Siren test net complete (from 1209).

We had a storm come through recently and one siren did not sound, as though it had no power, noted by #KB8AY .

#AC8YA net control on the #N8DUY repeater.

Washtenaw County siren test net in progress, monitoring #N8DUY repeater 145.15- Ann Arbor, activation noon on first Saturday of the month (approximately now).

#sirens #sofun

Q1. Where are you checking in from and, if you have your license, what was your most recent contact?

A1. Ann Arbor, MI, grid EN82dg.

Most recent contact this morning on a morning roundtable net, pedestrian mobile on 2 meters via #N8DUY , with Jim #W8STX as net control. Band conditions fair in the early morning, there is interference when the band is long.

W8STX is there every day, keeps a log that he posts monthly, and generally directs traffic on the net. Thanks Jim!

@ingalls

#hamtalk

The closest I get to #SOTA operations is "Magic Mountain", a little hill (a pile of dirt) in Burns Park in Ann Arbor that the kids use for sledding., Took the morning roundtable on #N8DUY from there and got good reception reports. 2 meters was long and we had someone (sorry no call handy) checking in from 50 miles airline to the northwest.

https://localwiki.org/ann-arbor/Magic_Mountain

Had a good time at the Chelsea (Michigan) ham radio swap. Met some regulars on my 2 meter morning net on the #N8DUY repeater who I had not previously seen in person, and picked up a #Kenwood #TK790 from Thom @w8tam which he has already fixed up for ham radio use.

The Chelsea swap was also a "Vintage Electronics Expo", so there was also a lot of 1960s-1990s gear of various sorts there.

Next swap: Monroe (MI) Hamfest and Computer Show, on Fathers Day 2023-06-18.

https://www.mcrca.org

More 2 meter band opening let us listen to #KB8EOC (the "Tiffin repeater") here in Ann Arbor until about 810a local time, and then that interference on 145.15- #N8DUY disappeared on our morning roundtable.

Some question about the impact of wildfires on VHF propagation.

#vhfdx

The "Tiffin repeater" is Bascom, OH, Seneca County, #KB8EOC . 145.15- with a 107.2 PL

Listening now on #Broadcastify

https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/25158

Bob #WD8PIC is about half way between this repeater and Ann Arbor's #N8DUY and he can check in to both depending on how he sets PL.

fun with #vhfdx

2 meters is long from Michigan to Ohio again this morning - characteristic mixing on the input on the Ann Arbor #N8DUY repeater, and tx from what we call the "Tiffin repeater" was clear and copyable from here in Ann Arbor.

VHF propagation map https://aprs.mennolink.org/map

8am net on #N8DUY had an early bird edition that was fine, but by 0815 we were having troubles.

I did not catch any call signs from "Tiffin". Time to program the HT to see if I can open up that machine from here.

cc @W8HF

I heard 2/16 stations on the Wayne County (MI) Repeater Crawl tonight. As expected #N8DUY came in S5/9++ and I could hear #W8FSA . The rest, not so much. Keith #KD8ZSK NCS.

On the plus side my entire 50W station now fits in my backpack. On the minus side, I need to get some more/better 2m portable antenna options to make it actually useful.

The #N8DUY repeater was reachable full quieting from 50+ miles away (west side of Ann Arbor MI to Essex Ontario). Thanks to Sean #VA3SGM for that report.

Bioenno LiFePO4 battery arrived today. Hooked it up to my #Kenwood #TM261A (late 1990s, 50/10/5W 2m mono band rig). The simple tests worked.

First real test is the weekday 800a #N8DUY net, and then Friday evening there's a Wayne County repeater crawl (map at https://tinyurl.com/WCRCMAP ) coordinated by Keith #KD8ZSK

I am fine at 5 or 10 watts into the antennas I have, but I really don't want to run full power without putting something on a meter to check it out first.

11 of us on the #N8DUY 800a morning roundtable (#VHF, 145.15- PL100, #AnnArbor area repeater covers much of metro #Detroit).

A report that yesterday we had a Canadian station #VE3TCS Tim check in at the end (though I did not hear him).

I could copy a few stations on the input, from my QTH standing outside the Westgate library coffee shop. (Indoor reception not anywhere near as good.) That included Wes #N8QM as he was driving past on M-14.

Thanks to Jim #W8STX for being net control.

Got through to #N8DUY but no signal back from #WD8IEL from Dexter downtown

Morning roundtable on #N8DUY .

I took the bus westbound (well, with a bit of a detour northbound since that is what the bus routes go when you miss the direct connection). Took two rounds of the net from the Roadhouse, excellent signal report on my HT.

The challenge of the day is to get to Dexter MI on the bus ("Washtenaw Wave") and operate from there. I think I can hit #N8DUY #W8SRC and maybe #WD8IEL from there, but I'll just have to check. (except W8SRC is UHF and my #TH22AT is VHF only)

Morning roundtable on #N8DUY . Good copy from the cafe at the library on the west side of town, and from the dentist on the east side of town. My nearly 30 year old #Kenwood HT is still my current favorite rig. :radio_handheld:

Worked the weekly Washtenaw (Ann Arbor MI, EN82) #ARPSC net on #N8DUY at 30 mw on 2 meters #QRPPP , while parked atop the Maynard St parking garage in downtown Ann Arbor. "Loud and clear" the report from net control. I had line of sight to the repeater.

Now I want a cross-band repeater in an HT or mobile rig, so that I can park the car on top of the structure near the @workantile coworking space, and then work the net from inside the office (where it's warm).

#PSOTA

Fantastic morning 2m net on #N8DUY

From the 8th floor of the parking structure I have clear line of sight to the repeater and got good reports at 30 milliwatts! Bumped it up to 300 mw and it was full quieting.

Thanks Jim #W8STX for running the net.

Now inside with the morning coffee.

Scheming to do AREDN portable next as there is line of sight to a station there as well.

#PSOTA (parking structures on the air) 🅿️ :radio_handheld:

The #N8DUY feed on #Broadcastify is here for reference

https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/19998

(I should really just subscribe so I can grab archives)

Planning to operate #PSOTA (Parking Structures On The Air) for the 800a #N8DUY morning roundtable.

Not a lot of info about the Ann Arbor "Fourth and William Parking Structure", 115 E William St, online at the moment - a few notes on #arborwiki at https://localwiki.org/ann-arbor/Fourth_and_William_Parking_Structure about 2015 construction - but I will at a minimum report back with the elevation of the top deck and any signal reports.

Conveniently this is across from the bus station, so it should be less than 30 minutes door to summit.

Elevation again wins - I operated 2 meter portable on the #N8DUY roundtable from the top of the nearest parking structure (Forest St) and was full quieting on the repeater and also copyable on the input from the freeway. #PSOTA (Parking Structures On The Air)

Next step I think is a portable #AREDN node and to see what kind of connection I can get to the local microwave networks, and to much more carefully map the elevations of the municipal structures I'm interested in (there are 5 of them).

2m net on #N8DUY taking it bicycle mobile from the donut shop. 🍩 :radio_handheld: