HRN 312: Florida Repeater... Counsel?

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Bryan Fields W9CR is accusing the Florida Repeater Council of being corrupt and inefficient to the point of inaction. It stems from his attempt to coordinate a 220 MHz band repeater in Tampa Bay, FL. Bryan's account is that the process went from delay to friction to outright hostility.

Bryan has launched a reform group with this web site where he makes his case. He's produced a 15-minute YouTube video that also details the story (which we've condensed into about 3 minutes and inserted at the very end of the show), and now this 90-minute HamRadioNow Episode in which host Gary Pearce KN4AQ grills Bryan mercilessly (OK, he asks a few pointed questions), and David Goldenberg W0DHG supplies the average ham perspective, asking questions that have bedeviled frequency coordinators for decades (where do they get their authority, who do they report to, who's supposed to fix this?). 

We've invited the FRC to appear on a future show to respond, and Gary realizes (again) how much we need to do a Repeater Show or two with some of the rich history of ham radio repeaters, a close look at the issues and problems repeater users, owners and coordinators face, and some predictions of the future.

 

It's another talking-head show, with just a few web sites and a little video, so it earns its Radio Rating of A.

HRN 311: California Drivin' (or... California Nightmare)

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It is... or it is not... illegal to operate a two-way radio while driving in the state of California.

This isn't a multiple choice test. It's the way things are under a broad but ambiguous statute on distracted driving passed by the state General Assembly last year. The statute was aimed at cell phone/texting use, but at the last minute, and without anybody watching closely, was broadened to say:

“electronic wireless communications device” includes, but is not limited to, a broadband personal communication device, a specialized mobile radio device, a handheld device or laptop computer with mobile data access, a pager, or a two-way messaging device.

Two California hams, Jim Aspinwall NO1PC and Norm Lucas WB6RVR, are working with a state Assemblyman to revise the statute. They join hosts David Goldenberg W0DHG and Gary Pearce KN4AQ for an in-depth look at the law, what they're doing to change it, and the connection between two-way radio use (including Amateur Radio) and distracted driving. 

So that's the first 90 minutes. Then David and Gary spend another half-hour with some banter about Reddit and Gary's HamCasters sub-Reddit board, and David's upcoming Public Service event with the Baker to Vegas run in the California and Nevada desert.

Good news, podcast fans: the Radio Rating of 'A' is marred only by a little video from a TV station, and the map graphics of the Baker to Vegas run. We also show some text of the legislation, but Gary is careful to read it.

HRN 310: HamWAN Tampa Close Up (and Up High)

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HamWAN is a 5 GHz high-speed data system... Long Distance Internet (or Intranet) without wires, on ham radio. HamWAN is on the air in Seattle, Memphis, and versions in Europe, and the system in Tampa that we'll see in this show. Like Broadband Hamnet, HamWAN is a high-speed data system. Unline Hamnet, HamWAN's infrastructure revolves around a few high sites, kind of like a repeater system. The similarity to repeaters, though, ends there, and you'll see why.

Our tour guides are Bryan Fields W9CR and Ryan Owens KJ4SHL, with the Florida Simulcast Group. 

There are lots of videos about HamWAN and similar systems on YouTube. Here are links to the HamRadioNow talks from the DCC that cover that territory: