HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Please allow Santa and I to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. We really thank all of our regular readers and new friends for their support and encouragement. We hope that you all will enjoy the holiday. PLEASE,remember our soldiers in uniform that may not be home for this holiday. We here at the APRN are thankful for our military that sacrifices so much to defend our freedoms that we sometimes take for granted.
PS: The Thursday night APRN 80m net will take a standby for the holiday so that everybody can enjoy family and friends. If you are traveling, Be safe and we'll catch you soon on the airwaves!!! God Bless!!!! W4DMH and K7DLB

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE NET.........

This actually dovetails nicely with Santa's "Life Lessons Series" Part 4.
Last night while preparing for the 160m meter net, a bunch of operators were on the 1.860 frequency having a very nice ragchew session. They are regulars since the 160m band opened up and they are always very gracious when I ask if I can have the frequency at 9pm for the net. It was no different last night except for one operator that expressed his opinion on our project and the whole Prepper movement in general. It was not directed at me, nor was it nasty or out of line, it was his opinion and he is certainly entitled to it. To kind of condense his thoughts, I'll just say he was calling us a bunch of "Chicken Littles". I thought about this and here are my thoughts....
This operator is, I'm afraid, the norm, rather than the exception. He has lived his life his own way probably not paying a whole lot of attention to things outside his immediate world. When he does pay attention to the news of the day, it has been trimmed and slanted as the Media is so inclined to do. I feel bad for folks like this. It is the goal of this movement and others like it to wake people up. Santa's post lays it out nicely. So read it a couple of times to let it sink in and get to work!!!! There is much to do, we have to be ready WHEN, not IF things get troublesome!!!!!!!!!
73
Dave K7DLB

Life's Lessons Part 4 APRN Goals

Life's Lessons Part 4

I have enjoyed sharing with you this series of post on how and why the APRN was born and I hope you have enjoyed getting to know just a little about me and how this all happened. Next, I want to share the main goals we have here at the APRN and coming soon I will try to share some of the plans we have in the works to help accomplish the goals listed here.

The goals of the APRN

1. To have established nets run at least 3 nights per week

2. To help educate people that are either new to Ham radio or that are just learning what Ham radio has to offer them.

3. To demonstrate just how functional Ham radio is for communications needs with no grid support at all and also just how versatile the hobby can be with very limited grid support.

4. To be prepared to assist with any need for communications during an emergency or disaster, and to be on the air to help provide communications in the event of a failure of the grid supported forms of communication.

5. To help with educating people of the importance of being prepared to provide for themselves in the event of any type of emergency, rather it be a natural disaster or a man made event that would disrupt the way we live or normal lives.

This is just an outline of the major goals of the APRN and while there may well be more in the future, this will give you some idea about why we are here. If anyone here reading has any ideas or suggestions please use the email contact on the right side of this page.
73 for now
W4DMH
Dave aka Santa
Copyright © 2009 www.w4dmh.com

What a GREAT Discussion on 160 meter!!!!!!

The APRN 160m net was jumping tonite!!!! The topic was changed at the last minute and we moved into a BIG discussion on the Swine Flu shot program. We found that thoughts and opinions were varied. Everybody had their reasons for getting or not getting the shots and those reasons were well founded. It seems that most folks really dug into the research and made some educated decisions!!!!!Thanks to all that checked in tonite and be sure to check in next week, same time, same frequency!!!!!
Tonites Check ins:
WA1HHN Walt, MA
KD8KWD John, WV
NW8I Del, OH
KD8JPQ Jeff, OH
W4DMH Dave, WV
W3ATM Bill, PA New Check in, THANKS!!!!
N8HHG Paul, OH New Check in, THANKS!!!!
K2IPX Bill, NY New Check in, THANKS!!!!
AC0BG Dean, IA
PS: Have a happy Thanksgiving and if you are traveling, PLEASE be careful and have a safe trip!!!!!
73
K7DLB

The APRN 160 meter net tonite is............

.......Wide open for discussion!!!! Ha!!! Tonite K7DLB will throw the doors to the APRN 160m net wide open for anybody to come in and participate. The discussion tonite will be "What direction do you see Ham Radio going in the next 10 years??". There have been a lot of changes lately, some good, some not so good. We started to touch on this last week with the Morse Code topic. So, tune in and join K7DLB at 0200UTC(9pm Eastern) on 1.860LSB and lets talk it up!!!!!

