Jeffrey Pryor KC8NNO

2010 SKYWARN® Severe Weather Spotter Training

2010-03-25T22:57:00.003-04:00

2010 SKYWARN® Severe Weather Spotter Training

Lucas County SKYWARN® TRAINING

The National Weather Service (NWS), in conjunction with Lucas County SKYWARN® and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, will be holding a SKYWARN® Severe Weather Spotter Training class on Saturday, March 27th 2010 starting at 10:00 a.m. at St. Lukes Hospital Auditorium in Maumee, Ohio. The class will last around 2 hours and includes a multimedia presentation. Gary Garnet, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, Ohio, organizes the training each spring. It is open to all citizens interested in severe weather recognition, reporting, safety and teaches:

Basics of thunderstorm development
Fundamentals of storm structure
Identifying potential severe weather features
Information to report
How to report information
Basic severe weather safety

SKYWARN® Storm Spotters form the first line of defense against severe weather. It’s more than just a weather class. It is information that could save many lives by advance warning!

All interested individuals are encouraged to attend this free training for all ages and it is not necessary to pre-register for this training. Those who attend and complete the program will be registered with the National Weather Service Cleveland Forecast Office and will be issued a SKYWARN® Spotter ID card at the training.

For more information contact:
Tim McConoughey-Lucas County Skywarn Coordinator KD8HLX@ARRL.NET

TMRA Toledo Hamfest this Sunday

2010-03-17T22:58:00.004-04:00

The Toledo Mobile Radio Association's annual Radio, Computer and Electronics Hamfest is this Sunday, March 21st, 2010. The Toledo Hamfest takes place at the Owens Community College – Student Health and Activity Center (SHAC) at 30335 Oregon Road in Perrysburg, OH. The hamfest hours are from 8:00 AM till 2:00 PM.

See the TMRA Website for additional information:

http://www.tmrahamradio.org/hamfest.htm

Take Note: NEW LOCATION at Owens Community College. Also new for 2010, Forums and VE Test Session.

Forum Details:

9:00 AM Jay Slough, K4ZLE “Your 8th Area QSL Bureau”

10:00 AM Jim Weaver, K8JE Director, ARRL Great Lakes Division “Promoting Amateur Radio Through International Treaty”

11:00 AM Steve Michalski, KB9UPS “A.R.I.S.S., Amateur Radio on the International Space Station”

12:00 Noon Dr. Alvin Compaan, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo “Solar Power for Living & Driving in Toledo”

Navigate to the Toledo hamfest via APRS:

http://aprs.fi/?call=HFEST-21t

Talk-In frequency on the TMRA W8HHF 2 Meter Repeater 147.2700 MHz (+ transmit offset) with PL of 103.5 Hz.

Toledo Fire Mutual Aid request by Defiance Ohio

2010-01-27T21:02:00.002-05:00

The Defiance Ohio Fire Department requested mutual aid from the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department earlier today for a Trench Rescue in Downtown Defiance. The incident was at 624 Perry Street in Downtown Defiance Ohio. The original request and response from Toledo Fire units started around 11:30 AM late this morning. This was the farthest mutual aid request I've ever heard dispatched for Toledo Fire. Downtown Defiance Ohio is approximately 60 miles from Downtown Toledo Ohio. The trip by road along US-24 would normally take about an hour and 15 minutes. Units from Toledo Fire included Chief 116, Engine 18's company along with the Trench Rescue Unit and Confined Space Unit as well as Engine 5 and Truck 5. The Toledo Fire units started this as a "Code 3" lights and sirens response. The Toledo Fire units were also noted as having switched their radios from the Lucas County Public Safety radio system over to the ECOMM-7 (emergency common) talk group on the Ohio MARCS radio system. However after about 20 minutes the Toledo Fire units were cancelled and able to return to service.

GRE @ CES 2010 - Part 3 of 3

2010-01-13T01:41:00.001-05:00

General Discussion

The Radio Reference community in general should not be discouraged here by these latest models. GRE indicates they indeed respond and listen to the RR community and users, but they also need to design for the global scanner market. Some of us here are from a much more advanced user base than the general scanner market, and the overall scanner market is not all that large to begin with. GRE will continue to market and develop and sell to the entire base (which is a very small percentage of general consumers). But with growth in the overall scanner industry, we can all see benefits from an increased user base.

We talked in general about the challenges of a niche market. I'll sum my thoughts up with a few points here in relation to CES and consumer electronics. These two new scanner model announcements were just two new models out of the 20,000 some new models reported as being announced across the entire Consumer Electronics Show this past week. Consider the market for TVs or mobile phones where there are billions of consumers and units in the market, with hundreds of manufacturers and thousands of new models. If we all can help expand the base, more options will be available across the entire scanner market. Some of what we all are doing here on RR with the Live Audio feeds we provide and information and discussion forums we offer can help expand that market. These preprogrammed and 'easy to use' product offerings from GRE will be beneficial to folks here and will also help attract new consumers and expand the scanner market.

Here are some of my general comments regarding the analog versus digital trend. Once digital activity is more prevalent, and digital starts to outsell analog, I would suspect we'll then see more models with digital, and at some point all models may have digital. We may even get to the point of televisions and mobile phones, when eventually some models in the future will only need to support digital. GRE had asked if I had purchased an iScan yet, and I advised I have not, since in my particular case, all of my county is digital. Once a majority of the activity and demand moves to digital, the manufacturers and market will need to respond to that trend.

We also talked a little about their business distribution model. GRE not only sells directly now and through dealers, along with their OEM/ODM relationships for distribution via Radio Shack and now also MFJ. GRE also indicated that Radio Shack now only purchases from GRE, and that is primarily because of the 'easy to use' factor of the Radio Shack/GRE line. In fact more and more people now refer to the combined "RS/GRE" brand. From what I can see, a larger purchaser like Radio Shack that may be buying thousands of units at a time indeed earns their right to preferential model release time lines and other brand distinctions.

GRE mentioned that in 2005 the Radio Shack brand accounted for about 60% of the scanner market share. This was primarily from their ability to introduce and demonstrate scanners at their thousands of store locations. Today the RS/GRE brand is growing online as well, and while it may not have as large of magazine presence, the physical distribution at RS stores is still key. Target customers and markets include not only general hobbyists and racing enthusiasts but also a growing commercial/public safety market. And despite the general economic conditions of the past year, GRE stated they have performed significantly well last year and are looking very good for 2010.

We talked further on marketing methods and scanner design as related to a direct interaction with the hobbyist community. I eluded to the role that UPMan and Uniden has established here on Radio Reference. GRE said they focus on responding to the community by offering the right products and that they don't want to be in a position to argue back and forth on an open forum. In regards to scanner design and manufacturing, GRE talked about how the Radio Shack PRO-95 was one of the first models designed based on feedback from the online community (then primarily Strong Signals).

Today GRE continues to conduct regular reviews and prioritizing of projects as well as responding to marketplace changes. They do not create new models just for the sake of new models, so we won't see new offerings in all categories every year. In fact they reminded me that the Radio Shack PRO-96 was the lead digital trunking model for six years, and that unit continued to generate new sales until the latest digital releases. GRE if anything said they have too many projects, and too many things they'd like to do. It is all a balance of technology/advancement, satisfying the customer, and responding to sales that drives new models in the industry.

