Paul VE7PXG * newly qualified amateur * group organizer * let's introduce ourselves David: VE7MDE * 20 years * sputteringly active * FM radio, no longwave antennas Sean * studying to get certified * build a radio, bounce a signal off the moon Farell VA7FSE * HF setup * can't use it, too much inteference * helped with fireworks * really quiet Ian (missed callsign) * license 25 years ago * lapsed * got year ago, done nothing with it since * keen to get back into it * want to do everything, learn CW, build a kit Andrew (VA7HEX) * VECTOR training course last year * struggled to connect * simple radio, BaoFeng * excited to get a repeater working * VECTOR has a weekly network * VECTOR great organization, focused on emergency response * large gap in experience between new people and most members Ian * same thing I noticed at North Shore radio club * big gap in experience between beginners and most * hard to get people up to speed * so much protocol and buzwords Andrew * did a lightning talk here at a SHH * bit of a turn off to hackers: non-anonymity, can't use codes, many controls on behaviour Real advantage: * falled back so much * bands quiet * used to be many people acting as guardians of the air waves * CB, lots of guys clatter all over it * rise of digital, opened up Paul * over the last week since I sent out first message, about 20 people responded privately or openly. * some couldn't come due to other commitments * definitely interest to set up another radio club, our own * VHS ARC is my suggestion * doing my training, told people at VECTOR that bunch of people have gone through the course * VECTOR would like us to set up our own club and affiliate with them * show up at their field days * work with them at symphony of fire * encourage others to partake in hobby of amatur radio * told them that our goal was to hold workshops and get people qualified * VECTOR: good, if we can help you let us know * if you need qualified examiners, we have members who are willing to do it for no cost * they're realy enthusiatic * Paul (other Paul) manages apartment block (15th and Fir, could put repeater on its roof * people are keen to be involved * first meeting: wanted to see if anyone would show up * next meeting: do on Wed night * time when VECTOR does their net * people bring their radios if they have them * if they don't, that's fine too * can practice calling in to the VECTOR net * Sean: you can still use the radio even without a license * under direct supervision of any one of us * I don't know where else to go from here * other ideas: you may have seen my email regarding lotteries money * not as difficult as people think * put in the proper application * one of the women involved with VHS, Ifny, definitely knows her way around * I am involved in another non-profit that gets $30K a year from lotteries * before I got involved, it was costing them $6000 for audits * figured out you could get a letter from an accountant that said everything was fine for less than $500 * that's a way to get seed money * talked to Hackery, they get Ham Radio equipment often * start looking out stuff for us * looked into repeater and what it takes to set one up * doesn't look hard * few radios, buy them from people who have built them - Farrell: * the easiest way: equipment often gets obsoleted * even tube equipment * reason it gets thrown out, channels keep narrowing * companies to narrow things down just replace the equipment with transistorized stuff * usually find if you go to companies and say you are using it for a ham repeater you can get it for nothing * as long as they know it won't end up sold * often nothing wrong with old equipment, just needs a module to turn down the deviation * I'm really keen * I'm one of the people who made a mobile truck * last year I built a few direction finding for fox hunting * the idea is to hide a little transmitter once a month * take the mobile truck, when everyone gets there, have a barbecue * to get people excited, it's very easy to build a simple receiver * once you get into that, it bites you, you can get you license and build your own * 3-4 Watts on shortwave you can go all the way around Vancouver Sean: * contest meant for Hams in BC, people to contact Hams in BC, and for Hams in BC to contact other Hams Farrell: * if you get involved in contesting in Ham, really serious contests, some people almost give up their lives * I've been involved in that, people setting up stations, * try to talk with as many people as possible * nowadays especially with power lines, you've got to get out of the city, there's too much noise * it's sort of died * there's still satellites up, HamSat organizations * really cool to intercept weather satellites * once you start playing with RF stuff, it's really easy, nice and easy, it's just a way of doing things * software radios, I'm amazed. Just a little USB stick and you have a spectrum analyzer Sean: * one I saw on kickstarter, was a software radio * from something small to something ridiculous [ED: was it this one? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1085541682/bladerf-usb-30-software-defined-radio?ref=live] [ED: nope, this one: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mossmann/hackrf-an-open-source-sdr-platform ] * supposed to cover everything Farrell: * on deal extreme they're 7-8 dollars * what happened with that business is pre-digital TV * people were making these sticks to receive TV data * then that market sort of disappeared they just open sourced the coding for the receiver Paul: * radio choice for those guys at VECTOR are those handheld Kenwoods * they have GPS location on them * showed us a display, 50-100 radios that had them on * people are out there, what they are saying to each other I don't know * you could actually track where they were * one of those things, Farrell knows about this, being used during the Celebration of Light * th David: * when I'm traveling to Alberta, I check all the nodes along the way * some of them answer, some of them don't * I've used it for emergencies Farrell * there's not easy access to where the repeaters are Ian: * list on the North Shore amateur club * get a booklet, on the back is all the repeaters offset, private/public Andrew: * there are a number of pages on the web with reasonably up to date information David: * you can buy a CD for $30 that has all the mapping, all the offsets * you can program it for your travel plans * do it for every carrier along the route Farrell * project to put the repeaters into Google Earth Andrew: * surprised if there wasn't a Google Mashup already David: * like I said, I have a CD, it's got all the stuff there * a lot of it is on the Internet [crosstalk] Sean: * for Ham stuff, all the pages look like the were made right at the start of the web * I've been trying to find information on how to build a radio * it's like that gap you're talking about, it's all aimed at people who have been doing it for 30 years * not people just getting into it * after several days of searching, I found "build a simple FM transmitter" * but it was a Make project on how to build it with the fewest components possible * for plugging your iPod into for your car * hard to get information to get off the ground David: * it's like there's an old community of Ham guys * there's an exclusitivity to it * you got your chops by knowing all the vernacular, acronyms, all that stuff before you ever got near a radio Ian: * learning CW was almost like a right of passage Farrell: * I struggled for 2 years before I could get my callsign * only about 1978 they eased the restrictions * couldn't get a Ham license without Morse * Paul * for those of you who have taken the test, I was amazed * if I'd known it was this simple to qualify for your basic * I believe they've made it simple because people aren't doing it anymore * my guess is that there are elements of the government who don't want people using it so they can sell off the amateur bands Farrell: * very strong amateur radio union delegation that goes to ID conference * struck down age restriction * people pon air discipline people David: * don't really monitor * self regulation, complaints Farrell: * biggest concern is that you screw up some commercial interest * they're paying for that spectrum * we don't pay for it * amaeur allocation is bigger than any other allocation * if you don't use it, you lose it * above 2 gigs, enormous spectrum available for amateurs * we don't use it * sad things, industry watches Ham experimentation and then they want them Paul: * Ty threw that up there for us [referring to LED sign marque scrolling radio club name] Farrell: * with the call sign, I;m not sure of the formalities Paul: * let's decide * next meeting, VHS ARC member form, collect $10 from everyone * you're qualified to apply for club callsign -0 under your name, you're responsible * anyoine using that call sign, it comes back to you * try for meeting this Wednesday Farrell: * not sure if I can make it Andrew: * VECTOR net is at 8pm Paul: * plan for that * Wed nights for now * take awhile to sort schedules * dozen or more, can move around Farrell: * what is freq? * may have to join later Andrew: * repeater frequency * 145.170 MHz * 600 minus offset * no tone Paul: * Telephone Pioneers Amateur Radio Club maintain the repeater * on the "Boot" * for those of you not from Vancouver, the Boot is the Telus building at Boundary and Kingsway * building on Burnaby side has step terraces * VECTOR bounces off mountains, their setup is at E-COMM Farrell: * used to have a radio at John Oliver Paul: * we should take advantage of that as soon as possible Sean: UBC Amateur Radio club is trying to start up again Joe: (VA7JBO) arrives Paul: * problem: run by student * after Daniel leaves, it will die again * John Oliver has possibilities * especially if they are going through hassles about ripping the school down * I'm an alumni of there * really interested in other stuff we talked about Farrell * first school to be fully wifi * get them motivated Andrew: * problem has never been availability