The next meeting of the Kings County Repeater Association will be held on Tuesday May 15th at The Guild For Exceptional Children 260 68th Street Brooklyn, NY 11220. The meeting starts at 7:00 with coffee social time beginning at 6:30. Limited off street parking is available.

This months topic is a (Re)Introduction to Packet Radio presentation by your local experts Charlie, WA2GUG and Russ, KC2LSB.

Chances are the mobile radio you are currently using is made in China, it’s just not designed, developed, tested and marketed by a Chinese company. That’s about to change.

Chinese Amateur Radio brands such as Wouxun (however you wish to pronounce it), Baofeng, and TYT have quickly become known brands in the ham community due to the relatively low prices and features of their handheld HT radios and accessories. A good percentage of our club members own and use a radio such as the Wouxun KG-UVD1P, KG-UV6D, or the Baofeng UV-3R. While cost certainly is an influence (you don’t cry as much if you destroy a $50-$100 radio), these HT’s actually have some innovative features not found in the leading Japanese brands. The Wouxun KG-UV series for example, is available in a 2m/1.25cm (144/220) configuration and features a voice synthesizer that reads menus, frequency, and settings aloud to the user in English or Chinese (while some find this vastly annoying, it is invaluable to many visually impaired hams, and those wanting to learn a little Chinese), the Baofeng UV-3R (and UV-3RmkII) features a single chip DSP design and insanely inexpensive batteries.

Will similar innovations be found in their mobile counterparts? As my paws have yet to touch one of these mobiles it’s hard to tell. What follows is several weeks of research in my spare time scrounging various websites aided with Google translate. I gathered specs, pictures, and estimated prices and availability wherever possible. As such while reading the next several pages, please remember things change, some of these radios may never see the light of day, and prices are my best guess. Additionally, remember this website is for a radio club, we do NOT sell radios and will be unable to help you find one! The usual disclaimers apply, this is not an endorsement of any brand or product, use your own judgment if you decide to purchase one, some features or the radios themselves may not even be legal for use in the amateur radio service.

From Thursday, May 17th until Monday, May 21st our WG2MSK D-Star repeater will be linked to Reflector 38 C the "Dayton Hamvention" reflector. During this period of time, user linking and repeater control will be disabled.

You may listen to this reflector, no special equipment needed, by clicking here. LISTEN NOW

The Kings County Repeater Association will occupy a centrally located spot (FE3017 ) in this year’s Dayton Hamvention flea market. Any member attending Hamvention may freely use this space to store your purchases, rest and relax, or to sell equipment. If you would like to utilize this member benefit, contact Gary, KB2BSL, Mike, N2BMU, or leave a comment below. You may view the live Hamvention flea market map here.

A new product, from a new company is expected to be revealed during the 2012 Hamvention in Dayton Ohio.

The product is the UDR56K4 25W 70cm Digital Transceiver. This new radio appears to be capable of FSK, GMSK, and 4FSK modulation with data rates from 4800 to 56000 bps. The radio is said to feature Ethernet to RF in a single package, indicating that it has a built in Ethernet jack.

The new company NW Digital Radio is lead by Bryan Hoyer, KG6GEU with John Hays, K7VE as Marketing Director.

There was no indication of pricing or pictures available at the time of this writing. However, we will gather as much information as is available live from the 2012 Dayton Hamvention.

Bryan recently gave a presentation at the Microhams conference on "Authentication for Amateur Radio", it's an interesting read, and one wonders on how this product will be involved.

   We have been officially notified of the passing of Nat Barr, KB2KLH by his daughter Suzanne. Nat passed away on April 9^th, 2012; A few days short of his 90^th birthday. Nat was well known for (among other things) his love of the National Traffic System (NTS), his commitment to running the Big Apple Traffic Net seven days a week, and his popular slogan “When The Phones Are Down, The Hams Are Up!”.

   A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 29^th 3PM at the Vanellas Funeral Home, 2860 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, NY 11572. A gathering of friends and family will commence following the memorial service at 830 Shore Road, Long Beach, NY 11561.

