Don't forget about our November meeting and election on Monday, November
4th at:
Larry's Pizza
12911 Cantrell Road, Ste. 21
The Center at Highway 10
West Little Rock
Some of us will meet for dinner at 5:30 PM, but the meeting will start at
6:30 PM. You are not required to eat dinner to join us for the meeting.
I will be presenting a program on APRS Basics. Have you ever asked any of
these questions?:
What is APRS?
What are its uses?
How do I get a station on the air? (Does it have to cost a lot?)
What are digipeaters and iGates and how do they work?
What role does the internet play?
If so, be there to learn the answers and hopefully more. I'll have various
APRS equipment to show off. APRS is more than just tracking vehicles. Come
learn how you can put the mode to use yourself.
This will also be the annual election. We have a few small changes to the
constitution to vote on and then we will vote on officers for 2014. The
following are the current officers:
President: Randy Wright, AE5RW
Vice President: Jack Blackshear, AG5AS
Treasurer: Howard Nesmith, KE5ZGL
Secretary: Open Position
Past President: Jim Golden, K5MID
Member-at-large: Joel Echols, N5QLC (Through 2013)
Member-at-large: Luke Williams, AE5AU (Through 2013)
Member-at-large: Bill Maples, WA5BHW (Through 2014)
Member-at-large: Leon Robinson, K5JLR (Through 2014)
With the exception of Jack, everyone else is willing to run again for
their current office. Steve Hicks, W5NLR, has been nominated for the
position of Vice President. We will call for nominations to all officer
and expiring member-at-large positions and then vote on those positions
where there is opposition.
Hope to see you there!
73,
Luke - AE5AU
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The Baofeng UV-5R+
After hearing several people talk about these new, extremely affordable, Chinese ham radios, I had to get one for myself. Several of the people I know bought one of the Wouxun radios. These look nice, but I decided to try the latest model from Baofeng (pronounced "bow-fang"... I think). I purchased the UV-5R+ from Amazon for under $50. Since we have an Amazon Prime membership, the two-day shipping option was free.
So after reading through the "owner's manuel" (their spelling, not mine), I still have a ton of unanswered questions. Fortunately, while I was waiting for the radio to arrive I stumbled upon "The (Chinese) Radio Documentation Project"; the project's objective is to create better alternatives to these owners manuals. Luckily for me, the first manual that the project took on is for the Baofeng UV-5R.
The first thing I learned was to make use of the programming cable (sold separately) along with CHIRP: an open-source (free as in speech) and free (as in beer) utility to program many different radios. CHIRP really deserves its own review which I will likely write very soon - it is an incredibly useful application. My favorite feature so far, is its ability to import repeater info based on queries sent online. For example, I had it import all of the 2 meter and 70 centimeter repeaters in Pulaski County, Arkansas. Three clicks... done. Once you query for the repeaters that you want in the memory (or manually enter them through the spreadsheet-like interface), all you have to do is send it to the radio through the programming cable and you're all set.
The UV-5R has several features that I hadn't yet seen in any other model, such as:
So after reading through the "owner's manuel" (their spelling, not mine), I still have a ton of unanswered questions. Fortunately, while I was waiting for the radio to arrive I stumbled upon "The (Chinese) Radio Documentation Project"; the project's objective is to create better alternatives to these owners manuals. Luckily for me, the first manual that the project took on is for the Baofeng UV-5R.
The first thing I learned was to make use of the programming cable (sold separately) along with CHIRP: an open-source (free as in speech) and free (as in beer) utility to program many different radios. CHIRP really deserves its own review which I will likely write very soon - it is an incredibly useful application. My favorite feature so far, is its ability to import repeater info based on queries sent online. For example, I had it import all of the 2 meter and 70 centimeter repeaters in Pulaski County, Arkansas. Three clicks... done. Once you query for the repeaters that you want in the memory (or manually enter them through the spreadsheet-like interface), all you have to do is send it to the radio through the programming cable and you're all set.
The UV-5R has several features that I hadn't yet seen in any other model, such as:
- Audible speech menus comes standard (both English and Chinese)
- Changing the backlight color (purple, orange or blue) based on certain conditions (receiving, transmitting, default)
- Alarm
The alarm is an interesting feature. As you can see in the video below, you can optionally set the alarm to transmit a DTMF tone.
