Ron Hashiro

I found a notice on Hawaiian Telcom's web page that they are discontinuing blog and web site hosting services. Check out the Hawaiian Telcom web page.

The amateur radio web pages are being moved to. www.qsl.net/ah6rh/am-radio/in-hawaii.html.

You will notice some glitches in the amateur radio web pages while the migration is underway. The disposition of the non-amateur radio web pages have not been determined as of yet.

If you're looking for a home computer-ham radio setup that makes quick work of CW morse code and other HF digital modes check out this web page.

The February meeting of the EARC featured a presentation on two meter and six meter single sideband, and the advantages for weak signal and emergency communications work. Also, you get to hear a demo of the incredible processing power of the ClearSpeech DSP Noise Reduction Processor. Click here to see the recorded video streaming of the meeting. The presentation starts at 58:00 into the video stream.

These are some of the equipment featured in the presentation.

• Icom IC-202S
• Kenwood TS-700A
• Icom IC-211
• Kenwood TR-9130
• Icom IC-22S
• Icom IC-290H
• Kenwood TR-751A
• Yaesu FT-726
• Yaesu FT-736
• Kenwood TS-790A
• Icom IC-970A
• Icom IC-820A
• Icom IC-821A
• Icom IC-910H


• Icom IC-706 MK II G
• Icom IC-7000


• Kenwood TS-2000


• Yaesu FT-817
• Yaesu FT-857D
• Yaesu FT-897D


• AmComm ClearSpeech DSP Unit
• West Mountain Radio CLRDsp DSP Unit


• Mutek Pre-amp replacement boards


• Elecraft Transverters
• DB6NT Transverters


• Diamond NR-73BNMO 1/2-wave end fed antenna
• Magnetic Mount Protective Pads

The web page with material and information on emergency communications, and the PDF article on lessons learned have been updated. Click here to see the web page.

A web page with material and information for studying and passing the Technician Class license has finally debuted. Click here to see the material.

Here are some YouTube links to (old) analog NTSC broadcast video sign-offs at the end of the broadcast day.

• KHON-2 End of Broadcast Day
• KITV-4 1986 End of Broadcast Day

This is a shocker. A web camera and microphone are concealed in a DTV converter box. Check it out yourself by viewing this video.

Rich KH6DAD and Ron AH6RH were on Bytemarks Cafe, KIPO FM 89.3 on Wed Feb 18 5:00 pm to discuss about ham radio and the emergency response/communications network. You can download the podcast at Bytemarks Cafe Podcast. The segment on amateur radio starts 20 minutes into the file.

A work crew replaced the antenna cable on the 146.88 MHz repeater. The tests and reports show that the signals and audio are much, much better, and the performance and coverage are outstanding. Our emergency communications capabilities of this critical repeater has never been better in over 30 years.

Mel, WH6UG and David, AH7E brought to light House Bill 58, which affects amateur radio and home owners associations. See this web page for further information and status.

A bill was passed by the City Council on January 28 with the intent of banning the use of cell phones and text messaging while operating a motor vehicle, which has an unintended affect on fleet dispatching systems. A bill for an ordinance was introduced by the City Council on January 28th with the intent of banning the use of handheld and mobile electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle on public roadways on Oahu. Similarly, House Bill 14 was introduced in the State House on January 22. Both bills are broadly written and could affect the use of two-way mobile radios. Senate Bills 249 and 760 also cover cellular phone usage while operating a motor vehicle. See this web page for further information and status.

The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency will conduct an island-wide tsunami exercise on Tuesday 27 Jan 09 starting at 0830 hours local time. The duration of the exercise will be about four hours, which is the normal window of preparation for a tsunami approaching Hawaii island from the north.

The Hawaii County Civil Defense Emergency Operation Center (EOC), located in Hilo, plans to activate their amateur radio station on both HF and VHF for this exercise. Harvey, AH6JA, will be the operator-in-charge.

Please check in directly from your base, mobile, or portable station; or, from one of the ARES key stations participating in this test. Harvey, AH6JA, will announce the exercise scenario at the beginning of the exercise and make the final call at ENDEX.

