Prepare with Amateur Radio

Emergency "Go Kit"

Most of us know how importance ham radio can be when a disaster strikes. In fact, many of us may have become hams thank in part to our interest in being prepared for the worst. But it can always be helpful to think about exactly how prepared we are. September is National Preparedness Month which means its a great time to think about how "ready" we are.

You must make sure your personally prepared for a disaster before you can even consider helping others with Amateur Radio. Here are a few suggestion to be ready for disaster communications:

• Train regularly with your local club or organization. The best athletes know, "You play like you practice."
• Think about how you might best be able to help during a disaster. Some of us are good at installing antennas and equipment, others of us are better at operating on the air. Not everyone is suited to doing every job. Sometimes just having helping hands, spare equipment or supplies can be helpful even if you cannot operate the radios yourself. Generators need fuel, operators need coffee, stations need to be set up. Figure out where you best fit in. Decide how you can help out if you stay home. Can you deploy at a shelter or EOC for a few hours? Operate from home? If you must evacuate. Can you deploy from where you have evacuated to, such as a shelter?

Ready...Set...SLOW DOWN with JT65

WSJT software for JT65

Start talking about EME ("Earth-Moon-Earth") or "Moon Bounce" and any ham with a few years experience will have starry-eyed visions of a massive array of yagi antennas mounted on precision rotors tracking the sky. But when it comes to weak-signal work these days, cheap computer processors and even cheaper sound cards carry the bulk of the workload, leaving antennas smaller and power amps lighter. Then there is an added bonus: software originally written to decode the weakest of signals in a sea of mud can be used by almost anyone to make terrestrial contacts which before were practically impossible.

The most popular mode is called JT65 and is available in a variety of software packages. For non-EME operators, the most popular is JT65-HF (along with its narrower companion mode, JT9) and can be worked by running software downloaded from Sourceforge or WSJT's website. There is also a video tutorial on how to install and run the Sourceforge program. The ARRL also has a good JT65 primmer including several links and instructions for getting started.

Once you have it installed and running, get ready to SLOW DOWN. JT65 is like working a sloth on CW. QSOs consist of a standard series of exchanges, each lasting 47 seconds. Each exchange starts at the top of the minute. That means each QSO will last as least five to six minutes, maybe longer if the band conditions are poor. For some of us (like me with a couple of young kids running around yelling) the slow pace is really enjoyable. I sometimes even do other things while the QSO is in progress.

Even though it is appropriately called JT65-HF, it can be done on SSB on VFH and UHF frequencies. Keith (KN5G) found a great website that has an ongoing "chat" of people who work JT65 terrestrially (there are also links on the same page for our EME friends).

So try it out and see what you think!

Hamfest a success in Shreveport!

UPDATE: Several of us got a chance to attend the Shreveport hamfest. There was a huge turn out and some great things to see and hear. Organizers at the hamfest said that they hope to expand the event even more next year.

Just a reminder of the Shreveport Hamfest coming up this Saturday (August 9th).

The event will be at the Red Cross Building, 805 Brook Hollow Drive, Shreveport, LA. The hamfest opens at 9:00 a.m. and runs to 3:00 p.m. Admission is $5. Visit the website for more information at K5SAR.com.

Should be a nice event and it is less than an hour's drive from East Texas! After several years of not having a Hamfest in Shreveport, I hope to see a lot of East Texas hams there supporting this event.

FCC gives "N5RCA" to Rusk County Club

It became official today! When the FCC updated its database this afternoon, N5RCA was officially given to the Rusk County Amateur Radio Club as the club's call sign.

The call sign was the first in a series of choices submitted to the FCC in late June after the club received a sequential call from the agency.

The new call sign may be used by the club and is overseen by the station's trustee and club president, Keith Ballow.

Moving traffic across the airwaves

Jo Ann Keith, KA5AZK, is serious when it comes to traffic.

"I really love this stuff," she told the members of the RCARC during the club meeting in June. Jo Ann, with the help of  her husband, John, told the club about the national message handling system and how amateurs can send messages from one end of the country to another.

