PBARC - User contributions [en]

SignaLink

2023-07-02T20:32:21Z

KJ7RRV-bot: Fix links to redirects

A '''SignaLink''' is a device used to connect a computer to a radio transciever for [[digital]] modes and [[SSTV]]. The current and most popular model, the SignaLink USB, has a built-in USB [[Glossary#sound card|sound card]]; it connects directly to a computer via USB. It connects to the radio by a specialized cable made specifically for that particular model of radio. The SignaLink USB works with [[Linux]], [[Windows]], and [[Mac]].

The SignaLink can be ordered online from [https://shop.tigertronics.com/ Tigertronics]. Be sure you get the right cable for your radio! A jumper module is not required; you can do the same thing with wires inside the SignaLink. If you have difficulty working with small wires, however, it may be worth spending the extra $10 for a plug-and-play jumper module. If you do choose to buy a jumper module, it also needs to be compatible with your radio.

{{CC BY-SA|2022-2023}}

Repeater

2023-07-02T20:32:20Z

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A '''repeater''' is a combination of a receiver and a transmitter that receives a signal and retransmits it, so that signals can cover longer distances. A repeater sited at a high elevation can allow two stations, otherwise out of line-of-sight propagation range of each other, to communicate. In addition to amateur radio, repeaters are used in commercial and government mobile radio systems.

The repeater receives on one radio frequency (the "input" frequency), demodulates the signal, and simultaneously re-transmits the information on its "output" frequency. (When a single frequency is given for a repeater, it is the output frequency.) All stations using the repeater transmit on the repeater's input frequency and receive on its output frequency. Since the repeater is usually located at an elevation higher than the other radios using it, their range is greatly extended.

Because the repeater both transmits and receives the same time, isolation must exist to keep the repeater's transmitter from degrading its own receiver. If the repeater's transmitter and receiver are not isolated well, the transmitter will "desensitize" the receiver, causing the repeater to interfere with itself. The problem is similar to being at a rock concert and not being able to hear the weak signal of a conversation over the much stronger signal of the band. Typically, repeaters use sets of filters (called duplexers) to avoid this. Stations using the repeater do not need these expensive filters because they do not transmit and receive simultaneously.

Amateur repeaters in the [[2 meter band]], the most commonly used [[VHF]] [[Glossary#band|band]], usually use a 600 kHz (0.6 MHz) separation. In the 1.25-meter band (another VHF band, rarely used), a 1.6 MHz separation is used. In the 70 cm band, the most widely used [[UHF]] band, a 5 MHz separation is most common, and in the 902–928 MHz band, another UHF band, a 25 MHz separation is used.

== List ==
=== PBARC Repeaters ===
* {{960}}
* {{840}}

=== Other Repeaters ===
* {{250}}
* {{880}}
* {{180}}
* [[K6JR DMR Repeater]] (RX 443.800 MHz, TX 448.800 MHz CC:1)

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Radio repeater}}

R-S signal report

2023-07-02T20:32:19Z

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The '''R-S''' signal report system is used to exchange information about the quality of a [[single-sideband]] [[voice]] radio signal being received. The code is a two digit number, with one digit each for conveying an assessment of the signal's readability and strength.

For [[CW]] operation, a third digit for "Tone" ('''T''') is added; this is not relevant for SSB.

== Readability ==
The '''R''' stands for "Readability". Readability is a qualitative assessment of how easy or difficult it is to correctly copy the information being sent during the transmission. Readability refers to how easy or difficult it is for each spoken word to be understood correctly. Readability is measured on a scale of 1 to 5.

# Unreadable
# Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable
# Readable with considerable difficulty
# Readable with practically no difficulty
# Perfectly readable

== Strength ==
The '''S''' stands for "Strength". Strength is an assessment of how powerful the received signal is at the receiving location. Although an accurate signal strength meter can determine a quantitative value for signal strength, in practice this portion of the RS code is a qualitative assessment, often made based on the [[Glossary#s meter|S meter]] of the radio receiver at the location of signal reception. Note that S meters are often not accurately calibrated, although they are useful for estimating signal strengths. "Strength" is measured on a scale of 1 to 9.

# Faint—signals barely perceptible
# Very weak signals
# Weak signals
# Fair signals
# Fairly good signals
# Good signals
# Moderately strong signals
# Strong signals
# Extremely strong signals

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|R-S-T system}}

Q code

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The '''Q-code''' is a standardized collection of three-letter codes that each start with the letter "Q". It is an operating signal initially developed for commercial [[Morse code|radiotelegraph]] communication and later adopted by other radio services, especially [[amateur radio]]. To distinguish the use of a Q-code transmitted as a question from the same Q-code transmitted as a statement, it is suffixed with the standard Morse question mark {{overline|UD}} (dit dit dah dah dit dit).

Although Q-codes were created when radio used Morse code exclusively, they continue to be employed after the introduction of voice transmissions and are commonly used on CW (Morse code), [[digital]], and, to a lesser extent, [[phone]] modes in amateur radio. To avoid confusion, regulations are in place that prevent [[Glossary#call sign|call sign]]s containing Q codes from being issued.

Used in their formal question / answer sense, the meaning of a Q-code varies depending on whether the individual Q-code is sent as a question or an answer. For example, the message "QRP?" means "Shall I decrease transmitter power?", and a reply of "QRP" means "Yes, decrease your transmitter power", whereas an unprompted statement "QRP" means "Please decrease your transmitter power". It is more common, however, for them to be used informally; "QRP" is often used as an adjective meaning "low power," such as in the phrase "QRP transmitter." "QRM" literally means "Do you have interference?" or "I have interference," but is often used as a noun simply referring to interference itself, as in "I have QRM making it hard to hear you."

== Codes ==



=== QRA ===

'''Question:''' What is the name (or call sign) of your station?

'''Statement:''' The name (or call sign) of my station is ____

=== QRG ===

'''Question:''' Will you tell me my exact frequency (or that of ____)?

'''Statement:''' Your exact frequency (or that of ____ ) is ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QRH ===

'''Question:''' Does my frequency vary?

'''Statement:''' Your frequency varies.

=== QRI ===

'''Question:''' How is the tone of my transmission?

'''Statement:''' The tone of your transmission is (1. Good; 2. Variable; 3. Bad)

=== QRJ ===

'''Question:''' How many voice contacts do you want to make?

'''Statement:''' I want to make ____ voice contacts.

=== QRK ===

'''Question:''' What is the readability of my signals (or those of ____)?

'''Statement:''' The readability of your signals (or those of ____) is ____ (1 to 5).

=== QRL ===

'''Question:''' Are you busy?

'''Statement:''' I am busy (in contact with ____ ). Please do not interfere.

=== QRM ===

'''Question:''' Do you have interference?

'''Statement:''' I have interference.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' interference

=== QRN ===

'''Question:''' Are you troubled by static?

'''Statement:''' I am troubled by static.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' noise

=== QRO ===

'''Question:''' Shall I increase power?

'''Statement:''' Increase power.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' high-power

=== QRP ===

'''Question:''' Shall I decrease power?

'''Statement:''' Decrease power.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' low-power (usually less than 5 W)

=== QRQ ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send faster?

'''Statement:''' Send faster (____ WPM).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' fast (in Morse code)

=== QRS ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send more slowly?

'''Statement:''' Send more slowly (____ WPM).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' slow (in Morse code)

=== QRT ===

'''Question:''' Shall I cease or suspend operation? / shutoff the radio?

'''Statement:''' I am suspending operation / shutting off the radio.

=== QRU ===

'''Question:''' Have you anything for me?

'''Statement:''' I have ____ messages for you.

=== QRV ===

'''Question:''' Are you ready?

'''Statement:''' I am ready.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' on the air (e.g. of [[DXpedition]]s)

=== QRW ===

'''Question:''' Shall I inform ____ that you are calling (him) on ____ kHz (or MHz)?

'''Statement:''' Please inform ____ that I am calling (him) on ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QRX ===

'''Question:''' Shall I standby? / When will you call me again?

'''Statement:''' Please standby / I will call you again at ____ (hours) on ____ kHz (or MHz)

=== QRZ ===

'''Question:''' Who is calling me?

'''Statement:''' You are being called by ____ on ____ kHz (or MHz)

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' [https://qrz.com QRZ.com], a popular online [[Glossary#call sign|call sign]] database

=== QSA ===

'''Question:''' What is the strength of my signals (or those of ____ )?

'''Statement:''' The strength of your signals (or those of ____) is ____ (1 to 5).

=== QSB ===

'''Question:''' Are my signals fading?

'''Statement:''' Your signals are fading.

=== QSD ===

'''Question:''' Is my keying defective?

'''Statement:''' Your keying is defective.

=== QSG ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send ____ telegrams (messages) at a time?

'''Statement:''' Send ____ telegrams (messages) at a time.

=== QSK ===

'''Question:''' Can you hear me between your signals?

'''Statement:''' I can hear you between my signals.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' full break-in, a feature of CW transceivers that allows a transmitting station to hear another station when the key is up by rapidly switching the receiver back on momentarily during breaks in transmission

=== QSL ===

'''Question:''' Can you acknowledge receipt?

'''Statement:''' I will acknowledge receipt.

'''Colloquial usage:''' [[QSL card]]s are named after this code.

=== QSM ===

'''Question:''' Shall I repeat the last telegram (message) which I sent you, or some previous telegram (message)?

'''Statement:''' Repeat the last telegram (message) which you sent me (or telegram(s) / message(s) numbers(s) ____ ).

=== QSN ===

'''Question:''' Did you hear me (or ____ (call sign)) on ____ kHz (or MHz)?

'''Statement:''' I did hear you (or ____ (call sign)) on ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QSO ===

'''Question:''' Can you communicate with ____ direct or by relay?

'''Statement:''' I can communicate with ____ direct (or by relay through ____ ).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' an amateur radio contact

=== QSP ===

'''Question:''' Will you relay a message to ____ ?

'''Statement:''' I will relay a message to ____ .

=== QSR ===

'''Question:''' Do you want me to repeat my call?

'''Statement:''' Please repeat your call; I did not hear you.

=== QSS ===

'''Question:''' What working frequency will you use?

'''Statement:''' I will use the working frequency ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QST ===

'''Question:''' Should I repeat the prior message to all amateurs I contact?

'''Statement:''' Here follows a broadcast message to all amateurs.

'''Colloquial usage:''' The ARRL's magazine, ''QST'', is named after this code.

=== QSU ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send or reply on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz))?

'''Statement:''' Send or reply on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)).

=== QSW ===

'''Question:''' Will you send on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz))?

'''Statement:''' I am going to send on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)).

=== QSX ===

'''Question:''' Will you listen to ____ (call sign(s) on ____ kHz (or MHz))?

'''Statement:''' I am listening to ____ (call sign(s) on ____ kHz (or MHz))

=== QSY ===

'''Question:''' Shall I change to transmission on another frequency?

'''Statement:''' Change to transmission on another frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''verb'' to change frequency (or, sometimes, to move physically)

=== QSZ ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send each word or group more than once?

'''Statement:''' Send each word or group twice (or ____ times).

=== QTA ===

'''Question:''' Shall I cancel telegram (message) number ____ as if it had not been sent?

'''Statement:''' Cancel telegram (message) number ____ as if it had not been sent.

=== QTC ===

'''Question:''' How many telegrams (messages) have you to send?

'''Statement:''' I have ____ telegrams (messages) for you (or for ____ ).

=== QTH ===

'''Question:''' What is your position in latitude and longitude? (or according to any other indication)

'''Statement:''' My position is ____ latitude ____ longitude.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' current location

=== QTR ===

'''Question:''' What is the correct time?

'''Statement:''' The correct time is ____ hours UTC.

=== QTU ===

'''Question:''' At what times are you operating?

'''Statement:''' I am operating from ____ to ____ hours.

=== QTX ===

'''Question:''' Will you keep your station open for further communication with me until further notice (or until ____ hours)?

'''Statement:''' I will keep my station open for further communication with you until further notice (or until ____ hours).

=== QUA ===

'''Question:''' Have you news of ____ (call sign)?

'''Statement:''' Here is news of ____ (call sign).

=== QUC ===

'''Question:''' What is the number (or other indication) of the last message you received from me (or from ____ (call sign))?

'''Statement:''' The number (or other indication) of the last message I received from you (or from ____ (call sign)) is ____.

=== QUD ===

'''Question:''' Have you received the urgency signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station)?

'''Statement:''' I have received the urgency signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station) at ____ hours.

=== QUE ===

'''Question:''' Can you speak in ____ (language) – with interpreter if necessary – if so, on what frequencies?

'''Statement:''' I can speak in ____ (language) on ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QUF ===

'''Question:''' Have you received the distress signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station)?

'''Statement:''' I have received the distress signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station) at ____ hours.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Q code}}

PSK31

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[[File:PSK matrix.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A waterfall display depicting several PSK31 transmissions at around 14.070 MHz. The green lines indicate a station that is transmitting.]]

'''PSK31''' (Phase Shift Keying, 31 Baud [symbols per second]) is a computer sound card-generated keyboard-to-keyboard [[digital]] mode, used for real-time chat, most often using frequencies in the [[HF]] amateur radio [[Glossary#band|bands]]. PSK31 is distinguished from other digital modes in that it is specifically tuned to have a data rate close to typing speed, and has an extremely narrow bandwidth, allowing many conversations in the same bandwidth as a single voice channel. This narrow [[Glossary#bandwidth|bandwidth]] makes more efficient use of the radio energy in a very narrow space thus allowing relatively low-power equipment to communicate globally using the same [[skywave]] [[propagation]] used by [[single-sideband]] (SSB, the most popular HF voice mode) operators and shortwave broadcast radio stations.

