London Activity

Not quite in line with this blog but thought I would bring this up. I travel to London most days and always take a handie. But I am very surprised at the lack of activity. There is no APRS digipeater, only one 70cm repeater no 2m repeater and no Internet link. So if someone from the BBC club, Scout association and some of the other radio related bodies who have offices in London there are still lots of empty roofs!!

Operating and photo's

Been listening in on the repeater and things seem to going very well. Quite a few new callsign coming on which is very encouraging to me. It does seem now that 'if you can hear it, you can work it'. Below are a few photo's (i did do some work!!)

Now, just a note about operating through the repeater. I have noticed quite a lot of stations opening the repeater and not giving a callsign. I am aware that some of these may be weak signals so no problem there. However if you are checking to see if you can access or checking the Echolink is active, could I ask you give your call (required) and if possible your location.
Also as the repeater becomes more widely used there is the chance that some people will try and spoil our enjoyment. This is very rare on 70cm but if you do encounter this here are some helpful points -
Ignore it - this is sometimes very difficult, but do not rise to the bait.
Do not reply to any call.
If you do here anyting please let me know of times etc.


Apart from that, enjoy the repeater and please spread the word that UB is up and running.

New Aerials

The new aerials are installed.

I visited site today along with Stuart (callsign escapes me), and Dennis M1NED. Thank you very much gentlemen. The weather was fantastic(dry) with almost unbroken views across Somerset. The only problem was that the roof area had not drained and had about 3inch's of water in it so Stuart and I ended up with very wet feet!The existing aerials were removed from the pole, new ones fitted and checked for alignment. They are mounted a wavelength from the pole which should give an almost omni directional pattern. All connectors were checked before being covered with self amalgamating tape. Once installed a call was made and the first station worked was in Abergavenny!!! Apart from that first indications are that the performance is pretty well unchanged, which is to be expected. However we now have an aerial system which should see us through the next 25+ years.
Below are a few pictures of the installation and team.
Thanks go to Mike, G8CPF (left) for arranging the key.

Aerial Installation

I will be on site tomorrow (Tuesday) from about 0930 to install the new aerials. If any one is available (sorry about short notice) to help an extra pair of hands could be good. Call on UB or via email

Help with aerial installation

As you know the aerials are ready to be installed. The problem being is that access is only available between 0900 and 1600 weekdays. If you or know any one who is available could you let me know as I would like if possible to have a 'pool' of people I can call on on at relatively short notice.

Receive much improved

I am very excited!! I made a visit with John last night and we have a result. As you may have noticed there has been a strange noise on the repeater. This was traced to a wireless access node on site. This has now been replaced and I thank all those concerned for providing the replacement so quickly. As a result of this the squelch setting has been substantially lighted. The receiver sensitivity is now around -118dbm. So what does this mean? Well, I can now use the repeater from home on a handheld, as before I could only open it with 35w!!
The echo link is working well now. So please let those that may not read this as I know there were many people who could not access even though they were receiving a strong signal.

Echolink (Node 201135)

Ok, another new(ish) feature for GB3UB. The Echolink link is active again. I know some of you will know how to use it but for those that do not, and for those like me who have forgotten the commands I have put together some links to helpful sites.

The number others will need to connect to GB3UB is 201135

This link gives basic set up information on Echolink

Below is a list of the DTMF commands

DTMF Functions

These commands are used to connect or disconnect a station on the Internet.

Each command consists of a sequence of digits (or the special keys *, #, and A through D).

The table below lists each of the DTMF commands.

