Oct 2011 - Ozone Amateur Radio Club
Contents
1. Vol 2 Nr10 Ozone Am ateur Radio Club October 2011 Proudly Serving St Tammany and The Northshore Since 1964 The Tigertronics Signalink USB A Personal Evaluation igertronies has been producing sound cant interfaces for over 20 yes Tey sd mne Nus Ts ina Se re Sl sar pa se Sai 1 ip Tete da se set auus uem feng ad Wy de um comma tuc Spain LSA pena e piste mat bn i cci Ayer Son col ee ht a i Se USB 54 Annual Jamboree on the Air very year since 1958 the Jamborc on the Air as been on the third weekend of October This year the popular scouting event will be hcl over the weekend of 15 16 October Also known as JOTA ifs a real happening as we use to in the It provides Boy and Girl Scouts and Guides ftom around the World te opportunity to speak with ther fund women over Amateur Radio able provides the likely operating frequencies likely for participants Stations wishing o take part in this happening should listen fist and not swamp JOTA stations Remember the primary objective is for Scouts to speak with oer Scouts US hams should consult the JOTA information Website for scauencies recommend fr US JOTA operations ineww scouting org jota operators guidesaspx JOTA starts at 12 00 AM local time and nns through to 23 59R 12 00 PM local time Sunday Jevening Some activity could start o2. Slowed frequency segment of the sam Reque band as the vice et This soul help o achieve similar Propagation paths net stains Soar Phys A arge M X class solar flare wil generate high ess ors that will increase the Dayer absorption producing radio blackout called Sudden onse Disubuncc SID A picture of a largs Solar Fr essen ia Figure 1 above Sue de x sayy ave atthe ed of igh fe iaa wa ing This 3s a day igi ect The Delayer wl eum To oral fiom te Ras tnd o your pope sew dom he intensity of the solar fare will p che Day hors our radio wave traveling to and normally would be reflected fom te higher ade F layer Within Several minutes of ofan ray burst the NOAA GOES sitis wil measure process and rmt fe far fic PA of iur events fom cm be en Figaro 2 OES Kray Flux 5 minute data y 291 Aug 3 0000 ET Another useful it is the NOAA D Region Absorption Predictions D RAP found at Bttp wwswpe noan govidrap indes htmi piot of the maximum absorption directly under the sun s location Aman for the 0 flare event can be seen in Figure 3 bar graph on the right hand side of the graphic displays the expected attenuation in decibels as function of frequency for vertical radio wave propagation at the point of maximum absorption Ama This graph is on
3. terminates in USB connector This setup allows the unit be easily unplugged from the computer when not in use The unit also draws power from the USB port of your computer These conveniences are great When the USB plug is pe 2008 QST review Richard Van ital and mae ens he LS 2260 computer and radio connected you are ready to go Select e soundcard digital mode you want to use configure it adjust the TX and RX controls tum the VOX delay 1o zero and digitizing away Every Mode you select wi uve minor variations in the set up As an example when T use Winmor the RX TX controls are joined to your computer Windows will ato maticlly see the recognizes it and assign the comeet USB Codex name Just tell the digital mode program you are using the correct USB codex name and you re ready to go My Signalink USB sound card radio interlace has been uscd successfully not only on Packet with AWGPE but also Multipsk FLDigi and of course RMSExpress Winmor and V4 All work fawlessly Tigertrnics current price of the device with a cable to ink to your rig 15 about USSI0995 plus S amp H You can expect to receive it in about a week if you opt for regular ground shipping Inside the box you will find the Signalink US unit the basie interface cable jumpers for the pin DIN Plug used to configure the unit to work with your model radio additional ju
4. 70 Mhz using PL of 114 8 A2 mir net meets each Friday evening at 1930 hrs local Our HF Alligator net may be found on 3925 Khz LSB beginning at 1900 hrs 10 meter net also is called on 28420 Mhz cach Friday starting at 2000 hrs local The lub also maintains and operates WSSLA at the Slidell Weather Bureau Office Officers be contacted through e mail OARC W3SLA net or by snails to Ozone Amateur Radio Club Box 553 Slidell LA 70459 rhe cuts websites at http www wssla net Vol 2 No 10 be October 2011 3 of 8 USB fom Lent The three major adjustable controls and the pilot lights are located on the front panel Two controls adjust de RTs Audio Levels while the third DLY is used to adjust the Hang Time af the unis Auto PTT circuit Because the Signaling USE is strictly an Audio device it must rely on the VOX circuit in your radio to key the Transmitter The interface sockets on the rear of the unit Fig are similarly well designed The PC board containing all the electronics is uncluttered and spacious enough to work on de insert the jumpers Ds small size clean design allow easy positioning on any operating desk orl mble de smal Fi size make the unit casily adaptable to any away kit 1 recommend that the unit be purchased directly ftom Tigertronies You will see the Signalink USB unit advertised below the manufacturers retai
5. d range of equipment accessories service and activities OARCians Product Reviews have two broad goals They can have decades on combined experience in ham radio Lets put it to constructive use Help someone evaluate Product as well as services or activities related to the Product A review also help build an interest in Product service or activity In marketing terms product tas very wide range of meaning Franks review of the Signalink USB reflects both his experienced evaluation of the product as well as his obvious interest in digital operations 1 asked Frank to product review because know they can T un West cd DOE Sar eee QRM iste ote Newser of the Ozone Amateur Radio Club OARC Slidell Louisiana dir Wille Wall OARC 2011 Officers President Tom McCullough KDSGEG Vice President Wayne Tamborella KCSDEZ Secretary Frank Skiles WASVCS Treasurer John Guthans AASUY The Ozone Amateur Radio Chib is proud to be an ARRL affiliate club Meetings are held on he 1 and 3 Thursday each month starting at 1930hrs local club building is located on the comer of 4 and Cousin Strects next to the 50480 Courthouse in Town Slidell Vistos are always welcomed Stations and Nets OARC maintains several HE and VHF UHF stations at its club building t regulary operates a two meter repeater on 147 2
6. ely faded when the Solar x ray flux hit as was predicted It confirmed a SID event had indeed happened since they knew that there had been 60 100 probability given for a or X solar fare Forecast The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet on August 2 3 On August 4 a CME impact is likely and could cause active to major storm conditions Figure 4 Solar Weather Forecast Recognition A typical SID will result in a dramatic drop in signal level from all stations within several minutes Most HE operator when experiencing their first SID will first consider equipment or antenna failure This drop will be much faster and more extreme than is typically seen with D lyer absorption increase during our local 13012 0301 CDT Texas Army MARS nets nmm Ihe GRM October 2011 Bok 8 The solar x ray ux plot shown in Figure S will show a very fs sein x ray time Again this site tip www gov today hum Also check GOES xray Fux 5 minute data Beal Watts m Univers Tine Undated 2011 Aug 3234542 UTE Figure 5 D Action Texas Army MARS a Events with ess than 18 dB often operating atthe just below the Critical Frequency for a radio check the new frequency b amc Events Tote GOESIS 10 80 A GOESIS 0 5 4 0 A flux at the event Hips noaa gov drap index hum as
7. l price but if you check the vendor s site carefully you will find that they charge for the sound card radio interface cable Tigers base price for the Signalink USE includes an interface cable designed to work with your rig This puts the overall price of the from a vendor at the same price charged by Tigerronics Just call Tigerronics in Oregon and tell them the make and model of your rig and the Sigualink USB unit and the correct interface cable should arive within the week The interface cable has an pin modular plug that plugs into Signalink USB This allows the cables to be disconnected and changed if you need to change fig Many cheaper commercially available sound cant interface units have the interface cable hardwired internally to the unit making it hard to change rigs Fig 2 Se USB nit SKYWARN The EVES of the NWS Remember Winter Frontal rms are A Coming CORNER fram 2003 This is why as Editor of The ORM 1 continue 10 encourage members to send in their experiences with fnew or old ham product service or activity And ertins a product review isn t hard The reviewers task s to provide the reader with answers to seven simpl ly questions It is only by asking and truthfully fica and concisely answering these seven key question arcas can the reviewer satisfy the reader s fied enough to help in the readers decision making proces To be a product reviewer for The ORM all you ha
8. ly valid at tnis point although users can re create it for any location using the tabular data The displayed values can also be sealed approximately account for oblique radio wave propagation using the 1 sin a dependence where a is the elevation angle ofthe propagation path Central Texas geographic position experienced 1 dB of absorption at 18 9 MHz fom web site tabulated results The maximum absorption at 18 9 MHz on the bar graft was approximately 3 dB so subtract 2 dB from all bar graph numbers to seal in central Texas Using this approximation the maximum absorption at the net frequency S MHz was 18 dB Absorption will be slightly greater for stations north Texas 18 increase between Austin and Plainview for example A station radiating 100 wats was reduced in power to approximately 3 watts The real time plot at the D RAP site has frequency tab for 5 MHz so the attenuation value can be read dirty The archived shown in Figure 3 does not have this convenience feature During this event some stations were able to maintain some level of contact across the state using MT 63 and most felt that Olivia would have been successful Therefore a solar flare event that produces approximately 15 of attenuation i probably the highest attenuation that would allow a net to continue on the MARS 60m frequency ina digital mode This maximum level of ray radiation could be experienced from a smalle
9. mpers and instructions for wiring the 8 pin DIN plug to the interface cable for every radio made Tigertroincs also sells an pin Din plug prewied for any radio you request The prewired cable is about 0551520 and is highly recommended as DIN plugs can be dogs to wire correctly found ordering the prewired interface Sable well worth the added cost Frankly it is just easier to change radios with the interface cables used with the Sigmalink USB The jumpers are still used with the sit Jumpers are located inside the Signalink USB A Jumper for example is used to increase audio gain of the volume from the radio should it have low output Its recommended that the 1 2 volume jumper be changed at the same time you open the Signalink USB fase to install the radio interface jumpers gt fet about the TT o clock position When packet is sed the RX control is set at about 10 o clock and the TX at about 2 o clock The thing about amateur radio is you have to experiment to get things exactly right And remember should you encounter any problems here i an OARCian that can help you with solving whatever problem you may have just ask The Signalink USA is recommended for many digital modes as it is so simple to use After you have experimented you may want some of the other fancier multiple conector radi controlling devices Experience and your personal wants and needs wil dictate how sophisticated a unit yo
10. n Friday and continue into Monday to take into account time zone differences at DX stations Give a listen and take part if you can and ham some fun Vol 2 No 10 Tha October 2011 2of8 Editor s Corner Mr lie Wal KSCIIC siderable space has been given im this column do encourage members to submit articles photographs fillers jokes cartoons and ideas for articles Fortunately a few members have have heard our taken up on our challenge and submitted outstanding material But more is needed You will have noticed that the lead article on the fist page of this issue is product review by Frank Skiles WASCVS A product review as lead article is unusual 10 say the least Is there because we wish to Show what a member can do if she or he wants to do it Iris not a of canicannot do it but one of want to do it why an emphasis on produet reviews The ORM asked Frank OARCs intrepid secretary and resident digital advocate if he would do a product review on the Tigertonies Signalink USB sound card USB interface as followup to his well received article Packet in the September issue Frank was not only responsive to request but sent us the first draft of a product review the very next day This is a fine Example of what we at The ORM call the OARCian pir This brings us to the basie reason behind this editoria Why an emphasis on product reviews Ham radio involves a broa