Unlike [[FT8]] but similar to [[JS8]], PSK31 allows for conversations, rather than simple automated exchanges.

== Hardware and software ==

A PSK31 operator typically uses an SSB transceiver connected to the sound card of a computer running PSK31 software. When the operator enters a message for transmission, the software produces an audio tone that sounds, to the human ear, like a continuous whistle with a slight warble. This sound is then fed through either a microphone jack (using an intermediate resistive attenuator to reduce the sound card's output power to microphone levels) or an auxiliary connection into the transceiver, from which it is transmitted. It is common to use a prebuilt interface such as a [[SignaLink]], or to use an interface built in to the radio.

From the perspective of the transmitter, the sound amounts to little more than somebody whistling into the microphone. However, the software rapidly shifts the phase of the audio signal between two states (hence the name "phase-shift keying"), forming the character codes. These phase shifts serve the same function as the two tones used in traditional [[RTTY]] and similar systems.

To decode PSK31, the audio whistle received from the transceiver's headphone output is fed into a computer sound card's audio input, and software decodes it. The software displays the decoded text.

Aside from a standard radio transceiver and a computer with a sound card, very little equipment is required to use PSK31. Normally, an older computer and a few cables will suffice, and many PSK31 software applications are [[Free and Open Source Software|free and open source]] (FOSS). [[Fldigi]] is a popular program that supports PSK31 as well as many other digital modes. Many operators now use a commercially available interface/modem device between their computers and radios. These devices incorporate the necessary impedance matching and sound level adjustment to permit the sound card output to be injected into the microphone input, send the radio's audio output to the sound card input, and handle the radio's transmit-receive switching. Sound card to radio interfaces typically use isolation transformers on both the send and receive audio paths to eliminate hum caused by ground-loops. Many interfaces also incorporate their own sound card and can be powered and run from the computer via a single USB connection. Some modern transceivers have these interfaces built in, requiring only a USB connection from the computer to the radio.

== Resistance to interference ==
Like other narrow band digital modes (such as FT8), PSK31 can often overcome interference and poor [[propagation]] conditions in situations where voice or other methods of communication fail. However, PSK31 was designed only for leisure use by amateurs, and due to its relatively slow speed and limited error control, it is not suitable for transmitting large blocks of data or text, or critical data requiring high immunity from errors.

PSK31 works well over propagation paths that preserve phase, and resists fading ([[Q code#QSB|QSB]]) well. However, it can be adversely affected by propagation modes—such as transpolar paths—where auroral "flutter" or [[multipath propagation]] can disrupt the signal phase continuity. In such cases the use of QPSK is often beneficial.

== BPSK31 and QPSK31 variants ==
Typically, usage of the term "PSK31" implies the use of the most commonly used variant of PSK31: binary phase shift keying (BPSK31). The BPSK variant of PSK31 uses no error control. QPSK31, the variant based on quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), uses four phases instead of two. It is simple to switch from BPSK31 to QPSK31 if difficulties arise during a contact; QPSK31 has the same number of symbols per second, and hence the same bandwidth as the BPSK variant. In a coherent receiver, the bit error probability of QPSK is the same as for BPSK operating at the same power, making QPSK31 the generally preferable mode from a robustness, and thus reach, point of view.

Using four instead of two phases provides twice the physical layer bit rate, which allows addition of redundant information to provide a degree of forward error correction. When QPSK is used, after the text is converted to a sequence of bits, a special code is applied which doubles the length of the sequence by adding redundant information. This code is designed so the receiver can often perfectly reconstruct the original text, even if the bit sequence contained some errors.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|PSK31}}

Licensing guide

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[[File:International amateur radio symbol.png|100px|right]]
[[File:PBARC Logo.png]]

Thank you for visiting our website!

The Technician (entry-level) license exam is not too difficult, and obtaining a license costs at most $50. You can purchase an entry-level radio for under $30, so the total cost of becoming a ham is under $80.

== Get licensed ==
Are you interested in obtaining an [[amateur radio license]]?

With changes to the licensing requirements and testing procedure, becoming a ham is now easier than ever! The FCC removed the Morse code requirement for licensing in 2008. While you certainly can learn Morse code and use it on the air, you are no longer required to learn it. There are many options for studying for the exam, including both online resources and printed books. The exams can be taken remotely if you don't want to (or can't) go to an in-person exam session.

=== Study ===
[https://hamstudy.org HamStudy.org] is a very helpful no-cost online tool for studying for the exams. It lists all questions in the exam pool, and allows you to practice using a flashcard format that automatically adapts based on how well you do in particular categories. You can click the corner of any question card to see an explanation of the answer.

If you would prefer a paper book, the [https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2003373064 ARRL study guide] is a good resource.

=== Test ===
In order to obtain your license, you must take a Technician class exam. You can take the exam online or in-person. In either case, you may have to pay up to $15 for the exam.

==== In-person ====
PBARC conducts in-person exams at the [[Chetco Activity Center]] every two months. (More information coming)

==== Online ====
HamStudy offers a [https://hamstudy.org/sessions/remote remote exam finder]. In an online exam, you will take the test in your web browser while on a video call with the [[volunteer examiners]].

Some groups will offer free exams for applicants meeting certain requirements, such as for veterans or people under a certain age.

=== Pay the FCC fee ===
You will have to pay $35 to the FCC. (More information coming)

== Get on the air! ==
After your license is issued, congratulations! With your Technician license, you may now use all [[VHF]] and [[UHF]] ham radio [[Glossary#band|bands]] and some [[HF]] bands.

== First radio ==
Most people choose an inexpensive [[HT]] (handheld radio; ham radio walkie-talkie) for their first radio. The [https://www.amazon.com/BAOFENG-144-148MHz-420-450MHz-Compliant-Rechargeable/dp/B08VNM1CX4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3MGROQ5A7FNUE&keywords=Baofeng+gt-5r&qid=1654565849&sprefix=baofeng+gt-5r%2Caps%2C258&sr=8-3 Baofeng GT-5R] is a popular model and costs under $30.

[https://qrz.com QRZ.com] will often sell a starter pack including an [https://www.gigaparts.com/explorer-qrz-1-5w-vhf-uhf-handheld-transceiver.html Explorer QRZ-1] radio to new US hams at a low cost; see [https://www.qrz.com/jumpstart/ this page] for details.
{{CC BY-SA|2022}}

'''NOTE''': This license does '''not''' apply to the club logo.

Home Page

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[[File:International amateur radio symbol.png|100px|right]]
[[File:PBARC Logo.png|alt=Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club]]

* '''[[Licensing guide]]: how to get a license!'''
* [["Ask Me About" Roster]]
* [[Frequently Asked Questions]]
* [[Repeater|Repeaters]]
** {{840}}
** {{960}}
* [[Nets]]
** [[Health and Welfare Net]], every day at {{time|12|00}}* on the {{840}}
** [[Public Service Net]], every Tuesday at {{time|18|45}} on the {{960}}
** [[10 Meter Ragchew Net]], every Sunday at {{time|18|00}} on 28.400 MHz USB
* [[Events|Upcoming]]
* [[Meetings]]: last Friday of every month at {{time|18|30}} at the [[Chetco Activity Center]]
* [[Contact]]

<nowiki>*</nowiki> All times in local (Pacific) time.

== News ==
{{NewsArticle|Field Day 2023|Field Day 2023|2023-06-27|Field Day 2023 was at the Harbor Fire Department/Harbor Water District parking lot on June 24th and 25th.}}
{{NewsArticle|Azalea Parade 2023|Azalea Parade 2023|2023-05-27|PBARC provided radio communications for the Azalea Parade on May 27.}}
{{NewsArticle|March 2023 POTA Activation|POTA activation at Crissey Field|2023-03-25|PBARC had a [[Parks on the Air]] activation at Crissey Field on Saturday, March 25.}}
{{NewsArticle|Festival of Lights|Donation from Nature's Coastal Holiday|2023-02-28|PBARC helped with parking control at the Festival of Lights at Azalea Park in 2022, and we received a $500 donation from [https://naturescoastalholiday.com Nature's Coastal Holiday]. Thank you!}}
{{loggedout|
==Log in ==
Members with accounts: [[Special:UserLogin|log in here]]|div}}
__NOTOC__

{{CC BY-SA}}

HF

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'''High frequency''' ('''HF''') is the range of radio waves between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted medium frequency ([[MF]]), while the next band of higher frequencies is known as the very high frequency ([[VHF]]) band. The HF band is a major part of the "shortwave" band of frequencies, so broadcast stations using these frequencies are often called shortwave stations. Because radio waves in this band can be reflected back to Earth by the [[ionosphere]] layer in the atmosphere – a method known as "skip" or "[[skywave propagation|skywave]]" [[propagation]] – these frequencies are suitable for long-distance communication across intercontinental distances and for mountainous terrains which prevent [[Line-of-sight propagation|line-of-sight]] communications. The amateur [[Glossary#band|bands]] included in HF are 80 meters (m), 60 m, 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m, and 10 m. Although 6 meters is a VHF band, it also sometimes exhibits skywave propagation similar to that normally found on HF.

In addition to amateur radio, HF is used by international shortwave broadcasting stations (3.95–25.82 MHz), government time stations, weather stations, CB radios, and some aviation radios, among other uses.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|High frequency}}

Glossary

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This is a '''glossary''' of common amateur radio terms. If you can't find the term your looking for, try the search bar above; terms for which we have complete articles are not listed here.

== Band ==

A '''band''' is a contiguous segment of the radio frequency spectrum. For example, the 2 meter band, the most widely used [[VHF]] amateur radio band, extends from 144 to 148 MHz (megahertz). (Megahertz are a measurement of frequency.) Bands can overlap; for example, VHF itself is the band of frequencies from 30 to 300 MHz.

== Bandwidth ==

'''Bandwidth''' is the width of the [[#Band|band]] occupied by a particular signal. It varies significantly with the [[mode]] in use; an [[FT8]] signal has a bandwidth of about 50 [[#Hertz|Hz]], while an [[SSB]] signal is typically about 3,000 Hz (3 kHz). A WiFi signal has a bandwidth of at least 20,000,000 Hz (20 MHz), far too wide for use on [[HF]] or [[VHF]] bands, but suitable for some [[microwave]] bands in [[High-Speed Multimedia]] networks. All else being equal, a signal with a narrower bandwidth will be received more strongly than a wider signal, but will not convey as much information in a given period of time. Another benefit of a narrower bandwidth is that it leaves more "room" for other operators.

== Call Sign ==

'''Call signs''' are issued to all amateur radio operators and many clubs by the [[FCC]] (in the US) or the equivalent government agency in other countries. They are used as identifiers on the air, and must be transmitted at least every ten minutes in conversation and at the end of the conversation. Some examples of call signs are "K7AGE" and "W1AW." PBARC's call sign is W7BKG, hence the address of this site.

The FCC assigns a "sequential" call sign such as "KJ7RRV" upon passing an exam to obtain an [[amateur radio license]], but a custom "vanity" call sign can be obtained afterwards as long as it meets the FCC's requirements and is not already assigned. In addition to the $35 fee to obtain a license, another $35 must be paid for a vanity call sign.

You may be more familiar with broadcast call signs such as KURY, KPOD-FM, or KDRV-DT; these are also issued by the FCC (or its equivalent) for the purpose of identifying a station.

== Contact ==

''See [[#QSO|QSO]]''

== Designator ==

A '''designator''' is a suffix (or sometimes prefix) added to a call sign and separated with a "/" character (spoken as "slash" or "slant" on [[phone]] modes). Common designators include "slant portable" ("/P" on [[digital]] and [[CW]]), used to indicate an operation away from one's home station, "slant mobile" ("/M"), used for operation from moving land vehicles (parked vehicles are considered portable, not mobile), "slant marine mobile" ("/MM") used from boats and ships in the ocean (boats in inland waters are considered mobile, like land vehicles, not marine mobile), and "slant aeronautical mobile" ("/AM") used from aircraft in flight. (Do not operate an amateur radio station on a boat, ship, or aircraft without permission from the captain or pilot in command.)

== High-Speed Multimedia ==

A '''High-Speed Multimedia''' (HSMM) network is a [[digital]] computer network using WiFi protocols running on amateur radio [[microwave]] frequencies. Most networks use off-the-shelf consumer WiFi routers with modified software and external antennas. HSMM networks allow basically any software that works over the Internet to be used over amateur radio, although there are restrictions based on FCC regulations. There is currently no HSMM network in the Brookings area, but there are some plans to build one in Crescent City which would likely include at least part of Brookings.

== HT ==

[[File:Baofeng_UV-5RA_DSC_2497w.jpg|thumb|A Baofeng UV-5RA, a popular model of HT|200px|right]]
An '''HT''' ('''handheld transceiver''') is a handheld, battery-operated [[amateur radio]] [[Glossary#transceiver|transceiver]]. Virtually all HTs are low-power (typically 8 watts or less) [[VHF]] and/or [[UHF]] radios.

== Packet Radio ==

'''Packet radio''' is a [[digital]] system that creates computer networks using radio links. [[APRS]] is a popular use of packet radio.

== QSO ==

A '''QSO''', also known as a '''contact''', is any communication in which two amateur radio stations exchange their call signs and at least one other piece of information, such as locations or [[R-S signal report|signal reports]]. The term "QSO" originates from the [[Q code]], a system of abbreviations originally used to shorten Morse code communications.

== S meter ==

[[File:ICOM_IC-732_S-Meter.jpg|thumb|An S-meter from an ICOM IC-732 transceiver|200px|left]]
An '''S meter''' shows the strength of a radio signal on a scale of 1 to 9; often, it indicates signals stronger than S9 with labels such as "+20dB", which indicates 20 dB above S9. One '''S-unit''' typically equals 6 dB. S meters are named after the strength component of an [[R-S signal report]].

== Sound Card ==

A '''sound card''' is a computer peripheral device that encodes and decodes audio signals. They can be built into the computer or connected externally by USB. The [[SignaLink]] is a special sound card designed to connect to ham radio transceivers for [[digital]] modes such as [[FT8]] and the [[Fldigi]] modes.

== Transceiver ==

A '''transceiver''' is a radio device that can both transmit and receive signals. Most ham radios are transceivers.

{{CC BY-SA|2023}}

Frequently Asked Questions

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This is a list of '''frequently asked questions'''. If you don't find what you're looking for here, try the search box above; also check the [[glossary]]. If you have any more questions, please email [mailto:sam@kj7rrv.com sam@kj7rrv.com].

== Questions ==

=== What do phrases such as "five by nine" mean? ===

These are [[R-S signal report]]s. The two numbers represent readability and signal strength.

=== What does "73" mean? ===

"73" is a "code word" that means "best regards". It originated with [[CW]] (Morse code) radio operators, who seek to abbreviate as much as possible because Morse code is much slower than speech, but is also very commonly used on voice radio modes.

=== Why do hams have so many antennas? ===

Different [[Glossary#band|band]]s require different [[antenna]]s to avoid high [[SWR]]. For example, an antenna that works very well for making worldwide contacts on [[HF]] will probably be useless for checking into local [[nets]] using [[repeater]]s on [[VHF]].

Also, it is sometimes useful to have multiple antennas for one band. For example, a [[dipole antenna]] does not radiate much energy off the ends of the wires; it may be useful to have two dipoles perpendicular to each other for use when talking to people in different regions. A [[beam antenna]], which works very well in one direction, will not work well when talking to several people in different places.

=== Is it "ham radio," "Ham radio," or "HAM radio"? ===

"Ham" is not an acronym or proper noun. It is capitalized as a regular word; If it appears at the beginning of a sentence, it should be capitalized, but otherwise it should be lowercase. Basically, capitalize "ham radio" if you would capitalize "broadcast radio" in the same context.

{{CC BY-SA|2022-2023}}

Digital

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There are many '''digital''' modes available for amateur radio, including keyboard-to-keyboard modes such as [[RTTY]] (radioteletype), [[PSK31]], and [[JS8]], file transfer modes such as [[MT63]], partially-automated "weak signal" modes such as [[FT8]], networking systems such as [[Glossary#packet radio|packet radio]] and [[High-Speed Multimedia]] (HSMM, Wi-Fi mesh networks using ham radio), and [[digital voice]] modes such as [[FreeDV]] and [[DMR]]. [[Slow-scan Television]] (SSTV) is also often included in the digital modes, despite the fact that most SSTV modes are technically analog, because the use of computers for encoding and decoding SSTV is now almost universal.

== Keyboard-to-keyboard modes ==
RTTY, the first digital mode, is a keyboard-to-keyboard mode. RTTY was developed before computers were widely available; originally, special electric typewriters were connected to hardware radio modems. However, the use of these systems is now rare; the majority of RTTY operators use computer software that modulates and demodulates the tones using the computer sound card. PSK31 operators virtually always use a computer for modulation and demodulation. PSK31 has several advantages over RTTY, including improved reliability and support for lowercase letters. JS8 is even more reliable than PSK31, although it is significantly slower and, like RTTY, does not support lowercase letters. JS8 uses much of the same technology as FT8.

== Weak-signal modes ==
Weak-signal modes, such as [[FT8]], use mostly automated exchanges to improve performance with weak-signals. They tend to be quite slow; FT8 takes 15 seconds to send a 13 character message. [[JS8]] is somewhat unusual; it uses the weak-signal technology of FT8 for keyboard-to-keyboard communication.

{{CC BY-SA|2022-2023}}

Amateur radio license

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An FCC-issued '''amateur radio license''' is required for operating a ham radio station in the US. Three license classes are available: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. The Technician license is the entry-level license; it allows use of the [[VHF]] and [[UHF]] [[Glossary#band|band]]s (where the vast majority of [[repeater]]s operate), and some limited [[HF]] access. The General license allows access to portions of all HF bands, as well as VHF and UHF. The Extra license allows full access to every ham band.

If you want to get a license, see our [[licensing guide]]!

== Exams ==
Obtaining a license requires taking a written exam, administered by [[volunteer examiners]] (VEs). '''A Morse code test is no longer required.''' There are 35 questions on the Technician and General exams and 50 on the Extra exam. (Each license class has a pool of several hundred questions; the 35 or 50 questions on the exam are randomly selected from this pool. You will not know which questions will be on your exam before you take it, so it is necessary to study the entire pool.) The minimum passing grade is 74%; this is 26 correct answers on the Technician and General exams and 37 on the Extra exam.

The exams must be taken in order; if you do not have a license and want to obtain an Extra license, skipping Technician and General, you will need to take all three tests at once. Similarly, to skip straight to General, you must take both the Technician and General tests; if you have a Technician license and want to upgrade to Extra, you will need to take the General and Extra tests together.

You may see the Technician, General, and Extra exams referred to as Elements 2, 3, and 4, respectively. These are the terms used by the FCC for the exams themselves. (Element 1 was the Morse code exam, which is no longer required). A Technician licensee must pass Element 2; a General licensee must pass Elements 2 and 3, and an Amateur Extra licensee must pass Elements 2, 3, and 4.

{{CC BY-SA}}

APRS

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'''Automatic Packet Reporting System''' ('''APRS''') is an [[amateur radio]]-based system for real time [[digital]] communications of information of immediate value in the local area. Data can include object Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, weather station telemetry, text messages, announcements, queries, and other telemetry. APRS data can be displayed on a map, which can show stations, objects, tracks of moving objects, weather stations, search and rescue data, and direction finding data.

APRS data is typically transmitted on a single shared frequency (depending on country) to be repeated locally by area relay stations (digipeaters) for widespread local consumption. In addition, all such data are typically ingested into the APRS Internet System (APRS-IS) via an Internet-connected receiver (IGate) and distributed globally for ubiquitous and immediate access. Data shared via radio or Internet are collected by all users and can be combined with external map data to build a shared live view.

APRS was developed from the late 1980s forward by Bob Bruninga, [[Glossary#call sign|call sign]] WB4APR, a senior research engineer at the United States Naval Academy. He maintained the main APRS Web site until his death in 2022. The initialism "APRS" was derived from his call sign.

== History ==
Bob Bruninga, a senior research engineer at the United States Naval Academy, implemented the earliest ancestor of APRS on an Apple II computer in 1982. This early version was used to map [[HF]] Navy position reports. The first use of the system now called APRS was in 1984, when Bruninga developed a more advanced version on a Commodore VIC-20 for reporting the position and status of horses in a 100 mile endurance run.

During the next two years, Bruninga continued to develop the system, which he then called the Connectionless Emergency Traffic System (CETS). Following a series of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) exercises using CETS, the system was ported to the IBM Personal Computer. During the early 1990s, CETS (then known as the Automatic Position Reporting System) continued to evolve into its current form.

As GPS technology became more widely available, "Position" was replaced with "Packet" to better describe the more generic capabilities of the system and to emphasize its uses beyond mere position reporting.

Bruninga has also stated that APRS was not meant to be a vehicle position tracking system, and can be interpreted rather as “Automatic Presence Reporting System."

== Network overview ==
APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System), is a digital communications protocol for exchanging information among a large number of stations covering a large (local) area. As a multi-user data network, it is quite different from conventional [[Glossary#packet radio|packet radio]]. Rather than using connected data streams where stations connect to each other and packets are acknowledged and retransmitted if lost, APRS operates entirely in an unconnected broadcast fashion, using unnumbered AX.25 frames.

APRS packets are transmitted for all other stations to hear and use. Packet [[repeater]]s, called digipeaters, form the backbone of the APRS system, and use [[store and forward]] technology to retransmit packets. All stations operate on the same radio channel, and packets move through the network from digipeater to digipeater, propagating outward from their point of origin. All stations within radio range of each digipeater receive the packet. At each digipeater, the packet path is changed. The packet will be repeated through only a certain number of digipeaters — or hops — depending upon the "PATH" setting. 

Digipeaters keep track of the packets they forward for a period of time, thus preventing duplicate packets from being retransmitted. This keeps packets from circulating in endless loops inside the ad hoc network. Eventually, most packets are heard by an APRS Internet Gateway, called an IGate, and the packets are routed on to the Internet APRS backbone (where duplicate packets heard by other IGates are discarded) for display or analysis by other users connected to an APRS-IS server, or on a Web site designed for the purpose.

While it would seem that using unconnected and unnumbered packets without acknowledgment and retransmission on a shared and sometimes congested channel would result in poor reliability due to a packet being lost, this is not the case, because the packets are transmitted (broadcast) to everyone and multiplied many times over by each digipeater. This means that all digipeaters and stations in range get a copy, and then proceed to broadcast it to all other digipeaters and stations within their range. The end result is that packets are multiplied more than they are lost. Therefore, packets can sometimes be heard some distance from the originating station. Packets can be digitally repeated tens of kilometers or even hundreds of kilometers, depending on the height and range of the digipeaters in the area.

When a packet is transmitted, it is duplicated many times as it radiates out, taking all available paths simultaneously, until the number of "hops" allowed by the path setting is consumed.

== Positions/objects/items ==
APRS contains a number of packet types, including position/object/item, status, messages, queries, weather reports and telemetry. The position/object/item packets contain the latitude and longitude, and a symbol to be displayed on the map, and have many optional fields for altitude, course, speed, radiated power, [[antenna]] height above average terrain, antenna gain, and voice operating frequency. Positions of fixed stations are configured in the APRS software. Moving stations (portable or mobile) automatically derive their position information from a GPS receiver connected to the APRS equipment.

The map display uses these fields to plot communication range of all participants and facilitate the ability to contact users during both routine and emergency situations. Each position/object/item packet can use any of several hundred different symbols. Position/objects/items can also contain weather information or can be any number of dozens of standardized weather symbols. Each symbol on an APRS map can display many attributes, discriminated either by color or other technique. These attributes are:

* Moving or fixed
* Dead-reckoned or old
* Message capable or not
* Station, object or item
* Own object or other station object/item
* Emergency, priority, or special

== Status/messages ==
The Status packet is free-field format that lets each station announce its current mission or application or contact information or any other information or data of immediate use to surrounding activities. The message packet can be used for point-to-point messages, bulletins, announcements or even email. Bulletins and Announcements are treated specially and displayed on a single "community Bulletin board". This community bulletin board is fixed size and all bulletins from all posters are sorted onto this display. The intent of this display is to be consistent and identical for all viewers so that all participants are seeing the same information at the same time. Since lines are sorted onto the display, then individual posters can edit, update, or delete individual lines of their bulletins at any time to keep the bulletin board up-to-date to all viewers.

All APRS messages are delivered live in real-time to online recipients. Messages are not stored and forwarded, but retried until timed out. The delivery of these messages is global, since the APRS-IS distributes all packets to all other IGates in the world and those that are messages will actually go back to RF via any IGate that is near the intended recipient.

=== Email ===
A special case message can be sent to EMAIL where these messages are pulled off the real-time APRS-IS and wrapped into a standard email and forwarded into the regular Internet email system.

== Capabilities ==
In its simplest implementation, APRS is used to transmit real-time data, information and reports of the exact location of a person or object via a data signal sent over amateur radio frequencies. In addition to real-time position reporting capabilities using attached GPS receivers, APRS is also capable of transmitting a wide variety of data, including weather reports, short text messages, [[radio direction finding]] bearings, telemetry data, short e-mail messages (send only) and storm forecasts. Once transmitted, these reports can be combined with a computer and mapping software to show the transmitted data superimposed with great precision upon a map display.

While the map plotting is the most visible feature of APRS, the text messaging capabilities and local information distribution capabilities, combined with the robust network, should not be overlooked; the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management has an extensive network of APRS stations to allow text messaging between all of the county Emergency Operating Centers in the event of the failure of conventional communications.

== Technical information ==
In its most widely used form, APRS is transported over the AX.25 protocol using 1200-bit/s Bell 202 frequency-shift keying on frequencies located within the 2 meter [[VHF]] band. The standard frequency in North America is 144.390 MHz.

An extensive digipeater network provides transport for APRS packets on these frequencies. Internet gateway stations (IGates) connect the on-air APRS network to the APRS Internet System (APRS-IS), which serves as a worldwide, high-bandwidth backbone for APRS data. Stations can tap into this stream directly, and a number of databases connected to the APRS-IS allow Web-based access to the data as well as more advanced data-mining capabilities. A number of low-Earth orbiting [[satellite]]s, including the [[International Space Station]], are capable of relaying APRS data.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Automatic Packet Reporting System}}

"Ask Me About" roster

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This page lists PBARC members who are knowledgeable about particular ham radio-related topics and willing to answer questions about them.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| [[Slow-scan Television]] (SSTV) || K7AGE, KE6NCU, KJ7RRV
|-
| [[Glossary#packet radio|Packet radio]], [[APRS]] || N6UOW
|-
| [[FT8]] || K7AGE, KJ7RRV
|-
| [[Software-Defined Radio]] (SDR) || K7AGE, K6JR, KJ7RRV
|-
| [[Winlink]] || KE6NCU, KN7TAZ
|-
| [[EchoLink]] || N6UOW, KJ7RRV
|-
| [[Incident Command System]] (ICS) || KN7TAZ, N6UOW
|-
| [[Personal Weather Stations]] || KN7TAZ, N6UOW
|-
| [[Digital Mobile Radio]] (DMR) || KN7TAZ, N6UOW
|-
| [[HF]] and [[antenna]]s || KN7TAZ, K7AGE, WA6ZDO, KJ7RRV
|-
| [[Parks on the Air]] (POTA) || KJ7RRV, KJ7SUZ
|-
| [[Arduino]] and [[electronics]] || N6UOW, KJ7RRV
|-
| [[Windows]] || N6UOW
|-
| [[Mac]] || N6UOW
|-
| [[iOS]] (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) || N6UOW
|-
| [[Linux]] (including [[Raspberry Pi]]) || N6UOW, KJ7RRV
|-
| [[Android]] || KJ7RRV
|}


{{CC BY-SA}}

Public Service Net

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The '''Public Service [[Nets|Net]]''' meets every Tuesday at {{time|18|45}} on the {{840}}.

