Navigation coordinate systems for the Amateur Radio operator

OMs, pelase read the following if you are interested in navigation:

http://www.arrl.org/ares-el?issue=2013-03-20#toc06

So, which i-apps are there for coordinates? The ones I found are:

Theodolite (great for USNG co-ordinates, has a total of 13 different coordinate systems to choose from; great for making photos with coordinates superimposed on the photos)

Maidenhead (8 digit Maidenhead locator)

GPS Status V1.2 (Long and Lat)

Ushahidi (Long and Lat; tool to immediately post your message on the internet with coordinates and photos or vids)

HamLog (8 digit Maidenhead, Long and Lat)

iAPRS (Long and Lat)

Compass (I think this one came with the iOS?; Long and Lat and Compass (or course...))

Locate! (USNG and Long & Lat)

Emergency (Long and Lat; emails result to whomever you choose)

I bet there are other apps out there as well, but I stopped looking since I found the ones I thought answered my question.

You OMs in Florida might like to look here too: https://twitter.com/USNGFlorida

Use this awesome FREE software:http://www.epcupdates.org/2013/01/mission-manager-free-software-for-sar.htmlIt is the one which generated the image attached to this post.

For multiple USNG articles, see this: http://www.epcupdates.org/search/label/USNG

Personally, I love the Maidenhead locator system, but - think it's very hard to relay that to a paper map which you may hold in your hand while hiking (and trying to save battery power). Seems like USNG is really the way to go in that scenario. What I did not know before reading up on USNG and Long & Lat: the Long & Lat system apparently has different "flavours", i.e. there are various systems around in determining the Longitude and Latitude, which make it ambiguous. Not good when you really want to be found fast!

One more thing about "Missionmanager", it allows you to plan your hiking route very nicely with topographic map contour lines, which might not be too much of a deal in FL (the state is nearly flat!), but here in AR it can make a huge lot of difference as you can see from the attached map!

73 de Marcus KD0JKM

Aeronautical mobile on A340-600 ?

Just boarded the LH428 flight from MUC to CLT, an Airbus A340-600. I inquired with the stewardesses who asked the Pilot if I could possibly operate / aeronautical mobile. Regrettably it seems that Airbus airplanes cannot switch the Pilot's radio to one of the cabin phones, so no on board operation possible. The pilot did however inform that this was technically possible on Boeing Aircraft!

Unable to operate /aeronautical mobile on 767-300

I am on flight UA906 from ORD to MUC in a Boeing 767-300 and inquired with the cockpit crew if there was a possibility for me to operate /aeronautical mobile.

I had read about operating /aeronautical mobile on various blogs, but reports were for the most part not with a current date.

Both the pilot as well as co-pilot were very receptive to the idea, and informed that I could very well listen in to one of the cockpit radios from one of the cabin phones as they had the technical capability to do this, but informed me that they had no technical possibility of switching transmit control from the cockpit of a 767-300 to one of the cabin phones.
They did however encourage me to inquire with the cockpit crews of other airplane makes and models, as these may indeed have such technical capabilities.

I would appreciate feedback if any HAM were to identify such an airplane make & model.

RaDAR-America: The RaDAR Challenge

So... I looked everywhere for an Amateur Radio program which promotes /P /PM and /m operation, can be used on a daily basis, is not only for QRPers (but rewards them as well for their resourcefullness) but also for those who have commercial or Green Radios which often have a minimum of 10W output, does not challenge me to going to more or less exotic places like mountaintops (which I can't climb on any regular basis), which promotes ragchewing (!) while doing portable ops and promotes the use of APRS and situational awareness maps. Wow - what a mouthful.

Thought about this for quite a while and it was the RaDAR concept from Eddie that made me come up with the RaDAR-Program which is now out there to Challenge you (thank you Greg N4KGL for that idea!). If you think that it all points towards EmComm friendly activities which are being rewarded in this program...

RaDAR-America: The RaDAR Challenge: 1. Aim The RaDAR Program is aimed at promoting the use of Rapidly Deployable Amateur Radio stations and is for all licensed radio amateur...

