NE-FL D-STAR System

The Journal of the North East Florida D-Star Repeater Network

Archive for September, 2010

TD Matthew Can’t Decide it’s Fate

Sep 26

Posted by mikelee in Uncategorized | No Comments

What a strange storm – Matthew looks like it will meander around the Yucatan Peninsula for a while, but at least two of the forecast models have it coming to Florida. There’s another low pressure system just off Nicaragua that may well pull Matthew back to the east, after which it’s possible that a northward turn may be in the cards.

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Max winds right now are only about 35mph, but the rainfall is reported to be torrential, with the storm moving at about 10-15mph.

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Stay vigilant – this storm could build strength if it comes back over the water and heads toward us – we may not get much advance notice.

Below is the most current forecast track (click to enlarge)

Gateway Ethernet Upgrades – Status Report

Sep 26

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters | No Comments

Jason and I replaced the Gig-E interface on the gateway system on KA4RES earlier this week (Monday eve..??) – and thus far, it has performed flawlessly. This is the ethernet interface that connects the gateway to the RP2C DStar controller (which connects to the RF modules).

In the past, the gateway would lock-up every couple of days, with the prime symptom being that it would not accept Link/Unlink commands, nor report traffic to the Dashboard.

Those problems seem to be a thing of the past – all has been well for the last 5 days (as of last night), so we will proceed with replacement of the Gig-E interfaces on all of the systems over the next few weeks. It is funny, that we’re replacing new-technology (Gig-E) boards with relatively old standards (10/100mbps) and that all 10 of the cards that we just purchased were less expensive that a SINGLE Gig-E card (including shipping..!!). Sometimes ya gotta just shake your head..

Daytona Beach may be the next to be replaced, perhaps as soon as Sunday (today).

TD Matthew – Possible Threat

Sep 25

Posted by mikelee in Tropical Cyclones | No Comments

Although currently hear the Yucatan Peninsula, some of the forecast models are indicating the possibility of TD Matthew coming north-and-east toward Florida.

Although certainly not definitive, we need to be vigilant, since warning times will be greatly reduced if the storm starts moving toward our direction.

Following is the latest model from StormPulse+, as of early Saturday morning:

Above: TD Matthew (click to enlarge)

Thanks to W9OV..!!

Sep 24

Posted by mikelee in DSTAR Projects, Work Party | 2 Comments

We received a very generous donation of surplus Heliax cable today from Marty Wilcox (W9OV) in Daytona. Marty came across lengths of 1-5/8″, as well as 7/8″ Heliax that wasn’t being used and offered for us to use it on the DStar network. We already have a bunch of this cable (over 950-feet of 1-5/8″ and a couple hundred feet of 7/8″), but this cable is hard to come-by at decent prices (not to speak of being FREE) – so this donation is very important for us.

We don’t have a specific use for it YET, but have more supplies in the warehouse only gives us options and flexibility when opportunities arise.

Our thanks to Marty and his company for thinking of us, as well as for the generous donation.

In the interest of transparency : the NEFL D-Star System does NOT accept cash donations of any kind. Any  materials donations are gratefully accepted, but do NOT qualify as Tax-Exempt in any way, either for the state of Florida, or the Feds. Donors should not expect a receipt of any kind – only a warm “Thank You” and a promise that the materials will be used for the benefit of the NEFL D-Star System, not toward the advancement of any specific individual(s).

Inappropriate Behavior in Volusia

Sep 23

Posted by mikelee in Volusia ARES Admin | 2 Comments

I have been made aware of phone calls being made to Volusia ARES leadership from persons trying to be anonymous and demanding that DBARA “take-over” the Volusia ARES organization. While I can understand the frustration that some may have with the old VARECS organization (including myself), I would encourage all to be more patient as we try to reconstruct a more focused, inclusive and better organized ARES organization.