== Script ==

=== Radio check ({{Time|18|30}}) ===
''This is <call sign> requesting a radio check please.''

=== Net ({{Time|18|45}}) ===

''QST, QST and good evening. This is <call sign> and my name is <name>. I am the net control station for the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Public Service Net. This net meets every Tuesday evening at 6:45 PM local time on the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater on 146.840 MHz with a negative offset and a tone of 88.5. The purpose of this net is to test our communication response capabilities using our Crown Terrace repeater.''

''This is a directed net, so please answer roll call with your call sign. Mobile stations and stations with emergency traffic may break into the net at any time.''

''If you have traffic for the net, tell me at check-in and I'll get back to you following member roll call. After check-in, we'll call for visitors.''

''First, we'll call on our club president, Lynn KN7TAZ.''

...

(If Lynn does not respond) ''Does our vice president, Dale N7DY, have anything for the net?''

...

''The question for tonight's net is, '''<nowiki><your question></nowiki>'''. Now, we'll call the roll.''

Call the roll in the order listed on the roster.

...

''Are there any late or missed members wishing to check in? Please call now.''

...

(After each person checks in) ''Any more late or missed members wishing to check in, please call now.''

...

(After several seconds with no response) ''Do we have any visitors? Please call now.''

...

(After each person checks in) ''Any more visitors wishing to check in, please call now.''

...

(After the last call is unanswered for several seconds, call anyone who mentioned while checking in that they had traffic, if anyone did so. Then:) ''Anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.''

...

(After several seconds with no response) ''One last call, anyone else wishing to check in, or anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.''

(If someone checks in or has traffic, repeat until no one answers)

''Not hearing anything. We had a total of '''<nowiki><number of members></nowiki>''' members and '''<nowiki><number of visitors></nowiki>''' visitors check in. Thank you all for checking in tonight..''

''This concludes the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Public Service Net. This is <call sign> returning the frequency to regular amateur use and wishing you all 73 and a very pleasant evening. This is <call sign> clear.''

Health and Welfare Net

2023-06-26T19:58:10Z

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The '''Health and Welfare [[Nets|Net]]''' meets every day at {{time|12|00}} on the {{840}}.

== Script ==

=== Radio check ({{Time|11|50}}) ===
''This is <call sign> requesting a radio check please.''

=== Net ({{Time|12|00}}) ===
''QST, QST and good afternoon. This is <call sign> and my name is <name>. I am the net control station for the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Health and Welfare Net. This net meets every day at twelve o'clock noon local time on the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater on 146.840 megahertz with a negative offset and a tone of 88.5 hertz. The purpose of this net is to make sure our members and the community are safe and to provide assistance where needed.''

''This is a non-directed net, and we encourage everyone to check in and tell us how thing are going for you and the community. Stations with emergency traffic may break into the net at any time.''

''After the net, we encourage everyone to continue monitoring the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater, and also to monitor the National Simplex Frequency at 146.520 megahertz.''

''Those wishing to check in, please call now.''

...

(After each person checks in) ''Anyone else wishing to check in, please call now.''

...

(After several seconds with no response) ''Anyone else wishing to check in, please call now.''

...

(After the last call is unanswered for several seconds, call anyone who mentioned while checking in that they had traffic, if anyone did so. Then:) ''Anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.''

...
(After several seconds with no response) ''One last call, anyone else wishing to check in, or anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.''

(If someone checks in or has traffic, repeat until no one answers)

''Not hearing anything. We had a total of <number of check-ins> check in today. Thank you all for checking in.''

''This concludes the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Health and Welfare Net. This is <call sign> returning the frequency to regular amateur use and wishing you all 73 and a very pleasant afternoon. This is <call sign> clear.''

Public Service Net

2023-06-26T19:53:48Z

KJ7RRV-bot: Clean up templates

The '''Public Service [[Nets|Net]]''' meets every Tuesday at {{time|18|45}} on the {{840}}.

== Script ==

=== Radio check ({{Time|18|30}}) ===
''This is <call sign> requesting a radio check please.''

=== Net ({{Time|18|45}}) ===

''QST, QST and good evening. This is <call sign> and my name is <name>. I am the net control station for the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Public Service Net. This net meets every Tuesday evening at 6:45 PM local time on the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater on 146.840 MHz with a negative offset and a tone of 88.5. The purpose of this net is to test our communication response capabilities using our Crown Terrace repeater.''

''This is a directed net, so please answer roll call with your call sign. Mobile stations and stations with emergency traffic may break into the net at any time.''

''If you have traffic for the net, tell me at check-in and I'll get back to you following member roll call. After check-in, we'll call for visitors.''

''First, we'll call on our club president, Lynn KN7TAZ.''

...

(If Lynn does not respond) {{say|Does our vice president, Dale N7DY, have anything for the net?}}

...

''The question for tonight's net is, '''<nowiki><your question></nowiki>'''. Now, we'll call the roll.''

Call the roll in the order listed on the roster.

...

''Are there any late or missed members wishing to check in? Please call now.''

...

(After each person checks in) {{say|Any more late or missed members wishing to check in, please call now.}}

...

(After several seconds with no response) {{say|Do we have any visitors? Please call now.}}

...

(After each person checks in) {{say|Any more visitors wishing to check in, please call now.}}

...

(After the last call is unanswered for several seconds, call anyone who mentioned while checking in that they had traffic, if anyone did so. Then:) ''Anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.''

...

(After several seconds with no response) {{say|One last call, anyone else wishing to check in, or anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.}}

(If someone checks in or has traffic, repeat until no one answers)

''Not hearing anything. We had a total of '''<nowiki><number of members></nowiki>''' members and '''<nowiki><number of visitors></nowiki>''' visitors check in. Thank you all for checking in tonight..''

''This concludes the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Public Service Net. This is <call sign> returning the frequency to regular amateur use and wishing you all 73 and a very pleasant evening. This is <call sign> clear.''

Nets

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Health and Welfare Net

2023-06-26T19:53:39Z

KJ7RRV-bot: Clean up templates

The '''Health and Welfare [[Nets|Net]]''' meets every day at {{time|12|00}} on the {{840}}.

== Script ==

=== Radio check ({{Time|11|50}}) ===
''This is <call sign> requesting a radio check please.''

=== Net ({{Time|12|00}}) ===
''QST, QST and good afternoon. This is <call sign> and my name is <name>. I am the net control station for the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Health and Welfare Net. This net meets every day at twelve o'clock noon local time on the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater on 146.840 megahertz with a negative offset and a tone of 88.5 hertz. The purpose of this net is to make sure our members and the community are safe and to provide assistance where needed.''

''This is a non-directed net, and we encourage everyone to check in and tell us how thing are going for you and the community. Stations with emergency traffic may break into the net at any time.''

''After the net, we encourage everyone to continue monitoring the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater, and also to monitor the National Simplex Frequency at 146.520 megahertz.''

''Those wishing to check in, please call now.''

...

(After each person checks in) {{say|Anyone else wishing to check in, please call now.}}

...

(After several seconds with no response) {{say|Anyone else wishing to check in, please call now.}}

...

(After the last call is unanswered for several seconds, call anyone who mentioned while checking in that they had traffic, if anyone did so. Then:) ''Anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.''

...
(After several seconds with no response) {{say|One last call, anyone else wishing to check in, or anyone [else] with traffic, please call now.}}

(If someone checks in or has traffic, repeat until no one answers)

''Not hearing anything. We had a total of <number of check-ins> check in today. Thank you all for checking in.''

''This concludes the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Health and Welfare Net. This is <call sign> returning the frequency to regular amateur use and wishing you all 73 and a very pleasant afternoon. This is <call sign> clear.''

File:Azalea Parade 2021 pic 2.jpg

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<noinclude>== Summary ==
</noinclude>May 29, 2021 at Trinity Lutheran Church

Back row, left to right:

* Christie Lynn WA6ZDO
* Dale N7DY (then KE7WJR)
* Sam KJ7RRV
* Scott KJ7SUZ
* Larry K6LPH (then KF6KAH)
* Cindy KJ7JTF
* Andy N7SGV
* James KF7KVP
* Stu KE6NCU
* Rachel KR7RED (then KJ7YVK)
* Lynn KN7TAZ
* Larry KE7YUI

Front: Dave N6UOW

Photo credit: Dave N6UOW

Public Service Net

2023-06-26T19:40:33Z

KJ7RRV-bot: Remove time template

The '''Public Service [[Nets|Net]]''' meets every Tuesday at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (45 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:45 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (45 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:45 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{840}}.

== Script ==

{{SectionTime|{{Time|18|30}}|Radio check}}
{{say|This is <call sign> requesting a radio check please.}}

{{SectionTime|{{Time|18|45}}|Net}}

{{say|QST, QST and good evening. This is <call sign> and my name is <name>. I am the net control station for the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Public Service Net. This net meets every Tuesday evening at 6:45 PM local time on the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater on 146.840 MHz with a negative offset and a tone of 88.5. The purpose of this net is to test our communication response capabilities using our Crown Terrace repeater.}}

{{say|This is a directed net, so please answer roll call with your call sign. Mobile stations and stations with emergency traffic may break into the net at any time.}}

{{say|If you have traffic for the net, tell me at check-in and I'll get back to you following member roll call. After check-in, we'll call for visitors.}}

{{say|First, we'll call on our club president, Lynn KN7TAZ.}}

...

{{sayWhen|Does our vice president, Dale N7DY, have anything for the net?|If Lynn does not respond}}

...

{{say|The question for tonight's net is, '''<nowiki><your question></nowiki>'''. Now, we'll call the roll.}}

Call the roll in the order listed on the roster.

...

{{say|Are there any late or missed members wishing to check in? Please call now.}}

...

{{sayWhen|Any more late or missed members wishing to check in, please call now.|{{afterCheckIn}}}}

...

{{sayWhen|Do we have any visitors? Please call now.|{{afterNoResponse}}}}

...

{{sayWhen|Any more visitors wishing to check in, please call now.|{{afterCheckIn}}}}

...

(After the last call is unanswered for several seconds, call anyone who mentioned while checking in that they had traffic, if anyone did so. Then:) {{say|Anyone {{SayIf|else|{{PriorTraffic}}}} with traffic, please call now.}}

...

{{sayWhen|One last call, anyone else wishing to check in, or anyone {{SayIf|else|{{priorTraffic}}}} with traffic, please call now.|{{afterNoResponse}}}}

(If someone checks in or has traffic, repeat until no one answers)

{{say|Not hearing anything. We had a total of '''<nowiki><number of members></nowiki>''' members and '''<nowiki><number of visitors></nowiki>''' visitors check in. Thank you all for checking in tonight..}}

{{say|This concludes the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Public Service Net. This is <call sign> returning the frequency to regular amateur use and wishing you all 73 and a very pleasant evening. This is <call sign> clear.}}

Nets

2023-06-26T19:40:29Z

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An amateur radio '''net''' is an "on-the-air" gathering of amateur radio operators. Most nets convene on a regular schedule and specific frequency, and are organized for a particular purpose, such as relaying messages, discussing a common topic of interest, in severe weather (for example, during a Skywarn activation), emergencies, or simply as a regular gathering of friends for conversation.

Nets operate more or less formally depending on their purpose and organization. Groups of nets may organize and operate in collaboration for a common purpose, such as to pass along emergency messages in time of disaster. One such system of nets is the [[National Traffic System]] (NTS), organized and operated by members of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) to handle routine and emergency messages on a nationwide and local basis

== Directed (formal) nets ==

A directed, or formal, net has a single net control station (NCS) that manages its operation for a given session. The NCS operator calls the net to order at its designated start time, periodically calls for participants to join, listens for them to check in, keeps track of the roster of stations for that particular net session, and generally orchestrates the operation of the net.

A different station might be designated NCS for each net session. Overall operation and scheduling of NCS assignments and net sessions is managed by the net manager.

When a net covers a large geographic area, such as a continent or even the world, it becomes impractical for a single NCS to control. To cover a large scale area a net must operate on a frequency where signals can propagate long distances. Ironically, the same ability for long distance propagation leads to a situation where stations that are too close in proximity cannot hear each other. In this case two or more NCSs spaced geographically from one another can effectively collaborate to maintain contact with all possible participants.

== Non-directed (informal) nets ==

An informal net may also have a net control station, but lack some or all of the formalities and protocols other than those used in non-net on-the-air operation. Or, it could begin at the designated time and frequency in an ad hoc fashion by whoever arrives first.

== PBARC nets ==

=== Public Service Net ===
The [[Public Service Net]], a directed net, meets every Tuesday at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (45 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:45 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (45 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:45 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{840}}.

=== Health and Welfare Net ===
The [[Health and Welfare Net]], a non-directed net, meets every day at {{#ifexpr: (12 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|12:00 ({{#ifexpr: (12 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 12 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 12 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 12 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{840}}.

=== 10 Meter Ragchew Net ===
The [[10 Meter Ragchew Net]], a non-directed net, meets every Sunday at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:00 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on 28.400 MHz USB.

== Other nets ==

=== VHF ===

==== Gasquet Net ====
The [[Gasquet Net]] meets every Tuesday at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (30 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:30 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (30 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:30 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{180}}.

