Another Piece of Original Equipment For The B-17 Radio Compartment

We got a nice surprise today at the Mighty Eighth when John Finch showed me the BC-306-A Antenna Tuning Unit that he found and brought back from his recent trip over to Barksdale AFB to work with the restoration team of the "Yankee Doodle II". This is an item that we've had on our wish list for the last year. John's eagle eye spotted it and the guys there told him that they have two of them so they gave one of them to us. This will be mounted right above the Liason Transmitter on the bulkhead behind the radio operator.  Sweet!

B-17 Radio Compartment Progress

Spent a couple hours at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum this afternoon working on the radio compartment of our B-17.  Got the two new Kenwood amateur radios and the 12v power distribution panel installed under the radio operators table.  Thanks to Bob MacDonald for his help in getting everything mounted.  Once Jeff and Rocky get the 12v and 24v power terminal strips and the battery system is installed, we'll be ready to power up the radios.  We also hope to install and power up the BC-348 Reciever in the next week or so. 

Steve, K4SDJ and Bill, K4WP installed the PL-259 connectors on the antenna feedline coax.  The coax is now run from the radio compartment out through the left wing where it will exit and be run through the external wall of the building.  We plan to go back out to the museum on Saturday and solder the connectors.

Bill, K4WP installing the PL-259 connectors on our antenna feedline

Underneath the radio operator table before HAM radio installation

Bob MacDonald preping the brakets for the HAM radio gear

Bob MacDonald installing the brakets for the HAM radio gear

New EC for Bulloch County

Welcome to the new ARES EC for Bulloch County, Casey Brown KF4BSC.

HAM Station for the B-17 "City of Savannah"

The equipment for the HAM radio station that we will install in the radio compartment of the B-17 "City of Savannah" has been ordered.  Once the equipment arrives we will install it and run the coax feedline from the compartment thru the left wing and out of the museum to the external antennas.  We will also install the operational BC-348 Reciever and other equipment in preparation for the radio room grand opening on or around July 15th.  The plan is to operate an amateur radio special event from the aircraft and showcase the work that has been done so far.  We have secured the amateur radio callsign WW2COS (World War 2 City of Savannah) from the FCC.  Thing are coming together. 

May 19th ARES Support of Region J Hospital Hurricane Evacuation Exercise

ARES Support of Region J Hospital Hurricane Evacuation Exercise

May 19, 2011

On May 19, 2011 the Southeast Georgia District of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) activated to support the Region J Hospital Hurricane Evacuation Exercise. The ARES contribution to the exercise was to test the ability to provide a backup means of communications in the event that primary methods fail or are overwhelmed. By establishing radio communication using the amateur service frequency spectrum, ARES can provide continued communication when severe weather or other disasters render primary modes like telephony, cellular, broadband, etc unavailable or unusable. Our independence from communications and electrical infrastructure allow us to continue to function as a stand alone means of moving information.

ARES radio operators have been involved in the planning for this exercise and developed a plan to provide the appropriate support based on the exercise scenario. Jimmy Gordon was instrumental in including ARES in all planning sessions.

On the day of the exercise we had licensed amateur radio operators located at six hospitals, one health district office , and one emergency management agency, as well as numerous home based operators located throughout the region. Once onsite each radio operator established contact with the local hospital emergency coordinator and made them aware that they were in place and operational. An “emergency network” was established on the pre-determined ARES frequency and the Net Control Station was located at Memorial Medical Center. A backup Net Control Station was established at Candler Hospital in the event that the Memorial station were to fail for some reason. Once the “net” was established, all six hospitals, the health district office, and CEMA reported in to net control with their current status.

Throughout the exercise the emergency coordinators at each hospital provided the radio operators with messages to transmit to the Incident Command at Memorial. Each message was transmitted by the radio operator using either the ARRL Radiogram message format or the NIMS ICS 213 Message format. This gave us a great opportunity to practice with both formats. Each message that was transmitted from a hospital to Incident Command was delivered to Jimmy Gordon, who was acting as the Incident Commander.