I know that these calls are not coming from the major leaders of DBARA, for I know their character – but I encourage the person making these calls to stop – and Stop IMMEDIATELY. You know who you are (and so do I) and YOU BRING SHAME to yourself, NOT to the goodness and kindness of the DBARA organization and it’s members. John (TUG) was made aware of the situation and was furious while he called me to apologize for your behavior. So the rest of this open-letter is for you:

There are more changes planned for the Volusia ARES organization, since it is a constantly evolving entity. What was there for 10 years is not easily, NOR INSTANTLY changed for the better – and just demanding that it be run by DBARA is not the solution. Firstly, you do not understand that ARES is NOT a club – nor a democratic organization – it is an extension of the ARRL Field Organization. There are no elections and you do not have a “vote” (although you certainly have “input”, if you’re an ARES member).

You disrespect yourself by hiding behind a pay-phone – if you have a complaint, express it in the open and be transparent about it. If you have a suggestion – we’d ALL like to hear it and perhaps benefit from your thoughts.

I have always tried to instill transparency in the Flagler and Volusia ARES organizations – starting with the Code of Conduct, the Newsletters and now, this BLOG mechanism. If you have positive things to contribute, do it in the open – in the light of day, for all to see and evaluate (and yes – perhaps even to criticize). But to hide behind a payphone and say “… don’t bother to trace this call, since I’m calling from a payphone” is just downright cowardly.

So if you want to be heard, STEP FORWARD and speak your mind. Your thoughts will be welcomed – but this rock throwing from the darkness of the shadows is just childish. You know how to get hold of Fred, or John (TUG), Steve Craft, or even me. Make the call..!!

Changes to Volusia ARES Leadership

Sep 22

Posted by mikelee in Volusia ARES Admin | No Comments

Fred has announced his intention of resigning his post at Emergency Coordinator (EC) for Volusia County, effective immediately. Steve Craft (W1SGC) will be assuming his position and the two of them will affect a transition starting this week.

The first order of business for Steve will be to create the  ARES plan and reconstitute the organization in Volusia County. Steve will be contacting the current AEC’s and discussing his intentions going forward in creating a world-class organization.

Stay tuned for more updates by Steve and myself regarding changes in Volusia.

more tk

Gateway Upgrades to KA4RES – Part 2

Sep 21

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users | No Comments

A new ethernet card was installed in the gateway computer of the KA4RES system in Palm Coast. Jason (W4LTL) replaced the Gig-E network card (NIC) with a 10/100 NIC in order to prevent lost-packets between the gateway system and the RP2C controller for DStar.

We’ll let the system do-its-thing for a few days – normally the system would stop responding to Link/Unlink commands in about 24-30 hours. If all works after a couple of days, we’ll start the planning process to install replacement cards in all the other gateways.

We’ll report progress in the next couple of days..

more tk

Gateway “Freeze” Symptoms

Sep 18

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users | No Comments

We have been having numerous issues with the gateway “freezing” every other day – going into a state where it just ignores linking commands and basically stops responding to the RF side of the repeater system. Although we have primarily noticed it on KA4RES, we suspect that it has been happening system-wide. This is not only frustrating, since it can happen at any time and will require a gateway system reset (which always “fixed” the problem), which can only be done remotely by either Jason (W4LTL – our Gateway manager) or myself – but it really sucks since we’re depending on these systems during times of emergency.

This problem has been bothering Jason for a few weeks now and while there is literally NO documentation on the DStar gateway systems from Icom or any other authoritative party, he has been pursuing the issue vigorously using any and all information that he could find. We finally had it happen yesterday and were able to get Robin (AA4RC) involved shortly after it occurred (it also occurred on Sunday before the SE DStar Weather Net, but we needed the system for the net, so we couldn’t do much diagnosis). In a conference call with Robin last night, it appears that the Gig-E ethernet cards in the gateway which talk to the RP2C DStar controllers might be misbehaving and getting out of sync with the RP2C (which has a proprietary 10mbps ethernet interface). Robin saw garbage frames in the logs and remembered that he had seen this problem in some of the Georgia DStar systems. The problem only occurs when gateways have Gig-E interfaces that are connected to the RP2C controllers. His suggestion was to either step-down to a 10/100 ethernet card, or insert a 10/100 switch between the gateway and the RP2C (both are easily done).