On HF we will use 7088 kHz and/or 3888 kHz depending on band conditions.

On VHF we will use both the BIWARN and the RACES repeater networks. On the Big Island, the frequencies of the state RACES repeater system are 147.04 MHz on the east side and 147.02 MHz on the west side. As always, we will use 146.52 MHz for on-site intra-team communications.

If you have Winlink 2k capability, you may use it during the exercise; however, you must first send an e-mail to motomura@hawaii.edu in order to be added to the Winlink 2k whitelist.

If you have packet capability, you may send messages directly to KH6EJ@arrl.net (the call sign used for the station at the EOC) through the AH6JA WL2K RMS Packet network.

To comply with FEMA policy, all formal messages should begin and end with the sentence: "This is an exercise message." When creating a message in ARRL format, this will add ten words to the CHECK field.

If you haven't already done so, now would be a good time to take FEMA courses ICS-100, ICS-200, and ICS-400. These are introductory level on-line courses that you can access from your home computer. The courses are free and you receive certificates for passing them.

This Tsunami Drill not only provides us with an opportunity to practice our emergency communication skills but also it serves to demonstrate the value and versatility that amateur radio operators can provide to various agencies on the Big Island. Please support this communications exercise by checking into at least one of the nets.

Big Island ECs, please forward this message to all Hams in your district. I will issue additional announcements regarding this event should they be needed.

73 and aloha, Eric KH6CQ
DEC, North Hawaii ARES

The ISS was in regular crossband repeater mode. 437.80 MHz up, 145.80 MHz down. The radio now seems to be tuned to an upcoming ARISS school contact.

The special commemorative event celebrating the 25th anniversary of amateur radio operations in space by a human ends on January 17th UTC (should end at 2:00 pm, January 17th, Hawaii time). If you've listened or made contact through the International Space Station (ISS) from November 30, 2008 through January 17, 2009, you are eligible for a special certificate. See AMSAT.ORG and ariss.org for details.

There is a special crossband mode for January 3 through 17. The uplink is 145.99 MHz PL 67.0 Hz, minus/plus 3.3 kHz doppler. The downlink is 437.80 MHz, plus/minus 10 kHz doppler.

You can get information on upcoming ISS passes at www.issfanclub.com.

You can get further information on how to make contact with the ISS at Web Page 1 and Web Page 2.

Note: The ISS was reboosted on Thursday, January 15. That has delayed the passtimes about a minute, as of 6:00 pm Thursday. Be advised you need to listen to the downlink of the repeater for audio (either an active QSO, your own signal on the repeater, or the repeater squelch tail) to determine if you're making through the repeater. You then need to adjust the pass times (delay it one minute, two minutes, three minutes, etc) as you observe. You may need to tune up and down to find the correct doppler-corrected frequency to adjust your times of operation. As always, listen for your signal on the downlink. If you don't hear the downlink, tune around. Remember the first rule of amateur radio: IF YOU CAN'T HEAR 'EM, YOU CAN'T WORK 'EM.

The doppler calculations for the evenings from Sunday evening Jan 11 through Wednesday evening Jan 14 are in this calculator log file. I will be in meetings on the evenings of Jan 12 and Jan 13, so I will not be around to activate the cross-band repeater early in the pass which serves as a beacon for the rest of you. The doppler calculations for Wed morning Jan 14, and remaining passes from Thursday morning Jan 15 through Saturday evening Jan 17 are in this calculator log file.

The doppler calculations for Sunday evening Jan 11 and Monday evening Jan 12 for KH6CPU, Lanai City are in this calculator log file. The doppler calculations for Tuesday evening Jan 13 and Wednesday evening Jan 14 for KH6CPU, Lanai City are in this calculator log file. The doppler calculations for Wednesday morning Jan 14 for KH6CPU, Lanai City are in this calculator log file. The doppler calculations for Thursday morning Jan 15 through Saturday evening Jan 17 are in this calculator log file. You will note that Cedric's doppler shifts occur at times different than on Oahu.

The doppler calculations for Tuesday evening Jan 13 through Saturday evening Jan 17 for Wailuku, Maui are in this calculator log file. You will note that these doppler shifts also occur at times different than on Oahu.

