Category Archives: Colorado

Summits On the Air Taking Off in Colorado

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The Summits On The Air (SOTA) program was launched in Europe in 2002 but is just now making its way to the United States. Recently, there has been a surge of activity in Colorado as the program gains traction here.

The basic concept of SOTA is an award program that rewards the radio operators that activate summits and the radio operators that chase summits. For those of us that enjoy the mountains and enjoy ham radio, this is a great fit. I won’t go into all of the rules here (Warning: There Are Lots of Them), so check out the SOTA web site for the complete details.

Steve WG0AT (World Famous Alpha Goat) just published another one of his Rooster and Peanut videos that capture his recent activation of Mount Herman. I managed to work Steve on 2 Meters and I make a cameo appearance in his video below as I make my first official SOTA contact.

Steve has been activating SOTA summits for a while now and others are joining in. Here’s a video from Pikes Peak with Mike, KD9KC and Ron,WT5RZ on North American Summits On the Air weekend.

Recently, Jerry KD0BIK succumbed to the SOTA addiction, activating Mount Herman and  Green Mountain (click on the mountain names to see his blog postings). Chris NW5W has also been active…check out his web site here.

There are numerous SOTA videos on youtube from all over the world.

The SOTAWatch web site is dedicated to posting future SOTA operating plans (Alerts) and SOTA activations in progress (Spots). The North American SOTA Yahoo! Group is another great source of information.

See you on a summit soon.

73, Bob K0NR

Results: 2011 Colorado FM Sprint

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The logs have been sent in, the scores tabulated and awards issued for the 2nd running of the Colorado FM Sprint. See my previous post, announcing the contest. The competition was tough significant weak not too bad rather slim and the following awards have been issued:

Call sign Category Place
KDØLLG Single Operator 1st Place
KØJJW Single Operator 2nd Place
KØNR Rover 1st Place

Come on out and play next year!

73, Bob K0NR

Tech License Class – Final Call

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We have a few seats open for the Technician License Class. Pass this along to anyone interested in getting their ham radio license.   – Bob K0NR

Monument, Colorado
Saturday Oct 15 and Saturday Oct 22 (8 AM to 5 PM) 2011
Location: Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Station 1
Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Radio Association

 The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio …

  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
  • Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
  • Live equipment demonstrations
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications

There is no cost for the class (donations accepted)
However, students must have the required study guide:
Gordon West Technician Class guide, 7th Edition $20.95
And pay the FCC Exam Fee: $15.00

Advance registration is required (no later than October 8th, earlier is better!)

To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR
Email: bob@k0nr.com  or Phone: 719 659-3727

For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org or www.wedothat-radio.org   

2011 Fall TechFest

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Announcing the 2011 Fall TechFest

Sponsored by the 285 TechConnect Club

Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Check in: 8:00 – 8:45 a.m.

Schedule of Workshops
(order and topic may vary)

9:00 – 9:50 Amateur Digital TV – Dr. Glenn Adams, NØGNR
10:00 – 10:50 DX-pedition : Zimbabwe – Roger Krautkremer, KØYY
11:00 – 11:50 VHF Contesting – Bob Witte, KØNR
12:00 – 12:50 Lunch (on your own)
1:00 – 1:50 SDRs as Panadapters – Frank Ivan, KØFEI
2:00 – 2:50 Antenna Tuners – Larry Benko, WØQE

Registration
Space is limited! Please e-mail k0nnc@arrl.net to pre-register.
Cost $10.00 (cash only at the door).
Includes 2012 membership dues for 285 TechConnect Radio Club, NAØTC

Where
The Inter Canyon Fire Department Station #1.
The address is 7939 South Turkey Creek Road, Morrison, Colorado
For complete info, download the TechFest flyer from the NA0TC web site.

73, Bob K0NR

Great Time with the Colorado QSO Party

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I had a great time working the Colorado QSO Party ham radio contest on Saturday.  This is your typical state QSO party where the rules favor working Colorado stations with an emphasis on activating Colorado counties.

I operated from our cabin located in the somewhat rare Park County, using my new FT-950. I am still getting used to the radio as it has more buttons and knobs than any other rig I have owned. I can tell that I am learning the radio as I was able to take more advantage of the contesting features.