We need a Net Control operator for 80m Thursday nite net!!!

Del, NW8I is the victim of a fierce line noise problem that takes him out of the 80m game. Until he finds the problem, we need a new net control operator for that position. If you are interested in picking up that net please click the E-mail button and let us know!!! It is not that hard!!! You do not necessarily have to run a topic every week if you would like to just run a general discussion net. I do have 1 operator interested but I'm not sure if he can do it each week due to other net commitments.

The 80 meter net is all crossed up!!!

Yup, Del, NW8I has his fingers, toes and eyes crossed so tonite his crazy noise level doesn't return!!! As busy as 8om has been lately Del is going to get the net up and running at 0200utc(9pm eastern) on 3.961LSB or somewhere close. IF he's not there try 3.983LSB or who knows, maybe he'll be playing Follow the Net Control Operator to see who can keep up!!!! We certainly hope you can join in tonite and get in on some good converstation!!!!!!

Ham radio 101

I am going to start posting some things that everyone interested in Ham Radio will need to learn. I hope that this will help those wanting to get there ticket.(License)

Ham operators have a language they use that many do not know, I will be trying to help you understand what you hear on the airwaves over the next couple of weeks.


Lesson one is going to be the internationally recognized phonetic alphabet. A good use for this other than Ham radio is when you talk with those customer service or tech support people. They are always fumbling for words to spell with phonetically and it throws them for a loop when you spell things back to them with ease using this.


TRY IT YOU WILL LOVE THE RESPONSE YOU GET.


A = ALFA

B = BRAVO

C = CHARLIE

D = DELTA

E = ECHO

F = FOXTROT

G = GOLF

H = HOTEL

I = INDIA

J = JULIETT

K = KILO

L = LIMA

M = MIKE

N = NOVEMBER

O = OSCAR

P = PAPA(PA-PA')

Q = QUEBEC (KAY-BEK')

R = ROMEO

S = SIERRA

T = TANGO

U = UNIFORM

V = VICTOR

W = WHISKEY

X = X-RAY

Y = YANKEE

Z = ZULU (ZED)


1 = ONE

2 = TWO

3 = THREE(TREE)

4 = FOUR

5 = FIVE (FIFE)

6 = SIX

7 = SEVEN

8 = EIGHT

9 = NINE (NINER)

0 = ZERO


The words in parentheses are the pronunciation or the alternate pronunciations for the words or numbers, but you will hear both used. With the letter Z, (ZED) is by far the most commonly used. With the number 9, NINER is the most common and easiest to understand ON THE AIR.


One more thing I will cover today is the use of 73 (best wishes) normally followed by either the persons call sign or de (from) then there call sign.

73 W4DMH or 73 de W4DMH

This would be;

Best wishes radio station W4DMH

Best wishes from radio station W4DMH


There you have the first lesson. Learn it and have fun with it the next time you need it with a call to TECH SUPPORT you will love it.

73 To All

W4DMH

Dave aka Santa


Copyright © 2009 www.w4dmh.com

Ham Radio 101

I would like to share with our readers today that are either new to ham radio or that are not ham radio operators yet. If you are a prepper and do not plan to become a ham but listen to short wave this may help you as well.

CQ or as it is normally used CQ CQ CQ Normally next you will hear the operator say what band they are on such as 10 meter or 20 meter etc. then followed by there call sign then more often than not CQ CQ then QRZ

CQ - means I wish to contact any amateur station

QRZ - Means Who is calling me and spoken Q R ZED

Now lets cover some more of the common slang you may hear and not understand.

73 or 73's - This stand's for best wishes or best regards

88 or 88's - Hugs and Kisses

Now let me warn you there is a never ending quarrel over having the 's after the number. Well that will continue forever so I do not pay much attention to that.

XYL - Wife

YL - Young Lady (any women that is not married or commonly a girlfriend)

OM - Old Man (A common term like calling another operator a friend)

OT - Old Timer or someone that has been a Ham for a long time

LID - Used to describe a poor operator (using bad habits or being annoying)

HI HI - Laughing (like LOL on a computer)

Ticket - Your Ham license

Machine - A repeater

Rig - Your radio

DX - Long distance normally referred to as communication with a different country

QRM - Interference

QSB - Signals are fading

QSL - Used like saying that you understand what was said or you copy what was said

QSY - Changing frequency

QTH - Where you are located (My QTH is ________ county West Virginia)

This is just a small list but they are some of the most common. If you are a prepper and or new to ham radio please come back often for more info on ham radio and being prepared.