In between transmitting status messages from the regional hospitals, the ARES team also took the opportunity to test a variety of different frequency bands and transmission modes. This can be important during an actual emergency as there are a variety of factors that affect various frequency ranges. Testing a variety of methods allows us to be prepared for any eventuality and therefore provide uninterrupted service to the hospitals. For the exercise we tested communications on VHF and UHF for regional coverage and HF for longer range coverage. We used several different area repeaters to communicate through including the digital voice D-Star System in Pembroke. We were also able to “relay” message traffic from one hospital to another and then on to Memorial demonstrating the value of the “emergency network”.

During the exercise an ARES radio operator was given the opportunity to provide communication status updates to the incident command team. This really helps to give the team an understanding of what ARES is able to provide to them as a resource.

After all of the messages had been transmitted and as the exercise drew to a close, the “emergency net” was terminated and all radio operators were released from the regional hospitals. The ARES team achieved all of the exercise objectives that we had set and we provided a final summary to the incident command team.

This is a list of the locations that participated and the radio operators that assisted.

Memorial Medical Center - Guy McDonald, K4GTM   Steve Jonas, K4SDJ

St. Joseph’s/Candler - Kevin Bell, KW4B

Effingham County - Ken Lanier, KI4TYO  Peter Levesque, KJ4FAW  Bob McKay, KB4GNX

Screven County - Robert Good, K4BG

Evans Memorial - Russ Dees, KJ4VIG   Eddie Oliver, KD4BWW

Candler County - Leon Curry, W4TYM

Coastal Health District - Gary Harley, K4KAH

Chatham EMA - Lester Lamhut, KF4JBQ






Guy McDonald, K4GTM
District Emergency Coordinator
Southeast District
Amateur Radio Emergency Service

Farewell and Rest In Peace WD4FIH - SK

Farewell to a local HAM and overall great guy, David Rosenthall, WD4FIH who became a silent key this morning.

NWS Hurricane Awareness Tour Stops in Savannah

Had a great time at the Hurricane Awareness Tour today out at the Savannah Airport.  Here is a nice summary that Mac, KF4LMT put together.

http://kf4lmt.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/the-hurricane-awareness-tour-and-noaa-42-stops-at-savannah-iap/

ARRL International DX Contest First Place Award!

Our team from the Coastal Amateur Radio Society won Multioperator Single Transmitter Phone First Place for the State of Georgia in the 2010 ARRL International DX Contest! Way to go team!

W4JKG, K4GTM, KW4B, N2DRL, N4RVM, KA4CID, KJ4EGZ

New Radio Club to Support Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum

A new blog has been created to chronical the activities of the newly formed Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Radio Club here in Savannah.  Check back periodically as the blog is built out.
http://mighty8thradioclub.wordpress.com/

The radio room of the B-17 “City of Savannah” at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum is getting closer and closer to becoming operational. One of the goals is to have an operational amateur radio station in the Bomber that can participate in educational activities at the museum and participate in various special events throughout the year. To pursue that goal and to obtain a callsign unique to the “City of Savannah,” a group of amateur operators is forming the The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Radio Club.


The object of the The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Radio Club is not to replace one of the existing clubs in Savannah, but simply to support the operation of the B-17′s radio station. Along those lines, there will be no dues, although the club will be able to solicit and receive donations. A licensed Amateur Radio Operator of any grade will be eligible to become a General Member. Anyone with a genuine interest in Amateur Radio, but not yet licensed, will be eligible to become an Associate Member.

Does this sound like something you’re interested in? Stay tuned to this blog as well as the nets and newsletters of the Amateur Radio Club of Savannah and the Coastal Amateur Radio Society for more information. You can also contact Steve Jonas, K4SDJ at k4sdj @ comcast.net.