You might have picked up on the fact that the gentleman in the video said that there's no way to change what tones are sent when you use this feature, but here comes CHIRP to the rescue. In addition to making memory management easy, CHIRP allows you to configure several of the radio's settings that you won't find in it's menu. I decided to set the alert tones on my radio to the DTMF command that brings up our weather net on our local Skywarn repeater. I'll see later whether or not that's useful (or a good idea).
So far I'm very impressed with this dual-watch, 128 memory, dual-band radio. If anyone out there has any questions about it, please email them to me at N5JLC at CAUHF dot org, or simply comment on this post at http://cauhf.blogspot.com/. I'll update this post with any questions I receive. So if you are interested, check back for updates.
Until next time,
Joshua Carroll, N5JLC
Thursday, June 20, 2013
2013 ARRL Field Day
The CAUHF group will be operating a joint Field Day operation this weekend (June 22-23) with the ARES club at Fort Roots in North Little Rock. We will setup at the parade grounds on the south side of the hospital overlooking the river. Here's a link for directions via Google Maps:
On-air operation will be from 1:00 PM CDT Saturday until 1:00 PM CDT Sunday. Setup will start around 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. Come for the whole time or an hour. We will be happy to put you on the air if you like. There will be a GOTA (Get On The Air) station that is geared toward getting unlicensed people, new hams, and inactive hams on the air to make some contacts. A good time will be had by all. Have a new radio or accessory that you want to show off or need help with? Bring it! The plan is to have fun with our friends. If we score some points, that's even better!
Here are a few things that you might consider bringing:
Gasoline - if everyone brings a gallon or so, we should be good
Folding chair for yourself. Extras for visitors if you can.
Drinks, snacks
Tools, gloves
Sunscreen, bug spray
Radios, antennas, etc.
If you have any questions, let me know. On Saturday morning, I will be monitoring the 444.7 + / 114.8 tone repeater located on top of Ft. Roots. This machine is also linked to the rest of the AR Links system including 145.49 - / 114.8 tone if you don't have 70cm. You can also call my mobile at 501-590-4593.
73 and hope to see you there!
Luke
AE5AU
Monday, March 25, 2013
Piece, part and scrounge...
This story will likely make several of you Elmers cringe... you've been warned.
My HF radio is an Icom 720a, the old kind that requires a mic with a pre-amp. For the duration of the time it took me to complete Worked All States, I was using an IC-HM12 microphone - those familiar with that microphone will know that it does not have a pre-amp. This made for several awkward moments in the house: I would be working a station on the other side of the country and having to talk EXTREMELY LOUDLY INTO THE MICROPHONE JUST SO THE OTHER STATION COULD BARELY HEAR ME. Things would get awkward when my nine-year-old would wander into my radio shack (my home office) around 9 pm with the ever-present, "Daddy, you're too loud. I can't sleep." Click. Off goes the radio for the night. (Dang, right in the middle of a nice pile-up...)
My dad (N5GC) and I had a great time at the Russellville Hamfest again this year. We both walked away with some cool new trinkets. But the one thing that I was very excited to find, was a General Electric desk mic, that someone had installed a homebrew pre-amp in. Here's the catch: The only plug it has is a quarter inch audio plug. Here's the other catch: The PTT button was disconnected by the previous owner (why?).
Now, before I go further, I need to explain: I am extremely impatient. Also important to know, I am not the best with a soldering iron. I just had to get that mic on the air, but I didn't want to cut the plug off and figure out how to connect it properly. (I'm sure I don't have the right mic plug for this Icom anyway.) So, I remembered what the inside of my Rigblaster looked like: well labeled pins with jumpers between the input and output.. BINGO!... and out come the alligator clips.
[There it was. Did you hear the collective groans and gasps from every old ham everywhere?]
So, let me paint a picture for you: The GE desktop mic has two clips connected to the mic and mic-ground. Those clips run to the output side of the mic and mic-ground on the Rigblaster. To run the PTT, I have my original IC-HM12 mic plugged-in to the front of the Rigblaster. So, yes, all-in-all I'm operating with two microphones.
I know it's crazy: CRAZY AWESOME! I've been blasting through the recent QRM with my full 200 watts with no problem... and most importantly: no more screaming!