Ok, some final random items. In regards to beta testing, that is a pretty small and intimate group. But I would have to say that good customers that provide good feedback and have a good relationship with GRE would have the best opportunity to help participate. GRE also had a a formal Press Release announcement in the works regarding the CES announcements, so stay tuned for that information. Also this has only been the 2nd year at CES for GRE, and they indeed plan on being back at the show in year three. And for general information, the CES is a consumer electronics trade show primarily for announcing and demonstrating new models, and not a ham-fest/computer-fest type show where one can purchase items.

Any other thoughts, comments, questions, please feel free to post. I may have more answers in my notes or in my head if I was not able to answer any other particular questions that I did not cover.

Jeff KC8NNO

See also Radio Reference for more discussion: Link

[Part 3 of 3]

GRE @ CES 2010 - Part 2 of 3

2010-01-13T01:38:00.003-05:00

PSR-110 Race Scanner

The working model was red in color as you can see by the attached photo. In regards to the dual display, the "2-Digit Sub-Display" is a top mounted LCD display for showing the car number. That allows the car number information to be visible from the top of the unit while attached to your belt. On the left side are two racing headphone connections (A and B). This allows two individuals to listen together (and talk to each other via the intercom feature when using racing headsets with microphones). In addition the right side has a phone/pc-if connection as well as the power connection. When a cell phone is connected, the answer (phone button) can be pushed and you can use your cell phone by talking through the racing headset (via the A connection only). As mentioned before this unit is UHF only, it also does not have an external speaker, and is focused on being a dedicated race fan scanner. The unit has V-Scanner like ability to easily recall the programming for each of the "Big Race Categories" (Champ Car, ARCA RE/MAX, Indy Racing, Craftsman Truck, Busch Series, and Nextel Cup). These groups are all preprogrammed and adjustable. The unit offers flexibility for scanning by CAR number, a FAV button for favorite cars, and direct access for the MRN frequency. The scanner is powered by three AA batteries.

The race scanner market may be bigger here than some folks think. About 1 in 10 attendees at these big race markets may have a scanner, at a large NASCAR race with 250,000 folks there, that could mean around 25,000 people with scanners in the crowd. Folks are looking for preprogrammed units and easy to use models with alpha tags and car number information for an easy and flexible scanning experience. GRE also indicated that they will have an agreement with a track side scanner rental company for updating programming for these models at the race. Again look for this model's availability in June 2010 if not sooner.

[Part 2 of 3]

GRE @ CES 2010 - Part 1 of 3

2010-01-13T01:35:00.001-05:00

Below is a summary of my discussion with Wayne Wilson and Raj Gounder of GRE America from CES 2010. GRE announced their new PSR-700 EZ Scan-SD (iScan equivalent model) as well as a new GRE branded PSR-110 Race Scanner at the show. I'll cover some more details regarding the specifics for these two new models, then get into some general discussion items as well as cover additional questions folks wanted to know.

PSR-700 EZ Scan-SD

As for differences compared to the Radio Shack iScan branded model, this unit will not only be black in color, but also has a hard rubberized casing in place of a traditional solid plastic casing. The keypad has been redesigned and optimized for one handed operation (which was not a consideration with the original Radio Shack iScan version). The largest functional difference is the inclusion of V-Scanners which will allow one to save up to 200 different scanner configurations (scan list combinations and settings) for easy recall. Also are the various GRE versus Radio Shack specific branding elements as Don had mentioned ("Spectrum Sweeper" versus "Signal Stalker").

The reason why GRE has released analog-only models first (RS PRO-107 and GRE PSR-700) is due to the fact that the analog trunking market currently outsells digital trunking on an order of 5 to 2. As Don had mentioned, a majority of activity and frequencies are still analog in the global scanner market, and hence a majority of people are still just looking for analog models. See the General Discussion section for some additional comments on my part in regards to the analog/digital trend. GRE did indicate that a digital version is "a year away", is in development, and is the highest priority for delivery. These initial analog iScan/EZ-Scan models will be a good proving ground for this latest form factor.

The photo of the PSR-700 that I captured was not of a working unit, but a production prototype of how the scanner and casing will be produced. They did have a GRECOM branded piece of iScan looking hardware that was running the new PSR-700 EZ Scan firmware. It is interesting to see that everything for these scanners runs off the SD card, including all of the scanner firmware/software as well as holding all of the programming information. This should provide for a good future with the ability to essentially update most functionality via firmware/software upgrades. It will be great to see this SD card functionality on other future GRE models--especially the higher tier and full function type models like the PSR-500/600 form factors.

While this line of models using the new iScan/EZ-Scan form factor is focused heavily on being preprogrammed and easy to use, this new form factor, and these new models are also just the latest step. It will be great to see some of the technologies introduced with these specific models eventually move across the entire scanner line.

GRE indicated to look to June 2010 for first availability of the PSR-700 model and that the unit will have a price point similar to that of the Radio Shack PRO-107.

[Part 1 of 3]

2010 CES Friday Agenda

2010-01-08T00:46:00.003-05:00

2010 CES Friday Agenda:

Have a handful of sessions and a couple of keynotes that I'd like to attend. Also have time scheduled with GRE America regarding new Scanning Receiver models announced.

2010 CES Thursday Recap

2010-01-08T00:19:00.003-05:00

2010 CES Thursday Recap:

Went to the State of the CE Industry and Opening Keynote address this morning. Good insight into innovation, and interesting information from the Ford In Car Experience and the SYNC system user interface demonstrations.

Attended two of today's Tech Policy Summit sessions including "Making Nationwide Deployment and Adoption of Broadband a Reality" and "The Spectrum Grab and Innovation". The first session was more of a pleasant discussion, while the second session had some interesting conflict between broadcast and commercial interests, and debate as to whether a true spectrum crisis is indeed looming.

Spent some time on the conference floor--this space is huge. Was able to briefly swing by the GRE America booth, sent a picture via TwitPic. Have since posted some more information on Radio Reference regarding the newly released GRECOM branded models the PSR-700 "EZ Scan-SD" and the PSR-110 Race Scanner.

Was at the Intel keynote. Interesting comments from Paul Otellini regarding computing power. The first Intel 4004 micro-processor from 40 years ago with 2000 transistors was compared to the processors released today with billions of transitions that are running 5000 times faster and costing 100,000 times less. He mentioned if automobile companies innovated like Intel, cars would drive at 470,000 mph using 100,000 mpg and cost 3 cents.

Some additional general comments. 3D is all the hype, but still not that exciting looking for me, everything I've seen still looks like a bunch of 2D layers at fixed distances and doesn't approximate the reality of actual depth perception all that well. Proprietary app stores are on the rise and popping up everywhere (Ford, Intel, etc), but there is some promise of interaction and multi and cross platform support (i.e. interact with an Apple iPhone app via your Ford/Microsoft SYNC system). And personal and mobile computing will take a more prevalent place in the world, be ever more aware, and more available when at home and on the go, especially with all the new netbooks, tablets, smart phones and smart home technologies.

2010 CES Thursday Agenda

2010-01-07T11:00:00.002-05:00

2010 CES Thursday Agenda

First full day of the show. Will try to make it to the two keynotes today, plus I have a few sessions on my calendar. Will also explore some other general interest areas and exhibitors.

