Amateur Radio Committee Meeting - 07.15.14

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Attendance

  • Pat Hykkonen
  • Dan Hoover
  • Daniel Jackson
  • Benjamin Groves
  • Art
  • Chuck Poindexter (KE5HGQ)


Proposed Events

  • Discussion of previous meeting (in March)
  • (@Pat) How did the Field Day go with DARC?
  • Unfortunate that day way the high-water mark of the DMS move
  • Pat's Report:
  • Went well, although there was only 1 DMS member there (Pat)
  • 4 clubs on site
  • There were 120 people signed in on roster (add maybe 20 more)
  • We have an invite to go back next year
  • Put it on calendar now
  • Not as hot as it has been in a past


  • Introductions / any projects that people want to share
  • DJ
  • Has a RTL SDR to show off
  • Controlling software in Linux
  • It is possible :D
  • Dan
  • Dan is working on a APRS digipeter made from a Raspberry Pi
  • (<$100)
  • Early tests show positive
  • Social handshakes all around


  • Changing of KD5MS address with the FCC to the new Dallas Makerspace location
  • 1825 Monetary Lane, Suite 104 // Carrollton, TX 75006
  • Requires committee vote and record of event (here)
  • Unanimously approved by the attending members of the Amateur Radio Committee
  • Pat needs these meeting notes and the general meeting notes for Dallas Makerspace in order to file paperwork


  • New Amateur Radio Club setup
  • We have the office at the back of the warehouse, shared with milling committee
  • Milling committee will house a computer, Haas simulator and books
  • Office environment, can be more easily policed for clutter
  • Thoughts on antenna mounting?
  • Our roof access is not as limiting as we previously thought
  • In least, we should be able to set up a mast like we did at old DMS
  • There is apparently a hole in the wall nearby that was for a satellite dish
  • Note we are near the power distribution for DMS and relative closeness to the Haas mill
  • Wall mount?
  • Magnetic Loop antenna?
  • DJ mentioned positive results with his
  • An HF Antenna will need to be in the air
  • Look more into roof access
  • As the temperatures start cooling down
  • Wall mount is possible
  • Saddle Mount dipole is optimal
  • 4' above the roof's surface
  • $120 - $250
  • Make our own antenna?
  • Committee unanimously agrees to design and build our own antenna
  • Spec and plan now on the Mailing List
  • Ben to check around for specifics of roof (should not be a problem)
  • Ben will make Wiki page for documentation in the near future
  • Offset center-fed dipole antenna in consideration
  • Spec out 80-10m antenna
  • J-pole antenna for VHF / UHF
  • Electrical / Industrial Noise
  • Transformer outside of the building
  • Haas Mill, Bridgeport Mill and CNC router noise
  • Even though we should be clear we need to test our location for EMF noise and safety
  • There is ability to implement countermeasures to counterbalance


  • Amateur radio masts in DMS storage
  • Now we are in the new space we can have some better context for their use
  • 4x 10' sections of mast
  • Not standard
  • Meant to be portable
  • Can be used with a design of mounting plate
  • Will our new solutions not need them, in which case they are clutter?
  • All in all, we will probably abandon them
  • Final decision of what to do with them deferred to the outcome of the antenna design meetings
  • Propose getting rid of them / scrapping for metal?
  • Haul out to next hamfest for handoff (as opposed to scrapping)
  • Alternatively and in the same spirit, we can check with the local ham community


Upcoming Activities

  • Amateur Radio Technician class
  • One more session beginning July 28th
  • This has been approved for Board of Directors educational honorarium, bringing $600 into committee funds
  • Best spent on radio setup in new space
  • Amateur Radio General class
  • Following almost immediately after in September


Future Activity Discussion

  • Previous mentions:
  • Program your radio night
  • Hack your own RTLSDR seminar
  • Build a cheap general SDR receiver
  • Make cheapest APRS receiver out of RTLSDR?
  • Antenna build
  • Planned, see above
  • HF antenna setup
  • Planned, see above
  • Balloon Launch
  • DMS APRS digipeater
  • Build a dedicated KD5MS SDR