Echolink services have returned to the FWRC 146.91 MHz repeater, after a brief outage while Paul Prestia, KA3OPZ upgraded the Echolink PC from Windows XP to Windows 7. The node number is 519521.
Paul Prestia, KA3OPZ informed the FWRC websmaster that he has configured a continuous tone-coded squelch system (CTCSS) tone of 141.3 Hz on the output of the FWRC repeater on 146.91 MHz, located on the campus of IPFW.
The repeater’s input continues to operate on carrier squelch, which means CTCSS is not required to use the repeater. The tone on the output, however, will allow users to optionally configure their radios to remain silent except when the repeater is transmitting, thus preventing the reception of intermodulation interference, distant repeaters on the same frequency, etc.
The table below reflects the current CTCSS status of all FWRC repeaters as of today:
| Repeater (MHz) | Repeater input CTCSS (Hz) & status | Repeater output CTCSS (Hz) & status |
| 444.875 | 141.3, required | 141.3, present |
| 146.76 | 141.3, optional | 141.3, present |
| 146.94 | None | 141.3, present |
| 146.91 | None | 141.3, present |
Webmaster’s note: After we published an article about the May, 2015 fox hunt, author Al Burke, WB9SSE submitted a revised version, which appears below.
This month’s hunt, which occurred on the third of May, was held on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in shirt-sleeve weather. The hunters included the team of Linda & Steve Nardin, K9’s LAN & SAN and their grandson Alex, the team of Jim & Annie Pliett, K9OMA & KA9YYI plus Carole & Al Burke, WB9’s RUS & SSE, the team of Jim & Kim Machamer, KB9’s DOS & DOT, and the team of Jason Eicholtz, KC9UOQ & Debbie Romine, KK4QXC.
The duties of the fox were provided by Charles Ward, KC9MUT, Fred Gengnagle, KC9EZP, and Robert Dean, KC9UHU. They chose a shady location in Guildin Park along the south bank of the St. Mary’s river northeast of the Van Buren St. Bridge to hide the microfox. It was cleverly emplaced and camouflaged in a tree branch about 6′ off the deck. They employed three high power foxes located around the hide area, including one, in Fred’s truck, parked between two semi-trailers with the evil intent of creating a quasi waveguide aimed towards downtown Ft. Wayne. As usual, the microfox would transmit a cw signal at about 50 milliwatts for one minute followed by the high power fox who would transmit for one minute, this sequence repeated every five minutes.
The Fort Wayne Radio Club is proposing that we (Amateur Radio operators of the Fort Wayne and surrounding area) should participate in the upcoming parade on the opening day of this year’s Three Rivers Festival. The date is July 11, and the parade will take place between 10 a.m. and noon on that Saturday.
The reason for participating is to put Amateur Radio in the spotlight at a venue where over 100,000 people will see it. It is a lot of publicity in a small amount of time. Our plan is to showcase several different aspects of our hobby and service.
There will be an initial on-the-air planning meeting on Wednesday night, May 13, at 7 p.m. on the FWRC 146.94 MHz repeater. We need to begin nailing down some of our operational details. We need the input of the amateur community in putting together this operation. Please consider the following points:
- The theme of the parade this year is “Here’s to Zoo”. This is a reference to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo 50th anniversary. We need to somehow tie our parade theme into this is some way, although not necessarily a strict tie. We need ideas, here. We have proposed something like “Safari World Wide via Radio”, or “Wild Adventure on the Air Waves,” etc. (got any ideas??).
- This is not just an FWRC thing. Hams from all clubs in the surrounding area are welcome to join us.
- We want to showcase all the different aspects of the hobby. So we will want to show off Community Service, DXing, ARES, SKYWARN, fox hunting, contesting, technology, STEM, you get the general idea.
- We are thinking of a combination of walking and vehicles. The parade is about 1.75 miles in length, so it is not a difficult walk, but we would like to have vehicles, cars and trucks and vans, with amateur equipment; antennas; etc. We also need these vehicles to take care if someone cannot complete the walk for whatever reason.
- We are allowed to hand out printed material about Amateur Radio. The parade requires that material not be commercial or political in nature, and that suits us easily.
- New banners are in order, to get our message to the public. Suggestions are needed here. This is another part of the planning process.
- This effort will be coordinated by Kim Machamer, KB9DOS, and Steve Nardin, W9SAN. We need others to step forward and help with the planning process and coordination of effort. We don’t have a lot of time, and there is another big event to plan: Field Day on June 26, 27, and 28.
Please consider these proposals and volunteer to help any way you can. If you can’t make the on-the-air meeting, but would like to help, please contact Kim or Steve via the following:
- Steve Nardin, W9SAN, w9san@arrl.net, 260-482-4039 (leave message)
- Kim Machamer, KB9DOS, kimandjim@juno.com
OTA MEETING FOR THE THREE RIVERS FESTIVAL PARADE
————————————————
The Fort Wayne Radio Club is proposing that we (Amateur Radio Operators of the
Fort Wayne and surrounding area) should participate in the upcoming Parade on
the opening day of this year’s Three Rivers Festival. The date is July 11th, and
the Parade will take place between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon on that Saturday.