"It might seem obsolete," admitted Jo Ann, "but there is still a need," she said. Jo Ann noted that during the two largest Gulf Coast hurricanes in recent years, hams were the only ones able to get health and welfare messages out of the region.

Jo Ann said that during an emergency, not knowing how to effectively pass messages or participate in a traffic net, "can make a hectic situation even worse." She noted that it is much better to learn how to do it before it becomes necessary

Jo Ann, who lives in the Gilmer area, manages the 7290 Traffic Net which meets twice a day Monday through Friday (10am and 1pm) and once on Saturday mornings (10am).

She gave every member a complete packet of information complete with an ARRL Radiogram form, tip sheets and full instructions on how to originate, send and receive traffic. More information is avialable at www.7290trafficnet.org.

Field Day 2014 is in the log!

Field Day was finally here and the bands were hopping! Several local amateurs and visitors dropped by the Rusk County EOC to check out all the Field Day operations.

Craig Roquemore and his son Chris worked together to log the 100th station during the special event. The club used the call sign K5R during Field Day.

The club operated as a 2F station, with two transmitters on the air at the same time. Members put up two inverted "V" antennas as well as an end-fed long wire and 2m vertical antenna.

The club used N1MM logger and several mesh nodes to link logging computers together. the EOC has a nice "smart board" which allowed the group to monitor the log and current statistics live on the wall during the event. Thanks to Bob Tomlinson for the use of his FT-1000 which provided a great voice signal on HF.

Full photo album of RCARC's Field Day Station.

Going digital is easier than you think!

by KN5G - Enjoying a little JT65 on 6 Meters this morning. Once you have your computer and rig interfaced for digital modes they all work pretty easily just by switching software. JT65, BPSK, RTTY, they all use the same interface between the computer and transceiver.

I understand from talking to the HRD folks at HAM-COM, that the latest version of Ham Radio Deluxe being released right about now will support the JT65 mode along with all the others that it already supports.

The new versions of HRD cost around $100, but it is a super program if you are considering interfacing your computer to your HF rig. The older FREE version of HRD is still out there if you want to give that a try before dropping $100 on the new version.

The screen-shots here are from the WSJT-X program, which is a free download.

Rusk County's New and Upgraded Hams!

Congratulations to a group of new and upgraded hams in Rusk County! Bob Tomlinson upgraded to Extra, Micheal Searcy upgraded to General and Peyton Chenault (a brand new ham!) got a Technician license. All three hams took their tests during the RCARC's first ever test session in Henderson. A generous group of Volunteer Examiners from Cherokee County made the session possible. New testing sessions are already being planned and will be announced here on the website.

Craig Roquemore and David Chenault also recently upgraded to Extra at the recent HamCom hamfest in Plano.

County and City declare Radio Week!

Both Rusk County and the City of Henderson have declared the week of June 23-29, 2014, Amateur Radio Week. The declarations come as the the RCARC prepares to host its first-ever test session on Thursday, June 26th and Field Day that weekend.

During their regular commissioners' court meeting on Monday (June 9th), Rusk County Judge Joel Hale thanked several members of the RCARC for their readiness to provide public service radio communications. The county's commissioners then unanimously approved the declaration.

The next evening, during the Henderson City Council's meeting, Mayor Pat Brack made a similar declaration and thanked the club for its assistance with storm spotting and other emergency communication assistance.

Preparing for Field Day 2014

Field Days is fours weeks away and it is time to think about specifics!

The club asked, and received permission to hold Field Day 2014 at the Rusk County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) which serves as the county's Emergency Operations Center or "EOC". There is a special provision in the ARRL Field Day rules that allow for EOC operations and would classify our station as an "F" station. Once nice benefit is we can use normal power mains and even has air conditioning! (Can I get a big "yeah!"?)

 Going over the rules again here are some thoughts:

The first thought is deciding on how many transmitters we need. Field Day rules classify all participating groups by the number of radios they have transmitting simultaneously at any time during the event AND the type of operation (low power, off the grid, individual at home, at an