[digitalradio] Re: Soliciting suggestions

[John Taylor]

Thanks again Simon,

Please understand, I appreciate your viewpoint. Please also understand, there 
are other viewpoints equally as valid. That is the whole purpose of this thread 
to begin with, to try to solicit suggestions for "existing" programs to try to 
resolve an existing problem. One of the issues with "current activity" is to 
make it all but mandatory for those wishing to participate to shell out large 
sums of their own hard earned cash to participate. This excludes far too many 
needed resources. That is not for me or you to decide. 
Put simply, many hams just can't afford the $1000 + price tag for pactor 
modems. The emergency communications world exists of more than just the elite 
rich folks.

Again, the solicitation stands .
We are trying to identify the most economical and reasonable mechanism to 
accomplish a specific goal. We are NOT trying to re-invent the wheel, just 
trying to determine which wheel will best suit our purpose.

Thanks again,

John
KE5HAM
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Simon \(HB9DRV\)"  wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message - 
> From: "John Taylor" 
> >
> > ... it does involve official emergency communications.
> >
> 
> Then surely the official part should put some money into the project if it's 
> so important?
> 
> I honestly implore you *not* to fragment current EMS activity and instead 
> focus your resources into one of the existing projects.
> 
> Simon Brown, HB9DRV
> www.ham-radio-deluxe.com
>

[digitalradio] Re: Soliciting suggestions

[John Taylor]

Thanks Skip,

As I replied to Simon, we have been trying the NBEMS modes of FLdigi and FLarq 
for a while now. We are able to communicate via fldigi in virtually every mode, 
but have yet to establish a connection with flarq.

Any ideas are welcome ...

John
KE5HAM
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, kh6ty  wrote:
>
> John,
> 
> You might consider NBEMS for HF: www.w1hkj.com/NBEMS. We have optimized 
> the DominoEx and MFSK16 modes for high static conditions and also have a 
> verification program called Wrap if you do not want to use flarq.
> 
> 73 Skip KH6TY
> NBEMS Development Team
> 
> 
> 
> 
> John Taylor wrote:
> >  
> >
> > We are seeking to establish a standard for a digital "network" style 
> > system to handle emergency communications.
> > We have established certain standards we are looking to follow.
> > The mode/protocol/package etc. should be based on weak signal HF 
> > capability.
> > The mode/protocol/package should be able to handle transferring of 
> > data in more than just ascii text format (ie: transfer files such as 
> > spreadsheets, etc.)
> > The system must NOT require proprietary hardware such as pactor II/III 
> > modems. In other words, standard modems and/or sound card based.
> >
> > Before the flames start, there are already some out there that are 
> > being tested that actually meet these requirements, but are still in 
> > testing stages.
> >
> > Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated 
> >
> > John
> > KE5HAM
> >
> > 
> 
> -- 
> *Skip KH6TY*
> http://KH6TY.home.comcast.net
>

[digitalradio] Re: Soliciting suggestions

[John Taylor]

Thanks Simon,

"WE" have been trying the NBEMS for a week or so now. "WE" have been able to 
operate peer-to-peer from within Fldigi in virtually every mode, but have yet 
to be able to make a connection using Flarq. Try as we will, it just has not 
happened no matter what.

The "WE" is not really that important right now, other than it does involve 
official emergency communications. Please understand, I am not trying to be 
secretive or vague, just for the sake of this issue, the "who" simply should 
have no bearing at all.

Thanks for your prompt reply,

John - KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Simon \(HB9DRV\)"  wrote:
>
> John,
> 
> Who's 'we' in this context? Why not join one of the existing teams - NBEMS 
> is working well.
> 
> Simon Brown, HB9DRV
> www.ham-radio-deluxe.com
> 
> - Original Message - 
> From: "John Taylor" 
> 
> 
> >
> > Before the flames start, there are already some out there that are being 
> > tested that actually meet these requirements, but are still in testing 
> > stages.
> >
>

[digitalradio] Soliciting suggestions

[John Taylor]

We are seeking to establish a standard for a digital "network" style system to 
handle emergency communications.
We have established certain standards we are looking to follow.
The mode/protocol/package etc. should be based on weak signal HF capability.
The mode/protocol/package should be able to handle transferring of data in more 
than just ascii text format (ie: transfer files such as spreadsheets, etc.)
The system must NOT require proprietary hardware such as pactor II/III modems. 
In other words, standard modems and/or sound card based.