The reason for participating is to put Amateur Radio in the spotlight at a venue
where over 100,000 people will see it. It is a lot of publicity in a small
amount of time. Our plan is to showcase several different aspects of our hobby
and service.
There will be an initial On The Air planning meeting on Wednesday night, may
13th, at 7:00 pm on the FWRC 146.94 repeater. We need to begin nailing down some
of our operational details. We need the inputs of the amateur community in
putting together this operation. Please consider the following points:
1.) The theme of the parade this year is “Here’s to ZOO”. This is a reference to
the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo 50th anniversary. We need to somehow tie our
parade theme into this is some way, although not necessarily a strick tie. We
need ideas, here. We have proposed something like “Safari World Wide via Radio”,
or “Wild Adventure on the Air Waves” ; etc. (got any ideas??)
2.) This is not just a FWRC thing. Hams from all clubs in the surrounding area
are welcome to join us.
3.) We want to showcase all the different aspects of the hobby. So we will want
to show off Community Service; DXing; ARES; Skywarn; Fox Hunting; Contesting;
Technology; STEM; you get the general idea.
4.) We are thinking of a combination of walking and vehicles. The parade is
about 1.75 miles in length, so it is not a difficult walk, but we would like to
have vehicles, cars and trucks and vans, with amateur equipment; antennas; etc.
We also need these vehicles to take care if someone cannot complete the walk for
whatever reason.
5.) We are allowed to hand out printed material about Amateur Radio. The parade
requires that material not be commercial or political in nature, and that’s
suits us easily.
6.) New banners are in order, to get our message to the public. Suggestions are
needed here. This is another part of the planning process.
7.) This effort will be co-ordinated by Kim Machamer, KB9DOS, and Steve Nardin,
W9SAN. We need others to step forward and help with the planning process and
coordination of effort. We don’t have a lot of time, and there is another big
event to plan: Field Day on June 26, 27, and 28.
Please consider these proposals and volunteer to help any way you can. If you
can’t make the on the air meeting, but would like to help, please contact Kim or
Steve via e-mail.
Steve Nardin, W9SAN, w9san@arrl.net 260-482-4039 (leave message)
Kim Machamer, KB9DOS, kimandjim@juno.com
——————————————————————————
The Fort Wayne Radio Club Spring Banquet will be this coming Friday, May 8th, at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church. The church is located at 4700 Vance Ave in Fort Wayne, just south of Snider High School. We will get the Banquet started at 6:30 pm EDT.
As usual, the Banquet is a carry-in. The club will provide Chicken, both grilled and fried, plus necessary placeware and utensils, lemonade and coffee. Please bring your favorite main course, side dish, or dessert to share with the group.
We hope to see you all there! We have a lot of fun things planned for the rest of 2015, so please come join us.
The May 2015 Allen County Ham News is now on line for your download and reading pleasure! Lots of great articles, pictures, and news about the 3 FW clubs! Check it out now.
Also, if you operated in the Indiana QSO Party this past Saturday, please send in your logs before the June 1st deadline and don’t forget to list Fort Wayne Radio Club as your club affiliation! Even if your score wasn’t spectacular, all of our scores may add up to another win and plaque! Thanks for supporting the club!
How can the club get the Amateur Radio Message in front of more than 100,000 people in less than two hours?? By marching in the Three Rivers Festival Parade on July 11th, that is how! Mark your calendars for this date. We will need walkers and drivers. Please plan on helping show the fun and relevance of Ham Radio to the Public!
The May 2015 Issue of the Allen County HamNews newsletter is now available for download using the link below. This and previous issues are also available for download by clicking the “Files” link in the main menu and then clicking “Newsletters.”
The Fort Wayne Radio Club’s planned operation for this Saturday’s Indiana QSO party will not be taking place due to a lack of response to join us. However, we will now switch to plan “B” which goes as follows:
All hams with HF capability are requested to operate in the QSO party as much as they can, keep good logs, and submit them to the Hoosier DX club with Fort Wayne Radio Club clearly listed as their club affiliation. In that way, we will accumulate all the points earned by everyone for the club total. Hey, it worked before, in 2012, and the club ended up with a nice plaque and bragging rights because of it!!
And no excuses, you technician class operators! Techs have privileges on 10 meter SSB and 80,40 15, and 10 meter CW in the Novice sections of those bands, so don’t be left out!
With the New England QSO party, the Delaware QSO party, and the W7 QSO party on the same day, that gives 40 percent of the country doing a contest! Work toward WAS!
Also coming up this Sunday is the FWRC May Fox Hunt. It will begin at 1:30 pm at the Carrington Field parking lot, next to the old K-Mart on Coliseum Blvd. This will be our first “Ride Along” Fox Hunt, so if you are interested in Fox Hunting, this is the time to give it a try!
FWRC Members, please join us this coming Tuesday night, April 28, for the May, 2015 Fort Wayne Radio Club board of directors meeting at Good Shepherd Church, 4700 Vance Ave, in Fort Wayne.
Items up for discussion include the following:
- Indiana QSO Party
- VHF QSO Party
- ARRL Field Day
- May banquet
- Three Rivers Festival Parade participation
We hope to see you there!