The KCRA board recently purchased over $2,000.00 worth of new equipment. This brand new equipment includes an Icom IC-FR5000 2m repeater, a 50 amp switching power supply, power pole power distribution units, power pole connectors, hardline UHF connector, various internal cabling, programming cable, and various fittings. All of this new equipment is in our possession and most of it is already installed at the repeater site. This was the best choice in a new repeater that the club could afford, it's extremely flexible and is also IDAS digital capable. The club has no plans on turning our 2m repeater into a digital mode machine (that is what our UHF D-Star machine is for), but if the membership has an interest, we are able to run it dual mode so it can handle both analog and IDAS digital simultaneously. It even has a 2 year warranty from Icom! Much work remains on our antenna and transmission line before it can be safely placed into service, as soon as a team can be assembled, and weekend access to the site is arranged, work will commence and it will be placed on the air!

So far, members have donated nearly $900 towards the repeater fund and we thank each and every one of them! As stated, our expenses so far are a bit over $2,000.00 and could go higher if we decide the coax, antenna, some other item needs to be replaced or refurbished, or if it's determined a pre-selector or pre-amp is required. If you can spare at least $10 please click here to donate it to the club, those who donate a significant amount will be known as "Platinum" donors and will have their name and call placed on a plaque at the repeater site!

A few days ago work was being performed on a GE Master II repeater to replace the Motorola MSF-5000, that replaced a Harris radiophone system B,  which replaced Harris radiophone system A. Just when things were looking good for the GE system, serious problems developed and the repeater became unusable.

If your counting, that is 4 2m analog repeater systems in the last two years!

The amount of time spent by the technical committee repairing, replacing, and maintaining these systems has been considerable to say the least. The fix/break/fix/replace cycle has to end. The club needs a working analog 2m repeater, and the technical committee has spent more time fixing radio then playing radio!

The KCRA board agrees, we have had enough, time to purchase a brand new repeater system (The last two systems were donated to us) and get back on the air! This new repeater will utilize our Arcom RC-210 controller and finally get the Echolink/IRLP node that our members helped build last year up and running.

The club has enough money available to afford a medium grade new commercial system, but just barely. Without a doubt, this will place a serious strain on club finances, and leaves nothing left over should we find the need to replace the coax (something we should do), the antenna, refurbish the duplexer, or some other object.

If you can find it in your heart, and can afford to donate, please use the applet found below. Donations as little as $10 will be accepted via PayPal using your PayPal balance or credit card, your donation will be reflected in the applet. You may also use the comment fields to pledge an amount to be given in cash or check at the next club meeting. Those whom donate $100 or more will be known as "Platinum" donors and will have their Name, Call and donation amount reflected here, in a future article, and on a small plaque to be placed at the repeater site. Every penny raised will be used to provide the best repeater system we can afford.

Regardless of the amount raised, the club will be purchasing a new repeater system.

Platinum Donors:

Mike Patino, N2BMU $200.00

Gary Lindtner, KB2BSL $200.00

John Daniszewski, KC2UHA $150.00

Don La Sala, W2DON $100.00

Jonathan Hawkes, K2TCW $100.00

Robert M Winston, W2THU $100.00

Felicia Mattera, KB2NYF $40.00

It's time to renew! The KCRA is pleased to announce it's again able to provide gifts for the 2012 membership year.

Renew your membership and receive a 2012 weekly planner and a KCRA clock and penholder. New members will also be provided with a club messenger bag and other items.

You must pick up your gift at a club event or meeting, while supplies last (Quantities are limited), first come, first served. Gifts may be picked up starting with the holiday party.

CLICK HERE TO RENEW OR JOIN ONLINE

I recently acquired a Baofeng UV-3R dual band sub miniature HT as in import from China for about $50.00. This radio is made by Vero Telcom as a custom label product (watch out for their dual band mobile) and marketed by BaoFeng Electron Co, LTD, it is also available under several other names such as Magiksun. This radio is readily available to purchase from many online retailers, all ship from China (this article will not cover the legalities of importing your own radio or its lack of certification, please seek advice and reach your own conclusion) and will take two to three weeks to arrive.

This review is based on my opinions, observations, and specifications of the radio as I lack the necessary equipment to perform a lab analysis. I will also rely on the work of others by embedding various videos and other references that have already been accomplished. In short, this review is not meant to be gospel, and is not entirely original work.

At first look, this radio may seem like a clone of the Yaesu VX-3R. Remember the adage, never judge a book by its cover, looks can be deceiving.

Operation of radio transmitting equipment without a license is a violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Section 301, and will subject the operator to fine or imprisonment, as well as an in rem seizure of any non-certified radio transmitting equipment, in cooperation with the United States Attorney for your jurisdiction.

Monetary forfeitures normally range from $7,500 to $10,000