Command	Description	Default
Connect	Connects to a station on the Internet, based on its node number.	num
Connect by Call	Connects to a station on the Internet, based on its callsign.	C+call+#
Random Node	Selects an available node (of any type) at random, and tries to connect to it.	00
Random Link	Selects an available link or repeater (-L or -R) at random, and tries to connect to it.	01
Random Conf	Selects a conference server at random, and tries to connect to it.	02
Random User	Selects an available single-user station at random, and tries to connect to it.	03
RandomFavNode	Selects an available node (of any type) at random from the Favorites List, and tries to connect to it.	0

RandomFavLink	Selects an available link or repeater (-L or -R) at random from the Favorites List, and tries to connect to it.	011
RandomFavConf	Selects a conference server at random from the Favorites List, and tries to connect to it.	021
RandomFavUser	Selects an available single-user station at random, and tries to connect to it.	031
Disconnect	Disconnects the station that is currently connected. If more than one station is connected, disconnects only the most-recently-connected station.	#
Disconnect All	Disconnects all stations.	##
Reconnect	Re-connects to the station that most recently disconnected.	09
Status	Announces the callsign of each station currently connected.	08

Play Info	Plays a brief ID message.	*
Query by Call	Looks up a station by its callsign, and reads back its node number and status.	07+call+#
Query by Node	Looks up a station by its node number, and reads back its callsign and status.	06+num

Connect

The default for the Connect command is to simply enter the 4- 5-, or 6-digit node number to which you wish to connect. To prevent interference with other DTMF functions, however, you may wish to configure a special prefix, such as A or 99.

Entering Node Numbers

To enter a node number (for the Connect or Query by Node commands), enter the 4-, 5-, or 6-digit node number. If the specified node is not among the stations currently logged on, EchoLink will say "NOT FOUND".

Entering Callsigns

To enter a callsign (for the Connect by Call or Query by Call commands), press two digits for each letter and number in the callsign. The first digit is the key on which the letter appears (using 1 for Q and Z), and the second digit is 1, 2, or 3, to indicate which letter is being entered. To enter a digit, press the digit followed by 0. When finished, end with the pound key (#).

For example, the letter "K" is entered as "52", the letter "Q" is entered as "11", and the digit "7" is entered as "70".

Callsigns need not be entered in full. If a partial callsign is entered, EchoLink will find the first match among the stations currently logged on. If no match is found among the stations currently logged on, EchoLink will say "NOT FOUND".

Examples

(These examples assume that the default DTMF codes are configured.)

• To connect to node number 9999:

Enter: 9 9 9 9

EchoLink responds with:

"CONNECTING TO CONFERENCE E-C-H-O-T-E-S-T"

followed by

"CONNECTED"

because 9999 is the node number of conference server "*ECHOTEST*".

• To get the status of K1RFD:

Enter: 0 7 5 2 1 0 7 2 3 3 3 1 #

EchoLink responds with:

"K-1-R-F-D 1-3-6-4-4 BUSY"

because 13644 is the node number of station K1RFD, and K1RFD is currently busy.

• To connect to a random link or repeater:

Enter: 0 1

EchoLink responds with:

"CONNECTING TO K-1-O-F REPEATER"

followed by

"CONNECTED"

because K1OF-R was selected at random.

I hope you find this useful. If you have any problems give me a call/email and I will do my best to help.

Man with a big lorry

Apart from the pouring rain I had a ray of sunshine. A lorry turned up today with two shinny new 70cm aerials!!

They look good and seem up to the job of 25years on top of Bath Uni.

Next step is to get a work permit on a day when I can get help and away we go.

Aerials & Donation

As you may be aware the aerials at GB3UB are coming to the end of their life. They were hand made to a very high standard but are now over 25 years old.

A recent visit found one to be full of water which meant using the one and only spare. We had a look at replacing them and came up with folded dipoles from Jaybeam. This seems the best option as soon it will be virtually impossible to gain access to the roof we need a 'fit and forget' solution.

As you now I recently asked for donations and there have been several generous donations.
During this time a contact was made with the Bristol RSGB Group even though Gb3UB is outside their normal area.

However, I am delighted to tell you that thanks to the help of various individuals, who I would rather not name at the risk of causing embarrassment, have provided the full cost of replacing the aerials.

As you can appreciate this is fantastic news for the repeater and should ensure it's long term future.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in providing this very generous donation.

The aerials have been ordered and expected delivery is around 11th May. Hopefully with good weather and ability to obtain a work permit we hope to fit them by the end of May.

In the mean time the repeater is in daily use and there are plans to reactivate the Internet Link.