Before the flames start, there are already some out there that are being tested 
that actually meet these requirements, but are still in testing stages.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated 

John
KE5HAM

[digitalradio] Re: re sdr

[John Taylor]

Francis, have you tried posting this same question in the 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/softrock40/ group? They specialize in this device 
and even have instruction files on all the softrock boards in the files section.

John - KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "francisho...@..."  
wrote:
>
> hi to all in the group .. can any one tell me wer the white wire , or lead 
> from the usb on the main softrock v.9 .board  can any one please tell me wer 
> i solder it to , as wen i was fitting it in a new box . it
> came of aand i dont no wer to or wat pin to solder it back on thanks
>

[digitalradio] Re: illinoisdigital group

[John Taylor]

At the risk of stirring an unwanted debate, I for one DO consider
repeated "join requests" as SPAM. Why? Mark has repeatedly joined
other "related" groups and immediately started gathering names from
that group to solicit memberships in his group. I do know, from
personal experience, that there have been many direct requests to Mark
to stop sending these requests, only to see the solicitation multiply
in number almost immediately. On Mark's own groups, he claims to be so
against SPAM, yet he is one of the worst abusers. The only surprise
that seeing his group shut down is the time it has taken for it to happen.

Most of us in these groups have enough intelligence to select the
groups and interests we want to participate in. Repeated
"solicitations" from a "related" group are in my opinion absolutely
nothing but SPAM.

I had joined his group at one time and most of the posts on the group
were nothing more than cross posts from here and other groups, often
by Mark himself. I really had no reason to receive the same
information 4 or 5 different times, just so I could get the info from
4 or 5 different groups. When I left his group, I asked repeatedly
that he stop soliciting me to rejoin. That has NOT stopped.

John
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Rick W  wrote:
>
> If it is true that Yahoo will just stop a group based on complaints, 
> then that is very troubling as it could happen to any group with 
> malicious activities by certain individuals making false claims.
> 
> However, he indicated that he had no warning from Yahoo.
> 
> As owner of another group that had Mark's posts at times, which were 
> repeated on various groups, the material he was presenting was not spam 
> that I saw, but directly associated with amateur radio, usually digital 
> radio.
> 
> If you are referring to sending information to an individual to join a 
> group, is that spam when it is related to their interest area? I have 
> sent messages to specific individuals to join the HFDEC group when I 
> felt that they would be the type of hams who would find that of value.
> 
> I admit that Mark was a major promoter of his specific digital 
> interests, but we each have our specific interests.
> 
> 73,
> 
> Rick, KV9U
> moderator, HFDEC (Hams for Disaster and Emergency Communications)
> 
> 
> James R. Gorr wrote:
> > Maybe it was because of all the spam requests sent to join their
group.
> >
> >
> >
>

[digitalradio] Re: Broken PC question

[John Taylor]

Andy, this sounds more like the power connection between the power
supply and the motherboard is loose. Each of the devices you mention
gets power through a separate cable and can mechanically operate
regardless of the motherboard status. If the motherboard is not
getting power, the onboard video will not be powered, therefore
leaving "no signal" from the video board.
One thing to check is to see if any of the devices receiving power
from the motherboard directly rather than from the power supply are
functioning. One of the common items is the CPU fan. Is the CPU
cooling fan operating? If not, there is a chance the connector
supplying power to the motherboard is loose or disconnected. On older
machines, this is actually two connectors, but on most later ones, it
is known as an ATX connector and is all in one connector. Make sure it
is latched down with the clip on the side. Make sure none of the pins
on the motherboard did not become unsoldered or broken loose from the
motherboard from the shock of the fall (or the sudden stop at the
bottom of the fall).

John - KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Andy obrien"  wrote:
>
> Hmmm, I switched monitors and monitor cables to ones that are known to
> be working...NO signal to the monitor at all.  The monitor is working,
> just no signal.  The PC turns on, the CD ROM drive opens and closes
> upon pressing the button , so something on the PC is working.  Since
> the video is on the motherboard I am not sure if there is anything to
> poke and prod, nothing obvious anyway.  I wiggled the monitor
> connector to no avail.
> 
> Maybe I'll pick up a cheap video grahics card and see if that will
> work, knowing my luck it may not work until I get inside the BIOS and
> switch from the onboard video to PCI card.  I'd be really stuck then.
> Mayne I'll remove the HD and stick in another PC.
> 
> Andy K3UK
> 
> 
> On Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 10:44 AM, Andy obrien  wrote:
> > Thanks for the suggestions, I suspect a monitor related issue.  I just
> > put in a Linux boot disk (FL-Digi) and I do not even get a signal to
> > the monitor, nothing displayed at all, same when i try to boot the HD
> > with Windows XP. .  The video is on the motherboard so there is no
> > video CARD to reseat.  I'm going to switch video cables and see if it
> > is a cable issue.
> >
> > Andy K3UK
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 7:16 AM, Andrew  wrote:
> >> Andy,
> >>
> >> I would suggest reseating (thats seat not set!) all the cards,
> >> especially the memory chips. Had that one before myself.
> >>
> >> If that fails I would guess the HD might has taken the knock.
> >>
> >> Andrew
> >> LY/ES2DY
> >>
> >> --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew O'Brien" 
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> Please excuse the non-radio question...
> >>>
> >>> We have a PC that just stopped working, looking for some possible
> >>> ideas. The PC (a desk top) was knocked over by a frustrated
> >> teenager
> >>> , when plugged back in the power light comes back on but nothing is
> >>> seen by the monitor , no Windows attempting to boot or anything, no
> >>> beep codes. The fans are going, I do not see the HD LED light up,
> >>> and after a few seconds at boot-up, I hear a slight click like the
> >> HD
> >>> is trying without success. If the HD has gone kaput, would I not
> >> get
> >>> some indication from the PC rather than just nothing at all ?
> >>>
> >>> Andy K3UK
> >>>
> >>
> >> 
> >
>

[digitalradio] Re: Noise

[John Taylor]

Ron, as a semi direct answer to your question, as a general rule 
cable tv frequencies typically are well above hf radio. It is not 
impossible for there to be interference, but generally it will be 
some other source. One thing to remember with most cable systems is 
that the line and trunk amps need to be powered and are usualy done 
through the cable itself with pole mounted power supplies every so 
often in the system. If there is a connection breakdown somewhere 
near you, it"could" cause your symptoms. You did provide a clue to 
your own situation. You mentioned a bucket truck in the area when the 
noise suddenly stopped and then started again. If he was working at a 
particular pole, you might try physically walking to that pole and 
see if you hear any arcing, especially if this is also a power pole 
carrying primary voltages. It is not uncommon for the insulators to 
start breaking down due to dirt and grime in the air getting on the 
insulators and forming a path for the current to travel. This 
manifests itself frequently as strong intermittant static.
Your noise blanker typically only works on "impulse" noise such as 
ignition, etc. 
Have you also eliminated all noise sources in your own home, such as 
televisions, computers and  monitors, etc.?
A great way to chase the source is to take a small portable shortwave 
receiver with a small antenna and follow the noise to it's source. 
You can usually get very close very quickly with a little leg work.
Just some thoughts 
Best of Luck

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, w4lde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> If this question is inappropriate for the reflector I apologize but 
as 
> of last Friday I started to experience significant noise (S-9) on 
all 
> bands from 160 through 15M with the lower frequencies much 
stronger.  I 
> thought that it was due to power line noise but it appears to be 
> intermittent in that it completely disappeared last Friday evening 
but 
> once again showed up last Saturday and stayed this way.  On the 
Ft1000mp 
> the noise blankers are completely ineffective.  At the same time I 
> started having internet problems and the cable company indicated 
they 
> should have the speed issue fixed by Tuesday.
> 
> The cables are run on poles until they enter a subdivision which 
then 
> run underground.  My question is can cable lines be the possible 
problem 
> to HF frequencies?  The power and cable companies have been 
installing 
> new poles and running new lines in the area which initially led me 
to 
> believe it was a power issue however, while I was writing this 
email the 
> noise completely disappeared for a few seconds and then 
reappeared.  As 
> I was looking out my window I noticed a cable company buck truck  
> through the woods towards the main road, I am off now to talk to 
them 
> and see what I can discover.  Any suggestions?
> 
> Thanks for the bandwidth if this question is inappropriate for this 
> reflector.
> 
> 73 de
> Ron W4LDE
>

[digitalradio] Re: Name That Mode

[John Taylor]

Oh sorry, forgot to mention it could also be PROPNET signals ...

JT - KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "lmeeny" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Hello,
> 
> Around 17.075 MHz I've heard a mode I can't identify. It appears to
> have an 8 tone coding scheme and is about 150 Hz wide. By ear there
> are around two tones per second. The decoders provided by Ham Tadio
> Deluxe are ineffective.
> 
> What am I hearing?
> 
> Thanks, 
> 
> Ed W2GHD
>

[digitalradio] Re: Name That Mode

[John Taylor]

I can't hear it here, but your description sounds a lot like JT65 ... 
a mode used a lot for EME.

