BARS meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00PM at the home of Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF
Meeting Location: 85 High St., Chelmsford, MA. Park along Somerset Pl. and walk up the driveway on Somerset
DMR, a new mode for amateur radio, has arrived in BARS territory! The N1IW DMR repeater has been installed in Chelmsford on K1SUB’s tower and is networked to the World Wide, National and Regional Talk Groups.
DMR is an International Standard documented by ETSI. It provides for repeaters carrying two simultaneous QSOs in half the space of our traditional VHF and UHF analog repeaters. Besides spectral efficiency, it provides for a number of data features like Call Alerting, Text Messaging and GPS location.
DMR radios are available from 16 different manufacturers and this competition has driven the price of portables and mobiles downward. The Connect Systems CS701 portable is offered at $180. Many commercial surplus Motorola mobiles are available as low as $250.
I will update BARS on the current coverage and expansion plans of the New England Network and demonstrate portable and mobile equipment.
The first half hour or so of the meeting will be devoted to the Annual Election of Officers. The Board has reported out the following slate of nominations:
Mike Raisbeck President K1TWF
Tom Walsh Vice President K1TW
Treasurer Bruce Anderson W1LUS
Paul Graveline Secretary K1YUB
Board Member Peter Norden N1ALO
Board Member Peter Speen K1SUB
Board Member Ex Officio Jerry Muller K0TV
Members may also submit other nominations at the meeting.