==== Del Norte Net ====
The [[Del Norte Net]] meets every Tuesday at {{#ifexpr: (19 = 12) and (15 = 00)|12:00 noon|19:15 ({{#ifexpr: (19 = 00) and (15 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 19 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 19 mod 12}}}}:15 {{#ifexpr: 19 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{880}}.

==== ORCA Digital Net (VHF, FM and digital) ====
The [[ORCA Digital Net]] meets every Tuesday at {{#ifexpr: (19 = 12) and (30 = 00)|12:00 noon|19:30 ({{#ifexpr: (19 = 00) and (30 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 19 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 19 mod 12}}}}:30 {{#ifexpr: 19 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on {{simplex|146.560}}.

==== CARES Net ====
The [[Curry Amateur Radio Emergency Service Net]] meets every Thursday at {{#ifexpr: (19 = 12) and (30 = 00)|12:00 noon|19:30 ({{#ifexpr: (19 = 00) and (30 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 19 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 19 mod 12}}}}:30 {{#ifexpr: 19 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{250}}.

=== HF ===

Remember to check your license's frequency privileges before checking in.

==== Noontime Net (HF) ====

(not to be confused with the Health and Welfare Net)

{{#ifexpr: (10 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|10:00 ({{#ifexpr: (10 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 10 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 10 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 10 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} Informal Net

{{#ifexpr: (12 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|12:00 ({{#ifexpr: (12 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 12 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 12 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 12 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} Formal Net

7283.5 kHz. Primary Frequency

3970 kHz. Secondary Frequency

The [https://thenoontimenet.org/thenoontimenet/Home.html Noontime Net] meets every day on 3970 kHz at {{#ifexpr: (11 = 12) and (30 = 00)|12:00 noon|11:30 ({{#ifexpr: (11 = 00) and (30 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 11 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 11 mod 12}}}}:30 {{#ifexpr: 11 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} and 7284 kHz at {{#ifexpr: (9 = 12) and (30 = 00)|12:00 noon|9:30 ({{#ifexpr: (9 = 00) and (30 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 9 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 9 mod 12}}}}:30 {{#ifexpr: 9 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} with a secondary frequency of 7283.5 kHz for both nets. All General-class or higher operators are welcome to check in.

=== DMR ===

==== PNWDigital Happy Hour Net (DMR) ====

The PNWDigital Happy Hour Net meets Monday through Friday on Oregon 1 DMR TG 3141 on Brandmeister. Early check-in starts at {{#ifexpr: (16 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|16:00 ({{#ifexpr: (16 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 16 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 16 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 16 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}}; net starts at {{#ifexpr: (17 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|17:00 ({{#ifexpr: (17 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 17 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 17 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 17 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}}. Oregon 1 is avalible on the [[K6JR DMR Repeater]].

{{CC BY-SA}}
{{Wikipedia|Amateur radio net}}

Meetings

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PBARC's monthly '''meetings''' are held at the [[Chetco Activity Center]] on the last Friday of every month at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (30 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:30 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (30 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:30 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}}.

The [[minutes]] from many past meetings are available on this site.

{{CC BY-SA}}

Home Page

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[[File:International amateur radio symbol.png|100px|right]]
[[File:PBARC Logo.png|alt=Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club]]

* '''[[New Ham Intro]]: how to get a license!'''
* [["Ask Me About" Roster]]
* [[Frequently Asked Questions]]
* [[Repeaters]]
** {{840}}
** {{960}}
* [[Nets]]
** [[Health and Welfare Net]], every day at {{#ifexpr: (12 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|12:00 ({{#ifexpr: (12 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 12 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 12 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 12 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}}* on the {{840}}
** [[Public Service Net]], every Tuesday at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (45 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:45 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (45 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:45 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{960}}
** [[10 Meter Ragchew Net]], every Sunday at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:00 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on 28.400 MHz USB
* [[Events|Upcoming]]
* [[Meetings]]: last Friday of every month at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (30 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:30 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (30 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:30 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} at the [[Chetco Activity Center]]
* [[Contact]]

<nowiki>*</nowiki> All times in local (Pacific) time.

== News ==
{{NewsArticle|Field Day 2023|Field Day 2023|2023-02-26|Field Day 2023 will be at the Harbor Fire Department/Harbor Water District parking lot on June 24th and 25th.}}
{{NewsArticle|Azalea Parade 2023|Azalea Parade 2023|2023-05-27|PBARC provided radio communications for the Azalea Parade on May 27.}}
{{NewsArticle|March 2023 POTA Activation|POTA activation at Crissey Field|2023-03-25|PBARC had a [[Parks on the Air]] activation at Crissey Field on Saturday, March 25.}}
{{NewsArticle|Festival of Lights|Donation from Nature's Coastal Holiday|2023-02-28|PBARC helped with parking control at the Festival of Lights at Azalea Park in 2022, and we received a $500 donation from [https://naturescoastalholiday.com Nature's Coastal Holiday]. Thank you!}}
{{loggedout|
==Log in ==
Members with accounts: [[Special:UserLogin|log in here]]|div}}
__NOTOC__

{{CC BY-SA}}

Health and Welfare Net

2023-06-26T19:40:23Z

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The '''Health and Welfare [[Nets|Net]]''' meets every day at {{#ifexpr: (12 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|12:00 ({{#ifexpr: (12 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 12 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 12 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 12 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on the {{840}}.

== Script ==

{{SectionTime|{{Time|11|50}}|Radio check}}
{{say|This is <call sign> requesting a radio check please.}}

{{SectionTime|{{Time|12|00}}|Net}}
{{say|QST, QST and good afternoon. This is <call sign> and my name is <name>. I am the net control station for the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Health and Welfare Net. This net meets every day at twelve o'clock noon local time on the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater on 146.840 megahertz with a negative offset and a tone of 88.5 hertz. The purpose of this net is to make sure our members and the community are safe and to provide assistance where needed.}}

{{say|This is a non-directed net, and we encourage everyone to check in and tell us how thing are going for you and the community. Stations with emergency traffic may break into the net at any time.}}

{{say|After the net, we encourage everyone to continue monitoring the PBARC Crown Terrace repeater, and also to monitor the National Simplex Frequency at 146.520 megahertz.}}

{{say|Those wishing to check in, please call now.}}

...

{{sayWhen|Anyone else wishing to check in, please call now.|{{afterCheckIn}}}}

...

{{sayWhen|Anyone else wishing to check in, please call now.|{{afterNoResponse}}}}

...

(After the last call is unanswered for several seconds, call anyone who mentioned while checking in that they had traffic, if anyone did so. Then:) {{say|Anyone {{SayIf|else|{{PriorTraffic}}}} with traffic, please call now.}}

...
{{sayWhen|One last call, anyone else wishing to check in, or anyone {{SayIf|else|{{priorTraffic}}}} with traffic, please call now.|{{afterNoResponse}}}}

(If someone checks in or has traffic, repeat until no one answers)

{{say|Not hearing anything. We had a total of <number of check-ins> check in today. Thank you all for checking in.}}

{{say|This concludes the Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club's Health and Welfare Net. This is <call sign> returning the frequency to regular amateur use and wishing you all 73 and a very pleasant afternoon. This is <call sign> clear.}}

10 Meter Ragchew Net

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The '''10 Meter Ragchew [[Nets|Net]]''' meets every Sunday at {{#ifexpr: (18 = 12) and (00 = 00)|12:00 noon|18:00 ({{#ifexpr: (18 = 00) and (00 = 00)|00:00 (12:00 midnight)|{{#ifeq: {{#expr: 18 mod 12}}|0|12|{{#expr: 18 mod 12}}}}:00 {{#ifexpr: 18 < 12|AM|PM}}}})}} on 28.400 MHz. Its purpose is to encourage more members of PBARC to use [[HF]], and especially to encourage Technician [[Amateur radio license|licensees]] to upgrade to General or Extra. Because the net meets in the Technician portion of 10 meters, all amateur radio operators are welcome to join!

{{CC BY-SA}}

World Jet Boat Championship 2022

2023-06-12T17:27:31Z

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Amateur operators from southern Oregon and northern California, including several PBARC members, helped to provide communications for the '''World Jet Boat Championship''' on May 21st and 22nd, 2022. The event was on the Rogue River from Gold Beach up the river to Foster Bar. Some operators were operating mobile and portable stations on the shore; others used [[HT]]s on safety boats. Some of the race boats run at speeds over 150 mph. Boats were here from New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, and the US.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6N6Vy_XGOM&t=2s YouTube video]

{{Picture|WJBC 2022 pic 1.jpg}}

{{Picture|WJBC 2022 pic 2.jpg}}

{{Picture|WJBC 2022 pic 3.jpg}}

{{Picture|WJBC 2022 pic 4.jpg}}

{{CC BY-SA}}

VHF

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Very high frequency ('''VHF''') is the range of radio waves from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz). Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted high frequency ([[HF]]), and the next higher frequencies are known as ultra high frequency ([[UHF]]).

VHF radio waves propagate mainly by line-of-sight, so they are blocked by hills and mountains, although due to refraction they can travel somewhat beyond the visual horizon out to about 160 km (100 miles). There are three ham radio bands in the VHF range: 6 meters (50 MHz - 54 MHz), 2 meters (144 MHz - 148 MHz), and 1.25 meters (222 MHz - 225 MHz, plus 219 MHz - 220 MHz for fixed digital message forwarding systems only)

VHF is also used in a variety of non-amateur services, including marine radio, MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service), FM broadcasting, and some over the air TV stations.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Very high frequency}}

SSTV

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'''Slow-scan television (SSTV)''' refers to any method of sending still pictures over amateur radio. Although the vast majority of SSTV activity today uses computers for modulation and demodulation (similar to many [[digital]] modes), most SSTV modes are technically analog.

A more general term for technologies including SSTV is narrowband television (NBTV). Analog broadcast television requires at least 6 MHz wide channels, because it transmits 25 or 30 picture frames per second, but SSTV usually only takes up to a maximum of 3 kHz of bandwidth. It is a much slower method of transmission than broadcast television, usually taking from about eight seconds to a couple of minutes, depending on the mode used, to transmit one image frame. Because of this, it is used for still images, not video. (Other NBTV systems, which are less commonly used, transmit video, but at very low resolution.)

Since SSTV systems operate on voice frequencies, they can be used with most amateur transceivers, including on [[HF]], [[VHF]] and [[UHF]].

Most SSTV operators today use a personal computer and special software in place of much of the custom equipment formerly necessary. The sound card of a PC, with special processing software, acts as a modem. The computer screen provides the output. A digital camera or saved digital photos provide the input. More recently, it is possible to use an [[Android]] smartphone or tablet for SSTV. This can be very convenient, because the camera is integrated into the device and can be easily moved and pointed. This could be especially useful for emergency communications; it is possible to send an image over several miles in only two or three minutes using nothing more than a smartphone and an [[HT]].

For best image quality, a radio-computer interface such as a [[SignaLink]] can be used. However, the "air link" method of holding the radio's microphone near the computer's speaker and vice versa can also be used, at the expense of image quality.

== Software ==

=== Android ===

On Android, the transmit and receive functions are provided by separate apps. The encoder, simply called "SSTV Encoder," is available on the [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=om.sstvencoder Google Play Store] and on [https://f-droid.org/packages/om.sstvencoder F-Droid]. (If you're not sure which link to use, use the Play Store.) The decoder is called "Robot36"; despite the name, it supports many different modes. It is also available from the [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xdsopl.robot36 Play Store] and from [https://f-droid.org/packages/xdsopl.robot36 F-Droid].

Air link works fine with Android devices, and it is much more convenient than with a laptop or (especially) a desktop. However, with a "USB On-The-Go" adapter, many phones and tablets will work with the SignaLink.

==== Sending pictures ====

To send a picture, use the "SSTV Encoder" app.

First, tap the three-dot menu, then tap "Modes" and select a mode. PD90 is a good compromise between image quality and transmission time; it takes 90 seconds.

Tap the photo frame button and select an image. (The camera button should allow pictures to be taken from within the app, but this feature is buggy. It is better to take a picture with the normal camera app first.) Zoom and drag the picture as desired; the part within the frame will be transmitted.

Tap anywhere within the frame to add text at that location; an editor will open in which you can enter text and change the font size, style, and color. Click the check mark when you are done. If you want to edit text that is already on the image; tap the text, and the editor will open with that text pre-loaded. When you click the checkmark, it will save the edit. To remove text, simply edit it and remove all of the text; you can use the X icon to do this.

To send the image, turn your media volume up and tap the "play" icon.

=== iOS and iPadOS ===

An [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sstv/id387910013 SSTV decoder/encoder app] is available for the iPhone and iPad, but please note that it is a paid app (it currently costs $2.99), and that no PBARC members currently use it, so it may be difficult to find help and it is not known how well it works.

=== Windows ===

[https://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php MMSSTV] is an SSTV modem for Windows. It has not been updated since 2010, but it still works fine.

=== Linux ===

QSSTV is an SSTV program for [[Linux]]. If you are familiar with the process for compiling and installing programs from source code, follow the instructions on [https://github.com/ON4QZ/QSSTV the GitHub repository]. Otherwise, search for "QSSTV' in your distributions software manager.

So far, all PBARC members who have tried to use QSSTV have had various problems with it that made it unusable.

=== MacOS ===

[https://www.blackcatsystems.com/software/multimode.html MultiMode Cocoa] apparently supports several SSTV modes along with some digital modes such as [[PSK31]], but it costs $89 and is not used by any PBARC members, putting it in a similar situation as the iOS app.

