Echolink on 147.000!

Thanks to Tom W8WTD the W8FTV 147.000 repeater is now connected to Echo link. Tom has taken control of the club echo link equipment. Tom has remote control of this link should any issues arise. He will need some help with the audio levels but it sounds good to him now.

To use the node you need to search for W8WTD-L with the notation Bellefontaine link. (update)The node is set up internet to repeater. You cannot connect by DTMF to other repeaters through this node. You can how ever connect with your smart phone or computer while away from the coverage area. Also in an emergency where we might need to link two Echolink-enabled repeaters,  A control operator could take care of it in a couple of minutes, should the need ever arise.

We are using Toms call and link because we have had some issues with the club callsign on echolink and are unable to access it.

Watch for further updates on the use of this node and share with your friends.

Thank You Tom for all your work on this!

 

Memorial Day Parade in Bellefontaine

Once again The CLARC is assisting in the Memorial Day parade. This year it is Monday May 28th.  The club conducts the parade line up and audio equipment at the cemetery after the parade.

If you are interested in helping out please meet with Gary N8GJK at the American Legion on Colton Ave at 0800. Please bring your HT.  Please use the contact form for any questions.

 

• for some reason I am currently unable to get the upcoming events to show the correct date for Memorial Day.

Controller upadte

The Digital operation and CW ID have been addressed.  Beep & CW ID volumes are now more in line.  Digital is working as well.   Still being a bit stubborn on the tone issue.  Tried to turn tone on JUST in the transmitter last night but that shut the whole system down completely.

AL

W8FTV Controller

Bit of news about the W8FTV repeater controller. Thanks to Tom’s (W8WTD) assistance & experience with his 8 Arcom controllers, it was discovered we had newer software than the controller liked and the controller had a newer hardware version than Arcom thought. The controller didn’t like what the computer based programming was trying to tell it and the computer refused to work with the controller’s hardware because it didn’t like what it saw. Everybody kept telling us the computer programming method is “THE WAY TO GO” but it kept failing. Tom rigged up an amplifier & connected it to the controller so it would tell us what version it was built with by listening for its default “power on” version announcement and that defined the paths needed to solve the problems. Solution was still a long way off but at least he knew what needed done. After a series of upgrades & version up loads and down loads it started to work.

Anyway For right now there are a few issues we want all of you to know: ·

On the analog side it is NOT right now transmitting tone so all who have their analog hardware set to tone squelch…. You’ll have to turn that off to hear the repeater! We anticipate fixing this yet today.

· We apologize, the digital side was off the air overnight. It’s back on the air but… Because of the tone issue above, Analog users will hear the digital (like it or not) until we get the above tone issue resolved.

· The CW ID is almost frighteningly loud and the voice volumes may be a bit low. With the volume set to hear the users well the CW ID (at least on my radio) is ear splitting! We’ll be making adjustments to these matters quickly as possible.

Looking back, had we NOT opted to program it “the simple easy way” (using computers) and instead just keyed in codes one at a time, we’d have been on the air months ago! Hopefully learning the hard way helps make the lesson better learned and retained!

I hope to have a “pocket list” of new user codes available at the next meeting!

W8WTD, N8GJK, N8JYF, N8HDR.