The doppler calculations for Thursday morning Jan 15 through Saturday evening Jan 17 for Waimea/Kamuela, Hawaii are in this calculator log file. You will note that these doppler shifts also occur at times different than on Oahu.

If you use these tables, PLEASE use them correctly. Do all of these preparations well before you attempt to work the ISS pass. You start the pass with the UHF downlink set to 437.810 MHz. Look for the rows that contains UHF downlink doppler shifts closest to (a) 7500 Hz, (b) 2500 Hz, (c) -2500 Hz and (d) -7500 Hz. These doppler shifts can be found on the extreme right hand column of the table. These doppler shifts represent the middle between 437.810 and 437.805, 437.805 and 437.800, etc. The UTC times on left of these rows are the UTC times you should change your VFO/memory frequency to (a) 437.805, (b) 437.800, (c) 437.795 and (d) 437.790 respectively. Subtract 10 hours from UTC time to get Hawaii Standard Time. (Quick Tip: UTC times between 00:00 and 10:00 are in the afternoon/evening, Hawaii time.)

Verify that you are able to hear the downlink. On the evening passes, you should be able to hear other stations actively accessing the repeater starting about 90 seconds into the pass. If your station is set up correctly, with a clear view of the sky, with no equipment problems and you follow the instructions above on when to change frequencies, you should hear the repeater activity.

PLEASE make sure you make the effort to set your clock to WWVH/NIST UTC Standard time. If you're off by as little as 30 seconds, you're going to mess up and not hear the downlink.

Operations have been easily and consistently made from a dual-band VHF/UHF mobile transceiver from the car with quarter-wave antennas running 50 watts of power. Again, the key to success is tuning the transmitter and receiver frequencies on schedule.

If you access the repeater, you should hear a 1/4 second squelch tail when you release the PTT on your microphone.

These stations are proficient at station operations and working the ISS reverse crossband repeater, and are eligible for an operating certificate from AMSAT.ORG.

• AH6CP
• KH6CPU
• KH6DAD
• WH7GG
• WH7IN
• WH7LH
• N6NCT
• KH6OM
• WH7QR
• AH6RH
• KH7T
• NH6TY
• NH7WN

Click on this first link and this second link if you need information on how to file for a 25th anniversary cerificate.

If you've made successful crossband repeater contacts on the ISS before, please help the newcomers to the ISS by reserving the middle of the pass for them, and making contacts with the new stations. The experienced ones should use the beginning and the end of the passes, which are more difficult for the new ones to use.

These stations have been heard trying to work the ISS reverse crossband repeater.

• KH6MSH
• WH7PD
• NH7ZD

These stations usually need one or more of these adjustments: (a) changing frequencies (especially the receive frequency) on schedule, (b) more transmit power, (c) unity gain antennas (or if using gain antennas, to provide proper tracking of the gain antennas).

SKYWARN in Honolulu is tentatively scheduled to activate at 6:00 pm due to the incoming high wind weather conditions that are expected to escalate starting Thursday, January 15. Frequencies will be the Oahu IRLP UHF repeater network. Additional frequencies monitored for traffic will be 146.88 MHz EARC Diamond Head repeater, and the State CD RACES VHF repeater system. DEM and State CD RACES are monitoring the situation to see if RACES radio operations will be activated.

Amateur radio operators will be providing communications and web updates support for the Hawaii Ultra Running Team 100 endurance run. An (optional, but valuable) training session will be held January 10, 1-4 p.m at State Civil Defense, Diamond Head crater. Please contact Bart Aronoff, WH6AA, at wh6aa(at sign)arrl.net as soon as possible if you are able to provide communications support.

A letter to the editor of the Honolulu Advertiser was published on Thursday, January 9th about the response by amateur radio operators to the island-wide power outage of December 26. The event made national news because President-elect Barrack Obama was vacationing on Oahu at the time.

The CDARC Amateur Radio License Testing Schedule for 2009 is now available.

Check out www.cqtube.com for videos on amateur radio. Merry Christmas!

If you're looking for past items, click here.