====================================================================== D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. Jul 03, 1994 by Ken Harris WA8LLM (304) 679-3470 or 485-3828 WOOD COUNTY RACES, 1810 STAUNTON AVE., PARKERSBURG, WV 26101 D.A.R.E.N. News, are short articles about the Digital Amateur Radio "Emergency" Network of WV, which operates on 145.69 Mhz. Anyone having information about the network, they would like to share with others, may leave it to WA8LLM @ WA8OMR.WV.USA.NA, or on PKBGWV on 145.05, .09, or .69 Mhz. D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV is posted on the normal BBS system @ ALLWV, and on the DAREN PBBSs: CHASWV, DAREN-1, ELKNWV, HILLWV, MGTNWV, MRTNWV, NMARWV, PCTNES, and PKBGES. A State Wide DAREN NET is held every Saturday from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. DAREN NET Announcements, with the previous week's check-ins, are posted, by Thursday, on most MAIN county PBBS. * * * Out of service NODE/PBBSs: * * * PENDWV/FKLNWV, HARRES/CKBGES, CABEWV/HUNTWV, FAYEWV/OAKHWV With one station wiped out because of Mother Nature (CABEWV/HUNTWV), and another by thieves (FAYEWV/OAKHWV), now might be time to look at having some kind of savings plan that can be used to replace or repair stations, just a thought. Groups that have a DAREN station in their county should contact their County Emergency Services Director, and explain to them about the system, you'll be surprised how many of them already know about it. The directors of EMA Counties that don't already have two stations, one in their EOC, and one on a hilltop, should apply for the Federal Funding, through the state. The WV Office of Emergency Services has again put DAREN equipment, as number one priority, for Warning and Communications this year. Check with your E/S Director. While at the ARES/RACES meeting at the State Convention, an interesting item was brought up. John, N8PPH, Wanted to know if there was a list of Amateurs that are active on DAREN, or in traffic handling, etc. His thoughts were, if a DAREN mailbox were down, and he wanted to get in contact with a person using that mailbox, is there another way he can be contacted? Example, what other mailbox, what other frequency, what other mode, etc. can he use to contact that person. This might be big challenge, but I'm going to give it a try. If you are a user of the DAREN system, or someone who handles traffic, I'd like to get a list together. This list would be posted on the same High Memory PBBS' as those listed at the top of the page. On the list, I would like to have the following information: Call, First & Last Name, Address, Telephone Number, Primary & Secondary DAREN PBBS' you use, Regular BBS you use, voice repeater you stand by on, and any other frequencies you monitor, your WV ARRL Zone, if you know it, and any other information you would like posted. There are some operators that don't read the DAREN News, so you can help by passing this information along. Remember, this information will be available for all to see, if you have an UNLISTED telephone number, and you don't want it seen, give it as UNLISTED. Bill, WD5GKE, would like to have information about incidents or disasters that happen in your area. Things such as plane crashes, large fires, plant explosions, boats sinking, train de-railments, tanker trucks wrecks, etc. Bill says Army MARS, would like to have this type information sent over their network for practice in handling emergency information. If something happens in your area, get as much information as possible, and send it to Bill. Bill will be putting a 24 hour a day station at his home shortly, but in the mean time, leave him a message, with the information WD5GKE @ NMARWV. Lynn, AI8I, reported that he only had 34 check-ins to this week's State DAREN Net. A lot of those who normally check in, were still at the State Convention at Jackson's Mill. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. July 10, 1994 *********************************************************************** D.A.R.E.N. NEWS SPECIAL part 3 of 4 (continued from 5/29/94) When connecting to the NODEs, if the letter "S" is added after the CALL or ALIAS, the route will stay connected back to that NODE after a disconnect (by the use of "Bye") has been issued. This is handy if there are several NODEs, and you are going to re-connect to another station in the same path. Also when connecting from NODE to NODE, waiting for a "LINK MADE" message is NOT necessary. If you are connecting through several NODEs, that you know are in operation, and have good paths to each other, you can type them in, one right after another, without waiting for a "LINK MADE" message to come back from each one. After you have connected to the first NODE, leaving your station, you can type the next NODEs in a row. Example: C (node 2) C (node 3) C (node 4) etc. etc, then just sit back and wait for the last NODE or PBBS to answer. The same thing holds true when sending a message. After you have connected to a PBBS, you can send all of your information, without having to wait for the PBBS to tell you what to send next. Example: ST (call) (the subject information) , (type your message), , and then finish it all off by sending a / EX or a Ctrl Z, (on a line by itself) . After you have hit the last , just sit back, relax, and wait for a "MESSAGE SAVED" message to come back. Most NODEs only have 3 or 4 channels, so during busy times, you may get a "link busy at (node)". If this happens, digipeat thru it, but only use digipeating as a last resort. Digipeating, as opposed to connecting from NODE to NODE, takes longer in a long run, if the frequency is busy. You can use a combination of "connecting and digipeating" through the NODEs to get to your destination, that's why the NODEs and DIGIs have the same ALIAS. Several NODEs are being up graded to increase the amount of NODE Channels, and to reduce the amount of digipeating. When disconnecting, don't "Force a Disconnect" by using "CTRL C and Disconnect", this ties up a NODE channel until it retries out. If you make a mistake when making a connection, and catch it after you have pressed , you can type "ABORT", then re-type the last command. (to be continued) *********************************************************************** Kent, KB8NCX, reported that he had to put his Grandmother in the hospital because of cancer, and he had to make some last minute changes for the net. It was a little tuff getting checked in, but he reported 53 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. The nets won't always be easy to get into, but it will make us better operators. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. July 17, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * PENDWV/FKLNWV, HARRES/CKBGES, CABEWV/HUNTWV, FAYEWV/OAKHWV Lynn, AI8I, says he's finally got the Pocahontas County NODE/PBBS on the mountain, an elevation of around 4200 feet. It doesn't have as good a coverage as he was hoping for, but he says the antenna isn't the best in the world. He's hoping to have a Diamond F-22 fiberglass antenna on the station by Fall. The NODE has paths to GREEWV, MERCWV, WYOMWV, and he's been testing a path to KANAWV. The path to KANAWV might be good for connecting to, but not for digipeating. He feels there should be a path to PENDWV, when it gets back on the air. The NODE is POCAWV and has 15 NODE Channels. The PBBS is MARLWV (Marlinton). It has 55K of memory in the PBBS, and also has ato- forwarding into the DAREN system. The DAREN News, and RACES Bulletins, will now be posted on MARLWV, and LSBGWV. Jim, WA2GIN, has been without a computer for awhile, but he's back on the air He's going to see why the Harrison County EOC NODE/PBBS is not in operation. In the mean time he has a station setup at his house, about 85 percent of the time. The CALL/MAILBOX/DIGI (no NODEs) is WA2GIN-2/CLKBES-1/CLRKBG. If you have any traffic for Harrison County, that might be the place to put it, until CKBGES is back in operation. Since I haven't received very many reports of Field Day activity using the DAREN System, there's not much to report, but I said I would reprt on the activities in this week's DAREN News. Wood County RACES using the call N8LDM 2A WV, made 14 contacts. Messages from Phil, K8MHR, and Karl, KB8LMW, indicate the Putnam County NODE/PBBS has been upgraded to 128K of RAM. The PBBS now has 70K of memory and the NODE has 11 NODE channels. The Pleasants County NODE, PLEAWV/STMYWV was inoperative for about 5 days. Bob, KB8FVU, went to the tower site, made a few tests and walked away with it baair. For some reason, the radio had no receive audio. Desperate for something to do, Bob turned the radio off, and back on, and it again had receive audio. Powering down & up electronic equipment seems to be the solution to a lot of problems. The Marshall County NODE/PBBS was down again. Don, WB8ZTV, thought the TNC may have been scrambled again. What he found was the battery backup/charger/power supply had been "smoked". The Raleigh County NODE, RALEWV/BECKWV, now has a different callsign. The old call was N8HTR-1, the new call is KG8JG-1. It's the same control operator, just a new call, congratulations Mark. There were only 49 check-ins to this weeks State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. July 24, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * PENDWV/FKLNWV HARRES/CKBGES CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV The West Virginia State Fair will be held at Lewisburg, in Greenbrier County, from August 12 to August 20. The Amateur Radio Club will have a booth set up and will be operating a Special Event Station again this year. They plan to have a Digital Demonstration, and Mike, N8VXL, has asked to operate the State Wide DAREN Net on August 13th. The net time will be changed for that week ONLY. The net will start at 7:00 pm instead of 7:30. The net will end at 9:00 pm, since the building, where the net will be operated from, will close at 9:00 pm, a half hour before the net is usually over. Mike says they may have special certificates for those who check into the net that night. I talked to Shannon, KG8GN, on the telephone the other day, and he said "I told you so". When I was trying to line up system operators for the four NODEs that were purchased by Woodmen of the World, I asked Shannon if he would do it. He told me that the location where the Mineral County NODE would be installed, would show no mercy on the antenna we had picked out, and he was right. About a month ago, all that is left of the antenna is a quarter wave stub. The Ringo Ranger 2B antenna, just isn't made for locations where there are steady winds and ice. He's going to look for an antenna that will withstand the torture of Pinacle Mountain, and hopes to get his Amateur Radio Club to purchase it. He's also looking to upgrade the NODE/PBBS to version 5.1 firmware and 128K of RAM. This will let the station be a High Memory PBBS with Auto Forwarding, and more NODE Channels. In the mean time, the path between NODEs MINEWV and BERKWV is very limited. Mother nature has taken it's toll again. Bob, KC8KV, said the Barbour County NODE/PBBS, BARBWV/PHILWV, has been struck by lightening. His tests so far have indicated the power supply has been burnt up, and the transmitter doesn't seem to have any output power. He may be taking a trip to the Parkersburg area next week, and if he does, he's going to bring the station with him, so we can get a better look at it. There were 43 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ================================================================== D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. July 31, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * PENDWV/FKLNWV HARRES/CKBGES CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV I meet with Bob, KC8KV, and picked up the Barbour County NODE, BARBWV. I don't think there's any major damage done to the station. The power supply had a bad pass transistor, and voltage regulator, but it's ready to go. The radio receives ok, but has very very little output power, and may be sent back to Alinco for repairs, if not, a new power amplifier brick will be ordered, and replaced locally. I talked to Seth, KB8KMI, on the telephone, and he says it may not be too long before the Cabell County NODE/PBBS, CABEWV/HUNTWV, are back on the air. Lightening, which burnt up the station, came through the power lines and there was hardly anything that could be found of the power supply transformer. He thinks the TNC may get replaced with a KPC-3. He also wanted to remind me of the DAREN forum, which I will be holding at the Huntington Hamfest August 13, at the Huntington Civic Center. We also talked about an early weather warning system that we may try to get in operation. Weather advisories, of pending storms, would be put into a PBBS at the National Weather Service in Charleston, and a Beacon sent out so all operators and storm spotters would know it was there, and retrieve it. George, K8QEW, and I have been talking about having another Picnic/Meeting, like we had last year. George would like to have all the ARRL ECs, and RACES Radio Officers attend, and I would like to have all of the DAREN SYSOPs attend and discuss the Network. This would be a "bring your own picnic basket" informal meeting. The meeting would be used to discuss anything about ARES, RACES, DAREN, and anything else related to Amateur Radio. Last year's Picnic/Meeting was held in Clarksburg, and the West