CATS Meeting Minutes 2021 =============== Saturday January 9, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees: Arnold K3TEL, Paul NF3X, John NY3K, Tom W3RCJ, Neil W3ZQI - Use of 147.075+ (linked to 147.105+) repeaters suggested for on-air. - Neil W3ZQI offered the Baltimore Amateur Radio Club 146.67- repeater. - Media GTV-7 receivers have been purchased by Larry K3PEG, John K0ZAK, and Fred K3TAZ. - John NY3K lives in Laurel. He uses an FO-25, 25 element antenna for ATV reception. He also has a 19 element 440 antenna. Neil W3ZQI -- scribe =============== Saturday February 13, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees; Bill N3DC, Paul NF3X, Fred AI3Z, Mike K4DUM, Dave KC3AM, Vince N3BFZ, John NY3K, John K0ZAK, Fred K3TAZ, Jim WI3Z, John KA3ZTC, Tom W3RCJ, Rich N3MOB, Neil W3ZQI - Discussion on which FM repeater to use for the nets. return to 146.76- - Fred K3TAZ is experimenting with DVB-T. - Paul NF3X is moving from Owings Mills to Hampstead. - Discussion on DVB-T reception at the Towson ATV repeater. - $25 dues now payable to Rich Moellmann; mail to Rich N3MOB. - Discussion Laurel receive site for ATV to the Internet - Mentioned way to use Zoom as dial-in only - Jim WI3X suggested Echolink as another meeting vehicle. - Neil W3ZQI to use NA5B WebSDR receiving of 2 meters audio for the BATC Internet stream if needed. Neil W3ZQI -- scribe =============== Saturday March 13, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees: Vince N3BFZ, Arnold K3TEL, Rich N3MOB, Tony K3AIN, Fred AI3Z, John NY3K, Mike K4DUM, Fred K3TAZ, Paul NF3X, John K0ZAK, Jim WI3N, John KA3ZTC, Ian N3CVA, Tom W3RCJ, Harry KO3L, Neil W3ZQI - Discussion on where to get Covid-19 vaccinations. - Hope for outdoor meeting on April. - Neil W3ZQI mentioned Mumble server as a way of far-away folks to access the 146-67- repeater. - The 146.76- repeater has had interference. - The Goddard .835 repeater was suggested. - Current officers: Mike K4DUM president, Paul NF3X, and Rich N3MOB will continue with elections postponed to the April meeting. Neil W3ZQI was appointed acting secretary. - Neil W3ZQI was authorized to create a new CATS web page. https://www.qsl.net/w3bab/index.html - Neil W3ZQI has an obsolete ATV repeater controller than can be made available to John KA3ZTC. Neil to send those notes to John NF3K. - Tom W3RCJ requested Delaware information from Vince N3BFZ. - Fred K3TAZ reported success with 1 watt DVB-T in path to John K0ZAK. 40 watts analog was required for the same path. - Fred K3TAZ and John K0ZAK to test DVB-T into the Towson ATV repeater. - Opportunities to use the 300 watt transmitter modules. Can use 1/2 power to end up with 40 watts output. - Jim WI3N has contacted the Laurel EMC for reception of the Laurel repeater. - Kevin KB3PLX of BRATS offered Internet access for the Laurel ATV repeater. - Fred K3TAZ to follow-up with Ed N3GXH for CATS equipment in storage. Neil W3ZQI to assist with contact information. Neil W3ZQI -- Acting Secretary =============== Saturday April 10, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees; John KA3ZTC, Arnold K3TEL, Bill N3DC, Paul NF3X, Fred AI3Z, John NY3K, Jim WI3N, Tom W3RCJ, Harry KO3L, Rich N3MOB, Neil W3ZQI Acting Secretary Neil W3ZQI opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Treasurer Rich N3MOB then assumed meeting control. - Jim WI3N has received permission to place an ATV receiver and laptop computer at the Laurel Emergency Center. This opens up the ability to receive Laurel ATV video. While the Laurel ATV repeater is off the air, the receiver will be set to the ATV repeater input frequency to enable area ATVers to maintain a presence. The video feed will be passed in some manner to the BATC website for viewing. - Elections: Paul NF3X had resigned as Vice President. Mike K4DUM previously agreed to remain as President. Neil W3ZQI was elected as Secretary. Rich N3MOB agreed to remain as Treasurer and was re-elected. Someone to fill the vacant VP slot is sought. - Paul NF3X provided John KA3ZTC with some technical information on a chip used in the spare ATV controller. - Rich N3MOB gave the Treasurer's report: T-Shirt fund, sale of equipment acquired last year, and dues collected. - John KA3ZTC inquired of the location of equipment acquired from Pennsylvania a while back. Location of some is unknown. - Neil W3ZQI read the minutes of the last