Indonesian Tsunami IARU report

Link to the report

https://www.iaru-r1.org/index.php/emergency-communications/1830-indonesian-tsunami-22nd-december-2018

Field Day

A field day was held on saturday 15/12/2018 Somewhere in G.Gaube near  the beach. .

Participants were BAL,BAN,DM,FO.

BAL tested successfully his homebrewed 5/8 40m antenna while BAN had successful contacts using his mini G5RV for the first Time.

As for FO,he could not perform his data tests as his laptop had some issues with recognising the com ports to talk to his radio and audio interface.The laptop has not been used for ham communication for a long time and FO might have fiddled with the software configurations.Lessons learnt,be well prepared before the event and always have a ready backup equipment as havoc can occur at any time.

A picture of the day can be seen at https://rrts630515025.wordpress.com/photos/

Propagation tests with WSPR

Getting very good  propagation on 40,30,20m  while 80m is almost dead.

I am now using inverted L monopoles on all these bands instead on my original inclined monopoles.

The new antenna setup performance is much better that the previous one.

Some screenshots of  wspr results can be seen at  wspr tests

Station grounding and lightning protection

Ground protection

Lightning and surge protection manual

Coaxial inline protection

Technical information and ideas applicable to electronic technology for Amateur Radio Enthusiasts

https://www.bwcelectronics.com/main/page_w5bwc_electronics.html

Safety Compliance Distances for VHF Antennas

https://www.hamradioandvision.com/rf-safety-with-vhf-antennas/

Ham support during California fire

Emcom services during California  fire as depicted by  below links.

http://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-emergency-service-volunteers-assist-in-california-fire-response

http://www.arrl.org/news/view/repeaters-amateur-tv-play-communication-role-in-california-fire-emergency

Emcom training scheds

3B8FO is  inviting you to the following scheds.

As from Tuesday 13 /11/18  the following scheds for training/practicing /fine tuning emergency communications and procedures shall take place.

Every morning 07.30 hrs LT.

VHF 144.550 voice-- 10 mins

VHF 144.550 --10 mins data transmission using thor 16 of FLDGI.

HF NVIS at  7.045 Mhz USB  centered on 1500--10 mins data transmission starting with Thor 16 and decelerating to Thor micro in case of bad propagation.

3B8FO shall be the directing station and shall send a standard ARRL message.

Every evening 20.00 hrs LT.

VHF 144.550 voice-- 10 mins

VHF 144.550 10 mins data transmission using thor 16 of FLDI.

HF NVIS at  3.585 Mhz USB centred on 1500--10 mins data transmission starting with Thor 16 and decelerating to Thor micro in case of bad propagation.

In case 3B8FO  is not available he will let you know who will be the directing station.

3B8FO as Gateway station for Reunion in situation of crisis.

• 
       Re: crise majeure--3b8FO comme station de  relais/secours
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  FR1GZ Yvon <fr1gzyvon@gmail.com>

  To:3B8FO

  Nov 5 at 10:08 PM

  
  

  Bonsoir Yusuf,

  
  

  La voie VHF est aussi possible.

  
  

  Relais 3B8 --> Relais FR --> Station ADRASEC VHF, salle de crise Préfecture de Saint Denis et vice versa.

  La Préfecture de St Denis "entre" sans problème en VHF/UHF dans le relais du Colorado.

  
  

  73 Yvon FR1GZ

  
  

  Garanti sans virus. www.avast.com

  Le lun. 5 nov. 2018 à 18:53, Yusuf Arjanee <yarjanee@yahoo.com> a écrit :

  Yvons

  
  

  Aucun problème de mon côté. 

  
  

  J'annonce ceci à mon équipe AREG demain.

  
  

  73

  
  

  
  

  Best Regards
  

  M.Y.Arjanee

  Mob 230-52557097;Res  Tel 230-4652844; 
  Residential Address:-35,Ambrose street, Rose-Hill

            Mauritius

  Ham Radio Callsign 3B8FO

  Areg  Blog

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  On Friday, October 26, 2018, 1:02:32 PM GMT+4, FR1GZ Yvon <fr1gzyvon@gmail.com> wrote:

  
  

  
  

  OK, reçu pour Rose Hill.,

  
  

  En cas de crise majeure, serais-tu intéressé par un link  

  3B8FO --HF--> FR1GZ --VHF--> station ADRASEC salle de crise, Préfecture de St Denis et vice versa ???

  Idée à creuser de ton coté.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Le ven. 26 oct. 2018 à 12:47, Yusuf Arjanee <yarjanee@yahoo.com> a écrit :

  Chez moi a Rose-HiLL en principe.

  
  

  Best Regards
  

  M.Y.Arjanee

  Mob 230-52557097;Res  Tel 230-4652844; 
  Residential Address:-35,Ambrose street, Rose-Hill

            Mauritius

  Ham Radio Callsign 3B8FO

  Areg  Blog

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  On Friday, October 26, 2018, 12:39:00 PM GMT+4, FR1GZ Yvon <fr1gzyvon@gmail.com> wrote:

  
  

  
  

  Bien reçu les captures d'écran.Thanks.

  Question :

  En cas de cyclone intense à Maurice, où sera situé le QG de l'AREG ??? 

  
  

  Le ven. 26 oct. 2018 à 12:35, Yusuf Arjanee <yarjanee@yahoo.com> a écrit :

  Je t'envoies les captures d'ecran .

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Best Regards
  

  M.Y.Arjanee

  Mob 230-52557097;Res  Tel 230-4652844; 
  Residential Address:-35,Ambrose street, Rose-Hill

            Mauritius

  Ham Radio Callsign 3B8FO

  Areg  Blog

• 
  

Tests with FR1GZ Reunion

FLDIGI/FLMSG/THOR16 tests

Various files were captured by 3B8FO from FR1GZ during his weekly EMCOM exercise using thor 16 data mode in NVIS configuration.

3B8FO conducted JT65 tests with FR1GZ using a 4 element 2m YAGI of gain 6 dBd.

Received files  and test result log  are downloadable at

/fldigi and jt69 files

VHF Antennae

3B8FO has successfully built and tested the following two vhf antennae .They are easy & quick built antennae which can be made from available "matierre de bord" materials.

The plans for the building of these can be downloaded from the following links.


VHF pocket antenna

This one is built directly and fixed using electrical insulating tape at the top end of a vertically erected  fishing pole some 15 flt long .

Normally with his  1/4 monopole he  cannot access DM at Le hochet with his 5W radioditty HT ,but with this one he  can easily access his station with a very good signal report.

BAN at B.Du Tombeau also gave  him a very favourable report compared to the monopole.

4 element vhf yagi

The antenna is some 20 ft on a manually rotable pole.

Direct line of sight with BAN did not give any result.However,to his  surprise  beaming the antenna towards DU got him a satisfactory report from BAN and of course a very good one from DU.The BAN reception is most probably due to reflection from a 10 storey building some 300 ft from 3b8FO's  antenna.

3B8FO  intends to do direct line of sight tests with St Denis in the coming days after  doing link budget  calculations  using a software whose downloadable link has  been kindly given to him by DU.

Please let us know in case you have built anyone of these and any changes /improvements you have made.

BAN is experimenting on J-Pole antennae and is having encouraging results.

Rms Email Relay with Winmore

Very happy this morning as my station was used for the first time for email relay by station KB3VCF  some 300 km away on bearing 253 somewhere in the indian ocean at location Grid  LG77IS on 40 m ..

Bring and Share meeting to celebrate our first VHF tests as AREG group on 23092018

As you will all recall we had a Group test on 230192018 to map the direct VHF communication links between OM's QTH.

That was a successful attempt and now we have a better picture about the  reachability of VHF stations directly without using any infrastructure based relay system.

At the same time we have identified difficult to reach areas and areas where we do not have VHF stations.Together we are working on solutions to address these issues.

Maps of the direct links mapped so far can be seen and  downloaded from the link

VHF direct links maps

The Saturday meeting on 21101028 at Flic-En-Flac was also a success with the following attending

DM,BAL,BAN,BAM,FO,FP,BAK and few other guests

We had a demo of a simple VHF repeater which can easily be installed at one's QTH.

We also had a fruitful discussion about the VHF tests carried out on 23092018 and the way forward.

Succulent Briyani home made by BAN was served and others present shared their goodies.

One incident worth noting and worth remembering  is the  manifestation of  team spirit that exists within AREG group .

FO had a car breakdown due to battery charger malfunctioning and everybody helped to push the car to make it start.At one point the battery had to be replaced and BAL provided his spare battery to do so with everyone giving a helpful hand.

FO thanks everybody for this  fraternal  gesture.

Some pictures of the meeting can be seen at the following address

Pics at F-en-F

FSQ working in French/Comment travailler avec le mode FSQ.

Please download tutorial in french  from below link on how to use FSQ .

FSQ Tutorial/Tutoriel FSQ 


Telecharger le document en franc,ais sur le mode  FSQ  en cliquant  le lien ci-dessus

NVIS File transfer from reunion using THOR 16,22,micro

Successful file transfer from FR1GZ to 3B8FO  and 3B8DM yesterday night at 20.00 hrs L for one hour. 

File and image transfer using thor of FLDIGI underf  NVIS setup and VHF/UHF  has been proven to work superbly well at all frequencies.

MT63 using VHF/UHF has also been proven to be a superb mode for file and image transfer using audio coupling without using an audio interface such as signalink.

I  encourage OMs to get familiar with these modes as they are crucial for emcom.

I shall be publishing videos on these in the near future.

A sample file transferred is shown below

==================================================================

<flmsg>4.0.7
:hdr_fm:21 
FR1GZ 20181810170025
:hdr_ed:21 
FR1GZ 20181810170025
<plaintext>
:tt:18 General Message06 
:to:5 RASEC
:fm:5 FR1GZ
:dt:8 18/10/18
:tm:6 21:00L
:sb:8 EXERCICE
:mg:538 EXERCICE EXERCICE EXERCICE

        AGIR APRES ACTIVITE VOLCANIQUE
  
- RESTEZ A L’ECOUTE DES CONSIGNES SUR LA CONDUITE A TENIR, EMISES PAR LES RADIOS ET STATIONS DE TELEVISION.
- ÉVITEZ DE VOUS ELOIGNER DE VOTRE DOMICILE, SAUF EN CAS DE CONSIGNES CONTRAIRES DES AUTORITES.

- ENVISAGEZ L’EVACUATION DES MALADES OU BLESSES ET DES PERSONNES A MOBILITE REDUITE.
- ENLEVEZ, DES QUE POSSIBLE, LES DEPOTS DE CENDRE VOLCANIQUE SUR LES TOITS DES MAISONS.
- ÉVITEZ DE TELEPHONER POUR NE PAS ENCOMBRER LES LIGNES.


EXERCICE EXERCICE EXERCICE

=================================================

NVIS tests using THOR data protocol with Reunion and 3B8DM

Yesterday and the day before 3B8FO conducted highly successful NVIS tests  on 40m and 80 m with FR1GZ using Thor 11,22 and Thor micro .

Time of tests 17.00 L to 21.00 L

Decoded signal from Reunion on 40 m using THOR micro under very adverse conditions even when no audio signal is heard on the receiver and only noise is heard.

File  and picture  successfully transferred from 3B8FO to 3B8DM yesterday night on all frequencies 80m,40m,30m,20m,15m,10m,6m,2m using thor 5,11,16,22,micro under NVIS conditions.

Useful sites

Real time propagation info.

http://www.idahoares.info/current_propagation.shtml

Simple high gain 2m/70cm colinear antenna.

http://www.m0zpk.co.uk/2m-144mhz-70cm-430-mhz-coax-collinear/

Coming GEO satellite

https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

Load of info about practical antennae

http://www.pg1n.nl/articles.php?lng=en&pg=367

Standard MARS message transfer from Reunion using THOR 16 from fldigi on 40m and 80m

Successful file transfer from Reunion using NVIS and Thor16 of  Fldigi.

Below is one message in FLMSG  format.

With FLMSG the message is opened as a normal readable file 




<flmsg>4.0.7
:hdr_fm:21 
FR1GZ 20181110164042
:hdr_ed:21 
FR1GZ 20181110164042
<mars_army>
:pre:1 P
:dtg:16 111640Z OCT 2018
:fm:30 ADRASEC PREFECTURE SAINT DENIS
:de:5 FR1GZ
:nbr:2 02
:to:99 ADRASEC SOUS PREFECTURE ST PIERRE
ADRASEC SOUS PREFECTURE ST PAUL
ADRASEC SOUS FREFECTURE ST BENOIT
:info:9 AUX RASEC
:subj:9 CONSIGNES
:text:579 EXERCICE EXERCICE EXERCICE

RISQUE SEISME 

VOTRE HABITATION EST SITUEE EN ZONE DANGEREUSE.
- EVACUEZ IMMEDIATEMENT LA ZONE OU VOUS VOUS TROUVEZ, DANS LE CALME.
- COUPEZ L’EAU, L’ELECTRICITE ET LE GAZ AVANT DE QUITTER VOTRE DOMICILE.
- MUNISSEZ-VOUS DE VETEMENTS DE RECHANGE, NECESSAIRE DE TOILETTE, MEDICAMENTS INDISPENSABLES, PAPIERS PERSONNELS ET UN PEU D’ARGENT.
- FERMEZ VOTRE DOMICILE A CLE.
- REJOIGNEZ LE LIEU ACCUEIL DE VOTRE ARRONDISSEMENT.
- INFORMEZ VOTRE MAIRIE SI VOUS NE REJOIGNEZ PAS LE LIEU D’HEBERGEMENT PREVU PAR LA COMMUNE.


EXERCICE EXERCICE EXERCICE

JS8CALL

FT8CALL is no more.It has been replaced by JS8CALL.

You may download it from https://groups.io/g/js8call/wiki/Download-Links.

Enjoy.

IS THE WORLD READY FOR THE NEXT BIG TSUNAMI?

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/04/is-the-world-ready-for-the-next-big-tsunami/

Nvis tests with Reunion using bpsk63 ,flmsg and fldigi

Please see message from Yvons FR1GZ.

FR1GZ Yvon <fr1gzyvon@gmail.com>
To:
3B8FO
Cc:
3B8DU

Oct 5 at 3:05 PM

Hi to all,

Yusuf,
J'ai bien reçu toutes vos transmissions hier soir aussi sur 40 que sur 80m.
le fichier est bien décodé.
Je ne pouvais vous transmettre mon fichier car nous étions en exercice avec plusieurs stations RASEC.
Comme je suis la station directrice, je ne pouvais pas sortir du but de cette exercice.
Mais ce n'est que partie remise. On trouvera un moment tranquille pour faire nos essais.

Amicalement

Yvon

Emergency Kit

Some thoughts on emergency kit we need to prepare for QTH based/mobile operation

Ready Rig
Ready Antenna
DC power
First aid kit
Food stuff
Tools

We can customise  according to availability and our individual needs.

When the Activation Call comes, we won’t have time to hunt for things!

NVIS tests with Reunion Island using FLDIGI and FLARQ

Successful  tests have been carried out with FR1GZ and FR5FZ   of ADRASEC 974.

Reunion is using BPSK63 of FLDIGI and standard messages of  FLMSG with NVIS for their emcom structure.I have been told they they do not wish to rely solely on the vhf relays as they have had problems in the past and during catastrophic conditions it is almost impossible to deploy mobile vhf relays and that's why they are including  the HF NVIS solution as part of their emcom structure.

Bilan direct vhf voice exercise on 230918 using 144.550 MHZ

The exercise has been a complete success with the following stations taking part .
FO,DU,FV,GZ,BAN,BAL.

On 290918 further tests were done with CW and DM .

A spreadsheet with details of the exercise has been circulated together with terrain maps showing all links have been circulated to all via mail.

Further tests will be carried out in the coming days and we shall all put our heads together to analyse the data and find solutions for the areas that have not been covered and for difficult areas.

EMERGENCY READY TO GO KIT?

What is a READY TO GO KIT?

• A Ready To Go Kit is a pre-staged collection of equipment and personal gear&stuff that we will need to perform our duties as an Emergency Communicator effectively and efficiently in the event of a call-out.

• Our Ready To Go Kit should be tailored to our needs, our equipment, expected assignments, and expected length of assignments.

Why we need a Ready To Go Kit

Some reasons we need a Ready To Go Kit :

• In the event of a major disaster, our assignment location will probably be without power, heat, water, food ,personal hygiene stuff, medical stuff and telephone service. Most businesses in the area will probably not be open, due to the emergency.

• As an Emergency Communicator, we must provide our own equipment,gear,food and personal hygiene and medical stuff.

• We are responsible for our own safety, and we must provide for our own welfare and comfort.

Building our Ready To Go Kit now ensures:

• The items we need are available when we need them.

• The items we need are where we expect them to be.

When the Activation Call comes, we won’t have time to hunt for things!

Hurricane Florence and Ham Emergency Communications

Interesting links related to the above..

https://www.facebook.com/W7FLO

http://qrznow.com/hurricane-watch-net-florence-and-isaac/

http://www.wthitv.com/content/news/Ham-radio-operators-assist-with-Hurricane-Florence-communications-493335431.html

https://fox61.com/2018/09/12/ham-radio-operators-amplify-messages-in-face-of-hurricane-florence/

VHF file transfer using MT63-2KL and acoustic radio/computer coupling.

3B8FO did a file transfer successfully on VHF 144.550Mhz using radio/computer acoustic coupling and MT63-2KL data protocol.

AREG first EMCOM exercise.

First areg emcom exercise is  scheduled on the 23/09/18 as from 0600 UTC.

The main aim of this first exercise is to gauge  reachability of each station from each other to do a mapping  of VHF direct p2p links and to see where we have communication holes and remedy accordingly.

This test is being done under the assumption that the VHF relay network has failed.

New FT8Call version

A new version has been released and can be downloaded from

http://ft8call.info/

Let us enjoy this new version and if possible take part in the competition.

DMR working

3B8FO received his DMR Radioddity GD-77 HTs yesterday.

He has been able to work analogue FM with them.

He is now working on their  DiGiTAL  settings/configurations.

It will most probably be integrated in our emcom toolbox.


Some sources  on DMR working/technology are given below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZawJek5z9c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t-cyOQbGxc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaDw5pTjWvk

http://hamsci.org/sites/default/files/publications/2018_HamSCI/20180224_170_HamSCI2018_Chen_K2TRW_DMR.pdf

http://www.qsl.net/kb9mwr/projects/dv/dmr/Introduction%20to%20Digital%20Mobile%20Radio.pdf

http://trbo.org/docs/Amateur_Radio_Guide_to_DMR.pdf

Amateur Radio Sri Lanka

Ham radio dans "un pays riverain"  which could  fit our emcom strategy for the indian ocean basin.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/28069502768/

FT8CALL

We have to thank Mike Sinnott for having brought our attention to the new FT8call  data mode.

3B8FO and  3B8CW exchanged few QSOs this morning on 20m.

FT8Call is almost similar to FSQ with few capabilities,such as file transfer, missing.

Anyway it definitely helps for VHF/HF encom though  slow.But during emergencies low speed is better than nothing at all.

So we are including it in our emcom toolbox.

For more information click on the link below.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/159S4wqMUVdMA7qBgaSWmU-iDI4C9wd4CuWnetN68O9U/edit#heading=h.x9tmbbx4tpt0

There is also a users group, see on this link: https://groups.io/g/ft8call

Lesson learnt during california fire.

Do not rely on fixed  infrastructure based telecom services.

Quote from an ARRL  report on the  California fire

 .""...Kruckewitt said Winlink continues to be the go-to mode, as fire has damaged several repeaters and no repeater path exists to the Gold County Region of the Red Cross in Sacramento...."

View full article at

 http://www.arrl.org/news/view/amateur-radio-emergency-service-volunteers-assist-in-california-fire-response

Excellent articles on wspr

http://www.amateurradio.org.za/WSPR%20Tutorial%20v1.0.pdf


http://www.va3rom.com/docs/ATD010.pdf


http://www.va3rom.com/docs/ATD011.pdf

WSPR HF tests

3B8FO had high SWR problems on all frequencies on his HF antenna system.
He discovered that the high swr was due to the presence of some corrugated sheets, which were used to cover his auto ATU, near the feed point  and all is fine now.

3B8FO has started a new HF WSPR test cycle as from now.

Dial freq 7.03860 Mhz power 50w till tomorrow 09/08/18 19.00 hrs LT.

Dial frequency 3.5926  09/08/18 19.00 hrs LT till 10/08/18 19.00 hrs LT.

Dial frequency 14.0956 10/08/18 19.00 hrs LT till 11/08/18 19.hhr LT

2m WSPR tests

Tests results .

Power 5W and  omni antenna on both sides.

3B8CW is the only station which participated in the tests with 3B8FO.

Results can be seen at the below link.

http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/spots

Winlink hub mode working-one of the solutions for emcom working.

Windlink hub working between 3B8FO and 3B8DU implemented successfully.
Mail  sent to FO by DU was successfully retrieved by FO using vara ,with DU RMS station working in hub mode with no internet connection.

This means that even when  there is no internet connections mails and files can be sent and retrieved via radio through a winlink station working in hub mode.

One of the HF solutions for emcom.

Available digital/analogue modulation modes

https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/HF_Modes_Currently_Active

https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Category:HF

Winlink tests with 3B8DM and 3B8CW

3B8FO carried out few successful signal reception winlink  vara and ardop tests with 3b8cw and 3b8dm this morning.

Little by little our emcom structure is taking form.

The champion digital file transfer mode for HF emcom --VARA of winlink

3B8FO conducted some very successful digital mode tests using vara of winlink  this morning on the following bands 15,20,30,40m.

Tests were carried out with winlink Radio mail server (RMS) of 3B8DU.

Power used was 10W and antenna was NVIS inverted -L  160m multiband with MFJ auto-ATU.

Software used is winklink express which can be downloaded from  https://www.winlink.org/WinlinkExpress.

Winlink express is a free software used for hf mail and P2P standard emcom file transfer .To prevent the nagging registration reminder you better get a registration key for 24$ .

For the time being we have two sysopt RMS 3B8 land station ,3B8DU and 3B8FO.

You will get detailed info about vara from the  link  https://rosmodem.wordpress.com/2017/09/03/vara-hf-modem/


You can get interesting info about Modern Digital Modulation Techniques from
http://www.electronicdesign.com/communications/understanding-modern-digital-modulation-techniques.

Radiogram transfer using ROS

Successful transfer of  emcom ARRL radiogram transfer between 3B8FO and VK6YM at a distance of  5612 km between -14 to -20 s/n with 3B8FO using his NVIS inverted L antenna.

Successful ROS QSO with Herve VK6YM

3B8FO ,using his NVIS inverted L antenna, had some successful ROS qsos with Herve VK6YM on 14.103 today  when both fsq and winlink vara failed.Power used on both sides was 50W.

Winlink standard radiogram

Herve VK6YM successfully received standard emcom IARU  and ARRL forms from 3B8FO by winlink Winmor.

ROS datamode

Is having successful qso with Herve VK6YM  using ROS data mode.

ROS is a data mode developed by José Alberto Nieto Ros EA5HVK.

ROS implements a combination of FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum), DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) and 2G (Second Generation) CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), The modem deployed's a 144 MFSK phase continuous single tone, modulation scheme, ROS may be amplified by non-linear Tx path. Class c/d/e.

ROS provides efficient use of channel capacity and Data rate/power ratio and is exceptionally robust, being well suited to QRP Dx, low power chat and disturbed paths, ie, Polar and NVIS 5 MHz, where conventional data modes are unable to provide communication's.

Might use it together with FSQ for our emcom communicating channel.


Download and additional info available at

https://rosmodem.wordpress.com/

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jokk3dfe0vofcuc/Le%20ROS%2C%20qu%E2%80%99est%20ce%20que%20c%E2%80%99est%20%20by%20F1UCG.pdf

Emcom meeting with 3B8BAN

3B8FO had a meeting with Francois 3b8ban on sunday 17/06 in his shack at R-Hill.He was shown the  antenna farm of 3B8FO and they  discussed about the various NVIS antenna configuration possibilities and SWR issues.

Emcom tests using fsq and NBEMS

During the past few days many standard emcom messages  were successfully  transferred from 3b8fo to 3b8cw using the NBEMS suite of software as well as FSQ.

In my next post I will start talking about my version of NBEMS which I intend to propose for adoption for emcom purposes.

FSQ /file transfer tests carried out the past few days

3b8FO had successful messaging sessions with 3b8cw using fsq these past two days.

Standard formatted messages using flmsg messaging software on the fldigi platform  and using thor 22 as the data protocol  were successfully transferred from 3b8fo  to 3b8cw.

As from now on 3B8FO shall be sending regular info about encom practice using the NBEMS(Narrow band emergency system) and winlink concepts and suite of protocols both for HF and VHF.

Additional FSQ features.

Ability to conduct semi‐automatic nets.
Net control does not need to be present at station to take check‐ins and simple (non‐critical) messages related to net coordination.

Ability of stations to “message” each other as needed, even if they cannot directly
communicate, by using messaging relay function and relaying through intermediate stations.

Ability to poll stations to determine viability of RF link.

Ability to store messages at attended/unattended stations.

Ability to change the transmitting speed at another station.

Ability to open two instances of Fldigi to facilitate FSQCall keyboard‐to‐keyboard
chat messaging (1500 hz default) while using other Fldigi modes such as Thor or MFSK (700 Hz recommended) for formal traffic.

fldigi logging

Logging

In Directed Mode, FSQ maintains a log of all stations heard, in chronological order. With each entry, verified callsign, the date/time, and measured SNR are recorded in CSV (comma separated value) format. This is suitable for examination as a spreadsheet. The heard log file is named "fsq_heard_log.txt" and is located in the fldigi.files/temp folder.

A complete audit log of transactions is also maintained in Directed Mode. This includes regular time stamps, all raw received text, and all transmitted sentences. The audit log is named "fsq_audit_log.txt" and is located in the fldigi.files/temp folder.

FLDIGI and FSQ configs pg1

Download and install the latest version of FLDIGI from https://sourceforge.net/projects/fldigi/files/.

After downloading and installing the software go to the  Opt Mode menu and choose FSQ 4.5 as shown in the image below.

After choosing FSQ 4.5 you will get the screen shown below.
The speed 4.5 is shown on the bottom left of the screen.
The blue portion is where you type your  commands.
The yellow portion is where you commands/texts  are shown when they are being transmitted.
The white right portion is where the call signs of those with whom there have been communications appear.Right clicking of this portion will show you a list  of available commands/syntax you can choose from.
The bottom right shows a sliding button which you can use to adjust the sql level  and on its left  is shown the signal level in green.

FLDIGI and FSQ configs pg2

Go to the configure  menu and then UI and then to operator and you will get the window shown below.

This window shows various tabs

The operator tab is used for identification.
You  choose the FSQ mode from the modem tab.
Here you can insert the sounding time duration ,the baud rate,the QTC(e.g cq cq cq 3b8XX) and you may leave the other parameters as they are.
To set the audio  card that FSQ will use you have to open the audio tab and finally for rig cat control  you have to use the rig tab and fill the proper params.
On the bottom right of the screen you have the FSQ-on button,which  is green when FSQ is on  and the active button which should be red when fsq is active.
The monitor button will open a window which shows all your traffic both incoming and outgoing.

These are the main configs you have to do to have a working FSQ environment.

To send messages and files you have to type commands in the blue section and they are acted upon when you press enter.

Some examples

3b8cw? followed by enter

meaning :-3b8cw  are you hearing me.

if yes 3b8cw  responds with  3b8fo  snr=-7dB.

You may get additional info about the various syntaxes and commands from 

http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.22/fsq_page.html

http://www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/MFSK/Callweb.htm

I am showing some of these below as an avant gout.

FSQCALL Syntax (US Edition)
The Trigger Commands are:
? * ! ~ ; # % + - @ & $ < > ^ |plus space

callsign text (Enable print)
FSQCALL opens. Addressee station starts to print text. No trigger character used except space
following callsign. You MUST use a space or the trigger will not be recognised.

callsign? (Is station hearing me?)
FSQCALL opens. Addressee station starts to print. When squelch closes, station responds:
callsign<crc>origin_callsign snr=xxdB

callsign* (Enable FSQCALL)
Switches station to ACTIVE if FSQCALL is in SLEEP. Addressee station starts to print. When
squelch closes, station responds: callsign:<crc>origin_callsign Active

callsign! message (Repeat my message)
FSQCALL opens. Addressee station starts to print. When squelch closes, station responds:
callsign:<crc> message This is a simple relay mechanism. message can contain further trigger
commands.

callsign~ message (Repeat my message later)
FSQCALL opens. Addressee station starts to print. When squelch closes, after a delay of about 15
seconds, station responds: callsign:<crc> message This delayed relay is useful when stations
mentioned in message can hear and respond to the original message.

callsign;dest_callsign message (Relay my message)
FSQCALL opens. Addressee station starts to print. When squelch closes, station responds:
callsign:<crc>dest_callsign [origin_callsign] message This is a relay mechanism which preserves
the origin callsign as the message propagates so that any response can be relayed back to that
station. message can contain further trigger commands. In cases where a response is elicited, the
destination station responds: dest_callsign:<crc>callsign origin_callsign message. The message is
then relayed back to the origin station with the callsign of the destination callsign preserved:
callsign:<crc>origin_callsign [dest_callsign] message.

callsign#[nnn] (Send file to station)
Addressee station starts to print. Text following [nnn] will be saved in or appended to text file
nnn.txt. When squelch closes, station responds callsign:<crc>origin_callsign ack if the message
stored OK. There is no response if the message was not received. [nnn] can be alpha, numeric or
mixed.

callsign# (Send default file to station)
Addressee station starts to print. Text will be saved in or appended to text file
origin_callsign.txt. When squelch closes, station responds callsign:<crc>origin_callsign ack if
the message stored OK. There is no response if the message was not received.

allcall#[nnn] (Send file to all stations)
All stations within range start to print. Text following [nnn] will be saved in or appended to
text file nnn.txt. When squelch closes, station responds callsign:<crc> ack if the message stored
OK. There is no response if the message was not received.

allcall# (Send default file to all stations)
Addressee station starts to print. Text will be saved in or appended to text file callsign.txt.When squelch closes, station responds callsign:<crc> ack if the message stored OK. There is no
response if the message was not received.

callsign% format (Send image file to station)
An image file is sent to the addressee station. format is 'S' (small), 'L' (large) or 'F' (FSQ
Fax). In FSQCALL mode reception is automatic at the destination station. There is no response.

allcall% format (Send image file to all stations)
An image file is sent to all stations. format is 'S' (small), 'L' (large) or 'F' (FSQ Fax). In
FSQCALL mode reception is automatic at the destination station. There is no response.

callsign+[nnn] (Read file at station)
Addressee station starts to print text file nnn.txt if it exists. If it doesn't there is no
response. [nnn] can be alpha, numeric or mixed.

callsign+ (Read default file at station)
Addressee station starts to print text file origin_callsign.txt if it exists. If it doesn't there
is no response.

callsign- (Delete default file at station)
Addressee station deletes text file origin_callsign.txt if it exists. If it does and deletion
succeeds station responds with callsign:<crc> ack. Otherwise there is no response.

callsign@ (Request station position or location information)
Addressee station starts to print. When squelch closes, station responds with pre-recorded
sentence, typically containing QTH information. This could be GPS position, locator, or physical
address. This is the message stored and retreived by the QTH button.

callsign& (Request station message)
Addressee station starts to print. When squelch closes, station responds with pre-recorded
sentence, typically containing station information or an 'Out to Lunch' message. This is the
message stored by the QTC button.

callsign$n (Request station heard list)
Addressee station returns at most n entries from its stations heard list. Entries are returned in
reverse time order, newest to oldest up to n or the number of stations in the list. If n is
omitted the addressee station returns all entries in its heard List.

callsign^ (Request Software Version)
Addressee station starts to print. When squelch closes, station
software version.
responds with current FSQCALL

callsign|message (Send alert)
Addressee station starts to print. Alert pop-up box containing message is placed on the screen.
When the operator closes this dialog, a response transmission is made:
callsign:<crc>origin_callsign Alert ack
cqcqcq text (Call for general chat)
FSQCALL opens if CQ is enabled. Following text prints.
allcall text (All stations print)
FSQCALL opens. Following text prints at all stations.
callsign> or callsign< (Speed change)
> increases speed, < decreases speed at target station. Response is callsign:<crc>origin_callsignspeed If speed is already at the requested speed, the response is the same.

FSQ in favour of winlink.

After testing both FSQ and WINLINK(winmore,ardop,vara)  modes I have come to the conclusion that  FSQ , for internal emcom without the internet ,meets our needs in a more cost effective way rather  than winlink as each station in the latter system needs an expensive pactor modem for full mesh networking .We can keep winlink as the backup option for P2P communication as in this configuration no pactor modem is needed.

FSQ tests with Australia VK6YM/3B8DO have been successful and we now need to pursue local tests under NVIS scenarios.

Main features of FSQ

• It has been developed with NVIS emcom working in mind.
• It can perform well under very poor S/N conditions nearly at par with wspr.
• It can easily be configured without much hassle.
• By default it works full mesh and can easily be used  in relay mode as well .
• It has chat mode capability.
• It can be used to send text file,spreadsheets in cvs form,pictures,standard Arrl,Iaru,Red Cross forms and radiograms
• Its a low power mode ,thus can easily be fed  with battery and/or solar  power  and can be deployed using QRP transceivers.
• It works both for HF SSB and VHF/UHF FM.
• It has selective calling capability with extra features ,call a friend by call sign,check if your friend's equipment is operating,check your signal report,leave a message ,send files even when your friend is not around.
• It uses an MFSK system of 33 tones,operating at a maximum of nearly 6 baud.
• It provides nearly 60 words per minute.
• Its overall BW is 300 HZ meeting the ITU-R SM.1138 assessment method ,its ITU emission designator is 300HF1B,but the filter bandwidth per tone is only about 3 HZ.
• The centre of tone transmission is 1.5Khz above the radio dial frequency and the tones range from 1.35 to 1.65 Khz.
• It has very low latency-the first letter prints within 200ms of the start of reception.
• It operates in directed mode with tree levels of priority                                                               

Highest priority is manual sending(when the operator listens to the channel)      

The second level is automated responses.                                                                           The lowest level is sounding(automatic ID)

Weak signal IFK Propagation Tools For LF/MF/HF

Fsq compared to wspr

Link given below

http://www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/MFSK/MEPT-JT.htm

uBITX

uBITX transceiver.

We are happy to announce that D.Ujodha 3b8BAL has successfully assembled  his new uBITX  and we are planning to test  the transceiver for data modes specially targeted towards emcom activities.

Link for details about the uBITX transceiver is given below.

http://www.hfsignals.com/index.php/ubitx/

Winlink SYSOPT

Winlink SYSOPT

Yusuf,3B8FO, is now a winlink systopt and a message pickup point  in the winlink hybrid network.

A snapshot of winlink operating modes is given in the downloadable file on the right under radio amateur .

The links below will show you his  presence in the winlink community as well as that of 3B8DU.

https://winlink.org/RMSChannels  ---map of winlink stations for each protocol.

https://winlink.org/RMSChannels  ---list of winlink stations for each protocol.

Wspr tests

10m 

Using full vertical antenna

wspr 40m tests

No activity on 30m band also.

Switching to 40m band

wspr 30m test

Since there is almost no activity on 10 m I am now trying my luck on 30m with 20w.

No activity on this band also.

Switching to 40m band

wspr 10m test report

10m report 

TimeDate	Call	MHz	SNR	Drift	Grid	Pwr	Reporter	RGrid	km	az
2018-05-20 13:30	VR3WRD	28.126015	-27	-2	JE36	100	3B8FO	LG89rs	5322	78

WSPR tests

10m  WSPR testing.

Tx wspr on 28.124600 Mz at 20W using 160M INV L.

Will appreciate if you would also do the same as I have in mind using 10m frequencies for emcom with AU, ZS,VU and other countries in the IOR  as a 10m yagi can easily be built for DX.You can also invite your AU,ZS and VU friends to do the same.


73.

Emcom updates 19/05/2018

• Letter been sent to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) and to The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre (NDRRMC) giving the names of those available to help and support during emergencies.
• Winlink winmore,ardop and vara tests have been carried out by 3b8fo with 3b8du and all tests been successful except for vara.More tests will be carried out to find out the issues with vara
• FSQ tests also been carried out with VK6YM/3B8DO and tests are more or less satisfactory.
• I am adding 1/4 wave individual longwire antennae to my antenna farm for 15m,20m,30m,40m,80m .I already have an Inv-L 160m antenna which I was using for multiband operation
• I am now a winlink sysopt but yet to be active as I have few things to consolidate.