Below is the newsletter for April 8, 2024. I could use some help with the newsletter so we can keep sending one out weekly. If you can help, please let me know.
Steven Christy, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
April Board Meeting
EARS holds a monthly board meeting on the second Tuesday of each month. The next board meeting is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 9 at 7pm. The meeting is at Edmond Fire Station 5 in the training building down the hill by the tower. The blue pin on the map below shows the meeting location.
Fire Station 5 is located at 5300 E Covell Rd which is just East of I-35. If you need any help finding the meeting location, please give us a call on the repeater and we can help you out.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Ham Corner – Nets, Part 2
Last time I discussed “What is a net?”, the two types of nets (formal and informal) and both of the EARS weekly nets. This week, I will discuss public service, weather spotting and emergency communication nets.
Let’s start with public service, weather spotting and emergency communication nets as they are very similar in operation. The big difference is just the communication that happens. These types of nets are nearly always formal nets with an NCS. Depending on the length of the net, multiple operators can switch off as the NCS. It would be difficult to handle this type of traffic (or communication) without a net control station. A single point is needed to keep the traffic orderly and to help handle the traffic with the proper priority.
Public service events can be anything from a small parade to a multi-mile bike ride to a large marathon. These events require much coordination so it is common for questions and issues to happen. It can be something as basic as where the first or last rider is located in a bike race to a medical emergency in a marathon. Fortunately the former happens more than the latter but emergencies do happen during events. The marathon has sag wagons for those runners who need to exit the race for various reasons so those vehicles need to be coordinated. Radio operators along the route can call the NCS and ask for a sag wagon to be sent to their location. EARS helps with two small parades, St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas, which are fairly basic. A number of our members help with the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon which is a much larger event.
For many events, tactical callsigns are used and typically relate to the location and function of the station. This makes it much easier for the NCS to contact the station as they do not need to remember the operator’s ham callsign and can call them instead by their tactical callsign. This is entirely legal as long as the operator identifies with their amateur callsign at the end of their transmission. Smaller events typically just use their amateur callsigns. For the sake of brevity, I did use partial callsigns, mostly the last 2-3 letters, while operating as the NCS for the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Weather spotting nets are very similar except that the traffic to the NCS is weather reports. Emergency communication nets will likely also use tactical callsigns but it may vary depending on the net and emergency support function.
One detail is the same for all 3 types of nets: Brevity. All communication on public service nets, weather spotting nets and emergency communication nets should be short, direct and to the point. Be brief! It is perfectly fine to chat as much as you want most of the time but that is not appropriate for these type of nets. Many times others also need to get communication through to the NCS so say what you need to say as short and sweet as possible. The other thing to do is to listen before you speak. Make sure the NCS is not already communicating with someone else before you start calling them. The only exception is if it is a real emergency.
I will give one example of a true emergency. The first year of the Cycle 66 bike race I was station at a rest stop. We had a rider go over their handlebars and hit the pavement with their face. It happened about 10 feet in front of me. One of the people working the rest stop called 911 and I called net control to let them know. Fortunately we were close to the fire station and emergency personnel was on site in less than two minutes. Outside of something of this nature, please wait your turn and be patient with the NCS!
All of this type of communication is very good and important. One important amateur radio purpose is to aid our community. With the state of technology in 2024 our usefulness has changed somewhat but we can still help in many ways. Please consider helping with public service events either with EARS or any other group. If you are able, weather spotting is also extremely helpful. The National Weather Service knows what they are seeing on radar but our reports help confirm what they see.
Please consider helping with public service events, weather spotting or emergency communications when the opportunities come up.
Steven, N5ZQ
Ham Corner – AREDN Part 4 – Setup Screen Part 1
Basic Setup screen, this is where clicking on the [Setup] button brings you
Starting at the top we have the red lettered selectable text, as soon as clicked on they become highlighted. We are now on [Basic Setup]. We will now go over the parts of this screen.
