Monthly Archives: May 2020

Events

Field Day 2020

We are living in interesting times. When we started the planning for Field Day 2020, we planned to have a broader setup, extensive help from Prince William County in terms of equipment and other goodies, and better antennas. Field day is not a contest, but a chance to show our abilities in the field. In order to be successful, we have to work together, often in close proximity to each other, and the public. With the risks of COVID-19, that is not a reasonable request, nor a safe on at this time. There are just too many unknowns, and there is still a lack of proper protective equipment, necessary to make the event successful.

“Due to the unique situation presented this year, this can be an opportunity for you, your club, and/or group to try something new,” ARRL Contest Manager Paul Bourque, N1SFE, said. “Field Day isn’t about doing things the same way year after year. Use this year to develop and employ a new approach that is in line with the current circumstances.”

While I agree with Mr. Bourque on a certain level, the current field day rules do not allow much beyond individual station operation. A home location, depending on where we are in the phase lockdown and what other facilities/amenities are required or available, could be the best option. It is reasonable to believe that such things as public restrooms will continue to be off-limits for weeks, if not months to come.

This has been a challenging year. I do not like to cancel training events, especially when people have put time into preparing for them, both mentally as well as practically. The fewer chances we get to practice, the less prepared we will be, but I also am critically aware of the realities of this year. After talking to Greg, KM4CCG, our Field Day Chair, as well as listening to the comments from the cadre, we will not be holding a PWCARES Field Day event. If you are interested in participating in Field Day, I encourage you to do so. Please visit the League’s Field Day page for all the rules and other information.

Training, Winlink

Winlink Wednesdays

1 Comment

Standard check-ins this week (no weather snapshots or attachments of any type, please).

  • WHO: All amateur radio operators located in Virginia.
  • WHAT: Winlink Wednesday (Virginia’s Weekly Winlink Net)
  • WHEN: Wednesday, 13 May 2020, 0000-2359 EDT
  • HOW: This net will accept check-ins via Winlink only. Please do not use a “Telnet Winlink” connection (which defeats the purpose of Winlink). The goal is to have the message leave your station via RF.

Please remember to use the correct format for check-in, as shown below (check-in message on a SINGLE LINE), over an RF connection.

Sample

To: KW6GB

Subject: Winlink Wednesday Check-In

Message body:

call sign, first name, city or town, county, state (HF or VHF, etc.)

WA4GSD, Dan, Woodbridge, Prince William, VA (HF)
KG4GIY, David, Manassas City, VA (VHF)

On Thursday, all check-ins will be acknowledged, and a net report and complete roster will be published to the Web.

PEER-TO-PEER SESSIONS:

  • Morning session: 0730-0930L, Winmor P2P, 3582 kHz (dial).
  • Afternoon session: None.
  • Evening session: 1900-2130L, ARDOP P2P, 3582 kHz (dial).
  • Watch Facebook for details when active.

Weblinks

  • The current week’s net report and roster is now available at:

http://winlinkwednesday.net/WWRoster.pdf

(New home for Winlink Wednesday information – site is being developed.)

  • The current week’s participant map is available at:

https://www.qsl.net/kw4shp/WinlinkWed/WWmap.html

(Don’t forget to explore the interactive features that Steve has built into this map: pan, zoom, Virginia view, world view, etc.)

Events, PWCARES, Training, Winlink

Training Meeting – 16 May 2020

This morning we had our regular training meeting via WebEx. The agenda and notes are below. Slides are at the bottom with the video.

Agenda

  1. Current Update from the County and Cities
  • PWC EOC moved to partial activation as of 1600 2020-05-13
  • ARES moved to “Normal” at 1700h 2020-05-15
  • Northern Virginia dictates that the region remain in Phase Zero until identified benchmarks are met. All current restrictions will remain in effect until at least May 28th, as identified in Executive Order 62.
  • Virginia Department of Health will be hiring 1000 contact tracers to assist efforts to identify persons exposed.
  • The Commonwealth is placing a focus on continuing to increase testing and Personal Protective Equipment availability, as these are essential to moving into and remaining in Phase One of reopening Virginia.
  • Potomac Mills scheduled to reopen May 29

Virginia Reserve Medical Corps is also looking for volunteers. It required FEMA 700 and 100. Link is: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/mrc/

  1. Upcoming events (there are a couple)
  • Run Amuck/ReconRuck/Belleau Wood (June 20)
  • OSS/CIA 50 mile overnight run (June 20)
  • Field Day (June 27/28)
  • MCM New Run (July 14/15)
  • ARES Training (July 18)
  • Fox Hunt (July 18)
  • National Night Out (August 4)
    • PWC, Manassas Park
  • Quantico Tri (August 22)
  1. Field Day discussions (how, when, what?)

http://www.arrl.org/news/field-day-2020-a-time-to-adapt

Discussion:

  • Greg:
    • Nuclear option is possible – we just don’t hold the event
    • Difficult to physical distance
    • No rule changes to account for the times
  • Access to restrooms may not be possible
  • No shared food
  • No county support
  • David to make final decision in the next few days
  1. Fox Hunt (July 18 as possible date)
  • We have not had a fox hunt in the county in a long time
  • Proposed 0900 start time
  • Meet at Potomac Mills
  • Larry, K4MLA to write up a brief about what a fox hunt is and what is required to play
  • Demo event planned for a week or two prior to the actual event
  1. WinLink
  • Winlink has depreciated Winmore and will be removing it.
  • Suggested alternatives are ARDOP (included) or VARA (extra charge)
  • Winlink Wednesdays are a great way to play with Winlink. See the Winlink Wednesday blog post.
  1. Open Items and discussion
Digital, Packet, Winlink

Winlink on VHF Options

As part of Sunday’s discussion about Winlink, the question of what if we don’t have a packet TNC came up. There are two options. One is VARA with a Signalink, and the other is software from UZ7HO. During the discussion we talked about VARA, and made a startling discovery.

1) VARA, while it can be used as freeware, limits the throughput. A license costs $70.

2) VARA will only talk to stations running VARA. A serious handicap here in Prince William County as none of our VHF/UHF nodes are running VARA (we run packet TNCs).

We will have to experiment with the alternate software. Until we get time to create some documents, K6OLI has posted this very comprehensive walkthrough for using UZ7HO’s software (a separate download, link in the document) that I suggest those with Signalinks or other non-packet TNCs take for a spin.

The Winlink Configuration session is now available to view.