Hi all,

I've been hooked up to the echo for a few days now, figured I should say Hi!

I wonder if anyone took part in the ARRL Field Day this year? Usually my radio
club is involved, but we've had a dwindling of numbers the past couple of years, so it would have all fallen on my shoulders if I were to have arranged our club activity.

That said, one of my HF antennas, a G5RV, has been hanging out of service for at least a year due to snapped feedline, so last Thursday I purchased a few pieces of hardware for the coax and got after the project on Friday. I was pleased with the results and very casually worked a few hours here and there on
both Saturday and Sunday, phone operation only. It was nice having the G5RV back in play and having confirmed it was working appropriately again. My oldest
son, who's 12, made a few Q's on Sunday morning as well (supervised, as he doesn't have his own call... yet)

As I only have one soundcard interface for my rigs, and I'd moved it on to my VHF radio for playing around with packet recently, I wasn't making any digital calls - nor did I realise that WSJT-X had been improved a fair bit to handle some contesting operation in the past year. Found that out after Field Day... c'est la vie. However, since doing my after-Field-Day reading, I've switched the soundcard back to the HF rig and have been having fun with FT8 again.

I have hardly been on the air the past 3 years or so, aside from local VHF nets
essentially and the Field Days, but having repaired the one broken antenna certainly spurred my interest again.

I'm writing this while watching QSB attack 20M FT8... whee.
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On 06-26-19 14:12, Va7aqd wrote to All <=-

Hi all,

I've been hooked up to the echo for a few days now, figured I should
say Hi!

Welcome aboard. :)

I wonder if anyone took part in the ARRL Field Day this year? Usually
my radio
club is involved, but we've had a dwindling of numbers the past couple
of years, so it would have all fallen on my shoulders if I were to have arranged our club activity.

Someone put a planet in the way. :D

That said, one of my HF antennas, a G5RV, has been hanging out of
service for at least a year due to snapped feedline, so last Thursday I purchased a few pieces of hardware for the coax and got after the
project on Friday. I was pleased with the results and very casually worked a few hours here and there on
both Saturday and Sunday, phone operation only. It was nice having
the G5RV back in play and having confirmed it was working appropriately again. My oldest
son, who's 12, made a few Q's on Sunday morning as well (supervised,
as he doesn't have his own call... yet)

Cool, good excuse to fix an antenna. :)

As I only have one soundcard interface for my rigs, and I'd moved it on
to my VHF radio for playing around with packet recently, I wasn't
making any digital calls - nor did I realise that WSJT-X had been
improved a fair bit to handle some contesting operation in the past
year. Found that out after Field Day... c'est la vie. However, since doing my after-Field-Day reading, I've switched the soundcard back to
the HF rig and have been having fun with FT8 again.

I'm able to swap soundcards between the IC-7000 and the IC-745. It's just a case of swapping audio and PTT cables, pretty simple. :)

I have hardly been on the air the past 3 years or so, aside from local
VHF nets
essentially and the Field Days, but having repaired the one broken antenna certainly spurred my interest again.

Yeah I've been pretty quiet myself, but the release of the local radio club's 5 year strategic plan has got my interest up again.

I'm writing this while watching QSB attack 20M FT8... whee.

I've never used FT8, though I have used a heap of other digital data modes.


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Re: Re: Greetings!
By: Vk3jed to Va7aqd on Thu Jun 27 2019 12:12 pm

I wonder if anyone took part in the ARRL Field Day this year? Usually

Someone put a planet in the way. :D

I guess at some point there will need to be a discussion about propagation? ;-)

Since the sunspots are still pretty low, I think unless one was working a digital weak mode, something like field day would be difficult - however, lots of stations on the air in north america to test to at that time.

That said, I got ZL in the logbook last night, and pskreporter was saying I was
being heard in eastern VK-land. Greyline was right in between Aus and NZ at the time.

I'm able to swap soundcards between the IC-7000 and the IC-745. It's just a

case of swapping audio and PTT cables, pretty

simple. :)

That would be handy, of course! I have a mix of brands - Elecraft, Icom, Yaesu,
so it's a little trickier here. If I had my BBS available over packet too, which I am still considering, I would need a dedicated unit just for the VHF rig. Of course, I might purchase another VHF rig just for the purpose - I have
my Yaesu FT-7900R in the house for VHF/UHF and apparently it's great for packet, can handle 9600 baud, so if/when I get it out to the vehicle again I would want a 2M rig that switches quickly enough for 9600 baud. It may all be irrelevant though if it turns out there's absolutely no use case for it here - something I'll discuss with the locals in the near future.