Virginia ARRL Zone Districts were re- structured. We need to know what the EC's, Radio Officers, SYSOPs, and all Amateurs think about the idea. Please pass the word on your local voice repeaters and club meeting, and leave a message for George on WEIRWV, or me on PKBGWV of what you think. With PENDWV out of service for awhile, Mark, WB8ZLQ is going to reroute traffic from MRTNWV via MINEWV. The path between MRTNWV and MINEWV is very marginal since the Mineral County NODE antenna has been destroyed by the wind and ice. There were 57 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. August 7, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * HARRES/CKBGES CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV Since Dave, KA8ZXP, has been out of the area for the last couple of weeks having "fun", on vacation, the Pendleton County NODE/PBBS, PENDWV/FKLNWV, came back on the air. I talked to Dave, and found out that Dick, N8FMD, made the trip to the mountain, and found what was wrong with the NODE. When Dick got to the mountain, he found the radio had no display, but yet it was warm. He did the most common thing to do, he turned the radio off, and then back on, and it came back to life. You really don't know how important some NODEs are till one goes off the air. PENDWV is a very important link to the Eastern Panhandle and also a good route between the Northern and Southern halves of the state. There is a path between PENDWV and POCAWV. POCAWV went on the air after PENDWV went off, so this is the first chance we've had a to see if the path was there. I've noticed in the last week or so that a couple of stations in West Virginia have been trying to connect to a BBS in Pennsylvania that can be seen when the band seems to be "HOT". You want to remember and pass the word that "DAREN" NODEs shouldn't be used to connect to NON-DAREN type stations. If we let the DAREN Network start being used for such activities, it won't be much good to us when we need it. I haven't heard from anyone about having a Picnic/Meeting like the one last year. George, K8QEW, left me a message and I don't think he has heard from anyone either. If you're interested in a Picnic/Meeting where items such as ARES, ATV, DAREN, MESSAGE HANDLING, PACKET, RACES, or any other items that you would like to discuss, we need to know. Leave a message or either George on WEIRWV, or myself on PKBGWV, to let us know. It's been a job trying to count all of the check-ins to the DAREN Nets that have been held for almost two years. Bill, N8JXO, has put all of the check-ins into a database, and now has them all counted. There's been 323 different stations that have checked into the nets. At least 32 of them have checked in at least 50 times, and some as many as 93 times. As soon as I get the certificates printed up, I will be mailing them out to the stations that have checked in at least 50 times. Don't forget, the State Wide DAREN Net will have a time change for the August 13th net only. The times will be 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The Net Control Station will be located at the West Virginia State Fair. There were 52 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. August 14, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * HARRES/CKBGES CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV I received a message form Mike, N8WMU, the membership of the Plateau Amateur Radio Association has come up with a Azden 2 meter radio and a power supply to get the Fayette County NODE, FAYEWV, back in operation. They're are hoping to get a TNC donated for it. I've talked to the Fayette County Emergency Services Director, Steve Crookshank, and he's going to see what he can do to get the station back on the air. The county Emergency Services purchased the station that was stolen when the building, that housed the station was broken into. I reported last week that check-ins for the State Wide DAREN Nets have been tallied up and certificates will be sent to those operators having checked into at least 50 State Wide DAREN Nets. Each time an operator checks into the nets 50 times, they will receive a certificate. I know there have been some operators that have upgraded their licenses and their calls have changed. If your call has changed since you first started checking into the DAREN Nets, send a message to me @ PKBGWV, giving what your old call/s is/was so they can be added in. At the Huntington Hamfest yesterday the 13th, I found out that a DAREN station will be installed in the Huntington Police Department's Communications vehicle. Also Clay Carney says there will be a permanent packet station installed in the State Office of Emergency Services' Communications trailer. Bill, WD5GKE, now has a mailbox on at his house most of the time. He's now ready to start receiving reports of incidents or disasters that happen in your area or anyplace within the state. Reports like plane crashes, large fires, plant explosions, boats sinking, tanker truck wrecks, and train de-railments, are just a few of the reports he would like to get. He wants the reports so he can send the information over the MARS network for practice of handling emergency information. If you know any incidents or disasters such as those listed, send the information to WD5GKE. Bill would like for you put the information on his mailbox, WD5GKE-1. You can connect to it from WETZWV. Lynn, AI8I, who was helping Mike, N8VXL, and Jim, WD8DMS watch the net, reported there was about 66 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net, which was located at the West Virginia State Fair in Lewisburg. Paths were checked a few days ago to see which NODEs would be the best to connect to, but paths from WYOMWV and POCAWV, on net night, August 13th weren't any good. Lynn monitored the frequency while the net was in progress and saved the list that he monitored. He will be getting with Mike and Jim, and get a complete list together. Be sure to check the list next Thursday, to see if you made it in. There will be a certificate to those who send a SASE to: MIKE COLEMAN, 205 ECHOLS LN, LEWISBURG, WV 24901 ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. August 21, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * HARRES/CKBGES CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV After I posted last week's DAREN News, I had a telephone call from Ken, KA3SKW. He enlightened me about a problem that kept at least three operators from getting checked into the August 13th State Wide DAREN Net. It seems there was a steady signal, with tone, on the air. The signal varied from about a "+5" down to a "busy" light. He was unable to connect to any of his normal NODEs MINEWV, TUCKWV, PENDWV, and RANDWV. Since he has told me about the signal, I