JT - KE5HAM
Texas
--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "lmeeny" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Hello,
> 
> Around 17.075 MHz I've heard a mode I can't identify. It appears to
> have an 8 tone coding scheme and is about 150 Hz wide. By ear there
> are around two tones per second. The decoders provided by Ham Tadio
> Deluxe are ineffective.
> 
> What am I hearing?
> 
> Thanks, 
> 
> Ed W2GHD
>

[digitalradio] Re: Grouply's comment

[John Taylor]

Thanks for posting this BS Andy 

This guy Rich is NOT telling the WHOLE truth about "his?" invention ..

I am getting bombarded with new requests to "add me as a friend" from 
sources outside of Yahoo groups. This garbage is being circulated all 
over the place and "somebody, somewhere" IS ABSOLUTELY circulating 
private information obtained. I am receiving "add me" requests from 
individuals I have had ZERO contact with for many years and 
definately would not want to add them to MY FRIENDS list ANYWHERE. 
They are KNOWN hackers and have nothing whatsoever to do with amateur 
radio, if they even know what that is.

Please Andy, if you are going to allow these guys to operate here, 
warn the rest of us who they are so we can block them from our own 
email clients.

I am absolutely befuzzled that Yahoo Groups is violating their very 
own anti-spam policies to allow this themselves. It is bad enough 
that there are some known users in this group that are notorious for 
collecting user emails from the groups they join for the sole purpose 
of soliciting users to their own competing Yahoo Groups. This is also 
against yahoo spam policy, but Yahoo seems to be tolerating it anyway.

Thanks for the good work Andy,

John
KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew O'Brien" 
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> FYI...
> -- 
> Andy K3UK
> 
> 
> I am one of the co-founders of Grouply.
> I did want to clear up a couple of points, though. As far as 
security
> goes, we carefully protect your Yahoo password - we do not phish or 
do
> identity theft. We use it only for discovering your group list and
> retrieving messages - we will NOT use it for anything else, like 
your
> Yahoo email.
> 
> People cannot read messages in Grouply unless they are a member of
> your Yahoo Group. Part of the reason we need your Yahoo ID and
> password, is that every time you login, we go and check Yahoo Groups
> to see which groups you have joined and which you have left. Go to
> http://blog.grouply.com/protect and view the "How does Grouply 
protect
> the confidentiality of my group messages?" question. So Grouply does
> not expose messages to non-members.
> 
> Honestly we do not want to have the passwords, but that is the only
> way now for us to respect the memberships in Yahoo Groups. If Yahoo
> provides an Yahoo Groups API, we would noy have this issue. We have
> talked to them about this, but there are no firm timetables. If you
> have influence with them… ;-) While I prefer not to get the 
password,
> there are successful services that use passwords from other 
websites.
> Are you familar with meebo? It allows you to use all of your IM
> accounts from one site (like what Grouply does, but for IM). To do
> that, you have to store your Yahoo, AOL, MSN, etc. passwords and IDs
> on their website. They have over 19 million users - any of which 
could
> be a member of these groups. Check out mint.com - they aggregrate 
your
> financial data. There you store your bank and credit card account
> passwords and IDs - which is more sensitive than even my Yahoo ID 
and
> password, at least for me.
> 
> Rich"
>

[digitalradio] Re: Program Noise

[John Taylor]

By chance is the HP 1.6 gHz compter a laptop? If so, try unplugging 
the power adapter while the noise is being generated or when it is 
bothering your receiver. If that is not the problem, do you have an 
external monitor running? If so, try turning off just the monitor 
while you are seeing the problem exhibited. If that is not it, try 
unplugging the cable going to your interface from the computer end. 
If that is the issue, get a better cable with built in torroids. It 
is just a process of elimination to isolate the source of the noise. 
The digital program in and of itself should not cause the computer to 
generate any special noises that are not already present. The program 
may indeed cause connected peripherals to radiate, or the cabling 
between them and the computer.

John - KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "mac2251" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>  I am using a G4ZLY  dual usb interface, Windows XP  and the
> computer is a HP 1.6ghz with 1mb ram.  The soundcard is the internal
> computer card.   When signals are stronger it is not as noticeable  
but
> when band condx are not so good it makes it tough to copy.   Tnx  
Mike 
> K9HCK
> 
> --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "W2ZEY"  wrote:
> >
> > Could you provide some details about the set up, i.e. the 
computer,
> interface, radio, etc.?  Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
> > 73 / Larry / W2ZEY
> >
> >
> >
> >   _
> >
> > From: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of mac2251
> > Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 3:59 PM
> > To: digitalradio@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [digitalradio] Program Noise
> >
> >
> >
> > Forgive me if this is the wrong place to ask this. When opening a
> > digital program I get a lot of noise. It covers all but the 
strongest
> > signals but is not present in the receiver when the computer has
> > anything else on including the internet home page. Anyone have any
> > ideas? Help would be appreciated. Thank you... Mike K9HCK
> >
>

[digitalradio] Re: broadcast music on 14.070

[John Taylor]

It was called a "Chinese firedrake" in another group and has been on 
for a while. 

Before you ask what a "firedrake" is  see 
http://www.satdirectory.com/firedrake.html 
for one explanation 

73
John
KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Walt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Am I the only one hearing an AM broadcaster on 14.070 right now ?
> 
> S9 in Seattle, with a small vertical.
> 
> No voice, just music over the last 45 min.
> 
> And I thought 40 meters was rough . . 
> 
> Walt
>

[digitalradio] Re: CW - last resort?

[John Taylor]

Could be true Chuck. I guess to take it just a step further, we need 
to ask Simon to start looking into writing another mode into his 
great software to decode/operate the hammers to hit the trees like 
the old natives in the jungle do.  

Oops, somebody would have to go cut down trees and the "huggers" 
ain't going to like that, so I guess the knocking sounds will be 
vertically polarized due to striking standing trees.

Oh wait! This even predates CW and was just as effective . hmm
Should we find possible scenarios to justify this mode now too? 
HiHiHi

John KE5HAM

--- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, Chuck Mayfield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
wrote:
>
> Do not laugh.  It could come to pass that we (mankind) will need to 
> reinvent spark gap.Who knows what evil lurks in the minds
> 
> Chuck AA5J
> 
> At 02:39 PM 6/1/2008, Jack Hamilton wrote:
> 
> 
> >On Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:07:17 -0400, "Paul L Schmidt, K9PS"
> ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
> > > Andrew O'Brien wrote:
> > > > My reading of the message is that Morse code is "authorized" 
NOT
> > > > mandated. It seems a reasonable decision for a organization 
often
> > > > dependent on volunteers, if they want to use it.. let'em. 
MARS will
> > > > continue to use MT63, ALE, PSK, and many other digital modes.
> > > >
> > > > Andy K3UK
> > > >
> > >
> > > That's exactly the correct reading. Another tool for the 
toolbox.
> > >
> > > Digital modes (ranging in complexity from WL2K and ALE down to 
PSK31
> > > and RTTY) will carry the bulk of the traffic. But if the 
computer
> > > goes down and propagation stinks, CW certainly beats "nothing".
> >
> >I guess it's time for us all to learn how to build spark gap
> >transmitters, just in case.
> >
> >--
> >Jack Hamilton
> >Sacramento, California
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> >
>

[digitalradio] Re: 30 meters dead

[John Taylor]

Thanks Andy, and to add to the "Dead Band" reports, W8LEW and myself 
(KE5HAM) recently experimented on 30 meters trying to determine how 
low we could go in power. We started out with about 50 watts and 
managed to drop our power progressively to 1 watt on each end and 
maintain 100% contacts - distance between us is 1189 miles (Edna, 
Texas to Lansing, Michigan)--- We used several different modes 
successfully. Antennas on both ends were simple inverted V 
dipoles  We repeated the tests several times  yes, the band 
must be dead 

John

In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew O'Brien" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
wrote:
>
> --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, "kh6ty"  wrote:
> >
> > Started listening to 30m at 8 AM. Only heard a propnet station
> coming on periodically. For one hour, no other activity - took a 
*big*
> risk - called CQ! ;-)
> > 
> > Worked Columbia and California.
> > 
> > When in doubt - just try calling CQ! Maybe the band is not "dead"
> after all.
> > 
> > 73, Skip KH6TY
> >
> 
> 
> Yes, amazing what happens when you sue the secret weapon, a CQ,
> 
> 
> FYI, here a a few other paths open at that time on 30M QRP...
> 
> 412 Miles :  12:14 WB3ANQ in FM19rc  heard by N1EO in FN43gq
> 
> 860 Miles :  12:20 K3SIW  EN52ta   W1BWFN42hl
> 
> 1740 Miles : 12:22 VE3CDX DM26ic   W8LIW in EN81go
> 
> 10919 miles !!! 12:24 K3SIW in EN52ta  heard by  VK6DI in OF88cd 

> 
> 
> Yep, the band was dead alright !
>