Recently, I picked up a Heil Pro Set headset with the HC-4 mic element. I noticed that the serious contesters gravitate towards using a headset, logging computer and foot switch. This sets you up for a very focused operating setup with your hands on the keyboard and your foot pushing the transmit button. I was very pleased with how this worked out. I used N1MM software for logging and the antenna was a trap dipole in the trees.

I operated exclusively on phone as I don’t consider my CW skills up to the task of an HF contest. Maybe someday I’ll give that a try. Most of the time was spent on 20 Meters which produced contacts across North America. 40M was great for working stations around Colorado and picking up different counties.

Here’s my score:

 Band    QSOs    Pts  Sec   Mul
      7   81     162   30    1
     14  197     388   34    0
     21    8      26    2    0
    144    2       4    1    0
    420    2       4    1    0
  Total  290     584   68    1
Score: 40,296

 

Thanks to the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association for sponsoring this event.

73, Bob K0NR

Announcing: Colorado FM Sprint

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The Colorado FM Sprint

Sponsored by:  The Colorado VHF Group (KØYB) and the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Radio Association (WØTLM)
Direct any questions to k0yb@qsl.net

Rules and FAQ are posted on the KØYB web site.

Saturday – September 10, 2011

This contest is held concurrently with the ARRL September VHF QSO Party, with compatible rules and operating procedures. The purpose of this contest is to:

  • Promote the use of FM VHF/UHF simplex
  • Provide an opportunity for radio amateurs to test the limits of their stations using FM VHF/UHF and to experiment with ways to improve their stations
  • Practice deploying portable and mobile operation as a means of identifying effective locations for temporary relay stations
  • Provide a simple and enjoyable radio contest experience (“Have fun!”)

Time:

 Saturday, Sept 10, 2011; 1200 to 1700 Mountain Time (1800 to 2300 UTC)

Objective:

To work as many stations as possible using FM simplex on the 146 MHz, 222 MHz and 440 MHz bands in as many different VHF grids as possible.

Frequencies:

Operate on FM simplex frequencies consistent with the Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) band plans

(Consistent with the ARRL Rules, 146.52 MHz is not allowed to be used in the contest.)

Suggested Frequencies:

2 Meters: 146.58, 146.55

222 MHz: 223.5 MHz

440 MHz: 446.0, 446.100 MHz

Do not operate on repeater frequencies or 146.52 MHz, the National Simplex Calling Frequency.

Remember to be a considerate operator and share the frequency with other operators.

Contest Exchange

To complete a contest QSO, you and the other station must copy each other’s callsign and 4-digit Grid Locator. You may optionally exchange Name and geographic location (city, landmark, etc).

Entry Categories:

The following entry categories are available for this contest, consistent with the entry categories for the ARRL September VHF QSO Party. All categories (excluding Single Operator Portable) operate within these power limits: (146 MHz–200 W PEP, 222 MHz 100 W PEP, 440 MHz 100 W PEP).

Single Operator – same as Single Operator Low Power in the ARRL rules

Single Operator Portable – power limit of 10 W PEP, operating from a fixed location using a portable power source, portable equipment and antennas

Rover – operates from 2 or more grid squares with 1 or 2 operators, same definition as Limited Rover in the ARRL rules. Rovers must sign “Rover” after their callsign.

Multioperator – operates with more than with operator from a fixed location

Scoring                     

QSO Points: Count one point for each 146 MHz QSO and two points for each 222 MHz and 440 MHz QSO.

Multiplier: The total number of different grid squares worked per band. Each grid counts as one multiplier on each band it is worked.

Final score: Multiply the total number of QSO points from all bands operated by the total number of multipliers for final score. 

Rovers only: The final score consists of the total number of QSO points from all bands times the sum of unique multipliers (grid squares) worked per band (regardless of which grid square they were made in) plus one additional multiplier for every grid square from which they successfully completed a contact.                         

Miscellaneous:

1.  Use only one call sign per entry per station, except family members who share a station.

2.  A rover station may use only one call sign.

3.  Soliciting contacts during the contest on repeaters, e-mail, telephone, etc. is not allowed.

4.  Final interpretation of these rules is the sole responsibility of the contest committee.

Awards:

Certificates will be issued to top scoring entrants in each category. Other certificates may be issued depending on the level of competition present in the contest. Results will be listed on the KØYB web site at http://www.qsl.net/k0yb

Log Entry:

1.  Log entries must be received by September 30, 2011.

2.  A log entry contains the following for each contact completed:  Date; Time (Universal Coordinated Time); Station Worked; Grid Locator

3.  A summary contains:  Your name, call, and address; entry category; grid locator; score calculation; and this statement:  “I have observed all rules of the contest and have operated my station in accordance with FCC rules.”