Yeah I've been pretty quiet myself, but the release of the local radio

club's 5 year strategic plan has got my interest up

again.

Sounds like you have a smart club! I think our club could truly benefit from a plan, as we've been pretty loosey-goosey and don't really have much of a vision
aside from 'some guys that hang out and pretend it's a club once a month'. At
least, it became that way as old-timers were getting too old to put any effort
in to things and/or died off the past few years. So, the elmers that really could have helped steer the club properly (and given me some clue as to what we
could look to be doing) have all gone away. I get to try and right the ship this coming year (our 'year' is Sept. -> June).

I've never used FT8, though I have used a heap of other digital data modes.

FT8's pretty cool - 1/4 the turnaround time of what JT65 was, so 4 transmissions per 60 second time frame (2 from each side of the conversation), which makes it much quicker to get a QSO done and I believe digs in to the noise better than JT65 did, so it's quite the time for it to have come in to play, as we go through the solar minimum.

I do hope to hear some VK's again soon!
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On 06-27-19 09:33, Va7aqd wrote to Vk3jed <=-

That said, I got ZL in the logbook last night, and pskreporter was
saying I was
being heard in eastern VK-land. Greyline was right in between Aus and
NZ at the time.

Cool, and yes, greyline can be very effective. And the digital modes are impressive. I used to work JT65 several years ago, and could work the US while my end of the path was in broad daylight.

I'm able to swap soundcards between the IC-7000 and the IC-745. It's just a

case of swapping audio and PTT cables, pretty

simple. :)

That would be handy, of course! I have a mix of brands - Elecraft,
Icom, Yaesu,

Easy, provided you have a standard connector somewhere in the wiring. I standardised on the 6 pin mini DIN, using the 1200 bps pinout, so all I need is a custom cable for each radio that terminates in a mini DIN, so I can do a simple swap. The interface end has a female mini DIN, or I can use a joiner.

so it's a little trickier here. If I had my BBS available over packet too, which I am still considering, I would need a dedicated unit just
for the VHF rig. Of course, I might purchase another VHF rig just for
the purpose - I have

I have to setup a packet BBS and interface the TNC-PI that I have to one of my VHF radios. I want to run a multiprotocol system (AX.25, NET/ROM and IP).

my Yaesu FT-7900R in the house for VHF/UHF and apparently it's great
for packet, can handle 9600 baud, so if/when I get it out to the
vehicle again I would want a 2M rig that switches quickly enough for
9600 baud. It may all be irrelevant though if it turns out there's absolutely no use case for it here - something I'll discuss with the locals in the near future.

9600 isn't on my radar yet. I think just getting some 1200 happening is a start, with the lower barrier to entry, though I do have a few 9600 capable radios.

Sounds like you have a smart club! I think our club could truly benefit from a plan, as we've been pretty loosey-goosey and don't really have
much of a vision
aside from 'some guys that hang out and pretend it's a club once a month'. At
least, it became that way as old-timers were getting too old to put
any effort

The city council is being a great help too, encouraging strategic planning, which is awesome. Yes, I have a lot of optimism about the club's future.

in to things and/or died off the past few years. So, the elmers that really could have helped steer the club properly (and given me some
clue as to what we
could look to be doing) have all gone away. I get to try and right
the ship this coming year (our 'year' is Sept. -> June).

Hope you do, we need strong clubs all over the globe. :)

I've never used FT8, though I have used a heap of other digital data modes.

FT8's pretty cool - 1/4 the turnaround time of what JT65 was, so 4 transmissions per 60 second time frame (2 from each side of the conversation), which makes it much quicker to get a QSO done and I
believe digs in to the noise better than JT65 did, so it's quite the
time for it to have come in to play, as we go through the solar
minimum.

Sounds worth a shot. I should get myself back on digital modes. Have to get my antennas back up first.

I do hope to hear some VK's again soon!

Got one on a digital mode here! :D :D


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On 07-06-19 14:49, Va7aqd wrote to Vk3jed <=-

I may well be. I believe by the interface end, you mean at the sound
card interface toward the rig, yes?

Yep. :)

If my understanding of that is correct, then I believe we're talking
about the same things. To show what I mean here, please have a quick
look at http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbmain.htm and if you head down
to the part numbers you'll see a whole section of SLUSBXXX part
numbers. All of those have
an RJ-45 connector for the sound card interface end and of course
varying connectors for various rigs. Unfortunately, there's only so
much standardizing one can do with the 8 pins (apparently!) so when changing between certain rig types, the RJ45 pinout has to be remapped inside the signalink.

