Zero Beat - September 2010

Zero Beat for September 2010 is now online, compliments of editor Bob, K1KVV.

Inside This Issue:

• One step Forward ...
     ... and Two Back
• It seems to me ...
• Club Notes
• Official Meeting Minutes: August 5, 2010
• SEMARA News
     BOD Meeting - July 31, 2010
• More SEMARA News
• Some Questions: Tech Exam Graphics
• Some Contests
     VE Sessions
     Coming Fleas & Fests
     Club Activities

Jimmy Fund Walk - September 12th

Hams needed for the Jimmy Fund Marathon Walk.  It will be on Sunday, September 12th.  There are hams needed at the medical station at each "refueling station" and on the medical buses.  It is a whole day event, but there is some flexibility in start and end times for medical stations.  You will need a 2 meter HT with extra batteries.  This is a low key event and a good first Public Service Event for a new ham.

ARRL Convention: Boxboro! - August 27-29th

Hello!

The ARRL New England Convention, "Boxboro!", is around the corner!! It’s at the Holiday Inn Boxborough, in Boxborough, MA. There are ICS and Skywarn courses on Friday, August 27 (signup will be required). The Flea Market and Exhibits run Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29. There’s the Friday night Contesting Dinner, the Saturday Night Banquet with keynote speaker ARRL CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ and the ARRL Wouff Hong Ceremony on Saturday at midnight. Go to www.boxboro.org to see the latest details.

Zero Beat - August 2010

Zero Beat for August 2010 is now online, compliments of editor Bob, K1KVV.

In this edition:

• Handicapped Restroom Progress
• July Meeting Minutes
• It Seems To Me... (Editor's Corner)
• Hammin' Around (Tech Question)
• IRLP Protocol
• Raining on a Parade
• Sudoku Puzzle
• Club Notes
• And More!

New 147.000 Repeater Antenna

As you may have heard, the 147.000 repeater had been experiencing sporadic crackling noises on weaker signals over the past year.  It was determined that the cause of this problem was not in the repeater itself, but in the antenna system.  This finding is of no surprise, due to the fact that we had this same issue almost 5 years ago.

The repeater antenna is a commercial grade Super Stationmaster that is built to withhold the toughest conditions and comes with a price tag of over $1,000.  SEMARA originally installed this antenna model in 1999 when the current 180 foot tower was built.  Unfortunately, that antenna had to be replaced in 2006 due to the same recent crackling problem.  Faced with the fact that we must replace the antenna once again, it appears that our average life span with this antenna is only about 5 years (it is advertised to be 15-20).

Cable Modem Replaced

Around 12:15pm during yesterday's severe thunderstorm that passed through the South Coast, the internet at the SEMARA clubhouse along with the repeaters' IRLP nodes, APRS and the scanner feed all went offline.  It was determined today that the cable modem at SEMARA's clubhouse suffered a power surge and went dead.  The Comcast SMC Business IP Gateway was replaced today by a Comcast technician around 2:00pm.  Special thanks to Marcel, W1MLD for going down to meet the technician at the clubhouse before I was able to join in.

Programming Party - Sunday, July 11th

On Sunday, July 11, 2010 at 11:00am, there will be a programming party at the SEMARA clubhouse.  Jeff, N1ZZN and Rick, W1RJC will be on hand to reprogram anyone's Motorola 900 MHz radio.  Radios that can be programmed include the Motorola GTX mobile and MTX9000 hand-held.

Whether you need your radio reprogrammed to work with the recent changes on the two Dartmouth 900 MHz repeaters, or you would just like to get the most up-to-date memory "codeplug", be sure to bring your radio(s) and stop on by!

Zero Beat - July 2010

Zero Beat for July 2010 is now online, compliments of editor Bob, K1KVV.

In this edition:

• Field Day @ SEMARA
• June Meeting Minutes
• It Seems To Me... (Editor's Corner)
• Hammin' Around (Tech Question)
• 900 MHz Repeater Updates
• RI SKYWARN Training Sessions
• Club Notes
• And More!

900 MHz Repeater Now Linked!

The wait is over!  I am happy to report that as of Saturday, June 26, 2010 at approximately 4:30am (after spending hours at the site), SEMARA's 927.8375 repeater is now linked full-time to the New England Amateur Radio 900 MHz (NEAR-900) network.  Larry, W1DBX stayed up all night to witness the moment when the link was activated and made the first transmission over the network.

I again must thank everyone that helped me make this happen, including Ho, KC1HO and Jeff, N1ZZN.

Changes to the 900 MHz Repeater

SEMARA's 927.8375 repeater has changed from DCS (DPL) to CTCSS (PL) access.  The new tone is 67.0 Hz.  Motorola Hear Clear technology has also been disabled.  These changes were made to facilitate the upcoming linking and to fix a problem in which the repeater would falsely key-up on random noise on the input.

Please note that these same changes have also been applied to the "Dartmouth North" SCMARG repeater on 927.6500.  A big thank you goes to Ho, KC1HO and Jeff, N1ZZN for once again donating their time to assist.  A radio programming party may be scheduled in the near future so that local users can have their Motorola mobile and handhelds reprogrammed.