1. Yes, I know this isn't a permanent solution.
2. No, I do not recommend that anyone else try this.
Signed,
The Ham That's Now a Ham
Joshua Carroll, N5JLC
about.me/joshuacarroll
---------------------------------------------------
PS - You may be wondering how I know that my signal improved so well. Sometime last year I was surfing the web and came across websdr.org. It is exactly what the name implies: it is several Software Defined Radios that you can control over the web. They are for receiving only (no transmitting), but that's perfect for those times you're tuning your rig (or have a new pre-amp'd mic jury-rigged through a Rigblaster into a 200 watt HF transceiver) and it would really help if you could just hear yourself! I like using the W4AX in Atlanta, Georgia because I don't have to wait long for the gray-line to assist with propagation.
73!
My HF radio is an Icom 720a, the old kind that requires a mic with a pre-amp. For the duration of the time it took me to complete Worked All States, I was using an IC-HM12 microphone - those familiar with that microphone will know that it does not have a pre-amp. This made for several awkward moments in the house: I would be working a station on the other side of the country and having to talk EXTREMELY LOUDLY INTO THE MICROPHONE JUST SO THE OTHER STATION COULD BARELY HEAR ME. Things would get awkward when my nine-year-old would wander into my radio shack (my home office) around 9 pm with the ever-present, "Daddy, you're too loud. I can't sleep." Click. Off goes the radio for the night. (Dang, right in the middle of a nice pile-up...)
My dad (N5GC) and I had a great time at the Russellville Hamfest again this year. We both walked away with some cool new trinkets. But the one thing that I was very excited to find, was a General Electric desk mic, that someone had installed a homebrew pre-amp in. Here's the catch: The only plug it has is a quarter inch audio plug. Here's the other catch: The PTT button was disconnected by the previous owner (why?).
Now, before I go further, I need to explain: I am extremely impatient. Also important to know, I am not the best with a soldering iron. I just had to get that mic on the air, but I didn't want to cut the plug off and figure out how to connect it properly. (I'm sure I don't have the right mic plug for this Icom anyway.) So, I remembered what the inside of my Rigblaster looked like: well labeled pins with jumpers between the input and output.. BINGO!... and out come the alligator clips.
[There it was. Did you hear the collective groans and gasps from every old ham everywhere?]
So, let me paint a picture for you: The GE desktop mic has two clips connected to the mic and mic-ground. Those clips run to the output side of the mic and mic-ground on the Rigblaster. To run the PTT, I have my original IC-HM12 mic plugged-in to the front of the Rigblaster. So, yes, all-in-all I'm operating with two microphones.
I know it's crazy: CRAZY AWESOME! I've been blasting through the recent QRM with my full 200 watts with no problem... and most importantly: no more screaming!
1. Yes, I know this isn't a permanent solution.
2. No, I do not recommend that anyone else try this.
Signed,
The Ham That's Now a Ham
Joshua Carroll, N5JLC
about.me/joshuacarroll
---------------------------------------------------
PS - You may be wondering how I know that my signal improved so well. Sometime last year I was surfing the web and came across websdr.org. It is exactly what the name implies: it is several Software Defined Radios that you can control over the web. They are for receiving only (no transmitting), but that's perfect for those times you're tuning your rig (or have a new pre-amp'd mic jury-rigged through a Rigblaster into a 200 watt HF transceiver) and it would really help if you could just hear yourself! I like using the W4AX in Atlanta, Georgia because I don't have to wait long for the gray-line to assist with propagation.
73!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
CAUHF Meeting Informati
The next CAUHF Meeting is Monday, March 4, 2013 at Southwest Power Pool in Little Rock. Click on the link for the address and a map: http://www.spp.org/section.asp?pageID=16
You will need a government issued photo ID such as a driver's license to be admitted.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.
Joel Echols will talk about repeaters and their operation as well as pieces to show.
Steve Hicks will discuss power supplies and their change over time.
We will also give a radio away so join us Monday. See you there!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
REMINDER!!!
Reminder. CAUHF meeting tomorrow night. 5:30 at Larry's Pizza on Cantrell for dinner, meeting at 6:30We will be raffling a new dual band HT radio.Please come. If you have not paid your dues this year, please use the paypal link on CAUHF.ORG .