Be sure to follow me on twitter @jpryor223 for updates through out the day.

2010 CES Wednesday Recap

2010-01-07T10:53:00.003-05:00

2010 CES Wednesday Recap:

Took a stroll down the strip and tossed $10 in the slot machines of 20 different casinos. Was able to hold my ground on the first half and first 10 casinos, but no luck on the second half. The best pull was at ARIA, with last $1 left, I hit the 3rd highest progressive for a $78 payout.

Got my CES badge holder and went to the pre keynote address at the Hilton Center featuring Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. Very interesting topics and technology demos, all with a distinct Microsoft slant though.

Hotel WIFI/Internet coverage is spotty at best, so most of my blogging activities will be limited to basic recaps and upcoming agendas for now.

2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)

2010-01-05T00:43:00.005-05:00

I will be attending the 2010 CES later this week in Las Vegas. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to cover the show from both a professional perspective as well as check out things from a hobbyist, enthusiast and personal perspective. While not being occupied by topics related to my day job, I plan to check out a variety of exhibitors and other interesting sessions. I'll also be sure to slide by the GRE booth, I suspect that there won't be much more for display than what they had at the Dayton Hamvention. But maybe they'll have an future iScan digital prototype or other GRE branded models.

The following are my primary objectives during my CES/Las Vegas trip:

1) Digital Health Summit (ces info) (website) - Cover the Digital Health Summit, in relation to my day job as a Business Analyst in a health care information company. We are simplifying the business of health care and connecting and empowering consumers to manage their health in a ever more consumer-based health care space. Looking for disruptive technologies and tracking the emerging markets of the rapidly evolving digital health care industry.
2) Tech Policy Summit (ces info) - Attend the Tech Policy Summit with interesting sessions like "Making Nationwide Deployment and Adoption of Broadband a Reality", "The Spectrum Grab and Innovation", and "Inside the FCC's Communications Agenda". These sessions will likely offer interesting discussions regarding our ever growing and connected wireless communications world and may have ramifications for Amateur Radio and other spectrum uses.
3) GRE America (ces booth) (website) - Represent the Radio Reference community, answer questions and provide general coverage related to the GRE scanner product line.
4) General Interest - Explore other exhibitors and sessions of general consumer electronics interest.
5) "#20casinos" Challenge - Travel the Las Vegas strip, hitting a total of 20 of the largest Casinos in the world in 10 Hours (or less) and gambling a total of $200 bucks at said casinos. Part of my Wednesday free day and a special project that will likely have heavy Twitter and TwitPic coverage. Look here and on Twitter this Wednesday for more information.

I've primarily be covering objectives number 2 through 5 both here and via Twitter.

Stay tuned to this blog for a preview of my daily CES agenda and nightly summary and recap information. Follow me on Twitter @jpryor223 for real time updates and TwitPic images through out each day. And keep track of my position on APRS.fi via my KC8NNO-12 APRS-enabled location tracking Smart Phone.

Jeff KC8NNO

Toledo Police Christmas Broadcast 2009

2009-12-26T14:30:00.003-05:00

I have posted an Audio Log file from one of Toledo Police's Christmas Eve 2009 Broadcasts. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

The following broadcast is a Toledo Police tradition:

[Alert Tones:] "Attention all cars and listeners. Be on the lookout for a short jolly individual dressed in red and trimmed in white, who is constantly saying 'Ho! Ho! Ho!'. Subject was last seen operating a sleigh being pulled by eight reindeer, southbound from the North Pole. This subject's method of operation is that he spreads joy and cheer everywhere. If this subject is observed, all units are advised to assist this subject as much as possible. If found, this subject will bring you happiness all year long. All the members of the Toledo Police Division, the operators of the Communications Section, and this officer would like to wish all our listeners a very Merry Christmas. WNCE682 and KTS670. It's Christmas Eve 2009."

[Followed by a radio response in reply to Officer James Ogle's broadcast:] "It's good to hear your voice Jimmy."

Direct Link: 12/24/2009 - Toledo Police - Christmas Eve 2009 Broadcast (1.7 MB)

See the following articles from the Toledo Blade "Just like Santa Claus, TPD dispatcher delivers" (http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091225/NEWS02/912250365/-1/NEWS) and WUPW "Christmas Eve police tradition" (http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/Christmas-Eve-police-tradition) for more information.

Audio Log from Oregon FD House Fire

2009-12-26T14:13:00.000-05:00

I have posted an Audio Log file from Christmas Eve's house fire in Oregon Ohio. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

This file contains 20 minutes of fire ground audio from the Oregon Fire Department operations starting at 11:30 AM and through 1:00 PM during the day of Thursday, December 24th, 2009. Firefighters from Oregon FD Station 1, Station 2 and Station 3 responded to the historic 170-year old Johlin house at the 3900 block of Corduroy Road in the City of Oregon.

Direct Link: 12/24/2009 - Ohio, Lucas County, Oregon FD - House Fire (9.0 MB)

See the following article from WNWO "Johlin Winery family home spared after fire" (http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/story.aspx?id=394151) for more information.

Radio Shack holiday Scanner sales

2009-12-23T21:32:00.003-05:00

While this year's Radio Shack holiday Scanner sales don't include any of their digital scanners, and these sales have not been as exciting as last season, they still have some decent discounts. Radio Shack is offering $50 off three handheld analog scanner models and you may find some discount codes for additional savings.

PRO-137 Racing Scanner: $79.99
PRO-164 1000-Channel Handheld Scanner: $149.99
PRO-107 Handheld iScan Trunking Scanner: $179.99

"Sale valid until 01/02/10"

The most interesting model is the new GRE built PRO-107 Handheld iScan Trunking Scanner. This model is analog only and won't cover the Toledo/Lucas digital system, but this scanner still could be a good choice for those in other areas. It provides a fresh and revolutionary design that offers ease of use and flexibility, as well as simplicity of operation. The included memory storage card holds programming information for all analog frequencies and trunking systems in the entire US based on information from the Radio Reference database. It will be exciting to see some of these features incorporated into possible future models. Hopefully a Digital iScan is on the horizon.

Jeff KC8NNO

Selfridge ANGB Michigan Air Show 2009 pictures

2009-10-03T14:49:00.001-04:00

Hello all,

I finally got around to uploading and annotating my pictures from the previous month's Selfridge ANGB Michican Air Show:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffreypryor/SelfridgeANGBMichiganAirShow2009

There is an interesting collection of DHS assets included, and some neat pop up-communication tower shots, along with all the static aircraft and pictures from some of the flying acts.

Jeff KC8NNO

Test emergency prepardedness and practice communications skills with ham radio operating events and contests

2009-09-22T23:24:00.004-04:00

I had the opportunity to work a couple ham radio HF (short wave) operating events/contests during this past September. These activities provided for both a good test of emergency preparedness in the field as well as the ability to practice communications skills from the comforts of home. I worked the 80 Meter HF frequency band exclusively for these particular events, in both voice and digital modes, with each event needing different configurations, and having different goals and setup requirements.

