 1 to 2 second transmissions attempting to raise the distant PMBO. I adjusted the IC-7000s MONITOR function to allow me to hear and confirm that the data is being transmitted. The following is displayed in Airmail’s HF Module window when you initiate a connection: 2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS Calling (PMBO’s callsign) cmd=PACTOR (PMBO’s callsign) Upon connecting, something like the following appears in the HF Module window: 2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS Connected to (PMBO’s callsign) The Following are a list of frequencies that this PMBO scans. (PMBO’s callsign) last contacted the Central server 1 min ago. AEN5AC de (PMBO’s callsign) QTC 0 Msgs 0 bytes> Airmail uploads outgoing mail before it downloads incoming mail – the process is automatic. Despite heavy QRM and QRN, Pactor is able to get through with just a 100 watts. Pactor 1 has a slow data rate, but can get simple text emails through quickly. I have recently upgraded the TNC to an SCS PTC-IIusb Modem with Pactor 3 capability. The PTC-IIusb provides a more stable connection and better data rate transfer. Future plans for the station include mounting everything in a road case for easy portability.
cmd= XFLOW OFF
reply=XFLOW was OFF
cmd= ECHO ON
reply=ECHO was ON
cmd= XMITECHO ON
reply=XMITECHO was ON
cmd= TXFLOW OFF
reply=TXFLOW was OFF
cmd= XFLOW OFF
reply=XFLOW was OFF
cmd= TRFLOW OFF
reply=TRFLOW was OFF
cmd= AUTOCR 0
reply=AUTOCR was 0
cmd= AUTOLF OFF
reply=AUTOLF was OFF
cmd= CRADD OFF
reply=CRADD was OFF
cmd= MAXUSERS 10/10
reply=MAXUSERS was 10/10
cmd= CRSUP OFF/OFF
reply=CRSUP was OFF/OFF
cmd= LFADD OFF/OFF
reply=LFADD was OFF/OFF
cmd= LFSUP OFF/OFF
reply=LFSUP was OFF/OFF
cmd= ARQID 0
reply=ARQID was 0
cmd= ARQBBS OFF
reply=ARQBBS was OFF
cmd= PTHUFF ON
reply=PTHUFF was ON
cmd= SHIFT MODEM
reply=SHIFT was MODEM
cmd= SPACE 3000
reply=SPACE was 1600
cmd= MARK 1400
reply=MARK was 1400
cmd= SPACE 1600
reply=SPACE was 3000
cmd= INV ON
reply=INVERT was OFF
cmd= MYPT AEN5AC
reply=ok
cmd= MON OFF/OFF
reply=MONITOR was OFF/OFF
cmd= PACTOR
reply=ok
cmd= MYPT AEN5AC
reply=ok
reply=ok
(LINKED TO (PMBO’s callsign))
1AEN5AC (This is your callsign)
(Pactor1: )
[WL2K-2.1.8-B2FHIMT$]
Welcome to…. (info concerning this PMBO you connected to)
Please note that not all these frequencies can be used from all locations.
Please consult your Netplan for proper usage in your area.
[AirMail-3.3.081-B2FHIM$]
; (PMBO’s callsign) de AEN5AC
FF
(PACTOR STANDBY)
2007/MM/DD HH:MM:SS Disconnected from (PMBO’s callsign)
Visalia man installs radio antennas to talk to son in Iraq
By Nick McClellan
Staff writer
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070811/NEWS01/708110360
Visalians driving south on Court Street just north of Caldwell Avenue may notice two skeletal misfits between the trees and houses on Oak View Drive.
But don’t mind them — they are there so a father can talk to his son deployed overseas with the Marines.
Or at least that’s what will happen after some further modifications.
Dan Woolman, who lives at 111 W. Oak View Drive and owns the 60-foot and 35-foot towers, first flipped the switch on ham radio at the age of 13. Now at 55, Woolman has resurrected his past enthusiasm for amateur radio in his retirement by investing more than $100,000 in top-of-the-line equipment and antennas.
“If there’s one thing I enjoy, it’s ham radio,” said Woolman, whose call sign on the airwaves is W6ATR. “It’s been a lifelong avocation for me.”
Woolman is also involved in the Navy-Marine Corps Military Affiliate Radio System program, which sends messages to service men and women overseas.
He hopes that once he has placed an 80-meter antenna onto his larger tower he will on occasion be able to speak to his 18-year-old son Brett, who has recently completed his fifth week of training with the Marines.
“I’m pretty proud of my son,” Woolman said. “He’s quite a kid.”
Woolman also wants to use the setup to help other families communicate with their loved ones who are in the military and overseas. That communication is usually through computer messages, called MARSGRAMS.
New technology has largely diminished the useful role ham radio once played in keeping military personnel in touch with their families back home.
“It has slowed down now with the advent of cellular telephones,” said Wilbert Musselman, a fellow ham radio user in Goldsboro, N.C., who chats with Woolman on air. “But it’s still active and [we’re] doing a lot of computer correspondence now.”
Woolman’s friend Mike Meraz of Visalia advised him in the building of the towers.
