I could kick myself.
I am heading to La Crosse today for the annual Speculum Iustitiae canon law conference. I might have thought to get my act together ahead of time so that I could operate from there. I’ve gotta get out and do it.
Which gives me an idea. Perhaps a special call sign and an event could be in order. If there are a few Catholic hams in the area, we could do something and coordinate with the Shrine. Perhaps a Marian feast or one of Card. Burke’s anniversaries. I’ll talk to “the guy” there when I see him tomorrow.
Thoughts?
The Shrine is in a splendid location on a hill, though there is a higher slope behind it (to the south, I believe).
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
In any event, I will haul my little bag of DMR gear with me and, during a break, see if anyone is on ZedNet. Also, I’ll bring my laptop and try some remote operation if I can get wifi or I manage to tether my phone (the coverage up there is really spotty). Keep an eye on the blog.
More on ZedNet HERE. But quickly… ZedNet is Brandmeister DMR worldwide talkgroup 31429. It was developed by a highly skilled ham who is a longtime reader here, WB0YLE. It was intended to get ham-readers here talking to each other.
WB0YLE gave me a Bill of Materials (everything you need to get involved).
Of course, you also need a license and you need to obtain a number from Brandmeister, which is easy. For you who are into this digital stuff, ZedNet still exists on the Yaesu System Fusion (Wires-X) “room” 28598, which is cross-linked to Brandmeister (BM) DMR worldwide talkgroup 31429. This gives world-wide multi-mode access to a common ham radio network.
Finally, I had a note from a ham reader in Eastern Kansas who is looking for an Elmer to help him out. I don’t want to put his name and email in a post. If there is someone in Eastern Kansas who could reach out to me, I’ll try to connect you.
UPDATE:
Before I forget, the latest QST has an article on the sort of hotspot I use for Zednet. There is also a spiffy piece about ham-monks on Mount Athos! Apparently, it’s a hot call sign. Recently SV2ASP passed away but there is still a ham-monk up there trying to get a good shack going.
Speaking of going up a hill and operating at a religious site….