monthly meeting. - There was a discussion regarding the next monthly meeting location. Suggestions included: all should be vaccinated (Paul NF3X), a good source for vaccinations is Maryland Vaccine Hunters (Paul NF3X). Jim WI3N emphasized safety first. Zoom was voted as the vehicle for the May monthly meeting. - With discussion prices and acceptable domain types, .ORG was deemed unavailable. Domain name expense is about $12 annually. Neil W3ZQI will pursue W3BAB.COM. This was voted upon and accepted. - John KA3ZTC gave a quick status report on receivers in his possession. - John KA3ZTC seeks restoration of 220 control of the Laurel ATV repeater once it is returned to service. Neil W3ZQI advised that the previous offer of Internet access to a Laurel site would enable additional control opportunities. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday May 8, 2021 By Zoom. Attendees; Rich N3MOB, Vince N3BFZ, Scott KA3UPU, John KA3ZTC, Fred AI3Z, Tom W3RCJ, Paul NF3X, John NY3K, Mike K4DUM, Ian N3CVA, Arnold K3TEL, John W3JBC, Scott KB3JQQ, Tony KA3AIN, Harry KO3L, John K0ZAK, Fred K3TAZ, Neil W3ZQI - President Mike K4DUM opened the meeting. Minutes are posted on the Internet. - Mike K4DUM announced that the Electronics Musuem is slated for closing in several years. There will be impact on our group and others. - Jim WY3W is selling a significant amount of ATV gear as he leaves that segment of the amateur radio hobby. Fred AI3Z will take over maintenance responsibility for the Laurel ATV repeater. - Our next meeting is planned for outdoors, behind the Electronics Musuem in Linthicum. If plans change, notifications will be made. - Vince N3BFZ asked about area hamfests as he has a large amount of radio gear to sell. - Harry KO3L asked if there would be interest in a Bel Air ATV repeater or relay. Favorable discussion followed. His home is 465 feet ground level and has a 48 foot tower. - Fred K3TAZ made a comprehensive presentation on ATV entitled "Visual Modes Of Amateur Radio". This was well received by the group. Excellent job! - Ken K3UQQ previously began seeking DVB-T signals as input to the Towson ATV repeater. John KA3ZTC first needs to place an already-acquired DVB-T receiver at the site. He will update us on this. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday June 12, 2021 ====================== National Electronics Musuem -- outside Attendees: John KA3ZTC, Ken K3UQQ, Rich N3MOB, Fred K3TAZ, John NY3K, Neil W3ZQI, Harry KO3L, Tony K3AIN, Mike K4DUM, Jim WI3N, Ian N3CVA - President Mike K4DUM presided over the meeting - Fred K3TAZ updated the group on the project to link ATV repeaters. 12" of rack space is needed at the Towson site for the 5ghz. equipment being provided. This will be 2-way video over the air, not Internet-style data transmission. - Fred K3TAZ advised that the DVB-T receiver returned to Hi-Des was reported to be fine while locally the unit had failed with excessively poor (23db down) sensitivity. Further tests using that unit and additional equipment will be conducted. Current testing is with 6mhz. bandwidth on the notion that what works with 6 mzh. will perform even better at 2 mhz. - Treasurer Rich N3MOB gave the treasurer's report. - Next meeting will be Saturday 7/10 at the museum (TBA inside or outside). - Ken K3UQQ to follow-up with Ed N3GXH about retrieving CATS gear from BRATS. - John NY3K reported a site visit to the Laurel ATV site. Restored operation was expected but apparently something besides the amplifier is awry. - Jim WI3N reported site approval for the Laurel area ATV receiver for Internet streaming to BATC (same as the Towson site). Jim WI3N and Neil W3ZQI will proceed with this. - Mike K4DUM explained that the Electronics Museum (our meeting site,) must be vacated by 2023. Alternatives for the museum are being explored. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday July 10, 2021 ====================== National Electronics Musuem -- outside Attendees: John KA3ZTC, Ken K3UQQ, Rich N3MOB, Fred K3TAZ, John NY3K, Neil W3ZQI, Tony K3AIN - Secretary Neil W3ZQI presided over the meeting - Fred K3TAZ--our technical liason for the area linking initiative. - testing DVB-T with 6mhz. bandwidth (relatively inexpensive devices). 