The line of buttons starting with Help are pretty much self explaining. We will go to the line labelled node name. This is very important as it is where the node derives its identification. The leading part of the entry is the callsign you may follow it with something that describes the device or location, or your name. No spaces, use dashes in place of spaces, preferably in upper case. Below that is a space labelled Node Description (optional) Here you may put more information about your node, or whatever you want as long as it passes Part 97.
Over to the right we have the password entry point. You can click on the “eye” symbol and view what you are typing. This is the password used to access the node setup. Check with your local mesh as generally there is a local standard configuration.
Below are blocks labelled Mesh, LAN and WAN. This will change from device to device. This device in question is a Mikrotik hAP ac-Lite, it has two radios. It also has a WAN port and 3 LAN ports, both are shown in this screen. Devices that only have one radio will have a Mesh, LAN and WAN but the lower sections will not show up in all of them as they do on the hAP.
Mesh is checked so it is enabled. The radio is on the 2 Ghz band, you can also see the IP address for the radio port, and the Net mask. The SSID is pre determined by the type of radio. You do not change it unless for a special reason, changing it from what it is set to will not allow the device to associate with the mesh.
Next is shown the channel number and frequency in this case channel -2 or 2397 Mhz. And the channel width has been set to 10 MHz. This setting must match the setting for the devices that the node will link to over the radio path.
Under the LAN heading we see LAN mode, which has been set to 13 host direct, you may select 1 host, 5 host, 13 host or 29 host. Note, if you have started out with one value and change to another your LAN assignments will all change. When you setup a node try to plan ahead and select what you need, but do not select more than you need.
In this case 13 have been selected due to this device being the shack AREDN router, it has several devices attached to it, as will be seen when we view the Port Forwarding, DHCP and Services screen.
Shown is the base IP address for the block of LAN addresses, Netmask. DHCP Server is enabled, it maybe disabled if not needed. Below are the start and end address for the DHCP block.
In the WAN block we see, first the Protocol
You may select Static, DHCP, or disabled, this is for the WAN port if used. The selection will depend on how your network connected to the WAN port operates. If it uses DHCP you will select that, if you have to enter a fixed address you will select Static, if nothing, you will use disabled.
Next are the DNS entries 1 and 2. Here an address is shown for DNS 1. it normally defaults to 8.8.8.8 but in the case the DNS of the local supernode has been entered. This is no longer needed as the present AREDN code will detect any local SuperNode and provide access to it. You may now leave it as 8.8.8.8.
Below the Mesh entry we have a sub block:
Here you can set the maximum Tx power, Max distance, if set to 0 it will do the calculations automatically. Min SNR, this is the minimum signal level the node will accept. Min Quality, minimum signal quality the node will accept. And the [Apply] button is to set any parameter after changing.
Under LAN we have the following block:
The hAP has a second radio a 5Ghz radio if enabled it will become a WiFi port for the LAN on the router.
AP Band or Access Point Band 5Ghz
SSID, the standard is callsign lower case dash AREDN as seen above.
Encryption defines the encryption type. Since this is on a part 15 channel it may be encrypted. So you select the encryption type.
Finally Password, must be 8 to 64 characters in length.
In the next section we will deal with Port Forwarding, DHCP and Services, this is where you can assign URL’s to your devices on your LAN so they maybe reachable from the mesh, port forward to devices on the network on the WAN port (if used) and other settings.
Chuck, KP4DJT
Field Day 2024
Field Day 2024 is June 22-23 from 1pm CDT Saturday to 1pm CDT Sunday. It will be held at the Edmond Masonic Lodge which is located at 1026 North Blvd, Edmond, OK 73034. This is a new location for us this year so we will have some things to figure out but it is a large space with a kitchen that should be great for Field Day operations and also the dinner.
The number of simultaneous transmitters has not yet been determined but we set up 3 last year along with a 6m station (which does not change the classification) and there was plenty of time where not all transmitters were on the air. We will likely set up the same number of stations again this year.
