Re: [Repeater-Builder] Dropping the Autopatch--Keep 911
Well, crud... I haven't tested the service in about a year. Best you can do is grab an old analog phone, dial 911, see what happens. If you get a dispatcher, handle it how you see fit. If that doesn't work, try a newer digital one. Since you'd need to get to the keypad for your mod, use a large phone, you can couple acoustically to the speaker and mic, though most of the ones I've scrapped have contact pads for the speaker, easy to solder to, and the mic, usually surface mount has two small tabs sticking out from under the assembly, not too difficult to work with. Kurt
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Dropping the Autopatch--Keep 911
So far, all old analog cell phones I have picked up dial 911 without paid service. I call the local dispatcher on them to test this, no problem, so a larger bag phone, generally free and incredibly easy to work on due to their size, could work, a controller made from something like a basic stamp or pic chip could dial for you, send 911, *911 etc to get a connection. Another way is to set your dialer, if possible, to allow outbound 911 only and reject all other call requests. If you go with an analog phone (AMPS), contact your local PD about testing if the service still exists with carriers around you, maybe during off hours. Kurt
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Rolling Pipe Sound
I don't think I've ever heard a "rolling pipe" sound over a repeater, although, once I had some interesting feedback from an SSB transmitter with FM receiver. Is there a good clean recording available? Kurt
[Repeater-Builder] Happy with Red Tops.
In 1999, after some research and finding that most small fleet vehicles in Alaska use the Optima red top, I bought one. Temperatures vary from -22 to +123 here, so I figured I'd have better luck with a battery which decline ratings in a year excede the capabilities of a typical starting battery within a month of little use. It lasted nine years for starting the truck and running a 100W HF rig daily, a lot of it while the engine is off. At roughly the nine-year point, the voltage would drop to around 10, causing my rig to reset when starting the truck. I bought a blue top to replace it, no problems yet. I now have a new truck. I bought a left-side factory battery tray for a Diesel model and will run two Optima red-tops just for starting. The engine in this truck is nearly triple the size of the old one and the battery is almost 40% smaller, go figure. It really grunts trying to start in the single digits. For the radio equipment, I will have a third Optima red top in a steel box under the body of the truck. As for red, blue, yellow, tops, check the capacity and ratings, they are almost identical under all conditions, as per the Optima website. Kurt
[Repeater-Builder] Automated spam.
Well, you see, it's like this... The group setting is currently "Membership does not require approval". Now then, many, MANY automated spambots are designed to take advantage of just his setting on just this system. They troll the groups, some even just generate random names for groups, since most any combination of numbers and letters can be used for a group name, subscribe using the e-mail command (-subscribe), get the welcome message and blast out their opinion, and in most cases unsubscribe so there is no trace of the originator. By the time you complain, they've hit a thousand other groups. When you comment on the post, you are commenting to nothing, nobody, anywhere... An automated machine just doing it's thing, usually untraceable with no interest in you, the group, topic, nothing. The remedy is to simply turn off the automated subscription setting, this takes about as long as it does for the spambot to subscribe and blast the group, then disappear forever, about 15 seconds. Change this setting and the only comments you'll ever get are from members, which can be controlled. Right now the group is open to anything, anywhere. As I type this, I see "Email attachments are distributed, not archived", which means if just ONE person, spambot, whatever, sends a virus, all 4,781 of us will get it delivered to us. This also applies to porn ads, KP, male member enhancers et cetera, they send it, we get it. I see in the description "If you are a Yahoo Spammer you'll not be able to post because all new members are moderated". This takes a few more steps out of ones way to control, so easy to let spammers slip through, harder to control with a group this size as each membership has to be manually changed online after the fact. This is how yahoo and this group works. If the moderators are not familiar with locking down the group, contact me, I run several and can walk you through it. Kurt - Original Message - From: "hfarrenkopf" What is this crap on here? Please ban the originator. Delusional stuff is not welcomed by me! There are no gawds BTW!
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Pager Interference to 2-meter & VHF Public Service Band
: There is some software that allows finger printing of a transmission : base on the lockup signature and oscillator stability as seen on the : transmitted signal. I am interested in such things! Anyone have any good suggestions or input regarding software or systems? Kurt
[Repeater-Builder] !
: I certainly hope the quality of their power supplies doesn't match that of : their e-mail address... : : They CAN'T be serious? : : Kurt : : - Original Message - : : LOL! Nothing says "we're reputable and here to stay" like a company e-mail : address at yahoo.com! Nothing against the power supplies, my 1995-vintage : RS35 still works fine, but sheesh!
Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Astron Power Supply Alert
I don't know if anyone recalls this, but there was a bad run of rectifiers on most of their linear supplies in the late-90's. Astron shipped out replacement rectifiers free of charge. Replacement was easy, one machine screw and nut to secure the rectifier and four space connectors. From what I recall, there MAY have been an AC ripple problem, but most notable was that the power supply got VERY hot from the rectifier shorting out internally. In a worst case, I saw one spew smoke several feet into the air under pressure from around the potting compound. Kurt - Original Message - From: "WA Brown" : What is wrong with the power supply? Here is the contact info for Astron.