First, on Friday night, September 11th, I participated in an 80 Meter PSK31 digital mode contest, sponsored by the Penn-Ohio DX Society's "PODXS Ø7Ø Club" (http://www.podxs070.com/). The Ø7Ø comes from the "070" frequency suffix that is commonly used for PSK31 text chatting signals in the various HF bands (7.070, 14.070, etc) and the digital modes focus of this particular club. This specific contest was a short "sprint" from 8PM to 2AM local time with the goal to work as many stations on 80 Meters as possible using solely PSK31 during the six hour time period. For this event I was able to shoe horn my full size 80 Meter dipole into the backyard using somewhat of a inverted V configuration. I operated in the Low Power category (less than 50 Watts) and was able to make 42 contacts from 18 unique states and three countries, with the farthest contacts being in Utah and Puerto Rico.

Next, during Saturday on September 12th, I packed up my HF equipment and setup in the field to activate Maumee Bay State Park for the Ohio State Parks On The Air 2009 event. This operating event was sponsored by the Portage County Amateur Radio Service and was their 2nd annual Ohio State Parks event (http://parks.portcars.org/). This contest was an all day event from Noon until 8PM and it placed a premium on working stations at the State Parks. This provided an opportunity for hams to visit and activate parks across the state, along with the goal to work other Ohio stations on HF via deployment and utilization of NVIS antennas. The weather for this event was also ideal. For this particular setup, I utilized my full size 80 Meter wire dipole antenna in a Near Vertical Incidence Skywave configuration, having strung it up about 5 feet off the ground between a tree and a light pole at my location overlooking the inland beach area. This NVIS configuration sends the majority of the radiation straight up and the radio signals are then refracted back down to blanket a circular region surrounding the transmitter. I had no troubles hearing and working stations at the various parks from all around of Ohio using 80 Meter voice. Overall I had 52 total contacts at 30 unique state parks. Thanks to the Portage County ARS and Ohio State Parks for sponsoring this now annual event that takes place the weekend after Labor Day.

While I don't consider myself a really serious ham radio contester, I do find these kinds of operating events provide an opportunity to get on the air and work many contacts during a short time frame. These activities can help test your emergency preparedness capabilities to deploy a solution to meet specific needs. Along with practicing communications skills, this gives you a chance to have fun and work with other hams while trying to reach similar goals that often require rapid exchange of specific information. Give a ham radio event like these a try, and I look forward to working you on the air!

73 Jeff

Photo caption: Station KC8NNO at Maumee Bay State Park

Recap of Field Day via Twitter Pictures

2009-07-02T22:56:00.003-04:00

For those not following me http://twitter.com/jpryor223 on Twitter, here is a brief recap of Field Day activities from this past weekend:

Bob W8NYY helping with launching antenna lines over trees via his industrial grade sling shot http://twitpic.com/8kdxu

Steve W8TER and Mike WA8SYD hanging up the TMRA information sign inviting all to stop by a ham radio field day site today http://twitpic.com/8khsu

A ham radio slow scan TV image (SSTV) from Joe KJ0EYT at TMRA field day site in Maumee Ohio as received over the air via ham radio and then uploaded over the air via wifi http://twitpic.com/8lfnz

Steve KC8YRK and Nancy KC8ZLZ on the W8HHF 20 meter Field Day station working and logging voice contacts via ham radio http://twitpic.com/8lpcm

Steve W8TER the TMRA Field Day chair and others, what's a ham radio field day without food http://twitpic.com/8m35z

Digi Classes: APRS program at June TMRA meeting

2009-06-02T23:39:00.002-04:00

Jeff KC8NNO and Steve KB9UPS will be offering an Introduction to APRS presentation and conduct a basic APRS equipment demonstration at the upcoming Toledo Mobile Radio Association (TMRA) monthly General Meeting. APRS stands for the Automatic Packet Reporting System. This educational APRS program will take place at the Wednesday June 10th TMRA General Meeting which starts at 7:30 PM at the Electrical Industry Building in Rossford Ohio.

This program is a continuation of the latest series of 'digi classes'--covering ham radio digital communications topics--and TMRA's overall commitment to providing ongoing educational opportunities. The program will consist of a presentation covering some of the basic functionality and uses for APRS, an interactive 'on the air' equipment demonstration, and as well as time for questions and answers and any additional discussion.

The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is an amateur radio based system for real time tactical digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. In North America, APRS data and activity is primarily found in the 2 Meter band on 144.390 MHz. In addition, all such data is ingested into the APRS Internet system (APRS-IS) and distributed globally for instant access. In addition to messages, alerts, announcements and bulletins, the most visible aspect of APRS is its map display. Anyone may place any object or information on their map and it is distributed to all maps of all users in the local RF network or monitoring the area via the Internet. Any station, radio or object that has an attached GPS is automatically tracked. Other prominent map features are weather stations, alerts and objects and other map related amateur radio volunteer activities including Search and Rescue and signal direction finding.

Individuals looking to learn more about the Automatic Packet Reporting System and where they can apply APRS digital communications are encouraged to attend the program and participate in the demonstration and discussion. Plenty of information is also available via the Internet with http://www.aprs.org/ being a good place to start.

Google Wonder Wheel gets "kc8nno" call sign search correct

2009-05-31T18:55:00.004-04:00

I noticed that the Google Wonder Wheel feature got my amateur radio call sign "kc8nno" search correct with the spokes being "ham radio operator", "weather spotter", "oregon oh", "dayton hamvention", "lucas county" and "aprs fi".

About NW Ohio Live Services: "Live Mapping (APRS)"

2009-05-27T00:31:00.002-04:00

This is the fourth entry of a series of seven blog entries that will provide additional details surrounding all the elements at NW Ohio Live Services (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/).

Today's topic is the "Live Mapping (APRS)" component (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/livemappingaprs.html).

The Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is an amateur radio based system for real time tactical digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. In addition, all such data is ingested into the APRS Internet system (APRS-IS) and distributed globally for instant access. In addition to messages, alerts, announcements and bulletins, the most visible aspect of APRS is its map display. Anyone may place any object or information on their map and it is distributed to all maps of all users in the local RF network or monitoring the area via the Internet. Any station, radio or object that has an attached GPS is automatically tracked. Other prominent map features are weather stations, alerts and objects and other map related amateur radio volunteer activities including Search and Rescue and signal direction finding.

The Live Mapping APRS (Amateur Automatic Packet Reporting System) feature on NW Ohio Live Services is made possible by the APRS-IS network and APRS.fi (Google Maps APRS) as well as all of the stations that provide RF APRS digipeaters and gate RF APRS traffic to the Internet. Find me on APRS via APRS.fi at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO*

This concludes the in depth look at the details surrounding the Live Mapping (APRS) element. Stay tuned for the next topic which will cover the Live Mapping (AIS) component in more detail.

(About NW Ohio Live Services - Blog Entry 4-A of 7)

2009 NW Ohio Live Services

Ham Radio in the spot light for Glass City Marathon support

2009-05-23T11:10:00.005-04:00

The Lucas County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and ham radio are in the spot light this year for providing Glass City Marathon radio communications support. The marathon race was held on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 and race day weather was much warmer than normal. Ham radio operators worked from various fixed and mobile locations all along the 26 mile marathon race course that crossed through both Lucas County and Wood County in the Greater Toledo Ohio area.