== Samples ==

=== Robot ===

==== Robot 36 ====
[[File:SSTV Robot36 Leo.wav]]

36 seconds per picture

==== Robot 72 ====
[[File:SSTV Robot72 Leo.wav]]

72 seconds (1 minute 12 seconds) per picture

=== Scottie ===

==== Scottie 1 ====
[[File:SSTV Scottie1 Leo.wav]]

==== Scottie 2 ====
[[File:SSTV Scottie2 Leo.wav]]

==== Scottie DX ====
[[File:SSTV ScottieDX Leo.wav]]

=== Martin ===

==== Martin 1 ====
[[File:SSTV Martin1 Leo.wav|Martin 1]]

==== Martin 2 ====
[[File:SSTV Martin2 Leo.wav|Martin 2]]

=== PD ===

==== PD 50 ====
[[File:SSTV PD50 Leo.wav]]

50 seconds per picture

==== PD 90 ====
[[File:SSTV PD90 Leo.wav]]

90 seconds (1 minute 30 seconds) per picture

==== PD 120 ====
[[File:SSTV PD120 Leo.wav]]

120 seconds (2 minutes) per picture

==== PD 160 ====
[[File:SSTV PD160 Leo.wav]]

160 seconds (2 minutes 40 seconds) per picture

==== PD 180 ====
[[File:SSTV PD180 Leo.wav]]

180 seconds (3 minutes) per picture

==== PD 240 ====
[[File:SSTV PD240 Leo.wav]]

240 seconds (4 minutes) per picture

==== PD 290 ====
[[File:SSTV PD290 Leo.wav]]

290 seconds (4 minutes 50 seconds) per picture

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Slow-scan television}}

Repeater

2023-06-12T17:27:26Z

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A '''repeater''' is a combination of a receiver and a transmitter that receives a signal and retransmits it, so that signals can cover longer distances. A repeater sited at a high elevation can allow two stations, otherwise out of line-of-sight propagation range of each other, to communicate. In addition to amateur radio, repeaters are used in commercial and government mobile radio systems.

The repeater receives on one radio frequency (the "input" frequency), demodulates the signal, and simultaneously re-transmits the information on its "output" frequency. (When a single frequency is given for a repeater, it is the output frequency.) All stations using the repeater transmit on the repeater's input frequency and receive on its output frequency. Since the repeater is usually located at an elevation higher than the other radios using it, their range is greatly extended.

Because the repeater both transmits and receives the same time, isolation must exist to keep the repeater's transmitter from degrading its own receiver. If the repeater's transmitter and receiver are not isolated well, the transmitter will "desensitize" the receiver, causing the repeater to interfere with itself. The problem is similar to being at a rock concert and not being able to hear the weak signal of a conversation over the much stronger signal of the band. Typically, repeaters use sets of filters (called duplexers) to avoid this. Stations using the repeater do not need these expensive filters because they do not transmit and receive simultaneously.

Amateur repeaters in the [[2 meter band]], the most commonly used [[VHF]] [[band]], usually use a 600 kHz (0.6 MHz) separation. In the 1.25-meter band (another VHF band, rarely used), a 1.6 MHz separation is used. In the 70 cm band, the most widely used [[UHF]] band, a 5 MHz separation is most common, and in the 902–928 MHz band, another UHF band, a 25 MHz separation is used.

== List ==
=== PBARC Repeaters ===
* {{960}}
* {{840}}

=== Other Repeaters ===
* {{250}}
* {{880}}
* {{180}}
* [[K6JR DMR Repeater]] (RX 443.800 MHz, TX 448.800 MHz CC:1)

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Radio repeater}}

R-S signal report

2023-06-12T17:27:26Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

The '''R-S''' signal report system is used to exchange information about the quality of a [[single-sideband]] [[voice]] radio signal being received. The code is a two digit number, with one digit each for conveying an assessment of the signal's readability and strength.

== Readability ==
The '''R''' stands for "Readability". Readability is a qualitative assessment of how easy or difficult it is to correctly copy the information being sent during the transmission. Readability refers to how easy or difficult it is for each spoken word to be understood correctly. Readability is measured on a scale of 1 to 5.

# Unreadable
# Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable
# Readable with considerable difficulty
# Readable with practically no difficulty
# Perfectly readable

== Strength ==
The '''S''' stands for "Strength". Strength is an assessment of how powerful the received signal is at the receiving location. Although an accurate signal strength meter can determine a quantitative value for signal strength, in practice this portion of the RS code is a qualitative assessment, often made based on the [[S meter]] of the radio receiver at the location of signal reception. Note that S meters are often not accurately calibrated, although they are useful for estimating signal strengths. "Strength" is measured on a scale of 1 to 9.

# Faint—signals barely perceptible
# Very weak signals
# Weak signals
# Fair signals
# Fairly good signals
# Good signals
# Moderately strong signals
# Strong signals
# Extremely strong signals

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|R-S-T system}}

Q code

2023-06-12T17:27:25Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

The '''Q-code''' is a standardized collection of three-letter codes that each start with the letter "Q". It is an operating signal initially developed for commercial [[Morse code|radiotelegraph]] communication and later adopted by other radio services, especially [[amateur radio]]. To distinguish the use of a Q-code transmitted as a question from the same Q-code transmitted as a statement, it is suffixed with the standard Morse question mark {{overline|UD}} (dit dit dah dah dit dit).

Although Q-codes were created when radio used Morse code exclusively, they continue to be employed after the introduction of voice transmissions and are commonly used on CW (Morse code), [[digital]], and, to a lesser extent, [[phone]] modes in amateur radio. To avoid confusion, regulations are in place that prevent [[call sign]]s containing Q codes from being issued.

Used in their formal question / answer sense, the meaning of a Q-code varies depending on whether the individual Q-code is sent as a question or an answer. For example, the message "QRP?" means "Shall I decrease transmitter power?", and a reply of "QRP" means "Yes, decrease your transmitter power", whereas an unprompted statement "QRP" means "Please decrease your transmitter power". It is more common, however, for them to be used informally; "QRP" is often used as an adjective meaning "low power," such as in the phrase "QRP transmitter." "QRM" literally means "Do you have interference?" or "I have interference," but is often used as a noun simply referring to interference itself, as in "I have QRM making it hard to hear you."

== Codes ==



=== QRA ===

'''Question:''' What is the name (or call sign) of your station?

'''Statement:''' The name (or call sign) of my station is ____

=== QRG ===

'''Question:''' Will you tell me my exact frequency (or that of ____)?

'''Statement:''' Your exact frequency (or that of ____ ) is ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QRH ===

'''Question:''' Does my frequency vary?

'''Statement:''' Your frequency varies.

=== QRI ===

'''Question:''' How is the tone of my transmission?

'''Statement:''' The tone of your transmission is (1. Good; 2. Variable; 3. Bad)

=== QRJ ===

'''Question:''' How many voice contacts do you want to make?

'''Statement:''' I want to make ____ voice contacts.

=== QRK ===

'''Question:''' What is the readability of my signals (or those of ____)?

'''Statement:''' The readability of your signals (or those of ____) is ____ (1 to 5).

=== QRL ===

'''Question:''' Are you busy?

'''Statement:''' I am busy (in contact with ____ ). Please do not interfere.

=== QRM ===

'''Question:''' Do you have interference?

'''Statement:''' I have interference.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' interference

=== QRN ===

'''Question:''' Are you troubled by static?

'''Statement:''' I am troubled by static.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' noise

=== QRO ===

'''Question:''' Shall I increase power?

'''Statement:''' Increase power.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' high-power

=== QRP ===

'''Question:''' Shall I decrease power?

'''Statement:''' Decrease power.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' low-power (usually less than 5 W)

=== QRQ ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send faster?

'''Statement:''' Send faster (____ WPM).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' fast (in Morse code)

=== QRS ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send more slowly?

'''Statement:''' Send more slowly (____ WPM).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' slow (in Morse code)

=== QRT ===

'''Question:''' Shall I cease or suspend operation? / shutoff the radio?

'''Statement:''' I am suspending operation / shutting off the radio.

=== QRU ===

'''Question:''' Have you anything for me?

'''Statement:''' I have ____ messages for you.

=== QRV ===

'''Question:''' Are you ready?

'''Statement:''' I am ready.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''adjective'' on the air (e.g. of [[DXpeditions]])

=== QRW ===

'''Question:''' Shall I inform ____ that you are calling (him) on ____ kHz (or MHz)?

'''Statement:''' Please inform ____ that I am calling (him) on ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QRX ===

'''Question:''' Shall I standby? / When will you call me again?

'''Statement:''' Please standby / I will call you again at ____ (hours) on ____ kHz (or MHz)

=== QRZ ===

'''Question:''' Who is calling me?

'''Statement:''' You are being called by ____ on ____ kHz (or MHz)

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' [https://qrz.com QRZ.com], a popular online [[call sign]] database

=== QSA ===

'''Question:''' What is the strength of my signals (or those of ____ )?

'''Statement:''' The strength of your signals (or those of ____) is ____ (1 to 5).

=== QSB ===

'''Question:''' Are my signals fading?

'''Statement:''' Your signals are fading.

=== QSD ===

'''Question:''' Is my keying defective?

'''Statement:''' Your keying is defective.

=== QSG ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send ____ telegrams (messages) at a time?

'''Statement:''' Send ____ telegrams (messages) at a time.

=== QSK ===

'''Question:''' Can you hear me between your signals?

'''Statement:''' I can hear you between my signals.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' full break-in, a feature of CW transceivers that allows a transmitting station to hear another station when the key is up by rapidly switching the receiver back on momentarily during breaks in transmission

=== QSL ===

'''Question:''' Can you acknowledge receipt?

'''Statement:''' I will acknowledge receipt.

'''Colloquial usage:''' [[QSL card]]s are named after this code.

=== QSM ===

'''Question:''' Shall I repeat the last telegram (message) which I sent you, or some previous telegram (message)?

'''Statement:''' Repeat the last telegram (message) which you sent me (or telegram(s) / message(s) numbers(s) ____ ).

=== QSN ===

'''Question:''' Did you hear me (or ____ (call sign)) on ____ kHz (or MHz)?

'''Statement:''' I did hear you (or ____ (call sign)) on ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QSO ===

'''Question:''' Can you communicate with ____ direct or by relay?

'''Statement:''' I can communicate with ____ direct (or by relay through ____ ).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' an amateur radio contact

=== QSP ===

'''Question:''' Will you relay a message to ____ ?

'''Statement:''' I will relay a message to ____ .

=== QSR ===

'''Question:''' Do you want me to repeat my call?

'''Statement:''' Please repeat your call; I did not hear you.

=== QSS ===

'''Question:''' What working frequency will you use?

'''Statement:''' I will use the working frequency ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QST ===

'''Question:''' Should I repeat the prior message to all amateurs I contact?

'''Statement:''' Here follows a broadcast message to all amateurs.

'''Colloquial usage:''' The ARRL's magazine, ''QST'', is named after this code.

=== QSU ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send or reply on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz))?

'''Statement:''' Send or reply on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)).

=== QSW ===

'''Question:''' Will you send on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz))?

'''Statement:''' I am going to send on this frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)).

=== QSX ===

'''Question:''' Will you listen to ____ (call sign(s) on ____ kHz (or MHz))?

'''Statement:''' I am listening to ____ (call sign(s) on ____ kHz (or MHz))

=== QSY ===

'''Question:''' Shall I change to transmission on another frequency?

'''Statement:''' Change to transmission on another frequency (or on ____ kHz (or MHz)).

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''verb'' to change frequency (or, sometimes, to move physically)

=== QSZ ===

'''Question:''' Shall I send each word or group more than once?

'''Statement:''' Send each word or group twice (or ____ times).

=== QTA ===

'''Question:''' Shall I cancel telegram (message) number ____ as if it had not been sent?

'''Statement:''' Cancel telegram (message) number ____ as if it had not been sent.

=== QTC ===

'''Question:''' How many telegrams (messages) have you to send?

'''Statement:''' I have ____ telegrams (messages) for you (or for ____ ).

=== QTH ===

'''Question:''' What is your position in latitude and longitude? (or according to any other indication)

'''Statement:''' My position is ____ latitude ____ longitude.

'''Colloquial usage:''' ''noun'' current location

=== QTR ===

'''Question:''' What is the correct time?

'''Statement:''' The correct time is ____ hours UTC.

=== QTU ===

'''Question:''' At what times are you operating?

'''Statement:''' I am operating from ____ to ____ hours.

=== QTX ===

'''Question:''' Will you keep your station open for further communication with me until further notice (or until ____ hours)?

'''Statement:''' I will keep my station open for further communication with you until further notice (or until ____ hours).

=== QUA ===

'''Question:''' Have you news of ____ (call sign)?

'''Statement:''' Here is news of ____ (call sign).

=== QUC ===

'''Question:''' What is the number (or other indication) of the last message you received from me (or from ____ (call sign))?

'''Statement:''' The number (or other indication) of the last message I received from you (or from ____ (call sign)) is ____.

=== QUD ===

'''Question:''' Have you received the urgency signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station)?

'''Statement:''' I have received the urgency signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station) at ____ hours.

=== QUE ===

'''Question:''' Can you speak in ____ (language) – with interpreter if necessary – if so, on what frequencies?

'''Statement:''' I can speak in ____ (language) on ____ kHz (or MHz).

=== QUF ===

'''Question:''' Have you received the distress signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station)?

'''Statement:''' I have received the distress signal sent by ____ (call sign of mobile station) at ____ hours.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Q code}}

PSK31

2023-06-12T17:27:14Z

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[[File:PSK matrix.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A waterfall display depicting several PSK31 transmissions at around 14.070 MHz. The green lines indicate a station that is transmitting.]]