4.  Entrants are strongly encouraged to submit an electronic log in Cabrillo format, using commonly available logging programs (configured for ARRL September VHF QSO Party). Send electronic logs to k0yb@qsl.net, with Cabrillo file attached and subject line containing your call sign and the words “FM Sprint”.

5.  Paper logs may be sent to:  K0YB – Contest Logs, 21060 Capella Drive, Monument, CO 80132

Grid Locator Information:

Grids are 2° longitude x 1° latitude squares designated with 2-letters and 2-numbers, such as DM78. To determine which grid you are operating from, refer to this web page: http://www.k0nr.com/rwitte/vhf_grids.html or use a GPS receiver that displays the location in Maidenhead (vhf grid) format.

Here are some general guidelines that may help in case you work someone who does not know their grid square:

  • Greater Denver is in grid DM79
  • Boulder is split between grids DM79 and DN70, so check the location carefully.
  • Colorado Springs and Pueblo are in grid DM78
  • Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont are in grid DN70.

 

Radio Fun on Mt Antero

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My favorite radio partner (and wife), Joyce K0JJW, and I climbed up Mt Antero for the Colorado 14er Event.  See my post announcing the event here.

We got up at O’Dark thirty on the morning of the event and drove the Jeep Wrangler up the 4WD road to Mt Antero. This road got us to within 1000 vertical feet and maybe a mile from the summit, making the climb a lot easier. But it still was climbing over rocks at 14,000 feet (read: no oxygen to breathe).  The weather was outstanding…blue sky all around and none of those nasty thunderclouds anywhere in sight. (It turns out that lightning on an exposed mountaintop is not a good thing.)

Here’s Joyce operating with a handheld transceiver.

 And here’s the view looking out to the west from the summit: 

We worked quite a few 14er stations, including the KBØSA crew on Pikes Peak and the Goathiker WGØAT on Handies Peak. All QSOs were made on 144 Mhz and 440 MHz FM using handheld transceivers. We were on the summit for almost 3 hours and then descended back down.

   73, Bob K0NR

Colorado 14er Event – Sunday!

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I am getting ready for the Colorado 14er Event tomorrow morning. Here’s the brief description from the www.14er.org web site:

Amateur Radio Fun in the Colorado Mountains
Sunday, August 7, 2011

Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains to set up amateur radio stations in an effort to communicate with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun on the Sunday of the first full weekend in August and see how many of the mountaintop stations you can contact. The prime operating hours are from approximately 9 AM to noon local time (1500 to 1800 UTC), but activity may occur at other times during the day. Most mountaintop stations will be running low power handheld radios. Stations running high power need to keep in mind that they can interfere with stations they cannot hear.

Radio operators with 14er climbing experience who plan to climb a 14er should log their name and intended peak at the HAM 14er Yahoo group.

Joyce K0JJW and I will be heading up Mount Antero, taking the Jeep as far as we can and then hiking the rest of the way. It should be fun!

There will be a crew of Boy Scouts on Pikes Peak, using club call sign KB0SA, so look for them.

You don’t have to be on a mountaintop to play in this event. Here are a few options:

  • See who you can work from home on 2 Meter FM and 70 cm Meter FM. The frequencies are listed on 14er.org.
  • Operate from a high spot that is line of site to the 14er summits. For example, Wilkerson Pass (west of Colorado Springs on Highway 24) is a great spot. Harder to get to but even better would be Mosquito Pass or Weston Pass. Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is another great drive-to location.
  • Work the 14ers on HF. Many of the 14er stations will be up and running on HF and there is usually a pileup of stations wanting to work them. The Goat Hiker crew WG0AT will be out in full force  on Handies Peak, likely using N0B special event call sign.

See you on the air!

73, Bob K0NR

2011 Colorado 14er Event – August 7th

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The Colorado 14er Event will be held on August 7 this year. This is the premier mountaintopping event for amateur radio. The basic idea is to have fun making ham radio contacts from the 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado.