We will again be running on battery power with the on-demand propane generator. A member has graciously offered to let us use this equipment again. It worked really well last year. We ran the generator during the afternoon and evening and turned it off and ran off battery most of the night. We also ran off of just battery power during the dinner which eliminated the generator noise. It was fantastic!
Now we get to the part where I ask for volunteers. Field Day does not happen by itself and I cannot do it all alone. We need to determine what class we want to run, figure out what radios we will use, what antennas we need and where/how to set them up. Logging is computerized so we need to get the computers updated and tested. On the morning of June 22nd, we have to set up antennas, computers and all of the radios. It is traditional to have a dinner on Saturday evening which also needs to be planned.
My plan is to have someone in charge of antennas, someone in charge of radios and someone in charge of computers. Each of those people will need others to help them get everything organized prior to Field Day and then set up on Saturday morning.
We also need a team to plan the Field Day dinner. If you like food, please consider helping out with this portion of the event.
As you have probably figured out, we need you! Below you will find a Field Day 2024 volunteer form. If you are able to help in any way, please complete the form on the Field Day 2024 page and indicate how you can help.
Steven, N5ZQ
n5zq@n5zq.us
Ham Holiday – July 26-27, 2024!
Preregistration for Ham Holiday 2024 continues!!!
Ham Holiday 2024 will be on Friday, July 26th and Saturday, July 27th at the Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC).
The Ham Holiday 2024 website for preregistration is: https://hamholiday.com/tix/
The preregistration prize is a Buddipole “Buddistick Pro” portable antenna and the grand prize for Ham Holiday 2024 is a Yaesu FT-710 AESS HF/50 MHz SDR Transceiver with matching speaker.
The special drawing prize is a Yaesu FT-710 FIELD HF/50 MHz SDR Transceiver package. The package includes a DX Commander vertical antenna, TekPower TP30SW power supply, coax, a Vibroplex SRacer key, along with other accessories. Only 300 special drawing tickets will be sold. Special drawing tickets are $20/ticket.
There will also be a Royal Order Of The Wouff Hong ceremony on Friday evening. Stay tuned for further details on vendors, programs, seminars, and hourly prizes.
Tom, WA9AFM
Tickets Available Now – Click To Get Yours Today
Membership Renewal
With heartfelt thanks, we appreciate everyone who has renewed their membership! Your ongoing commitment is the backbone of our vibrant community, enabling us to continue offering valuable experiences and opportunities in amateur radio.
Your support is crucial. It fuels our educational programs, community events, and the very essence of our shared passion for amateur radio. Thanks to you, we’re set for another exciting year filled with learning, camaraderie, and the joy of our hobby.
As we step into this new membership year, we’re energized by what we can achieve together. Your continued involvement is key to our collective success and the enrichment of our amateur radio journey.
Once again, thank you for your dedication and support. We’re thrilled to have you with us for another year of adventure in amateur radio!
Chris, KD5OOJ,
membership@k5eok.org
EARS Volunteers
I am sure all of you are aware that EARS is an entirely volunteer organization. That means we alway need volunteers. There are many tasks to get done and the more we share the load, the more this club will be able to do!
Below is a summary of just some of the events and activities in which the club participates:
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
LibertyFest Parade
Cowboy Christmas Parade
Cycle 66 Bike Race
Monthly Siren Test
Weekly Information Net – 52 Net Control Volunteers
Monthly VE Test Session
Bi-Monthly Club Dinner – 5 Dinners
Christmas Dinner
Technician License Class – Spring and Fall
Field Day – Also One of the Club Dinners
Severe Weather Spotting
This list does not include all of the administrative and management function of the club. The website needs frequent updates, this newsletter needs to be written, etc.
What does all this mean? It means We Need You! If you are able to help in any way, please let us know. Even if you are unsure how to help or where you might best fit, please let us know and we will work with you to find the best fit.
If you are willing to help, please contact us at k5eok@k5eok.org. That will send a message to both myself, Steven, N5ZQ, and Clay, WA6LBU and we will be in touch!
