ARRL Los Angeles Section Manager Diana Feinberg, AI6DF, was the featured speaker at our February 3, 2021 membership meeting. Diana reported on the state of the League and reflected on how the pandemic has affected ham radio more generally.
After Diana’s presentation, Jeff Liter, W2JCL, explained how to participate in a digital Winlink net.
Thirty minutes before the net:
Turn on your radio and your TNC or soundcard.
FOR PACKET: Start the software modem Soundmodem. Check that your computer’s soundcard is set to “USB audio codec.” Check your settings by tuning to the APRS national frequency of 144.390 MHz.
FOR VARA FM: Start VARA. Check that your comptuer’s soundcard is set to “USB Audio codec.” Check your settings by tuning to the SoCal VARA FM Autobahn at 145.030 MHz. Send a ping.
Sending a ping from within VARA FM
Tune to the frequency of the digital net exercise.
Open Winlink. You don’t have to open and close Winlink session during the exercise, it’s fine to set it up ahead of time.
Be sure to open the right kind of session: Peer to Peer or Gateway (use the switch button if necessary).
Select your template.
Fill it out.
Go back to Winlink and make sure the “Send As” is correct for your session.
Wait for net control to signal you to send.
Winlink can be an incredibly efficient means of communication. During a recent net, Jeff moved almost 100 Winlink peer-to-peer messages in under 2 hours.
SPARC was excited to welcome Pascal Villeneuve VA2PV as a guest speaker at our January 6, 2021 meeting. Pascal is known for his frequent reviews in QST magazine and for his in-depth YouTube videos covering gear, technique, and hamfests. Pascal spoke about how to get started creating ham-related videos for YouTube. Highlights included:
What kind of content on your channel is most popular? Reviews of the latest gear often lead to new subscribers, but those videos have a limited shelf life. Evergreen instructional content gets more views over time.
What is your workflow? Pascal recommends starting with the tools you already have and using free software until your needs expand. For example, DaVinci Resolve is a free, professional-level editing program. Pascal’s editing program of choice is Pinnacle Studio, which charges a one-time fee.
What is the ideal length of a video? YouTubers tend to believe that they cannot monetize anything shorter than ten minutes. But the ideal length depends upon the subject of the video. And it doesn’t matter how short a video is if it’s jittery, so use a gimbal for stabilization.
Do you storyboard? Yes, but the videos rarely turn out as planned. Pascal likes to work off a script. His most carefully scripted piece was a 2017 documentary The DXer and the Technician.
Any mistakes to watch out for? Don’t get into arguments online!
Do you get waivers from people in your videos? Pascal tends to film in public places like hamfests where there are posted notices about recordings. But he also edits thoughtfully to avoid embarrassing anyone.
Do you make any money from your channel? Yes, approximately US$200/month based on an average of 40k views/month. YouTube content is not a great way to make money. His most-viewed video is a review of the KenwoodTS-990 which has (as of January 2021) 98k views, and it has earned CN$380 over five years. He estimates it takes a minimum of 20 hours to create a video.
Any hints for recording video outdoors? Beware of backlighting. The camera on an iPhone is more than sufficient to record outdoors. If you want to invest in a dedicated 4K camera, the Sony ILCE6400 has one of the fastest auto-focus features.
What would you suggest as a question or subject to a get a club started making videos? Have club members share their projects. And don’t feel bad if the first videos aren’t professional. You’ll get better with practice. “If you’re not good at shooting videos, you better be good at editing videos.” He recommends using Open Broadcaster Software’s OBS Studio for screen capturing in 4K. “Don’t aim your camera at your computer screen.” Clubs could also start with a video answering the most commons questions from new members or people looking to join the club.
Show us your set up. Pascal explained much of the equipment in his shack studio and stressed the importance of three-point lighting.
What proportion of your videos are in French vs. in English? Pascal assumed he’d post all his content in English, but MFJ requested a French video. He now produces all his videos in both French and English versions. The videos in French receive about two-thirds of the views of the English ones, likely because there are few other channels posting ham radio content in French.
“All YouTubers are ashamed of their first video. And in five years, we’ll be ashamed of the videos we make today.”
It’s only appropriate that we recorded Pascal’s presentation and posted it on our own YouTube channel. We now have a whopping TWO videos!
For our December 2020 meeting we ran a test of the ham station installed at the South Pasadena Emergency Operations Center. By coordinating the test over Zoom, we were able to troubleshoot in real time and share a live map of participating stations. As you can see in the map below, the coverage area from the station was impressive, reaching all the way to Verdugo Hills Hospital. The red pin is the South Pas EOC, the yellow pin is the water tower, and the green pins are station that particpated in the test.
Our hope is to consistently run nets from the EOC once Covid-19 safety protocols are no longer necessary.
During our November 2020 meeting, Marty Woll N6VI returned to share part two of his presentation on building a capable home station. The primary topics of the presentation were rig selection and power considerations.
Marty concluded by inviting everyone to participate in the weekly ARRL Southwestern Division Net, Sundays at 8 a.m. on 3.965 MHz. (Note that this net is simulcast on the Papa System.)
For those who were not able to attend, a version of Marty’s presentation, recorded in June 2020, is included at the end of this post.