Actually, we’ve started to see some of the 14,000 ft peaks in California on the air, too! Very cool. Rumor has it that some of the New Mexico hams might be active on the highest summits in that state (none are above 14,000 feet though). I don’t know whether the Kansas folks are going to brave the extreme conditions on Mount Sunflower this year or not. (That’s the highest spot in Kansas at 4039 feet, which makes it a “4er”.)

Some of these stations will be on HF, activating Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks.

You don’t have to operate from a 14er to enjoy this event. Just get on the air and see who you can work. Being on a high spot always helps, of course!

For more information see:

The 14er Event Web Site

The Ham14er Yahoo group

I hope to work you during the event.

73, Bob K0NR

Want to Try Working the June VHF Contest?

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Here’s a reminder that the ARRL June VHF QSO Party (AKA The June Contest) is coming up next weekend. This is a great opportunity to have fun operating the VHF and higher bands.

Here’s some info I sent out to our local club (sorry, it is a little specific to our area but you may find it useful anyway).

The ARRL June VHF QSO Party is next weekend (June 11, 12), which is The Big One in terms of VHF events. This is the best opportunity to try out VHF contesting!

Here are some practical thoughts on how you might start:

When Should I get on the Air?
The contest runs from 1800 UTC Saturday to 0259 Monday, which translates to 1200 Noon Mountain time on Saturday to 9 PM Sunday. (By the way, you should keep your log in UTC. You can always find the correct UTC time by going here: http://time.gov/timezone.cgi?UTC/s/0/java )
You can operate any time during the contest but I’d suggest focusing on noon to 6 pm Mountain time on Saturday.

What if I only have FM equipment?
Many of our new Technician licensees only have a dualband FM radio, often an HT. This will limit your activity in the contest but it doesn’t count you out. My suggestion is to get on the air on Saturday afternoon and try to contact as many stations as you can on 147.555 MHz and 446.000 simplex (Stu W0STU suggested 446.100 MHz which is also fine.) Stu W0STU and Steve WG0AT will be doing a portable operation from the top of Mt Herman on Saturday afternoon and they will be active on FM. I am sure they will appreciate a contact and a bunch of the Scouts are likely to be on the air. Don’t just work Stu and Steve….talk to everyone that you can.
I will be up in the mountains west of South Park and will also be listening on FM. I will be more difficult to reach but not impossible. Take that as a challenge! (Hint: it helps if you have a yagi antenna pointed West.)

Where Should I Go?
For starters, you don’t have to go anywhere, you can operate from home. But Height Above Average Terrain matters, so you might consider finding a “high spot” to operate from. Obviously, Stu and Steve are thinking Mt Herman is an excellent spot (which it is). There are other peaks along the Rampart Range (Raspberry Mt, Sundance Mt, etc.) that are just as good. The highest spot that is easy to get to is Pikes Peak (duh) and there is a road to the top! And Mount Evans is another option, west of Denver. If you are going to be out running around doing errands on Saturday, you can operate mobile from the car. In fact, you might want to be a “rover” and make contacts from multiple grids.

What about 6 Meters?
Six meters is usually the most fun band in the June contest. Normally, things are pretty quiet on 50 MHz and you work just the locals. But then the band opens with sporadic-e propagation and you’re working Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, Washington, California, Canada….almost anywhere in North America. For this, you’ll really want a SSB radio that can operate on 50.125 MHz USB (calling frequency) and move up from there as the band gets busy. Even a modest antenna, like a simple dipole, can work on 6 Meters. So don’t think you need something fancy to get started. There may be FM activity as well, which would be on 52.525 MHz.

Set a Goal
The basic idea is to see how many stations you can work on each band. You can also set a goal such as trying to get the Worked Colorado Award  ( http://rmvhf.org/Certs/Award.html ) which is achieved by working 6 different grids on any VHF/UHF band.

What Else Do I need to Do?
Read the rules, which are available here: http://www.arrl.org/june-vhf-qso-party
Make sure you know your grid. The Monument area and all of metro Denver is in DM79. Colorado Springs and Pueblo are DM78. The dividing line runs east/west roughly at Black Forest and the USAFA stadium.

Here’s some more VHF information on my web site:

How To Work A VHF Contest

Getting Started on 2-Meter SSB

So You Want to Be a Rover

And don’t forget to have fun!!!!