One of the more difficult tasks, Meraz said, included the piecing together of each of the antenna elements on the ground and delicately placing and balancing them onto the boom, which is suspended in the air.
Though Woolman elicited some attention from the city of Visalia over the structural integrity of the towers, Meraz said the cement has been stress-pressured. Aside from tightening bolts to the boom that may become loosened by torque from the rotating antenna, the structures are sound, he said.
“If he wants to, he can drop [the towers] all the way down, and it can clear
the roof,” Meraz said, which Woolman does do when high winds risk toppling the towers.
Woolman added that the towers are designed to withstand 70-mph winds, which are not frequent in the Valley. Woolman said the 80-meter antenna, will enable contact with his son and further participation with the military radio program. It operates at low voltage so it will not interfere with any of the neighbors’ electronics.
He said he offers filters to anyone who tells him they suspect the signals are responsible for interference.
Meraz, who will help him place the antenna on the 60-foot tower, said the two plan to install it this month.
As far as the reception on the airwaves to Woolman’s high-end hardware?
“By golly you have a good signal,” said one broadcaster.
# The reporter can be reached at nmcclell@visalia.gannett.com
Stranger in a strange land
I’ve been offline for quite a while. My work has taken me to a different part of the world which is not permitting me easy access to amateur radio. While I try to figure out a better solution to my current situation, I picked up a Grundig YB300PE. It is a very basic shortwave radio with only AM capability. I set up the supplied external antenna and have had some success listening to the major shortwave broadcasters. I found a great site for schedule information; the NASWA WWW Shortwave Listening Guide. The interface is easy to use but the latest date of the database says June 2006. That might be an issue. I also ordered one of my favorite annual publications: Passport to World Band Radio
My next goal will be to get a radio that gives me LSB/USB/CW receive capability. I want to be able to develop my CW listening skills using live QSOs.
I’ve not had the ability to do casual internet web surfing for the past few months, so I am catching up with my favorite amateur radio web sites.
Long Delayed Echoes – Jeff Davis, KE9V, consistently has insightful, original, and well written posts. The true highlight are his podcasts.
KB6NU’s Ham Radio Blog – Dan Romanchik, KB6NU, is the advocate for amateur radio. Heavily involved in his local club, Dan also fires up his HF rig on a daily basis and enjoying CW ragchews.
Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, has a regular column that appears on arrl.org called Surfin’. He highlights interesting amateur radio related websites and ties them to his own experiences.
Gary Hoffman, KB0H, has an arrl.org column called The Amateur Amateur. Always humorous but always on point with good advise and hard lessons learned (and sometimes relearned).
B. Scott Andersen, NE1RD, has an excellent site called the 100 Pound DXpedition. In his own words: The “100 pound DXpedition” describes my quest to do these DXpeditions with a minimum of equipment and maximum fun. Scott’s posts are wonderfully detailed and I learn something every time I visit his site.
Thank you to the above individuals and everybody else out there who is posting their thoughts, experiences, and amateur radio musings… it is allowing me to keep my amateur radio interest going even though I can’t get in front of a rig.
Iraqi Amateur Radio Shutdown Continues
NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 30, 2007 — Iraq Amateur Radio Society (IARS) President Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, says a ham radio blackout in his country remains in effect, with no end in sight. As part of the new security plan in Baghdad, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense earlier this month requested that radio amateurs remain off the air until security improves.
Because of a miscommunication, however, word failed to reach the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission, which still is issuing licenses.
Sayah chalks up the open-ended ham radio blackout to a misunderstanding of Amateur Radio on the part of the defense minister. Working through the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, the IARS has attempted — so far without success — to explain Amateur Radio to the Ministry of Defense.
“Because it’s between ministries, this will take time also,” Sayah said this week, adding that he was not optimistic about meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki anytime soon.
“Now anyone on the air is a pirate, as everyone is obliged not to use their radios at the present time,” he added. He said IARS members continue making contacts using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) modes such as IRLP, EchoLink and others.
The Ministry of Defense also had asked the IARS to store all licensees’ ham radio equipment during the shutdown, but Sayah says that’s not happening because of the dangerous situation that persists within the capital.
The ham radio shutdown affects non-Iraqi licensees, including members of the military and contractors holding YI9-prefix call signs. It does not apply to Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) operations, which use military frequencies.
Amateur Radio activity shut down in Iraq
Amateur Radio activity shut down in Iraq (Mar 13, 2007) — Iraq
Amateur Radio Society (IARS) President Diya Sayah, YI1DZ, has informed
ARRL that all Amateur Radio activity in Iraq has been suspended until
the security situation there improves. He says the suspension affects
both Iraqi citizens as well as any foreigners — including military
personnel and contractors — who have been on the air from Iraq. The
request to halt all ham radio activity and the issuance of licenses in
Iraq originated with a letter from the Iraqi Ministry of Defense to
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as part of a new security plan,
Sayah said. He received subsequent confirmation via the Ministry of
Higher Education and Scientific Research to shut down ham radio
activity, although he allows for a possible misunderstanding on the
part of government officials as to the nature and purpose of Amateur
Radio.