This year thanks to Jim Duggan, KD8CIJ, ARRL Public Information Officer for Ohio ARES District One, we also had plenty of media coverage and articles high lighting our ham radio communications support role.

Local Toledo television station WTOL Channel 11 featured two live shots and on air interviews regarding ARES support and ham radio on their Your Day Friday, April 24th, 2009 morning program:
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?s=10242385

The American Radio Relay League's national weekly ARES electronic "E-Letter" newsletter on May 20th, 2009 features a "Hams Rally for Glass City Marathon" article:
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/ares-el/index.html?issue=2009-05-20#toc04

And the Ohio ARRL website includes a more detailed article with additional pictures from marathon race day operations:
http://www.arrlohio.org/glass_city_marathon_09.htm

Thanks go out to all the Lucas County ARES members who volunteered, including those operators from Wood County, Hancock County, and Monroe County (Michigan) that came out to help as well. And special thanks to Rick Sharpe, K8RKS, our ARES Race Coordinator from Lucas County.

Photo by KD8CIJ: Jeff Pryor (KC8NNO) Handles radio traffic for race officials / ARES Net Control--Command Center in background.

Heading down to Dayton Hamvention on Saturday

2009-05-15T23:48:00.003-04:00

Hello all,

I'm heading on down to Dayton Ohio for Hamvention 2009 tomorrow. I'll be going via the Toledo Mobile Radio Association (TMRA) charter bus with about 50 other local ham radio operators. Follow our progress while enroute and returning via the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO-13 and watch for me walking around Hamvention at http://aprs.fi/?call=KC8NNO-7 also via APRS. You may also see my relative location via Google Latitude. Also feel free to follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jpryor223 for some mobile updates during the day.

Jeff KC8NNO

I am determined to tweet my Twitter more often

2009-05-04T22:42:00.002-04:00

Hello all. I am determined that I will tweet on my Twitter account more often. I now have Twitter on my Windows Mobile phone and can access via mobile web, and have TweekDeck up for real time access while at home. So along with occasional posts on ScanMiamiValley I'll have other random tweets via my personal account.

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jpryor223

What is this Twitter thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

Putnam County celebrates kickoff of MARCS radio system

2009-04-06T18:31:00.003-04:00

Article about Ohio MARCS communications upgrades in Putnam County:

LimaOhio.com - Glandorf, Ohio: Sunday, April 5th, 2009

"It's like writing the final chapter of a best selling novel," Putnam County Sheriff Jim Beutler told state and local officials at the county's Multi-Agency Radio Communications System kick off on Sunday ...

http://www.limaohio.com/news/county_35982___article.html/system_state.html

Jeff KC8NNO

Holy High Altitude Balloons: HALO II Launch this Weekend!

2009-04-02T19:52:00.004-04:00

According to the Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning Launch Announcements site (http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/ARHABlaunchannouncements.htm) there will be a large number of coordinated balloon launches this weekend.

The HALO II Project involves 15 Universities from across nine different states simultaneously launching high-altitude balloons to create a balloon-to-balloon network in order to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) Education and conduct cutting edge multi point science experiments.

The purpose of the HALO (High Altitude Launch Opportunity) project is to set up a high altitude communications network. When one balloon comes over the radio horizon of another balloon they will link and and start communicating. This project and Part-15 900MHz Spread Spectrum HALO NETWORK is managed by Taylor University (Indiana). Cooperating universities from Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia are also launching balloons.

The launches for these balloon flights are scheduled for this Saturday, April 4th at 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time. All high altitude balloons are equipped with Amateur Radio APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) transmitters on 144.39 MHz. Refer to the ARHAB site for more specific launch locations and tracking call signs.

The primary Talyor University balloon (KB9ZNZ-1) will likely have the normal Cross-band Repeater capabilities (Uplink ↑ 144.360 MHz & Downlink ↓ 446.025 MHz). The Wright State University balloon (W1WSU-11) is listed as having telemetry (145.050 MHz AX.25 TLM), Fast Scan television (427.250 MHz AM ATV) as well as a 2 Meter beacon (146.565 MHz DF Beacon).

Severe Weather Week Announcements

2009-03-22T12:07:00.001-04:00

In conjunction with Ohio's Spring Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the Statewide Tornado Drill, Lucas County will be activating the outdoor warning sirens on the morning of Wednesday, March 25th at 9:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time. Lucas County Skywarn will be conducting a special session net that will take station check-ins, stand by for the outdoor warning siren test, and then conclude with a brief roll call of all stations that have checked in. This special Skywarn net will be activated Wednesday Morning at 9:40 AM on the primary Lucas County Skywarn frequency (the 147.27 MHz TMRA repeater). All stations that are available at that time are encouraged to check in to the net.

And also, as a general reminder, the National Weather Service, in conjunction with Lucas County Skywarn and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, will be holding Skywarn Severe Weather Spotter Training class this Saturday morning, March 28th at 10:00 AM at Saint Luke’s Hospital Auditorium in Maumee, Ohio. The program is updated every year and the National Weather Service recommends spotters take the training every 2-3 years as a refresher. All individuals are encouraged to attend.

TMRA Toledo Hamfest this Sunday

2009-03-10T23:08:00.004-04:00

The Toledo Mobile Radio Association annual Hamfest is this Sunday, March 15th, 2009. The Toledo Hamfest takes place at the Lucas County Recreation Center at 2901 Key Street in Maumee, Ohio. The hamfest hours are from 8:00 AM till 2:00 PM.

See the TMRA Website for additional information:

http://www.tmrahamradio.org/hamfest.htm

Navigate to the hamfest via APRS:

http://aprs.fi/?call=HFEST-15t

Toledo Fire Last Alarm Call for Fire Fighter Paramedic Michael Darrington

2009-03-06T18:15:00.004-05:00

I have posted an Audio Log file of the Last Alarm Call for Fire Fighter Paramedic Michael Darrington from the Toledo Department of Fire and Rescue Operations. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

The broadcast was part of today's full departmental funeral services and went out over the air just after 3:00 PM. This Last Alarm Call transmission was also simulcast on the NPSPAC Interoperability channel "8 ITAC2" (867.0125 MHz Analog Conventional Repeater) as well as the Ohio MARCS Emergency Common channel "ECOMM 21" (800 MHz Digital Trunking System).

Direct Link:
03/06/2009 - Toledo Fire Last Alarm Call - FF Mike Darrington (1.3 MB)

Fire Department Communication Channels for Funeral Services

2009-03-04T00:22:00.006-05:00

Firefighter Michael J. Darrington
August 25th, 1963 - February 27th, 2009

Visitation:
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 5:00PM-8:00PM
House of Day Funeral Home
2550 Nebraska Ave.
Toledo, OH 43607

Last Alarm:
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 7:00PM-8:00PM

Funeral Services:
Friday, March 6th, 2009 11:00AM
Friendship Baptist Church
5301 Nebraska Ave.
Toledo, OH 43607

Fire Department Communications Channels:
Out of state Fire Departments can use the NPSPAC channel "8 ITAC2".
Ohio Fire Departments can use the MARCS channel "ECOMM 21".
These channels will be active beginning at 0800 hours, on March 6th.