73, Bob K0NR

 

Six Excellent Summertime Radio Activities

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Next weekend is Memorial Day in the US, which means it is time to get serious about summer activities.  Here’s what I am plugging into my calendar. You will note a clear emphasis on activities here in Colorado but most of these events are nationwide:

ARRL June VHF QSO Party (June 11-12) This is the best VHF/UHF/Microwave contest of the year, because we almost always have some nice openings on 50 MHz. I think of this as “VHF activity weekend” that happens to be a contest. My favorite amateur radio event of the year.

ARRL Field Day (June 25-26) This is arguably the most popular ham radio event in North America. The great thing about FD is that you can make it whatever you want it to be: make it a contest, use it for public relations, just go camping, etc.

CQ Worldwide VHF Contest (July 16-17) This is the only Real VHF Contest, since it is limited to the 6 Meter and 2 Meter bands. (The ARRL contests include the UHF and higher bands and the scoring emphasizes these bands.) We usually get some 6 Meter openings on this weekend, as well, making it a lot of fun.

Colorado 14er Event (August 7) The Premier Mountaintop Ham Radio Event, with a Colorado emphasis. The concept is simple: activate the 14,000 foot mountains and have fun working everyone you can.

Colorado QSO Party (Sept 3-4) A state QSO party focused on working stations in Colorado. There will be lots of mobile and portable operators out to activate Colorado counties. Contacts are valid on HF, VHF and higher.

Colorado FM Sprint (Sept 10) This FM-only contest runs concurrently with the ARRL September VHF QSO Party. The FM Sprint runs for 5 hours on Saturday afternoon, so it is another great opportunity for some mountaintop operating. The Sprint rules are compatible with the ARRL contest, so you can always work both of them!

I hope to work you during these events.

– 73, Bob K0NR

VHF Distance From Pikes Peak?

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I recently received this question via email from Dave N0MUA:

Bob, I ran across your pictures mountain topping on Colorado peaks, thought if anyone could answer this it would be you and your group.  We run on 146.52 here in Coffeyville KS.  and a group of us have brought up the question how far east can a mobile atop Pikes Peak be heard on 146.52 FM? The mobile would be mine running a Icom V8000 into a Tokyo HI power amp at 375 watts  LMR 400 coax to a Cushcraft 13B2 beam pointing to the east.

This is one of those how far will my signal go? questions that always gets my attention. Other folks may find this interesting, so I decided to spend some time on the topic and post it here. I am assuming we are talking about tropospheric propagation and not something more exotic such as meteor scatter or sporadic-e skip.

The (incorrect) conventional wisdom is that VHF propagation is “line of sight”, extending a bit beyond the optical horizon. From Wikipedia, we find that the distance to the optical horizon can be approximated by:

d = √(1.5 h)

where d is the distance to horizon in miles, h is the height of the observer above ground in feet

Pikes Peak reaches to 14,110 feet above sea level. The elevation of the surrounding area varies but since Dave is asking about propagation into Kansas, let’s use a typical elevation of eastern Colorado (4500 feet). This gives us an optical horizon equal to the square root of (1.5 x 9610) = 120 miles. Yes, this is an approximation, so feel free to knock yourself out with a more precise calculation.

It is interesting to note that there is a community 30 miles west of the Kansas border called Firstview, CO that is supposed to provide the first opportunity to see Pikes Peak when traveling from the east on Highway 40. Firstview is about 135 miles east of Pikes Peak, so the 120 mile calculation is in the right ballpark.

The ARRL web site says that the radio horizon is about 15% longer than the optical horizon, so that means our line-of-sight radio horizon is about 1.15 x 120 = 138 miles. I’ve operated from the summit of Pikes during the ARRL June VHF QSO Party and the Colorado 14er Event and working stations on 2 Meters at this distance is not difficult. To be more specific, I worked the Mt Sunflower crew (highest point in Kansas, 160 miles) from Pikes Peak on 2 Meter FM using a 25 Watt mobile and a not-very-well-positioned 1/4-wave antenna on the SUV fender.