11. r solar flare with s farther from central Texas fare directly over central Texas ora large EEE Figure 3 D ayer Absorption for M0 Event at 13487 mm Ihe GRM cei Tera The blue box in Figure 3 above displays an estimated recovery time of 45 minutes The x ray radiation needs to drop down to C1 to not contribute any additional ionization to the D lyer Actual recovery of should happen more quickly depending on the mode and transmit power of the stations in the act Actual observed recovery was approximately 10 to 15 minutes for stations to return to weak and readable on voice Again take note that the attenuation on the bar graph follows 1 pater so moving up in frequency is one strategy t reduce the effects of the increased D layer attenuation Care mast be taken to not move beyond the MUF Maximum Useable Frequency between net members For in state NVIS tactical nets this MUF will be the local Critical Frequency Other strategies include using a very distant relay station or distant Winlink RMS Strategy A Expestation The forecast for solar flare activity can be found at hup wwnw solen infa sola An example of the forecast for last week just before the SID event is shown in Figure 4 All operators should check this site before any net to be aware of the possibility of a SID event during the net Many of the net members on Aug 13017 08 01 CDT net immediat
12. shown in Figure 3 above 2011 Aug 1 000 Ure NOA SNPC Boulder CD USA n Attempt to maintain net using Olivia If net is not ical Frequency move wo stations up to the closest regional net eauency beter performance is found move net to lable Notify net members by MARS Winlink Telnet that SID has taken Place and for all stations to remain on the net frequency NCS should makes periodie net No Local intem sin the Olivia digital mode until net communications is restored ANCS alternate NCS remains on frequency NCS moves to a much higher HF froquency and sends MARS Winlink message to all net members using a MARS HERMS station in another state frequencies n the vicinity of 20 MHz He then returns to net frequency and makes periodie net calls on Olivia until communications is restored Readers are invited to visit the Texas Army MARS web site Consolidated Solar Weather found at pe ew xam solanveather
13. u may end up with atr down the linc im this reviewer s opinion the Signatink USB sound card radio interface is an easy and economical way to break into the digital world of amateur radio And most importantly it really does the job it s designed to do asr ts your space So Use It and Even more if you need it d HF RADIO STRATEGY FOR DEALING WITH SUDDEN IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES SID hy Leni Thompson SIFQ 422 solar flare occurred at 13 48Z 08 48 CDT on 3 August disrupting a Texas Army MARS net operating on State wide propagation went fom cellent to weakcand unreadable within two minutes Digital messaging using MT 63 was stil posible bur just barely Between some stations The next UTC day 03577 2 572 CDT a much more intense flare occured frm the same sunspot 11261 location Had this been during a Scheduled or an emergency net even digital messaging would not fave been posi th the significant increase in solar activity with Cycle 24 m Army MARS is developing standard procedures for deas gue e ense Sar b ihe radio Blackout phenomena associated with Sudden Jonospherie Disturbanecs Those same procedures are applicable in ARESRACES HF emergsacy rao opentons Unfosumtch radio voce ncs cannot operate digital modes on she same frequency Consideration shoul given to having pecoducs in place for hc vice net o recen radiis net in hc
14. ve fo do is proide your answers to the seven questions in ls much detail as you can Our experienced Editorial Staff is here to provide the assistance needed to help first working document and polish it into fublishabe review for The ORM Your challenge is fo the ball rolling How Well it is really simple Select am old or new ham radio related product lervice or activity that you have had experience with Put down a few notes Just send us The ORM an c mail based on the notes that tel us your proposal include a brief description of the ham related produet or activity you wish io review and briefly outline your experience with the product It is enportant you summarize the major pros and con ur experienced editorial staff will review your proposal and let you know our interest developing review in The ORM If accepted we will forvand a guidance sheet containing the seven questions and guidance on how best to answer them Together we vil draft an article based on your answers for your review and comments This is what editors do and the process works The end product will be published in rhe under your byline m Tho GRM omen USB pom pent Additional Information Oe de pepe mik eti ctt de ies di Connecting the Simalink ssa shot he Signaling USB accesores USB plugged into ihe USE to the computer is a permanently attached cable that
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