July 31, 2015

Shreveport Hamfest set for Aug 8

The Shreveport Hamfest has been set for Saturday, August, 8th and is expected to be bigger and better that than last year's success. The Shreveport Amateur Radio Association which hosts the event have moved it to the Ag Building on the Louisiana State Fair Grounds in Shreveport. Organizers say this will allow for more parking and much more room to move around.

Several presentations are scheduled including one from George Thomas, W5JDX, a broadcast engineer and regular co-host on Ham Nation as well as producer of AmateurLogic.TV. Tommy Gober, N5DUX, and instructor for the ARRL Education Technology Program and faculty member at LeTourneau University, will discuss WebSDR with the Raspberry Pi.

The hamfest's vendor list has also grown this year with MFJ and Main Training both expected to be on hand. The event's website shows that all vendor booths have been sold out.  More than a dozen radios will be given away including a Yaesu FT-991 and a Kenwood TS-480 SAT.

Admission is $5. More information and directions are available at ShreveportHamFest.com

July 29, 2015

New Winlink Primer by Area Ham

Many of us in Rusk County have worked with Winlink either at home or during an emergency drill. Even more of us have at least heard about it and may have thought about diving into it some day. That would be a good idea since Winlink is quickly becoming one of the standard tools used in emergency communications by hams.

While there is a lot of information out there, some of it can be confusing. Now John, N5TIM, has drawn on his extensive experience in emergency communications to create a nice primer on the Winlink system and how it can be used effectively.

The document was recently posted to the North Texas ARES Yahoo site and we are making available here for anyone interested in learning more. (And just FYI, I never remember to ask him why his callsign is "TIM" when his name is John.)

Click here to read or download the Winlink System Information.