I pulled up the distance records for the Colorado 14er Event and found that the best DX using 2 Meter FM is when Phil N0KE on Mount Bross worked Larry N0LL in Smith Center, KS at a distance of 375 Miles! Clearly, we are well beyond line of sight for this radio contact. N0LL has a very capable VHF station on his end and I believe N0KE was using a decent Yagi antenna and was running some power(~200W?). Still, this contact was on FM which is not that great for weak signal work. While Pikes is on the Front Range of the Rockies, Mount Bross (14, 172 feet) sits back some distance, about 60 miles west of Pikes Peak. (I have also worked N0LL from Pikes using 50W and a single 2M9 yagi on SSB with no problem during VHF contests.)

Also during the Colorado 14er Event, Phil N0KE (and Jeff N0XDW) on Mount Bross worked W7XU in Parker, SD on 2 Meter CW at a distance of 551 miles.  Keep in mind that as the signal strength fades, SSB has a serious advantage over FM and CW is even better! So for squeaking out the marginal contacts, CW is the way to go.

Dave asked about working Pikes Peak from Coffeyville, KS using 2 Meter FM. I had to look up where Coffeyville is and discovered that it is way the heck over on the east side of Kansas, maybe 50 miles from Missouri. I estimate that Coffeyville is 525 miles from Pikes Peak. To get back to Dave’s question, making a contact from Pikes to Coffeyville on 146.52 MHz FM is not likely. Maybe if we got some exceptional tropospheric propagation…but I think even then it would be unlikely to complete the contact using FM.

But you never know what might happen on VHF. That’s what makes it fun.

73, Bob K0NR

Congratulations: 285 TechConnect Radio Club

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Today, I had the privilege of presenting the Technical Service Award (ARRL Colorado Section) to the 285 TechConnect Radio Club. I have to tell you…this club is an excellent example of how to advance the hobby of ham radio. They have figured out that providing technical education is a great way to attract members and assist the local amateur radio community.

Here’s a photo of me handing Bill N0CU, club president, the award:

Bob K0NR presents award to Bill N0CU, President of the NA0TC club

At the meeting, Bill also did an excellent presentation on grounding issues in amateur radio stations. This is a complicated topic that Bill handled very well.

Presentation on station grounding by Bill N0CU

Here’s the announcement of the award:

We are pleased to announce that the 2010 Technical Service Award from the ARRL Colorado Section has been awarded to the 285 TechConnect Radio Club ( http://www.na0tc.org/ ). In past years, this award has been presented to individuals that have provided exceptional technical service to the amateur radio community. This year the award goes to the entire TechConnect club for their collective contribution to the Colorado amateur radio community. In particular, the club sponsored the all day “2010 Fall TechFest”, with a great line up of technical and operating presentations (http://www.na0tc.org/TechFest_2010_Workshop_Materials.htm ). The club also sponsors the TechNet that meets at 7 PM local on Tuesday nights on the Colorado Repeater Association 147.225 MHz repeater. These activities have made an important contribution to technical education in the Colorado section.

Our thanks and congratulations goes to the entire club with special thanks to Steve Finch, AI0W, Technical Specialist, Colorado Section for his personal leadership and contribution to this effort.

Jeff Ryan, K0RM
Section Manager, ARRL Colorado Section
http://www.k0rm.net/

Bob Witte, K0NR
Technical Coordinator, ARRL Colorado Section
http://www.k0nr.com/ts.html

VHF Sweepstakes on Mount Herman

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For the 2011 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes, I repeated the tradition of doing a winter assault on Mount Herman (DM79) on Saturday afternoon. As in past years, Joyce (K0JJW) joined me on the hike, but we also had some other folks along to make for quite a party on the summit this year.

James, Stu and Bob at the trailhead

Stu (W0STU) and I operated independent “Single Operator – Portable” stations from the summit. Stu conned convinced James (KD0MFO) to join him on this trek. We had hoped to get “Alpha Goat” Steve (WG0AT) to go with us, but he made some excuse about needing to prepare for an upcoming trip to Dominica (J7). (Instead of slogging through the snow, Steve wants to go to the Caribbean? Probably a good choice. See Steve”s video of his previous trip up Mt Herman here.) Dan (N0OLD) also hiked up a little later in the day to join us on the summit.

Bob K0NR setting up the Arrow II Yagi Antenna on the camera tripod

Trail conditions were good, with not much snow on the trail. There were definitely some icy spots such that we enjoyed the extra grippers attached to our boots. The weather forecast was a bit marginal, so we were prepared to deal with a snowstorm moving in on us. As I told Stu, the philosophy is “We’ll have a good hike and we might also have some fun working the radios.” In the end, the weather remained solid with only a few snow flakes and temperatures just above freezing. Dan and James built a small campfire (in an established fire ring) that really warmed us up.

