I think Spring’s spring is frozen, because it certainly hasn’t sprung! March was a very busy month for me, as we moved from the NW side of Indy to the Noblesville area. Despite all of the move activities, I still found some time for amateur radio. I’m still working on getting things setup in the shack and am currently operating a very modest setup off of a folding table.
Had an email Q&A session with one of our TS’s regarding DMR basics.
Resubmitted my repeater coordinations to the IRC. Due to the move and the shift in distance, my 70cm and 33cm machines will be changing frequencies. At this point, I believe we’ve identified new frequencies and are going through the process. Additionally a new frequency was assigned for my fusion machine.
I finished up the IRC email server and successfully tested it. All seems to be going well there. We continue to work on the website to ensure that it’s up-to-date and useful. The online repeater directory had been updated as of 4/3/2016.
Received in inquiry from a local ham regarding Broadband Hamnet and how much activity is in the Indy area. Ed (K3HTK) and I have been unsuccessful in sparking any major interest, but perhaps this is an opportunity. All big things start small….
Began the process of upgrading my 33cm Quantar to P25. I’ve purchased the wireline interface board for the repeater and have the WIC-1T card for the Cisco router as well as the DCE cable. Currently working on upgrading the SCM and Wirelink cards in order to support P25. Once this is complete, the repeater will join the Quantar Site Connect network. I’m really looking forward to exploring P25 and the new network.
As part of my P25 exploration, I’ve also had to do some research on P25 mobiles/portables. I currently only have a single radio (EFJ 5100) capable of P25. So when I move my Quantar to P25, I’ll be looking at the XTL line of mobiles to replace my Kenwood TK-981’s.
Making arrangements to help an Indiana Ham with the re-programming of his XPR6550. Since he doesn’t have the cable/software, I’m going to meet up with him near the office one afternoon and get him squared away.
That’s about it for March. Looking forward to some warmer weather and getting some antennas in the air at the new location.
73 until next month! de NF9K