2mhz. is suggested for repeater systems (per Dave AH2AR) - Rich KR3EE spoke with Ken K3UQQ. Visible additional antennas at the Towson site might be unwelcome. - Rich to do another test; waiting on ventilation system at site to be restored before site is reasonable due to summer temperatures. - Linking by on-air frequencies is also under consideration. - Seeking a transmitter/exciter for the 900 mhz. band for possible deployment. - Ken K3UQQ still to meet up with Ed N3GXH of BRATS for equipment handoffs. - The linking project with Rich KR3EE might be of greater success if targeting another facility in the area then use 5ghz. for a much shorter hop to the repeater site. - Ken to inquire with the site folks to determine if some form of Internet capability is possible. - John KA3ZTC suggested acquisition of 220 mhz. gear for controlling the Laurel ATV repeater. - Towson ATV repeater: new coax connectors were purchased and will be placed when site access is reasonable. - The DVB-T reception project at the Towson site is on hold until the room temperature is reasonable. - Similarly, the color chrome processor for the Towson site will be deployed when the ATV room is accessable. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday August 14, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees; Bill N3DC, Rich KR3EE, Paul NF3X, John NY3K, Fred AI3Z, John KA3ZTC, Fred K3TAZ, Jim WI3N, Neil W3ZQI - Secretary Neil W3ZQI presided over the meeting. - Paul NF3X is working on the old ATV controller. - Minutes of the July meeting were read and accepted. - OLD BUSINESS: - DVB-T testing - Fred K3TAZ not sure why color rolloff through the Towson ATV repeater. Might have to do with cabling; to investigate further - 6 mhz. DVB-B testing gave marginal results while 2 mhz. did better. - Previous DVB-T testing to the repeater turns out to have failed due to an in-line filter. That filter (constructed by Larry K3PEG--thank you) needs to be reset for 434 mhz. - John KA3ZTC commented on the earlier super-warm conditions at the Towson ATV repeater site. - Laurel ATV repeater report by Fred AI3Z with John NY3K: - Despite COVID-19, the site appears to remain accessible. - Some resisters in the Laurel amplifier remain hot for unknown reasons.  There might also be a power supply problem. - Treasurer's report was supplied by e-mail by Treasurer Rich N3MOB. - Transactions: one T-shirt sale, one dues collected. - The treasury balance (disclosed in the meeting verbally) remains strong. - Rich KR3EE advised that old cell phone gear have a sloped panel fan which could be valuable to Fred AI3Z's amplifier heating issue. - Laurel ATV receiver project: - Jim WI3N said that the intended site is okay with our positioning an ATV receiver for streaming to the Internet. Ethernet not WiFi will be used. - Neil W3ZQI confirmed that the laptop computer is ready to go. - Paul NF3X has a suitable ATV receiver for the project. He will make
    that available. - An existing dual band vertical antenna could have a splitter added. - Or could also add a small vertical antenna but that would require running separate cable. - Paul NF3X mentioned Bron N3AGB's slot antenna. One is understood to be in use at the Laurel ATV repeater. Bill N3DC will supply the plans to everyone on the group e-mail reflector. Paul NF3X offered to build one of the slot antennas for the project. - NEW BUSINESS: - 1200 mhz. band: - Should be reasonable to transmit both FM and DVB-T signals from the Towson ATV repeater on this band on separate frequencies. Frequency coordination with T-MARC, etc. would be required for this. - The remaining stock of Scientific Atlanta 9660 receivers owned by the club will be picked up from Gary WA3CPO and delivered to Fred K3TAZ. There will be stepped up effort to pass these units to hams in the Towson area to increase ATV repeater viewers. - 900 mhz. band: - Question posed if this band would be of value to us for DVB-T signals whether as repeater output or for linking purposes. - Fred K3TAZ advised that HiDes 110 has an exciter for the band - Future DVB-T testing. Fred K3TAZ advised that testing continues. - Running of Ken K3UQQ's historical ATV content videos on the BATC video stream at off or on hours: This concept was greeted positivily, particularly by Rich KR3EE and will be discussed more. - Rich KR3EE noted no streamed video by BATC on the recent ATV net. Neil advised that a computer reboot caused by a power outage at John KA3ZTC's home caused a USB issue that was solved by resetting