remember getting "RETRIED OUT", going from WOODWV and RANDWV, which was very unusual. It may have been a transmitter with a TNC stuck on. Any stations that tried to check into the August 13th net, and didn't make it, should leave me a message. The NCS that night was Mike, N8VXL, and Jim WB8DMS, located at the WV State Fair. I talked to George, K8QEW, on the telephone the other day, and it looks like a Picnic/Meeting will not be held this year. The Picnic/Meeting would have been the time to discuss a number of activities related to Amateur Radio: ARES, RACES, Frequency Coordination, Message handling, DAREN, NETs, Emergency Communications, and a whole lot more. He only heard from 11 Amateurs that would be interested in having the activity. Out of the 11, only about 6 were sure they would be able to make it. I talked to Mike, N8WMU, while he was in Parkersburg over the weekend, and told him I had talked to Steve Crookshank, Emergency Services Director Fayette County about replacing the KPC-2 that was stolen with a KPC-3. Mike has a transceiver and power supply, for the Fayette County NODE/PBBS, FAYEWV/OAKHWV, but just needs a TNC. I told him I hadn't heard back from Steve yet, but I was away at school for a week, and on vacation for a week. I will try to get back with Steve this week. Judy, N8UFQ, reported 42 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net, that was held at the Parkersburg Homecoming and Half Marathon. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. August 28, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * HARRES/CKBGES CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV RALEWV/BECKWV WYOMWV/PINEWV I don't know what's happening, but we've lost two more NODEs this past week. I haven't seen the Raleigh County NODE/PBBS, RALEWV/BECKWV, since Thursday the 25th at about 0500, and Lynn, AI8I, said that a storm went through the area of Wyoming County Saturday morning, the 27th, and now the NODE/PBBS, WYOMWV/PINEWV is off the air. Stations with traffic for counties, South of Kanawha County, might want to avoid using the Auto-forwarding system, since most of the Auto-Forwarded traffic goes through NODE WYOMWV. Traffic for Raleigh County can be left on BECKWX (at the Beckley Weather Service). Traffic for Wyoming County can be left on BLFDWV (Bluefield). I got a message from Bob, N8RIR, and he's looking for suggestions for outfitting Mercer County's new E-911 Dispatch Center, with Amateur Radio equipment. At the present time, they're trying to get a DAREN Station like other Emergency Operation Centers have done. I want to thank Bill, N8JXO, for his help in sorting the check-ins from the State Wide DAREN Net that has been in operation since October 31, 1992. He took all the check-in logs, put them in order, and counted the number of times that stations have checked in. There were some mistakes on a few of the calls, but most of them have been corrected. The list is too long to put here in the DAREN News, so I will post the list on the same PBBSs that has the News. I'll update the list about once a month. There are 24 stations that have checked into at least 50 nets. As soon as I get the certificates designed and printed up, I'll be sure to get them out. Every time a station checks in 50 times, they will get receive a certificate. I want to make the certificates something you'll be proud of, and want to hang on the wall. If you have checked into the Net, and your call isn't on the list, let me know, so I can go back over the logs. There were 57 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. September 04, 1994 * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV WYOMWV/PINEWV MONOWV/MGTNWV I received a message from Charlie, WB8CNN. He advised me the Wyoming County NODE/PBBS was hit by lightening and that Tim, KC8IT was working on it. He hopes to have it back on the air shortly after the Labor Day Holidays. Charlie also says that Mark, KG8JG, has been working on the Raleigh County NODE/PBBS, RALEWV/BECKWV. There was some kind of TNC problem. Mark gave it a soft reset, and it seems to be working ok now. I finally got the Power Amplifier Module ordered that should get the Barbour County NODE/PBBS, BARBWV/PHILWV back in operation. The radio, an Alinco DR-1200, got hit by lightening, and was putting out very minimal power, but was able to receive ok. If the PA Module does the trick, BARBWV/PHILWV should be back on the air shortly. Well, I did it again. Last year, I should have learned my lesson about using a long run of RS-232 cable between my TNC and my computer, but like everyone else, I'm hard headed. Even though my computer and the UPS were unpluged from the commercial power, it still got zapped by an induced lightening spike. I had a 50 foot piece of RS-232 cable between my computer, upstairs, and my TNC, downstairs. Last year a lightening storm induced a high voltage spike into the cable, and took out the computer and the TNC, well, it did it again this year. The bad thing about losing the computer is, I didn't save the files to floppy disks like I should've. If my hard drive is ruined, I'll get a chance of finding copies of all the information I had stored on it. FAIR WARNING!!! BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER WITH FLOPPY DISKS AND DISCONNECT ANY LONG RUNS OF RS-232 CABLES. Phil, K8MHR, left me a message, saying he now has a mailbox, on DAREN, in operation from 0700 to 2300, 7 days a week. Phil handles a lot of MARS traffic. Jim, WA2GIN, says someone must have got to the Harrison County EOC NODE/PBBS, HARRES/CKBGES, before he did, and got it back in operation. He says the NODE has good paths to PENDWV, RANDWV, UPSHWV, and PRESWV. He also let me know the Monongalia NODE/PBBS, MONOWV/MGTNWV is down. I will try to find out from Pepper, KA8ZOO, what the trouble might be. I think it went down right after a severe lightening storm. Mike, KG8JA, reported 55 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. This was Mike's first time as NCS. There will be a little information added to the Net Announcement from now on. The location of the NCS will be added after the name and call. This may help those trying to get checked in find a better path to the NCS. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. September 11, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV MONOWV/MGTNWV Phil, K8MHR, has posted a list of frequencies that are used for Hurricane operations. They are commercial U.S. frequencies from 4270 Khz to 21.937 Mhz using voice and FAX, and Amateur frequencies on 80, 75, 40, 20, and 10 meters using voice and CW. Since we're in the middle of the Hurricane season, these frequencies might be good to monitor. He will leave the frequencies posted on "HURCWV" for a week or so. If you don't get the list before he removes it, you can leave him a message and ask for it. Since there have been several PBBS's that are out of service, there's more traffic being left on DAREN-1. Stations that usually get a few messages, might want to keep a close check on DAREN-1. There are messages that have been there for several days. If you're expecting messages, be sure the PBBS that you normally get them on, is still in operation. Also when posting a message, using the Auto-Forwarding system, you should make sure the @ PBBS is spelled right, otherwise the message will be sent to DAREN-1, where it will set until someone picks it up and puts it somewhere else. Lynn, AI8I, send me a message saying that WYOMWV/PINEWV was back on the air. When I connected to it, I notice that it's still a KPC-2, so it might not have been too big a problem getting it back in operation. WYOMWV is a vital link in the southern part of the state. I'm still waiting for the power amplifier modules, one of which will go into the Barbour County NODE/PBBS, BARBWV/PHILWV. I hope that takes care of the problem, and if it does, we'll know how to fix the Alinco DR 1200T, if it's a low power problem. Ken, KB8QPW, reported 59 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. September 18, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV Dave, KA8ZXP, is needing information about Packet stations in West Virginia. Dave is the ARRL Packet EC for West Virginia, and is trying to put together a list of all Packet Stations that are "24 hour a day dedicated stations", not home stations, but ones that are dedicated for use as Digipeaters, NODEs, BBS's, etc. Dave knows most of the stations that are on the DAREN system on 145.69, but he wants information about stations on all of the Packet frequencies. He going to put together a handbook, and/or disk that will allow new, and old Packet operators know what is available on Packet in West Virginia. What he would like to have is: the Frequency, Call (with SSID), ALIAS, Location, Type, and the Usage of the station. The Type of station, would be whither the station is a NETROM, THENET, K-NODE, etc. Usage of the station would be things like Keyboard-to-Keyboard, BBS, DX Cluster, Emergency, etc. The information can be mailed to: Dave Ramezan KA8ZXP P.O. Box 330 Glenville, WV 26351-0330, or left on DAREN-1. Get as much information as possible about all of the dedicated Packet stations around your area and send it to Dave. Don't be afraid that you may be sending the same information as someone else, it will all be sorted out. By doing this, it will make operating Packet Radio a lot easier, and more fun. I never did talk to Pepper, KA8ZOO, about the Monongalia County NODE/ PBBS, MONOWV/MGTNWV. But the other day I noticed it is back on the air. There was three messages on DAREN-1, that needed to be sent to MGTNWV, but they had no place to go. Everybody should check DAREN-1 from time to time, just to make sure there isn't mail for them, at that location. The Pleasants County NODE/PBBS, PLEAWV/STMYWV, was off the air for awhile, Friday and Saturday. It seems that corrosion on the battery terminals caused a battery charger lead to break, and let the batteries go dead. The batteries are used to power the DAREN NODE/PBBS, as well as a Packet gateway station (N8JXO-2) between 145.09 and 145.01 Mhz. Lynn, AI8I, reported 56 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. He also said he has gotten the Diamond F-22J antenna for POCAWV, and hopes to get it installed in the next few weeks. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. September 25, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! MONOWV/MGTNWV CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV Well, the new Power Amp Module didn't help the problem on the transmitter of the Barbour County NODE/PBBS, BARBWV/PHILWV. After installing the new module, the power output is only about 2 watts. I have one more thing to try before we'll have to send it back to the people that know what they are doing, and pay the big bucks. With the installation of the NEXRAD Radar system in Charleston, the National Weather Service will soon be closing down it's weather service operation in Beckley. The Black Diamond Amateur Radio Club is planning to move the Raleigh County NODE/PBBS, RALEWX/BECKWX, to another location. If it comes about, the ALIAS' will be changed. Charlie, WB8CNN, will keep us posted on the move. I guess I was a little premature about the Monongalia County NODE/PBBS, MONOWV/MGTNWV. It seems to have gone back down again, just a day or so after the last DAREN News. I've heard that it may be moved, and may be in the process of moving. Mike, KG8JA, left me a message saying that Seth, KB8KMI, made an announcement on their net, the Cabell County NODE, CABEWV/HUNTWV, may be back in operation within a week or two. The club has acquired a Yaesu 2400, an ASTRON Power Supply, and a Kantronics KPC-2. They also have a Blitzbug for lightening protection. They are waiting for Ray, AA8MR, to make up the interface cable to go between the radio and TNC. The NODE was totally destroyed a few months ago when it was hit by lightening. Ken, KB8QPW, reported 60 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ========================================================================== D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. October 02, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV I'm not sure what happened, but around 7:00 pm on Sunday the 25th, DAREN-1 went inoperative. Dave, KA8ZXP, sent me a message and told me the trouble was in the TNC, and it was ok now. A severe lightening and hail storm went through the Parkersburg area just a little while before DAREN-1 went inactive. The same storm may have went through the Glenville area. DAREN-1 was in the process of up-loading the September 25th DAREN News, but didn't get them all delivered before it went down. DAREN-1 is the hub of the central message system that handles a lot of the Auto-Forwarded messages. It also makes my job of posting the DAREN Net Announcements, and DAREN News a lot easier. What used to take me over to two hours to do (posting DAREN Net Announcements) dropped to about 15 minutes. I talked to Pepper, KA8ZOO, about the Monongalia County NODE/PBBS, MONOWV/MGTNWV. Pepper told me the power supply burnt up, possibly because of the battery, because it's defective also. He now has a 20 Amp power supply and told me the NODE would be back on the air shortly. I checked Wednesday evening, and it was there. PKBGES has been upgraded to Version 5.1 with 10 NODE channels and a 450K PBBS. It's an experiment to see what a 512K RAM chip would work like. There are some plans of using PKBGES as a buffer to DAREN-1, but re-routing of some of the main