Out of touch?

Yesterday I was listening to a UK repeater that seemed to be linked to loads of stations by Allstar and Hubnet. I was listening via Echolink. It was good to hear it busy.

It is interesting that I know very little about this branch of amateur radio.

Echolink

Many times I have tried this, but found distant repeaters  as quiet as the local ones. With access from a PC or phone, I guess it is a way to still enjoy the hobby ....as long as someone is there to talk with! There are "non-ionosphere" alternatives like Hamsphere and CQ100. I personally have found these unsatisfying, but you may think differently.

See https://www.echolink.org/ .

Echolink

As I have a new phone, the Echolink app was installed. The last time tried was about a year ago. The repeaters were very quiet and I gave up. If anything, they are even quieter!   

It is worth trying again later, but this tells me something.

Echolink

It is a while since I have tried Echolink. With Echolink on your phone or PC, you can access repeaters on the other side of the planet, often used by locals to talk to others on VHF or UHF handhelds. You can even buy network radios that use the internet as the main bearer. 

I have an Android handheld with PTT that looks and feels just like a VHF handheld. I have to admit it is not used often as I prefer experimenting with "real" radio! 

If you cannot have big antennas or amateur radio in the conventional way, this may be a way to keep in touch.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/network-radio .

Internet linking

Quite a few (otherwise very quiet) repeaters have gone to internet linking. Locals can be quite surprised to hear people on the other side of the planet working portables close to home or to others in distant lands. I know of a few locals who have had lots of fun with Echolink and similar. For me this is not "real radio", but to some it is great fun and who am I to judge? The only difference is the internet carries the signal over most of the path, but the final hop can be by conventional radio, sometimes to a hand portable on 2m or 70cm.

Echolink QSO

Just had a very FB QSO with a USA station via a New Jersey repeater using Echolink. This was a chat. He even managed to understand my poor voice!

Echolink

For the first time in about 6 years, I had a couple of QSOs via distant repeaters using Echolink on the PC. It was so long since I used the system that both my email had lapsed and I had forgotten my password! I had to send a copy of my licence to get re-validated.

This morning I was listening to a repeater QSO in Christchurch, New Zealand and this afternoon I had a QSO with a hand-portable via a repeater near London and then a QSO via a repeater in northern Hungary with HA9OX. Quite fun.

The overall impression was repeater activity around the world is low: I had to work quite hard to find anyone to talk with. Maybe I should try Zello or IRN? Activity levels in the USA surprised me. I thought it would be quite easy to find activity in the local mornings on the urban repeaters over there, but all were quiet.

Now I know it works I can try again.

Network Radios

As HF conditions dive, some are turning to "network radios" instead. As an example, MLS sells the Inrico T320 which works over 3G ,4G or wi-fi networks through systems like Echolink. Essentially this uses the internet as the bearer, often with radio at the ends. The Inrico T320 is actually a handheld with charger. Some repeaters allow internet linking so you could talk through a network radio to mobiles on a distant repeater on the other side of the world.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-handheld-radio-internet-radio/inrico/inrico-t320-network-radio-transceiver-pd-8674.php

VE7 Repeaters

Now 23 hours without sleep having arrived in Vancouver after a long flight from the UK. Currently in the hotel room trying to work some BC locals via Echolink connected repeaters. What I really need is SLEEP though!

13cm handheld "DX" QSO

My iPod Touch 4g has the free Echolink app installed and last night, when I went to bed, I decided to give it a try. I managed to work a mobile station in Brisbane, Australia using the Brisbane repeater. In effect, the iPod Touch is used as a 13cm QRP handheld transceiver (using the 802.11 wi-fi functionality). Fun, with simple operation and good audio reports. I continue to be amazed by the iPod Touch 4g which is a truly amazing piece of kit for around £160. There are very many useful amateur radio applications including a free oscilloscope and audio spectrum analysers and spectrograms for a few pounds only.