Re: [Repeater-Builder] A Monday Laugh
At 06:24 PM 03/07/07, you wrote: >On 3/6/07, Kris Kirby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Every user radio in my commercial fleet has the TOT set for 30 > seconds. In > > > my mind, that's more than enough time to get any important > message across. > > > Unfortunately, many Hams think otherwise... > >Many hams think otherwise, because it's HAM radio -- not commercial. :-) > >I can't think of how you'd conduct a typical ham radio Net with 30 >second timers without sounding rediculous. The 146.82 repeater in Los Angeles has been on a 30 second timer since the late 1960s. 30 seconds is longer than you think - you can get a lot of info across in that much time if you think before you start talking. >Just telling the members of whatever organization is meeting what the >organization is, how to contact them, and any announcements would >certainly take longer than that. Who says you can't unkey occasionally? > > That's not a bad idea. I'd probably want to set it at 120 seconds; one > > of the repeaters I grew up using had a 4-minute timer. > >We've used 3 minutes on our machines for a very long time... most >folks are used to it. We have a "Net mode" on repeaters that host >Nets that extends the timer out further and leaves the transmitter >keyed full-time. > > > I program most of my radios for 300 seconds or five minutes, just in > > case of stuck keys. > >Sometimes in a big ragchew where lots of questions are being asked or >a complex topic being discussed, I've hit the 3 minute timer myself... >and my radios are programmed to unkey in 3 minutes, so it's a race >between the controller's view of "3 minutes" and my radio's. Grin. Been there. That's why my radios are set for a few seconds less than the controllers. >In my view, the only purpose of the timeout timers in a properly built >repeater (capable of 100% duty-cycle 24/7) is to allow everyone to >have a turn... there's no technical reason for a timeout timer on a >repeater that's properly monitored and maintained. Interference and >accidental key-downs without an ID dictate a 10 minute timer, but >that's about it... So true. >If the repeater isn't built for 100% duty-cycle, it's not ready to do >our primary mission of emergency communications -- but that's just my >view... Totally agree. To me, burning in a new repeater includes flipping the "Force PTT" switch for at least 72 hours. If it's someone elses buildout that doesn't have one, I add it, or use a rubber band on the local mic PTT. >Nate WY0X Mike WA6ILQ
[Repeater-Builder] Info on IFR1500
Hey guys, Any way of hooking up the IFR1500 to a computer to email data from certain tests? In other words, can I hook it up to a computer so it can import the data to be emailed for someone to take a look at? Thanks, Jed
Re: [Repeater-Builder] A Monday Laugh
On 3/6/07, Kris Kirby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Every user radio in my commercial fleet has the TOT set for 30 seconds. In > > my mind, that's more than enough time to get any important message across. > > Unfortunately, many Hams think otherwise... Many hams think otherwise, because it's HAM radio -- not commercial. :-) I can't think of how you'd conduct a typical ham radio Net with 30 second timers without sounding rediculous. Just telling the members of whatever organization is meeting what the organization is, how to contact them, and any announcements would certainly take longer than that. > That's not a bad idea. I'd probably want to set it at 120 seconds; one > of the repeaters I grew up using had a 4-minute timer. We've used 3 minutes on our machines for a very long time... most folks are used to it. We have a "Net mode" on repeaters that host Nets that extends the timer out further and leaves the transmitter keyed full-time. > I program most of my radios for 300 seconds or five minutes, just in > case of stuck keys. Sometimes in a big ragchew where lots of questions are being asked or a complex topic being discussed, I've hit the 3 minute timer myself... and my radios are programmed to unkey in 3 minutes, so it's a race between the controller's view of "3 minutes" and my radio's. In my view, the only purpose of the timeout timers in a properly built repeater (capable of 100% duty-cycle 24/7) is to allow everyone to have a turn... there's no technical reason for a timeout timer on a repeater that's properly monitored and maintained. Interference and accidental key-downs without an ID dictate a 10 minute timer, but that's about it... If the repeater isn't built for 100% duty-cycle, it's not ready to do our primary mission of emergency communications -- but that's just my view... Nate WY0X
RE: [Repeater-Builder] Re: extra repeater audio...