I think Tigertronics are trying to be clever and saving on the number of different cables they need to sell. So the same radio cable can be used for radios with different pinouts, by rearranging the jumpers inside the unit. My system relies upon the cables having the same pinout, and that's one reason I chose the 6 pin mini DIN, because it's standardised for packet radio, and my G4ZLP interface uses that connector anyway. If I added a Signalink, I'd simply buy the cable to interface it to a 6 pin mini DIN and jumper it for the 1200 bps packet pinout, then I can plug and play in the middle of that cable, rather than at the Signalink end.

At least, I believe I understand what you're getting at with having the 6-pin setup that works between your Icom rigs without having to change anything but the cable. If I'm still not grokking it, I hope you have a different clue bat. ;-)

The radio ends are very different. One radio is using the 13 pin accessory connector, while the other uses the external speaker and mic connectors, because it predates the inclusion of accessory or packet connectors. Therefore each radio has its own cable. I'm sure I have a Signalink cable, which I use for something else that can be interfaced to the radios (the FreeDV modem, I think, from memory).

(AX.25, NET/ROM and IP).

Now how would you do that?

The software is already working. I'm using LinBPQ. I just have to wire up

an interface cable to a 2m rig to put it to air.

Ah, I did try LinBPQ during my first packet go-around and probably had several funny looks as I got familiar with it's interface. It seemed to
be a strange little message box system (and I guess chat as well).
Perhaps great for 1200 baud (or lower) packet, though.

It's a pretty powerful packet swith that incorporates a mailbox. I used to use the original G8BPQ DOS software, which was a TSR that acted as a network switch, then ran KA9Q NOS on top for my user interface and allow IP to run over the top. NOS talked to BPQ, which did a lot of the lower level switching.


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Re: Re: Greetings!
By: Vk3jed to Va7aqd on Fri Jun 28 2019 08:00 pm

Cool, and yes, greyline can be very effective. And the digital modes are

impressive. I used to work JT65 several years ago,

and could work the US while my end of the path was in broad daylight.

I have a difficult time believing that, as you're not in my logbook! ;-)

That would be handy, of course! I have a mix of brands - Elecraft, Icom, Yaesu,

Easy, provided you have a standard connector somewhere in the wiring. I

standardised on the 6 pin mini DIN, using the 1200 bps

pinout, so all I need is a custom cable for each radio that terminates in a

mini DIN, so I can do a simple swap. The interface

end has a female mini DIN, or I can use a joiner.

For some reason it's not so easy - the SignaLink USB has a standard RJ-45 port for the rig connections, but every time I swap between rigs, a jumper block has
to be re-done inside the unit. There's a similar external sound card that MFJ
makes that's exactly the same in that regard. I suspect it has to do with the
different rigs have different features on their connectors, or in the case of something like the K3, mini mono & stereo plugs for the audio and an RCA plug for the PTT. It's quite a different setup than the DIN plugs.

I have to setup a packet BBS and interface the TNC-PI that I have to one of

my VHF radios. I want to run a multiprotocol system

(AX.25, NET/ROM and IP).

Now how would you do that?

The city council is being a great help too, encouraging strategic planning,

which is awesome. Yes, I have a lot of optimism

about the club's future.

Does your club have a website where it provides any of it's operations details?

I do hope to hear some VK's again soon!

Got one on a digital mode here! :D :D

I don't think LOTW takes this kind of logbook format, though. ;-) Heheh.
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On 07-05-19 16:48, Va7aqd wrote to Vk3jed <=-

I have a difficult time believing that, as you're not in my logbook!
;-)

Haha, yeah it's been several years since I worked JT65

That would be handy, of course! I have a mix of brands - Elecraft, Icom, Yaesu,

Easy, provided you have a standard connector somewhere in the wiring. I

standardised on the 6 pin mini DIN, using the 1200 bps

pinout, so all I need is a custom cable for each radio that terminates in a

mini DIN, so I can do a simple swap. The interface

end has a female mini DIN, or I can use a joiner.

For some reason it's not so easy - the SignaLink USB has a standard
RJ-45 port for the rig connections, but every time I swap between rigs,
a jumper block has
to be re-done inside the unit. There's a similar external sound card that MFJ
makes that's exactly the same in that regard. I suspect it has to do with the
different rigs have different features on their connectors, or in the case of something like the K3, mini mono & stereo plugs for the audio
and an RCA plug for the PTT. It's quite a different setup than the DIN plugs.