See you thereThanks
Randy Wright, President
CAUHF, Inc.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Club meeting, and the new year
QST, QST, QST, this is Randy Wright, AE5RW, your new president of the Central Arkansas UHF Group, amateur radio club. I want to personally invite you to join us for our next meeting, MONDAY NIGHT, FEBRUARY 4, 2013 at Larry's Pizza, 12911 Cantrell Road in Little Rock. Dinner hour and fellowship begins at 5:30 p.m. The meeting officially starts at 6:30 p.m., so if you cannot make it for dinner we would still like to see you at the meeting! Also, we will raffle a new handheld 2M/440 radio at this meeting!
January 2013 is a "new beginning" for the CAUHF Group; we are starting to 'rebound' and begin a new direction. We want you to be a part of this club and this new direction.
In this new year, we will start by focusing on
We have LOTS of newly-licensed hams in Arkansas, but they have gone no further. They do not know how to connect with other hams or ham radio clubs. We want to contact them, support them and get them on-the-air and active in the CAUHF Group. We need your ideas and help in solving that problem.
One more thing: we are going to raffle a new handheld radio at almost every meeting, so come and try your luck in the drawing! See you Monday, February 4th at Larry's Pizza on Highway 10.
If you have any questions, please contact me at AE5RW@ARRL.net or on the air through the ARLINKS repeater system, 443.200 with a 114.8 tone.
Randy Wright AE5RW
January 2013 is a "new beginning" for the CAUHF Group; we are starting to 'rebound' and begin a new direction. We want you to be a part of this club and this new direction.
In this new year, we will start by focusing on
- NEW hams
- Training
- New technologies
- New ideas
- Severe weather
- Internet communications (e.g. EchoLink and IRLP)
- Public service events
- Contests
- Connecting with other amateur radio clubs
- FINALLY--Fellowship, Food and having FUN with amateur radio!
We have LOTS of newly-licensed hams in Arkansas, but they have gone no further. They do not know how to connect with other hams or ham radio clubs. We want to contact them, support them and get them on-the-air and active in the CAUHF Group. We need your ideas and help in solving that problem.
One more thing: we are going to raffle a new handheld radio at almost every meeting, so come and try your luck in the drawing! See you Monday, February 4th at Larry's Pizza on Highway 10.
If you have any questions, please contact me at AE5RW@ARRL.net or on the air through the ARLINKS repeater system, 443.200 with a 114.8 tone.
Randy Wright AE5RW
Sunday, January 20, 2013
February CAUHF Meeting
Our February meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 4, 2013. I will be held at Larry's Pizza, 12911 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR. We meet at 5:30 p.m. for those who want to eat and then have the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Paid members will be voting on a revised Constitution and By-Laws with discussion of other topics.
See you there!
See you there!
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Election Reminder
Just a reminder that the CAUHF election of officers is Monday, November 5, 2012 at Buffalo Grill on Bowman Rd. in Little Rock. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. but you are invited to meet at 5:30 p.m. to eat. Please join us, especially if you are a paid member, for this very important meeting.
Thanks
John Goswick/W5JLG
Past President/Interim Secretary
Thanks
John Goswick/W5JLG
Past President/Interim Secretary
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Election of Officers and Board Members
Monday, November 5, 2012 is our annual election of officers and board members for 2013. We will meet at 5:30 p.m. for dinner and the meeting will begin at 6;30 p.m. As usual, we will meet at Buffalo Grill on Bowman.
This is a very important meeting and I hope all paid members will attend. Please remember that only members who have paid dues for 2012 will be allowed to vote. Any dues payment after September 30, 2012 will be applied to 2013.
Thanks and see you at Buffalo Grill!
John Goswick, W5JLG
Interim Secretary
This is a very important meeting and I hope all paid members will attend. Please remember that only members who have paid dues for 2012 will be allowed to vote. Any dues payment after September 30, 2012 will be applied to 2013.
Thanks and see you at Buffalo Grill!
John Goswick, W5JLG
Interim Secretary
Friday, September 28, 2012
October Meeting
The October meeting of the CAUHF Group will be Monday, October 1, 2012 at Buffalo Grill in West Little Rock on Bowman Road. Eating begins at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a program by Andrew Stephens, NT5LA, who will present HSMM-MESH. Background information on HSMM-MESH can be found at http://www.hsmm-mesh.org .
A short business meeting will follow the program.
A short business meeting will follow the program.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Tower Trailer Work Day
My apologies for the late post. I just wanted to remind you that we have a Tower Trailer Work Day tomorrow at 10am (if I remember my notes correctly) at Joel Echols' workshop behind his home at 1110 E. Maryland, Sherwood AR 72120.