NWS Charleston Seeks Storm Damage Reports From April 5th Severe Weather

Hello National Weather Service Storm Spotters.


Late last night and early this morning of April 5, we had a line of strong to severe thunderstorms move across our region of southeast GA and southeast SC.

Here is a list of the damage reports we have received so far:

http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=CHS&product=LSR&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1

We want to thank you for the reports you have sent in already. However, if you have any damage NOT already included in this list, please send any reports and/or images of damage to:

chs.skywarn@noaa.gov

What to include in the damage report:

- Damage type (i.e., trees down, powerlines down, damaged buildings, limbs down, etc.)

- Approximate time of damage

- Damage location: Best to give lat/lon (if possible), cross road, or reference    from a larger town/city (i.e., 3 NW Summerville)

Thanks for your continued partnership and support.

National Weather Service Charleston

April 2, 2011 VE Session Results

Here is a great report from Steve, K4SDJ on today's test session.  These are three people from the recent Technician class that we taught in Feb.


Success Continues!


A VE Session was held at the Chatham County EOC annex on April 2. Three participants tested and the results were superb. Jennifer Rodriguez obtained her Technician License and Christine Hale (KK4ANA) and John Miller (K4WAV) both upgraded to General. Congratulations to all of them for their success.

I would also like to than Bill DeLoach (K4WP), Joe Carroll (AG4BO), and Sue Jonas (W4SWJ) for their assistance in putting on the VE Session. Without them, it would have been impossible to administer the exam.


73
Steve Jonas - K4SDJ
VE Liaison Coastal Amateur Radio Society

D-STAR InfoCon Workshop Scheduled for April

This one-day workshop will provide information and training on all levels of D-STAR, the Digital Smart Technology for Amateur Radio. Classes will be organized to allow participants on all levels from new users to repeater system administrators gain knowledge about D-STAR’s digital voice and data technology. The program provides three class tracks for those new to D-STAR, more experienced users and system administrators for repeaters.

D-STAR InfoCon will be held at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Georgia, just 30 minutes northeast of downtown Atlanta. Participants can choose from informative, hands-on classes to get you started for the new D-STAR user to more advanced topics for experienced users. Classes for repeater system administrators will provide valuable information on topics from repeater basics to complete setup and ongoing administration.

Classes for D-STAR InfoCon are limited and advance registration and payment is required. The cost for attending D-STAR InfoCon is $25 per person payable with your advance registration. Payment is accepted via PayPal. A buffet lunch in the campus Dining Hall is included in your registration fee. To register, follow the instructions at the top of the page on the left side. Payment must be made with your advance registration.

Detailed info and registration at the following website:

http://www.dstarinfo.com/d-star-infocon-2011.aspx

KJ4PST Antenna Work

Had a good day of radio fun today starting at breakfast with several of the gang at a fundraiser pancake feed.  After breakfast, we dropped Kevin-KW4B's truck off at W4JKG's house and headed up to Millen, GA to help one of our fairly new HAMs, Fred-KJ4PST, install an HF antenna at his farm.  During the 80 mile drive Kevin decided to work some of the CQ WPX contest stations on the HF mobile rig.  The Yaesu 857-D and High Sierra Sidekick antenna performed well.

We got to Fred's place around 1100 or so and Fred met us in the driveway.  We got a tour of the place and immediately started scoping out a good place for the G5RV antenna to live.  Lot's of good trees to choose from and we settled on one at the far back side of the house to be the center support for an Inverted V configuration.  Time to break out the air cannon line launcher!  Kevin charged up the cannon and launched the line straight over the 80 foot pine on the first attempt.  Perfect.  Pulled the support line back up through the tree then hoisted up the center feed point of the antenna up the tree.  We struggled a little bit getting one of the poles of the antenna routed thru the branches just like we wanted it and it took another cannon launch to get it done.  Then we tied it off on the one end. 

