Fusion C4FM digital voice repeater on the air in Syracuse N.Y.

The first Digital Voice Amateur Radio repeater is on the air in Syracuse.  This joint venture between KD2SL and KC2VER is unique on two counts: 1) It is the first digital amateur repeater on the air in Syracuse and Onondaga County; 2) It is the only repeater system we know of in the country to link an analog repeater with a System Fusion digital repeater, for full-time cross-mode operation in the same band, at the same site, on the same antennas. Both of these coordinated repeaters are open to all Hams.

The KC2VER repeater is on 145.31 (-) no PL tone, and is set up for full time C4FM digital operation. The KD2SL analog repeater is on 146.67 (-) 103.5 PL, and is linked full-time with KC2VER’s digital repeater.  Some final tuning and adjustments will be taking place over the next several weeks.

If you have a System Fusion equipped radio, jump over to the 145.31 repeater and give it a try. If you don’t, take a listen on the 146.67 to get an idea of what C4FM digital voice sounds like.

Let us know what you think, both Kevin (KD2SL@yahoo.com) and I (KC2VER@gmail.com) would be interested in your thoughts, questions and comments on this new set up. (...or leave us a comment below)

Also note that there are several more C4FM Sytem Fusion repeaters coming to CNY and the upstate area in the next few months. Stay tuned to www.UpstateHam.com for more System Fusion updates.

73 - KC2VER; Tony 

FCC to drop the regulatory fee for a vanity call sign

The FCC is eliminating the regulatory fee to apply for an Amateur Radio vanity call sign. The change will not go into effect, however, until required congressional notice has been given. This will take at least 90 days. As the Commission explained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Report and Order, and Order (MD Docket 14-92 and others), released May 21, it’s a matter of simple economics.

“The Commission spends more resources on processing the regulatory fees and issuing refunds than the amount of the regulatory fee payment,” the FCC said. “As our costs now exceed the regulatory fee, we are eliminating this regulatory fee category.” The current vanity call sign regulatory fee is $21.40, the highest in several years. (The GMRS licensing free will also be dropped)
read more: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/fcc-eliminates-amateur-radio-vanity-call-sign-regulatory-fee

Cortland Hamfest - just a few weeks away!

Skyline Amateur Radio Club

Cortland Hamfest

& Technology Fair

Saturday June 13, 2015

From 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM

at the Cortland County Fairgrounds

Our 33rd year!

Talk-in on the 147.780/180 K2IWR repeater {PL71.9}

www.skylineradioclub.org or e-mail k2iwr@arrl.net

Admission: $5.00 per person (12 and under free)

- Outdoor flea market included with admission -

- Indoor flea market is first come, first served - Indoor Flea Market - $5.00 per 10’ plus admission

- Dealer tables - $10.00 ea, plus admission—8’ space, includes electricity

VE tests start at 9:00AM—no late entry allowed.

Pre-registration is requested, although walk-ins

are welcome. Please e-mail kb2luv@arrl.com;

indicate which test you wish to take.

Travel directions {signs will be posted}: I-81 to exit 12; turn left on to Route

281 South. Turn left again on to Fisher Ave, (8/10 mile) then right on to

Fairgrounds Drive.

From Ithaca: Route 13 North to Route 281 North. Turn right onto Fisher Ave,

then right on to Fairgrounds Drive.

For your GPS: 4849 Fairgrounds Dr. Cortland, NY 13045

“Inland Islands On The Air" report from KD2ETP

KD2ETP; Steve held his “Inland Islands On The Air" expedition; IIOTA, on Klein Island at the outlet of Onondaga Lake, west of Syracuse, this past Saturday 5/9/15. Steve and his XYL started around 10:00 am and ran until about 2:30pm. Steve reproted that he worked 6 bands, making 35 qso's, 4 dxcc, 7 states. His equipment was made up of an Elecraft KX3 with a 7ah battery, running a Windom 104' Off-center-fed dipole. Steve would like to thank everyone that participated. Great Job Steve! We can't wait for your next special event activation.

Steve reports that his Island was also recognized for a special Island Event: "The following New York island was Added and Qualified by KD2ETP during the 2015 IDG: Klein (NY056R) - Seneca River - Onondaga County"

Skywarn Training in Auburn N.Y. - May 28th

National Weather Service Binghamton

SKYWARN^TM Training

                                                   

  When: May 28, 2015

  

Where: Cayuga County Office Building, Genesee St. Auburn N.Y.  In the Sixth Floor Legislative Chambers. Enter through rear of County Office Building (basement door - then elevator to the 6th floor)

  

Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Training sessions last about two hours.