Tentative Schedule for March 6th:
8:00 AM - NPSPAC "8 ITAC2" and Ohio MARCS "ECOMM 21" Activated
9:30 AM - Apparatus Staging @ Friendship Baptist Church
11:00 AM - Funeral Services @ Friendship Baptist Church
~1:00 PM ~ 2:00 PM - Procession (Church to Station 16 via Dorr St)
~2:00 PM - Station 16 Drive By [times dependent on turnout]
~2:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM - Procession (Station 16 to Memorial Park via Monroe St)
~3:00 PM - Internment @ Toledo Memorial Park
Afternoon - Evening - Repass @ Erie Street Market

For More Information:
Toledo Fire and Rescue Department
Toledo Firefighters Local 92

Severe weather season fast approaching: Spotter Training 2009

2009-03-03T18:28:00.002-05:00

Being a storm spotter not only means dedication, but also training. Each spring the Cleveland office of the National Weather Service trains members of police & fire departments, emergency management officials, amateur radio operators and weather interested citizens on spotting techniques. Typically the training is coordinated by a local group (such as an emergency management agency), and a NWS meteorologist serves as the guest instructor. The goal of the training is not just to recognize tornadoes, but to have some understanding of storm structure, which in turn better prepares the spotter for the extreme and unusual circumstances.

The National Weather Service (NWS), in conjunction with Lucas County SKYWARN® and the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, will be holding a SKYWARN® Severe Weather Spotter Training class on Saturday, March 28th at 10:00 AM at St. Luke's Hospital Auditorium in Maumee, Ohio.

The class will last around two hours and includes a multimedia presentation. Gary Garnet, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, Ohio, organizes the training each spring. It is open to all citizens interested in severe weather recognition, reporting, and safety and covers: Basics of thunderstorm development; Fundamentals of storm structure; Identifying potential severe weather features; What and how to report; Basic severe weather safety.

The program is updated every year and the National Weather Service recommends spotters take the training every 2-3 years as a refresher. All interested individuals are encouraged to attend this free training and it is not necessary to pre-register. Those who complete the program with be registered with the National Weather Service Cleveland Forecast Office and will be issued a SKYWARN® Spotter ID card.

NWS Cleveland SKYWARN® Spotter Training Schedule for NW Ohio District 1 Counties:

March 5th @ 6:30 PM - Seneca County
March 12th @ 6:30 PM - Wood County
March 16th @ 2:00 PM - Online Webinar*
March 19th @ 6:30 PM - Sandusky County
March 28th @ 10:00 AM - Lucas County
March 31st @ 2:00 PM - Online Webinar*
April 6th @ 6:30 PM - Hancock County
April 13th @ 6:30 PM - Wyandot County
April 14th @ 6:00 PM - Online Webinar*

* Cleveland also offers SKYWARN® Webinar Training, Visit their Website for more information.

Helpful websites:

National Weather Service Cleveland: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/
NW Ohio District 1 SKYWARN®: http://www.nwoskywarn.org/
Lucas County SKYWARN®: http://www.lucascoskywarn.org/

Toledo Fire Line of Duty Death Notification

2009-02-28T15:05:00.005-05:00

City of Toledo Ohio Firefighter and Paramedic Michael Darrington passed away yesterday afternoon, Friday February 27th 2009, while on duty at Toledo Fire Station 14.

Toledo Blade Article:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090228/NEWS16/902280259

I have posted an Audio Log file of the Line of Duty Death (LODD) Notification annoucement from the Toledo Department of Fire and Rescue Operations. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

Direct Link:
02/27/2009 - Toledo Fire LODD Notification - FF Mike Darrington (0.7 MB)

Interesting Live Feed with Pro96Com Screen Visual

2009-02-14T20:11:00.003-05:00

Here is an interesting live scanner feed that is using Pro96Com software for a screen visual. This feed is from Westmoreland County in the State of Pennslyania. Head on over to www.gmans.net and click on the "LIVE FEED PAGE" on the left menu (or direct link to the page at http://www.gmans.net/live_audio-video_scanner_feed_page.htm). The screen visual is displaying live talk group, radio ID and radio description along with the radio system audio.

Audio Logs from Lake Erie Ice Rescue

2009-02-09T22:14:00.004-05:00

I have posted a series of Audio Log files from this weekend's ice rescue operations on the western basin of Lake Erie. There is a link to the files in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

The files contain selected audio communications from Jerusalem Twp and the mutual aid provided by Oregon, Toledo, and Washington Twp. Ottawa County, the United States Coast Guard and numerous other agencies also participated significantly in the rescue operations.

The morning of Saturday, February 7th, 2009 saw warm temperatures and a strong southwest wind that pushed hundreds of ice fishers out into the lake on an 8 mile long ice flow (or floe). A large 100 yard wide crack developed from Davis Besse and west to Maumee Bay. (The Lake Erie MODIS Ice Coverage Satellite Imagery actually shows a pretty good visual.) Most of the rescue operations were conducted off of the Crane Creek, Metzger Marsh and Magee Marsh areas in Lucas and Ottawa County.

The VHF Marine channel file contains communications between the USCG Rescue Helicopters "65xx" and the C-130 "2005" (based out of Elizabeth City NC), as well as Sector Detroit, Station Toledo, and Lucas County. The Oregon Ops 5-2 talk group from the Lucas County P25 county wide digital radio system was the primary Interop and Incident Command channel for Jerusalem Twp FD, and I have included some additional agency specific communications.

Direct Links:
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - VHF Marine Ch 23 (8.2 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Oregon Ops 5-2 (9.4 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Toledo FD Ch 7 (2.0 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Oregon FD Ops (1.9 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Jerusalem Twp FD Ops (4.5 MB)
02/07/2009 - Lake Erie Ice Rescue - Washington Twp FD Ops (7.0 MB)

The feed archive over at Scan America has plenty of the communications as well (search between 11AM and 2PM on 02/07/09):
http://lucas.oh.scanamerica.us/modules.php?name=FeedArchive

Significant Ice Rescue Operations in Progress on Western Lake Erie

2009-02-07T12:12:00.001-05:00

Significant ice rescue operations are in progress on the western basin on Lake Erie. Jerusalem Twp FD (Lucas County) is the lead agency, with Oregon FD, Toledo FD, Washington Twp FD assiting as well as agencies from Ottawa County. There are reports of upwards of 150-500 people trapped on ice flows. A significant 100 yard wide crack from Davis Besse plant west to Maumee Bay has developed. Staging and command posts are at the Metzger Marsh and Crane Creek State Park areas. A USCG helicopter from Air Station Detroit is overhead, ProMedica Air 1 helicopter is also enroute. Live feed scanner activity is on www.ScanAmerica.us (Lucas County, Ohio Live Police, Fire, and EMS Scanners).

Live Scanner "Mini Console" Page is Back

2009-01-31T13:06:00.003-05:00

Folks who had visited the NW Ohio Live Scanner page in the past may have remembered the "Mini Console" page with multiple embedded live streams all on one page. Well the "Mini Console" page is back. The Mini Console page features all three of my NW Ohio live streams from ScanAmerica embedded on one page. This page allows folks to listen to the NW Ohio Digital & MARCS feed, NW Ohio Fire / Emergency Analog feed, and Toledo and Lucas County Fire & EMS Digital feed all at the same time.

