PARS BREAKFAST MEETING THIS COMING SATURDAY
Our next meeting will be at 0900 this Saturday, March 26th at Brantley’s
Village Restaurant on Broad Street in Oriental. Please park on the side
or out back. Our meetings are held the last Saturday of each month
except June when the club participates in the annual ARRL Field Day or
when in conflict with a major holiday. We hope to see you all there. For
more information contact Pamlico Amateur Radio Society President Mike
Marsh, K4NLC, 252-636-1257 or mike@marshconsulting.com.
Oriental repeater changes, codeplugs, PL tones, remote station operation
are all on tap for the meeting this month.
REMINDER–N40NC ORIENTAL REPEATER SETTINGS CHANGE ON FRIDAY, MARCH 25TH
Midmorning March 25th, our new N4ONC 2M repeater will begin a period of
testing on-air. The new machine will operate with dual modes, analog FM
and DMR. First tests will be to ensure analog FM compatibility, and once
tuned and proven we will start DMR testing. If you make minor
adjustments to the radios you have always used with the old machine, you
should see little difference with your FM usage of the new repeater. At
least that’s the expectation at this point considering we have not
tested it ‘in the wild’ among daily users yet.
The DMR side will participate in the NC4ES network, which currently
links 16 machines in Eastern NC, intended for emergency and contingency
communications serving hospitals and emergency management.
The new machine will use CTCSS, or PL tones, on the analog side to
determine which mode a user intends. If it hears a transmission using
88.5 PL, it switches to analog FM mode, services the conversation, stays
in the mode for twenty seconds, then drops the mode until reset by a new
call. If it hears a digital signal without a PL, it switches to DMR
mode, etc.
Analog FM settings of your radios should be as follows for compatibility:
Repeater output (your RX): 147.210 MHz
Repeater offset (change in frequency to your TX): +600 Hz (set your TX
to 147.810 MHz)
Encode PL: 88.5 Hz (sensed by the repeater and allows you access)
Decode PL: 88.5 Hz (sensed by your radio to open your squelch so you can
hear the repeater)
UNLIKE CURRENT N4ONC SETTINGS, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR ANALOG FM RADIO
BE SETUP WITH THE DECODE PL. WITHOUT IT, YOU WILL HEAR DMR USERS’
BUZZSAW-LIKE SIGNALS WHICH CAN BE ANNOYING AND UNPLEASANT!
DMR users’ channel setup should follow these settings:
RX: 147.210 MHz
TX: 147.810 MHz
CC: 1
Channel Type: D-digital
DMR mode: repeater (not simplex)
Set TS and TGs according to the lineup on the NC4ES dashboard at NC4ES.org
Before the 25th, please add a new memory to your radios for FM use with
the new repeater. If you’re unable, after the PARS meeting on March 26,
a small team of us will help you in an Elmering workshop session. Please
try to do it yourself before the meeting! We won’t be able to reprogram
everyone’s radios if more than a few need help. Bring radios, radio
manuals, and programming cables for your radio, and we will get you going.
—Lor Kutchins, W3QA
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was low during the 24 hour period
ending yesterday at 5 p.m. local. There are 3 numbered sunspot regions
on the Sun facing Earth this morning. A fourth region is emerging. The
Prediction Center expects solar activity to be very low today through
Wednesday. There is a chance for C-class flares each day. On Sunday the
observed Solar Flux Index (SFI) at Penticton was 95. (Last Sunday it was
123.) The index is predicted to measure 95 at noon today and also
Tuesday and Wednesday. The SFI 90 day trailing average is holding at 110.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet to unsettled yesterday. For our
middle latitude, NOAA expects conditions to be quiet to active today and
then quiet to unsettled on Tuesday and Wednesday. The estimated Kp-index
of zero reported at 5 a.m. local this morning indicates very quiet
geomagnetic conditions.
We can expect good operating conditions today on 80 through 20 meters.
Conditions will be fair on 15/17 and poor on 12/10.
The Magic Band did its magic for the Summer Solstice yesterday. By 9 pm
last evening, DxMaps had reported around 100 TEP and Es contacts between
North and Central/South America stations since mid-afternoon on the 6
Meter band. Most contacts were FT8, a few CW and SSB. The voice contacts
were all in the “DX window” on either 50.110 or 50.115 MHz.
For an explanation of the numbers used in our PARSgram, see the
excellent article written by Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA at
http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere.
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
For listing in the PARSgram send me your amateur radio related items
that are for sale, trade, or wanted. PLEASE let me know when you have
have sold your item or your listing is no longer needed. Listings will
EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear otherwise.–Jim.
*WANTED* 6 Meter mobile whip antenna and or a multi band mobile antenna.
In anticipation of finishing the Lil Shaky radio Jeep. Clergyman’s
discount should be considered as I am but a lowly, humble website
attendant. Paul K4MMB, 561-308-3456, PARSwebman@gmail.com (20220103)
PARS CALENDAR:
* Mar 25, N4ONC (Oriental) Repeater Access Tone Change. See directions
above.
* Mar 26, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Mike Marsh, K4NLC,
252-636-1257 or mike@MarshConsulting.org
* Apr 2, PAMLICO COMMUNICATIONS TEAM MEETING, Saturday, 9am,
Florence-Whortonsville VFD. AUXCOMM & ARES–All are welcome. For more
info, contact Bruce Perkins, K4ONC, 252-626-2730 or K4ONC@aol.com
* Apr 30, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Mike Marsh, K4NLC,
252-636-1257 or mike@MarshConsulting.org
LOCAL NETS OF INTEREST TO PARS MEMBERS:
* Wednesdays,”Pamlico Communications Net”, 7:30 pm local, Oriental
Repeater, 147.210 + (PL151.4).
* Thursdays, “DownEast/Pamlico Six Meter Net”, 8 pm local, 50.200 MHz,
USB. A non-directed open net to promote operation on the ‘Magic Band’.
(For more nets see www.arrl.org/arrl-net-directory-search )
PARS WEB SITE: https://www.n4prs.org/
Our Web Master is Paul Jodoin, K4MMB, 561-308-3456, PARSwebman@gmail.com
73, Jim AI4WL
——–
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