'''PSK31''' (Phase Shift Keying, 31 Baud [symbols per second]) is a computer sound card-generated keyboard-to-keyboard [[digital]] mode, used for real-time chat, most often using frequencies in the [[HF]] amateur radio [[bands]]. PSK31 is distinguished from other digital modes in that it is specifically tuned to have a data rate close to typing speed, and has an extremely narrow bandwidth, allowing many conversations in the same bandwidth as a single voice channel. This narrow [[bandwidth]] makes more efficient use of the radio energy in a very narrow space thus allowing relatively low-power equipment to communicate globally using the same [[skywave]] [[propagation]] used by [[single-sideband]] (SSB, the most popular HF voice mode) operators and shortwave broadcast radio stations.

Unlike [[FT8]] but similar to [[JS8]], PSK31 allows for conversations, rather than simple automated exchanges.

== Hardware and software ==

A PSK31 operator typically uses an SSB transceiver connected to the sound card of a computer running PSK31 software. When the operator enters a message for transmission, the software produces an audio tone that sounds, to the human ear, like a continuous whistle with a slight warble. This sound is then fed through either a microphone jack (using an intermediate resistive attenuator to reduce the sound card's output power to microphone levels) or an auxiliary connection into the transceiver, from which it is transmitted. It is common to use a prebuilt interface such as a [[SignaLink]], or to use an interface built in to the radio.

From the perspective of the transmitter, the sound amounts to little more than somebody whistling into the microphone. However, the software rapidly shifts the phase of the audio signal between two states (hence the name "phase-shift keying"), forming the character codes. These phase shifts serve the same function as the two tones used in traditional [[RTTY]] and similar systems.

To decode PSK31, the audio whistle received from the transceiver's headphone output is fed into a computer sound card's audio input, and software decodes it. The software displays the decoded text.

Aside from a standard radio transceiver and a computer with a sound card, very little equipment is required to use PSK31. Normally, an older computer and a few cables will suffice, and many PSK31 software applications are [[Free and Open Source Software|free and open source]] (FOSS). [[Fldigi]] is a popular program that supports PSK31 as well as many other digital modes. Many operators now use a commercially available interface/modem device between their computers and radios. These devices incorporate the necessary impedance matching and sound level adjustment to permit the sound card output to be injected into the microphone input, send the radio's audio output to the sound card input, and handle the radio's transmit-receive switching. Sound card to radio interfaces typically use isolation transformers on both the send and receive audio paths to eliminate hum caused by ground-loops. Many interfaces also incorporate their own sound card and can be powered and run from the computer via a single USB connection. Some modern transceivers have these interfaces built in, requiring only a USB connection from the computer to the radio.

== Resistance to interference ==
Like other narrow band digital modes (such as FT8), PSK31 can often overcome interference and poor [[propagation]] conditions in situations where voice or other methods of communication fail. However, PSK31 was designed only for leisure use by amateurs, and due to its relatively slow speed and limited error control, it is not suitable for transmitting large blocks of data or text, or critical data requiring high immunity from errors.

PSK31 works well over propagation paths that preserve phase, and resists fading ([[Q code#QSB|QSB]]) well. However, it can be adversely affected by propagation modes—such as transpolar paths—where auroral "flutter" or [[Multipath Propagation|multipath propagation]] can disrupt the signal phase continuity. In such cases the use of QPSK is often beneficial.

== BPSK31 and QPSK31 variants ==
Typically, usage of the term "PSK31" implies the use of the most commonly used variant of PSK31: binary phase shift keying (BPSK31). The BPSK variant of PSK31 uses no error control. QPSK31, the variant based on quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), uses four phases instead of two. It is simple to switch from BPSK31 to QPSK31 if difficulties arise during a contact; QPSK31 has the same number of symbols per second, and hence the same bandwidth as the BPSK variant. In a coherent receiver, the bit error probability of QPSK is the same as for BPSK operating at the same power, making QPSK31 the generally preferable mode from a robustness, and thus reach, point of view.

Using four instead of two phases provides twice the physical layer bit rate, which allows addition of redundant information to provide a degree of forward error correction. When QPSK is used, after the text is converted to a sequence of bits, a special code is applied which doubles the length of the sequence by adding redundant information. This code is designed so the receiver can often perfectly reconstruct the original text, even if the bit sequence contained some errors.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|PSK31}}

Minutes

2023-06-12T17:27:12Z

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This page lists PBARC [[meetings|meeting]] '''minutes'''.

Note that it is incomplete. If you have any minutes that are not in this list, please email them to [mailto:sam@kj7rrv.com sam@kj7rrv.com].

== 2023 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2023-03.pdf|March]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2023-02.pdf|February]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2023-01.pdf|January]]

== 2022 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-10.pdf|October]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-09.pdf|September (monthly meeting)]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-09-annual.pdf|September (annual meeting)]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-05.pdf|May]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-04.pdf|April]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-03.pdf|March]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-02.pdf|February]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2022-01.pdf|January]]

== 2021 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2021-09.pdf|September]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2021-08.pdf|August]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2021-06.pdf|June]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2021-05.pdf|May]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2021-04.pdf|April]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2021-01.pdf|January]]

== 2020 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2020-10.pdf|October]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2020-09.pdf|September]]

== 2016 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-08.pdf|August]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-07.pdf|July]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-06.pdf|June]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-05.pdf|May]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-04.pdf|April]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-03.pdf|March]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-02.pdf|February]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2016-01.pdf|January]]

== 2015 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-12.pdf|December]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-11.pdf|November]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-10.pdf|October]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-09-annual.pdf|September (annual meeting)]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-09.pdf|September]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-08.pdf|August]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-07.pdf|July]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-05.pdf|May]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-04.pdf|April]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-03.pdf|March]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-02.pdf|February]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2015-01.pdf|January]]

== 2014 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-12.pdf|December]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-11.pdf|November]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-10.pdf|October]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-09-annual.pdf|September (annual meeting)]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-08.pdf|August]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-07.pdf|July]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-06.pdf|June]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-05.pdf|May]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-04.pdf|April]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-03.pdf|March]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-02.pdf|February]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2014-01-executive.pdf|January (executive meeting)]]

== 2013 ==
* [[Media:Minutes-2013-12.pdf|December]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2013-10.pdf|October]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2013-09.pdf|September]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2013-08.pdf|August]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2013-07.pdf|July]]
* [[Media:Minutes-2013-06.pdf|June]]

{{CC BY-SA}}

Note: This license does not apply to the minutes themselves.

Meetings

2023-06-12T17:27:12Z

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PBARC's monthly '''meetings''' are held at the [[Chetco Activity Center]] on the last Friday of every month at {{time|18|30}}.

The [[minutes]] from many past meetings are available on this site.

{{CC BY-SA}}

March 2023 POTA Activation

2023-06-12T17:27:11Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

PBARC had a [[Parks on the Air]] (POTA) activation at [https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=53 Crissey Field State Recreation Site] (just north of the Oregon-California border, across Highway 101 from Del-Cur Supply) on Saturday, March 25, 2023 starting at 10 AM.

We used the club's call sign, W7BKG, for this event, rather than personal call signs. Each park included in POTA has a unique "reference" number. Crissey Field is K-9535. This reference number was included in each contact, except on [[FT8]] and FT4.

== Thanks ==

* [https://stateparks.oregon.gov/ Oregon State Parks], for allowing us to use the park
* [https://www.fredmeyer.com/stores/grocery/or/brookings/brookings/701/00030 Brookings Fred Meyer], for lending us the canopies to keep us and our equipment dry
* Stu KE6NCU for coordinating the event
* Everyone who came, and everyone we contacted on the air!

== Pictures ==

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 1.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 2.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 3.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 4.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 5.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 6.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 7.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 8.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 9.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 10.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 11.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 12.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 13.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 14.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 15.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 16.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 17.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 18.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 19.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 20.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 21.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 22.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 23.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 24.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 25.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 26.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 27.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 28.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 29.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 30.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 31.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 32.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 33.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 34.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 35.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 36.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 37.jpg}}

{{Picture|March 2023 POTA pic 38.jpg}}

{{CC BY-SA}}

Home Page

2023-06-12T17:27:10Z

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[[File:International amateur radio symbol.png|100px|right]]
[[File:PBARC Logo.png|alt=Pelican Bay Amateur Radio Club]]

* '''[[New Ham Intro]]: how to get a license!'''
* [["Ask Me About" Roster]]
* [[Frequently Asked Questions]]
* [[Repeaters]]
** {{840}}
** {{960}}
* [[Nets]]
** [[Health and Welfare Net]], every day at {{time|12|00}}* on the {{840}}
** [[Public Service Net]], every Tuesday at {{time|18|45}} on the {{960}}
** [[10 Meter Ragchew Net]], every Sunday at {{time|18|00}} on 28.400 MHz USB
* [[Events|Upcoming]]
* [[Meetings]]: last Friday of every month at {{time|18|30}} at the [[Chetco Activity Center]]
* [[Contact]]

<nowiki>*</nowiki> All times in local (Pacific) time.

== News ==
{{NewsArticle|Azalea Parade 2023|Azalea Parade 2023|2023-04-28|PBARC will be helping with the Azalea Parade on Saturday, May 27.}}
{{NewsArticle|Field Day 2023|Field Day 2023|2023-02-26|Field Day 2023 will be at the Harbor Fire Department/Harbor Water District parking lot on June 24th and 25th.}}
{{NewsArticle|March 2023 POTA Activation|POTA activation at Crissey Field|2023-03-25|PBARC had a [[Parks on the Air]] activation at Crissey Field on Saturday, March 25.}}
{{NewsArticle|Festival of Lights|Donation from Nature's Coastal Holiday|2023-02-28|PBARC helped with parking control at the Festival of Lights at Azalea Park in 2022, and we received a $500 donation from [https://naturescoastalholiday.com Nature's Coastal Holiday]. Thank you!}}
{{loggedout|
==Log in ==
Members with accounts: [[Special:UserLogin|log in here]]|div}}
__NOTOC__

{{CC BY-SA}}

HF

2023-06-12T17:27:08Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

'''High frequency''' ('''HF''') is the range of radio waves between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted medium frequency ([[MF]]), while the next band of higher frequencies is known as the very high frequency ([[VHF]]) band. The HF band is a major part of the "shortwave" band of frequencies, so broadcast stations using these frequencies are often called shortwave stations. Because radio waves in this band can be reflected back to Earth by the [[ionosphere]] layer in the atmosphere – a method known as "skip" or "[[skywave propagation|skywave]]" [[propagation]] – these frequencies are suitable for long-distance communication across intercontinental distances and for mountainous terrains which prevent [[Line-of-sight propagation|line-of-sight]] communications. The amateur [[bands]] included in HF are 80 meters (m), 60 m, 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m, and 10 m. Although 6 meters is a VHF band, it also sometimes exhibits skywave propagation similar to that normally found on HF.

In addition to amateur radio, HF is used by international shortwave broadcasting stations (3.95–25.82 MHz), government time stations, weather stations, CB radios, and some aviation radios, among other uses.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|High frequency}}

Fldigi

2023-06-12T17:27:07Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

'''Fldigi''' is a sound-card [[digital]] radio program for [[Linux]], [[Mac]], and [[Windows]]. An [[Android]] version, [[AndFlmsg]], is also available, although it has limited features compared to the desktop version. Several other programs are available for use with Fldigi. Fldigi, Flmsg, and Flamp are used on the [[ORCA Digital Net]].

== Flmsg ==

Flmsg allows the user to enter data into predefined forms, which are then sent over radio. When they are received, the receiving station can load the data into its copy of the form, speeding up transfers by avoiding the need for transmission of the entire form. The files do not have to be sent over radio; they can also be emailed or sent by any other means of file transfer. When a form is received, it can be converted into a printable HTML document.

Andflmsg combines the functions of Fldigi and Flmsg into an Android app.

== Flamp ==

Flamp is a file transfer program that works using Fldigi as a modem. It breaks the message into blocks (somewhat similar to packets, for those who are familiar with IP or AX.25 packet switching) with error detection codes. If the entire message is not received, only the parts that were not successfully received need to be re-sent. With long messages, this can drastically reduce the time to successfully transfer a file in less-than-ideal [[propagation]] conditions. Flamp can be used to transfer Flmsg forms. The only major disadvantage of Flamp is that it is not compatible with Andflmsg; if all net participants are using desktops or laptops, there is little reason not to send forms over Flamp.

{{CC BY-SA}}

Field Day 2023

2023-06-12T17:27:07Z

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'''[[Field Day]] 2023''' will be June 24th and 25th (Saturday and Sunday) at the [https://www.facebook.com/HarborFireRescue/ Harbor Fire Department]/[https://www.harborwaterpud.com/ Harbor Water District] parking lot at 98069 W Benham Ln. (Some members will be setting up on Friday night. Please come after {{time|18|00}} if you decide to come on Friday.) Lunch on Saturday will be provided by [http://www.sprezzaturabrookings.com/ Sprezzatura Pizza].

== Thanks ==

* Harbor Fire Department and Harbor Water District, for allowing us to use the parking lot
* Harbor Fire Department for donating hamburgers for Saturday dinner
* Sprezzatura Pizza, for providing the pizza
* Scott KJ7SUZ, for lending a griddle to cook the burgers
* Scott KJ7SUZ and Dave N6UOW, for cooking the burgers
* Andy N7SGV, for planning and coordinating the event

{{CC BY-SA}}

Field Day 2022

2023-06-12T17:27:06Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

'''[[Field Day]] 2022''' was June 25 and 26, 2022 (last weekend of June) at the Beachfront Bistro overflow parking lot. Members of PBARC and [https://w6hy.org DNARC] (Del Norte Amateur Radio Club) had stations set up.