NODE/PBBSs with KPC-3s Version 5.1 and Auto-Forwarding, has to be done before it will work. Shannon, KG8GN, has received his Version 5.1 chip to upgrade the Mineral County NODE/PBBS, MINEWV/KEYSWV. He will also be upgrading the RAM to 128K. There may be some problems with the antenna they are using to replace the one that got tore apart by the wind. It seems the path to BERKWV isn't as good as it used to be. He says he may have to look for another type of antenna. The Net Control Station to this week's State Wide DAREN Net was located at the 53rd Annual Buckwheat Festival at Kingwood, Preston County. Larry, KB8CVP, reported the Special Event Station, KA8UEU, had 60 check- ins. Stations getting checked in, and wanting a certificate should send a QSL, if they have one, and a 9X12 self addressed stamped envelope to: Special Event Station KA8UEU, P.O. BOX 512, Kingwood, WV 26537. If you're not sure that you got checked in, look at a DAREN Net announce- ment, that will be posted by next Thursday, on about any PBBS. NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! There will be a couple of ALIAS name changes starting November 1, 1994. The ALIAS of the Net Control Station will change from "DAREN" to: "NET" The ALIAS of "DAREN-1" will change to: "DAREN". Please make note of it. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. October 09, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV POCAWV/MARLWV Shannon, KG8GN, now has the Mineral County NODE/PBBS, MINEWV/KEYSWV, upgraded not only to 5.1 Version software, but also 128K RAM, with Auto- Forwarding into the rest of the system. Is there enough interest among the users of the DAREN System to petition the FCC for a Nation Wide Emergency Frequency? We are lucky, here in West Virginia, that the frequency we are on is fairly clear, but as more and more Amateurs get into Packet Radio, all the frequencies, assigned to Packet, are getting more and more congested. I'm thinking about petitioning the FCC for such a frequency, but it will take help from all of those who would like to see it done, not only in West Virginia, but the rest of the nation. I'm not sure if it can be done, but there's only one way to find out. The FCC assigned one channel in the Citizens Radio Service (Channel 9) as an Emergency Frequency, we should be able to get one. Just because the frequency we are on is fairly quiet, doesn't mean it's not busy in the adjoining states, and will get worse as time goes on. From time to time I see stations using the DAREN NODEs to connect to regular BBS's outside of the state, and it will only be time before it gets out of hand, and the DAREN System will be as useless as the other frequencies for Emergency Type Traffic. If you're interested in an Emergency Type Frequency, let me know. Now is the time to get started before it gets too far out of hand. Leave me a message on PKBGWV. Lynn, AI8I, left me a message saying the power blinked Friday night, and the Pocahontas County NODE/PBBS, POCAWV/MARLWV, went off the air, and never came back on. He's sure it's only a minor problem, but it will be awhile before someone can get to the Mountain, since it's at a very remote location, and the NODE is the only piece of equipment there. They have a new antenna to replace the one that's there, so they may wait and make only one trip to the hill. Don't forget that the ALIAS of Net Control Station for the State Wide DAREN Net will be changing from "DAREN" to "NET" starting with November 5th Net. There were 59 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. October 16, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! CABEWV/HUNTWV FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV Lynn, AI8I, thought the problem with the Pocahontas County NODE/PBBS, POCAWV/MARLWV, might just be a minor one. What they found when they got to the mountain was a power supply problem, which was repaired on the hill, and the Radio/TNC, one or both, got their brains scrambled. The radio and TNC were taken off the mountain to be worked on. They were both given a reset and seemed to be working good. He reported that a new antenna had been installed and the NODE would soon be back in operation. He's thinking about putting a battery on the station, which would help in case of commercial power surges. He's been playing around with programing of the CTEXT, NTEXT, and PTEXT remotely. Since you're unable to send . You don't have to go through every NODE in the direction of your destination. Some paths are good enough to skip one or more NODEs. Try different paths to find out which ones are good. On the other hand, there are some paths that may be marginal, and should be avoided when the frequency is busy. The DAREN System has AUTO-FORWARDING to pass traffic. Not all PBBS's are able to AUTO-FORWARD, but there are several. One way to know if a PBBS can AUTO-FORWARD your message, is when you connect to it. If the PBBS has something to the affect: ***CONNECTED to (pbbs) [date time] [KPC3-5.1-HM$], (note! KPC3-5.1) there's a chance it will AUTO-FORWARD your message, if you are using the proper format. An example of the proper format is: ST (call) @ (pbbs). At the present time (@ zip code) is not in operation, however, any message that has an @ sign after the call, or zip code, will be forwarded to the Central Message Center, "DAREN", and may be taken care of from there. Another way to tell if your message is being Auto-Forwarded is when you disconnect from the PBBS. A properly set up PBBS will immediately try to connect to the Central Message System, "DAREN", or next PBBS in it's path. If successful, you will see your message being forwarded. When leaving a message for all to see, use "ST" please DON'T use "SB". Be sure to leave instructions as to when it should be deleted. Most messages should not be left for more than 3 days. If a message is a "traffic type" message, PLEASE try your best to get it delivered. A 3 1/2 inch disk of all D.A.R.E.N. News from July 19, 1992 to the present is available upon request, including this four part special. *********************************************************************** There were 68 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. November 27, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV BRAXWV/GASSWV The NODE/DIGI/PBBS, PLEASH/PLEASH/STMYSH, is no longer on the air. Bob, KB8FVU, who was working as a dispatcher for the Pleasants County Sheriff's Department, has changed jobs and has moved out of Pleasants County. The equipment is still available and may put back in operation at another location in Pleasants County. The Northern Panhandle Amateur Radio Club/Ohio County ARES/RACES will be having a Special Event Station again this year at Oglebay Park. The station will be set up from