Bob K0NR Operating the FT-817

My primary radio was the Yaesu FT-817, driving an ARROW II yagi on 2 Meters and 70 cm and a wire dipole in the trees for 6 Meters. I also had several handheld FM rigs along including one on 222 MHz. Overall, I made 83 contacts with 15 grids for a total score of 1725.

Group photo on the summit: Dan N0OLD, Bob K0NR, James KD0MFO, Joyce K0JJW and Stu W0STU

This may have been the most fun yet for the January VHF Sweepstakes. Of course, any day in the mountains playing with radios is a good day.

73, Bob K0NR

Announcing: Amateur Radio Technician Class – April 2 & 9

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Ham Radio Two-Day License Class

Monument, Colorado

Saturday April 2 and Saturday April 9 (8 AM to 5 PM) 2011

Location: Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Station 1
Sponsored by the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Radio Association

The Technician license is your gateway to the world-wide excitement of Amateur Radio …

  • Earn your ham radio Technician class radio privileges
  • Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam right in class on the second day
  • Multiple-choice exam, No Morse Code Required
  • Live equipment demonstrations
  • Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 Meters and higher
  • Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
  • Find out how to participate in emergency communications

There is no cost for the class (donations accepted)

However, students must have the required study guide:

Gordon West Technician Class guide, 7th Edition $20.95
And pay the FCC Exam Fee: $15.00

Advance registration is required (no later than March 25th, earlier is better!)

To register for the class, contact: Bob Witte KØNR

Email: bob@k0nr.com

For more information on amateur (ham) radio visit www.arrl.org
 or www.wedothat-radio.org

Completing the 2010 Trip Around the Sun

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As the year 2010 comes to an end, I feel compelled to write something really insightful and meaningful as we log another trip around the sun. Perhaps some brilliant insights for the coming year? Or predictions of future technology breakthroughs?

Instead, I am writing this.

This is a mishmash of my thoughts about amateur radio at the start of 2011:

  • Tech License Class: One of the most fun and rewarding ham radio things I did this year was help teach a couple of Technician License Classes. There is nothing like engaging with newbies to the hobby to give you a new perspective on how cool amateur radio really is! I have a great set of teammates that made this class fun and successful: Stu W0STU, Paul AA0K and Joyce K0JJW.
  • Next Challenge: The challenge we see right now is helping these newly licensed Techs get engaged with amateur radio, so they don’t drop out. My belief is that the Technician License is a beginners permit that only enables a person to get started in the hobby. We are cooking up some fun activities to keep them going.
  • Public Service: We have a good thing going with the local fire district and the RACES group in our county in terms of real engagement on emergency communications. This is fun, rewarding and a good thing for our local community.
  • Dayton Hamvention: I am going to skip Dayton (again) this year. Instead, I’ll attend the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), a trade show centered on land mobile and mobile wireless communications. For me, it has an interesting mix of emergency communications, land mobile, data/voice convergence and test & measurement topics. Oh, did I mention that it is in Las Vegas?  I suspect that it will be a better venue than Hara Arena 🙂
  • ICOM IC-9100: I have been patiently waiting for this rig to move from vaporware status to reality. Maybe it will happen this year?
  • Keep On Writing: I find that writing is good therapy, so I will keep that on the list for 2011. Mostly it will be this blog and the FM column for CQ VHF magazine.
  • Operating: It seems I don’t actually get on the air as often as I’d like, certainly not for the casual ragchewing QSO. Operating events seem to be a good way for me to get some air time: VHF Contests, Colorado 14er event, Colorado QSO Party, maybe an HF contest or two.
  • D-STAR: I haven’t been spending much time with D-STAR lately and I want to increase the focus on it. D-STAR falls into that dorking around with new technology category where experimenting with it and learning about it is the main activity.  The technology continues to grow in adoption…arguably slow in real terms as the analog modes have such a huge installed base.
  • APRS: Oddly enough, I have been messing around with APRS again, mostly thinking of it as a tracking tool for hiking and other outdoor activities. Maybe we need to look at bridging APRS with D-STAR location data?

Amateur radio is clearly my #1 hobby interest, and by a wide margin. But it is primarily a hobby (yes, with a public service hook to it…at least for me). It is important to keep it in perspective and not let it turn into another job. I already have one of those.