73 de Marcus

Great fun going /PM today for RaDAR-America

Had great fun going to Hot Springs National Park today, doing some /PM operating with RaDAR-America. My XYL was the BEST, helping me set up and guy down my antenna mast for a Delta Loop and later on about 1 mile further for a Vertical setup. Images of the Delta Loop are below.

http://www.radishworks.com/MissionManager.php

Rain pipe antenna

I read about the rain pipe antenna many times, but never thought it would work for me in an apartment. Finally gave it a try some weeks ago and have not regretted it. Rain pipe has one approx 33' (10m) horizontal and two 24' (8m) vertical elements. Connection is on the balcony via a thin insulated wire. Counterpoise is laying on the balcony, approx. 24', I am still playing with the optimal length. SWR 1.5:1 currently.

This gets me on the AR Razorback Net on 3987.5 every time I am able to set up my transceiver.
Reception reports throughout AR are variable, but sufficient to get me out.

Digital Amateur Radio in Support of Situational Awareness, Common Operating Picture and Community Resilience for 21st Century Emergency Communications

I have watched the presentation by Aleks Rohde W3JAG several times and it seems as if every time I watch it, I learn about a new facet in EmComms.

If the title of this post interests you even in the slightest, then I am sure that you will enjoy the video (Ham Radio Now, Episode 45) http://arvideonews.com/hrn/HRN_Episode_0045.html and will consider it time well spent. Enjoy!

73 de Marcus KD0JKM

Barrett 2090 CAT PTT control

CAT PTT control has been added to the MARS MIL-STD-188-110A Data Modem Terminal (DMT) software for the Barrett 2000 series (2050, 2090, etc.), thank you to Steve N2CKH for implementing it.

Transmit functions with the following changes to the basic config when running it with the US Navigator:
Data Port 0   9600
CAT COM Port 6  9600

In order to use this software, I am actively seeking fellow HAMs who are interested in digital communications with a Baud rate above 300 (60m Band only).

73 de Marcus KD0JKM

Amateur Radio and Situational Awareness - A proposal

Amateur Radio is a distributed resource able to transmit messages when all other forms of communications fail. As such it is predestined to support situational awareness in times of emergencies.

FLDIGI is a suite of programs which allow easy sending and receipt of ICS (Incident Command System) Forms as developed by FEMA and the US Coast Guard. These structured messages should be well suited for ATOM or RSS feeds, due to their well known structure and common use in Incident Command Systems.

I thus propose that the data of ICS forms received by Amateur Radio Operators, be it that they provide service under ARES (the Amateur Radio Emergency Service) or as individuals who monitor the airwaves (for example the NBEMS Radio Assistance Network) be copied into individual blog entries, which in turn are offered as ATOM or RSS feeds, same as this blog on Blogger is available as an ATOM and RSS feed.
This presentation of data should also be extended to all other forms of more randomly received data from emergency areas, for example by entering it into an ICS-213 form, which lends itself to an open text entry.

This ATOM/ RSS data can then in turn be incorporated into Situational Awareness Maps.

Amateur Radio and Situational Awareness

I am becoming more and more intrigued by Crisis Mapping and how Amateur Radio and Non-Amateur Radio Crowdsourcing may contribute to overcoming disasters.

Just came across this article:
http://queensnyc.com/2012/12/mapmill-adds-crowdsourcing-options-to-the-google-crisis-map-post-hurricane-sandy/

and then went on to look at MapMill and signed up.

Now - how about porting that idea to data received by Amateur Radio Operators...?

Solar power for portable Amateur Radio

I finally took delivery of my last item of my portable solar solution consisting of:

- a PowerfilmSolar R28 rollable waterproof panel
- a Genasun GV-5 charge controller
- and an A123 Systems 12V drop in lead acid replacement Lithium Ion Nanophosphate battery.

To the best of my knowledge, these products belong to the best in their class. Will write more about why I chose these items in future posts and will inform on how they perform.