December 2nd through the 4th. Matt, KA8YEZ will be the NCS for the State Wide DAREN Net on December the 3rd, from the Special Event Station. Those operators contacting the station while it is in operation, or checking into the State Wide DAREN Net that night can receive a QSL Card by sending a SASE. The Special Event call will be that of the club, W8ZQ. I like the way Ed, N8OYY, posted an Official ARRL Radiogram going into Parkersburg. He posted the message in the normal way, and then put a foot note at the end of the message, saying what the "ARL" number means. Not being an avid traffic handler myself, I didn't have to go looking for my card of the "ARL" numbers. I know there's a lot of operators out there that aren't traffic handlers, and this might help get messages delivered. In case you leave a message on a PBBS that is going into the Parkersburg area, and it sits there for awhile, don't think it hasn't been looked out. I, and others in the area, don't kill a message until it gets delivered. By not killing the message until it's gets delivered, means the message has a better chance of being delivered by someone. Every time someone checks into the PBBS, the message is sitting there as a reminder. If someone takes the message off, and then kills it, it might be forgot about, or delivered late, if it doesn't get delivered right away. There are some messages that are posted on "nearby" County PBBSs. There are still several counties that don't have a main county PBBS. Operators that don't have a main PBBS in their county should adopt one in a nearby county, and check it daily for any messages that may have been left there. All PBBSs should be checked daily for any messages that have been left there. There 67 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. December 04, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV BRAXWV/GASSWV The NODE/DIGI/PBBS, RALEWX/RALEWX/BECKWX, is no longer on the air. The National Weather Service has ceased operations and the station had to be removed. Charlie, WB8CNN, says they are looking for a new location to put the station. He will keep us updated where the station will be located. Seth, KB8KMI, came to Parkersburg, to take a Red Cross class. While he was in Parkersburg, he saw the DAREN station that is set up at the Red Cross here. On his way out of town he picked up a dumb terminal that he's going to use when he installs the DAREN station at the Red Cross in Huntington. I talked to Rob, WM8S, in Charleston Tuesday, and he's going to get a permanent antenna installed at METRO. The station was on the air for awhile, but I haven't seen it for some time. When installed, the station should be in operation 24 hours a day. I forgot to write down the ALIAS' of the station, but I think it's the same ones it used to be. When he gets it back in operation, I'll let you know. Brad, WB8MZI, said he's hoping to upgrade the Braxton County NODE/DIGI/PBBS, BRAXWV/BRAXWV/GASSWV, before he puts it back on the air. He would like to upgrade it to either a 128K or 512K station. It may be awhile longer before he gets back in service. Matt, KA8YEZ reported only 37 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN Net. This week's net was a hard one because the NCS only had access to two major NODEs, one with 26 NODE Channels, and the other one with only 4 Channels. Remember, if you get a "LINK BUSY AT" message, try going through a different NODE, or as a last resort, Digipeat through the NODE that is busy. It is more important that a NODE have as many NODE Channels as possible, rather than a large PBBS. SYSOPs: The Kantronics KPC-3, with 5.1 version firmware, and 128K RAM, can have all 26 NODE Channels and a 7K PBBS. Messages shouldn't stay on the PBBS' very long, so a 7K PBBS will handle several NTS Type Messages. The Net Control Station this week was in Wheeling, at Oglebay Park, at the Festival of Lights. Those stations, that were successful getting checked in, and wanting a Special Event Station QSL, should send a SASE to W8ZQ. A list of those stations that were successful will be on next week's net announcement posted by next Thursday. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. December 11, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV Mike, N8WMU, sent me a message saying that a terminal station at the Fayette County EOC is in operation. He said he has a few problems which he's working out. The NODE & DIGI are FAYEES, and the PBBS is FAVLES. He's trying to demonstrate the need to have a hilltop NODE put back in operation. The only path from the EOC to the outside world is via GREEWV, which is a long haul from downtown Fayetteville. The main county NODE/PBBS, FAYEWV/OAKHWV, was stolen, when the tower site it was located at was broken into back around the middle of June. I got a message from Lynn, AI8I, saying the same things I have heard from other operators. Lynn says he's heard stations on the HF Nets say "they won't put a piece of traffic on DAREN unless they can put it into a personal mailbox". That's what the DAREN system is here for. There are primary Packet Mailboxes in at least 33 out of the 55 counties in the state. All of these mailboxes are checked regularly by at least one Packet operator. I don't understand why a traffic operator would rather wait from 1 hour to as much as 24 hours, or more, to check into a Voice Net to pass a piece of traffic, then to post it on a Packet Mailbox. My understanding of handling traffic is to pass it on, or deliver it, as quickly as possible with the least amount of mistakes. If a message is just going to be held in someone's grubby little hands for several hours, why not post it in a Packet Mailbox, where it could get picked up as soon as it's posted. Leave it in a Packet Mailbox until the next Voice Net, and if it's still there, then try to pass it on the Voice Net. There are a lot of good DAREN operators that monitor the system closely, and most of them will try to get the message delivered. I used to operate the HF bands, but because of several reasons, I'm very seldom on there any more. But when I do get on HF and listen to a Voice Net, I hear operators looking for a stations to pass their traffic. If they can't find someone to pass it to there, they either look for, or wait for another Net. I have nothing against HF or Voice Nets, they all have a purpose, so don't knock the DAREN system, until you give it a good healthy try. Leaving a message, which doesn't get picked up right away, a couple of times, doesn't constitute a good healthy try. How many times have you "NOT" been able to find someone, on a Voice Net, to pass your traffic to? I've had operators tell me that if they can't find someone to pass the message to, they will put it in the "US MAIL" ???, some how, that