  

Who Should Attend: SKYWARN^TM is a nationwide program of spotters that report severe weather to the National Weather Service. Anyone can become a SKYWARN^TM spotter for the National Weather Service, all you have to do is attend one of our Spotter Training Sessions. There is no charge for the training.

Registration: Please contact the Cayuga County Emergency Management Office @ 315-255-1161 or register online @: http://www.cayugacounty.us/Community/EmergencyServices/ClassRegistration.aspx


Training provided in conjunction with the Cayuga County Emergency Management Office. Every community's level of preparedness begins with its individual families and businesses.  Take time to learn how you can be better prepared to protect yourself and your loved ones.  Develop emergency plans and make certain that proper emergency supplies are readily available at home, at work or anywhere else that you and your family spend time.

Brian

Brian P. Dahl

Director of Emergency Services

Cayuga County Emergency Management

160 Genesee Street

Auburn NY 13021

315-255-1161 Office

315-253-1551 Fax

More upcoming SkyWarn training classes: http://www.weather.gov/bgm/outreachSKYWARNtraining

IIOTA - KD2ETP will be doing another outing this Saturday

KD2ETP; Steve is doing his “Inland Islands On The Air" expedition; IIOTA, on Klein Island at the outlet of Onondaga Lake this Saturday 5/9/15, starting around 9:00 am. 

Catch him on his HT on the KD2SL 146.67 repeater for details. 
HF frequencies listed below: 
- (so far) 7.210 mhz
- more to come?

Rochester Hamfest - Saturday June 6th

Mark your calendars, its only a month away! The Great Rochester HamFest returns to the Barnard Fireman's Field - 360 Maiden Lane Rochester NY 14616. This has been one of the better Hamfests in Upstate NY. You don't want to miss this one. Always some excellent tailgating here.

Learn more at the RARA website:
http://www.rochesterham.org/Hamfest.htm

FLOTA Special Event video from KD2ETP

Steve, KD2ETP has put together a nice 30 minute video from his "Frozen Lakes on the Air" (FLOTA) special event back in February. It is well done and documents his set up and then several HF QSO's. Nice job Steve!

Check out KD2ETP's FLOTA video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cHdMgjPFBMY

Original FLOTA article on UpstateHam.com:  http://www.upstateham.com/2015/02/frozen-lakes-on-air-expedition.html

The demise of Radio Shack and where to buy stuff locally

Generations of home electronics hobbyists, ham radio enthusiasts and computer geeks spent their growth-spurt years hanging around their local Radio Shack stores. I was one of them. None of us are happy to have witnessed the company's long slide toward irrelevance and its looming exit from the retail landscape. The company's heyday ran from the 1970s through the late 1990s, when it rode the CB radio craze as the largest retailer in the market, and then transformed into a creditable maker of computer gear.

Read more about Radio Shack's demise here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/radioshack-may-be-facing-the-end-after-decade-of-decline/2015/02/03/1d513ee0-abdb-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html

I am reminded of heading to my local Radio Shack store after school to get batteries, crystals, parts and books. My first crystal radio kit, a 101 Electronics project kit and first VHF scanner all came from the “Shack”. Remember the Battery of the Month Club card? Was I the only one that waited for the new catalog each fall? The manager in my local store was a great guy! I scored lots of “damaged” goods for little to nothing from the return shelf in the back of that store. His support was another influence that shaped my career choice and several lifelong hobbies. So the “Shack” as we once knew it is another Silent Key. What do we do now? (read more below)

2 days until the Drumlins Hamfest!

Hope to see you there this Saturday 4/18!

More information at : http://www.drumlinsarc.org/hamfest.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: Great Hamfest by the Drumlins Club! It was great weather, lots of tailgating and deals to be had. Great facility, nice tailgating and plenty of dealers inside. This club hit a home run agin this year.

We are already looking forward to next year!

See you all at Rochester on June 6th!

Need your help - Balloon launch April 12th

UPDATE: BALLOON SUNDAY - Launches from Hilton NY and Olean NY

An extra note today.

My friend Mike and students from Olean, NY are also looking for altitude record this morning.

My Beacon is still going up by 2:00PM (Hilton NY), perfect day for balloons.

Thanks

Jim,N2NXZ

....................................................

Gang,

Full story below........

Yaesu Webinar: Fusion Digital - Sunday April 12th - 8pm

A note from Chris Wilson at Yaesu:

Good Afternoon Valued Yaesu Customers,

If you are interested in participating in our online Fusion Digital Webinar Sunday April 12th at 8 PM EST (5PM) Pacific Time, please register at the following URL: 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5390523246639558402

Best Regards,

Chris Wilson / N0CSW
National Sales Manager, Yaesu USA

* the instructions and log in information for the webinar will be forwarded to you after you register

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: 4/9/15 - Everyone....Please only register if you are going to attend.

I am shutting down registration at 750 people, we have to pay for each seat even if its not used (up front). We are going to leave 50-80 seats for those who want to join us when the webinar begins.

So, if you are not sure please join us on the Day of the webinar rather than using up a seat. There will be some spots available before we start.

Best Regards,


Chris W / N0CSW

RAGS Auction Thursday Night

APRIL 9th 2015 - RAGS MEETING:  

RAGS AUCTION NIGHT!

BRING SOMETHING TO SELL, COME READY TO BUY!
THURSDAY 4/9 -7PM,

NORTH SYRACUSE COMMUNITY CENTER

more info at: http://www.ragsclub.org/home.html

Radio Amateurs of Greater Syracuse (RAGS) is an ARRL affiliated club promoting all aspects of Ham Radio in the Syracuse, NY area.

147.39 Repeater update.......

Another Yaesu System Fusion update from Pat, WN8Z:

Late this morning I slipped the 147.39 DR-1X repeater back in the rack at the tower site near Fulton. I have decided to do all the "upgrades" in steps. Presently the repeater is in the auto mode. digital in = digital out & FM in = FM out and is in place without any external controllers. In the very near future I will, as time permits, connect the Arcom RC-210 external controller and echolink controller back into the system which can only be used in the FM analog mode. Digital transmissions are handled by the internal controller and all gps positioning and data services will remain available as they are now.
It is not possible to set a mixed mode (digital/fm in = fm out) once an external controller is added into the mix. Echolink has had a lot of usage on this repeater and I hope to continue offering the service. For this reason I decided to go ahead and bring it onboard in the Fusion repeater and operate in the current configuration. I also anticipate supporting APRS (all Fusion radios are APRS capable) sometime late spring by adding an APRS gate to extend this service to the northern area. An antenna upgrade is also planned in the near future.

Analog users should enable full ctcss on their radios if you do not want to hear the digital madness - if your radio allows BCLO ( busy channel lock out) you might want to enable it on your memory channel. If a digital conversation is in use and you desire to see who or what is going on, wait for the digital signal to quit (there is no hang time in digital mode) and transmit your callsign. If the digital users have configured their radio properly (AMS - automatic mode selection) their radio will immediately switch to analog FM and the conversation can continue.

Digital is new to our part of the state and we all have a learning curve to deal with. I ask that all users be courteous and patient with each other. Feel free to experiment and use the system.
Digital users: Set you radios in AMS - Group mode is not allowed at this time without prior approval
.
Feel free to leave a comment, suggestion, or question here or I can be contacted on email at wn8z at arrl dot net.

de Wn8z

AWA Spring Meet - May 2nd

AWA SPRING MEET and BIG AWA AUCTION

 Saturday May 2, 2015 Bloomfield, New York

 As part of this year’s Antique Wireless Association Spring Meet, the AWA will hold a very special, a very BIG auction of duplicate items from the Museum’s collection. The BIG auction will be held in the afternoon at Rhonda’s Auction House just down the street from the Spring Meet and the Museum. Don’t miss this very special, very BIG auction. A partial list of items to be auctioned will be posted on the AWA web site as they are set aside for the auction.

Come early in the morning to the Spring Meet and enjoy the flea market (better yet, bring items to sell), the bargain table Museum sale, Dan’s doughnuts and coffee, and at 10:00 am, visit the Museum.

The BIG auction will begin at 1 pm with Rich Estes auctioneering. The auction preview will be open at Noon at Rhonda’s Auction House. Also, take some time for lunch and browse for antiques at Rhonda’s Antique Center. And, enjoy all this for only a $5 admission ticket. If you are not an AWA member and want to visit the Museum, buy a Spring Meet/Museum admission combination ticket for only $10 (a $2 discount for admission to the Museum)

The tentative schedule for this BIG day: 

7:00 am Flea Market opens Veteran’s Park
8:00 am AWA Museum Bargain Table Sale Annex Building, Veteran’s Park
10:00 am Antique Wireless Museum open until Noon
Noon Auction pre-view Rhonda’s Auction House
1 pm Rich Estes starts the BIG AWA Auction

Because of the nature of the auction this year, AWA will not be able to accept member’s items to be auctioned at this event. But, please bring them to the AWA Convention to be held August 11 to 15 at the RIT Conference Center.

Directions: http://www.antiquewireless.org/location-and-campus-details.html

AWA web site: http://www.antiquewireless.org/2015-spring-meet.html