LibertyFest
The LibertyFest events are coming up starting on June 14th and culminating with the fireworks celebration on July 4th. EARS has been helping with these events for many years and this year is no exception. LibertyFest is an entirely volunteer organization and EARS plays a large role especially with the parade and fireworks.
Below are the LibertyFest events in which help is needed:
- Rodeo Day 1 – Friday, June 28, 4:00pm to 11:00pm
- Car Show and Park Fest – Saturday, June 29, 6:30am to 2:30pm
- We need 5 golf cart drivers in addition to other volunteers for this event
- Rodeo Day 2 – Saturday, June 29, 4:00pm to 11:00pm
- Parade – Thursday, July 4, 6:00am to 12:00pm
- Fireworks – Thursday, July 4, 5:00pm to 11:00pm
As you can see, we need quite a number of volunteers to help LibertyFest happen. If you are able to help, please visit the LibertyFest page and fill out the form. It is not too early to volunteer!
All of the information on LibertyFest can be found on the LibertyFest website.
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
Please read the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon info below from Gayland and consider volunteering if you are available.
Registration is open for volunteering for the communications unit that supports the Oklahoma City Marathon. Last year we had more than 70 amateur radio operators supporting the nearly 19,000 runners over a two-day period. Amateurs helped with logistical tasks, such as providing information on locations of the head and rear of the races, supported delivery of ice and water to the various water stops, provided communications at each of the medical stations, gave real-time information to relay team members readying to make their exchanges, and in general provided another set of eyes and ears for the Marathon operations leaders as well as the public safety responders.
The Marathon events we support will be on Saturday April 27th and Sunday April 28th. We’ll need folks on Saturday to support the 5K race, Senior Marathon and Kids Marathon; and then a full contingent of communicators to support the full/half marathons on Sunday.
Register to volunteer for either or both days by going to the Marathon website at https://okcmarathon.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=76852&job_name=Auxiliary%20Communications . When you’re asked for a password or code, enter 20HAM24 ; this takes you directly to our communications section of the volunteer registration. If you have a preferred location to work or preferred hams to partner with, there’s a place for you to enter that as well.
For planning purposes, this year’s pre-event meeting will be on Monday evening, April 22nd, at the Oklahoma City Fire Training Center (more details to come).
Please feel free to share this far and wide among your fellow hams; this event requires as many people as we can provide. And yes, we’ll be making recruiting visits to the various clubs shortly.
Thank you for your participation in last year’s event and we’ll hope to see you this year too!
WX5MOR / Gayland
2024 Auxiliary Communications Unit Leader
gkitch@cityofmoore.com cell 405-834-6304
2024 Green Country Hamfest – April 12th& 13th in Claremore, Oklahoma
Only 30 minutes from Tulsa!
Claremore Expo, 400 Veterans Parkway, Claremore, OK, 74017
MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/X9kEa
Talk-in on: 147.09+
Free Parking!!! – Low Cost ON-SITE RV Parking!
Terrific Prizes! Fantastic Forums – Learn something new! See Friends!
Flea Market – Great Bargains!
Free Test Table – Check It Before You Buy It!
On-site VE Testing Get or upgrade your license!
Tickets are $10.00 at the door.
Tables are $20.00 at the door. (Check at the table in the back {east side} by the roll up garage door.)
Children 12 and under are Free!
Online Preregistration Closed March 31, 2024General admission tickets can be purchased at the door.
Friday open to public at 4 PM to 9 PM
Saturday open to public 8 AM to 3 PM
Setup Friday 12:00PM.
Setup at 7:00AM Saturday until 8:00AM.
More info at http://www.greencountryhamfest.org/
VARA FM Station Up and Running
The W5DRO VARA FM station is operational.
You may recall that it was operational for some time before however went down. It was found that our lovely friends as Microsoft thought it would be nice to do a update that required user input after restarting. This user input was required before restarting any services such as remote access software requiring me to visit the site and the laying of hands on the computer hooking up KVM to the computer.
The Gateway is centrally located in Oklahoma City & Sponsored by Oklahoma’s News 4, KFOR-DT.
