November was not as radio active due to vacation, the Thanksgiving Holiday and an impromptu business trip to South Carolina for work. However, I did manage to generate some activity, so here goes:
Obtained four TYT MD-380 DMR radios, flashed them with the MD380Tools firmware, using a Raspberry Pi, and got them shipped up to four very excited amateurs in Homer, Alaska.
Performed some administration work on the IRC website, updating some out of date information, publishing minutes, etc. Also re-worked some forms in order to support different email addresses for the IRC staff.
Donated an unused 30′ tower to another local ham. The tower was originally donated to me, and I was able to replace it with a 55′ one, so I paid it forward.
Setup my openSPOT to connect to a home-brew SharkRF server and utilized the openSPOT all the way down to Gatlinburg, TN, connected to a USB cellular modem via a CradlePoint router. This made for a very portable and dedicated means of communication. I plan to do some additional work with the SharkRF server software, but was impressed with what I’ve seen thus far.
At the request of our repeater trustees, the Crossroads Talkgroup (#8710) was extended to the K4USD DMR Network. I worked with W2XAB to setup the necessary c-Bridge CC links to make this initiative a success.
That’s pretty much it for November. Looking forward to the latter part of December and taking some much needed time off. I hope to kick start some stalled projects during that time.
I wish everyone a very safe and very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