== Thanks ==
* [https://www.beachfrontinn.com/ Beachfront Inn] for allowing us to use the parking lot
* Members of both clubs who participated

{{CC BY-SA}}

Field Day

2023-06-12T17:27:06Z

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'''Field Day''' is an annual ham radio event. It is primarily organized by the [[ARRL]], although PBARC is not affiliated with the ARRL and does not participate in the ARRL's scoring system. [[Field Day 2023]] is the next Field Day.

== See also ==
* [[Field Day 2022]]

{{CC BY-SA}}

Festival of Lights

2023-06-12T17:27:05Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

The '''Festival of Lights''' is the Christmas light display at Azalea Park. In 2021 and 2022, PBARC members helped with parking control across the street from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. Radio communication is useful for this event because it actually helps to know how many open slots are left, and when some slots are expected to open up because visitors are loading back into their cars.

== 2021==

In 2021, the Festival of Lights asked if our group could staff the ticket booths and the snack bar for one night. The request would be for eight volunteers for four hours each. For PR, we would have been wearing our yellow vests, and we could have chatted on the radio when there wasn't a line in front of us. We would have been under a roof, so the rain wouldn't have been much of a problem. However, we lost that opportunity because we were not able to get enough members to commit to help.

When we finally said we had volunteers, they told us they'd given our night away, but they asked if we could do parking control on a Friday and Saturday night for the lot across the street from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church; only two people were needed for this. Lynn, Dave and James were there, and things worked well. We were asked if we could do the other Friday and Saturday nights through Christmas. If there would be heavy rain on a given evening, they'd tell us we could stay home (because fewer folks come out on the bad nights). Lynn, Stu, James and Dave did most of those nights. After the season was finished, [https://naturescoastalholiday.com/ Nature's Coastal Holiday] sent us a $500 donation!

== 2022 ==

PBARC helped in the parking lot again in 2022. As with last year, we received a $500 donation from [https://naturescoastalholiday.com/ Nature's Coastal Holiday]. Thank you!

{{CC BY-SA}}

Chetco Activity Center

2023-06-12T17:27:03Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

The '''[https://chetcoac.org/ Chetco Activity Center]''' is located at 550 Chetco Lane, Brookings, OR 97415. It is currently the location for [[Home Page|PBARC]]'s [[meetings]] and [[Volunteer Examiners|VE testing sessions]].

{{CC BY-SA}}

Azalea Parade 2023

2023-06-12T17:27:02Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

The '''[[Azalea Parade]]''' took place on Saturday, May 27, in 2023. As usual, PBARC provided radio communications. Cindy KJ7JTF was ICP1 (Incident Command Post 1) on the {{840}} and Andy N7SGV was ICP2 on the {{960}}.

Parade marshals' golf carts carried [[APRS]] trackers this year; the goal was to allow ICP to see a near-live map of the marshals' locations.

{{CC BY-SA}}

Azalea Parade 2022

2023-06-12T17:27:01Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

The '''[[Azalea Parade]] 2022''' was on Saturday, May 29, 2022. PBARC members were highly visible in yellow vests stationed along the parade route and also following along the parade route in golf carts as parade Marshalls to help keep the parade at an even pace. There was an ICP (Incident Command Post) located at the Lutheran Church parking lot (1200 Easy St.) which was the central gathering point at 8:00am for all PBARC participants.

Despite the rain and wind, the parade went well. All PBARC volunteers were able to talk to Stu KE6NCU (net control) over the {{840}}. There were some problems with parade participants not having registered or having registered with inaccurate information, PBARC volunteers missing needed maps and other information sheets, and non-parade traffic not stopping when needed, but these issues were all sorted out fairly easily.

{{Picture|Azalea Parade 2022 pic 1.jpg}}

{{Picture|Azalea Parade 2022 pic 2.jpg}}

{{Picture|Azalea Parade 2022 pic 3.jpg}}

{{CC BY-SA}}

Azalea Parade

2023-06-12T17:27:01Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

The '''Azalea Parade''' takes place in Brookings every year on the Saturday before Memorial Day. The [[Azalea Parade 2023]] will be on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Stu KE6NCU is the coordinator.

* [[Azalea Parade 2022]]
* [[Azalea Parade 2021]]

{{CC BY-SA}}

Antenna

2023-06-12T17:27:00Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

An '''antenna''' is a device that converts electrical signals in a cable (such as a [[coaxial cable]] or [[ladder line]]) into radio waves, and vice versa. An antenna is a critical part of virtually any radio system; even the best radio will not work well with a poor antenna. Many different types of antennas have been designed.

== Dipoles and monopoles ==

A typical dipole antenna consists of two identical conductive elements such as metal wires or rods. The driving current from the transmitter is applied, or for receiving antennas the output signal to the receiver is taken, between the two halves of the antenna. Each side of the feedline to the transmitter or receiver is connected to one of the conductors. This contrasts with a monopole antenna, which consists of a single rod or conductor with one side of the feedline connected to it, and the other side connected to some type of ground. Outside ham radio, one well-known example of a dipole is the "rabbit ears" television antenna found on old broadcast television sets.

A dipole is the simplest type of antenna, both from a theoretical and practical standpoint. German physicist Heinrich Hertz first demonstrated the existence of radio waves in 1887 using what we now know as a dipole antenna (with capacitative end-loading). On the other hand, Guglielmo Marconi empirically found that he could just ground the transmitter (or one side of a transmission line, if used) dispensing with one half of the antenna, thus realizing the monopole antenna.

Although the term "vertical antenna" is often used to refer to a monopole antenna, either type can be vertical or horizontal; vertical dipoles are quite common, and horizontal monopoles are rarely used due to typically undesirable radiation patterns but are entirely possible.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Dipole antenna}}

Android

2023-06-12T17:27:00Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

There are several ham radio apps available for '''Android'''.

* [[Slow-scan Television|SSTV]] Encoder
** [https://f-droid.org/packages/om.sstvencoder F-Droid]
** [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=om.sstvencoder Google Play Store]
* Robot36 (SSTV decoder, supports several other modes in addition to Robot 36)
** [https://f-droid.org/packages/xdsopl.robot36 F-Droid]
** [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xdsopl.robot36 Google Play Store]
* [[AndFlmsg]] ([https://sourceforge.net/projects/fldigi/files/AndFlmsg/ download]) ([[Fldigi]] and Flmsg for Android; not available in F-Droid or Google Play)

{{CC BY-SA}}

APRS

2023-06-12T17:26:59Z

KJ7RRV-bot: License cleanup

'''Automatic Packet Reporting System''' ('''APRS''') is an [[amateur radio]]-based system for real time [[digital]] communications of information of immediate value in the local area. Data can include object Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, weather station telemetry, text messages, announcements, queries, and other telemetry. APRS data can be displayed on a map, which can show stations, objects, tracks of moving objects, weather stations, search and rescue data, and direction finding data.

APRS data is typically transmitted on a single shared frequency (depending on country) to be repeated locally by area relay stations (digipeaters) for widespread local consumption. In addition, all such data are typically ingested into the APRS Internet System (APRS-IS) via an Internet-connected receiver (IGate) and distributed globally for ubiquitous and immediate access. Data shared via radio or Internet are collected by all users and can be combined with external map data to build a shared live view.

APRS was developed from the late 1980s forward by Bob Bruninga, [[call sign]] WB4APR, a senior research engineer at the United States Naval Academy. He maintained the main APRS Web site until his death in 2022. The initialism "APRS" was derived from his call sign.

== History ==
Bob Bruninga, a senior research engineer at the United States Naval Academy, implemented the earliest ancestor of APRS on an Apple II computer in 1982. This early version was used to map [[HF]] Navy position reports. The first use of the system now called APRS was in 1984, when Bruninga developed a more advanced version on a Commodore VIC-20 for reporting the position and status of horses in a 100 mile endurance run.

During the next two years, Bruninga continued to develop the system, which he then called the Connectionless Emergency Traffic System (CETS). Following a series of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) exercises using CETS, the system was ported to the IBM Personal Computer. During the early 1990s, CETS (then known as the Automatic Position Reporting System) continued to evolve into its current form.

As GPS technology became more widely available, "Position" was replaced with "Packet" to better describe the more generic capabilities of the system and to emphasize its uses beyond mere position reporting.

Bruninga has also stated that APRS was not meant to be a vehicle position tracking system, and can be interpreted rather as “Automatic Presence Reporting System."

== Network overview ==
APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System), is a digital communications protocol for exchanging information among a large number of stations covering a large (local) area. As a multi-user data network, it is quite different from conventional [[Packet Radio|packet radio]]. Rather than using connected data streams where stations connect to each other and packets are acknowledged and retransmitted if lost, APRS operates entirely in an unconnected broadcast fashion, using unnumbered AX.25 frames.

APRS packets are transmitted for all other stations to hear and use. Packet [[repeater]]s, called digipeaters, form the backbone of the APRS system, and use [[store and forward]] technology to retransmit packets. All stations operate on the same radio channel, and packets move through the network from digipeater to digipeater, propagating outward from their point of origin. All stations within radio range of each digipeater receive the packet. At each digipeater, the packet path is changed. The packet will be repeated through only a certain number of digipeaters — or hops — depending upon the "PATH" setting. 

Digipeaters keep track of the packets they forward for a period of time, thus preventing duplicate packets from being retransmitted. This keeps packets from circulating in endless loops inside the ad hoc network. Eventually, most packets are heard by an APRS Internet Gateway, called an IGate, and the packets are routed on to the Internet APRS backbone (where duplicate packets heard by other IGates are discarded) for display or analysis by other users connected to an APRS-IS server, or on a Web site designed for the purpose.

While it would seem that using unconnected and unnumbered packets without acknowledgment and retransmission on a shared and sometimes congested channel would result in poor reliability due to a packet being lost, this is not the case, because the packets are transmitted (broadcast) to everyone and multiplied many times over by each digipeater. This means that all digipeaters and stations in range get a copy, and then proceed to broadcast it to all other digipeaters and stations within their range. The end result is that packets are multiplied more than they are lost. Therefore, packets can sometimes be heard some distance from the originating station. Packets can be digitally repeated tens of kilometers or even hundreds of kilometers, depending on the height and range of the digipeaters in the area.

When a packet is transmitted, it is duplicated many times as it radiates out, taking all available paths simultaneously, until the number of "hops" allowed by the path setting is consumed.

== Positions/objects/items ==
APRS contains a number of packet types, including position/object/item, status, messages, queries, weather reports and telemetry. The position/object/item packets contain the latitude and longitude, and a symbol to be displayed on the map, and have many optional fields for altitude, course, speed, radiated power, [[antenna]] height above average terrain, antenna gain, and voice operating frequency. Positions of fixed stations are configured in the APRS software. Moving stations (portable or mobile) automatically derive their position information from a GPS receiver connected to the APRS equipment.

The map display uses these fields to plot communication range of all participants and facilitate the ability to contact users during both routine and emergency situations. Each position/object/item packet can use any of several hundred different symbols. Position/objects/items can also contain weather information or can be any number of dozens of standardized weather symbols. Each symbol on an APRS map can display many attributes, discriminated either by color or other technique. These attributes are:

* Moving or fixed
* Dead-reckoned or old
* Message capable or not
* Station, object or item
* Own object or other station object/item
* Emergency, priority, or special

== Status/messages ==
The Status packet is free-field format that lets each station announce its current mission or application or contact information or any other information or data of immediate use to surrounding activities. The message packet can be used for point-to-point messages, bulletins, announcements or even email. Bulletins and Announcements are treated specially and displayed on a single "community Bulletin board". This community bulletin board is fixed size and all bulletins from all posters are sorted onto this display. The intent of this display is to be consistent and identical for all viewers so that all participants are seeing the same information at the same time. Since lines are sorted onto the display, then individual posters can edit, update, or delete individual lines of their bulletins at any time to keep the bulletin board up-to-date to all viewers.

All APRS messages are delivered live in real-time to online recipients. Messages are not stored and forwarded, but retried until timed out. The delivery of these messages is global, since the APRS-IS distributes all packets to all other IGates in the world and those that are messages will actually go back to RF via any IGate that is near the intended recipient.

=== Email ===
A special case message can be sent to EMAIL where these messages are pulled off the real-time APRS-IS and wrapped into a standard email and forwarded into the regular Internet email system.

== Capabilities ==
In its simplest implementation, APRS is used to transmit real-time data, information and reports of the exact location of a person or object via a data signal sent over amateur radio frequencies. In addition to real-time position reporting capabilities using attached GPS receivers, APRS is also capable of transmitting a wide variety of data, including weather reports, short text messages, [[Radio Direction Finding|radio direction finding]] bearings, telemetry data, short e-mail messages (send only) and storm forecasts. Once transmitted, these reports can be combined with a computer and mapping software to show the transmitted data superimposed with great precision upon a map display.

While the map plotting is the most visible feature of APRS, the text messaging capabilities and local information distribution capabilities, combined with the robust network, should not be overlooked; the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management has an extensive network of APRS stations to allow text messaging between all of the county Emergency Operating Centers in the event of the failure of conventional communications.

== Technical information ==
In its most widely used form, APRS is transported over the AX.25 protocol using 1200-bit/s Bell 202 frequency-shift keying on frequencies located within the 2 meter [[VHF]] band. The standard frequency in North America is 144.390 MHz.

An extensive digipeater network provides transport for APRS packets on these frequencies. Internet gateway stations (IGates) connect the on-air APRS network to the APRS Internet System (APRS-IS), which serves as a worldwide, high-bandwidth backbone for APRS data. Stations can tap into this stream directly, and a number of databases connected to the APRS-IS allow Web-based access to the data as well as more advanced data-mining capabilities. A number of low-Earth orbiting [[satellite]]s, including the [[International Space Station]], are capable of relaying APRS data.

{{CC BY-SA}}

{{Wikipedia|Automatic Packet Reporting System}}