of equipment, it's availability of people * it's why VECTOR training * need influx of people * need to keep people engaged * Joe, you mentioned on mailing list that you've been to these nets, and that they are boring, nothing is happening on them Joe: * never actually checked in * for one, goes way too fast * two, boring as hell David: * that's the think about Ham Radio * what's the length of your antenna * how's your signal strength * nice talkin' to ya Joe: * if you have a limited number of people, it's going to be boring * used to be a guy out in Delta, kind of pissed me off * had an emergency, his emergency was that he had too much recycling Paul: * what could we do to make it interesting? * I'm going to chair this * Farrell, then Joe Farrell: * there needs to be a network * if you create these networks where people get on to chat, the advantage is that there's always someone available close to a telephone * emergency support if needed * problem if you have a network that is monitored, people are very quick, just announce their checkin and leave * nobody is allowed to chat about what projects they are working on Joe: * I know of at least four nets that are active right now * Burnaby repeater on Monday night * North Van repeeater on Tuesday night * VECTOR on Wednesday night * 9am Rainbow Valley net on North Van repeater * cordial enough * I have no interest in getting a biggger 2 meter radio * these (handhelds) work just fin everywhere I've taken them * basically, the VHF bands are boring David: * one of this things is, it's just one channel * whomever has got it, has got it * if you tend to talk on and on, block the channel * that's why these protocols were developed * keep range on topic and time Andrew * keep in mind repeaters have a built-in time limit * fundamentally, built around emergency response * without emergency, quite limited * intrigued with Farrell's idea around direction finders * cool idea for contest * any organization has trail off * people excited the first time, either they will engage or they won't * big thing: communication strategy * I think VECTOR struggles with it * have trouble contacting people, i.e. mailing list * need an influx of people, and need to engage people currently there * some people will be more technically inclined and want to build a receiver right away * I don't have the skill set for that; I'd like to build on what I have before I make that investment David: * don't you need an advanced before you can build one? Paul * we have a few people with advanced qualifications Farrell * I've done this for too long already and I've become very blase * as a non-amateur, there's nothing stopping you from going in and buying equipment * it's switching it on, powering up and transmitting that's the restriction * if you want to do that in the amateur radio band, on a regular basis [missed a bunch of talking; too much crosstalk] * in South Africa we used to have what they called Desert Island [?] * build something to get you off a desert island * could be anything from flashing light, etc * create a community of people who actually get to know each other David:: * talking to Sean about website * most guys have a heavy hardware background * so our infusion of software into it could be a real boost Sean * as far as retaining people or getting people interested, * to me that's just a problem of what project we're going to work on for the next 2 months * figure out instructino * fox hunt thing * or set something on mountain * crowdsource instructions on how to build a radio * for next 2 month, have a goal * get picture from a weather satellite * or contact a ham radio satellite * keep having idea * let's do this, let's do this * we all have enough ideas that can keep us going for next year or two * if we keep doing things, people will bee "that was really cool," I want to be around the next time they do that Farrell: * there's a wide range of projects * radio beacon on balloon, look for where the device comes down * quadcopters * carry up a little parrot repeater on quadcopter * take it up high * repeats your message * I'd like to experiment with that [too much noise] * track myself, see where I've been * often I'll get a call [...] this morning * I only get it 2 hours after * I have access to ham radio * like to build tracking beacons * put the beacon on the car Andrew: * like to put out a danger point * there's all this equipment out there, we could put up a receiver * what I'm worried about is that someone will engage with that, spend a great deal of time on that, and then nobody will use it * it's that sunk cost that I am worried about * so I think a structure where people rotate through is important * no-one becomes the sole keeper of the flame * that sucks * everyone's been there, people move on and get tired of it Paul: * VHS has a process in place * no gatekeeper * if people walk away, it won't shut down * looking at Radio Amateurs of Canada, to get insurance, just have to be registered society * under VHS as a registered society we