I think you're confusing things a bit. By defining a "standard", that means making sure the pinout is identical at the interface end. For example, my rig interface is standardised on the 6 pin mini DIN wiring, with the 1200 bps configuration used. I chose this, because it's common in many radios, and also a number of accessories use this layout. I can swap between the IC-7000 and IC-745, by simply swapping cables. I also found some online manufacturers actually sell cables for some interfaces, which are directly compatible with my setup, meaning I can effectively order pre-made cables for many radios.

I have to setup a packet BBS and interface the TNC-PI that I have to one of

my VHF radios. I want to run a multiprotocol system

(AX.25, NET/ROM and IP).

Now how would you do that?

The software is already working. I'm using LinBPQ. I just have to wire up an interface cable to a 2m rig to put it to air.

The city council is being a great help too, encouraging strategic planning,

which is awesome. Yes, I have a lot of optimism

about the club's future.

Does your club have a website where it provides any of it's operations details?

Here's the club website.

https://www.barec.net.au/

I do hope to hear some VK's again soon!

Got one on a digital mode here! :D :D

I don't think LOTW takes this kind of logbook format, though. ;-)

Hahaha. :D


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Re: Re: Greetings!
By: Vk3jed to Va7aqd on Sat Jul 06 2019 10:05 am

and an RCA plug for the PTT. It's quite a different setup than the DIN

plugs.

I think you're confusing things a bit. By defining a "standard", that means

making sure the pinout is identical at the

interface end. For example, my rig interface is standardised on the 6 pin

mini DIN wiring, with the 1200 bps configuration

I may well be. I believe by the interface end, you mean at the sound card interface toward the rig, yes?

If my understanding of that is correct, then I believe we're talking about the same things. To show what I mean here, please have a quick look at http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbmain.htm and if you head down to the part numbers you'll see a whole section of SLUSBXXX part numbers. All of those have
an RJ-45 connector for the sound card interface end and of course varying connectors for various rigs. Unfortunately, there's only so much standardizing one can do with the 8 pins (apparently!) so when changing between certain rig types, the RJ45 pinout has to be remapped inside the signalink.

At least, I believe I understand what you're getting at with having the 6-pin setup that works between your Icom rigs without having to change anything but the cable. If I'm still not grokking it, I hope you have a different clue bat. ;-)

(AX.25, NET/ROM and IP).

Now how would you do that?

The software is already working. I'm using LinBPQ. I just have to wire up

an interface cable to a 2m rig to put it to air.

Ah, I did try LinBPQ during my first packet go-around and probably had several funny looks as I got familiar with it's interface. It seemed to be a strange little message box system (and I guess chat as well). Perhaps great for 1200 baud (or lower) packet, though.

Here's the club website.
https://www.barec.net.au/

Thanks very much, will have a look!
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Re: Re: Greetings!
By: Vk3jed to Va7aqd on Sun Jul 07 2019 03:21 pm

I think Tigertronics are trying to be clever and saving on the number of

different cables they need to sell. So the same radio

OK, I think that hit the nail on the head. I just had a look at the pinouts of
the jumper block in the Signalink... there's 3 ground pins, then PWR, PTT, MIC
and SPKR. That makes sense that they have one jumper things around to save on
the number of different cables.

It's a pretty powerful packet swith that incorporates a mailbox. I used to

use the original G8BPQ DOS software, which was a TSR

that acted as a network switch, then ran KA9Q NOS on top for my user

interface and allow IP to run over the top. NOS talked to

BPQ, which did a lot of the lower level switching.

I will have to look at it again a little deeper - my understanding of the different protocols is pretty weak.
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On 07-07-19 17:36, Va7aqd wrote to Vk3jed <=-

Re: Re: Greetings!
By: Vk3jed to Va7aqd on Sun Jul 07 2019 03:21 pm

I think Tigertronics are trying to be clever and saving on the number of

different cables they need to sell. So the same radio

OK, I think that hit the nail on the head. I just had a look at the pinouts of
the jumper block in the Signalink... there's 3 ground pins, then PWR, PTT, MIC
and SPKR. That makes sense that they have one jumper things around to save on
the number of different cables.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what they've done. It's a different philosophy to my more "plug and play" system (well other than setting levels).

It's a pretty powerful packet swith that incorporates a mailbox. I used to

use the original G8BPQ DOS software, which was a TSR

that acted as a network switch, then ran KA9Q NOS on top for my user

interface and allow IP to run over the top. NOS talked to

BPQ, which did a lot of the lower level switching.

I will have to look at it again a little deeper - my understanding of
the different protocols is pretty weak.

Yeah, I have 1990s experience to draw upon. :)


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