Please connect and send a thank you email to: w5dro@kfor.com
It’s been working about 3 weeks now and over the past three weeks the following here are some stats for the gateway.
This report includes data beginning 02/29/2024 to 3/21/2024:
The following FCC Call Signs have connected:
- AA5KD
- AG5DV
- KJ5DJX
- N5AZQ
- W5DRO
- WD5G
Total Winlink traffic passed:
W5DRO 145.040 MHz
Using keyboard protocol
Connections: 38
Using Winlink B2 protocol
Connections: 77
Messages to CMS: 16
Messages from CMS: 15
Bytes to CMS: 11545
Bytes from CMS: 12709
Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test – May 11, 2024
The Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD)
Crossband Test, scheduled for May 11, 2024. This annual event is open to all
licensed amateur radio operators and will not impact any public or private
communications. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken
part in this event, which is an interoperability exercise between hobbyist and
government radio stations.
– The AFD Crossband Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications
between military communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service
(ARS), as authorized in 47 CFR 97.111.
– Military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and will
announce the specific ARS frequencies monitored. All times are ZULU (Z), and all
frequencies are Upper Side Band (USB) unless otherwise noted.
– The following stations will be making two-way radiotelephone contacts with
stations in the ARS between the time periods listed on the frequencies listed in
Kilohertz below:
= AAC / BARROW ARMY RESERVE CENTER, KY (USB + RTTY)/ [1100Z – 2259Z]
4011.0 kHz USB / 5,346.5 kHz USB / 6,968.5 kHz USB/ 13,963.5 kHz USB/
18,254.0 kHz USB = AAN / U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND, CO (USB + RTTY) [1300Z – 2100Z]
6,970.5 kHz USB/ 14,550.5 kHz USB/
= AAZ / FT HUACHUCA, AZ [1500Z – 2359Z]
7,645.0 kHz USB/ 14,579.0 kHz USB/ 18,211.0 kHz USB = AFM4NPD / NAVAL SUPPORT
ACTIVITY MID-SOUTH, MILLINGTON, TN [1200Z – 2200Z]
4,575.0 kHz USB/ 7,540.0 kHz USB/ 13,993.0 kHz USB = AGA0WJ/ NAS WHIDBEY
ISLAND OAK HARBOR, WA (USB + RTTY) [1600Z – 2200Z]
5,403.5 kHz USB/ 7,431.5 kHz USB/ 13,528.5 kHz USB/ 18,272.5 kHz USB = AGA2SY
/ HANCOCK FIELD, NY [1200Z – 2000Z]
4,540.0 kHz USB/ 7,473.5 kHz USB/ 15,807.0 kHz USB/ 19,955.0 kHz USB/
20,740.0 kHz USB / 27,736.0 kHz USB = AGA5SC / SCOTT AFB, IL [1600Z – 2300Z]
5,186.0 kHz USB/ 7,938.0 kHz USB /14,832.0 kHz USB/ 27,736.0 kHz USB = AGA5TR
/ TRAVIS AFB, CA [1700Z – 2359Z]
7,329.0 kHz USB /14,411.0 kHz USB/ 20,873.0 kHz USB/ 27,877.0 kHz USB =
GRIFFIN1 / 193rd RTI ARMY NATIONAL GUARD BETHANY BEACH, DE [1300Z – 1800Z]
7,533.5 kHz USB /14,441.5 kHz USB /18,293.0 kHz USB
= NAF / NEWPORT NAVAL RADIO STATION MUSEUM NEWPORT, RI (USB + CW) 1400Z – 2300Z
7,498.5 kHz USB 14,463.5 kHz USB = NBGC/ USS HORNET AMATEUR RADIO CLUB ABLEMEDA,
CA (USB + CW) 1500Z – 0000Z 7362.5 kHz USB 14,375 kHz USB 21,886 kHz USB 27,860
kHz USB = NEPM / USS IOWA BB 61 LOS ANGELES, CA (USB + RTTY +CW) [1400Z – 2300Z]
7,469.0 kHz USB /14,667.0 kHz USB/ 18,444.0 kHz USB//21,856.0 kHz USB /
