Author Archives: Bob Beatty

WB4SON-10 Changeover Complete

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I finally had enough downtime to move my WB4SON-10 Winlink Gateway over to its full-time hardware: Alinco DR-135T Mk-III Samlex SEC-1223BBM Power Supply with battery changeover 100 AH Solar Charged battery ACEPC AK2 miniPC Master’s Communication DRA-50 interface with Alinco … Continue reading →

Posted in VARA_FM, Winlink | 2 Comments

The Magic Band comes alive!

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Bob Beatty

When I was a newly upgraded ham in 1971, the only radio I had that would operate voice mode was a Heathkit “Sixer” — a small, 2 watt AM rig.  I had a 6-m dipole antenna taped to the inside … Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Meters, DX, Sporadic-E | Leave a comment

Owning a Flex-6600M is a mixed bag

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Bob Beatty

A lifetime ago (in other words the year before the pandemic,), I purchased a FlexRadio Flex-6600M, along with a Maestro Control Console for remote operation.  My first year of use was plagued with problems with things that seemed basic to … Continue reading →

Posted in FlexRadio | Leave a comment

Preparing a miniPC for 24/7 operation

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Bob Beatty

There are two good reasons to use a dedicated miniPC for your RMS Packet station.  The first is that the sysop user agreement you sign states that you will do you best to make sure the software runs on dedicated … Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, RMS, Winlink | Leave a comment

Six Meters is Hopping!

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I was upstairs noodling around and happened to use my iPad/Flex to see what was going on in the Magic Band.  Sure enough, I saw a few SSB QSOs (nothing on CW) and saw that FT8 was hopping.  By the … Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Meters | Leave a comment

Trouble Setting up RMS Express with CF-31 Toughbook

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Bob Beatty

After having a gloriously easy time setting up my Kenwood TM-D710G and DRA-50 the other day with both the RMS Express Client, and eventually the RMS Packet software to get my VARA FM gateway up and running, I ran into … Continue reading →

Posted in CF31, Toughbook, VARA_FM, Winlink | Leave a comment

RMS Packet Gateway WB4SON-10 Up

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I’ve been a Winlink Express user for many years.  Up until just a few days ago, always on HF.  The interest in HF meshed with my believe that disasters are mostly either local or regional.  Sure a hurricane or winter … Continue reading →

Posted in RMS, TM-D710GA, VARA_FM, Winlink | 3 Comments

Winlink with Vara FM, TM-D710G & DRA-50

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Bob Beatty

After getting my VHF antenna back up in the air, I was able to hook my Kenwood TM-D-710G up via a DRA-50 Digital Radio Adapter to my PC.  I downloaded a copy of VARA-FM, and used Winlink to receive my … Continue reading →

Posted in VARA_FM, Winlink | Tagged | 4 Comments

Winlink Pandemic Pause

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Bob Beatty

I discovered today that I had not used Winlink Express since late 2019, and therefore I could no longer log in.  Restoring things was simple, I just made a Telnet connection and the system restored me. With that accomplished it … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Mode, RMS, Winlink | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Armed Forces Day – Worked NSS & NFA

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Bob Beatty

The Naval Academy station was transmitting on 7,535.0 KHz, while listening to 7,028.0 KHz.  I was able to work NSS on CW today at 17:46 UTC.  (Subsequently worked NSS on SSB 7.536.5/7.197 MHz, and NAF on SSB 7.542/7.275 MHz) Boy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Armed Forces Day, CW | Leave a comment