The Live Scanner Mini Console is designed for use with Windows Media Player. Each feed is 16 Kbps so a decent connection is needed to listen to all feeds at the same time. You may need to adjust your web browser settings to accept more than two downloads at the same time. Individual feeds can be muted and volume levels custom mixed to your needs. Stereo balancing provides pseudo surround sound and distributes the audio from each feed from the left to the right speakers. In Windows Media Player, the "Visualization" / "Bars and Waves" / "Fire Storm" provides for a good graphical activity indicator.

Algosteel makes Mid-January arrival at Port of Toledo

2009-01-16T20:04:00.002-05:00

The Algoma Central Corporation's cargo vessel Algosteel has made a mid-January arrival at the Port of Toledo (01/16/2009 @ 6:00 PM Local Time) in Toledo, Ohio. Based on AIS mapping data, it appears that the USCGC Neah Bay is helping to clear ice. The CCGS Griffon may have also been assisting with ice operations in the western basin of Lake Erie. The Algosteel is currently reporting as being moored in the Maumee Channel, just off the at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Facility No. 1 (Midwest Terminals of Toledo International) docks. Discussions on VHF Marine Channel 81 are indicating a failure at the CSX Railroad Swing Bridge, and a maintainer has been called to get the bridge back in motion. The vessel also discussed at least two additional scheduled loads of salt from Goderich, Ontario are planned (one to Detroit and one to Chicago).

This might be the last Live Mapping AIS activity in a while for here in Toledo.

TARE Meeting this Thursday

2009-01-12T19:02:00.003-05:00

For folks wanting to get together with others from the NW Ohio area and chat about radio communications, the monthly TARE meeting is coming up this Thursday 01/15 at 7:00 PM.

TARE (Toledo Area Radio Enthusiasts) meets every third Thursday of the month at Schlotzsky's Deli on Reynolds Rd in Maumee Ohio (Schlotzsky's Deli‎ on Google Maps). There is always a good handful of folks there and the get together is pretty informal. Just look for the tables pushed together with radios and some laptops. Discussions usually range from shortwave listening, scanning and public safety monitoring, amateur radio communications and more (or less).

Folks that may have purchased or received newer radios from over the holidays, feel free to bring your equipment and questions. There are usually others with most of the common brands and models of scanners present, and there is always somebody that can help.

Audio Log from Oregon FD Barn Fire

2009-01-02T20:25:00.003-05:00

I have posted an Audio Log file from this morning's barn fire in Oregon Ohio. There is a link to the file in the Selected Activity Library (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/audiologs.html) on the Audio Logs page.

This file contains 25 minutes of fire ground audio from the Oregon Fire Department operations starting at 12:36 AM and through 9:19 AM on the morning of Friday, January 2nd, 2009. Firefighters from Oregon FD Station 1 and Station 3 battled the barn fire blaze that occurred at the 7100 block of Corduroy Road in the City of Oregon.

Direct Link: 01/02/2009 - Ohio, Lucas County, Oregon FD - Barn Fire (11.5 MB)

See the following articles from WTOL "Oregon barn fire kills animals, damages house" ( http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=9606529) and "Oregon farmer talks of deadly fire" (http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=9608592) for more information.

Interesting Internet Integrated Services

2009-01-01T13:49:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple of interesting Internet integrated services that I have stumbled upon over the past few weeks.
---

The first interesting service comes courtesy of the Laclede County Office of Emergency Management (http://www.lacledeoem.net/) in the State of Missouri. They are providing a "Live Radio Console Feed" stream of their dispatch console system from their Emergency Operations Center. Windows Media Encoder is being used to provide access to a ZETRON Console screen view and related audio:

http://broadcast.lacledeoem.net/

See the following Radio Reference thread for additional discussion:

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75442
---

The second interesting service comes courtesy of the Lebanon County Emergency Management Agency (http://www.lebanonema.org/) in the State of Pennsylvania. They are providing an ongoing real time log of decoded Lebanon County dispatch pages. A data slicer monitors the POCSAG paging radio transmissions off the air:

http://lebanonema.org/pager/html/monitor.html

See the following thread on their site for additional details and information:

http://www.lebanonema.org/lema/Radio+Project/277.aspx
---

Jeff KC8NNO

Radio Shack is at it again (Scanner Sales)

2008-12-29T23:35:00.000-05:00

Radio Shack is at it again when it comes to Scanner Sales. Both the PRO-106 and PRO-197 are on sale again for $399.99 (only a $100 discount this time) until 01/03/2009. The PRO-2096 is also on clearance for $249.97 and while it is a digital scanner, this particular model is not the best for the Lucas County system, but some folks may still want to give it a try.

UPDATE: The Radio Shack PRO-2096 digital scanner comes to $204.97 when ordering online with the 10% clearance discount and the $20 off from the 20STUFF08 discount code. Just a general disclaimer, this is one of the oldest models of digital scanners, and may not provide for the best reception with certain systems. It is technically capable of receiving the 9600 baud Project 25 Standard trunking control channel format and the LSM (Linear Simulcast Modulation) CQPSK (Compatible Differential Offset Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) APCO-25 digital voice modulation format used by the Lucas County Public Safety system. Individuals however have generally been more likely to experience sub-par to unacceptable performance with simulcast systems especially when using these older models. Your experience may vary. For more information regarding the challenges, refer to the Simulcast Digital Distortion page on the Radio Reference Wiki (http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Simulcast_digital_distortion). The PRO-2096 would still make for a great scanner for the State of Ohio MARCS digital radio system.

About NW Ohio Live Services: "Live Camera"

2008-12-23T23:58:00.002-05:00

This is the third entry of a series of seven blog entries that will provide additional details surrounding all the elements at NW Ohio Live Services (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/).

Today's topic is the "Live Camera" component (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/livecamera.html). The goal of this camera is to provide a window on the local weather activity.

The Live Camera is powered by a generic stand alone web camera. This web camera FTPs an image every minute to my Web Server. That image is then also FTP'd to Weather Uunderground for further visibility and achieving (http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KOHOREGO2).

One neat feature on Weather Underground is the ability to recall a 24 hour time lapse video loop of all captured images from any day in the past (http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/kc8nno/1/show.html). I've had some fun going back and watching time lapse video of the days during which we had recent snow falls.

I am also impressed at how well the camera works at nights during which there is a decent blanketing of snow present. In some cases, almost as bright as day time, but other days with less or no snow, not much can be seen. I also have a window screen that is impairing the best possible visibilty of the outside--I'm looking into removing that screen at some point in the future.

As a final note, I'm also submitting these Live Camera images to The Weather Channel via their Weather Bonk site (http://www.weatherbonk.com/weather/camDetail.jsp?id=cam_1229899380150).

This concludes the in depth look at the details surrounding the Live Camera element. Stay tuned for the next topic which will cover the Live Mapping component in more detail.