SPARC member Jeff Liter W2JCL also returned to review how to add custom templates to Winlink. As seen in the below screenshot, you should store custom templates on a Windows computer in the directory C:\RMS Express\Global Folders\Templates
To select a custom template as you compose your message in Winlink Express, you will find it within the Global Templates folder as seen here:
Our October meeting featured not only a presentation on antenna analyzing tools by Allen Wolff KC7O, but also Jeff Liter W2JCL discussing how to use Winlink during emergencies.
Jeff illustrated six Winlink templates that could be useful in an emergency:
South Pasadena Disaster Information Report
USGS Did You Feel It? Report
ARRL Radiogram
GPS/APRS Position Report
SMS Text Message
Severe Weather Report
Jeff created the South Pasadena-specific form himself and has made it available to all SPARC members.
Click here to download a zip file containing the templates for the SouthPas Disaster Information Report, the ARES LAX Quick Check-In form, and the SMS Text Message template.
Once downloaded and unzipped, install the templates in the following Windows directory: C:\RMS Express\Global Folders\Templates
Click here to download Jeff’s full presentation (1.5 Mb PDF).
At this month’s Zoom meeting, Allen Wolff, KC7O presented “Pizza Pan Antenna Test Fixture, VSWR Bridges & NanoVNA.” He explained the differences between SWR bridges, antenna analyzers, network analyzers and the NanoVNA (vector network analyzer). He also illustrated how a humble pizza pan can be used to help test the characteristics of an antenna.
Click here to download Allen’s presentation (5.5 Mb PDF).
The Citrus Belt Amateur Radio Club, W6JBT, will host its annual Route 66 on the Air special event from Saturday, September 12 through Sunday, September 20. For the duration of the event, radio clubs using special 1×1 call signs will operate from locations along “the Mother Road.” The western-most station will be W6A in Santa Monica, run by the Westside Amateur Radio Club. The eastern-most station will be W6U in Wilmington, Illinois run by the Wilmington Area ARC.
Route 66 stencil event on Fair Oaks Avenue in March, 2017. Photo credit: South Pasadena Review
According to the CBARC website, participating stations are likely to be found in the vicinity of the following frequencies:
Hz
80M
40M
30M
20M
17M
15M
12M
10M
6M
CW
3.533
7.033
10.110
14.033
18.080
21.033
24.900
28.033
50.033
SSB
3.866
7.266
N/A
14.266
18.164
21.366
24.966
28.466
50.166
DIGI.
3.573
7.074
10.136
14.074
18.100
21.074
24.915
28.074
N/A
ALL frequencies shown above can be +/- due to QRM and other in use conditions
CBARC states that this is the twenty-first year of the event.
Originally started by the Northern Arizona DX Association, it was a way to allow amateur radio operators a fun way to “Relive the Ride.” They also can relive their own memories of Route 66, and get to celebrate the highway’s rich history in making the U.S. what it is today.
The following message comes from our friend Jim Marr AA6QI:
The family of a recently-deceased ham in eastern Altadena needs to have his tower removed by the end of October. If nobody wants the tower, it will likely end up as scrap metal.
The tower is a Telex/Hy-Gain HG-54HD three-section, crank-up, tilt-over 54 ft tower (21 ft nested). This is a heavy duty tower that supports 16 sq ft of antenna at 60 mph winds fully extended.
The in-ground base is still available from HRO or DX Engineering.
I believe that I have another ham who is willing to help take the tower down and transport it locally.
There are also two CDE Ham-2 rotators and controllers that are in a box (not on the tower).
There are also a number of antennas lying on the ground and lying on the roof of the house, antennas that I don’t recognize, that are also destined for the scrap dealer unless someone wants to rescue them.
If you are interested in these items, use our Contact Us page, and your message will be passed along to Jim.
Our September 2020 meeting featured a presentation by Marty Woll N6VI about how to build a home station. For those who weren’t able to attend, below is a version of Marty’s presentation recorded in May 2020.
Each September, SPARC encourages our community to get ready for emergencies in conjunction with National Preparedness Month. We’ve compiled many our our favorite guides, tips and resources on our Preparing for Emergencies page.
There’s no one “right way” to prepare, but the weekly themes promoted by FEMA can provide some structure. The below text is taken from FEMA’s Ready.gov.
Talk to your friends and family about how you will communicate before, during, and after a disaster. Make sure to update your plan based on the Centers for Disease Control recommendations due to the coronavirus.
Gather supplies that will last for several days after a disaster for everyone living in your home. Don’t forget to consider the unique needs each person or pet may have in case you have to evacuate quickly. Update your kits and supplies based on recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control.
Limit the impacts that disasters have on you and your family. Know the risk of disasters in your area and check your insurance coverage. Learn how to make your home stronger in the face of storms and other common hazards and act fast if you receive a local warning or alert.
Talk to your kids about preparing for emergencies and what to do in case you are separated. Reassure them by providing information about how they can get involved.
If you have a resource you’d like to share, contact us and we’ll consider adding it to our page.
Once you’ve spent September getting ready, you can test your new plans by participating in October’s annual Great Shakeout.
As this year has made abundantly clear, major disruptions to daily life can strike with little warning. Putting in time and effort now will help you manage risks later.