21,918.0 kHz USB = NIIW / USS MIDWAY CV-41 SAN DIEGO, CA (USB + CW + RTTY)
[11May 0001Z-0400Z]
[11May 1400Z-12May 0300Z ] 4,010.0 kHz USB/ 5,371.5 kHz USB/ 7,455.4 kHz USB/
14,476.0 kHz USB / 18,060.0 kHz USB
= NMC1/ US COAST GUARD BASE ALAMEDA, CA (USB + RTTY) [1700Z – 2359Z]
7,3530.0 kHz USB/ 14,461.0 kHz USB
= NSS / US NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS, MD (USB + CW) [11May 1300Z – 12May 0200Z]
4,038.5 kHz USB/ 5,330.5 kHz USB/ 7,533.5 kHz USB/ 9,447.0 kHz USB/ 14,487.0
kHz USB = NWKJ / USS YORKTOWN PATRIOTS POINT, SC [1400Z – 2300Z]
4,027.0 kHz USB/ 7,360.0 kHz USB/ 14,438.5 kHz USB/ 3,325.0 kHz USB 6,913.0
kHz USB
9,988.5 kHz USB/ 13,974.0 kHz USB
= WAR / PENTAGON WASHINGTON, DC (USB + CW + RTTY) [1200Z – 2400Z]
4018.0 kHz USB/ 5,357.0 kHz USB/ 7,305.0 kHz USB/ 14,383.5 kHz USB/ 20,997.0
kHz USB//
For additional information & QSL card input , go to
https://www.usarmymars.org/events BT
Space Weather
Space (Solar) Weather is important is impacts our radio communication. While the greatest impact is usually on HF frequencies, it can also impact VHF, UHF and even higher frequencies. The video below comes from a YouTube page that is updated about every 2 weeks with new space weather reports. I encourage you to watch her channel for updates when you can as it is very educational.
Web Links
Here are a few links to other websites that may be of interest.
- ARRL (American Radio Relay League) – https://arrl.org
- CORA (Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs) – https://coraok.org
- Ham Holiday (OKC Hamfest) – https://hamholiday.com
- ARRL Oklahoma Section – https://ok.arrl.org
- South Canadian Amateur Radio Society (SCARS)
- DMR Info – https://w5nor.org/okdmr/
- They have lots of other good info on their website such as modes of operation, weather/emergency info etc.
- ARES
- ARRL ARES – https://www.arrl.org/ares
- OK ARES – https://aresok.org
- AREDN – arednmesh.org
Upcoming Events
- EARS Information Net – Every Monday at 8pm
- Technician Class – Starts Tuesday, January 30th at 6:30pm to 8:30pm and runs for 9 weeks
- April Board Meeting – Tuesday, April 9th at 7pm at Edmond Fire Station 5, 5300 E Covell
- Green Country Hamfest – April 12th and 13th
- April EARS Dinner – Thursday, April 18th at 6:30pm
- Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon – April 27th and 28th
- EARS Licensing Testing – Saturday, May 4th at 8am – Sign Up on License Testing page
- Edmond Siren Test – Saturday, May 4th at 11:30am
- All Ham Dinner – May 9th at 6pm at Golden Palace Buffet at 1224 South Air Depot Boulevard
- Field Day – June 22nd – June 23rd at Edmond Masonic Lodge at 1026 North Blvd, Edmond
- LibertyFest Rodeo Day 1 – Friday, June 28 – Volunteer on the LibertyFest Page
- LibertyFest Car Show and Park Fest – Saturday, June 29 – Volunteer on the LibertyFest Page
- LibertyFest Rodeo Day 2 – Saturday, June 29 – Volunteer on the LibertyFest Page
- LibertyFest Parade – Thursday, July 4 – Volunteer on the LibertyFest Page
- LibertyFest Fireworks – Thursday, July 4 – Volunteer on the LibertyFest Page
- Ham Holiday – July 26th and 27th