(About NW Ohio Live Services - Blog Entry 3 of 7)

2008 NW Ohio Live Services

Hancock County getting MARCS radios in 2009

2008-12-21T14:55:00.004-05:00

Article about communications upgrades in Hancock County, including new MARCS radios for Sheriff, County Fire and EMS:

Courier Electronic Edition - Findlay, Ohio: Sunday, December 21, 2008

The county received a $1.6 million grant to purchase MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) radios, which will be used by sheriff's deputies, county fire departments and EMS providers. Consoles provided through the grant will ...

http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2008/Dec/21/ar_news_122108_story1.asp?d=122108_story1,2008,Dec,21&c=n

Jeff KC8NNO

Radio Shack PRO-106 and PRO-197 scanners now on sale for $299

2008-12-19T23:20:00.002-05:00

The Radio Shack PRO-106 and PRO-197 digital scanners are now on sale for $299 through 12/25. This price is for both in store and web orders, however the PRO-106 portable scanner quickly went out of stock online yesterday. For those ordering online, you can use discount code 20STUFF08 for $20 off and free shipping. I know at least a couple people that have picked up PRO-106s at local Radio Shacks during the past couple days. The Radio Shack website is still showing stores in our area that may still have that model available.

About NW Ohio Live Services: "Live Weather"

2008-12-14T23:23:00.002-05:00

Hello again,

This is the second entry of a series of seven blog entries that will provide additional details surrounding all the elements at NW Ohio Live Services (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/).

Today's topic is the "Live Weather" component (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/liveweather.html). I have always had an interest in weather phenomena and keeping track of the weather conditions around us. This past year I have also had the opportunity to receive National Weather Service severe weather spotter training (http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/skywarn/training/spottran.html) and have been involved with Lucas County SKYWARN® (http://www.lucascoskywarn.org/).

I have deployed a Personal Weather Station at my home location in Oregon Ohio and have recently integrated the weather reporting data with the Internet. My weather station instrumentation consists of an Oregon Scientific WMR100N (http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=2&scid=84&pid=922) Professional Wireless Weather Station. The WMR100N includes five different sensors and is capable of measuring and reporting temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind, and rainfall. The wireless feature allows for easy mast mounting of the primary instruments above roof level.

The Oregon Scientific WMR100N weather console is connected to a computer via USB cable. The computer is running Virtual Weather Station (http://www.ambientweather.com/virtualstation.html) software that is capable of logging and redistributing the weather data. I am submitting data to Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com/) and they're hosting my "KC8NNO" Personal Weather Station (http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KOHOREGO2). Weather Underground offers and impressive array of personal weather services and historical data logging and analysis capabilities.

I am also uploading weather data to the APRSWXNET in support of the Citizen Weather Observer Program (http://www.wxqa.com/). From here, weather data is sent to the NOAA Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System [MADIS] (http://www-sdd.fsl.noaa.gov/MADIS/index.html) for further distribution and quality control. View my CWOP information and MADIS weather quality ratings: http://weather.gladstonefamily.net/site/AT081.

The implementation of a new service always has it's challenges. I've just finished with recalibrating my barometric pressure this weekend and my station should now be tracking that measurement with little error going forward. I'm looking forward to seeing a two thumbs up rating from MADIS. I've also had some recent glitches with wind and rain reporting, but hopefully related to cold weather and poor batteries and those will not be causing any further issues.

This concludes the in depth look at the details surrounding the Live Weather element. Stay tuned for the next topic which will cover the Live Camera component in more detail.

(About NW Ohio Live Services - Blog Entry 2 of 7)

2008 NW Ohio Live Services

Upcoming deals on the Radio Shack PRO-106 and PRO-197

2008-12-12T21:36:00.002-05:00

The latest Radio Shack pricing buzz at Radio Reference(http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127437):

PRO-106: $299.99
PRO-197: $299.99
PRO-164: $99.99
PRO-163: $119.99

"Pricing effective 12/18 to 12/24, in store or web orders"

Will definitely be an ever better deal on the PRO-106 and PRO-197 digital scanners (these are the GRE built equivalents of the PSR-500 and PSR-600). This will be a good scanner and a great deal for anybody wanting to listen to Lucas County and Ohio MARCS. And if anybody recently purchased a PRO-106/PRO-197, you should have 30 days from date of purchase to take the receipt back to get the lower price if the above deals indeed happen.

Jeff KC8NNO

About NW Ohio Live Services: "Live Scanner"

2008-12-09T20:31:00.005-05:00

This is the first entry of a series of seven blog entries that will provide additional details surrounding all the elements at NW Ohio Live Services (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/).

Today's topic is the "Live Scanner" component (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/livescanner.html). This is the flagship element of the site, and the original inspiration for all Internet integration activities at NW Ohio Live Services.

The Live Scanner features local public safety radio system audio content from the NW Ohio area with a focus on Greater Toledo and Lucas County Ohio. The Live Scanner is designed to provide individuals with insight into the digital interoperable public safety radio system content that is active in the NW Ohio area with the primary goal of allowing those individuals to make an informed decision regarding the purchase their own digital scanning radio receiver.

The scanner itself is scanning activity on the Lucas County Public Safety system (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4239) and the State of Ohio MARCS (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=901) Toledo tower site. Most dispatch and operational talk groups on both of those systems are enabled on the scanner. There are a handful of non-dispatch, non-operational activity that have been excluded: correctional activity, court security, records channels, medical channels, and encrypted channels, etc. Folks wanting more information regarding the above systems should follow the above links. Also visit the Live Scanner page for links to all of the current brands and models of digital scanning radio receivers that will work with Lucas County and Ohio MARCS.

The Live Scanner is powered by the GRECOM PSR-500 Digital Triple Trunking Handheld Scanner (http://www.greamerica.com/PSR-500.html). This is their first breakthrough handheld model from GRE's latest independent development and manufacturing efforts (GRE also develops and supplies Radio Shack branded equipment). This particular model features many innovative functions: Intuitive "Object Oriented" User Interface Design, Powerful and Flexible Scan List Functionality, Flexible Free-Form Memory Organization, Exclusive ALERT LED, Trunking Control Data Output, Radio ID Information, and more.

The scanner is connected to a computer running StarrSoft Win500 (http://www.starrsoft.com/software/win500/default.asp) software for the screen capture visual and Windows Media Encoder 9 Server (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx) for the streaming media functionality. The Live Scanner is currently limited to twelve connections, as all users are directly connected to the server and my personal website bandwidth is limited. Folks can visit the Scan America website for an audio only equivalent of this feed that offers virtually unlimited connections ("NW Ohio Digital & MARCS" at http://lucas.oh.scanamerica.us/index.php). Feel free to visit their site for this feed and additional live scanner feeds.

This wraps up the futher look at the details surrounding the Live Scanner. Stay tuned for the next topic which will cover the Live Weather element in more detail.

(About NW Ohio Live Services - Blog Entry 1 of 7)

2008 NW Ohio Live Services

Stay tuned . . .

2008-12-04T21:24:00.001-05:00

An upcoming series of blog entries will highlight additional details surrounding the unique content of all elements at NW Ohio Live Services (http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/). The NW Ohio Live Services web site is an experimental test bed for radio, electronic, computer and Internet integration activities. As a technology buff, communications enthusiast, and ham radio operator--I enjoy connecting the world around us via computer technology and the Internet. This Electronic Interface to the World is designed to be a hobbyist showcase.

Stay tuned right here every few days for more information about each element. The "Live Scanner"--the flag ship element--will be the first element to be covered in additional detail.

Jeff KC8NNO

NW Ohio Live Services

2008-12-03T00:21:00.001-05:00

The NW Ohio Live Scanner site is now NW Ohio Live Services: http://nwohio-liveservices.dyndns.org/