By this time we decided to break for lunch so we drove "downtown", if you can call it that, and grabbed a quick sandwich at the Millen DQ.  After a couple of unsuccessful stops to try and find some more pull line we went back to the farm.  Ended up just using some of Kevin's pull line and got the other pole of the antenna tied off.  Center of the antenna is up at maybe 60 feet and the poles slope down to maybe 15 feet at each end.  Should work real nice.  We then ran the feedline over to the corner of the house and along the gutter down to an entrance to the basement where the HVAC lines enter.  Fred will clean the routing up at a latter date when he gets his extension ladder from Savannah.

Just in time as we got a nice heavy downpour that lasted about 15 minutes.  Good thing we were inside now.  Kevin put the antenna analyzer on the feedline to test the antenna.  Resonate on 40 meters at a 1-to-1 SWR.  So we know the feedline and antenna are not shorted or open.  The physics of the G5RV and the internal tuner of the radio should allow us to tune up on all the HF bands.  We got Fred's Kenwood TS-440SAT powered up and connected the feedline.  We are ready to talk!  However, the 20+ year old TS-440 needed some time for the VFO to stabilize before we could hear anything and before we could tune.  I know this is a common situation with the Kenwood 400 family when they haven't been on in a while so we waited and then finally started hearing contesters on several of the bands.  The radio tuned up fine on all the bands at a 1-to-1 SWR.  Didn't get to operate today as we just plain ran out of time. 

Once we shut the station down and cleaned everything up it was time to say goodbye to Fred and head back to Savannah.  Might make another trip back soon to help tidy things up and give Fred some instruction on operating the radio.

Kevin and I left just after 5:00pm and Kevin worked some more stations in the contest on the way back.  It was like we had a direct pipe into Eastern Europe with Kevin snagging Croatia, Astonia, European Russia, England, Italy, and others.  Good strong signals.

We arrived at W4JKG's house to pick up Kevin's truck and Ken invited us in to look at his radio station and antenna.  Had a great time getting a tour of Ken's station and his workshop.  We couldn't leave without checking out his homemade "spud gun".  We went out on the back deck and Ken's sons John, Charles, and Franklin showed us how it works and we had a great time launching potatoes out into the marsh!

Wow, what a long but productive day!

K4GTM

April 9th Area HAM Tailgate Session and GA QSO Party

Hello fellow HAMs,


Just a reminder of our multi-club tailgate swap and sell on Saturday, April 9th at Grayson Stadium in Savannah. Bring anything and everything that you'd like to swap or sell and let's find new homes for all that unused radio gear! Since this is also Day 1 of the Georgia QSO Party, many folks will be planning to set up stations and operate throughout the day. Bring all the normal stuff that you'd bring for field operations. Bob, W4WTO has coordinated the venue and passing on the following details. Great opportunity for all you new HAMs to meet other folks in the area and maybe pick up some pre-owned radio gear. Spread the word. Hope to see everyone there. Let me know if you have any questions.

1- Hours of operation: 0800 to 2000 Hrs. (no overnight ops).

2- Tailgating/swap/sell AOK (no commercial vendors).

3-Cooking out on a portable grill AOK.

4- Use of upper stadium seating area for antenna support to flag ploes AOK (roof has been condemned so NO access to top of roof as in last time).

5- Bathroom facilities in stadium AOK.

6- Metal 807's AOK if consumed discretely.

7- Tables, chairs pop up tents, etc. AOK.

8- Multiple Club participation AOK.

9- Club members working to get out the message AOK!

73, Bob, W4WTO


Guy McDonald, K4GTM
President, Coastal Amateur Radio Society
www.k4gtm.blogspot.com/

Red Cross Disaster Communications Training in Atlanta

On Mar 11, 12, and 13 Steve, K4SDJ and I went up to the Atlanta Red Cross chapter to attend a Disaster Relief Communications course.  This training was to get some hands on experience in setting up a data and voice network comprised of a SATCOM terminal, a Cisco LAN and WLAN, Cisco IP phones, servers and laptops, as well as the UHF and VHF low band radio systems that the Red Cross use.  Good stuff.