don't make good sense. HF and Voice Nets have been here since Dinosaurs, DAREN has only been around for about 3 years, getting kicked in the teeth the whole time. Face it guys, Computers, Packet Radio, and DAREN are here to stay. Brad, WB8MZI, has BRAXWV/GASSWV, on the air at a temporay location. The only path to it is via WEBSWV. More information next week. Aaron, N8NVQ reported 76 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN net. ======================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. December 18, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV Brad, WB8MZI, told me last week that he has the Braxton County NODE/DIGI at his house, while getting it ready to go back upon the hill. He was going to upgrade it to a 512K station, but the chip they ordered would not work. The only path to the station at the present time is via WEBSWV. He does have the antenna mount built, and just waiting for some good weather to install it. Last week I wrote an article about using the DAREN System to pass NTS Traffic. I got a few responses back about the article. When DAREN, The Central Message Center, operated by Dave, KA8ZXP, was first placed in operation as DAREN-1, it was to be used as one of two message points that operators could look for messages. Operators would only have to look for traffic at two locations, one would be their local DAREN PBBS, and the other would be DAREN. With Kantronics upgrading the KPC-3 to make it possible to Auto-Forward messages, the DAREN BBS, hasn't really been used as much as it should be. It has the ability to forward messages to most of the main county PBBS' as well as being a large mailbox. What Dave and I would like to do is get an Standard Operations Plan together that we could use as a guide during emergencies so the system wouldn't be tied up and all traffic slowed down. I also got a message from Phil, K8MHR, about leaving messages in just any PBBS. He explained why some Traffic Handlers are afraid to leave messages in any Packet PBBS, BBS, Mailbox, or Maildrop. When he picks up a piece of traffic, he's responsible to get the traffic either delivered, or passed on to another operator. When he's in contact, one on one, with another operator, he has an immediate confirmation that the message will either be delivered, or passed on. If he leaves a message in a Packet PBBS, he doesn't know who, if anyone, will handle the traffic, and the only confirmation he gets back from a PBBS, is that of "MESSAGE SAVED". He has left traffic on Packet PBBS', go back 3 or 4 days later, and the message is still sitting there. He doesn't know if the message has been delivered, passed on, or even read. Hal, N8FXH, and other Traffic Handlers also feel the same way about leaving messages on Packet PBBS'. What Phil would like to see is a list of operators for each PBBS, that would be responsible for seeing that messages, left in a Packet PBBS, get delivered or passed on. He would also like for the operator handling the traffic, confirm that something has been done with the message. To do this would require the Traffic Handler, leaving the message in a Packet PBBS, add some handling instructions. In the Parkersburg area, if a message is left on a PBBS, it will set there, and not be killed, until something is done with it. I myself will leave a message on the PKBGWV PBBS until it is delivered, and then kill it. One problem with any message, is the telephone number, or lack of. (To be continued next week) Alan, N8POB, reported 66 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN net. ============================================================================= D.A.R.E.N. NEWS of WV. December 25, 1994 NOTE!!! * * * Out of service NODE/PBBS': * * * NOTE!!! FAYEWV/OAKHWV BARBWV/PHILWV M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S (Continued from last week) I left a message on the PKBGWV PBBS for three days, while trying to get it delivered. I, and others, would try two or three times a day to call the telephone number on the message, and would get no answer. When I finally got an answer, it was the wrong telephone number. I then went to the telephone book and found out the last digit of the telephone number was a 1 instead of a 4. If the telephone number had been right, or I would have thought of checking the telephone book first, the message might have been delivered within ten minutes after it had been left there, since I saw it being posted. Leaving a message addressed to only one person on a PBBS is not a good idea either. If there's a message that needs to be delivered, or handled in some way, it should be addressed so that anyone connecting to the PBBS can see the message, and know they are authorized to handle or deliver it. If the message is sent to only one person, others may not read the message since they may feel they are reading someone elses mail and it may not get delivered, or passed on. Here are some ideas for leaving messages on a Packet PBBS. 1. Post the message as ST (Send Traffic), that way anyone can see it. 2. Address it as ST QTC or the ST (zip code). 3. In the SUBJECT FIELD leave information such as the ZIP CODE, CITY, or PERSON it's going to. 4. At the end of the message put a brief description of what the ARL NUMBERS stand for, if they are used. There's a lot of operators that wouldn't mind delivering a message, if they knew what the numbers meant. Remember, not all Packet Radio operators are traffic handlers. 5. Also at the end of the message, ask the person handling it, to send a message back to you confirming your message number, and what they did with the message. Be sure to put the PBBS that you want the confirmation sent to. 6. If you are using, or wanting to use AutoForwarding, on the DAREN System, all the way to the message destination, use the PBBS that is nearest the location you are sending the message to. Be sure the PBBS that you are sending the message to is still in service. You can do this by reading the weekly DAREN NEWS. Use "ST QTC @ (pbbs), DO NOT use something like "ST QTC @ NTSWV", if you do, the message will only go to PBBS "DAREN" and sit there until someone picks it up and moves it to where it needs to go. Operators in each location should check the PBBS "DAREN" on a regular basis for traffic going into their area. These are just a few ideas, and I'm, sure there are more, that should get messages delivered. It might help get the trust built up for using Packet PBBS' for message handling. I want to thank the following operators for feedback about the message handling articles: Dave, KA8ZXP, Phil, K8MHR, Jim, WA2GIN, and Bob, W3RUA. There were only 52 check-ins to this week's State Wide DAREN net. =============================================================================