Stay tuned more to come soon

Copyright © 2009 www.w4dmh.com

Life’s Lessons Part 3

Life’s Lessons Part 3

Being a talker and not a writer.

I want to share with you today how this site you are reading came about. If you have not read all of this series please start with part one to understand the entire story.

I have read a lot about being prepared to survive long term over many years of seeking to learn more about all the ways to do that. Since I am a talker not a writer I have never shared a lot with others via the internet. I got very involved with the sharing of information over the internet in February of 2009. The one thing that has always stuck out in my mind over the years is how many times people have tried to join together over the air via radio. It seems to me that no one ever really tried hard enough or for long enough to get people coming to one place to have a reliable form of communication if all of the grid supported forms were not working. The other thing that stuck in my mind is there were just so many different places that people gathered on the internet and shared information that we needed one place to all come and talk.

I talked to a close friend that is like minded and also a ham about this back in the last part of February 2009. I explained what my goal was and the reply that I remember was that is a lofty goal my friend, now let’s see if you can make it happen. Over a period of several months we again talked about it many times and some ideas were born from those talks. Around that time another friend got interested in this idea and we proceeded. As we spread the word a few more people got interested and we moved forward in creating what you see now. If it were not for several people putting in a lot of effort this would have never become what it is today.

The main focus that I have put in here is getting people from every place there is on the internet to come join us here in a joint effort to spread the word of what being a prepper is. I saw it this way, the word prepper is much more likely to attract new people into this by means of it being a much more kind and gentle way of describing what we are. Many people throughout this entire community have other words they use to describe themselves but when it comes right down to it we can all agree that preparing for whatever is the main ingredient to what we all do.

My focus from the very beginning was to see this some day become a word used world wide to attract new people to the idea of being more prepared. Like my friend told me in the beginning. “That is a Lofty Goal My Friend”. Well we have to start someplace if we ever have the hope of reaching a goal so large. We can do a lot of good if we all dedicate a little of our time to helping to spread the word to others in every way we can.

Ham radio to me was just the most logical place for me to be able to share some of the things that I have learned thru the years that may help others. I am not suggesting to you to give a list of what you have or everything you do. If you are concerned about security by coming and talking with us I do understand that and would suggest that you still can come and join us without telling the world what you have. I personally do not have a fear of sharing what I know with others and it is possible that this may come back to bite me some day in the future but I just do not see it being a real concern.

Being a talker and not a writer is why I chose to use ham radio as the instrument of choice for me to help spread the word. I see ham radio as the tool for me to best help the community as a whole. I truly want to see us grow to the point where if we ever loss grid supported form’s of communication we will all be able to keep in touch via the radio. Now is, ham radio the only way this can be done, of course not but it is certainly the most reliable means and the way to cover great distances easily. I do realize that ham radio is not in the cards for some and I fully understand that. It is a rather expensive undertaking if you have no gear to start with. I would recommend that if you have the equipment and the license that you join us now as it will be very hard to do it during an emergency under stressful conditions. I would go on to recommend that if you have the means and the interest you should begin the journey down the road of communications without further delay. Now is the time to get with it and practice your skills and waiting until the need is there will surly make for some very difficult times for you.

The human desire to communicate is one we should all explore a little more. If you like to go to forum boards and or chat rooms then I encourage you to think what it would be like if they stopped without notice today. Would you know where to go to find the information you are accustomed to enjoying now. I see it this way, we all have a need to communicate with each other, it is just part of our nature. This is the reason that I see a great need for this site and the nets we run. With joining in and participating now you will know where and when like minded people will be on the radio and your skills and equipment will be up and working. Why? Because you will have been using this means of communication all along and not waiting until it is the only thing capable of working.

I will share more of some of the plans we are working on and the goals we have in coming days but in the mean time I hope this has helped some understand a little more for now.
73 all
W4DMH
Dave aka Santa

Also please visit this new site www.imaprepper.org 

Copyright © 2009 www.w4dmh.com