Fortunately, Jason has some spare Netgear 10/100 ethernet cards that we can test with this coming weekend while we wait for delivery of the 10 cards that I ordered last night (they should be here mid-next-week). Hopefully, this will resolve the problem once-and-for-all.

I gotta tell y’all – Jason has been losing sleep over this issue, given his operational background with large networks (he used to work for MCI and Verizon, provisioning and troubleshooting corporate networks). We’re very luck to have him on this team..!! I am very grateful for his persistence and his dedication to enhancing the reliability of these systems.

We’ll swap that card on Sunday and report back… if all goes well and we don’t see the “freeze” for a few days, we’ll schedule to replace the cards in all the other gateway systems

more tk

Flagler ARES Meeting – Take Aways

Sep 17

Posted by mikelee in Flagler ARES Admin, Flagler EOC | No Comments

Wednesday evening’s Flagler ARES meeting was primarily the presentation given by Troy Harper, Flagler Emergency Services Chief – regarding the new Flagler Emergency Management Volunteer (FEMV) program that the County is starting and self-managing.

Troy presented the why’s and wherefore’s of the program – all common-sense approaches to solving problems like liability, insurance and outside groups with different agendas which may not be consistent with his County organization.

One of the things that the new organization will be doing, is “assessments” of potential candidates, as well as background checks for ALL applicants (including yours truly) – again, all good things.

All hams, regardless of “group affiliation” need to understand that acceptance into this new group IS NOT AN ENTITLEMENT – the County will be looking for specific types of individuals (skills, experience, personality, team-work, etc) that fulfill THEIR MISSION – and may choose to graciously decline some applications (including mine – if can’t offer something that is of value to them, or if my cost-benefit is too low for their mission).

These are all MY words, not Troy’s (I am not now, and have never been, authorized to speak on their behalf) – but I mention them to emphasize that THIS IS ALL ABOUT SERVING THE EOC’s AGENDA – not our own individual or group aggrandizement.

If you have a pure heart for community service, then we encourage you to apply – they are a great organization that wants to do great things for this community.

more tk

JAX Beach – the verdicts are IN

Sep 16

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users | No Comments

Pete (KC1SS) sent out an email earlier this morning to the Duval/St.Johns folks regarding the new JAX Beach DStar machine, but I think most of the folks already knew about it – but those that didn’t now have the information.

There have been a TON of folks on that machine all day yesterday, culminating in the NEFL Digital group moving their simplex net to the repeater starting last night. The repeater has been connected to REF034C most of the time, so we have heard numerous stations around the region talking into the JAX area for a good part of yesterday.

Signal reports of stations going INTO the repeater continue to be impressive – relatively low power (no amplifiers) from 35+ miles away getting in to the machine clearly and good talk-back coverage FROM the repeater.

Y’all from Duval have been extremely patient in waiting for this (and other repeaters) – many of you purchased your equipment in the group purchase back in February and March… on the promise of future repeaters. Our apologies for the long wait, but we’re all thrilled that it’s being received so enthusiastically. Another major repeater in the JAX area should be online in the next few weeks, providing yet another DStar “channel” for the area and the ability for simultaneous conversations on different repeater frequencies – all necessary if we are to respond to an area-wide disaster.

This new capability benefits us ALL – especially our “clients” in the Emergency Services community. Even as I write this, I know that others are testing D-RATS and the ability to send email across RF (in addition to WinLink capability on VHF/HF) – more tools for the tool-kit.

Our thanks to the brave souls who helped install the system last weekend – and to those who helped to “repair” the pilot error that I caused. Y’all braved the torrential rains at the end of the day – but hey, it wouldn’t be a DStar install without rain, right..??!!

Following is a snapshot of the KJ4RYG Dashboard – just a quick indication of the users that have been on the machine.  Woohoo..!!

Above: JAX Beach repeater snapshot from 16-Sept-2010
(Click to enlarge)