Keep in mind, though, that use of the WL2K system still leaves you at the mercy of outside people to keep their systems up and running.  If an event is big enough to require wide-spread bugging-out it is possibly also big enough to disrupt WL2K access, at least regionally.

It seems to me HF peer-to-peer operation of AirMail or RMSExpress should be considered as a way to avoid depending on anyone else's infrastructure.  WL2K is great for backup email or training purposes, but I see peer-to-peer as the real value for preppers - and, if you can do WL2K, it requires nothing additional other than some prior coordination.

Wally

As Luck mentioned, there are two kinds of grounds we are interested in - "earth" grounds and antenna ground planes.  Earth grounds are what you think of when you talk about power safety grounds or lightning protection and can be accomplished by driving ground rods into the ground.  However, these generally make poor ground planes, which are what you want for antenna systems.  Earth grounds are not required for antenna systems*, and a driven ground rod makes a pretty poor ground plane unless you have a bunch of them.

Let's take Luck's example of a dipole a little further and turn it vertical.  Now let's keep it vertical but lower it until the feed point is at ground level - that places one half of the dipole laying on the ground.  If we adjust the length of the lower section to compensate for the effects of laying on the ground instead of being up in the air, we call it a counterpoise.  If we add a bunch more of them, and stretch them out equally spaced from each other, we call them radials.

Now if we take the vertical part and angle it over to tie the end to a convenient tree we have a sloper - and that and a dipole are the two easiest antennas to use in the field.  If you use a sloper you have a counterpoise of the correct length for the bands you are operating stretched out on the ground.  If you have a dipole, the "counterpoise" is up in the air.

We here in the US get criticized by the rest of the world for using the word "ground" because of the confusion it creates.  The rest of the world says it should be "earthed" if you want a driven rod, and what we call "chassis ground" (the reference point in a circuit) should be called "zero volts".  I don't know what they use for "ground plane" for antennas - but the point is we use the word "ground" to describe three separate concepts and it causes confusion.

Antenna ground planes are created with wires, not rods, and they can be elevated or buried.  That means that the ground plane of a mobile antenna is simulated by the metal mass of the vehicle... which accounts for their generally poor performance.

* - Edit to add:  Unless you want to incorporate lightning protection, which may be of interest to some members of the group.

I hope my wordiness doesn't just cause further confusion...
Wally

I should have added that my experience is with Airmail and I have not used RMSExpress.  I was always under the impression Airmail would not break a binary transfer to ID, so I have always interrupted the process and reconnected.  On reconnection the receiving station tells the sending station how much of the file it already has and it starts from there.

Sorry for the confusion on my part.
Wally

Quote from: gil on June 02, 2013, 10:39:10 PMNot sure if that is legal and you should be on the premises..

Gil, this is perfectly legal.  When Ray, or anybody else, connects to your station using a peer to peer digital mode your station is considered under remote control of the calling operator.  So, in this case, Ray was the control operator exercising remote control of your station.  This is allowed because of the time out feature... if the connection is lost for some reason your station will time out for lack of response.

As long as the ten minute ID rule is observed it is all legal.  That means that binary file transfers must be small enough so they are completed in less than ten minutes, since the software will ID before and after a transfer, but not during.

Wally

Several years ago we didn't have suitable backup email in case our DSL service went down, which it could do with a good storm here in more or less rural southwest Washington state.  At that time cellular service available at our property was limited to voice only.  A good friend introduced me to the magic of email over HF radio and the Winlink system.  That was before Winmor, RMSExpress and other sound card solutions were available, so I bought a Kantronics KAM+ to start out.  It worked extremely well and I had backup email plus I was able to trade peer-to-peer messages with friends.  It was great, but it was slow with only Pactor 1.  Then, many of the Winlink 2000 stations stopped accepting P1 connections because of the slow throughput.  I gulped, choked a little, and bought an SCS modem so I could do Pactor 3 and play with the big kids.  It was fun... one day I went to my shack and had a direct, peer-to-peer, no commercial infrastructure needed jpeg photo of my friend's new sailboat.  How cool was that?  He asked me to post it to a forum where we hung out, but my radio computer didn't/doesn't have internet access, so I used WL2K to forward it to my normal email account and posted it from my main computer.