the OBS software. John KA3ZTC echoed that there have been many area power outages. - Rich KR3EE reported on the Mid-Atlantic linking project; - Due to path loss (too far south) and obstructions, the BRATS ATV repeater is not viable for linking directly from Pennsylvania. The BRATS site had the advantage of Internet connection. Other options for connecting the CATS Towson ATV repeater into network remain viable. Two yagi antennas are being installed on a tower in Shrewsberry. November, 2021 is the target date to start up networking. - Neil W3ZQI will draft a "press release" to area hams to update them on progess. Rich KR3EE will edit that. - Bill N3DC offered to lend a tracking system spectrum generator to Fred K3TAZ if needed. - Fred AI3Z advised that the 2021 VHF Fall Sprint contest is today; robust 6 meter activity is expected. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday September 11, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees; Bill N3DC, Scott KB3JQQ, Paul NF3X, Rich KR3EE, Tom W3RCJ, Fred AI3Z, John KA3ZTC, Rich N3MOB, Jim WI3N, Neil W3ZQI - Secretary Neil W3ZQI presided over the meeting - Secretary Neil W3ZQI read the minutes of the August meeting which were accepted. - Treasurer Rich N3MOB gave the treasuer's report; no change from prior month - OLD BUSINESS: - Fred AI3Z sent the Towson amplifier for repair. Motion, discussion, and successful vote to purchase same model amplifer from Bron N3AGB as a spare. Fred recommended building a sequencer for any amplifier to avoid relay arcing. John KA3ZTC reported that for now, the Towson ATV repeater output is 10-12 watts. - Jim WI3N confirmed that the Laurel ATV repeater is up. Paul NF3X will donate an ATV receiver for capture of the Laurel output for separate planned streaming to the BATC website. The computer is ready. - NEW BUSINESS: - Audio for Towson ATV repeater to the Mid-Atlantic ATV linking project: The existing 2-meter receiver at John KA3ZTC's for ATV net audio should be moved to the Towson ATV repeater input. Rich KR3EE confirmed tha the Scientific Atlanta 9660 receivers are fine for handling audio. John KA3ZTC to look into audio capability at the Towson ATV repeater. This is important for the linking project. Rich KR3EE intends to use DVB-T as the vehicle for 434 mhz. link input to the Towson ATV repeater. Analog video is the backup plan. Necessary network equipment will be purchased in November. Paul NF3X suggested mixing 2-meter audio at the Towson ATV repeater from 2-meters and incoming 434 mhz. signals. - Rich KR3EE: next vision for the Mid-Atlantic linking effort is to connectto Rising Sun then to Delaware. - Fred AI3Z will contact the National Electronics Musuem about switching our meetings to Saturdays when the musuem is open. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday October 9, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees; John NY3K, Bill N3DC, Scott KB3JQQ, Tom W3RCJ, Mike K4DUM, Neil W3ZQI - President Mike K4DUM presided over the meeting - Introductions were conducted. - Secretary Neil read the minutes of the September meeting which were accepted. - Mike: Alice Donohue resigned from the Electronics Museum. Mike and Julie remain. No early museum access will be pursued; rather discussing moving our meeting to the third Saturday of the month at 10:00 am. - Annual dues become due in January. - Mike: Windows 11 is coming out now. New glitch in that only modern hardware is usable. The TPM chip requires version 2. - Mike; a quick discussion on virus procedures/policies in effect at Northrop Grumman (host of the Electronics Museum). Plan on Zoom for the November CATS meeting. - John NY3K: The Laurel ATV repeater is looking good. A thank you to Fred AI3Z for his efforts. - Fred K3TAZ: message from Fred that Rich KR3EE is providing a 5 cavity RF filter to help resolve teh Towson DVB-T input reception/de-sensing problem. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday November 13, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees; Mike K4DUM, Paul NF3X, John KA3ZTC, Rich KR3EE, Tom W3RCJ, Jim WI3N, Fred K3TAZ, Harry KO3L, John K0ZAK, Vince N3BFZ, John NY3K, Fred AI3Z, Neil W3ZQI - President Mike K4DUM presided over the meeting - Fred K3TAZ reported on the success of himself and John K0ZAK with 2MHZ. DVB-T signals into the Towson repeater. Fred tops out at 25 watts and is assembling one of the high powered WB0CMC units. John does remote transmit from Owings Mills and is nearing completion of remote DVB-T reception. Fred thanked Rich KR3EE for the donation of a 5 cavity filter for the Towson repeater DVB-T input. - 2MHZ. or 6MHZ. input/output at Towson discussion. John K0ZAK recommends 6MHZ. out to capitalize on inexpensive set top boxes. To continue 2MHZ. for input for now. - John K0ZAK proposed pursuit of a 900 MHZ. band 6MHZ. output from Towson. He has a $85 transmitter that does 2MHZ. or 6MHZ. on 450 or 900. - Dues come due in January. - Rich KR3EE reported some delay in the implemenation of the link between PA and Towson due to family obligations. Still shooting for this year. Net audio will likely be passed as part of the video transmissions. - John KA3ZTC advised that the Towson 1.2GHZ. transmitter is set up for audio. Minor work is needed to get received audio to the transmitter. He will meet with John NY3K for the graphics program needed to update the Towson ATV repeater ID image. - John NY3K reported that the Laurel ATV repeater is up and running. - Jim WI3N reported that he has the club laptop for reception of the Laurel ATV repeater. An antenna is needed. Also, need to consider a new site for the ATV repeater in Laurel as the hospital is slated to be torn down in 2022. The replacement hospital will be three stories tall. - Some later effort will be required in arranging for a 900 MHZ. band frequency for the proposed DVB-T output. John NY3K mentioned that a suitable amplifier might be in club storage in Laurel. John also volunteered a 6DB. gain omni antenna for that band. - Fred AI3Z spoke of a good cable manufacturer in Oregon...Westech Rigging Supply. He also gave a frightening critter report from Florida (think reptiles, not feathers nor fur). - Per Mike K4DUM, no change in meeting arrangements at this time despite our possibility of meeting at 10:00 am. on the third Saturday of each month. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary =============== Saturday December 11, 2021 ====================== By Zoom. Attendees; Bill N3DC, Paul NF3X, Rich KR3EE, Mike K4DUM, Vince N3BFZ, Vince N3BFZ, John NY3K, John K0ZAK, Fred K3TAZ, Jim WI3Z, Tom W3RCJ, Rich N3MOB, Neil W3ZQI - President Mike K4DUM presided over the meeting - Secretary Neil W3ZQI read the minutes of the November meeting. - Treasurer Rich N3MOB read the treasurer's report; little activity in recent months. - Year 2022 dues are due as of January 1st. Mail your $25 check payable to Richard Moellmann 1201 Seniorita ct Westminister, MD 21157. - With a number of club projects gaining attention, an annual operating plan is being devised. To insure mention of projects of your interest, forward details to Secretary Neil W3ZQI at w3babatv@gmail.com . - Neeting status at the Electronics Museum remains unchanged. Perhaps not before 2023. Fred K3TAZ spoke of the Howard County and Carroll County libraries as possible venues. Discussion favored Howard County. Fred K3TAZ and Neil W3ZQI will explore this further. Such in-person meetings will have Zoom capability. Such a hybrid meeting for each quarter is being considered for early 2022. - Critter reports: Paul NF3X's cat Twinkles was featured on camera. Mike K4DUM updated us on kitten Pickles. - John NY3K: Laurel ATV up and running but only him frequenting the repeater. - Rich N3MOB: Towson ATV repeater is up and doing okay; good DVB-T incoming. - Towson ATV stream to BATC failed: A computer security issue is being investigated. Mike K4DUM to provide Neil W3ZQI with link to software to do anti-virus scanning while off-line. - Area ATV Networking, Rich KR3EE: January timeframe to continue efforts. Antenna wind loading at the tower is expected to be okay but can fallback to a nearby tower if necessary. Some small purchases remain to be done. - Receive Antennas at Towson: Paul NF3X and other spoke of 3DB loss in use of splitter for multiple 450 band receive antennas. Discussion covered alternatives. Recent use of a pre-amp on the DVB-T input raised the noise floor--perhaps can lower the gain. Harry KO3L spoke of stacking individual vertical antennas with separate feed lines. - DVB-T experiences: Neil W3ZQI asked for info and experiences to be posted to the club webpage. John K0ZAK will provide some of his findings. - BRATS December meeting is Monday 12/13/2021. Neil W3ZQI -- Secretary