Jim
Jim
Friday, March 2, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
February Meeting
Jim Golden asked me to send this out today.
CAUHF February Meeting
Monday, February 6, 2012
Whole Hog Cafe
2516 Cantrell Road
Little Rock, AR
We will eat at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Note that we will be at the Cantrell location and NOT the Markham St. location.
Hope you can attend!
CAUHF February Meeting
Monday, February 6, 2012
Whole Hog Cafe
2516 Cantrell Road
Little Rock, AR
We will eat at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Note that we will be at the Cantrell location and NOT the Markham St. location.
Hope you can attend!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
KARK To Sponsor Weather Spotter Class
KARK Storm Spotters class
Tuesday Night January 31 2012 6:30 pm
Location:
Apostolic Faith Tabernacle 3217 Airport Rd. Pearcy AR
Go to kark.eventbrite.com to signup for this course. John Robinson of the National Weather Service will be the instructor and you will receive a Spotter Certificate.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Best Wishes and Thank You!
As I end my two-year stint as your president I want to take a moment to thank you for your support during this time. You have been gracious through my mistakes and I think we have accomplished some things together. I appreciate those of you who have stuck with the club and have helped bring it along.
Thanks for your help and I know you will stand behind Jim as he takes the helm of this great CAUHF Group!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
John - W5JLG
Thanks for your help and I know you will stand behind Jim as he takes the helm of this great CAUHF Group!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
John - W5JLG
Randy Wright asked me to post the following announcement:
Weather team meeting... Thursday 11:30 Buffalo grill
We had a successful spotters class last month.. we had 175 completed spotters in the group.. A lot of those were ham radio operators and need to be involved in our group. We will be asking for help soon in getting them involved.
We have a lot to discuss as we approach the Winter Severe Storm Season. Please join us if you can.
See you there!
Weather team meeting... Thursday 11:30 Buffalo grill
We had a successful spotters class last month.. we had 175 completed spotters in the group.. A lot of those were ham radio operators and need to be involved in our group. We will be asking for help soon in getting them involved.
We have a lot to discuss as we approach the Winter Severe Storm Season. Please join us if you can.
See you there!
Monday, December 5, 2011
No Meeting in December
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your support these last two years. You have been a great group to work with and I look forward to continuing on the Board for the next year. I know you join me in pledging to work with the incoming officers and new Board members as the club moves forward.
Since there are so many meetings and parties in December we chose several years ago to not have a meeting in December. So, from Barbara and myself, please have a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year. See you in 2012!
John Goswick - W5JLG
Since there are so many meetings and parties in December we chose several years ago to not have a meeting in December. So, from Barbara and myself, please have a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year. See you in 2012!
John Goswick - W5JLG
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Weather Spotters Class
Folks,
There are only 95 tickets left for the Spotters Class! That means we will almost have a room full and we will need your help to make it a success. Please come out to help and go to the eventbrite website to grab a ticket. They are free and that will help us know how many from the club we can count on to help us that night.
See you November 29th!
John Goswick
There are only 95 tickets left for the Spotters Class! That means we will almost have a room full and we will need your help to make it a success. Please come out to help and go to the eventbrite website to grab a ticket. They are free and that will help us know how many from the club we can count on to help us that night.
See you November 29th!
John Goswick
Monday, November 7, 2011
Weather Spotters Class to be held Nov 29
The CAUHF along with KARK 4, WarnIM Emergency Communications and the National Weather Service, is invite you to attend a Storm Spotters class to be held on Tuesday, November 29th at 6:30 pm. It will be at the
First Assembly of God, 4501 Burrow Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72116.
This class is for people who want to have more knowledge of spotting storms during sever weather outbreaks.
John Robinson, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service will be teaching the class.
If you are interested in participating you need to do the following.
1. Complete the online registration at http://spottersclass.eventbrite.com/
2. Download the PDF material for the class and bring it with you. Click here to download the PDF.
3. Go into the MAIN entrance of the church and go to the Fellowship Hall. Someone will be there to help direct you.
The class will be approximately 2 hours long with a short break. There is no charge for this class. After completion, you will get a certificate from the National Weather Service Skywarn program.
Thanks, and we hope to see you there!
This class is sponsored by KARK 4, CAUHF amateur radio group, WarnIM Emergency Communications and the National Weather Service.
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