What are you going to be doing in 2011?

73, Bob K0NR

Playing Around with APRS

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In the past few weeks, I started playing around with APRS again. Interest in APRS seems to come and go for me over time. It has the technical intrigue of figuring out how it works and the fun of exploring radio propagation paths. (If you are not familiar with APRS, K9DCI has a good introduction to it.)

The web site aprs.fi has some interesting hooks built into it that maps the location of APRS stations. I embedded a map here on my weblog page that shows my home station position (K0NR) and other stations in the vicinity. I intentionally blocked stations that only exist via the internet (no RF).

This map is dynamic in that it will update to show the latest APRS activity. It is fun to try select different map styles (courtesy of Google maps). Also, you may want to look at the html code to see how this is done.

73, Bob K0NR


2010 Fall TechFest

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Here is an excellent opportunity to build your ham radio knowledge and skill. The 285 TechConnect Radio Club (www.na0tc.org ) is once again sponsoring the Fall TechFest (Saturday November 6th). This educational event is aimed at the Tech advancing to General, with a good selection of workshop topics.

I often get new Technician licensees (or not so new licensees) asking for help on learning more about amateur radio. The 285 TechConnect Radio Club has taken this on and has created a super environment for technical training.

I will be presenting the VHF workshop for this event. I presented on a different topic last year and it was loads of fun, so I am looking forward to doing it again!

Schedule of Workshops
(order and topic may vary)
Time Topics
9:00 – 9:50 Contesting Using Wire Antennas and 100 Watt Rigs
10:00 – 10:50 DXing Using Wire Antennas and 100 watt Rigs
11:00 – 11:50 The Fun Of Using Classic Radios
12:00 – 12:50 Lunch (on your own) Question and Answer Session for those who stay to eat
1:00 – 1:50 QRP – Make Contacts Like the Big Boys with 5 Watts
2:00 – 2:50 VHF/UHF – Beyond FM
3:00 – 3:50 Audio Processing – Make That Difficult Contact

Registration
Space is limited! Please pre-register.
Cost $10.00 (cash only at the door).

Where
The Inter Canyon Fire Department Station #1. The address is 7939 South Turkey Creek Road, Morrison, Colorado OR check our website – www.na0tc.org.

NAØTC – 285 TechConnect Radio Club
2010 Fall TechFest
November 6, 2010

Be sure to visit the NA0TC web site for complete information.

73, Bob K0NR

Our First GeoFox Rally

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Our local radio club (W0TLM) has been able to help a number of Scouts from the local Boy Scout troop get their Technician Class radio license. (See Results from the Second Technician Class.) The boys are having a lot of fun talking to each other on 2 Meters and using ham radio to support their troop activities.

We started thinking about some other fun activities we could do with them. Somehow the notion of combining some GPS (geocaching) work with transmitter (fox) hunting emerged. It turns out that we are not the first group to have this idea. The North Bay Amateur Radio Club in California had already tried this and named it GeoFox.

Our version of GeoFox,  crafted by Stu W0STU, resulted in a course that had three hidden transmitters  and three checkpoints defined by latitude/longitude, for a total of 6 checkpoints. The total course length was about 3.6 miles.

Using this as a learning opportunity, the Scouts built their own “tape measure” yagi antennas for use in direction finding.

The course was set up in a portion of Pike National Forest, near Woodland Park, Colorado. The Scout troop combined the GeoFox event with a weekend campout. The Scouts worked in teams of 4, with at least one licensed radio operator and a GPS operator. Each team started at 20 minute intervals with instructions to get them to the first checkpoint. At each checkpoint, they found the instructions that would get them to the next checkpoint. In addition to GPS and radio operating, the instructions required the use of some basic Morse code and traditional map/compass. The event crew was in radio contact with the teams as we tracked their progress throughout the course.

The Scouts plan their attack at the start of the course.

The course turned out to be more difficult than planned. Some of the teams got off track into difficult terrain (for one reason or another) and took a while to recover. A few of the teams did not finish the course in time.  Everyone left the event quite exhausted but full of stories to tell about their fun day.

A GeoFox team leaves the starting point, headed for the first transmitter

I think we have the start of a really fun activity for all ages that we will refine over time.

– 73, Bob K0NR