Meeting point is the Sir William Johnson Hall. Parking is limited so some of us may have to park at the School. There will be shuttle vehicles available for transportation.

Remember these public events help us practice for a real emergency.

Click here to download the map.

If interested on participating, please inform Steve (K2ALS) via email: srkuck62|at|yahoo|dot|com

The car door magnets are (17.3″ x 11.2″). They will attach to your door without risking scratching or damaging your vehicle paint. They have a water resistant glossy finish. Easily removable and they can be rolled for storage.

The price is related to the quantity we order. At the moment we have an interest for 24. With 20 the price will be $11.70 each + shipping and taxes. The next price break is 40 ($10.80 each).

If you are interested please send an email to the following address: webmaster [at] k2jji [dot] org stating your name, call sign and quantity. Most hams have requested 2 (one for each door).

So far we have:

The following hams attended the party:
WA2EZ – Don | KB2TJE – Joe | N2KAE – Grayson | KC2UEZ – Edgar | KB2RQO – Deb | KC2CSY – Cindy

In addition the following guest also attended the party:
Deana, Regina and Dave AKA Bob

Click here to view the pictures.

A petition has been started to void the HOA restrictions on Antenna installations. To read more about this and to sign this petition click here. To follow the ongoing discussion on QRZ.com click here.

So, I decided to do something about it..

A few years ago Texas Instruments made available a developing and evaluation board to showcase their MSP430 family of micro controllers. The evaluation board is called LaunchPad and it is being adopted by many thinkerer’s and DIYfers due to its low price ($4.30) and flexibility.

This board allows you to program your code and interact with inputs and produce outputs at will. The programming is done via an USB port. The Integrated Development Environment or (IDE) is also available for free from TI. Once you write your code and successfully compile it you can upload this code and have the micro controller run it.

The MSP430 incorporated with the LaunchPad has many neat features such as analog to digital converters, timers, comparator, temperature sensor, low power consumption, etc. The PCB board has a build in button and 2 LED’s. I took advantage of this I/O and wrote the following code:

#include "io430.h"
 
void delay_ms(unsigned int ms ){ 		
      unsigned int i;
      for (i = 0; i <= ms; i++){ 		
       __delay_cycles(1160);
      }
}
 
void t_led( int led, int delay ) {
	P1OUT ^= led;
	delay_ms( delay );
}
 
void main(void) {
  
  WDTCTL = WDTPW + WDTHOLD;	
  P1DIR |= BIT0 + BIT6;         	
   
  int count = 0; 
  int min = 0;
  int tot = 9;
  
  while(1) {
   while ((min < tot) && ((P1IN & BIT3))){
    P1OUT &= ~BIT0;
    while ((count < 60) && ((P1IN & BIT3))){
     if (min < (tot-1)){
      t_led(BIT6,500);
      t_led(BIT6,500);
     }
     else {
      t_led(BIT6,250);
      t_led(BIT6,250);
      t_led(BIT6,250);
      t_led(BIT6,250);
     }
    count++;
   }
   min++;
   count = 0;
  } 
  t_led(BIT0,100);
  
  if (!(P1IN & BIT3)){
   P1OUT &= ~BIT0;
   count = 0;
   min = 0;
  }
 }
}

The source code above makes the GREEN LED blink at a slow rate the first 9 minutes. The last minute the GREEN LED blinks a little faster to indicate that it is about time to ID and at the 10 minute mark it blinks the RED LED indicating that you went over. The RED LED blinks until the button is pressed and it resets the timer. If the button is pressed midway the countdown the timer is also reset.

The LaunchPad does not need to be connected to a computer to function, it has a header pin that allows you to connect a battery or external power supply to it.

Feel free to use, modify and improve the code. If you have any questions or comments feel free to post it on the comments section bellow.

Date: Saturday April 21, 2012
Time: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: YMCA 213 Harrison St. Johnstown, NY 12095
MAP: Click Here.

The TRYON ARC will be providing Emergency Communications (EmComm) at this event. We will gather at 8am at the site, determine frequencies and hand out maps.

Anyone interested in participating, please contact Steve Kuck at: SrKuck62 [at] yahoo [dot] com

Information on the event and a map to the location can be found here:
http://www.sacandagalife.com/event/fulton-county-ymca-spring-sprint-5k-2012/

This event is training for our next Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee or tornadoes as we had last year. We are not immune to these events and we need to be ready and this is how you become qualified to sit at any EOC and run a true Emergency Net. Beside that, we are a great club to come and have some radio fun with. I hope to see you all there.

Don’t have $1500 to drop on a USRP? A Linux kernel developer has discovered that a Realtek digital TV tuner chip has an undocumented mode that turns it into a software-defined radio, with a frequency range of 64-1700MHz. The going rate for one of these USB devices can be as low as US$11. If you’re unfamiliar with software-defined radio and have 20 minutes to spare, Balint Seeber has a great video introduction.

Source: SlashDot.org