ISS APRS Being Used to Support Efforts in Japan

As many of us here in the Savannah area have recently become interested in APRS and particularly hearing the digipeater on the ISS, here is some news on how the ISS digipeater is being put to use to support the folks in Japan.......de K4GTM

http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?288935-Japan-Earthquake-ISS-Amateur-Radio-Station

Kevin, KW4B Goes Aeronautical Mobile

Had some fun Sunday evening talking with Kevin, KW4B who was operating aeronautical mobile on a flight from Savannah to Beaufort, to Brunswick, and back with Chuck, AK4CP.  Here's a summary from Mac, KF4LMT.

http://kf4lmt.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/kw4b-and-ak4cp-go-aeronautical-mobile-for-an-evening-of-radio-fun/

March 9th B-17 Planning Session

Good planning session at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum today.  Several more pieces of radio equipment are now installed in the B-17 radio compartment.  Got the go ahead to spec out a HAM station to install and we are planning a special event to operate from the compartment some time in July.  Still need to get the original transmitter working and run electrical and antenna cabling......de K4GTM

Great CARS Meeting Tonight

Here is a good summary of the great club meeting that we had at the Coastal Amateur Radio Society this evening as reported by Mac, KF4LMT.

March 2011 Coastal Amateur Radio Society Meeting

"For the first time in probably a year or so, I was in town to attend a Coastal Amateur Radio Society meeting. Tonight’s meeting was well attended and very interesting. We had at least 33 present including new hams from the club’s recent class and VE sessions. After the business meeting, Ken – W4JKG gave a presentation building an antenna for a club earth-moon-earth project and Kevin – KW4B gave a presentation on APRS. As the unofficial social media person for the club, I tweeted via the club’s Twitter account @CoastalARS during the meeting:
 •Quick headcount at tonight’s CARS meeting is 28 including a number of new hams!


•2 more came in late, attendance is up to 30!


•This Wed at 2pm, Guy-K4GTM needs some help putting radios in the B-17 at the @Mighty8thMuseum. Contact Guy for more info.


•Jere-KT4ZB reporting excellent band conditions during the #ARRL DX Contest with Solar Flux at 120-140s with 10m active.


•Ken-W4JKG is giving a presentation on homebrewing an antenna to do earth-moon-earth with as a club project. Note: The club will try to receive EME signals from a special event on April 12 using the homebuilt antenna, probably from Tybee Island. For more info, contact Ken.


•Kevin-KW4B is giving a presentation on APRS


•Think we’ve ended up with a crowd of 33 at tonight’s meeting!


•There is a possibility of an APRS digipeater being placed at Candler hospital. For more info, contact Kevin-KW4B. Note: Kevin says that Savannah is an APRS dead zone because there is no digipeater that covers the area. He is going to try to establish a digipeater at Candler that will fill the hole between Charleston and Jacksonville.


It was good to be at the meeting tonight and see some folks I haven’t seen in awhile and see some of the new hams. I also used the opportunity to spread the word about proposed cuts to the National Weather service since there are close ties between amateur radio and Skywarn weather spotting. Hopefully it won’t be so long before I make the next meeting!"

http://kf4lmt.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/march-2011-coastal-amateur-radio-society-meeting/

NBEMS Testing

Experimenting a little with the NBEMS software tonight. Moving data from one computer to another over 2 meter simplex using various digital modes.

http://www.arrl.org/nbems
http://www.w1hkj.com/

http://panbems.org/

This is going to be a very useful tool for sending information that is not very conducive to sending via voice.  Things like supply lists, rosters, reports, etc.  And the tool even puts the data into ARRL Radiogram or ICS message formats.  Message integrity is guaranteed with the use of checksum techniques. Very cool.

Plan to do some more testing with other ARES members.

Working very well.......de K4GTM