can get this * if we want to apply for gaming moneys * not as onerous as people think * 1-2 years down the road before money comes * not a separate organization, as a subgroup of VHS * send an email to announce wed meeting * wed night is a craft night * check with people to ensure craft night is not impacted * send out email, suggested donation of $10 for radio portion of VHS * Farrel: lock down VE7VHS as soon as possible before someone else locks it down * still available * simple process, fill in form Joe: * just log online, register club * toggle address as private * don't publish your address * caveat: kind of broken, got Oracle errors Paul: * email someone at VECTOR if problems * initial fee of $60 to register * under assumption if under club * I don't know what else we want to talk about * doesn't help to have meeting drag on * try to get people out of here Sean: * have to know about low cost equipment Paul: * protocal for packet radio developed in BC * let's see how these BaoFeng's work out Ian: * had it tested at North Shore Paul: * regularly on Ebay for 10 for $250 * could have them for $25 David:: * where did everyone get theirs? Everyone: * amazon, ebay Joe: * pick up this, mike, and Ian: * Burnaby swap meet coming up Paul: * Joe posted about that Joe: Baofeng pretty good Paul: * bought them, soaked me $20 for programming cable * send me software * bought cable and software, * Ty and I found PDF to switch programmer to English Joe: * piece of software called CHIRP Andrew: * hear that cables require specific drivers Paul: * software I got good for Kenwoodl, Baofeng, Yaosu, compatiable with all * nicely dressed up excel Ian: * posted a link on your thread * http://www.miklor.com/uv5r/ * the site for all BaoFeng stuff * download all software Farrell: * wiki for information * i.e. BaoFeng information * saying to youngsters that there is a Jamboree on the internet * don't have to be scouts * advanced amateur * australia * coming up in Sept * away camping * set up a proper mobile station like that * like what VECTOR does with their bus * have to deal with city to get bus out * like to have my callsign on the truck * fun event Andrew * can anyone edit wiki or do you need to be a VHS member? Paul * anyone can get it * are you volunteering? * also, why aren't you a member? * we'll talk about that after Andrew * happy to scribe the first few meetings * important to have groundwork and history so that people releasing it's a living thing that is happening * there's a lot of excellent ideas, but if they don't make it out of this space and out of this group, it's not going to happen * we'll sort it out Paul * all info going up there is good Joe: * off topic * open source radio programming software * http://www.repeaterbook.com/ tells you where repeaters are * also have an App for it too * how many people are interested in doing HF? Ian: * eventually Joe: * how many people can do HF? Andrew: * need Basic with Honours qualification right? Paul: * missed it, need to rewrite exam Farrell: * who has HF gear? Paul: * you're the only one Farrell: * happy to bring the radio here * insist on a mic and a key to disconnect it * don't mind setting up antenna Paul: * let's hold off on that until we can talk numbers * 20-25 people, VHS members * then we can turn around and say and get a table to be able to leave equipment here and secure it * have a locker, lock it up * issue right now, we don't know if we're going to get an extension on our lease * and they've sold the building * once that is sorted, we can make a proposal to get an antenna on the roof, or next to the building * other thing: Paul manages apartment , 15th and Fir apartment. * he'll let us put a repeater on here * have John Oliver school radio station to check out * callsign is gone, some guy in Cranbook or something has it * anything else to add? * put out email to the general list * let everyone know we're meeting on Wednesday * get non-members as members * 20 people emailed very interested * keep on building from there * put together a list of licensed versus non-members * sit down and see resources for Advanced qualifictions * lots of people have an interested Joe: * handy for going overseas * get your Morse code qualification * if you don't have your Morse, can't operate outside of Canada and US Paul: * little intimidated * like to * bring radios on Wednesday * when we get the club callsign Andrew: * before people dash off, how many people are comfortable editing the wiki and putting up their project ideas? * send them to me, and I'll put them in Paul: * send emails to signguy * continue on non-members list Joe: * members only list * something on fire Paul: * using VHS in relation to amateur radio club, do you object? * everyone thought it was a good idea Joe: * LED Marque is generating interference * 145.350 MHz frequency Paul: * we'll make sure that the LED sign is turned off Andrew: * has anyone tried radio from inside the building? [General chatter about the cause of the interference and testing the LED sign.]