I'm embarrassed to admit I have let my simple wire antenna deteriorate markedly in the last few years.  All that is left of it is the 135 feet 80m part of a 80/40/20 fan dipole The other day I started checking to see how much capability I still have and after doing some testing I left the station sitting on a 20m WL2K frequency.  Later I saw where my station had monitored a WL2K station in Florida - and that startled me.  So today I thought I would give him a try... I was hearing faint Pactor sounds in the noise and figured there wasn't much chance of connecting, but what the heck.  I was amazed when our stations linked almost immediately when I initiated the connection.  His signal was very strong and we had an excellent connection that would have supported pretty decent throughput.  This was about 1830 PDT (2130 EDT or 0130Z) on 20m.

I mention this for a couple of reasons... one is that I didn't think I had much chance of making that connection given today's conditions, but it turned out to be a slam dunk.  It didn't cost anything to try, so why not give it a shot?  Sometimes a quiet band does not mean it is dead.  Another reason is just to plug email over radio as another useful tool in the communications toolbox.  If my SCS modem were to die today I would have lower cost options for replacing it - RMSExpress/Winmor are viable methods now that were not available when I got stated.

Now I need to get a replacement antenna in the air.

Wally

Dang Ray, that's super!  That sounds like a great little radio, congratulations.

Wally

Quote from: KK0G on May 25, 2013, 02:34:31 PMBy the way, my call is a vanity. I believe (at least in the zero call area) that the only way to get a 1x2 or 2x1 call is via vanity.

Yes, the only way to get a 1x2 or 2x1 call anywhere is through the vanity system.  The FCC does not issue previously used calls to new licensees, and all 1x2 and 2x1 calls have been previously issued.  That's why new extras now get 2x2 calls if they don't keep their existing call.  When I upgraded from General to Extra I kept my old call because I knew I would try for a 2x1 since a few would be available at the time.

Wally

Thanks Luck, I'll go through the link and see what they have to say.

Several years ago I bought an SCS PTC-IIex to have P3 backup email.  I live out in a more or less rural area, and rely on above-ground phone lines for DSL service - no cable TV out here.  At the time, cell phone service was limited to not much more than voice, so WL2K was a very viable fall-back position.  Actually, it still is, even though cellular digital service has made it out here... assuming the cell towers are still operational.  Another member of this group introduced me to the wonders of Pactor and the world hasn't been the same since.

I was unaware that the NTS had moved in that direction; I guess I should pay more attention.  While CW is a great mode, i am a big fan of the automated modes that only require an operator at one end.

Wally

Is the NTSD net an ARRL function?  I see some information is on the ARRL website, but a lot of the details are on a private site. 

http://home.earthlink.net/~bscottmd/n_t_s_d.htm

I was wondering if NTSD is an extension of ARRL's old NTS, or if it is a separate function.

Thanks,
Wally

$18,000 would buy a lot of legal ham equipment for playing radio...

Wally

He posted that his first attempt would have to be tonight since he would probably be en route during the first Sunday time slot.

Wally

A few years ago I saw a claim somewhere that those bright colors were actually a "safety feature" so rescue parties could more easily find lost campers. 

No, really.
Wally

If I were using a mag-mount antenna on the roof of a vehicle, I wouldn't bother with a rat-tail.  In that case you have removed the rubber ducky from the radio and connected a coax cable however long that leads to the mag-mount antenna.  You want the counterpoise (the missing half of a dipole) to be at the junction of the feed line (coax) and the antenna.  The metal roof serves as the counterpoise to the vertical whip of the mag-mount.  Ditto if you place a mag-mount on top of your refrigerator, metal cookie baking sheet, file cabinet or whatever.

Wally

I have had a Weller WES51 for several years and I'm happy with it.  Currently around $90 on Amazon, it is temperature controlled with an analog dial and the tip is protected against static discharge.  The same thing is available in a digital version, but I didn't see the need for the extra precision in my hobby work.  For years I used a Radio Shack two-speed iron my wife got me for Christmas one year, and it is ok, but I definitely like being able to dial in the temp based on what I am doing.  I keep the Radio Shack iron around for quick and dirty stuff, but the Weller gets used when circuits are involved.

I have never used a Hakko, but they are supposed to be good stuff.  Adafruit has a digital Hakko for $110 at https://www.adafruit.com/products/1204

Wally

Quote from: s2man on May 08, 2013, 01:02:20 PMWally, Does this mean performance would be even poorer if the HT were used with an external mike/speaker, with no body contact to the HT?

Nice catch - yes it does, unless you use a reasonable substitute.  Setting the HT on the metal roof of a vehicle and using an external speaker/mic can improve performance.  The metal roof acts as a ground plane, like with a mag-mount antenna.

Wally