Nate, that ain't sarcasm. That describes the crowd around here to a "T". Fred N4GER -Original Message- From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nate Duehr Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 7:48 PM To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: extra repeater audio... On 3/6/07, skipp025 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Alas... A lot of the time I turn most of it off. Whiz-bang audio > playback drives many good local repeater people crazy/away. The > crowd that shows up to hear the funny stuff very often is a > "different kind of repeater user". Same thing happens with IRLP > and Echolink operation. I was with ya, right up until you claimed that linking technology should be compared to dorky recordings of The Three Stooges. I agree WAV file sound effects, especially if you have to PAY to add them to a repeater, are useless, and make the system sound "hammy". IRLP and EchoLink, however... are just linking technologies... they tend to attract just about EVERYONE, twits included... you take the good with the bad in that case. [Sarcasm on...] The only people I've noticed IRLP or EchoLink driving away -- are people who haven't had a measurable pulse since around 1968. We keep a couple "quiet" repeaters for those folks. Unfortunately some of our quietest machines are on UHF, and many of them feel that band is out of their technical reach, since their mono-band VHF rig without CTCSS has been operating "so well for all these years". And UHF is so high up there anyway, perhaps they might find it difficult to tune an antenna for that band... [Sarcasm off...] Nate WY0X Yahoo! Groups Links
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: extra repeater audio...
On 3/6/07, skipp025 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Alas... A lot of the time I turn most of it off. Whiz-bang audio > playback drives many good local repeater people crazy/away. The > crowd that shows up to hear the funny stuff very often is a > "different kind of repeater user". Same thing happens with IRLP > and Echolink operation. I was with ya, right up until you claimed that linking technology should be compared to dorky recordings of The Three Stooges. I agree WAV file sound effects, especially if you have to PAY to add them to a repeater, are useless, and make the system sound "hammy". IRLP and EchoLink, however... are just linking technologies... they tend to attract just about EVERYONE, twits included... you take the good with the bad in that case. [Sarcasm on...] The only people I've noticed IRLP or EchoLink driving away -- are people who haven't had a measurable pulse since around 1968. We keep a couple "quiet" repeaters for those folks. Unfortunately some of our quietest machines are on UHF, and many of them feel that band is out of their technical reach, since their mono-band VHF rig without CTCSS has been operating "so well for all these years". And UHF is so high up there anyway, perhaps they might find it difficult to tune an antenna for that band... [Sarcasm off...] Nate WY0X
[Repeater-Builder] Re: DC Power Supply Test Load
Eric, Don, and All, I have done something similar using RV light bulbs which are rated at 12 volt nominal. Wattages available are typically 60 and 100, which consume approximately 4.3 and 7.1 watts respectively. The bulbs are cheaper and fit any common household lamp socket (although wire gauge must be considered). For mine, I used porcelain open terminal sockets screwed to a 1x6 board, which I ultimately mounted to the wall of the shop. The bulbs are cheaper, and don't require fan cooling. I usually try to save P.S. load checking until the winter months when it serves as supplemental heat source ;-) ... And it brightens the days... Bill N9SII -- Original Message -- Don, It may be overkill to fabricate a load tester for just your 40A power supply, but it can be handy to have around. Here's what I suggest: Buy at least six 2 ohm 100 watt wirewound power resistors, and connect each one in series with a toggle switch such as might be used for controlling a ceiling light in your home. Connect each resistor-switch combination in parallel, and connect the array to the power supply output terminals. The resistors are available from Digi-Key or Mouser for less than $7 each in small quantities, and the switches are less than a buck apiece at Home Depot. Rig the resistors on standoffs so that a fan can blow on them for cooling. Here's how this "load bank" works, assuming 14 VDC output: 1 switch closed = 7 amps load = 98 watts 2 switches closed = 14 amps load = 196 watts 3 switches closed = 21 amps load = 294 watts 4 switches closed = 28 amps load = 392 watts 5 switches closed = 35 amps load = 490 watts 6 switches closed = 42 amps load = 588 watts 7 switches closed = 49 amps load = 686 watts 8 switches closed = 56 amps load = 784 watts, and so on. If you wanted smaller increments of load, use 4 ohm resistors rated at 50 watts. Such resistors are about four bucks each. You could also wire up a matrix of resistors so that several 2 ohm resistors handled increments of 7 amps, some 4 ohms resistors for 3.5 amp increments, and some 10 ohm resistors for 1.4 amp steps. With careful selection of resistor values, you can build a load bank that can cover a wide range of current with steps as small as you want. Just remember that a load bank will generate a lot of heat, so appropriate heat sinking and forced air cooling is mandatory. 73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY
[Repeater-Builder] Mitrek metering cable
I bought a Portable Test set on E-Bay (silver face, so I'm hoping it's an S1056 - didn't have time to ask the seller before the auction ended, so I'll find out when it gets here...) and am looking for a metering cable for a Mitrek. Mitrek manual says it's SKN6012B, although one of the E-Bay stores is selling that model # and the radio end of the cable is wrong (11-pin octal instead of the 12-pin with 3 pins in the center). So, if anyone has what they KNOW to be the correct cable that they are willing to part with (or even loan for a few weeks), let me know! George, KA3HSW / WQGJ413
